Colossians 3
DODDColossians 3:5-17
The apostle presses the Colossians to guard against every degree of uncleanness, malice, and falsehood, and to abound in the practice of the opposite virtues, and in those devout exercises and evangelical views by which they might be animated to cultivate them. Col. III. 5-17.
COLOSSIANS III. 5.
YOU have heard of the glorious hope which we entertain as Christians, let me therefore urge it upon you, that you be influenced in a suitable manner by it, and particularly that it engage you to mortify those lusts which are so apt to dwell in your members that are on earth; such as fornication, uncleanness, and every other kind and degree of inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and an insatiable desire of any carnal gratification, an object which is indeed nothing less than idolatry, or paying that regard to the most unworthy things which is due to God alone. On account of which the wrath of God is coming, not only on those who profess themselves his people, but even on the children of disobedience, on heathens themselves, who bid the most open defiance to what we well know to be the first principles of true religion. Among whom ye also once walked, and had your conversation, partaking with your neighbours in all their enormities, when formerly ye lived among them, and made a part of their number. But now being converted to the pure, peaceful, and devout religion of the Lord Jesus Christ, see to it, that ye also put away all these enormities, and particularly the transports of open rage, the secret grudgings of concealed resentment, the malignant working of malice, the injuries of evil speaking, the scandals of lewd conversation; and let them
Evil speaking.] The original word properly signifies blasphemy, but it includes not only impious speeches with regard to God, which is the highest degree of malignant language, but all railing and reproachful speeches against our brethren, proceeding from the transports of furious passions. Lewd conversation.] So I understand αυτηρολογια; of obscene and impure words,
which are so scandalously common (if I may credit reports which I cannot suspect) among many, whom good breeding at least should teach better, if they had no regard to any higher consideration. But Dr. Whitby explains it of reproachful speeches that expose others to contempt; which to me seems a very unnatural interpretation.
To put on the new man, and cultivate
all be resolutely banished out of your mouth, and out of your heart : Neither lie one to another, either in trade or common conversation ; having solemnly professed to put off the old man with his iniquitous deeds, and entirely renounced all those corrupt affections which were naturally so prevalent in you ; And having declared it as your design and resolution, to put on the new [man.] all the branches of that contrary temper and disposition, which constitute the Christian character, and which is renewed in knowledge of our true duty and interest, and an universal holiness, as the genuine fruit of it ; according to the image of him that created him, even of God, who is himself the great standard of all moral perfection. Thus you will indeed become genuine members of that blessed society where there is no distinction between men of different nations, education, or ranks in life ; where neither is any man rejected for being a Greek, nor accepted merely for being a Jew ; a society where he can claim nothing by virtue of circumcision, nor lose any thing by uncircumcision ; where no barbarian, or even Scythian, is treated with contempt for that want of learning and politeness which is to be found in the most remote nation ; or any slave trampled upon as unworthy notice, since he shares with others in the possession of that inestimable treasure, an immortal soul, and may have a part in the great Redeemer of souls : [nor] is a free man chiefly esteemed or regarded upon account of his boasted liberty ; but rather in proportion to his subjection to our Divine Master : for this is the great band of union among them all, the matter of their boasting and their joy, that they are related to Christ, who is acknowledged to be all that is amiable and excellent, and who dwells in all true believers, without any difference on any of these accounts.
Consider this, my brethren, whatever your external circumstances may be, and put on therefore, as the chosen people of God, holy to him,
Put on as the chosen of God. This is to exhort them to advance more and more not inconsistent with what was said above, in these benevolent dispositions, which (ver. 10.) of their law already put on did in some considerable degree already put on the new man, as the writings intended here prevail in their hearts.
ble, compassionate, and forgiving temper.
and beloved by him, set apart to his service, and blessed with the tokens of his peculiar favour, bowels of tender mercy to all the afflicted and distressed, gentleness to all men, lowliness of mind, engaging you to condescend even to those in the humblest stations, meekness under whatever injuries and provocations ye may receive, and long suffering, when your trials may be in their continuance tedious, as well as violent in their degree; Forbearing to break out into any revengeful actions, or reproachful speeches against one another, and not only so, but cordially forgiving one another, if any have a quarrel against another: even as Christ hath freely forgiven you, though you have in so many instances injured and provoked him, so also do ye, in imitation of an example so amiable and so Divine. And above all these things, [put on] love, which is indeed the very bond of all perfection, and which will keep your minds steadfast, and establish that consistency of sentiments and behaviour which is so honourable in the Christian character, and tends so much to its security. And let the peace of God always preside as the great empire in your hearts,⁴ even that placid and benign temper which so naturally results from a sense of your reconciliation to God. This is the blessed state and disposition into which you also are called by the gospel, being happily united in one body: and be ye thankful for those privileges which result from it, whatever affliction may for the present be allotted to you. And let the word of Christ, the gospel which you have received, dwell in you richly in all wisdom; lay it up in your hearts, meditate upon it continually, and endeavour wisely to improve it to the best purpose. And, in this view, be often teaching one another the doctrines of Christ
⁴ Let the peace of God preside in your minds, as the master of the games does in the heart [ The original word, which we render preside, is ἐφελῶσιον. Let it fill your hearts, says Pasor, with such a joy as victors have when they receive the prize, in the Olympic games. I rather think it signifies, let it preside in your minds, as the master of the games does in those solemnities. And, as this is the sense in which I long ago apprehended the word was to be taken, it is a great satisfaction to me to find this interpretation confirmed by the authority of so great a critic as Beza.
il things should be done in the name of Christ.
ianity, and admonishing one another concerning the duties of it; and let these seasons, whether of public worship, or private conference, be in a proper manner diversified with the use of David’s psalms, and other evangelical hymns and spiritual songs,⁶ which under the influences of the Spirit ye may be enabled to compose. For it will be both pleasant and profitable to be frequently employed in singing such pieces of sacred poetry and music, provided it be not merely the language of the lip, or the exercise of the voice, but be likewise attended with the exercise of grace in your heart; which surely it will be, if we rightly consider that they are addressed to the Lord, to whom every sentiment of the heart