· pre face . these outline studies hav e been prepared partly for the use of the students of the...
TRANSCRIPT
STUDIES I N THE BOOK .
65mm56mm.
Conta ining S tudies on Me La ter E pistles of S t. Paul, includingColossians , Zip/lesions, P/i iZoi/ion , Pfiilippimzs , H ebr ews ,
I . Tim'
oz‘
lzy,T itus , and I". Timotfiy.
REVERE FRAN KLIN WE ID NER,
Prof essor a nd D octor of Theology.
PREPARE D FOR U S E I N TH E SUMME R S CH OOLS OF T H E AME R I CAN I N S T I TU TE
OF SACRE D LITE RATURE .
jfleming I". 1RevellCH I CAGO N EW YOR K
[48 and 1 50 Madison S tree t . 1 2 B ible House , AstorPlace ,
z p ublisher of E vangelical l iterature z
E n tered according to Act of Cong ress , in the year 1890, byFLE MIN G H . REVE LL,
I n the Ofiice of the Librarian of Cong ress, at Washing ton, D , C .
T H E VENERAB LE
TOVEY N . H AS SE LQU I ST , D . D
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE SWE D I SH
LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AM ERICA, W H OS E CHARACTE R AND
SCHOLAR SH IP HAVE LEFT THE IR IMPRESS UPON THE
CLERGY OF THE CHUR CH, THESE STU DIES IN
THE B OOK ARE MOST RESPECTFULLY
DED ICATED B Y THE
AUTHOR .
VI .
VI I .
VIII .
IX .
X .
X I .
XI I .
XIII .
Index,
CON T E N T S OF S T U D I E S .
T he E pistle to the Colossians,
T he Teach ing O f the E pistle to th e Colossians ,
T he E pistle to the E phesians ,
T h e Teach ing of the E pistle to the E phes ians ,
T he E pistle to Ph ilemon,
T he E pistle to the Philippians ,
T he Teaching of the E pistle to the Phil ippians,
The E pistle to the Hebrews,
T he Teaching of the E pistle to the Hebrews ,
T he First E pistle to Timothy,
T he Teaching of the Fi rst E pistle to Timothy,
T he E pistle to Titus ,
T he S econd E pis tle to Timothy,
PRE FACE .
These Outl ine S tudie s h av e been prepared partly for the
use of the S tudents of the E ng l ish B ible , attending the Summer
S chools of the American Insti tu te of S acred Literature , butmore
especi ally as a gu ide and text-b ook for use in adv anced B ible
classes , and in such Colleg es and Theolog ical S eminaries , in
wh ich the E ng l ish B ible 1 8 studied .
It ismot expected th at any of these S tud ies are to be fini shed
in. an hour . On some , the leader Of the class may spend ev en
a doz en hours profitably. The writer, after a trial oi v arious
plans , finds th at the most satisfac tory work can be done by
expounding the contents of these S tudie s to h is classes , in ad
v ance . follow ing these notes as an ou tl ine , and in assigning
special topic s for study to different s tudents . and at the next
mee ting , spending about h alf the time in examination , and in
the presentation of the matter prepared by the members of the
Class, and then using the other h al f of the hour in explaining
the adv ance lesson . Hav ing these ou tl ines in their possess ion
students do not need to take any notes in class , but the work
has been interleav ed s o th at additional notes may be made ,as
the resul t of priv ate study.
B eliev ing that the B ible i s the Word of God, the infall ible
guide for our daily l i fe , and th e abs olu te rule of our faith , and
7
8 PREFACE .
h olding that there i s a uni ty of B ibl ical truth, , great stress has
been laid upon the exact and posit iv e meaning of each passag e,
and upon the importance of the comparativ e studs7 of the
Scrip tures .
Th i s work is a cont inuation of S tudies in the B ook, First
and S econd S eries, and completes the N ew Testament .
E vangelical Lu theran
Augustana Theolog ical S eminary,
Rock I sland, I ll.
July 10, 1890.
10 STUDIES IN T H E B OOK .
written during Paul’s first captiv i ty at R ome, during the
two years spoken of in Acts 28 : 30(61—63 A . D . )
(14) It i s a difficul t matter to dec ide whe ther these th ree
E pistles (COL, E ph ., Philemon) were writ ten before or after
the E pistle to the Philippians , wh ich latter was also
wri tten during Paul’
s imprisonment at R ome .
(15 ) Th i s quest ion i s Of no importance , but i t seems most probable that Ph ilippians was wri tten last
, towards the close of
his first captiv i ty at R ome .
1
SECOND : Colossee, w i th the neighboring towns Of Laodicea and
H ierapoli s (4 : 13) was si tuated in the south-western part of
Asia M inor, in the v alley of the Lycus , a tributary to the
M"aeander .
THIR D : That whole di strict was ev angeliz ed by the preaching of
E paphras (4 : 12, possibly wh ile Paul was at E phesus (54
5 7 A . Acts 19 : 10.
FOUR TH : R ead the E pistle carefully and note what information
you can Ob tain abou t the Chu rch at Colossee .
(1 ) I n time past they had been alienated from and enemies to
God,1 : 21 .
(2) D ead through trespasses , 2: 13 .
(3) S ons of d isobedience, and under the wrath of God, 3 : 6, 7 ;
under the power of darkness, 1 : 13 .
(4) B ut theyh ad been conv erted by the preaching of E paphras ,1 : 5 —7
,translated into the K ingdom Of the Son,
1 : 13 .
(5 ) And hav e become“ saints and fai th ful brethren in Christ,
1 : 1 .
(6) N oted for the ir faith and lov e, 1 : 4, 7 .
(7) R econciled to God, and unreprov ab le before h im, s o longas they continue in th e faith , and are not mov ed away from
the hope of the g ospel , 1 : 22, 23 .
(8 ) They are warned ag ainst a false philosophy, 2: 8 .
(9) Ag ainst Judaic ri tuali sm. 2: 16 ; and worship of ang el s ,2: 18 .
(10) They are warned ag ainst a false asce tic i sm, 2: 20—23 .
(11) The ir teacher and pastor , Archippus , was to be exhorted,4 : 17.
1 S tudents of the E ng lish text will find th e oth er v iew ab ly p re sented byMe als in h is Commentary on Ph ilippians (Cambridg e S er ie s) , wh ile studen tsof the Greek text will find the same view ably advocated by Ligh t foot .
T H E EPISTLE To T H E COLOSS IANS . 11
FIFTH : T he Objec t Of the E pistle i s to warn the Colossians
ag ains t a system of false teach ingPartlyoriental and theosoph i s t ic in i ts character, 2: 18 ;
(2) Partly Judaical and ceremonial, 2: 16 ;
(3) Wh ich was tending , on the one h and, directly to Obscure
the majesty and glory Of Ch ri st, 1 : 15 ; 2: 8 9 ;
(4) And, on the other, to introduce ritual i stic Ob serv ances,
espec ially on the side of body au s terities, 2: 16—23 ;
(5 ) Opposed alike to the simplici ty and freedom Of the g ospel ,2: 20;
(6) And t o all true and v i tal un ion w i th the risen Lord, 3 : 1 .
(E llicott
SIXTH : T he exact nature of th is Colossian heresy has been the
subj ec t of much discussion.
(1) We may infer the pre sence of two e lements in thi s h eresy—one Judaic, and th e other, Gnostic or O riental .
(2) These two elements are s o closely interwov en in Pau l’
s
refutation, th at i t i s almost impossible to separate them,
2: 8-23 .
(3) T he Jndaie elements can be more readily d iscerned :
(a) The d i stinction of meats and drinks , 2: 16 ;
(b) The observ ance of S abbath s and new moons , 2: 16 ;
(0) Of human ordinances . 2: 21 , 22;
(d) Of c ircumcis ion, 2: 1 1 .
(4) T he Gnostic e lements are not so readily d i scerned .
(5 ) Gnostic i sm in g eneral had certain di s tingu i sh ing features :1
(a) I t laid g reat stress upon knowledge, wh ich was the exclu
siv e priv ileg e of the select few .
(b) Its intellectual questions were mainly twofold : H ow can
the work of Creation be explained"and H ow are we to
account for the existence of ev il"(0) T he false solut ion i t finally reach ed was that ev i l had i ts
orig in and abode in matter , in the material , sensible
world .
(d) To explain how God,who i s perfec t, cou ld create matter,
wh ich is ev il, theymaintained that there were cer tain suc
cessiv e ev olu t ions or emanations of God, in wh ich th e
div ine element became feebler, until at leng th c ontac t
w ith matter was possible, and creati on ensued . These
1 Compare the able D isser tation of Lightfcot on“ T he Colossian H eresy ,
in his Commentaryon Colossians .
12 STUDIE S IN TH E B OOK .
ev olutions and emanations are the so-called aeons or ang els
of the Gnostics .
(e) To the practical question how man i s to av oid sin,and
keep his higher nature unsu lli ed,-if matter i s the prin
ciple Of ev il,— Gnostici sm had two directly opposite ah
ewers
(1) R ig id asce tic ism, and (2) Unrestrained l icentiousness .
(6) A close study Of the E pistle prov es that the error Of the
here tical teachers whom Paul combats was twofold
(a) A false conception in theology ;
(b) A false basis of morals .
(7) B oth these errors had the ir root in the fundamental error,th at matter was the abode of ev il
'
, and thus antag oni s tic to
God.
(8) The Apostle answers both these elements of false doctrine
by the g reat truth the conception of the Person of Chris t
as the one absolu te mediator between God and man, the true
and only reconciler of heav en and ear th ”(Lightfoot) .
SEVENTH : T he d is tinctiv e feature Of th i s E pistle i s its Chri stol
ogy. T he doc trine of the Person of Christ i s here stated
w i th g reater prec i s ion and fulness than in any other of Pau l’s
epistles .
E IGHTH : I n reference to the genuineness and authent ic ity of
thi s E pistle i t may be said briefly that no doub ts hav e been
urg ed that deserv e any serious consideration (E llicott) .
N INTH : The s imilari ty be tween many portions of th i s E pistle
and that to the E phesians has often been noticed, and the claim
to priority Of composition much debated (E llicott) .
TENTH : T he similarity is explained by the fact th at the two
E pistles were written about the same time , and addressed to
Churches near each other, needing the same instruct i on and
adv ice .
ELEVENTH : The nature of the contents of the two E pi s tles seemsto harmoniz e best w i th the Opinion that the E pistle to the
Colossians was writtenfirst. It is the g ermof which the letter
to the E phesians is a more elaborate expansion. I t bears the
same relation to E phesians as Galatians does to Romans .
TWELFTH : On a careful reading of the E pistle we see i t naturally div id es i tself into fi v e parts
I . Col. 1 : 1—13, Introduction.
II . Col. 1 : 14— 2: 3, D octrinal .
STUD IES IN T H E B OOK .
already rescued from th e power of darkness , they are
already pu t in posse ssion of their inheritance as saints .
They are p otentially sav ed . (Lightf oot) .
II . D OCTR INAL . 1 : 14- 2z3 . T H E PERSON AN D'
WORK OFCHRIST .
4. 1 : 14. Through the Son we have our redemp tion .
On R edemption see Index Of “S tudie s on the B ook , Second
Ser ies .
5 . 1 : 15 — 19. The Pee-eminence of the Son . (a) As the H ead
of the natural Creation, the Universe (15 (b) A s the H ead
of the new moral Crea tion, the Chur ch (c) I n him all
the f ulness has its abode
v . 15 . Th is passage (1 : 15 tog e ther with E ph . 1 : 20—23 ;
Ph il. 2: 6— 1 1, are the three important passages in S t. Pau l’s
E pi stles , in which the doctrine of the Per son Of Christ i s
especi ally unfolded .
I n ver ses 1 5 — 17 the reference i s rather to the p re incarnate
Son of God in rel ation to God and to his own c reature s ,and in vv . 18—20to the incarnate and now g lorified Son inhis relation to his Chu rch .
Chr i s t is the orig inal imag e of God (H eb . 1 : 3 : II . Cor .
4 : in perfect equali ty wi th the Father in respect Of his
essence , nature, and e ternity.
W i th reference to every c reated th ing , the Son i s here
solemnly defined as fir stborn,
“before all th ing s
”(v .
th e word only-begotten defines more exac tly h is relation to
the Father, John 1 : 14, 18 ; I . John 4 : 9 . Paul here declares
the absolute pre existence Of the Son . It i s a false inter
pretation to infer that the Son was a created being , though
the earl ie st .
v . 16 . I n verses 1 6, 17 we hav e an explanation in what sense
the Son of God i s the firstborn of all creation .
Paul here teaches that the E ternal Son Of God accordingto his div ine nature has the same relation to the Univ erse,as the Incarnate Christ , the God-Man, has to the Church ,
I : 18 .
T he Son Of God, i . e. , Jesus Christ, according to hisdiv ine nature— is the conditional cause of creation,
i. e. ,
the act of creation depends on him he i s the instrumental cause Of creation,
i. e . , all th ing s were created
T H E EPISTLE To T H E COLOSSIANS . 15
through him (1 : he i s the ultimate cause of creation,
i . e. , all th ing s were created to enh ance his g lory.
v . 17 . N ote the e mph atic “ H e is before all thing s .
emphasiz es the S on’s p ersonality, and is his p re
-existence.
v . H e, the same Person, the Creator of the world,hav rng
assumed human nature , the incarnate and g lorified God
Man, i s the Head of the Church .
T he incarnate Chris t in relati on to the Church , i s the
beginning , (1 ) in th at he was the first-fru i ts of the dead
(I . Cor . (2) and also the source of life , Acts
H e rose first from the dead, th at others might rise
through him. (After Lightf oot) .
v . 19. The whole f ulness of God, the totali ty of the div ine
powers and attributes, was pleased to dwell in Christ .
Compare 2: 9.
6 . 1 : 20. A descrip tion of the reconciling work of the S on.
T he reconc il iation is always represented as made to the
Father . The reconciler is some times the Father (II . Cor .
5 : 18 , some times the Son. E ph . 2: 16 ; Rom. 5 : 10, 1 1 .
Christ our mediator i s both human and div ine . I t was
nece ssary that in him sh ould all the fulness o f the God
head dwell, 1 : 19 ; 2: 9 ; and also that he shou ld be born
into the world and through the blood of the cross suff er
as a man for us .
7. 1 : 21-23 . Ye whowere alienated he reconciled by his death;
if at least ye remainfirm in thefaith and abide by the hope ofthe Gosp el.
8 . 1 : 24—29 . I rejoice in my sufi’
erings f or you and the Chur ch;
1 amp reaching themystery of salvation and str iving top resent
every man perfect before God.
v . 24.
“The point Of the Apostle’s boast is th at Ch rist the
s inle ss Master should h av e lef t someth ing for Pau l the un
worthy serv ant to suff er . B eliev ers are partakers of the
suffering s of Christ (II . Cor . 1 : 7 ; Ph i l . 3 : but Pau l
does not say that h e hears a part in the atoning sacrifice of
Chri st . (Lightfoot. )v . 28 . Paul here names the spec ial func tions Of the preach
er’
s Office .
N ote the universality Of th e Gospel as opposed to Gnosticexclusiveness.
16 STUD IE S IN TH E B OOK .
9. 2: 1—3 . I am earnestly str iv ing f or you, that you may come
to thef ull knowledge of Christ.
v . 1 . Th i s striv ing i s the inward strugg le , the wrestl ing in
prayer, as in 4 : 12.
Th e Laodiceans were ev idently exposed to the same doc
trinal perils as the Colossians .
III . POLEM ICAL . 2. 4— 3 : 4 .
10.
—7. Let no one deceive you, but as ye received Chr ist,
walk in him.
1 1 . 2: 8—1 5 . Let not worldly wisdom lead you away f rom him,
who is the H ead of all, who has quickened you,and forgiven
you ,and tr iump hed over all the powers of evil.
vv . 9, 10.
“I n explaining the tru e doctrine wh ich i s ‘after
Chri st,’
S t. Pau l condemns the two false principles, wh ich
lay at the root of th i s heretical teach ing:
(1) T he theolog ical
error of substituting inferior and created being s , ang el ic
mediators , for the D iv ine Head h imself (vv . 9, and (2)the p racti cal error of insi sting upon r itual and ascetic oh ~
serv ances as the foundation Of their moral teach ing (vv .
1 1 (Lightf oot. )v . 1 1 . T he distinguishing features of this higher c ircum
cision Of Christ are threefold .
v . 12. S t . Paul lays stress upon the sacrament of B aptism.
Compare notes on R om. 6 : 3, 4.
“ B aptism i s the g rav e of
the old man, and the b irth of the new. (Lightfoot. )
v . 15 . This Ob scure passag e , taken in connection wi th E ph .
4 : 8 and I . Pet . 3 : 19, Opens up to us some of the wonders
of the work of Christ, in the lower world, after his re sur
rection .
12. 2: 16—23 . Let no one j udge you in ceremonial observances,holding not the H ead . S ubmit not to outward austerities that
are inwardly vain and carnal.
v . 16 .
“T he two main tendencies of the Colossian h eresy
are discernable in th i s warning (cv . 16 as theywere in
the prev ious statement (vv . 9 Here, howev er, theorder i s rev ersed . The practical error, an excessiv e ritu
alism and asce tic rig or, i s firs t dealt with (vv . 16, the
theolog ical error, the interposit ion of ang elic mediators ,fol lows after (vv . 18 , (Lightfoot. )
v . 18 .
“ Humili ty, when i t becomes self-conscious , ceases to
h av e any v alue .
”(Lightfoot. )
18 S TU DIES IN THE B OOK .
FIFTEENTH : T o the s tudent of the E ng lish text we would recom
mend the following Commentarie s : Alexander in S peake r’s
Commentary, Moule in Cambridg e B ib le, or B arry in HandyCommentary.
SIXTEENTH : To the student of the Greek text we would recom
mend the Commentarie s Of A lford, B eng el, B oise, E ll icott,Ligh tfoot, and Meyer.
ST UD Y I I .
TH E T E ACH IN G OF T H E E PISTLE To TH E COLOSSIAN S .
FIRST : R ead the whole E pis tle carefully, sec ti on by section, and
note what Paul teach es concerning the Chri stian’
s D uties to
S el f .
1
(1) T o be fai th ful , 23 ;
(2) T o bel ie v e in Christ, 22; 2: 6, 7 ;
(3) T o hear the Gospel , 1 : 6 , 23 ;
(4) To seek a know ledge of the wil l of God, 1 : 9 ; 2: 2;
(5 ) T O seek spiritual wi sdom, 28 ;
(6) To increase in the know ledg e Of God, 27 ;
(7) T o please the Lord, walking worthily of the Lord,
(8) To become strong in the Lord,
(9) To be patient, long -suffering , and j oyful ,
(10) To trust in the merit s o f Christ,
(11 ) To be g rounded and steadfast in the fai th , 2: 5—7 ;
(12) T O abide in the hope of the Gospel,
(13) T O bear afflicti ons for Christ’s sake ,
(14) To be p erfec t in Christ ,
(15 ) To know the mystery of God, 2: 2;
(16 ) E v en the treasure s of w i sdom and knowledg e h idden in
Ch ri s t,Q
(17) N ot to be dece iv ed or mi sled, 8 , 16
(18) T o be baptiz ed into Christ , 2: 12;
(19) N ot to be puffed up in his fleshlymind,
(20) N ot to subj ec t one’
s self to a false ascetic ism, 22;
(21) To seek and se t themind on the th ing s that are abov e ,
(22) T omortify th e lusts of the heart :
Fornication, uncleanness, pass ion , ev il desire , cov etou s
ne ss, 6 ;
1 We have developed this in full, as an example how to find the material.These results ough t to be arranged more systematically by the student.
20 STUDIES IN T H E B OOK .
Anger, wrath , malice, rai l ing , shameful speaking ,lying ,
3 : 8 , 9.
(23) To put off the Old man wi th his do ing s, 3 : 9
(24) T o put on the new man, 3 10;
(25 ) To pu t on a heart Of compassion :
K indness, humili ty, meekness, long-suffering , 3 : 12;
(26) To put on lov e, 3 : 14 ;
(27) To hav e the peace of Christ in the h eart, 3 : 15 ;
(28) To be thankful , 17 ;
(29) T O do al l in the name c f the Lord Jesus,
(30) To be di lig ent in prayer,
(31) T o redeem the t ime , 4 : 5 ;
(32) T O speak always with g race , 4 : 6 ;
(33) To be faith ful in thy calling , 4 : 17.
SECOND : S tudy the E pis tle carefully a second time and note whatPaul teach es concerning our D u ties to our Fellow-Man.
(1 ) T O lov e the saints, 8 ;
(2) To pray for one another , 9 ; 4 : 3, 12;
(3) To b ring ev ery man to Chri s t, 1 : 28 ;
(4) To teach ev eryman I n allw i sdom,
(5 ) To comfor t one another, 2: 2; 1 1 ;
(6 ) To sympathiz e w i th ano ther, 2: 5 ;
(7) To rej oice w i th the saints , 2: 5 ;
(8 ) Lie not one to another,
(9) Forbearing one another, and forg iv ing each other, 3 : 13 ;
(10) To be at peace w ith each o ther ,
(1 1 ) Teach ing and admoni sh ing one another,
(12) W alk in w i sdom toward them that are w ithout, 4 : 5 ;
(13) Let no Opportuni ty pass to further the cause of God,
(14) Let you r speech he always w ith g race, seasoned wi th salt,4 :
(15 ) Labor for the salv ation of others, 4 : 13 .
TH IR D : Make a spec ial study of the E pistle wi th reference to
D uties in the Family.
(1) Husbands , (2) W iv es, (3) Parents, (4) Ch i ldren, (5 ) Masters,
(6 ) S erv ants .
FOU R TH : Make a spec ial study of the E pis tle wi th re ference to aChristian
’s D uty to God .
FIFTH : S tudy the E pistle carefully andwr ite out conc i selywhat
Pau l here teaches concerning the D octrine of God, and class i fyresul ts Obtained.
22 S TUDIES IN T H E B OOK .
(d) D i v ine Worsh ip .
(1) Has serv ants and minis ters, 7 ;
(2) Is to be pleased in all thing s,
(3) Is to be believ ed in, 2: 5 , 8 .
(4) To be rece iv ed by faith , 2: 6 .
(5 ) Is to be feared, 3 : 22.
(6) To be serv ed, 24.
(7) Is our Master in heav en, 4 : 1 .
Jesus Chr ist is the God-Man.
1) T he Incarnate Chris t i s the head of the Church , 1
(2) T he first-born from the dead,
(3) Has the pre-eminence in th e univ erse,
(4) I n him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,
(5 ) Possesses , therefore, all the powers and attr ibu tes of
God,
(6) Possesses them permanently, l : 19 ; 2: 9 .
(7) Is the mystery of God, 2: 2, 3 ;
(8) I n h im are h idden all the treasures of wisdom and knowl
edge , 2: 3 .
(9) H e i s the head of all principali ty and power, 2: 10.
(10) H e was raised from the dead,
(11 ) Is seated at the right hand of God , 3 : 1 .
(12) Is in God the Father, 3 : 3 .
(13) Shall be mani fested in glory,
(14) Is all, and in all,
(15 ) Has absolute and univ ersal supremacy, 18 ;
1 1 , 19 ;
(16) Is in heav en,3 : 1 ; 4 : 1 .
SEVENTH : S tudy the E pistle carefully, section by sec tion, and
note what Paul teaches concern ing Soteriology, or the D octrine
of the W ork of Ch ri st .
Jesus Chr ist is our Mediator .
(1) H e i s our redeemer, 1 : 14.
(2) H e paid our ransom,
(3) Obtained for us the forg iv eness of our. s ins, 1 : 14.
(4) As the div ine-human mediator made reconciliation be
tween God and man,1 : 20.
(5 ) S atisfies the justice of the Father, 1 : 20.
T H E TEACH ING OF TH E EPISTLE To T H E COLOSSI ANS . 23
(6) Through him an atonement has been made for all, 1 : 20.
(7) Makes peace be tween God and man, 1 : 20.
(8) The price paid for our redemption from the wrath of
God (1 : 14) i s the b lood Of the Son Of God, 1 : 20.
(9) H e suffered on the Cros s for us, 1 : 20.
(10) S alv ation i s objectiv ely procured for al l men, 1 : 20.
(11) B eliev ers are reconc iled to the Father th rough the deathof Christ ,
(12) H e has fulfilled the law for us,
(13) H e bore the penalty of the law for us, 2: 14 .
(14) H e has ov ercome death and S atan,2: 15 .
(15 ) H e triumphed ov er the ev il spiri ts, 2: 15 .
Christ still continues his threef old ofi ce as Prop het, Pr iest and
K ing .
(1 ) The g lorified God-man as the Head of the Church , rules
and directs her , 1 : 18—20; 2: 19.
(2) He is the author and source of perfec tion , 1 : 28 .
(3) Worketh in bel iev ers, 1 : 29.
(4) H e qu ickens us wh i le dead in sin,2: 13 ;
(5 ) I n h im believ ers are made full, 2: 10.
(6) He forg iv es us all our trespasses , 2: 13 ; 3 : 13 .
(7) H e bes tows peace, 3 : 15 .
(8 ) He shall reward us,
(9) H e Sh all g iv e us the inheritance, 3 : 24 .
(10) H e intercede s wi th God for us, for our life i s h id w i th
Chri s t in God, 3 : 3 .
(11 ) As K ing he i s seated on th e righ t hand of God : 3 : 1 .
(12) As K ing h e su stains and preserv es al l th ing s , 1 : 17 .
(13) I S the head of all princ ipal i ty and power, 2: 10.
(14) Worketh continually in h is Church ,
(15 ) And all thing s are to be subjected to his domini on,
3 : 1 1 .
E IGHTH : Make a carefu l comparison between the Au thorised and
R ev i sed Versions , and note the princpal ch ang es .
N INTH : Make a spec ial study Of the marg inal reading s of theR ev ised Version.
T ENTH : There are possibly fou r quo tations from the Old Testa
ment in the E pistle to the Coloss ians .
(1 ) Col. 2: 3 compared w i th Isa . 45 : 3 and Prov . 2: 3, 4.
(2) Col. 2: 22w i th Isa . 29 : 13 .
(3) Col. 3 . 1 w i th PS . 110: 1 .
24 STUD IES IN T H E B OOK .
(4) Col. 3 : 10w i th Gen . 1 : 27 .
ELEVENTH : Make a spec ial study of the following topics , taken
in the order of their occurrence in the E pi stle : Faithful
brethren (1 : faithful mini s ter of Christ (1 : lov e in the
S pir i t (1 : spiri tual w i sdom and understanding (1 : the
power of darknes s th ing s inv i sible (1 : Chris t, th e
hOpe of g lory (1 : perfect in Christ (1 : the mys tery of
God (2: fulnes s of the Godhead bodily (2. the bond writ
ten in ordinances (2: worsh ipping of the ang els (2:
rudiments of the world (2: the r igh t hand of God (3 :
the Old man (3 : the new man (3 : the mystery of Chr is t
(4 :
TWELFTH : R ev iew the h i story of S t . Paul and write out or pre
sent orally the principal ev ents O f his li fe .
TH IR TEENTH : Look up the principal ev ents of the life of T im
othy,1 : 1 .
FOU R TEENTH : Of the li fe of Mark", 4 : 10.
FIFTEENTH : O f Luke l , the beloved phys ici an. 4 : 14 .
1 See I ndex of “ S tudies in the B ook,
” F irst S eries.
26 STUDIE S IN TH E B OOK .
S IXTH : The bearer of i t was Tych icus, 22.
SEVENTH : I t was wr i tten at abou t the same time that Coloss iansand Ph ilemon were wr itten, for Pau l was also th en in prison
(Col. 10, 18 ; Philemon 1 , 9, and Tych icu s, accompa'
ni ed by Onesimus, was the bearer, Col. 4 : 7—9 ; Ph ilemon 1 1 , 12.
E IGHTH : Th i s letter therefore was written during Pau l’s firs t
captiv i ty at R ome , during the two years Spoken of in Acts 28 :
30(61—63 A .
N INTH : T he g enu ineness and auth ent ic i ty of the E pistle admi t
of no reasonab le doub t . There is absolutely no trace in earlyCh ristian l i terature of doub t about the au thorship and au thor
ity of the E pistl e .
TENTH : G iv e a brief h is tory of E phesus , the capital of Procon
su lar As ia .
ELEVENTH : G iv e a brief account of Pau l’s work in E phesus .
(1 ) At the beg inning of his S econd Miss ionary Journey (Acts— 16 z 6), Pau l was
“ forb idden of the Holy Ghost tospeak the W ord in Asia, Ac ts
(2) B ut at it s close (53 A . D . ) on hisway from Corinth to Syria ,he v i s i ted E phesus (Acts br ing ing Priscilla and
Aqu ila wi th him, and leav ing th em there
(3) H i s s tay at E phesus was v ery short, probably one S abbath ,
Ac ts 20,21 .
(4) Paul arriv ed at E phesus , the second t ime , at the beg inn ingof his Th ird Mi ss ionary Journey (Ac ts 19 : 1 and abode
th ere abou t th ree years (Acts 20: p robably from 54— 5 7
A . D .
(5 ) On S t . Pau l’s las t v oyag e to Jerusalem, before his imprison
ment (58 A . he touched at M iletu s , some 30miles south
of E phesus, where he g av e hi s path etic ch arg e to the E lders
of the Church at E phesus (Ac ts 20: 17
(6) Then followed hi s two years’
imprisonment at Caesarea,Ac ts (5 8—60A . D
(7) And his v oyage to Rome, and his two years’ imprisonment
there, during wh ich per iod this E pis tle was wri tten, Acts
30.
TWELFTH : From a care ful s tudy of th i s book i t seems that the
E p i s tle to the E phes ians was not called forth by any partien
lar c ircumstances, bu t was designed to set for th the orig in
and dev elopment Of the Chu rch Of Chri s t, and to di splay to
the Christian dweller under the shadow of the g reat temple
T H E EPISTLE TO T H E E PH E S IANS . 27
of D ianaf the uni ty and beauty of that transcendently'more
g lorious spiri tual temple (E ph . 2: 20) of wh ich Chri st H imsel fwas the ch ie f corne r s tone , and the saints port ions o f the
superstructure . (E llicott) .
T HIR TEENTH : “As in R omans, s o here , Paul addresses h imsel f to
the migh ty theme of the whole Gospel ; from the point of v iew
not now of the ju s tifica t ion of the sa ints , but of their l ife in
and union wi th the ir R edeeming Head, and the consequent
oneness O f thewhole org anism of the true Church in time and in
e terni ty. Faithful t o the g enius of the Gospel, he applies these
transcendent truths wi th g reat minu teness to the real i tie s o f
common life , espec ially th at of the Chr i stian Home .
”(Moule) .
FOURTEENTH : On a carefu l read ing of the E pis tle we see it
naturally div ides itsel f into two parts :
I . E ph .— 3 : 21 . D octrinal .
I I . E ph .
— 6 z24. Prac tical .
FIFTEENTH : Read each chapter carefully and div ide into sec
tions wi th appropriate head ing s .
1 S tudy carefully each sec
t ion , and wri te ou t the thought as conc i sely as possible .
1 . 1 : 1 , 2. Apostolic address and salu tation .
2.
—14. B lessed be GOD T H E FATH E R , who p redestinated us
unto the adop tion of sons,redeemed us by CHR IST’S blood, re
vealed to us his eternalp urpose of remitting all in Chr ist,and
began its fulfilment by sealing all believer s with the H OLYSPI RIT .
s . 3 . N ote how God the Father blessed us (1) inwh at respect ,
(2) in what place , 3) in what person.
a. 4 . N ote how, and wh en, and w i th what Obj ec t , God
g rac iously chose bel iev ers in Chri s t . D i st ingui sh be tween
(1) the purpose of God, (2) h is foreknow ledg e , and (3) the
act Of predestination .
r . 5 . Th i s predestination has a d i rect and an u l timate end,and i s accompl ished through Ch ri st, according to a definite
ru le .
r . 6 . The g reat end i s the g lory of God .
7 . Pau l does not say, through his perfect and beautiful
l i fe as an example , nor through his div ine teaching ,though
he spake as nev er man spake ; but through his blood, w i th
out wh ich there could be no forg iv enes s (B oise) .
1 We also add a. few explanatory notes . T he analysis is mainly afterE llicott.
STUDIES IN T H E B OOK .
v . 10. S t . Paul does not teach in th i s passag e the ult imate
restoration of the w icked . T he words , strictly inte rpreted,w i th reference to the context , do not signi fy any such idea .
T he whole context has re ference to believ ers, and t o
Chr ist’s relati onsw i th his Church , on earth and in heav en .
Chri st is indeed the Head of the Uni v erse , and all , wicked
spirits as well as w icked men, shall finally acknowledgehis power and au thor ity (E ph .
—23 ; Phil. but
it i s questionable whe ther Paul has reference to th i s tru th
in the passage before us. Th is summing up i s in Christ,and refers to the elec t ang el s and believ ers .
v . 14. T he g i ft of the Holy Spiri t g iv en to bel iev ers i s an
arr abon, an earnest, a pledge , a part -payment g i v en as a
tang ible promise of the p ayment of the wh ole inheri tance .
1 : 1 5 —23 . I ev er give thanks, and p ray that you may be eu
lightened to know the hope of H is calling , the r iches of his
inheritance, and the greatness of H is power , which was espec
ially disp layed in the R esurrection and sup reme exaltation ofChr ist.
v . 17. It i s best to translate the S pirit of wi sdom and rev e
lation, for i t i s the Holy Spiri t who imparts the definite
knowledg e O f God the Father .
v . 20. I n th i s passag e (vv . 20 Ph i l . 2: and Col.—20, we find the entire Chris tology of S t. Paul .
“I n themwe find his essential and glorious D e ity ; his
e ternal S onsh ip ; hi s immediate act ion in Creatidn ; his
headsh ip ov er the Created Univ erse ; his div ine free -will
in Incarnation and Humiliation ; his atoning D eath ; his
R esurrec tion, and E xaltation as th e Incarnate , by the
Father’s power ; his Headsh ip ov er the Church , and ani
mation of i t w i th Hi s S pirit (Moule) .
4 .-10. You who were dead in sin,
H e hath quickened,
raised, and even enthroned with and in Christ, to show all ages
the r iches of H is gr ace and love. Your salvation is by g race,
not of works.
vv . 1—3 . We hav e here amost g raph ic description of the natur
al, unregenerate man, whether of Jewish or heathen orig in .
v . 3 . T he doctr ine of O rig inal S in i s here clearly taught byPaul. N ote the exac t statement : we were by nature ch ild
ren of wrath,— it was once th e s tate and condi ti on of be
liev ers ; i t i s now so no longer .
30 STUDIES IN T H E B OOK.
vv . 9—12. N ote the wonderful riches of th ough t , wh ich wi ll
bear the closest analysis .
7 . 3 : 14—19. On this account I p ray to God the Father to g ive
you streng th in the inward man, and teach you the incompre
hensible love of Christ, and fill you with thefulness of God .
v . 15 . I n this passag e Paul teaches the spiritual oneness of
the holy communi ty of saints and ang el s .
vv . 16— 19 . A remarkable passage, in which the believ er will
find inexh austible food for faith , prayer and medi tation .
8 . 21 . An ascription of p raise to God the Father , closing the doctrinalp ar t of the E pistle.
“After the g randes t promises wh ich human language can
express , the Holy S piri t h ere closes by declaring that all
which can be expressed i s infini tely below the reali tywh ich i s in God.
”(Monod quoted by Moule. )
9 . 4 : 1—6 . Walkwor thy of your vocation,in lowliness, in love,
and esp ecially in unity; there is but one body,one Spirit, one
Lord ,and one God
v . 4. This “one body i s the Chu rch ,
the community Of saints .
On“ the calling ,
” see pp . 18 , 19 of“
S tudie s in the B ook ,
”
First S eries.
10. 4 : 7—10. Christ g ives his grace in measure to each, as the
S crip ture testifiesv . 8 . Paul, by inspiration, here speaks of certain ev ents
th at took place at Christ’s ascension into h eav en .
Those who had been h eld captiv e were the saints of the
Old Testament, who, up to Chri st’
s resurrec tion, were still
in Hades , under the power of death and S atan .
Christ by his death and resurrection acqu ired also g ifts
for th em, and ev e r s ince Christ’s ascension into heav en no
sou l s of the ble ssed are in Hades, nor do believ ers enter
Hades, but Paradise i s now abov e the earthhand believ ers
are immedi ately after death , wi th Christ in h eav en. Com
pare als o 001. 2: 1 5 .
1 1 . 4 : 1 1-16 . H e app ointed divers ministering orders, tillwe all
come unto the unity of thef aith, and in truth and love grow up
into Chr ist, the head of the living body, the Church .
Another remarkable passag e ,wh ich bears th e closest analys is .
12. 4 : 17—24. D o not walk as darkened and hardened heathens.
Ye did not so learn Chr ist. Put 017“the old man
,and p ut on
the new man.
T H E EPISTLE T O T H E E PH E S IANS . 31
13 .-32. Sp eak the truth, and do not cherish anger , or
practice theft; u tter no corrup t sp eech; be not bitter .
14. 5 : 1 , 2. S trive then to imitate God,and like Chr ist towalk
in love.
15 . 5 : 3—14. Avoid fornication, covetousness, and all f orms ofimpurity, for on such comes the wrath of God . Ye were once
in heathen darkness, bu t now are light; rep rove the works ofdarkness
, awake and ar ise.
16 . 5 : 15—21 . Walk str ictly; avoid ewcess, but be filled with thesp ir it; sing p salms outwardlywith your lips, and makemelodywith thankf ulness in your hear ts within.
17, —33 . Wives be subj ect to your husbands as the Churchi s to Chr ist. H usbands love your wives as Chr ist loved his
Chur ch . Marr iage is a type of the mystical union of Christ
and the Chur ch .
18 . 6 : 1—4. Children,obey and honor your p arents according to
God’
s commandment; fathers p rovoke not your children, but
edu cate them holily.
19. 6 : 5—9 . S ervants, obey and doyour dutyfaithf ully toyour
masters as to Christ,and ye shall receive your reward . Mas
ters,do the like in return.
20. 6 : 10—20. Pu ton thewholepanop lyof God; armyourselfagainst
your sp ir itualf oes with all the defensive portions of Christian
armor , and the sword of the Sp irit. Pray that we may be bold .
21 . 22. 1 have sent Tychicus to tell you of my state and
to comfort you .
22. 24. B enediction.
S IXTEENTH : G iv e an oral statemeht Of the contents of the E pistle ,
chapter by ch apter .
S E VE NTE E NTH : To the s tudent of the E ng l ish text we would
especially recommend Moule’s Commentary on th i s E pistle in
the Cambridge B ible for S chools and Colleg es .
E IGH TE E NTH : T o the student of the Greek text we would rec
ommend for the first reading of the Greek text, the Commen
tary of B oise , for the second reading , E l l icott, and for refer
ence , Meyer .
N INETEENTH : T o those acquainted also w i th the German we
would recommend the Commentary of Harless , wh ich “ for
accu rate scholarsh ip ,learning , candor and ab il i ty, i s one of
the best, i f not the v ery bes t commentary that has ev er yet
appeared on an sing le portion of Holy S criptures”(E llicott) .
T H E TEACH ING OF T H E EPISTLE TO THE E PH E S IANS . 33
SEVENTH : R ead the whole E pistle carefully, sec tion by section,
and note what Pau l teaches concerning our D u ties to God .
E IGHTH : S tudy the E pistle carefully a second time and note
wh at Paul teaches concerning our D uties to our Fellow-Man .
N INTH : S tudy carefully a thi rd t ime , and note what Paul teaches
concerning our D uties to Sel f .
TENTH : Compare these results w ith those Obtained in our S tudyon the Teaching of the E pistle to the Colossians .
ELEVENTH : S tudy the E pistle carefully, secti on by section , and
wri te out conc i selywh at Pau l teaches concerning the D octrine
of God the Father .
‘
(1) I twas through H i s will that Pau l was called anApostle, 1 : 1 .
(2) The Father is the orig in of g race and peace , 1 : 2, 6 ;
(3) Is the Father of all believ ers, 1 : 2.
(4) T he God and Father of our Lord Jesus Ch rist, 1 : 17.
(5 ) Has blessed us in Ch ri st, 6 .
(6) Has chosen us in him,
(7) Has foreordained believ ers unto adoption as sons through
Jesus Chris t, to an inheritance ,
(8) Has freely bestowed g race on us in h is belov ed Son,
(9) D isplays unto us the exceeding riches of his g race , 2:
(10) Has rev ealed to believ ers the mystery of his will, 3 :
(11) Has purposed to sum up all th ing s in Chri st as Head,(12) H i s purpose was in the Son, from eterni ty, 3 : 1 1 .
(13) He worketh all th ing s after the counsel of hisw i ll , 1 : 1 1 .
(14) Is g lorious , 14 ; the Father Of g l ory,
(15 ) Is the orig in Of allwi sdom,
(16) Cal ls us into h is K ingdom,5 : 5 .
(17) D i splays g reat power towards believ ers , 3 : 16 .
(18) D isplays the working of his power in Christ, 1 : 20—23 .
(a) I n raising h im from the dead,
(b) I n making h im to s it at h is right h and,(0) I n exal ting h im abov e ev ery name,
(d) I n putting all th ing s in subj ection to him,
(6) I n g iv ing him to be head ov er all th ing s to the Church ,
(I 9) Is rich in mercy,
(20) Has lov ed us wi th a g reat lov e , 2: 4.
7 .
9 .
0.
1 We have developed this in full,verse by verse , as an example how to
find the material. Let the student study each passage and arrange theseresults in amore systematic way.
34 STUDIES IN T H E B OOK .
(21) Has quickened us with Christ , 2: 1 , 5 .
(22) R aised us up w i th Chri s t; 2; 6 .
(23) Has made us sit w i th Chris t in heav enly places,
(24) B es tows salv ation as a g if t, 2: 8 .
(25 ) B eliev ers are God’
s workmanship ,
(26) H e created us in Chr i st Jesu s ,
(27) H e has prepared a sphere of moral act ion for believ ers ,2: 10.
(28 ) Forsakes unbeliev ers, and those separate from Chr ist,
(29) I s reconciled through the Cross , 2: 16 .
(30) To God the Father, Christ offered h imself as a sacrifice to
satisfy the Jus tice of God, 5 : 2.
(31) H e forg iv es us in Christ, 4 : 32.
(32) H I S wrath is upon the sons o f disobedience, 5 : 6 .
(33) Access to him i s through Christ, in the Spiri t,
(34) Has a hou sehold, 2: 19 .
(35 ) D wells in the believ er,
(36) Works by his g race in believ ers , 3 : 2, 7 ; 8 ; 2: 7 .
(37) Is the Creator of all th ing s, 3 : 9 .
(38) Omnipotent, 20; 4 : 6 .
(39) Omn ipresent, 4 : 6 .
(40) Preserv e s all thing s through his prov idence, 4 : 6 .
(41 ) Is to be worshipped,20
,21 ;
(42) I S the Father of all believ ers ,
(43) Has the fulness of all spiri tual perfec ti ons ,(44) T he sov ere ign and eternal Father Of all,
(45 ) Hi s life dwells only in bel iev ers , 4 : 18 .
(46) T he new man i s created in the image of God the Father,
(47) H i s lov e i s to be imitated, 5 : 1 .
(48) H is will i s to be done , 6 : 6 .
(49) Supplies an armor to the believ er, 13 .
T WELFTH : Wri te ou t clearly what S t. Pau l teaches concerningthe D octrine of the Holy Ghost .
(1 ) E v ery blessing in Christ is imparted by the Holy Spir i t,(2) B eliev ers are sealed with the Holy Spiri t, unto
the day of redemption, 4 : 30.
(3) Was g iv en according to promise,
(4) H i s E ssence i s Holines s, 1 : 13 ; 4 : 30.
(5 ) H e i s the personal Holy S piri t,(6) The Gi ft of the Holy S pirit is a pledg e thatwe shall rece iv ean inheri tance, our redemption,
T H E TEACHING OF T H E EPISTLE To T H E E PH E S IANS . 35
(7) The Spiri t enl ightens us wi th wi sdom, 1 : 17 .
(8 ) And rev eals unto us the more special g if t of ins igh t into
the div ine mysteries , 1 : 17.
(9) I n the S pir i t we h av e fel lowsh ip wi th Ch ris t, 2. 18 .
(10) And wi th the Father,
(11 ) It i s the one and same Holy S pirit that worke th in all be
liev ers, 4 : 4 .
(12) God the Father dwel l s in the believ er through the ev er
present Holy S pir i t,(13) The Holy Spiri t inspired the Apostles and prOphets, 3 : 5 .
(14) He streng thens the power of the inner man,
(15 ) T he Holy Spiri t worke th uni ty and peace , 4 : 2.
(16) H e i s a true Person, for he can be g riev ed,4 : 30.
(17) The Holy S piri t i s not only the instrument by which , and
in which the believ er i s filled, but God the Holy Ghost dwel l sin us, fills us w i th H imsel f,
(18 ) T he sword Of the Holy S piri t i s the Word Of God,( 19) T he Word O f God i s g iv en by the Holy S piri t,20) T he Holy Spiri t works through the Word as an instru
ment, 6 : 17 .
(21 ) The Sphere of all true prayer, by whose indwelling in
fluence and merci ful aid we are led to prayer, i s the HolyS pirit, 6 : 18 .
TH IRTEENTH : There are nine passages in this E pistle in which
the three Persons of the Holy Trini ty are mentioned together,and co-ordinated.
(1) (2) 14 ; (2) 2: 18 ; (4) (5 ) —6 ; (6) —17 ;
(7) (8 ) — 32; (9) —21,
FOURTEENTH : S tudy the E pistle , sec tion by sec tion, and wri te
out conci se lywhat Pau l teaches concerning Chri s tology, or the
D octrine of the Person of Ch ris t .
FIFTEENTH : D ev elop in the same way Pau l’s teach ing concern
ing S oteriology, or the D oc tr ine Of the Work of Christ .SIXTEENTH : Compare the Ch ristology and S oteriology of th i s
E pistle w i th the Chri stology and S oteriology of Colossians, as
dev eloped in S tudy II, and note the remarkable h armony of
thought and expression .
SEVENTEENTH : S tudy the E pistle once more and see wh at Paul
teaches concerning th e D oc trine of the Church .
1
1 Developed in fa ll, as an example how to find the mate rial. Let th estudent examine the exeg es is of e ach passage , c ri ticiz e if deemed necessary,and arrange these results in a more sys tematic way.
-6 STUD IES IN T H E B OOK .
(1 ) T he Church is a communi ty of saints, 15 , 18 ;
18 ; cons isting of believ ers in Chris t ,
(2) Is blessed wi th ev ery bless ing of the Spiri t, 1 : 3 .
(3) Is holy and w i thou t blemish before God, in Christ,
(4) Possesses all g race ,6 .
(5 ) Has been redeemed through the blood of Chri st, 1 : 7 ;
5 : 2.
(6) Has ob tained a knowledge of the mysteryof the w ill of God,
1 : 9 ; of the mystery of Chr i st, -6,9 .
(7) H er Head is Chr ist , 22,23 ;
(8 ) Is the heritag e Of God, 1 : 1 1 , 18 .
(9) Has committed to her the word Of truth, ev en the g ospel O f
salv ation, 1 : 13 ;
(10) I n h er the Holy Spiri t works , 1 : 13 ;(1 1 ) Has the promises, 1 : 13 ;(12) B elong s to God as a possession,
(13) B eliev e s in the Lord Jesus , 1 : 1 5 .
(14) Has a common fai th , 4 : 5 .
(15 ) Off ers prayer to God the Father, 3 : 14 .
(16 ) I s enlig htened by the W ord,
(17) I n h er God mani fests g reat power, 3 : 16 .
(18 ) Is the mystical body of Christ, 23 ; 4 : 4, 12;
(19) I s the fulness of Chr i s t, i . e. i s filled up by Christ, 1 : 23 ;3 : 19 .
(20) The receptacle and rec ipient of all his g ifts, graces , and
b lessing s ,
(21 ) Is composed of those who once were dead in S in, andwho
by nature h ad been children of wrath ,2: 1-5 .
(22) Consists Of those qu ickened in and with Christ, 2: 5 .
(23) And raised up with Christ, 2: 6 .
(24) Has been sav ed by g race , 8 .
(25 ) Has communion with God the Father, in heav en, in Christ
Jesus,(26) Shall be the rec ipient of the exceeding riches of God
’
s
g race,
(27) Is united W i th Chri s t, 23 ; 4 : 4, 12: 5 : 32.
(28 ) Possesses a God and has hope, 2: 12.
(29) Cons ists of believ ing Jews and believ ing Gent i l es,16 ; 3 : 6 .
T H E TEACHING OF TH E EPISTLE To T H E E PH E S IANS . 37
(30) Has acces s unto the Father, through Christ, in one S piri t,2: 18 : 3 : 12.
(31 ) Is the household of God,2: 19 : a hab itation of God,
(32) Is bu il t upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets,
(33) Has Christ as the ch ief corner stone ,(34) Is a holy temple ,
(35 ) Possesses through the W ord the unsearchable riches of
Chr i s t, 3 : 8 .
(36) Is to make known the mani fold w i sdom of God through
the preaching of the Gospel,
(37) I n her Christ dwells and rule s , 3 : 17—19.
(38) I n her dwells the fulness of God, 3 : 19.
(39) Ascribes glory and praise to the Father, 21 .
(40) I S g loriou s ,
(41 ) I s to ab ide for ev er ,
(42) I n her the S piri t works uni ty and peace , 4 : 3 .
(43) I n her we find peace , 4 : 3 .
(44) I S one body,23 ;
(45 ) Permeated by one Holy Spir i t. 4 : 4.
(46 ) Has one hOpe ,
(47) Worsh ips one Lord,
(48 ) Has a unity of the faith , 4 : 5 .
(49) Worships one God ,
(50) Has entru sted to h er one baptism,
(5 1 ) Has entrus ted to h er the ofiice of the mini s try,13 ;
7,8 , 10;
(52) T he Church i s to be bu ilt up , 4 : 12.
(5 3) Must seek unto the uni ty of the fai th ,
(54) A uni ty of the knowledg e of the Son of God,
(5 5 ) I S one , 23 ; 13 .
(5 6) Her aim i s to attend th e fulness that Chris t has ,(5 7) T o h er in the Word , i s entrus ted the tru th , the doctrine ,the teaching , 4 14 .
(5 8) False teaching may arise w i thin her ,
(59) Is to ov ercome e rror by (a) speaking , (b) h olding , (c) l iv ingtruth, in lov e,
(60) Is incorporated in Christ ,
(61) Owes her existence and g rowth , to Christ ,
(62) Is a complex organi sm,
38 STUDIE S IN T H E B O OK .
(63) Is continually g row ing more in h armony, and in power
(solidi ty),
(64) Is contrasted wi th the world, 4 : 17-20.
(65 ) Hears and believ es the truth as-it is in Jesus, 4 : 21 .
(66) Pau l draws a d is tinc tion between th e Vi s ible Church22; and th e inv i s ible , 16, 24 ; 19.
(67) I n the Church, be ing members of the one body, Chri st , weare members one Of another, 4 : 25 .
(68 ) Pau l di s ting uishes between the mili tant or fighting Church ,
here on earth 22, 25 —32; 6 : 10-20) and the triumphant
Church , in heav en, 12, 14, 18 ; 2: 7 ; 5 : 27
(69) Open s inners do not be long to the inv i s ible Church ,
(70) T he Church must reprov e the unfru i tful works of dark
ness , 5 : 1 1— 13 .
(7 1) T he Church is subj ect to Ch rist,(72) I s lov ed by Chr i st ,
(73) Chr is t g av e h imself up for her (5 . on the cross (2:
shedding h is blood ,
(74) I s sanc tified by Chris t , 5 : 26 .
(75 ) Is cleansed by the washing of water wi th the Word , at
B aptism,
(76) T h e Church is nou rished by Christ ,
(77) I s cherished by Chri st ,
(78 ) True bel iev e rs , be ing members o f the inv i s ible Church , are
members of the body of Christ,
(79) T he m ili tant Church must be strong in the Lord ,
(80) And pu t on the whole armour which God supplieth ,
6 1 1—20.
E IGHTEENTH : A careful comparison between the E pis tles to the
Colos sians and to the E phesians rev eals the remarkable fac t
that 72 of the 95 v erses in Colossians contain expressions iden
t ical with those in 78 of the 15 5 v erses in E phesians .
N INETEENTH : T he dev elopment of though t in Col. 2: 8—23 has no
parallel in E phesians.
TWENT IETH : Compare th e speech of Paul to the E lders of E phesus
,at Mile tu s , recorded in Acts —35 , with the E pistle to
the E phes ians , and note the s imilarit ies of expression .
TWENTY FIR ST : There are possibly twenty quotations from the
Old Testament, or at least so many distinc t references, in this
E pistle . Ver ify.
TWENTY-SECOND : Make a spec ial study of the following topics,
T H E TEACH ING OF T H E EPISTLE T O T H E E PH E S IANS . 39
taken in the order of their Occurrence in the E pistle : T he w ill
O f God faithful in Chr i s t the God and Father
of our Lord Jesu s Christ the heav enly places (1 adop
ti on as sons the forg iv ene ss o f our trespasses the
fulness of the time s earnes t God’
s own pos sess
ion the Father of glory eyes of the heart
the age which is to come dead through trespasses and
sins the prince o f the power of the air ch ildren of
wrath God’s g reat l ov e quickened (2: g race
g ood works the commonweal th of Israel
the middle wall of parti tion (2: th e Cross (2: the house
hold of God (2: th e foundation of the Apostles and proph ets
rev elation the unsearchab l e riches ofC hr i st (3 :
the princ ipali ties and powers in the heav enly place s
the mani fold w isdom o f God the eternal pu rpose of
God the inward man one faith one bap
tiem (4 : he led captiv ity captiv e h e de scended into the
l ower parts of the ear th Apostle s prophets
ev ang elists pastors and teachers the body of
Chris t th e uni ty of the fai th the Spir i t o f the
mind sons of di sobedience (5 : darknes s (5 : ligh t in
the Lord the whole armor of God the w iles of
the dev il the sword of the Spiri t
TWENTY-TH IRD : Make a carefu l comparison be tween the Au thorised and R ev ised Vers ions Of th is E pistle, and note the princ ip al ch ange s .
TWENTY-E OU RTH : Make a spec i al study of the marg inal reading s
of the R ev i sed Version, and note th e most important chang esin meaning .
TWENTY-FIFTH : Summariz e resu lts Obtained from your study of
this E pis tle, and preserv e for future reference .
TWENTY-SIXTH : D o not be di scouraged on account Of th e time i t
takes to finish one of these S tudies . Whatev er part you takein hand, do i t thoroughly. S imply reading th i s S tudy w ill be
of little help to you . To acqui re power of analys is , you mu st
examine the Word of God for yoursel f , and rely on the g u id
ance of the Holy Spiri t . R emember the three means of B ible
S tudy : Prayer, Medi tation ,and Ch risti an E xperience .
S T U D Y V .
TH E E PISTLE TO PH ILE MON .
FIRST : R ead the E pistle carefully to find out the circumstances
under which i t was written .
(1) Paul i s a pris oner at the t ime , 1 , 9, 13 , 23 .
(2) E xpects soon to be released, 22.
(3) The bearer of the letter i s Onesimus, 1 1 , 12, 17 .
(4) T he companions of Paul at the t ime are Timothy, E paphras ,Mark, Ari starchu s, D emas , and Luke , 1 , 23, 24 .
SECOND : From these facts we learn that the E pi stle was written
at the same time’
th at Paulwrote the E pistles to the Colossians
and the E phesians, and that Onesimu s was accompanied at the
t ime by Tychicu s , the bearer o f the other two l etters, Col.
9, 10, 12, 14 ; E ph .
TH IRD : This letter, therefore , was written during Pau l’s firs t
captiv i ty at R ome , during the two years spoken of in Acts
(61—63 A . Compare the S tudies on Colossians and
on E phe sians .
FOURTH : R ead the E pistle carefully a second time and notewh atinformation Paul g iv es us concerning the persons towhom and
for whom the letter was written .
(1 ) Of Philemon we hav e no further information sav e what we
learn from the E pistle i tsel f .
(2) H e was ev idently a member of the Church at Colossse, 2,10, compared wi th Col. 9 .
(3) H ad been conv erted by Paul h imself possib lywh i l e on
a v is i t to E ph esu s , during Paul’s long residence there (5 4—5 7
A . Acts
(4) Was a person of property and influence , 2, 5 , 7, 16 .
(5 ) N oted for h is Chri stian lov e and ev angelical z eal , a fellow
worker, 1 , 2, 5 , 7, 21 .
(6) Ap phia probablywas the wi fe of Philemon, andwas also a
Chri s ti an,
“our sis ter, 2.
T H E EPISTLE TO PHILEMON . 41
(7) Ar chipp us may h av e been the son of Ph ilemon and Apph ia .
H e i s ev idently the same Arch ippu s mentioned in Col.
(8 ) H e had a ministry and i s called a fe llow
soldier and seems to hav e been the pastor or teacher at
Colossae, though some on account of Col. 4 : 17 think he was
s tati oned at Laodicea, wh ich was about fi fteenmile s dis tant .
(9) Onesimus was a slav e of Philemon, who had run away from
h im (1 1 , 12, 14, 15 , poss ibly also robb ing him
(10) Hav ing fie l to R ome , One simus had been conv erted, and
had become a dev oted friend, a brother bel ov ed,
”t o Pau l,
10, 12, 16 .
(1 1 ) H ad become of g reat serv ice to Paul, hav ing won entirelythe Apostle
’
s hear t, 1 1 , 12, 13 .
FIFTH : The contents of the E pis tle plainly rev eal tous the occasion and objec t of the letter .
(1 ) I t holds a unique place among Pau l’
s wri ting s , being a
strictly priv ate letter, apparently addressed to a layman,
wholly occupied w i th an incident of domestic l ife .
(2) Ones imu s , h av ing become a Christian, was re turning to h is
master whom he hadwrong ed, a ch ang ed and repentantman .
(3) According to the R oman law, by returning he wou ld place
himself entirely at the mercy Of h is master, who had the
power of l i fe or death ov er him.
(4) Pau l seeks“ to res tore Onesimus to the confidence and lov e
of h is master and to ensure for h im a recepti on wh ich he
migh t j ustly h av e been considered wholly to h av e forfei ted
( E llicott) . W i th his own hand (19) he wri te s to Philemon a
few words Of eager , affecti onate entreaty, identi fying h im
sel f w ith the c ase of Ones imus .
S IXTH : T he E pistle has been univ ersally admired as a model ofdelicacy and skill in the department of composi t i on to wh ich
i t belong s .
(1)“ This E pistle showeth a righ t noble lov ely example of
Chri stian lov e (Luther ) .
(2) T he sing le epistle to Ph i lemon v ery far surpasses al l the
wi sdom of the world (Franke) .
(3 )“ This exqu i si te and interesting E pistle, alike a master
piece of persuasiv e tac t and delicacy, and an enduring model
of trues t Chri sti an courtesy (E llicott) .
(4) As an expression of simple digni ty, of refined courtesy, of
42 STUDIES IN T H E B OOK .
larg e sympathy, and of warm personal aff ection, the E pistle
to Philemon stands unriv alled (Lightfoot) .
SEVENTH : T he sign ificance of the E pistle lies in the fact that i texhib i ts the attitude of Chri stiani ty to slav ery.
E IGHTH : T he Gospel nev er directly attacks slav ery as an institution .
N INTH : T h e Gospel instead of attacking special abuses, laysdown univ ersal pr inc iples wh ich sh all undermine the ev i l .
T ENTH : T he princ iples of the Gospel , wh ich declare the abeo
lu te equality of the freeman and the sl av e in the sigh t of God
(I . Cor . 7 : 21 mus t in the end prov e fatal t o slav ery, as i t
al ready has done .
ELEVENTH : A careful reading of the E pis tle g iv es us the follow
ing analys is :
(1 ) v v . 1—3 . T he S alutation.
(2) v v . 4—7 . T h e charac ter of Ph i lemon, and the Apostle’
s joyand g rati tude on h is account .
(3) v v . 8—21 . Pau l entreats Philemon to forg e t the past , and
receiv e Onesimu s ag ain as a Christian friend and brother .
(4) vv . 22—25 . Paul hope s to be set free , and sends the g reet
ing s O f friends at R ome . (Analysi s after H ackett) .
TWELFTH : Make a careful comparison between the Authori sed
and Rev i sed Versions of this E pis tle , and note the princ ipal
ch ang es
TH IRTEENTH : E xamine carefully the marg inal reading s of the
R ev i sed Vers ion.
FOU RTEENTH : To the student o f the E ng li sh text we wou ld rec
ommend th e Commentaries of B arry (in HandyCommentary) ,Alexander (in S peaker
’s Commentary) , and Moule (in Cam
bridg e S eries) .FIFTEENTH : For students of the Greek Text see Alford, B oi se,E llicott, Hacke tt , Ligh tfoot , and Meyer .
S T U D Y V I .
T H E E PISTLE TO T H E PH ILIPPIAN S .
FIRST : R ead the E pistle careful ly and note what informati on
Paul g iv e s concerning himself and the c ircumstances under
wh ich the letter was wri tten .
(1 ) Pau l i s in prison at th e t ime, 1 : 7, 13, 14, 17 ;
(2) E v idently I n R ome , 1 : 13 ; 4 . 22.
3) I n close confinement, 1 : 30; suffering affl iction,
(4) S eems to hav e been confined for a long t ime, 1 : 13, 14 ; 2:
25—28 .
(5 ) W as drawing near the deci s ion of his fate, 1 : 20; 23 .
(6) And h opes to be released,1 : 25 , 26 ; 2: 24.
(7) E paph roditus was ev idently the beare r of th e le tter, 2:
28 , 29 .
SECOND : We h av e a rightp therefore , to infer th at the E pi stle
was written towards the close Of his fir st captiv i ty at R ome
(60—63 A .
“ at a time when, as i t would seem,h is imprison
ment was of a c loser and h arsher characte r, and h is ear thlyprospects were , though not by any means wi thou t hope (1 : 25 ,26 ; 2: yet in many respects more cheerle ss and depre ssingthan when h e wrote to the Colossians and Ph ilemon, and to
the E phesians 21 ; 2: 17, (E llicott) .
THI R D : A few commentators hold that Phil ipians was wri tten
before COL, E ph . and Ph i lemon, but th i s i s a critical question
Of no importance . (See S tudy on Coloss ians . )FOURTH : Giv e a brief description of the g eog raph ical positi on
and importance of the colonial c i ty of Ph il ipp i .
FIFTH : G iv e a brief account of Pau l’s rel ation to the Chu rch at
Philippi .
(1) I t was on h is S econd Mi ssionary Journey th at the Church
at Ph ilippi was founded (50, 5 1 A . Acts 16 : 12—40.
(2) At the cl ose of h is th ird M i ssionary Journey (5 7 A .
43
44 STUDIES IN T H E B OOK .
after his leav ing E phesu s (Acts he went into Mace
doni a (II . Cor . 2: 12, 13 ; 7 : 5 , where he wrote his second
letter to the Corinth ians , and there can scarcely be any
question that he spent some time at Ph ilippi , Acts 20. 2.
(3) I n th at same j ourney, some three or four month s later
(Acts 20: 2, on his re turn from Greece , he ev idently spent
the Passov er at Philippi , Acts 20: 6 .
(4) Paul was g reatly belov ed by the Philippians, and recei v ed
repeated contributi ons from them to reliev e his neces sitie s,
16 ; II . Cor .
SIXTH : R ead the E pistle c areful ly and note the immediate occa
sion of Paul writing th is letter .
(1 ) T he Ph i l ippians , hearing of his imprisonment and affl iction
(4 : 10, had sent contribu tions to reliev e his necessities,1 : 5 ; 2: 25 ;
(2) B y the hand of E paphrodi tu s , 2: 25 ;
(3) Who had been v ery ill at R ome ,and l ong ed to re turn to
Ph ilippi,2: 26-30.
(4) T he Apostle av ails h imse l f of the return of E paph rodi tus
to wri te th i s letter, in wh ich he pours out hi s
heart in an ov erflow of g ratitude and lov e .
SEVENTH : T he genu ineness and au thentic i ty Of the E pistle are
fully es tablished by external testimony, the E pistle be ingnamed in all the Canons of S crip tui
'
e dur ing the second cen
tury. N O trace of doub t on th is subj ec t appears in earlyCh risti an l i terature .
E IGHTH : T he internal ev idence for i ts g enu inenes s i s of thestrong es t kind . Th i s ev idence i s of two kinds, positiv e and
neg ativ e . On the one hand the E pistle completely reflects S t .
Paul’s mind and charac ter, ev en in their finest shades . On the
other i t off ers no motiv e wh ich could h av e led to a forg ery.
Only as the natu ral outpou ring of personal feel ing , called
forth by immediate c ircumstances , i s i t in anyway conceiv a
ble (Lightfoot) .
N INTH : As to th e charac ter of the E pistle , we add the follow ingthough ts from Lightfoot
(1 )“ It was not written, like the E pistle to the Galatians, to
counteract doctr inal errors , or, like the Firs t to the Corinth
ians, t o correct irregular i ties of pract ice . It enforces no
direc t lessons of Church gov ernment, though itmakes casual
allusion to Chu rch Oflicers. It l ays down no dogmatic sys
T H E EPISTLE To T H E PH ILIPPIANS . 45
tem,thoug h incidentally i t refers to the maj es ty and the
humi l iation Of Chris t, and to the contrast of law and g race .
I t i s the spontaneous u tterance of Christian l ov e and g rati
tude, called for th by a recent token wh ich the Philippians
had g iv en of the ir loyal aff ec tion”
.
(2)“O f e rrors of doc trine there is not the faintes t trace in the
Philippian Church .
”
(3)“Of plan and arrang ement there i s ev en l es s than in S t .
Paul’s letters g enerally. E v en the threefold div i s i on
into the explanatory, doctrinaland hortatory por tions , wh ich
may g enerally be discerned in h is E pistles , i s obli terated
here .
(4)“
The E pistle to the Philippians i s not only the nobl es t re
flex ion Of S t. Paul’s personal charac ter and spiri tual illum
ination, h is larg e sympathies , his womanly tenderne ss, hi s
delicate courtesy, his frank independence , h is ent ire dev o
t ion to the Master’s serv ice ; but as a monument Of the
power of the Gospel i t yields in import ance to none of the
Apostolic wr i ting s .”
a
TENTH : R ead each ch apter carefully and div ide into sec tions
w i th appropriate heading s .
1 S tudy care fully each sect ion,
and write out the thought as conc i sely a s possib le .
1 . 1 : 1,2. Opening S alu tation .
v . 1 . B ishop and E lder are in fac t the same official unde r
different des ignations , Acts 20: 17, 28 . The word B ishop ,
E p iscopus, Overseer , i s a term borrowed mainly from the
Gentile s , w i th wh om i t signified a Superintendent . The
word de scr ibes the min i s terial office as one of oversight.
Presbyter or E lder i s a term borrowed from the“E lder
sh ip”of the Jews , and describe s the mini sterial ofli ce as
one of age and dignity.
The deacon had t o deal primarily w ith th e temporal
needs of the cong reg ation . Acts 6 : 3,4 .
2. 1 : 3—1 1 . Thanksg iving and prayer f or h is conver ts.
3 . 1 : 12—26 . A ccount of his personal cir cumstances and feel
ings; and of the progress of the Gosp el in R ome.
v . 13 . T he soldiers of th e R oman li fe-guard of the Emperor,drafted off successiv ely to g uard Paul, had Opportuni t ie s
of learning his doctr ine .
1 We also add a few ex planatory notes. T he analysis is mainly aft er Lig htfoot.
48 STUDIES IN T H E B OOK .
15 . Pau l here ev idently refers to his Judaiz ing oppo
nents , whose real Objec t was to g ain adherents to the
land, 3 .
o. 20. At the t ime of w riting , Pau l’s trialwas near at hand;
and the i ssue was unknown to h im.
23 . (1) N ote that the immediate s tate of dying saints i s
an obj ec t of desire .
(2) That to depart and be wi th Christ inv olv e each other .
Pau l doe s not desire to enter on an intermediate state,
or to enter Hades, bu t his des ire i s to depart in order atonce to be wi th Christ .
(3 ) N ote that the state of the departed saint i s one inwhich
he i s w i th Christ . This ag ree s w i th the teach ing of
Jesus, John
4 .
— 2 4. E whortation to unity and self-denial.
or . 1 , 2. The Apostle here appeals to the Philippians , byall their deepest exper iences as Chris tians and all their
noblest impu lses as men, to preserv e peace and concord.
Of the four g rounds of appeal, th e first and third are ob
jectiv e, the external principles of lov e and h armony ;while the second and fourth are sub j ectiv e , the inward
feeling s inspired thereby.
”(Lightfoot) .
5 . 2: 5—1 1 . Chr ist the great pattern of humility.
A mos t remarkable p assag e, in wh ich nearly ev ery word has
formed th e subject of controv ersy. I n no portion of
Scriptu re i s i t more neces sary to follow the simple and
plain g rammatical mean ing of the words .
I n so. 5 —8 we hav e a descrip ti on Of Chr i s t’s state of humil ia
tion, while on ear th . I n so. 9—1 1 we hav e a description of
Christ’s state of exaltation , as he now exists in heav en.
v 6“Who,
”i . e.
, Christ Jesu s , the incarnate son of God.
B eing in the form of God,
”i . e. , although he took th e
form of a serv ant, and wasmade in the likeness of men
he still truly possessed at the same time a div ine
nature, and did not lay aside his div ine attribu tes .
Counted i t not a pr iz e to be on an equali ty w i th God,
i . e. , the son of God subsisted in that form of God from
eterni ty; and when H e came in the fle sh He did not
cease to be in that form, bu t rather, so far as the human
nature i s w oncerned, H e beg an to subsist in i t ; and
when He was in that form (as the GodM an), byH i s own
T H E E PISTLE TO THE PH IL IPPIANS . 47
peculiar pre-eminence i tself as Lord,i t was entirely in
H is power, ev en according to H i s human nature, so soon
as H e assumed i t, to be on an equality with God to
adopt a mode of li fe and ou tward distinct ions, wh ich
would correspond to H i s digni ty, that he might be re
ceiv ed and treated by all creature s as the ir Lord ; but
H e ac ted d ifferently. I t would not hav e been robbery
(A . V . ) a priz e,” “ a thing to be g rasped
”(R . i f H e
had used H i s own right ; but H e abstained from do ingso, j u s t as i f i t had been robbery, becau se He became incarnate for the purpose of making reconcil iation for the
sins of men . (After B engel, )o. 7 .
“E mptied h imsel f, taking the form of a serv ant .
Wherev er there i s emp tying , there i s a thing containingand a th ing contained . T he thing containing , in thi s
emp tying of Christ , i s H imself; the th ing contained was
that f ulness, which He rece iv ed in H i s exaltation . H e re
mained f ull, for“ the Word became fle sh , and dwel t
among u s (and we behe ld h is glory, glory as of the onlv
beg otten from the Father), full of grace and truth (John
1 : yet Chr i st bore H imsel f in the same way as if H e
were emp ty, for he av oided the ob serv ation, s o far as i t
was expedient, of men and angels , nay He“ also pleased
not Himself ”(Rom. 1 5 : and therefore for our sake not
only av oided ob serv ation, but also denied H imself, andabstained from H i s righ ts . (After B engel. ) Ch rist in his
state of humiliation ab stained from the full, univ ersal,and incessant use of th e div ine g lory and maj es ty which
he possessed, but“humbled h imself, becoming obedient
ev en unto death , yea, the death of the cross”(a.
“
B eing made in the l ikeness of men .
”H e was made l ike
men, a true man, and he was able to take “the form of a
serv ant for the v ery reason that he was“in the l ike
nes s of men .
“H e humbled himself . I n the g reat fact o f Chris t
’s
humiliation S t . Paul l ays stress upon th ree points : (1)H e emptied himself ; (2) By taking the form of a serv ant ;
(3) B y becoming obedient ev en unto the death of the
cross .
a. 9. This exaltation has reference to the human nature of
Ch rist ; as the Son of Man, Christ was inv ested w i th that
S TUDIE S IN THE B OOK .
full power, g lory,and dominion, which as God he nev er
lacked .
6 . 2: 12—18 . Pra cticalfollowing of Chr ist’
s example.
7 . 2: 19—30. I hop e to send T imothy shortly unto you and to
come myself . E p ap hroditus, your messenger , who has been
gr ievously sick, I send, that you may rejoice.
8 . 3 : 1—1 1 . Rejoice, brethren; beware of Judaiz ers who tr ust in
the flesh . I have every cause to trust therein,but value naught
save Christ, his r ighteousness, and the power of his resurrec
tion.
v . 9. (1) Paul here speaks of a righteousness ;
(2) N ot of his own ;
(3) N ot of the law ;
(4) Wh ich has i ts source and orig in in God ;(5 ) Which i s impu ted to the believ er ;(6) Who appropriates Chri st through faith ;(7) And i s found in him.
v . 11 .
“ If by anymeans I may attain unto the resurrection
from the dead .
”A most remarkab le saying .
“
The resur
rection from the dead,
”i. e.
,
“ as the context sug gests, the
first resurrection (R ev . when at the Lord’
s comingthe dead in H im shall rise first (I . T hese. and the
qu ick be caugh t up to meet H im in the clouds (I . Thess .
comp . Luke T he first resurrection w ill ih
elude only true bel iev ers , and w ill apparently precede the
second, . that of non-believ ers and disb eliev ers , in point of
time .
”(E llicott. )
9 . 3 : 12-16 . I have not yet obtained, but am eagerly p ressing
f orward : in this imitateme.
10. 3 : 17—21 . I mitate me and my followers; f or many, alas"mind ear thly things. Our country is in heaven,
whencewe look
f or our Lord and our final glorification .
v . 19. There i s a certain fearfu l end that awaits the w icked,but thi s end i s not a restoration to fellowship wi th God,
not ann ihilation, but p erdition,
“ puni shment, ev en e ternal
destruction,
” I I . Thess . 1 : 9 ; Matt . 25 : 41 , 46 ; Rom. 2: 7-9 ;
R ev . John 3 : 36 ; 29 ; R ev
1 1 . 4 : 1 . B rethren, standfast in the Lord .
12. 4 : 2, 3 . The Apostle once more urges them to heal their dis
sensions, appealing to them by name.
v . 3 . Who th i s “ true yokefellow”was i s unknown,
—pos
THE E PI STLE To T H E PH ILIPPIANS . 49
sibly the ch ie f pas tor of Ph ilippi , or E paph roditus h imse l f,the bearer of the letter .
13 .
—9 . H e ev hor ts them to joyf ulness, to freedom from
care, and topractice all that is good .
14. 4 : 10-20. H e gratefully acknowledges their alms received
through E p ap hroditus, and invokes a blessing on their thought
f ul love.
b
15 . 4 : 21 , 22. S alutationsfrom all to all.
16 . 4 : 23 . B enediction.ELEVENTH : Giv e an oral statement of the E pis tle, chapter bychapter
TW E LFTH : To the student of the E ng l ish text we would recom
mend Moule’
s Commentary in Cambridge S eries , and to stu
dents O f the Greek text, Alford, B o ise, E llicott , Ligh tfoot,and Meyer.
ST UD'
Y V I I .
TH E TE ACH I N G OF TH E E PI STLE TO T H E PH I LIPPI AN S.
FIR ST : The Philippian E pistle may be taken to exh ib it thenormal type of the Apostle
’
s teach ing , when not determinedand limi ted by indiv idual c ircums tances, and thus to present
the essent i al subs tance of the Gospel. (Lightfoot )S E COND : Compare on the one hand, Galatians and R omans , andon the other, Colossians and E phesians, wi th this E pistle tothe Ph ilippians, and note the contrast .
TH IR D : I f we would learn what Paul held to be the essence of
the Gospel, we mu st ask ourselv es what i s the significance ofsuch phrases as “ I long after you in the tender merc ies o f
Chr i st Jesu s”
(1 :“T O me to liv e i s Chr i s t
”
( 1 : That I
may know the power of Chr i s t’s resurrection I can
do all th ing s in h im that streng theneth me”(4 : Though
the Gospel i s capable of doctr inal exposition, though i t i s em
inently fer tile in moral resu l ts, yet i ts substance i s ne i ther a
dogmatic system nor an e th ical code, but a Person and a Life.
( Lightf oot) .1
JOU H T H : R ead the whole E pistle carefully, section by section,
and note what Paul teaches concerning our D uties to God.
FIFTH : R ead ag ain, and note what Paul teaches concerning our
D u ties to our Fellow-man : (1 ) To believ ers ; (2) To unbeliev ers .
S IXTH : R ead th e E pistle a third t ime , and note what D uties we
Owe to self .
S E VE NTH : R ead the E pis tle carefully and note what Paul teaches
w i th reference to the D octr ine of God.
E IGH TH : Write out clear ly what Chris t teaches concerning the
Humiliation of Christ .
N I NTH : W rite out c learly what Paul teaches concerning the
E xaltation of Christ .
TE NTH : Concerning the Work of Chris t .
50
T H E TE ACH ING OF T H E E PISTLE T O T H E PH ILIPPIANS .
E LE VE NTH : Make a spec ial s tudy of the follow ing topics and
phrases : S aints in Chris t Jesus b i shops deacons
(1 : g race (1 : peace joy (1 : the g ospel (1 : the
day of Jesus Chris t (1 : I hav e you in my hear t (1 : the
whole praetorian guard (1 : to l iv e i s Chri st (1 : to die i s
g ain to be wi th Christ (1 : the faith of the Gospel
perdi tion (1 : 28 ; 3 : comfort in Christ (2: lowli
ness of mind the word of l i fe (2: rej oice in the
Lord (3 : th at I may g ain Chri st (3 : the righ teousnesswhich i s of God (3 : conformed unto Christ
’
s death
the cross of Ch rist (3 : the body of our humil iation (3 :
Caesar’
s h ou sehold (4 :TW E LFTH : Make a careful compari son be tween the Au thorised
and Rev i sed Vers ions, and note the principal changes .
TH IR TE E NTH : Make a spec i al study of the marg inal reading s ofthe R ev i sed Versi on, and note the most important ch anges in
meaning .
FOURTE E NTH : Th i s s tudy completes our consideration of the
fou r E pistles of the First Captiv i ty at R ome .
FIFTE E NTH : Summariz e the principal teach ing s of these FourE pis tles
ST UD Y V I I I .
T H E E PI STLE TO T H E H E B R EWS .
FIR ST : To answer the g eneral questions per taining t o Intro
duct ion" —T O whomwritten"Bywhom"When"Where"
W I ll g iv e occasion to train ourselv es in the me thods of theso called H igher Critici sm.
S ECOND : For not one of these ques tions has been positiv elyanswered to the satis fact ion of all learned scholars .
TH IRD : Let us therefore see if we can find out for ourselv es an
answer— and in order th at th ese answers may at leas t be con
v is eing to our minds , let us take e special pains in our inv es ti
g ations.
FOURTH : Let us first answer the question : Wh at right has th isbook to be in the N ew Tes tament"That the E pistle has an incontrov ertible cla im to stand in the
Canon of the N ew Testament can be shown both by external
ev idence as wel l as by internal ev idence .
(1 ) It i s found in all translations of the N ew Testament , ev en
in the Pesh ito Syriac Vers ion, wh ich was made not longafter 150A . D .
(2) It i s found in all the Greek Manuscripts . Th i s takes us
back to abou t 350A . D .
(3) It was firmly establi shed in the Canon already at the
Counc ils of Laodicea (366 A . and the third of Carthag e
(397 A . and was quo ted at the Council of N icaea (325
A . D . )
(4) I n the E astern Church this E pis tle was quoted as S crip
tural au thori ty ev en from the time of Justin Martyr (100
166 A . D . )‘9
(5 ) Th i s E pistle to the Hebrews, already in the first century,was held in the highest honor by the Church at R ome, as
is ev ident from the E pistle of Clement O f R ome to the
Church of Corinth , wh ich was written not later than 95
A . D .
T II E E PI S TLE To T H E HE B R E W S . 5 3
(6) T he reason why in many par ts Of the We stern Church ,
during the th ird and earlier part of the fourth centurie s ,thi s E pistle was placed among the antileg omena or
“
dispu ted books , was because they were not posit iv elycertain tha t Paul wrote i t . They held that a book to be
canonical mu st h av e been wri t ten by an Apostle , or at
leas t hav e apostolic sanct ion .
(7) T he ex t ernal ev idence i s therefore v ery clear and positiv e
that the E pistle to the Hebrew s was reg arded by the E arlyChurch as a part O f the N ew Te stament .
(8 ) T he internal ev idence , deriv ed from the study Of the
E pistle i tself, i s equally strong , for“nowhere are the
main doc trines of th e fai th more purely or more maj es tically set forth ; nowhere Holy S cripture u rg ed w i th g reater
authority and cog ency. (Alford )FIFTH : Let us see if we can dec ide to whom thi s E pistle was
wri tten. Our only proper source of information is the E pistle
i tself .
S IXTH : Read the E pistle careful ly, chapter by chapter, and note
what information i t g iv es concerning the persons addressed .
(1 ) They are Hebrews thoroug hly acquainted w i th the
writing s of the OldTestament, 5 , 7 , 12; etc .
(2) Familiar wi th the Old Testament ritual, and the arrang e
ments of the Tab ernacle, 15 ; 5 : 1—4 ; 7 : 1 1 ; 9 : 1
10; etc .
(3) Jew i sh Chr istians, 2: 1—3 ; 3 : 1 , 14 ; 4 : 1 , 2, 14 ; etc .
(4) They had rece iv ed the Gospel from the Apostles them
selv e s , or from those who had heard the Lord, 2: 3 .
I
(5 ) They had been w i tne sses of miracles and of the wonderful
g i fts bestowed by th e Holy Ghost , 2: 4
(6) Theywere in dang er Of dri fting away from the fa ith,2: 1 ;
3 : 6, 14 ; 4 : 1 , 1 1 ; 12; 6 : 1—8 , 36—39 ; etc .
(7) They had been Christians for a long t ime :
(a) They ough t to hav e become teachers by reason of the
t ime , 5 : 12.
(b) They are to call to remembrance the former days of
the ir conv ersion, 10: 32.
(0) Those who had orig inally preached to them the word of
God had already passed away, 13 : 7 .
(8 ) T hey had in time past mini s tered unto the saints , and s t il l
were mini stering . 6 : 10.
5 4 S TUDIE S IN T H E B OOK .
(9) They had in former days passed through a great conflict
of suffering s, 10: 32—34.
(10) I n their pre sent afl‘
iictions and confl ict w i th sin, their
Christian profess ion has not yet cost them their l iv es , 12: 4 .
(11) They were l iable to be carried away by Judaistic teach
ing s and Observ ance s , 13 : 9—12; 9 : 9, 10.
(12) They h av e teachers or pastors who rule ov er them,13 :
17, 24.
(13) T he E pis tle i s not written to Jewi sh Christians in g eneral,but to a Church at some defini te place, 13 : 19, 23 .
(14) The locality of this Church of Hebrew Christians i s no
where defini tely stated.
(15 ) B u t it i s diflicult to resist the impression that the writer
addresse s some Chu rch in Palestine .
(16) I n fact i t seems that the E pistle was addressed to the
Mother—Church at Jerusalem.
(a) T he Church had been founded by the Apostles , 2: 3 .
(b) God had bore wi tness to th e tru th , by the ou tpour ing of
the Holy Ghost , on the day of Pentecos t , when about
three thou sand souls were conv erted,Acts 2: 41 .
(c) For more than thirty years the Church‘
had already ex
isted ,5 : 12;
(d) Those who had the rule ov er them had already passedaway, (James , th e Apostle, son of Zebedee , 44 A . D
Acts 2; probably Jame s the brother of the Lord,b ishop of the Chu rch at Jerusalem) .
(e) They were espec ially l iable to Jewish influence and in
danger of apostasy.
(f) On the whole, the opinion that the writer addressed the
Mother-Church at Jeru salem, or some Church in or near
Palestine , i s the most defensible .
(17) The other theories , that th e E pistle was addressed to
Jewi sh Christ ians at Antioch , or at Alexandria, or at R ome,are mere conjec ture .
S EVE NTH : The writer seems to hav e been in Italy (probably at
R ome), at the time of h is writing . Th is I s the most natural
inference drawn from 13 : 24.
E IGH TH : The controv ersy respec ting the authorsh ip of this
E pistle has been one of the most remarkabl e of the whole
rang e of B iblical critic i sm.
N INTH : T he writer does not name h imsel f, and the ti tle Of the
T H E E PISTLE T O T H E H E B R E W S . 5 5
E pistle as g iv en both in the Author iz ed and R ev i sed Versionsis not the one g iv en in the most ancient exi sting manu scripts .
TE NTH : This heading is simply To T H E H E B H E ws, and all the
most anc ient tra ditions relativ e to thi s E pi stle imply that the
oldest copies had no au thor’s name prefixed .
E LE VE NTH : T he writer for some reason saw fi t not t o put h is
name to i t, although his readers knew who wrote i t,
23,24 ; and he was intimately acquainted w ith their surround
ing s , 6 : 9, 10; 19.
TW E LFTH : T he question of the au thorship of th is E pistle was
already earnestly di scu ssed in the E arly Church .
TH IR TE E NTH : E useb iu s , in h is Church H i story, written abou t
326 A . D ., g iv es us the follow ing information :
(1) E useb iu s g iv es us a b rie f summary of the Outlines of
Clement Of Alexandr ia, who liv ed 165—220A . D .
“Moreov er he (Clement) asser ts that the E pistle to the
Hebrew s i sPaul’s , but that i t was wri tten to the Hebrew s inthe Hebrew dialect, and th at Luke h av ing care fully trans
lated i t publi shed i t for the use of th e Greeks .
Further he (Clement) remarks : It i s natu ral that the ph rase
Paul an Apostle doe s not occur in the superscription,for in
w riting to the Hebrew s , who had conce iv ed a prejudice
ag ainst h im and su spected h im, he was v ery wise in not re
pelling them at the beg inning by aflix ing h is name . And .
then a li ttle further on he (Clement) adds : And as the b les sed
presbyter1 before now used to say,
‘since the Lord, as beingthe Apostle of the Almigh ty, was sent t o the Hebrews, Paulthrough h is modesty, inasmuch as h e was sent to the Gen
tiles , does not inscr ibe himself Apostle of the Hebrews both
on account of the honor due to the Lord,and becau se I t was
a work of supererog ation that he addressed an E pistle to theHebrews also, s ince he was herald and Apostle of the
Gentiles .
’
(Th is testimony to the Pauline orig in of the E pi stle i s of
g reat v alue . )
(2) H e al so g iv e s us the opinion of O rigen , who flouri shed186—254 A . D .
, and who was the g reates t scholar of the
Ante N icene Fathers .
1 There can be lit tle doub t tha t the "blessed pre s by te r was Pantaenus ;and thus the trad ition is carried up almos t to the A pos tolic age .
56 STUDIE S IN T H E B OOK .
Orig en thus di scus ses the E pistle to the Hebrews in hisHomil ie s upon i t : E v ery one who is compe tent to judg e ofdifferences of dict i on would acknowledge that the s tyle ofthe E pistle enti tled to the Hebrews does not exh ib i t theApostle
’
s rudeness and simplic i ty in speech ,though he ao
knowledged h imself to be simp le in his speech, that i s, I n hisdicti on, but i t i s more truly Greek in i ts compos ition. And,
ag ain, that the though ts of the E pi stle are wonderful , andnot second to the acknowledg ed writing s of the Apostle ,ev ery one who pays atten tion to the reading of the Apostle
’s
works would also g rant to be true . And after other remarks , he (Origen) adds : If I were to express my own
opinion I should say that the though ts are th e Apostle’s
. but
the dicti on and composition that of some one who recordedfrommemory the Apostle
’
s teach ing , and , as i t were ,illus
trated w i th a brief Commentary the saying of his master .
I f then any Church h old th i s E pis tle t o be Paul’s , we can
not find faul t with it for so doing ; for i t was not w i thout
g ood reason that themen of old time have handed it down, as
Paul’
s . B ut who i t was who wrote the E pistle , God onlyknows, certainly. The account wh ich has reached us i s
(manifold) , some saying that Clement, who became B ishop
of R ome , wrote i t , while others assign i t to Luke , the author
Of the Gospel and the Acts .
”
(3) E useb ius, h imself , who represents the View prev ail ing in
the Churches of Pales tine , Syria, and Asia M inor, says : Of
Paul the fourteen E pistles commonly rece iv ed are at once
man ifest and clear . I t i s not, howev er, righ t to ignore the
fact that some hav e rej ected the E pistle to the Hebrews, asserting that i t i s gainsayed by th e Church of R ome as not
being Pau l’s . At another place he says : Clement
of R ome “most cl early shows that th i s work (the E pi stle to
the Hebrews) i s by nomeans a late production . Whence i ti s probab le that th i s was also numbered w i th the other writ
ing s of the Apostles . For as Paul had addressed the
Hebrews in the language of his country ; some say that the
ev angelist.Luke, others th at Clement , transl ated th e E pistle .
FOURTE E NTH : The Alexandrian Church , as a whole, from the
beg inning , di stinctly assigned the E pistle to S t . Paul, and
both Clement of A lexandria and O rig en frequen tly refer to
the E pistle as “
the Apostle’s”
or S t. Paul’s, and A thanasius
T H E E PISTLE ToT H E HE B R EW S . 57
(died in one of h is Festal E pistles , wri tten in 367, di stinctlymenti ons “ fou rteen E pistles of S t . Paul” among those which
had been placed in the Canon and h anded down .
FIFTE E NTH : I n the oldest Greek manuscri pts of the N ew Tes ta
ment,the E pistle to the Hebrews stands before the Pastoral
E pistles, as being an a é’
knowledged letter of S t . Pau l .
S I x T E E N T H : On the other hand, the western tradi tion, both
Roman and N orth African , during th e second and third cen
turies, down to the t ime of Augu stine (Synod of H ippo , 393,
and the Th ird Of Carthag e, i s decidedly against the
Paul ine au th orship .
SE VE NTE E N TH : We hav e now before us a summary of the external
ev idence of the E arly Church , and we can weigh i t on i ts own
mer i ts . T he weight of the ev idence seems to be in fav or of
Pau l’s au thorsh ip , especi ally as we know that the main reason
why the Western Church , for nearly two centur ies , questioned
the Pau l ine au thorship , rested on the false supposi tion that
there were some doctrinal di fficu l ties in the E pis tle ,notably
H eb . 6 : 4—6 .
E IGH TE E NTH : This bring s us now to the examination of the in
ternal ev idence, on wh ich, after all , in th i s case , we must de
pend mainly.
N INE TE E NTH : We wil l first examine the obj ec ti ons drawn fromthe contents of the E pistle i tsel f , raised against the Paul ine
authorship of the E pis tle to the Hebrews .
(1 ) T he writer was not an Apostle , but one who had receiv ed
his know ledg e of the truth from the Apostles , 2: 3 .
S tres s i s here laid on “was confirmed unto us by them tha t
heard,
” as i f the wri ter was d is tinctly separating h imself
from those who had directly rece iv ed the word from the
Lord .
Answer : B ut such extreme exeg esis i s not decisive. Com
pare 2: 1 ; 4 : 1 ; —26 : especi ally Acts
32;
(2) I n the description Of the Temple furni ture (9 : 1 th e
writer falls into mi stakes , and Paul wou ld not hav e made
such mi s take s .
Answer : B ut the wri te r i s not describing the Temple
serv ices ; he i s speaking of the arrang ements of the Taber
nd ele.
5 8 S TUD IE S IN TH E B OOK .
(3) Paul, i f h e had wr i tten this letter, would hav e g iv en hi sname .
Answer : Th ere may h av e been strong reasons why Paul
should not obtrude his name on the Jews , a name which heknew was unwelcome to them, especi ally as the Jewish
Christians no doub t u sed this E pis tle in conv erting Jews .
S ee also the v iews of the E arly Church as g iv en by Clement
of Alexandria, as quoted abov e .
(4) Paul, as the Apostle of the Gentiles , would not be likelyto wri te to the Heb rews .
Answer : B u t he'
ev erywhere tried first of all to preach to
the Jew s . For h is brethren’
s sake he would ev en hav e been
content to be “ anathema from Chris t,”Rom . 9 : 3 . B ecause
the E pi s tle was wri tten to the H ebrews, hi s name i s omi tted .
(5 ) T he style (in Greek) i s not that of the Pauline E pistles .
Answer : This is a v ery refined cri tical argument, and the
more we study the orig inal, and enter into i ts spiri t, the
s trong er this arg ument becomes . I n fac t we are almos t
driv en to the conclusion that the composit i on of the Greek
was not Paul’
s .
(a) Paul almost uniformly quotes from the Hebrew B ible ; in
th i s E pistle the quotations are taken mainly from the
S eptuag int .
(b) I n this E pi stle there i s a pecu l iar use of connectingparticles , wh ich also g iv es a pecu liar structure to the
sentence s .
(0) T he Greek used i s the most perfect in the Greek Testa
ment, and nothing can be compared w i th i t in puri ty o flanguage, sav e the wri ting s of Luke .
(d) B ut ev en i f Paul did not wri te the Greek ,th i s does not
dec ide that Paul was not the au thor of the E pistle .
(d a) H e may hav e h ad Luke as h is amanuens i s .
(bb) Or , as is mpst likely, he may hav e written the letter
in Hebrew, and Luke afterwards translated it, or re
wrote it, h av ing rece iv ed th e substance from Paul him
self .
(cc) Th i s i s all th e more l ikely, becau se on the closes t ex
amination O f th e Greek of th i s E pistle we see i ts re e
markable resemblance to th e dict ion of Luke, especiallyto those passag es in the Ac ts where Luke reproduces
the speeches of Paul, some of which were deliv ered in
T H E E PISTLE T o T H E HE B R E W S . 5 9
the Hebrew or Aramaic tong ue . Compare Acts
41 ; 14 : 1 5— 17 ; 17 : 22—31 ;—35 ; 221 1—21 ; —21 ;
26 : 2—29.
(dd) The fideli tyw i th which Luke reproduces these speeches
i s unquestionable .
(cc) S o that the early traditi on, as g iv en by Clemen t of
Alexandria, and re ferred to by O rigen, may be the cor
rect one— that Pau l i s the author , bu t that the Greek in
which i t was wr i tten was from the hand of Luke .
“ I f indeed i t were credible that the E pistle was or iginally wr i tten in ‘Hebrew ,
’ then the‘
external and inter
nal ev idence combined wou ld j ustify the belie f that the
Greek text i s due to S t . Luke . (Westcott )(6) The last obj ec tion g enerally made ag ains t i ts Pauline
au thorship is that there are differences of doctrinal statements
between th is E p istle and Pau l ’s o ther E pistle s .
Answer (a) : T he c loser we study the E pistle , the more re
markable are the parallels o f thoug ht and doc trine be tween
its teaching s and those o f the other E pistles o f Paul.
(b) That this i s so w ill appear more clearly by the time we
hav e finished the s tudy of this E pistle .
TWE NTIE TH : R ead the E pistle carefully and note what we can
learn of the Author .
( 1) H e i s a Jew, l : 1 , 2; etc .
(2) Thoroughly acquainted w i th the O ld Testament and i ts
ri tual.
(3) Uses many Gréek words common to this E pis tle and S t .
Paul’
s writing s, but not found elsewhere in the N ew Testa
ment (5 1 words) . 1
(4) Many v erbal resemblances be tween th is E pistle and Paul’
s
let ters .
(5 ) Many resemblances of doctrine .
(6) T he author shows he was perfectly familiar w i th Paul’s
wri ting s .
(7) S peaks of Timothy in the same way as Paul does ,compared w i th Col. 1 : 1 ; Philemon 1 ; etc .
TWE NTY-F IR ST : After all our inv es tig ations we may conclude
th at the E pi stle i s Pauline , possibly wri tten in Greek by Paulh imself , more likely th e Greek wording of it belong s to Luke .
1 H ints to the student of the Greek text .
60 STUDIE S IN T H E B OOK
TWE NTY SE COND : So that after all we hav e not been able to ad
v ance beyond the statement of Orig en as g iv en abov e .
TW E N TY~ T H I R D z T he maj ori ty of modern Commentators fav or
the v iew that Apollos wrote thi s E pistle , a h appy g uess of the
g eniu s of Luther, suggested by Acts 18 : 24—28 , a few B arnabas ,and some Luke .
TWE NTY-FOUR TH : This quest ion of authorsh ip will probablynev er be dec ided w i th absolute certainty.
TWE NTY-FIFTH : After repeated inv estig ation, the writer holds
that the E pistle i s Pauline , possibly wri tten by Luke as the
amanuensi s , or ev en the translator and from 13 : 22—24 we
may infer the letter was written at R ome, probably at the close
of Paul’s firs t imp ri sonment, abou t 63 A . D . , as we know that
Timothy and Luke were then w i th h im. That th e book was
written be fore the destructi on of Jerusalem, wh ile the Temple
was stil l standing , i s ev ident from 8 : 4, 13 ; 9 : 6 , 8 , 9 ;13 : 10.
TWE NTY-S IXTH : T he aim of the writer of this E pistle i s :
(1) To streng then and comfort his readers in the ir persecutions
and affl ic tions , 10: 32—36 ; 12: 7—13 ;
(2) To warn them ag ainst the dang er of apostasy to Judaism,
2: 1 — 3 ; 3 : 6, 14 ; 4 : 1 , 14 : 6 : 1—8 ; 26—31 .
TWE NTY S E VE NTH : A careful read ing of the E pistle (one hour)sh ows that i t naturally can be div ided into four par ts :
I . T he Incarnate S on of God i s Superior to the Ang els, 1
1 2: 18 .
II . Superior to Moses , 3 : 1— 4 : 16 .
III . Superior to Aaron :
(1 ) I n the order of H i s Pr iesthood,5 : 1— 7 : 28 .
(2) I n the nature of H i s M inistry,8 : 1 — 10: 1 8 .
IV . E xhortation .
TW E NTY-E IGH TH : R ead the E pistle carefully, and div ide into
sec tions w i th appropriate heading s .
1‘
S tudy ‘
carefully each
section, and write out the thought as conc i sely as follow s :
1 . 1 : 1—3 . I n former R evelations God has spoken through the
Prophets, bu t now he has spoken in his S on .
v . 1 . God Spake in the prophets , who were inspired by h im.
vv . 2, 3 . A most remarkable description of the person, work,
and exaltation Of the God-Man .
1 We also add a few explanatory notes .
2.
4.
T H E E PIS TLE T O T H E HE B R E W S .
—14. Who, according to h is human na ture, has become
Sup erior to the Ang els.
v . 4 . According to his d iv ine nature , from e ternity, the Son
was always g reater than the ang els, but by Chr i s t’s be ing
exalted on the right hand of the Maj esty on h igh , the
God-Man,according to his human nature , hath inherited a
more excellent name . S ee also Phil. 2: 9—1 1 .
v . 5 . S ee Ps. 2: 7 and II . S am. 7 : 14.
6 . T he time referred to here i s not the incarnation,nor
the resurrec tion of Chri s t, bu t h is S econd Coming , the
v isible re introduction of th e R isen One who i s now h id
in God. T he quotation i s v erbatim from the S eptuag int
v ersion of D ent . 32: 43 . Of . Ps . 97 : 7.
v . 7 . S ee Ps . 104 : 4.
vv . 8 , 9 . S ee Ps. 45 : 6 , 7 .
vv . 10—12. S ee Ps . 102: 25—27 .
v . 13 . S ee Ps. 1 10: 1 .
2: 1 —4. Wherefore we ought to g ive the more earnest heed to
his message.
cv . 3, 4. These v erses h av e a special significance ,
i f th is
letter was written to the mother-Church at Jerusalem .
The I ncarna te S on of God f or a little while was
made lower than the angels, that through death hemightmaize
prop itia tion f or our sins.
v . 5 . Th i s “world to come i s the K ingdom of Ch ris t,
wh ich according to i ts hidden principle and spir i t i s alreadypresent ; according t o its glorified mani festation i s yet
future .
vv . 6—8 . S ee Ps . 8 : 4-6 .
vv . 9, 10. I n his state of humiliation, Jesus was a little lowe r
than the angel s .
A distinction i s here drawn be tween the state of humilia
tion and the state of er alta tion .
Paul h ere states the r easons and th e r esults of Chris t’s
death .
v . 12. S ee PS . 22: 22.
13 . S ee Ps. 18 : 2; Isa . 8 : 18 .
14. The S on of God became incarnate that h e might
work out our redemption . S ee“
S tudies in the B ook,
First S er ies,pag e 97.
v . 16 . The R ev ised Vers ion bring s out the exact meaning
S
c
c
STUD IE S IN T H E B OOK .
of this passag e . T he obj ec ts Of th e work of redemptionare not ang els but men . Christ became man in order to
die for man.
17. Hav ing become man in order to redeem us, Chr is t
was bound in duty to become l ike us in all thing s,”
yet“w ithou t sin ,
” 4 : 1 5 .
“H e had to walk the path of human
suffering down to i ts deepest turning point , in order to
acqu ire the requisi te qualifications for the exerc i se of h igh
priestly functions extending thenceforth from heav en to
earth . (D elitz sch . )On the words “ to make propitiation for the sins of the
peOple ,we may remark (after D elitesch) :
(1) There are those who Oppose the S cripture doctrine,that Christ made atonement for the s ins of men by his
v icarious death , thus making expiation for sin and pro
pitiating the j ustice of GOd,
— ou th e g round that i t i s
nowhe re said, in exact words, that God i s p ropitiated, or
that any onep rop itiated him.
(2) They lay g reat s tres s on th e fac t that the N ew Testa
ment confines i tsel f to saying that our h igh priest“make s propitiation for the s ins O f the people”
(H eb .
2: that God set for th Christ Jesu s “ to be a prop itia
tion” for us (Rom. that God sent “ hi s son to be
the propitiation for our s ins (I . John 4 : that it
speaks Of Go “ reconciling us to h imsel f th rough
Chris t,” “ of reconc iling th e world unto h imsel f ”
(II .
Cor . 4 : 18 ,“Of reconciling all thing s un to h imself
through Christ (Col. and th at wh ile i t speaks of
us as reconciled ones, i t nev er speaks of God as the
R econciled One .
(8) B ut these same persons seem to ov erlook, on the other
hand, that S cr ipture says that we are“ by nature chil
dren of wrath”
(E ph . that only when we believ e
on the Son of God dowe cease to be Obj ects Of div ine
wrath (John 3 : that i t i s the blood of Chris t wherebywe are sav ed from the wrath to come (Rom. 5 : 9 ; cf .
I . Thess . that Christ “
g av e h imself up for us, an
off ering and a sacrifice to God for an odor O f a sweet
smell” (E ph . 5 : that he bought us w i th a price (I . Cor .
that he became a curse for us (Gal. that
through his own blood he Obtained e ternal redemption
T E E E PISTLE T O T H E HE B R E W S . 63
(H eb . that throug h the e ternal S pirit h e Off ered
h imself w i thou t blemish unto God (H eb . 9 : that h e
g av e h imself a ransom for all (I . T im. 2:
(4) They ov erlook the fac t that Christ’
s self-offering was
really an act which has rescued us from deserv ed wrath ,
and won for us the forg iv eness O f s ins , through fai th in
Chr i s t ; they seem to ignore altog ether the fac t that the
sav ing work of Chr i s t has for i ts Obj ect, not merely a
chang ing Of man’s relation to God, but also O f God
’
s to
man ; not merely expiation or atonement of sin, bu t
also Of God’
s wrath ag ains t s infu l man,
— for by his
death Chri s t satisfies the justice of God, s o that in h is
lov e he can forg iv e the sins O f those who appropriate
the mer it s Of Chr i st, and still b e holy.
(5 ) T he reason the N ew Testament nowhere in exact words
says that the self-sacr ifice of Chris t has appeased th e
wrath of God; i s that man may not th ink that i t i s an
act wh ich p recedes God’
s g racious Will, and by which
g race ins tead of wrath i s, w i thou t his co-Operation,
wrested, or , so to speak, extorted from H im.
(6) The N ew Testament seeks t o guard ag ainst th i s false
v iew of the work of the atonement , ev erywhere rev eal
ing to us the g race of God the Father, that the atone ~
ment was prepared for us by the prev enien t lov e of the
Father when we were s trang ers to God, that the Father
hath sent h is Son and g iv en him for us, that i t was the
Holy Ghost bywhose agency he was incorporated w i th
the human race, and that i t i s God’s c ounsel of lov e
wh ich he has fulfil led .
(7) And so the work of atonement, when reg arded in i ts
to tal ity, and beg inning , middle, and end are taken to
g ether, i s but th e self-reconc iling of the Godhead with
i tsel f . “God was in Christ reconc iling the world unto
h imsel f, II . Cor . 5 : 19.
5 . 3 : 1—6 . Jesus our H igh Pr iest is sup erior toMoses, as a Son
is sup erior toa servant,however faithf ul.
v . 1 . Our Lord i s here called “the Apostle, and nowhere
else . He was s o called becau se he was God’s messeng er
of salv ation, John 18 ;
Chri s t uni tes the Offi ce Of Moses and Aaron in h is own
person . He is bo th prophe t and H igh Priest.
64 STUD IE S IN T H E B OOK .
What we confess i s , that we hav e in th e man Jesus , one
sen t of God, to b ring us the messag e of'
salv ation, and a
High Pries t to accomplish i t”(D elitz sch) .
v . 3 . T he thought is : T he g lory conferred on Chris t sur
passes that O f Moses in the same proportion as the bu ilder
of the house enjoys g reater honor than th e hou se i tself .
6 . 3 : 7— 4 : 13 . Let us not through unfaithf u lness f ail of the
promise, bu t let us g ive diligence to enter into the final R est ofthe peop le of God.
vv . 7—11 . S ee PS . 95 : 7—1 1 .
v . 9. Israel was forty years in the wilderne ss,— S O there
were fortyyears from the R esurrect ion of Christ to the
destruction Of Jerusalem.
v . 1 1 . T he res t here referred to is not the re s t of the Sab
bath , nor the res t of Canaan , bu t th e e ternal R est of
Heav en .
v . 4 . S ee Gen . 2: 2.
vv . 12, 13 . D oes Paul here refer to the word Of S criptu re , or
to the Son, th e personalW ord of God , or is the Word O f
God personified and endowed w i th all the attributes of
God himself"The reference i s to the preached and wr i tten word of
God, but th i s does not exclude the idea that Paul has also
in mind Chr i s t, the ev erlasting Wor d of God.
7 . 4 : 144 6 . H av ing then amer cifulH igh Priest, let us through
him draw nigh unto God.
All the ch ief po ints Of the earlier chapters are brough t
toge ther in these v erses z— the High Priest his
exaltation (1 : 3, 4, 13 ; 2: h is div ine sonship (1 : 1—3, 5 , 8 ;
3 : his compass ion towards th e brethren whose lot he
came to sh are (2: 1 1 (After Moulton . )v 14 . The th rone of God i s th e final goal of the Lord
’s
passing th rough the heav ens .
”
v . 15 . Temptation not only produces no sin in our Lord,
bu t i t also found in him no sin .
“Christ has passed
through a l i fe in wh ich H e was in all points equallytempted as we are , prov ided onlywe leav e ou t of account
the S in throug hwhich our temptations find in u s an innate
proneness to be led astray.
”(D elitz sch . )
8 . 5 : 1— 10. Chr ist is the tr ue H igh Priest, af ter the or der ofMelchiz edek.
TH E E PISTLE To T H E HE B R E W S . 65
v . 1 . The office of the H igh -Prie s thood i s explained .
vv . 24 . T wo requisite s were necessary for the Office : (1 )Sympathy w i th man ; (2) appointed of God .
vv . 5 — 10. Our Lord has fulfilled both these requ irements .
v . 5 . S ee PS . 2: 7
v . 6 . PS . 1 10: 4.
cv . 7—10. Paul now beg ins to unfold the way of human
sorrow, of godly fear, of suff ering , and of submi ssion to
the div ine will , by wh ich Christ, according to h is human
nature , attained h is exaltation, and now sits enthroned in
heav en as H igh Priest forev er, after th e order of Melch i
z edek .
v . 9 . salv ation has been Obtained by Chris t for all men .
It i s an Obj ec tiv e fact and i s in readine ss for all whowill
accep t it. I n i ts e ssence i t i s an e ternal salv ation , as also
a comple te salv ation,
“ a sav ing to the u ttermos t ,”7 : 25 .
9 . 5 : 1 1— 14. H e comp lains of the low estate of the sp ir itual a i
tainments of his readers .
From 5 : 1 1— 6 : 20we h av e a long prac tical dig ression in
the course of the argument .
10. 6 : 1—8 . And warns them of the necessity of p rog ress and .
the p er il of falling back.
vv . 4— 6 . (1) Th is passage was from early t imes the main
support O f ov er s trict demands for church di sc ipline .
(2) Calv inistic theolog ians, and all predes tinarian interpre t
ers maintain that those who f all away hav e nev er been
truly reg enerated at all.(3) B ut how can we doub t for a moment that i t i s th e trulyreg enerate whom the Apostle is describing in v erses four
and fi v e"(4)
“ Is i t not clear as day, thatwhat he means to say i s , that
the fur ther one has pene trated into the inner sanc tuary of
the state of g race, the more i rrecov erably i s he lost i f h ethen fall away"” (D elitz sch . )
(5 ) By“ falling away
”our author could not hav e meant
simply a“ falling from g race ,
”or ev ery kind of fall into
mortal sin. Our E pistle then would contradic t all the
Gospels and all the E pistles of S t. Paul.
(6 ) Th i s expression Of“ falling away
” i s to be unders tood in
accordance with the teach ing Of 10: 26-31, th e parallel
passag e .
STUDIE S IN T H E B OOK .
(7) To f all away, l ike the wilfully sinning Of is in
tended to denote such apostasy as not only withdraw s fromthe ethical influences of Christian truth , but renounces thetruth i tsel f. I t was ov er thi s abyss that the HebrewChristians were now standing . Theymig ht rej ec t salv ati on in Chris t wi th . such utter scorn and b itterness as to
render i t no l ong er a salv ation for them. Theymight“cruci fy
” ag ain“ to themselv es the Son of God,
” repeat
ing wh at their fathers had done formerly,when they g av e
him ov er to the death of the cross , and expose h im ag ain
to the reproach and mockery Of the world (D elitz sch) .
(8) The sin of apostasy here described and also at 10: 26 i s
substantially the same as th e S in ag ainst the Holy Ghost,“ the blasphemy ag ains t the Holy Ghost” of which our
Lord h imself speaks in th e Gospels (Mark 3 :
1 1 . 6 : 9 20. B ut at the same time encourages. them by God’
s
f aithfulness in keep ing his promises.
I n verse s 13—20Paul proceeds to set before them th e ex
ample Of Abraham, in respec t of his faith, his patience, and
his reward .
12. 7 : 1 10. The g lory of the Pr iesthood of Melchiz edek (1
its sup er ior ity to the Lev iticalp r iesthood (4
This passag e i s a commentary on the narrativ e in Gen .
14 : 18—20.
v . 3 . T he actual h istorical Melchiz edek l iv ed and died, but
there i s no record of the beg inning or end of his priest
hOOd,— as in the case of the Lev itical priesthood,— for the
priesthood of Melchiz edek is continuous , unbroken bytransmiss ion or inheri tance . B irth had nothing to dow i th
hi s priesthood death i s not alluded to as depr iv ing him of
it ; he passes I t to no one else ; the Melchiz edek c f the
Scripture narrativ e does noth ing but live.
vv . 9, 10. T he sacred writer’
s asser tion here concerningLev i
’s being ti thed in the loins of Abraham, has an im
portant bearing on the doctrine Of the fall. That in
Adam we have all sinned ,though not asserted in R om. 5 :
12,i s a str ictly scr iptural proposition, and finds irre frag
able suppor t in H eb, 7 : 9, 10. B ut two points mu s t be
borne in mind : (1) Adam was not merely the natural pro
g en i tor, but at the same t ime the e thical inaugurator O f
the human race ; (2) the deed of Adam can only SO far he
T H E E PISTLE To T H E HE B REWS . 67
reg arded as that of all men, as humani ty was potentiallyand radically contained in h im. (D elitz sch) .
13 . 7 : 11-25 . Jesus is the true H igh Pr iest after the order ofMelchiz edek. N ot of the race of Aaron (11 not by carnal
descent of any kind, but through the absolute dignity of his
own p erson (15 ap pointed with a divine oath (20 with
an unchangeable p riesthood, ever living to make inter cession
f or us (23v . 25 . It is in th i s intercession for us th at the whole life
’
s
act iv i ty of the exalted Jesu s, SO far as it i s of a priestlynature, i s comprised. This intercession w i ll l as t so longas the final redemption Of God
’
s people— that is , the u tter
efi acement of sin, and death , and sorrow— remains unac
complished. I t is not a mere silent presentation Of H im
sel f as the R edeemer before God, but an eloquent inte r
sess ion on our behalf in reference to each indiv idual
among his redeemed, and ev ery s ing le case of need ; and
finally, i ts frui t i s a perpetual maintenance of our relat ion
of g race toward God, and a perpetual ly renewed remov al
of ev ery hindrance and shadow cast bysin. See al so Rom.
8 : 34. (After D elitz sch . )14.
—28 . Christ then being the true H igh Pr iest, H e is
sup erior to the Aaronic p riests not only in the nature of his
Priesthood,but also in the nature of his ministration .
These v erses are a summary Of the argument s ince the be
g inning Of the fifth ch apter, and prepare the way for the
sub sequent di scu s sion .
v . 26 . The first th ree of the se attributes describe our Lord
in his h igh priestly ch aracter, as the anti type of Aaron,
and in his v enerab le, g rac iou s, and immaculate humani ty ;the two last express the super ' celestial exal tation of his
royal priesthood, in wh ich he i s the anti type of Melchiz
edek, and has not only all enemies, but the heav enlyworld
i tself beneath h is fee t . (D elitz sch) .v . 27 . Christ’s own intrins ic perfec ti on renders any repeti
tion Of his atoning acts unnecessary. Once done, theyh av e eternal v alidi ty.
Here i t i s di s tinctly stated that Chri s t Offered up h imself
as a sacrifice for our s ins .
15 .-6 . The sup erior ity of the ministration of the H igh
Priesthood of Christ ismanifest from the divine and heavenly
STUDIE S IN TIIE B OOK .
sp here in which both his high-p r iestly and kingly ofi ces are
now dischar ged .
v . 1 . To si t at God’
s right handmeans to use fully and inces
santly th e reg al omnipotence and majesty imparted from
the Father through the exaltati on, for uni v ersal and mos t
g loriou s g ov erning in the kingdom of power , g race , and
glory, 8 .
v . 2. This heav enly sanctuary i s the v e ry Holy of
Holies,” the v ery place Of the D iv ine Presence and throne ,
God'
s own place , the uncreated heav en of the d iv ine glory,
where the God-man has been rece iv ed “ into the innermost sphere of Godhead, and inv ested there wi th div ine
glory wh i le mediating for us. (D elitz sch) .The heav enly tabernacle,
” “the g reater and more per
feet tabernacle i s that g lorious heav en where“God
v ouchsafes to exh ib i t h imself to angels and to men,in
g lorious mani festations Of h is div ine lov e ,” “ into
wh ich wa ourselv es, i f we persev ere t o the end, shall oneday be g ath ered, and in wh ich Christ acts as Mediator now,
on the one h and manifesting to the b lessed inh abi tants the
sel f-rev elat ions of div ine glory, and on the other present
ing to the Fath er their sacrifice of adoration and praise .
(D elitz sch) .
v . 5 . There are therefore div ine real ities of heav enly th ing s,not merely outward and material, temporal and typical,like the tabernacle , but inward and spir i tual, an ti typical,archetypical, and e ternal.
16 . 8 1 7—13 . As well as from the superior ity of the N ew Cove
nant under which he acts.
v . 8 . This long quotation i s taken from Jer . 31 : 31—34.
17.—12. As by the eternal v alidity of the N ew Covenant.
vv . 1 1 , 12. (1 ) From the firs t moment of incarnation Christ
was our High Priest by v ocation and potentially : all that
fol lowed, till he passed into the highest h eav ens , was bu t
prog ressiv e dev e lopment O f that orig inal calling .
(2) T he final step of the process by wh ich H e Ob tained
the se g ood th ing s as to hav e them now in h and ready to be
bestowed on us, i s expressed in these v erses .
(3) The“holy Zplace
” into which Christ entered i s the
illocal place of the infinite, self contained,self centred
Godhead, the eternal Heav en Of God h imself ;“the g reater
T H E E PISTLE To T H E HE B R E W S . 69
and more perfec t tabernac le"throug hwh ich he entered,
i s the heav en of the blessed, in wh ich he Sh ines upon his
a creatures in the light of lov e .
(4) E ternal redemption had not been fully Obtained be
fore Our Lord’
s entranc e to the Father, that en trance be ingitself the conclus ion of the g reat redeeming act . As the
re surrec tion from the dead was the d iv ine seal Of the work
of atonement , so the entrance of the R isen One into the
Father’s presence imparted to thatwork i ts e ternal v alidi tyfor us .
(5 ) T he ransom paid by Chr is t for us i s his death (Matt .
H eb. Tit . I . T im. as the Offeringup of himself (H eb . ev en his blood (E ph .
Col. as the g i v ing up Of h is li fe (Matt . And
since i t is bymeans of h is own blood that Christ enters
into the h oly of h ol ie s , i t i s c lear that to God himself the
ransom i s paid .
(6) As in the earthly sanctuary, on the day Of atonement,the high priest entered the holy of holies , and Off ered the
blood of atonement to God, and to H im only, so our g reat
H igh Pries t entered the e ternal sanctuary and appeared in
the presence of God for us, and paid our redemption price,ev en “
h is own b lood to God. And th i s redemption i s an
e ternal one Of absolute and nev er-failing v al idity. (After
D elitz sch) .
18 . 9 : 13—28 . For the blood of Chr ist p urifies inwardlyunto the
living service of the liv ing God (13, H is redeeming dea th is
the consecr ation of a new covenant, and of the heavenly sanc
tuary (15 H is entrance into the eternal sanctuary is the
seal of the absolu te remission of sin, af ter which only remains
his ultimate return to comp lete the realiz ation of R edemp tion
(24
Th i s section consi sts of three parag raph s, Of wh ich the first
(vv . 13, 14) refers to th rough his own blood of v erse 12;the second (vv . 15—23) t o the h igh pries t Of the g ood
th ing s to come Of v erse 1 1 ; and the th ird (vv . 24—28 ) t o“ entered in once for all in to the h oly place of v erse 12.
v . 24. Christ'
s activ ity in our behalf before the Father con
s ist s in a perpetual presentation of himse l f as of one who
died for our sins and i s risen ag ain for our j ustification .
STUD IE S IN T H E B OOK .
v . 27. The judgment here spoken Of is the final judgment
of the last day.
19.—18 . Christ
’s own sacrifice of himself is the comp lete
and only adequate fulfilment of the will of God (1 he is
hencefor th ewalted to the r ight hand of God, waiting as a K ing
for thefinal subjugation of all his enemies (11 his atoning
death is the inauguration of that new Covenant, in whi ch we
have the assurance of the forgiveness of sins, and there is no
more need f or an ofi ering f or sin (15
vv . 5—7 . See Ps.
v . 10. T he cross i s the altar on wh ich Chr i s t offered himself
for us as an Offering and a sacrifice to God for an Odou r
of a swee t sme ll”(E ph . 5 : H is blood-shedding was
our propitiati on. our sanctificationwas the fru i t of Chri st’s
Offering his body.
v 12. Chris t i s h enceforth seated at the right hand of God,
rul ing , not mini ster ing , as a priest before h im, hav ingaccomplished by his one Ofi ering all that the priests of the
law were unable to aff ect — and as K ing he waits on his
throne for the ultimate reward of h is priestly mini stry.
v . 13 . S ee PS . 1 10: 1 . That end will consist in hi s S econd
Adv ent (9 : when the v ictory accompli shed by his death
and resurrection will be fully realiz ed by the separation ,
binding and elimination of ev erything in the univ erse opposed to God, in the order described by Paul h imself in
I . Cor .—28 . (After D elitz sch) .
v . 14. T he being s anct ified (in which i s here included both
imputed and imparted holiness, justification and sanctifica
tion) i s the subj ectiv e process bywhich the perfec ted work
of Christ i s reali z ed in believ ers .
vv . 16, 17. S ee Jer . 34.
v . 18 . N othing remains , obj ectively, to be done to procure
for us inward perfecting , and a complete restoration to
communi on with God .
Here ends the theolog ical portion of the E pistle.
The g reat theme of —25 ; 9 : 13
i s "Christ , after the order of Melch iz edek, H ighPriest for e tern ity.
”
The re i s the closest connect ion between 5 : 1—10and the fcl
low ing treatise (7 : 1 for the whole section 5 : 1 1
6 : 20i s a dig ress i on.
T H E E PISTLE TO T H E HE B R E W S . 71
20.
-39. E xhor tation to steadfastness infaith and good
works.
v . 30. See D eut . 36 ; Ps .
vv . 37, 38 . S ee H ab . 4.
21 .—40. I llustrations of the nature and p ower of faith .
22.— 17 . R enewed exhor tation to continued p erseverance
and patience; wi th renewed warning s against Apostasy.
23 .
—29. As the p r ivileges under the N ew T estament are
higher than under the old, so the p unishment of Apostasy is
prop or tionately greater
vv . 18 , 19. Here are enumerated seven circumstances of awe
wh ich accompanied the g iv ing Of the law, al l of them ma
terial things .
vv . 22, 23 . Here follow seven particulars of encourag ement
accompanying the establishment Of the Chri stian Cov e
nant , all of them g loriou s sp ir itual realities. I
24. E cchor tation tobrotherly love, p ur ity, and content
ment.
25 . 13 : 7— 17. I mitate your Chr istian teachers. B ear the re
p roach of Chr ist.
26 . 13 : 1 8—25 . Closing p rayer s and salutations.
TW E NTY-N INTH : Giv e an oral statement of the contents of the
E pistle , chapter by ch apter .
TH IR TIE TH : T o the student of the E ng l i sh text we would recom
mend the Commentar ies O i Moulton (in Handy Commentary),D av idson . K ay (in S peaker
’s Commentary) , D eli tz sch (wh ich
i s wr itten howev er for s tudents of the Greek text , bu t which
i s so v aluable th at no one can master th i s E pistle wi thou t i t) ,and Farrar (in Cambridg e B ible ) .
TH IRTY-FIR ST : For students of th e Greek text we wou ld recom
mend Al ford, B eng el , D el itz sch , Wes tcott, andWordsworth .
ST UD Y I X .
TH E TE ACH I N G OF T H E E PI STLE To TH E H E BREWS .
FIR ST ' The E pis tle i s eminentlyChristolog ical . It unfolds more .
fully th an any other book the three-fold offi ce of Chri st,as
Prophet , Pries t, and K ing .
S E COND “ It 18 more than an ordinary le tter, being rather a ser
mon or a theol og ical discourse on the g reat theme of the E ter ’
nal Priesthood and S acrifice Of Chri st .
TH IR D ‘ S tudy the E pi stle as a wh ole , section by sec tion, wi th
reference to its Pract ical truths .
(1 ) D uty to God .
(2) D u ty toMan ; (a) I n the S tate ; (b) I n the Church ; (0) I n the
Fami ly.
(3) D u ty to S el f .
1
FOUR TH : S tudy the E pis tle carefully, and wri te out conci selywhat the wri ter teaches concerning the D octrine Of God .
2
(1 ) T he D octrine of God the Father .
(2) The D octrine of the Son of God .
(3) T he D octrine of the Holy S piri t .
(4) The Triune God.
(5 ) Good Ang els .
8
FIFTH : S tudy the E pistle care fully, section by sect ion,and note
what the au th or teaches concerning Chri stol ogy, or the D oc
trine of the Person of Christ .
4
1 A S tome thod of developing these topics, see example g iven in S tudyon Colossians, pp . 19, 20.
2As an illustration how to find the material see S tudy I V. , on E phesians,pp . 33—35 .
3 For the N ew Testament doctrine of E vil Ang els see S tudies in theB ook,
"First S eries, p . 102. For the N . T . D octrine concerning the D evil, seethe same work, p . 103.
4 Add to these re ferences, and compare results Obtained in S tudy on
Colossians, pp . 21 , 22.
TH E TE ACH ING OF T H E E PISTLE To T H E HE B R EW S . 73
Jesus is the God-Man.
Truly D ivine. B ecause to h im are ascribed
(a) D iv ine N ames .
(1 ) T he Son Of God, 5,8 ;
(2) /The Firstborn, 1 : 6 .
(3) Lord, 2: 3 ; our Lord,
(4) The au thor of e ternal salv ation, 5 : 9.
(5 ) T he au thor and perfecter of our faith ,
(6) The g reat sheph erd Of the sheep,
(b) D iv ine Attribu tes :
(1 ) Is the efi ulg ence of the g lory of God, 1 : 3 .
(2) T he fullmani fes tation of the attr ibutes of God, 1 : 3 .
(3) T he v ery image of the essence of God,
(4) Has pre exis ted from all e terni ty,3 .
(5 ) Is righteous , 9 .
(6) Is heir of all th ing s, s ov ereign of the world to
come ,
(7) Is g lorious,
(8) Omnipotent, 13 .
(9) Has a kingdom and house, 3 : 6 .
(10) I S unchang eable ,
(c) D iv ine Works .
(1 ) Th rough the Son, God made the worlds, 1 : 2, 10;
(2) Upholds al l th ing s by the word Of his power, 12.
(3) R u le s ov e r all, 2: 5 —8 .
(4) Made purification of sins, 1 : 3 .
(5 ) Au thor Of the salv ation of men,
(6) Sanctifies, 14 ;
(7) D eliv ers us from the power of death,
15 .
(8) Ov ercame the dev i l , who h ath the power Of death ,
‘15 .
(9) Ob tained eternal redemption,
(d) D iv ine Worship :
(1 ) W orshiped by the ang els , 1 : 6 .
(2) Worsh iped and adored by the saints, 21 .
Truly H uman. B ecause to him are ascribed :
(a) Human N ames
(1) Jesu s ,
(2) The Apostle of God, 3 : 1 .
(3) High Prie s t of our Confes sion, 3 : 1 ; 4 : 14.
(4) Christ , 6 : 1 ; 14, 24, 28 .
STUDIE S IN T H E B OOK .
(5 ) Jesus Chris t, 21 .
(b) Human Attributes
(1) Suff ers death , 2: 9, 14 ; 16 .
(2) Made perfect through suffer ing s, 5 : 9 .
(3) Off ered up prayers and suppl ications wi th strong cry,
ing and tears, 5 : 7.
(4) Partook of flesh and b lood, 5 : 7 ; 10: 10.
(5 ) Made l ike unto h is bre thren in all th ing s, 2: 17.
(6) S uffered being tempted in all po ints as we are,
yet wi th ou t sin,28 ;
(7).
Touched wi th the feeling of our infirmities,
(8) B ut hav ing no infirmity, 28 .
(9) Of the tribe of Judah ,
The S tate of H umiliation.
(1 ) As man Christ was made lower th an the ang els, 2: 7, 9.
(2) By the suff er ing of death , he tasted death for ev eryman , 2: 9 .
(3) E ntered into fellowship wi th us, to be made perfect
through suffering s, 2: 10.
(4) Calls us bre th ren, 2: 12.
(5 ) Made like us in all thing s, 2: 17 .
(6) Suff ered death th at he might ov ercome the dev il,
(7) And deliv er us from bondag e ,
(8 ) Suffered through temptation that he might succor them
that are tempted . 2: 18 ;
(9) B ecame our H igh Priest , 3 : 1 ;
(10) Glorified not himsel f, 5 : 5
(1 1) Learned Obedience by the th ing s wh ich he suffered,
(12) Offered up h imsel f for the S ins of the people ,8 : 3 ; —28 ; through the E ternal S piri t,
(13) E ndured the cross , despi s ing shame , 12: 2.
T he E xaltation of Christ.
(1 ) Appointed heir of all th ing s,
(2) E xalted on the righ t h and of the Maj esty on h igh, 1 : 3 ;
(3) Superior to the angel s,
(4) Anointed abov e h is fellows , 1 : 9 .
(5 ) Crowned with glory and honor, 2: 7, 9 .
(6) Set ov er the works of God, 2: 7 .
(7) All thing s subjected unto him,
(8) Counted worthy of more g lory than Moses, 3 : 3 .
T H E TE ACH ING OF T H E E PISTLE T O T H E HE B R E W S .
(9) Passed through the heav ens , 4 : 14 ; the g reater and more
perfect tabernacle ,
(10) Made h igher than the h eav ens ,
(11 ) Appointed the e ternal Hig h Priest, 5 : 6 , 10;
(12) E ntered w i th in the v eil for u s,S IXTH : S tudy the E pistle carefully and note what the au thor
teaches concerning S oteriology, or the D oc tr ine of th e W ork
O f Christ .
The Prop hetic ofi ce of Christ.
( 1) God hath spoken unto us in h is S on, 1 : 2.
(2) Who hath rev ealed the word of s alv ation ,2: 2.
(3 ) H e was a fai thfu l Prophet . 3 : 2.
(4) T he Apostle of God, 3 : 1 .
(5 ) Greater than Moses, 3 : 3 .
(6) I lls word more steadfas t than that spoken by ang els , 2: 2.
T he S acerdotal office of Chr ist, or the A tonement.
(1) H e made purification of sins, 1 : 3 . by h is death ,9 : 15 .
(2) Is a merc i ful and fai thful H igh Pr iest , 2: 17 ; 3 : 1 , 2; 8 : 1 ;of the g ood th ing s to come , 9 : 1 1 ; a g reat pries t ov er the
house of God,
(3) Made propitiation for the sins of the people, 2: 17 ; —28 .
(4) Appointed of God a high priest, after the order of Mel
ch iz edek, 5 : 6 , 10; 7 : 15 — 17, 21 , 26 .
(5 ) With the taking of an oath . 7 : 20, 21 .
(6) N ot after th e law of a carnal commandment, 7 : 16 .
(7) B u t after the powe r of an endless l i fe , 7 : 1 7.
(8) An abiding and unchang eable priesthood, 7 : 24 .
(9) Making continual interce ss ion for those who draw near
unto God through him, 9 : 24.
(10) Off ered up h imsel f for the s ins Of the people , 7 : 27 ; 8 : 3 ;
through the e ternal S piri t, 9 : 14 ; once , not often, 9 : 25 ,
(1 1) N ot daily like an earth ly h igh priest, but once for all,7 : 27.
(12) E ntered wi th in the v eil for us, 6 : 20; in to heav en itse lf,9 : 24 ; to appear before the face Of God for us
,9 : 24.
(13) A mini ster of the sanc tuary, and of the true tabernacle ,
8 : 2.
(14) A mediator of a better cov enant than Moses,8 : 6 ; ev en a
new cov enan t, 9 : 1 5 ; 12: 24.
(15 ) Through his own blood , h e entered in once for all into
the holy place, 9 : 12.
76 STUD IE S IN T H E B OOK .
(16) T he blood Of Christ cleanses th e conscience and sancti
fies, 9 : 14.
17) By one offering hath completed redemption, 9 : 28 ;
10: 14.
(18 ) T he b lood Of Jesu s has dedicated a new and liv ing way
by which to enter heav en, 10: 19, 20.
(19) That he might sanctify the people through h is own
bl ood. he suffered w ithou t the g ate, 13 : 12.
H is Regal ofi ce.
(1) Uph olds all th ing s by the word of his power, 1 : 3 .
(2) R eigns with omn ipotent power, 1 : 3 , 13 ; 9 : 12, 13 .
(3) O v er all the works of God, 2: 7 .
(4) On h is e ternal th rone, 1 : 8 .
(5 ) Till all his enemies are ov ercome . 1 : 13 ; 2: 8 ; 10: 13 .
SE VE NTH : The following h ints in trac ing the dev elopment of the
doc trine of Christ’
s H igh-priesthood. which is‘ the rulingthought of th is E pistle, are sugg ested byWestcott
T he theme i s already indicated in 1 : 3 .
The crowning trait of the Son i s that when he had made
pur ification of s ins , H e sat down on the r ight hand of th e
Maj esty on h igh ,
” 1 : 3 .
The priestly and regal works of Christ are placed tog ether in
the closes t connexion .
T he remaining passage s p rep ar e f or , expound , and app ly the
doctr ine .
(1 ) Prep aratory.
(a) 2: 1 7, 18 . The incarnation the foundation Of Christ’s
High-prie sthood.
(b) 3 : 1 , 2. The subject is of such importance as to requ ire
careful cons ideration .
(c) 4 : 14—16 . Recapitulation as a transition t o th e detailed
treatment of the truth .
(2) The Character istics of Christ’
s H igh-p r i esthood .
(a) 5 : 1— 10. The character i stics Of th e-Lev itical High-p riesthood realiz ed by Christ .
(b) 6 : 20; 7 : 14—19. The pr iesthood of Christ after the order
of Melchiz edek .
(3) T he work of Chr ist as H ig it-p r iest.
(a) 8 : 1—6 . T he scene of Christ’s work a heav enly and not
an earth ly sanc tuary.
T H E TE ACH ING OF T H E E PISTLE To T H E HE B R E W S . 77
(b) 9 : 1 1—28 . Christ’s atoning work contrasted w i th that of
th e Lev i tical High pries t on the D ay o f Atonement .
(c) 10: 1— 18 . An abiding effi cacy Of Chris t’
s One S acrifice .
(4) App lication of the f ru its of Chr ist’
s H igh-p riesthood to be
tievere.
(a ) 10: 19—25 . Personal use .
(b) 13 : 10—16 . Priv ileg es and duties Of the Chris tian Church .
E IGH TH : We also add the substance of a note byWestcott on“T he Chr isto logy of the E pistle .
”
(1) T he v iew of the Person and Work of Chri st which is g iv en
in the E pistle to the Hebrews i s in many respec ts more
comprehensiv e and far reach ing than th at which i s g iv en in
any o ther B ook of the N ew Testament .
(2) T he author of the E pistle recogniz es one unchanged Per
sonality in the Incarnate Christ thr ough whom finite th ing s
wrre called into exi stence and under whom all th ing s shall
be finally subj ected .
(3) From first to l as t, through time'
to th at e tern i ty beyond
time wh ich we h av e no powers to realiz e , One Person ful
fils the will of God. 1 : 2; 10: 5—9.
(4) One Person i s the ag ent in creation, the medium of rev ela
tion, the heir Of the world .
I . The D ivine B eing (N ature and Personality) of the Son .
(1) I n relation to God .
(a) Th e ti tle s Son”(1 : 2, 5 ; the Son
“
the S on of God 6 : 6 ; 7 : 3 ; 10:“the Fi rstborn
(1 :“ Jesus, the Son of God (4 :
N ote : (1) T he t i tle“
Son” i s u sed in the E pis tle only in
reference to the Incarnate Lord.
(2) T he title expresse s not merely a mere relation, but
a relation of being .
(3) I t defines in human languag e that wh ich was be
yond time imminent in the Godhead .
(4) It i s remarkab le th at God i s spoken Of as Father
only in 1 : 5 .
(b) T he defini te description of the nature and work of
the Son i s g iv en in 1 : 3 .
N ote : (1) The use of the ab solute , timele ss, term be
ing g uards ag ainst the though t that the Lord’s
“ Sonship was by adoption and not by nature .
(2) I n Chris t the essence Of God i s made di st inc t .
78 STUD IE S IN T H E B OOK .
(3) I n Christ the rev elation Of God’s character is seen.
Of . John 30;
(2) I n relation to the W orld.
I n relation to the the World th e Son i s presented to us
as (a) the Creator, (b) the Preserv er, and (c) the He ir Ofall thing s . From the div ine side indeed th ese th ree Offi ces
are one .
(a) T h e Creat iv e work Of the Son i s affirmed both in the
wri ter’s own words (1 : and by an applicati on of the
languag e of the Psalms (1 :
(b) Th e th ough t of creation passes into that o f the pre
serv ation, g ov ernment, consummation of created
th ing s .
(1 ) The Son bears all th ing s to their true end,
(2) H e i s ov er the whole house of God in v irtue of
what h e i s (a Son, and what he has done (a
hig h -priest, 10:
(3) This work was in no way interrup ted by the I n
carnation.
(4) S t. Pau l also comb ines the creativ e and susminingpower Of Christ, Col. 1 : 16 , 17 .
(c) The idea of the heirship”of Christ is connectedwith
the work of creati on, 1 : 2. T he fac t that he created
suggests the fi tness that He sh ould inherit . Cf . Col.
1 : 16 .
II . T hework of the I ncarnate Chr ist.
T he work of the Incarnate Christ i s presented under the
aspec t (1) Of his earthly life , and (2) of hi s work in h is
g lor ified humanity in heav en.
1 . The Incarnation :
(a) Chr i st’s human nature .
(1) The Lord’s humani ty i s declared to be real (2: 14, 10;
perfec t and representativ e
(2) At the same time , the D iv ine Personality was un
ch anged by the assumption of humanity.
(3 ) T he use of the human name Jesus guards the fulnes s Of h is humani ty.
(b) Chris t’
s human li fe .
(1) T he perfect human nature of Chris t found expres
sion in a perfect human l ife .
T H E TE ACH ING OF TH E E PISTLE To TH E HE B R EWS .
(2) H e bore withou t the le ast fai lure or sin ev ery temp
tation to wh ich we are exposed, 5 : 7—10; 7 : 26 .
(3) T he writer recogniz es in Chri s t S eparate human
v irtues : trust in God faith fulness
dependence of God mercy and sympathy4: fai th
(4) Christ did not howev er cease at any time to be the
Son of God
(5 ) H e exerc i ses his pries thood in v irtue of the power
Of an indissoluble life (7 :
(6) There i s thu s amosi intimate uni on of two N ature s
in the one Person Of Ch ris t, wh ose Personal ity i s
D iv ine .
(7) I n v irtue of his humani ty the Lord was able to
fulfi ll hi s two fold offi ce for men,as “
Apostle
(Prophet) and"H igh Pries t ”
declaring the
will of God and working out redemption for man .
2. T he E xal tation :
1 . Th e exaltation of Chris t i s placed in th i s E pistle , as
by Paul (Phil . in c l ose connection wi th his
suffering s
2. While Pau l dwells on the R esurrection in each
g roup of his E pistles, the wri ter of the E pis tle to the
Heb rew s refers to i t once only of . fixinghis attent ion on the Ascens ion (4 : 14 ;12
, and the si tting at the righ t h and of God
8 : l ;
3 . T h i s diff erence follows from the unique teach ing of
the E pistle on the work of Chri s t as K ing and Priest .
4. From what has been said i t wi ll be seen that ibere i s
a v ery close connecti on be tween th e Chr i s tology of the
writer to the Hebrews and the Christology of S t . Paul.
5 . B ut though there i s a remarkable ag reement in idea
be tween the teaching of the E pistle on the Person of
Christ and that O f S t . Pau l’
s l ater E pistles (Col.20; E ph . 1 : 3—14; Ph i l . ev en where the thoughts
approach most clearly to coinc idence, there still re
main significant diff erences of phraseology. Compare
H eb . 3 with Col. —17 ; wi th Col. 1 : 15 , 18 ;2: 17 w i th Ph il .
N IN TH : (1) O f the twenty-nine direct quotations from the Old
S TUD IE S IN TH E B O OK .
Testament, twelv e are taken from the Pentateuch , elev enfrom the Psalms, and one each from I L S am. ,
Isaiah , Jere
miah, Habakkuk , and Hagg ai .
(2) W ith two exceptions (II . S am. Isa . 18) al l the
primary passag es which are quoted to illustrate the true
nature of the Person and Work of Ch rist are taken from the
Psalms .
(3) O f the twenty-nine passages wh ich are reckoned as d irect
quotations , twenty-one are pecul iar to the wri ter of the
E pistle .
(4) T he text of the quotations ag rees in the main w i th some
form of the present text of the S eptuag int .
(5 ) T he write r reg arded the Greek Version as au thoritativ e ;and he nowhere Sh ows any immediate knowledge of the
Hebrew text . (After Westcott) .TE NTH : Make a special study Of the follow ing tOp ics, or phrasestaken in the order Of the ir occurrence in the E pistle :
B y div ers portions (1 : in d iv ers manners (1 : the end of
these days the ang els so g reat salv ation the
g race ,O f God (2: the dev il our hope (3 : an
.
ev i l
heart of unbelief (3 : the liv ing God (3 : the decei tfulness
Of sin a S abbath rest (4 : the word of God (4 : our
confession (4 : e ternal salvation the order of Melchiz
edek the first princ iples of Christ (6 : perfect ion
repentance faith teaching of baptisms (6 : layingon of hands the resurrecti on of the dead e ternal
judgment the fulness of hope a be tter cov enant
Chris t’
s intercession the true tabernacle the
earthly tabernacle the mercy seat th e good th ing s
to come (9 : the b lood of Christ the e ternal inherit
ance forg iv eness of sins an ev il consc ience
to tread under foot the Son of God perdi tion
the sou l (10: creation the translation of
E noch th e deluge the fai th of Abraham
the heav enly city Moses G ideon (1 1 : S am
son (11 : Jephthah S amuel a cloud of wit
nesse s th e cross the right h and of the throne of
God the Father of Spir i ts sanctification
E sau (12: the heav enly Jerusalem (12: the innumerab le
hosts of ang els the Church of the firstborn the
T H E TE ACH ING OF T H E EPISTLE To T H E HE B R E W S . 8 1
Spiri ts Of ju st men made perfect the K ingdom that can
not be shaken God i s a consuming fi re strang e
teach ing s (13 : the g reat shepherd of the sheep the
e ternal cov enant
E LE VE NTH : Make a Special study of the marg inal reading s of theR ev i sed Version, and note the most important chang es in
meaning .
ST UD Y X .
T H E FI R ST E PI STLE TO TI MOTHY .
FIR ST : T he E pistles to Timothy and Titus are known as T he
Pastoral E pistles becau se they were addressed to two
friends of Paul, I n the ir capac i ty as Pastors of important
Churches .
S E COND : There was nev er any doub t entertained in the E arlyChurch that these E pistles were written by S t . Pau l .
TH IR D : Modern sceptici sm has urg ed three Obj ections to the ir
Pauline authorsh ip .
(1) The difiiculty Of finding any place for these letters in the
known li fe of Paul as recorded in the Acts Of the Apostle s .
(2) T he fact th at they seem to imply an adv anced s tate Of
Church org aniz ation, bo th orthodox (I . T im. 3 : 1 , 2; 5 : 1 , 2;
Tit . 1 : 5 , 6 ; and heretical (I . T im. 1 : 4 ; Tit .
1 : 10, 1 1 ; 2: 1 ; II . T im. 17 ; 3 : far in adv ance of the
Pauline Age .
(3) T he languag e of the epistles is different from that of the
other E pistles of Pau l .
FOURTH : All are ag reed th at these th ree E pistles are closelyconnected in thought, subjec ts, expressions , and style , and
th at theymust h av e been wri tten at about the same time, atleast wi th in a few years Of each o ther .
FIFTH : T he difii culties‘
raised against Pau l’s authorsh ip h av e
been g reatly exagg erated bymodern critics , and the only one
of any real importance, the peculiaritie s Of phrases and ex
pressions (that in I . T im. there are 74 Greek words , in Titus28
, and in I I . T im. 46, that do not occu r elsewhere in the N ew
Testament)“may be so completely remov ed by a just consid
c ration Of th e date Of the E pis tles, the pecu liar nature of the
subj ects di scussed, and the plain, substantial accordance inallmain points wi th the Apostle’s g eneral s tyle , that no doub t
of the auth orship ought now to be entertained by any calmand reasonable enqu irer
”(E llicott) .
82
T H E FIRS T E PISTLE TO T IMOTH Y . 83
S IXTH : R ead carefully Pau l’s first le tter to Timothy, and note
all the data bearing on the t ime when i t was wri tten .
(1) S t. Paul had shortly before been in E phesu s, 1 : 3 .
(2) H ad been compelled to go to Macedonia ,
(3) B ut had requested Timothy to tarry at E phesus,
(4) Hopes to come to E phesus sh ortly, 3 : 14 .
(5 ) B ut may tarry long , 3 : 14 .
(6) Therefore write s to Timothy to g iv e him more defini te in
structions, —5 ; 4 : 13 .
(7) We cannot place th i s j ourney in any period before Paul’s
firs t imprisonment at R ome , or at any timeOf Pau l’s life as
recorded by Luke in the Acts .
(a) It i s not the j ourney recorded in Acts 20: 1 , 2.
(b) For then Timothy had already been sent into Macedoni a
(Ac ts and thence to Corinth (I . Cor . and when
Pau l wrote his second le tter to the Corinth i ans , Timothywas w i th him in Macedonia , II . Cor . 1 : 1 ; 7 : 5 .
(c) Some h av e thought th at this j ourney t ook place duringPaul
’
s three years’ soj ourn at E phesus , Acts 10; 20:31 .
(d) B ut this i s u tterly out Of the ques tion, for an ab sence of
uncertain leng th , such as our E pis tle presuppose s , i s abao
lutely precluded by Ac ts and Acts 30 i s
S imply a prophecy of what has come to pass at the t ime
of wri ting th i s E pistle . Furthermore the instruc tions
g iv en to Timothy in th i s E pistle seem to imply his con
tinued res idence at E ph esus .
(e) We mu st therefore g iv e our assent to the tradi tion of theE arly Chu rch th at S t. Pau l was twice imprisoned at R ome,and th at this letter was wri tten some t ime af ter h is firs t
imprisonment , while he was pass ing through Macedonia
after a v i si t t o E phesu s wh ere he had left
Timothy in ch arg e of the local church .
SE VE NTH : R ead carefully Paul’
s E pistle to Titus, and no te all
the data bearing on the time when i t was wri tten.
(1 ) Pau l apparently only a short t ime before had paid a missionary v i s i t to the island Of Crete, wh ere he had l ef t Titus
in charge of the churches , 1 : 5 .
(2) At the time Of writing Pau l was on his way to N icopol is tow inter,
(3) And he u rg e s Titus to mee t him there,
-8 4 S TUDIE S IN TH E B OOK .
(4) It i s probabl e that the Apostle was arrested at N icopoli s
(in E pirus) and taken thence to R ome for his final trial.
(5 ) I t i s also highly probable that the w inter alluded to in th i sE pistle i s not th e same as that referred t o in II . T im .
but belong s to th e year before i t .
(6) As to the place where the le tter to Titus was written,th i s i s
a matter of mere conj ec ture, possibly at Corinth , or E phesus .
E IGH TH : R ead carefully Paul’s second le tter to Timothy, and
note all th e data bearing on the time when i t was wr i tten .
(1) Paul had recently b een at Troas, Corinth , and M iletus—20.
(2) H e was now in R ome,1 : 17 .
(3) H e had already had h is first trial, 4 : 16 .
(4) Was still a prisoner in chains , 16 ; 2: 9 .
(5 ) E ndu ring suffering s,
(6) E xpec ted Shor tly to die a martyr’
s death , 4 : 6 .
(7) All that are in Asia had turned away from h im,1 : 15 .
(8 ) Luke only was w i th him, 4 : 1 1 .
(9) Onesiphorus had ministered to h im, at the time he was in
R ome, v i si ting h im in prison,
17.
(10) He urge s Timothy to come to him Shortly. before w inter ,and bring w i th him the cloak and the books , especially th e
parchments, which he had left at Troas w ith Carpus,21, 13, 14.
(1 1 ) We h av e, therefore, a right to infer that Paul wrote this
Second E pistle to Timothy during h is second imprisonment
at R ome, a v ery Short time before his martyrdom , after his
first trial, and that i twas the last extant letterwritten byh im.
N INTH : We therefore conclude, that Pau l was released from h is
first captiv ity at R ome, abou t 64 A . D . , that he w rote I . T im.
a few years later, abou t 66 or 67 A . D . , and then his E pistle to
Titu s , and finally, wh ile langu i sh ing in prison at R ome, ab ou t
67 or 68 A . D . , wrote II . Timothy.
TE NTH : R ead carefully Paul’s first E pistle to Timothy and note
all the data bearing upon Timothy’
s li fe and charac ter .
(1) H e h ad been conv erted by the preaching of Paul, 1 : 1 .
(2) R ece iv ed Spiritual g ifts at his ordination, 4 : 14.
(3) Was now at E phesus, 1 : 3 .
(4) Is still a young man (abou t 4 : 12.
(5 ) Personal traits :
(a) Of a weak constitution, 5 : 23 .
T H E FIR ST E PISTLE To T IMOTH Y . 85
(b) W i th a tendency to ascetic i sm, 5 : 23 .
(c) Modest. and retiring ,4 : 12—16 ; 5 : so, 21 .
(d) Shr inking from respons ibili ty, 6 : 1 1—14.
(6) Has spec ial charge s commi tted to him, 1 : 3, 18 ; 3 : 15 ; 4 : 7 ;
5 : 21 .
(7) Is to remind the brethren of what Paul writes, 4 : 6 .
(8 ) Is to be an ensample to bel iev ers , 4 : 12: 6 : 1 1 , 14 .
(9) I S to be dil ig ent, 4 : 15 , 1 6 .
(10) And to reprov e those who Sin in the sigh t of all, 5 : 20.
E LE VE NTH : E xamine carefu lly th e Acts of the Apostles and II .
Timothy for addi ti onal informati on concerning Timothy.
(1 ) H i s f ath er a Gentile , Acts 16 : 1—3 .
’2) Taught in the S criptures of th e Old Tes tament from a
babe, II . T im. 3 : 15 .
(3) B rough t up possibly at D erbe, or Lystra , Acts 16 : 1 ;
(4) B y his g randmother, and his mother E unice , II . T im. 1 : 5 .
(5 ) Heard the g ospel during Paul’s first mi ssionary j ou rney,
Acts 14 : 6 , 7 .
(6 ) And receiv ed i t w i th unfeigned fai th , I I . T im. 1 : 5 , 6 .
(7) Saw Paul’s stoning at Lystra, Acts 14 : 19 ;
“
I I . T im . 3 : 1 1 .
(8 ) Was under the superintendence of the E lders , Ac ts 14 : 23 .
(9) Grew up unto manhood during the period 46 to 5 1 A . D . ,
Acts 16 : 1—3 .
(10) Well known at Lystra and Iconium,at the arriv al of Paul
on his second missi onary tour , Acts 16 : 2.
(1 1) Circumcised by Paul, Acts 16 : 3 .
(12) Ordained by the wh ole presbytery, I . T im. II . T im.
1 : 6 .
(13) One Of the most fai thfu l and constant companions of
Paul , Acts II . T im. 1 : 1 ; 4 : 9, 21 .
TWE LFTH : R ead Pau l’
s first E pistle to Timothy, and div ide into
sect ions, w ith appropri ate heading s .
1
1 . 1 : 1 , 2. Ap ostolic address and salutation.
v . 1 . As th i s epistle may be reg arded as an ofi‘
icial le tter,the Apostle appropriately designates h imself by his solemnand Ofi
‘
icial title . Cf . Tit . 2; II . T im. 1 : 1 .
Th is designat ion of God the Father as“our S av iour i s pecu
liar to the Pastoral E pistles (1 . T im. Tit . 1 : 3 ;It occurs , howev er, also in Luke and
1 We also add a few explanatory notes. The analysis is after E llicott.
86
2.
S TUDIE S IN T H E B OOK .
Jude 25 , and is common in the S eptuag int . E lsewhere in
the Pastoral E pistles the word S av iour is used only of
Chris t, Tit . 1 : 4 ; 2: 13 ; II . T im.
Christ Jesu s i s the v ery substance and‘
foundation of our
hope. S ee also 001. E ph . T he obj ec t Of hopei s : (1 ) S alv ation, I . Thess . (2) E ternal life, Tit .
(3) T he glory of God, Rom. 5 : 2.
v . 2. T he addition of the word “ mercy to the u sual form
of Paul’
s salutations i s pecul i ar to the Pastoral E pistles .
S ec II . John 3 , and Jude 2. I t probab ly serv es to indiv id
ualiz e and mark the deep and aff ect ionate interest of . the
Apostle in his child in the faith .
—1 1 . I exhor t thee to abide still in E phesus and to repress
teacher s of other doctr ine and wou ld-be teacher s of the law; the
law is not f or the righteous, butf or open sinner s and opponents
of sound doctr ine, as the sp ir it of the Gosp el shows.
4 . H e was to charge these teachers not to g iv e heed to
f ables (tradit ions of the past based upon the slightest his
torical hints— the heresy espec ially of Jewi sh teachers) ,nor to v ague , rambl ing , interminable , useless g enealog ies.
This “
dispensation of God” i s bes t taken in the subj ectiv e
sense of “
the s tewardship entrusted to Timothy, and it
here denotes th at wh ich was Timothy’
s du ty to per form;everything wh ich h indered thi s he was to av oid.
a . 5 . Here we hav e a statement of the purpose and aim of
all sound prac tical teaching .
T he word hear t i s often used in S cripture to denote the
soul ”in its activ e aspects, and may be reg arded as the
cen tre both of the feeling s and emotions (John R om.
and of the thoughts and imag inations , Matt .
The B ib le transfers the abode of relig ion, and the transac
tions of the relig ious l ife, to the heart . T he Word must
pierce the heart (Acts 2: the heart must be open to the
Word (Acts 16 : w i th the heart man believeth unto
righteousness , Rom. I t is the innermos t centre , in
which the threefold li fe of man, as Spiri t, soul, and body,blends tog ether— where the sou l i s at h ome and becomes
consciou s of all i ts doing and suff ering . B y i t the moral
conditi on of man i s charac teriz ed (pu re , ev il,Conscience : There occurs a constant liv ing intercourse of
God wi th man, and the resul t of the communion i s con
3 .
T H E FIR ST E PISTLE T O T IM OTH Y . 87
sc ience . It i s an impulse of the human spirit, but th i s
impul se i s established by the D iv ine Spiri t tes ti fying i tsel f
to i t . I t i s an ac tiv e t consciousness of a d iv ine law es tab
lished in man’s heart . If a man know h is doing to be in
harmony wi th th i s law his conscience is “
g ood
pure”
(I . T im. 3 : 9 ; II . T im.
“v oid of offence ,
Acts Consc ience may there fore be defined as the
moral relig iou s consciousness, or as the knowledg e of one’
s
self-relation to God.
It i s “ faith”which make s the heart pure (Acts
and in so doing renders the formerly“ ev il conscience
“
goodl’
c . 7 . Their ignorance was"
complete,— it extended alike to
th e assertions theymade and the subj ects on wh ich they".
made them.
8 . Th ere i s a fourfold use of the law : (1) Political, the
preserv ation of external disc ipline ; (2) E tenchtical (con
v icting ), the mani fe station and reproof of s ins ; (3) Peda
gog ic, indirectly compe lling the s inner to go to Christ ; and
(4) D idactic, instruct ing in all internal and ex ternalmoral
actions .
T he fi rst use pertains to unreg enerate and obs tinate sin
ners ; the second and thi rd to men abou t to be j ustified ;the fourth to those who are reg enerate and jus tified.
c . 1 1 . T he contents of the Gospel i s the glory of God,
whether manifested in the suffering s of Christ, or in the
r iches of H i s g race and mercy.
1 : 12—17. I thank himwho entrusted that Gospel tome, and
whowas merciful to me in my ignorance and unbelief ; to H im
be all honor ana g lory.
c . 13 . God’
s mercy and S t . Pau l ’s want of i t are here put in
sharpest contrast . Pau l doe s not seek to excu se h imsel f,but wi shes to illustrate the merci fu l working of div ine
g race . H i s ignorance was culpable , for i t was due t o um
belief .
c . 14. T he Apostle h ere explains how, and inwhatmeasure,he ob tained mercy.
c . 1 5 . T he word world (K osmos) is used in the N ew Tes
tament in four senses :
(1) T he sum total o f wh at God has created,John (2)
the abode of man, I . T im. 6 : 7 ; (3) mankind, Rom.
88 S TUDIE S IN T H E B OOK .
19 ; (4) that order of th ing s which i s alienated from God,Matt . 5 : 14. I t i s best to use i t here in the third sense .
4 . 1 : 18—20. I charge thee, son T imothy,to fight the goodfight
of faith, and not tomake shipwreck of it, as some have done.
v . 18 . At the time of Timothy’s ordination p redictions sug ‘
g ested by the Holy S pirit were made , foretelling his future
z eal and succes s as a mini s ter of the Gospel .
v . 20. Th i s H ymenzeus i s ev idently the same as the one
mentioned in II . T im.
This Alexander maybe the same as the coppersmi th men ‘
tioned in II . T im. but i t is not likely. This name was
v ery common .
Th i s del iv ering unto S atan was probably excommunica
tion and a supernatural infl ic tion of some bodily puni sh
ment . It was a solemn sentence pronounced in the name
and power of Jesus Chri s t (I . Cor . 5 : 3 upon one wi thin
the Church (I . Cor . some bodily v i s i tation (I . Cor .
for the improv ement of the offender (I . Cor .
I . T im. and the Apostle could empower others to
pass such a sentence, I . Cor . 4 .
5 .—7. 1 exhort that prayers be ofi ered f or all, for this is
accep table to God,who willeth the salvation of all men, and
whose Gosp el I p reach .
v . 1 . E v ery true prayer ough t to consist Of (1 ) adoration, (2)thanksg iv ing , (3) confess ion of sins, and (4) petit ions .
v . 4. R edemption i s univ ersal, yet conditional . Allmay be
sav ed, yet all will not be sav ed, because all wi l l not con
form to God’s appointed condi tions .
v . 6 . T he doctrine of the vicar ious atonement i s here clearlytaugh t .
6 .—10. I desire that the men pray reverently, and that the
women dress and compor t themselves with modesty.
7 . 2: 11—15 . A woman must learn and not tea ch, f or two reas
ons; she was second in resp ect of creation,andfirst in resp ect
of transgression.
v . 1 1 . Woman i s to learn at the public serv ices of the Church ,
without speaking or attempting to teach . It is obv iou s
that the Apostle’s prev ious instructions (I . Cor .
are here ag ain in h is thoughts . W oman was permi tted,
howev er, in the E arly Church , to teach priv ately those of
their own sex .
T H E FIR ST E PISTLE To T IMOTH Y . 89
What g rav e arguments these few v erse s supply us
w i th , agains t some of the unnatural and unscriptural
theories of modern t imes . (E llicott. )v . 12. E v ery form of p ublic addres s or teach ing in the Church
i s here c learly forb idden as at v ariance w i th woman’
s
proper du ties , and the sphere of her creation and destiny.
v . 15 . Mos t commentators interpre t thi s diffi cult v erse as in
the marg in of the R ev i sed Vers ion, th at the woman shall
be sav ed by fulfill ing her proper des tiny and acquiesc ingin al l the conditions of woman
’
s l i fe . B ut i t i s bette r to
interpre t as in the tecc t of the R ev i sed Vers ion, the ch i ld
bearing , i . e. , through the blessed childbearing of the
promi sed seed of the woman ; for the Vi rg in by g iv ingb irth to th e S av iour was the means of salv ation to woman .
8 . 3 : 1—7 . Qualifications of a bishop or p astor . H e must be ofirrep roachablemorals, a goodfather of hisfamily, and of goodrep or t.
v . 1 . I n the N ewTestament the words b i shop and “ elder
or presbyter”are applied indifferently to the same person.
The word “
b i shop or“ ov erseer”
was borrowed from the
Greeks, and pointed to the offi ce on the s ide of i ts du ties ;the second, wh ich mark ed primarily the ag e of the occu
pant, was taken from the Jews , and pointed to the office
on the s ide of it s g rav i ty and digni ty.
v . 2; T he meaning of the express ion the hu sband of one
w i fe”has beenmuch contested, and has been explained by
diff erent commentators in three ways : (1) contemporaneou s
polyg amy,wh ich at th at time s till seems to h av e pre v ailed ;
(2) successive polyg amy, whether after div orce, or after l oss
of first wife , howev er happening : (3) Any dev i ation from
morality in respec t of marriag e .
It i s best to interpret this passag e as referring to fidelityto themarriage vow, in Opposition to ev ery v iolation of i t,wh ether in actual b ig amy, or in adul tery, or in arb i trarydiv orce and re-marriag e .
9 .—13 . The deacons must also be similarly irrep roachable,
and of good rep or t; thewomen-deacons toomust befaithful.
v . 8 . T he“deacon had to deal primarilywi th the temporal
needs of the Church , and h is offi ce g radually dev eloped
into that o f an assi stant to the presbyters .
Paul only uses th i s word in th i s spec ial sense in th is
90 STUDIE S IN T H E B OOK .
passag e and in Phil . and (feminine) Rom.
16 : 1 ; though they are alluded to inR om. I . Cor .
v . 1 1 . It i s bes t to unders tand by-these“women” “
deacon
esses proper, women deacons .
v . 13 . This good s tanding” i s in the eyes of God.
10.—16 . I write this to guard thy conduct in the Chur ch
of the liv ing God; without controversy great is themystery of
godliness.
v . 16 . He whowasmanifes ted in the flesh is the Son of God.
Here we h av e a definite statement of the pre-existence of
Chr ist according to h is div ine nature .
I t i s v ery likely th at th i s v erse i s a quotation from somewell
known Christian hymn . (See the Greek text of Westcott
and Hort . )11 . 4 : 1 — 5 . I n the latter timesmen shallfallawayf rom thef aith,
and shall teachp rincip les of abstinence which are not app roved
of God .
12.
— 11 . R ej ect all idle teachings and discussion; exercise
thyself unto godliness, which is p rofitable for all things .
13 . 4 : 12—16 . Let not thy you th induce contemp t; be an ensam
p le in all thing s. N eglect not thy sp iritual g ifts, butp ersevere
in all thy duties.
14.
—8 . B ehavior of Timothy toward the elder and younger
members of the Church . D istinctions to be observed in the
suppor t of widows.
S ome maintain that cv . 3—8 refer to the support wh ich widows
are to receiv e , and that vv . 9—10 relate to the ir qualifica
t i ons for an office in the Church .
15 . 5 : 9—16 . Widows to be enrolled on the listmust be sixty yearsof age, and of good character ; refuse younger widows, whom
Iidesire rather tomarry, and not to g ive ofi
’
ence.
16 . 5 : 17—20. Let the elder s who ru le well receive double honor ;
be thou guarded in receiv ing a ccusations against them. R e
buke sinners.
17 5 : B e notp ar tial; donot ordainmen toohastily; some
men’
s sins are sooner f ound ou t, some later ; so their good works.
v . 22. S ome th ink this laying on of hands refers to the abso
lution of penitents , bu t th i s interpretation i s questionable .
v . 23. Th i s v erse shows that Timothywas in delicate health,
and feeble in body.
1 8 . 6 : 1 , 2. The du ty of Chr istian servants.
T H E FIR ST E PISTLE To TIMOTH Y . 91
19. 6 : 3—10. I f any one teach difi’
erently he is pufied up , fosters
disputes, and counts godliness a mere gain. Let us be con
tented; riches are a snare and a sour ce of many sorrows.
20. 6 : 1 1— 16 . Follow after righteousness and Christian vir tues,
fight the good fight, and in Chr ist’
s name keep his commands,even till his glor ious coming .
21 . 6 : 17—19 . Char ge the r ich not to trust in r iches, but in God ,
and to lay up in store a good f oundation .
22. 6 : 20, 21 . Guard thydeposit, and avoid allfalse knowledge.
B enediction .
TH IR TE E NTH : G iv e an oral statement of the contents of the
E pistle, chapter by chapter.
FOUR TE E NTH : For Commentaries on the E nglish text of the
Pastoral E pistles see E llicott’s HandyCommentary, the Speak
er’
s Commentary, Van O osterz ee in Sch aff-Lang e’
s Oommen
tary, Fairbairn , and the Cambridge B ibl e .
FIFTE E NTH : On the Greek textwe would recommend (1 ) B oise ,
(2) E llicott, th en (3) Al ford, B eng el, Wordsworth , Huth er inMeyer.
ST UD Y X I .
T H E TE ACH I N G OF TH E FI R ST E PI STLE To TI MOTHY .
FIR ST : T he importance of the s tudy of the Pastoral E pistles to aclergyman.
S E COND : Text-books on Pastoral Theology are v aluabl e, butS cripture is the best text-b ook of all .
TH IR D : The Pastoral E pistles the bes t directory for pastoralwork .
FOUR TH : They teach the pastor, espec ially the importance of
four thing s :
(1) Fai thfulness in small th ing s .(2) T he use of the simplest means of operation.
(3) Puri ty of life .
(4) Purity of doctrine .
FIFTH : S tudy the First E pistle to Timothy as a whole , sect ionby section, and wri te ou t wh at Paul teaches concerning the
D oc trine of God .
(1) T he Attribu tes of God .
(2) T he doctrine of God the Fath er .
(3) God th e Son .
(4) God the Holy Ghost .S I xT H : D ev elop the teaching of Paul in th i s E pistle concerningthe Person and Work of Chris t .
(1) H i s names .
(2) T he true humanity of Christ .
(3) H i s true div inity.
(4) S tate of humiliation .
S tate of exaltation .
(6) H i s atoning work.
S E VE N T H i E xamine the whole E pistle carefully and write out
conc i selywhat Pau l teaches wi th reference to the D uties of a
Pastor .
T H E TE ACH ING OF T H E FIR ST E PISTLE To T IMOTH Y . 93
The Pastoral Ofi ce.
(1) The sacred mini s try is of God,1 : 1 , 1 1 , 12, 18 ; 2: 7 ; e tc .
(2) Is an Offi ce of ov ersig ht, 3 : 1 .
(3) Of digni ty, 3 : 1 .
(4) Of g reat respons ib ility,
(5 ) He who enters upon th i s office mus t hav e an inner call,12, 14.
(6) And the external call , 12;
(7) Mus t h av e cons iderable Ch ristian experience ,
(8) Seek the office in an humble spirit, 3 : 1 ;
(9) Mu s t be solemnly set aside to th e office by the laying on
of the h ands of the presbytery, 4 : 14 ;
(10) Pastors need not expect to rece iv e the same honors or
salarie s ,The Pastor
’
s qualifications.
(1) H e must be a true Christian, 1 : 2, 18 ;
(2) And realiz e his weakness , and need of g race and mercy,
16 ; 14.
(3) R ecogniz es the mercy and g race of God in his call ing ,— 14.
(4) Apt to teach , 3 : 2.
(5 ) Who i s able to rule , 3 : 4, 5 .
(6) And has had much Chris tian experience , 35 6 .
(7) Mus t hav e been righ tly ins tructed in the faith , 12, 16.
(8) Mus t be an example in pur i ty of life , 4 : 12.
(9) And in purity of doctrine, 4 : 12.
(10) Mus t hav e the proper intellectual and spiritu al g ifts,16 .
(11) A true student,
(12) One who recogniz es the g reat respons ib ili ty of his office ,
(13) And i s careful wh om he recommends to the omoe of themini stry, 5 : 22.
H is D uties as Preacher .
(1) N ot to teach a diff erent doctrine , bu t the sound doc trine
of our Lord Jesus Ch rist, which is according to g odlines s ,
(2) N ot to g iv e heed to fables and questions that mini ster to
di sputes , 1 : 4 ;
(3) To av o id v ain talking in the pulpit, 1 : 6 .
S TUD IE S IN TH E B OOK .
(4) To inv estigate subjects in the l igh t of God’
sWord , before
you act the part Of a teacher . 1 : 7 .
(5 ) Mu st preach Christ Jesus , as our R edeemer,
(6) B eing a true and fai thfu l teacher, 2: 7 .
(7) Mus t know how to discuss the practical i ssues of li fe,— 19.
(8) Mus t g iv e instruction as to,
the manner in‘
which the
affairs of the Church are to be carried on, 3 : 8—13, 14, 15 .
(9) Must preach the pure doctr ine of th e Gospel wi th respect
to a false asceticism, and infringement upon Chr is tian
liberty, 4 : 1— 6 .
(10) Mu st manifest h imself by his sound doctr ine as a g ood
mini ster c f Chri s t Jesus , 4 : 6 .
(11 ) Giv e h eed to the public reading and exposition of S crip
ture ,
(12) B e earnest in exhortation,4 : 13 .
(13) I n ev ery sermon preaching to the edification (teaching )of the cong reg ation,
(14) Prepare his sermons carefully, and seek to make hi s
prog ress in knowledge and experience man ifest to all,
(15 ) E v er watching the character of his teaching and testingi t by the Word of God,
(16) Present at times the teaching of God’
s Word w i th refer
ence to the du ties of th e Church to thew idow, the orphan,
and the poor in g eneral, 5 : 4— 16 .
(17) Reprov e th ose who S in, without prejudice'
or partiality,
21 .
(18) D i scu ss at su itable t ime s , if you hav e mastered the sub
ject, th e teaching of the B ible on the g reat soc ial questions
th at ag i tate modern soc iety, 6 : 1 , 2.
(19) I n your sermons do not preach sel f, or your own opin
i ons merely, doting abou t question ing s and dispu tes of
words,
(20) Speak plainly to the rich Of the ir opportuni ties and re
sponsibilities, 6 : 17—19.
(21) Av o id al l sensati onal preaching , and all scientific, and
ph i losophical disser tations in the pulpit, 21 .
H is duties as the Leader of the S ervices of the Chur ch.
(1) He must off er prayers for allmen,2: 1
,2.
(2) For those in au thority in Church and S tate,
(3) Conduct all th ing s befi tting the h ouse of God,
T H E TE ACH ING OF T H E FIR S T E PISTLE T o TIM OTH Y . 95
(4) Watch that no improper persons preach to the congreg a
tion 1 :
H is duti es as a Pastor .
(1 ) Continually seek g race , becau se a sinner ,
(2) Mercy, becau se in mi sery,
(3) Hav e peace wi th God,
(4) Holding the faith and not making shipwreck of i t,1 : 19 ; 4 : 1 .
(5 ) Must war the g ood warfare ,
(6) Mus t be w ithout reproach , 3 : 2.
(7) Lead a life of chasti ty,
(8 ) Temperate , sober-minded, orderly, g iv en to hospitali ty,
(9) N ot quarrelsome ov er wine, no striker,'but g entle, not
contentiou s, 3 : 3 .
(10) N O lov er of money,
( 1 1) R uling well his own house, h av ing h is children in sub
jcc tion w ith all g rav i ty, 3 : 4.
(12) K now how to take care of the church of God,
(13) N ot puffed up w i th pride ,or conce i ted in knowledg e,
(14) H e must hav e g ood tes timony from them that are wi th
ou t, 3 : 7 .
(15 ) Mus t insi s t that the church offi cers hav e the proper
spiritu al qualifications,3 : 8—13 .
(16) N ouri sh h imself in the words of the fai th , and of the
g ood doctrine , 4 : 6 .
(17) Hav e noth ing to dow i th profane and silly fables,(18) Act v ery di scree tly, espec ially if young and inexperi
enced, 4 : 12.
(19) Liv e as an example to believ ers, in conv ersation, in
manner of life ,in lov e, in faith , in pur ity, 4 : 12.
(20) R emember constantly the solemn v ows of ordination,
(21) S eek by prayer , medi tation, and the s tudy of God’s
Word to increase in Spiri tual g ifts, 4 : 14.
(22) B e dilig ent in all pastoral du ties ,
(23) G iv e thy whole soul to the w ork Of sav ing souls ,
(24) Make prog res s in knowledg e , experience, and ab ili ty4 : 1 5 .
(25 ) B e faith ful and persev ere ,
S TUD IE S IN T H E B OOK .
(26) S eek the salv ation of your hearers, not their g ood opin
ion ,
(27) E xhort the old men as fathers, 5 : 1 .
(28 ) The younger as bre thren,5 : 1 .
(29) T h e Older women as mothers ,
(30) T he younger as sisters , in all pur i ty, 5 : 2.
(31 ) Look after the poor, e spec ially elderlyw idow s who hav e
no friends, —16 .
(32) Is to reprov e sin Openly,o
(33) Is to perform all the du t ies o f his offi ce w ithou t par
tiality,
(34) Is not to conniv e at o ther men’s sins ,
(35 ) Is to flee all kinds of ev il,
(36) Follow after righteousness, g odl iness , faith , lov e, pa
tience, meekness ,
(37) Figh t the g ood fight Of the fai th ,
(38 ) Lay h old of the l ife e ternal,
(39) Guard that wh ich i s committed unto h im , 6 : 20.
H is duties in his p ersonal life.
(1) Seek a pu re heart, 1 : 5 .
(2) A good conscience, 1 : 5 , 18 .
(3) Pure and simple faith,
(4) Mus t realiz e his s infulness ,
(5 ) A true husband,
(6) A g ood father, 3 : 4.
(7) Mus t take bodily exerci se, 4 : 8 .
(8) B ut abov e all exerci se himself unto g odliness ,
(9) B e dilig ent as a s tudent, 4 : 15 .
(10) Take heed to his daily l ife,
(11 ) S eek the salv ation of his own soul,
(12) K eep h imsel f pure,
(13) When s ick use proper medic ine,
(14) B e c ontented with his lot, 6 : 6—8 .
(15 ) D o not desire to be rich , 6 : 9.
(16) B e fai thfu l in all thy du t ies ,E IGH TH : We h av e dev eloped th i s last topic s o fully in order to
illustrate the riche s of God’
s Word and t o show that i t i s“ profitab le for teach ing , fOr reproof, for correc ti on, for in
structi on wh ich i s in righteou sness ; th at the man of God may
be complete, furnished completely unto ev ery g ood work,”
II . T im. 17.
T H E TE ACH ING OF T H E FIR ST E PISTLE To T IM OTHY . 97
N INTH : Make a carefu l comparison between the Authorised and
R ev i sed Vers ions of th i s E pistle, and note the princ ipal
ch anges .
TE NTH : Make a special study of the marg inal reading s of the
R ev i sed Vers ion , and note the most important changes in
meaning .
ST U D Y X I I .
T H E E PI STLE TO TI TU S .
FIR ST : We h av e already seen that the E pis tle to Titus was writ
ten by Pau l apparently but a sh ort time after his v i s i t to the
i sland of Crete while on his way to N icopoli s to w inter,3 : 12. (S ee S tudyX , S tatement S ix th and E ig hth . )
S E COND : W e hav e a r ight to infer that i t was written during the
per iod interv ening between Paul’
s first and second imprison
ment at R ome, possibly in 67 A . D . , but a short time before
h is second impr i sonment .
TH IR D : R ead carefully all the passag es, in chronolog ical order,in the N ew Tes tament , referring to Titus (Gal. 2: 1 , 3 ; II . Cor .
13 , 14 ; 16 , 23 ; tog e ther w ith th i s whole
E pistle and II . T im. and from the facts obtained g iv e us
a br ief l i fe of Titu s .
FOUR T H : Giv e a br ief description of the i s land of Crete , and
write a brie f history o f i ts people .
FIFTH : What opportuni ties did th e inhab i tants of Crete hav e ofh earing the Gospel"R ead Acts 2: 1 1 ; 27 : 7— 13 ; also the E pistle to Titus .
S IXTH : R ead the E pi stle carefully and find out the reason whyi t w as w ritten .
S E VE NTH : R ead carefu lly the E pistle , div ide into sections, w i th
appropr iate heading s)
1 . 1 : 1—4. Apostolic address and salutation.
v . 1 . This long passage requiresza careful analys is and i s
worthy of close inv estig ation.
“T he Apostle ’s calling had for its destination the faith
of the elec t and the knowledge of the truth , and the basis
on which all th i s re sted was the hope of e ternal l ife .
”
(E llicott. )
1 We also add a few explanatory notes . T he analysis is after E llicott.
98
T H E E PISTLE To T ITUS . 99
v . 2. Faith and knowledge are g reat th ing s in themselv es,but they rest on a backg round of promi se and hope .
These “ times e ternal ” followed the creation and the
fall, Gen. 3 : 15
v . 3 . T he ti tle our S av iour i s applied to God the Father,as b eing the or ig in of
"the scheme Of salv ation, and as
hav ing sent his Son to be the S av iour of the world .
v . 4. Of Titus comparativ ely li ttle i s known . H i s name
does not occur in th e Acts . From Gal. 2: 3 we learn that
he was a Greek, and th i s v erse implies that he was con
v erted by Paul himself .
2. 1 : 5 —9 . 1 lef t thee in Crete toordain elders, whomust have all
high moral qualifications and teach sound doctr ine.
v . 5 . When Paul le ft Titus in Cre te can only be a matter ofconj ecture . T he s tyle of the languag e of the E pi stle , the
historical notice s , and the adv anced state of Chr i sti ani tyin the island , alike seem to lead us to fix the date of the
E pistle near to that of I . T im.
, and of th i s j ourney as not
v ery long after the Apostle’
s release from h is first impris
onment at R ome . (E llicott. )v . 7 . A steward of God has at leas t some authority and
power, someth ing i s entrusted to h is fidel i ty and Skill; he
i s not the slav e of men, not a drudg e, only le t h im be a
true steward . (B engel )v . 8 . Th i s hospitali ty would be e speci ally Shown when
Chri stians trav eling from one place to ano ther were t e
ceiv ed and forwarded on the ir j ourney by thei r brethren .
v . 9. There i s therefore such a thing as a true Ch risti an
doc trine ag ree ing w i th Apostolic teaching .
Two th ing s are requ i redof a fai thful teacher : (1 ) to knowwh at the true and sound doctrine i s . and to hav e the power
of g iv ing ins truction in i t ; and (2) to be able to confu te
and conv ic t g ainsayers and Opponents, of the ir error and
falsehood.
3 . 1 : 10—16 . There are many ev il teachers and seducer s : the
Cretan character has always been bad, so rebuke and warn
them. I n the unbelieving and polluted there is neither p urity,
faith, nor obedience.
T he Gospel often meets w i th signal succe ss amongthe deprav ed and g r oss , while the intellec tual prov e stub
born ag ainst its cordial reception.
100 S TUDIE S IN T H E B OOK .
v . 15 . Moral pollu ti on bed ims the eye of the sou l .
4. 2: 1—5 . Charge the aged men to be sober and f aithf ul; theaged women to be holy themselves and to train the younger
women.
5 . 2: 6—10. E xhor t young men to be sober , being thyself a pat
tern; exhort servants both to p lease their masters and to be
trusty.
6 .
— 15 . The grace of God has app eared,and teaches us to
be godly in this world, and to look f orward to our R edeemer’
s
coming .
7 .—7. Teach men to be obedient; we were once the contrary,
bu t have been saved and regenerated through God’
s mer cy in
Jesus Chr ist
v . 5 . 1 ) God the Father th rough his mercy sav ed us, not we
ourselv es .
(2) Pau l here speaks of baptism as the means whereby we
rece iv e the sav ing g race of Christ . I t i s all folly t o
try to explain away the true and li teral meaning of the
passag e . Pau l can say of baptism in the fullest sense of
the words, that i t i s“th e washing of regeneration,
” as
he had already said as many of you as are baptiz ed
into Chr i s t did put on Christ (Gal.
“
definitely
put him on, entered into v ital unionw i th him,
— ablessed
state, which as i t inv olv ed remi ss ion of s ins, and a cer
tain t i tle, for the time be ing , to resurrection and salv a
tion, so, i f ab ided in, most surely leads to final salv a
tion . (E llicott. )
(3) The agent of the new b irth or reg eneration i s the HolySpir it, which renews the hear t and mind .
(4) There i s but one new b irth , one reg eneration in a
Christian’s whole l i fe , and so there is but one baptism,
no second baptism, and no second new birth , although
there may be the necessity of many awakening s .
There are three liv e s belong ing to ev ery true Christian,
and there are three b ir ths correspond ing thereto . (1 )N atural l ife , born of Adam ; (2) S piritual l ife, born of
water and the Spiri t ; (3) Li fe of e ternal glory, born of the
R esurrection at last day.
0. 6 . I n th is passage the work of salv ation i s described as
the work of the B lessed Trini ty.
T H E E PISTLE T O T ITUS . 101
8 . 3 : 8 -1 1 . Teach men tomaintain good works ,a v oid idle ques
tions,and shun an obstinate heretic.
9 . 3 : 12— 14. Come tomeat N icopolis; bring Z eruw and Ap ollos.
Our brethren must not be unfruitful.
10. 3 : 15 . S aluta tions and benediction .
E GH T H : Giv e an oral s tatement of the contents of the E pistle ,c hapter by chapter .
N INTH : Take up each of the follow ing top ics l , or those inwh ich
you are espec ially interes ted,and examine the E pistle care
fu lly w i th re ference to Paul’s teaching on these subj ec ts .
(1 ) T he diff erence be tween an Apostle and a regularly ordained
mini ster .
(2) The elec t of God .
(3) Godliness .
(4) E ternal l i fe .
(5 ) God the Father our S av iour (in what sense")(6) Ch r ist Jesu s our S av i our .
(7) E lder and b i shop .
(8) T he qualifications of a mini ster .
(9) T he importance of sound doctrine .
(10) Some men’s mou ths must b e stopped . W hose"Why"
H ow"(1 1) Purity and impurity.
(12) Proper training for young women .
(13) Proper training for young men.
(14) H ow many of us are not serv ants"and what is our duty"(15 ) Paul
’
s classification of our duties .
(1) D u ties to self— liv e soberly.
(2) D uties to our fellow-men,— 1iv e rig hteou sly .
(3) D u ties to God ,— l iv e g odly
(16) D ifference between th i s presen t world and th e world to
come .
”
(17) Our dut ies as c i tiz ens .
(18 ) T he way of S alv ation .
(19) B aptism as a means of g race .
(20) Justificat ion.
(21 ) Why mu s t the be l iev er maintain g ood works"(22) H ow are we to treat false and heretical teachers"1 These tOpics are not arranged systematically
,but selected in the order
of their occurrence in the E pis tle .
ST UD Y X I I I
T H E S E CON D E PI STLE T O T IMOT H Y .
FIR ST : We hav e already seen that Paulwrote his S econd E pistle
t o Timothy during h is second impri sonment at R ome , a v eryshor t time before his martyrdom, after his firs t trial, probablyin 67 or 68 A . D . (See S tudy X .
, statement seventh and eighth . )S E COND : Where Timothy was at the t ime cannot be positiv elydec ided, but i t seems that he was at E phesu s — 18 ;
the scene of his appointed labors , I . T im. 1 : 3 .
TH IR D : R ead the E pistle carefully and note the reason why the
E pistl e was written, and what ob j ec t Paul had in v iew
FOUR TH :“I n no por tion of the wr i t ing s of Paul i s there a loftier
tone of Chr i s tian courag e than that which perv ades these, so
to speak , dying words ; nowhere a h olier rapture than that
w i th wh ich the reward and c rown of fai thful l abor i s contem
plated as now exceeding nigh at hand . (E llicott . )FIFTH : R ead the E pistle carefully, and d iv ide into sections w i th
appropriate heading s .
1
1 . 1 : 1 , 2. Ap ostolic address and salu tation.
2.—7 . I bear thee ever inEmymemory, and call tomind the
f aith that is in thee and thy f amily. S tir up the gift of God,which is in thee.
3 .
—14. D o not then shrink f rom afflictions, f or the sake ofhim who abolished death . I am his p reacher , and know that he
will keep my dep osit; g uard thine.
4 . 1 : 15—18 . Theywhich are inAsia all deser ted me . T heLord
g ivemercy at the last day unto Onesip horu s .
v . 16 . Onesiphorus had showed mercy to Paul; th e Apostle
in tu rn prays that mercy may be g ranted to h is household .
I t i s h ighly probable that Onesiphoru s was
now dead.
1 We also had a few explanatory note s . T h e analysis is a f ter E llicot t .
102
T H E S E COND E PISTLE To TIMOTH Y . 103
v . 18 . The R omi sh doctrine of praying for the dead has no
foundation in thi s passag e , for this prayer may surely be
offered for a man wh i le s till liv ing with as much proprietyas after his death .
5 .—7 . B e strong , faithf u l, and saf er hardship . N o one
,
whether soldier, athlete, or husbandman,r eaps reward without
tail.
6 . 2: 8—13 . R emember Chr ist and his resurr ection; I suffer for
the elect’
s sake; if we endure, he will reward u s .
7 . 23 14—26 . Charg emen to avoid babbling s, which really lead
to the subversion of f aith. . God knows his own. Follow p r ac
tical relig ion,be meek and eschew contentions .
8 .—9. I n the last days there shall be everyform of vice.
Avoid all examp les of su ch; they ever str ive to sedu ce others
and thwar t the tr uth .
9. 3 : 10—17. Thou knowest alikemy faith and sulfer ings . E vil
men shall increase,but do thou hold f ast tothe H oly S cr iptures,
which willmake thee wise and p erf ect.v . 16 . We hav e a right to infer from th is passage the im
portant truth that ev ery separate portion of the B ible is
inspired, and forms a liv ing portion of a liv ing and or
g anic whole . (On Inspiration see S tudies in the B ook ,
”
F irst S eries, pp . 16
10.
—8 . 1 solemnly charge thee to be active and urgent, for
evil teachers will abound. D ischarge thg ministry; mine is
well nigh done, and mg reward is r eady.
1 1 . 4 : 9—18 . Come tome; all excep t Luke are absent on missions.
B eware of Alexander . A t myfirst tr ial myf r iends deser tedme, but the Lord stood byme.
12. 4 : 19—21 . S alutations and p ersonal notices.
13 . 4 : 22. B enediction.
S IXTH : Giv e an oral s tatement of th e contents of th e lE pistle,chapter by ch apter .
S E VE NTH : Take up each of the following topics , or those in
which you are e speci ally interested, and examine the E pistle
care fully wi th reference to Paul’s teaching on those subj ect s .
(1 ) The doctrine of God the Father .
(2) Of God the Son.
(3) O f God th e Holy Ghost .
(4) Of the Person of Christ .
(5 ) O f the Work of Christ.
104 S TUDIE S IN T H E B OOK .
(6 ) The nature of the Consc ience .
(7) Prayer .
(8 ) T he v alue of ordination .
(9) The Work of the Holy Spirit .
(10) Fai th .
(11 ) T he office of the Mini stry.
(12) Qualifications for the office of the Min is try.
(13) R epentance .
(14) The snare of the dev il.
(15 ) Inspiration of the S cr ipture s .
(16) T he day of Judgment .
E IGH TH : W e are now ready to sum up the results of our S tudie s
in the B ook .
N INTH : All the different type s of doctrine in the N ew Tes ta
ment may be arrang ed under fou r heads :
(1) T he Te aching of Jesus .
(2) T he Petrine type of teaching .
(3) T he Pauline type .
(4) The Johann ine type .
TE NTH : U nder th e Teach ing of Jesu s we include th e teaching of
our S av iour as recorded in the Four Gospels . (See“S tudies
in the B ook , F irst S er ies. )E LE VE NTH : Under the Petrine type we include th e teach ing of
James , I . Pe ter , Jude, and II . Pe ter .
TW E LFTH : Under the Pauline type we include th e teaching of
the fourteen E pistles of S t. Paul, s tudied in ch ronolog ical
order . S ee S tudies in the B ook,
”S econd and Thir d S eries ,
TH IR TE E NTH : Under the Johannine type we include the teach
ing of the three E pistles of John , of the B ook of R ev elation,
and of that par t of the Gospel of John which records h is own
saying s . (S ee S tudies in the B ook,
”First S er ies. )
FOUR TE E NTH : For the Adv anced S tudent we would sugg est the
follow ing ou tline of S tudies :
(1 ) T he Pauline Theology (D octrine of God) .
(2) T he Pauline Anthropology (Doctrine of Man) .
(3) The Pauline Christology (Person of Christ) .
(4) T he Pauline S oteriol ogy (Work of Chris t) .
(5 ) T he Pauline Pneumatology (W ork of Holy Spirit) .
(6) The Pauline E cclesiology (D octr ine of Church) .
(7) T he Pauline E schatology (Last Th ing s) .
FIFTE E NTH : All these topics can also be inv es tig ated according
T H E S E COND E PI sTLE To TIMOTH Y . 105
(1) T he teach ing of Jesus ; (2) T he teaching of P eter ; (3) Theteach ing Of John.
S IXTE E NTH : T he spec ial sc ience which aims at producing dis
tinc tly the teaching of the d iff eren t books of the B ible i s known
by the name o f“B iblical Theology.
”
S E VE NTE E NTH : As the B ible consists of two parts , we may speak
(1 ) of th e B iblical Theology of the Old Testament ; 1 and (2)T he B iblical Theology of the N ew Tes tament 2
1 S ee my B iblical T heolog y of the Old Tes tament . B ased on O ehle r .
Fleming H . R evell, Chicago and N ew York .
2My“ B iblical Theolog y of th e N ew Te stament, ” will appear .n 1891 .
Flem ing H . R ev el". Chicago and N ew York .
I N D E X .
AtonementB iblical TheologyB ooks recommended : On Colossians
On E phesians
On Philemon .
On Philippians
On Hebrews .
On Pastoral E pistles
Chri st, doc trine of Person of
D octrine of Work of
Three-fold ofli ce of
Humi l iation of
Intercess ion of
Prophe tic office of
Is our High PriestE xaltation of
R eg al offi ce of .
Ch ristology, of Coloss ians
of E phesians
of HebrewsChurch , doctrine of the
Colossian heresy.
Colo ssians , E pistle to the
B est Commentaries on .
Teach ing of the E pistle
Ch ristology of
S oteriology of
D iv ini ty of Christ
D uties of the
of a Pastor .
Page .
22, 23, 62, 63, 69, 75 , 76
104, 105
18
31
42
49
71
91
14, 15 , 21 , 22, 28, 73, 74, 77, 78
15 , 22, 23, 75 , 76, 78 , 79
23
46 , 47, 74
67
75
67, 75 , 76
74, 75 , 79
76
14,15 , 21 , 22
28
73 , 74, 77, 78
35 —38
1 1 , 12, 16
9—18
18
19-24
21 , 22
22, 23
21 , 22, 73, 77
19, 20
108 INDE X .
E phesians, E pistl e to the
B es t Commentaries on
Teaching of .
E xaltation of Ch rist
Father, doctrine of the
God the Father, doctrine of
God th e Son, doctrine of .
God the Holy Gh ost, doctrine ofGod-Man, Jesu s i s the
Hebrews, E pistle to theB est Commentaries on
Teaching of the E pistle
Chr istology of
S oteriology of
H igh Priesthood of Christ .
Holy Ghost, doctrine ofHumiliation of Chri st
Interces sion of Chris t .
Mediator, Jesu s i s our
Melch iz edek
M in i s terial oflice
Pastor, du ties of
Pastoral E pistles, Commentaries on .
Person of Christ, doctr ine of
Philemon, E pistle to.
B est Commentaries on
Philippians, E pistle to the
B est Commentarie s on
Teach ing of theE pistle
Pr iesthood of Christ
Prophetic office of Ch rist
Propitiation .
R eg al ofiice of Christ
S oteriology, of Coloss ians
of HebrewsThree-fold offi ce of Chri st .
Timothy, the First E pistle to
Teach ing of .
B est Commentaries .
Page .
25—30
31
32-39
74,75 , 79
33,34
33, 34
21 , 22, 73, 77, 78
34,35
22, 73, 74
30
52—71
71
72-8 1
73,74
, 77, 78
75 , 76
67, 75 , 76, 77
34, 35
46, 47, 74
67
22,23
66
93—96
93—96
9 1
21 , 22, 73 . 74
42
43—49
49
50, 5 1
. 67, 75 , 76
75
. 62, 63
76
22, 23
75 , 76
23, 75 , 76'
82—91
INDE X . 109
Timo thy, S econd E pistle to .
Titus , E pistle to
Tr in ity, doc trine of the
W icked, no restoration of the .
Work Of Chri st, doctrine of
Page .
102— 105
98 101
35
28
22, 23, 75 , 76, 78
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WH ISTON,A . M . ,
with Life,Portrait
,N otes and Index . A new cheat
edition in clear type . Larg e 8v 0,6 84 pages, cloth,
S YN ON YM S AN D AN TON YM S . By R t . R ev . sam e
FALLows,A . M , D . D . 5 1 2 pag es, cloth ,
A comple te D ic tionary of synonyms a nd w or ds of oppos z te meaning s, with an appendix of B rit ic isms, Americanisms
, ColloquialI sms,H omonims
,H omophonous words, Fore ig
Phrases , etc . e tc .
Th is i s one of the best books of its kind we have seen,and probably there is nothin
published in the country that 15 equal to it .-Y. M . C. A . Wa tchma n .
N EW YOR K CH ICAGO(2Bible House, AstorPI . Flem"I)"H'ReuelI 148 d. 75 0Madison 8 8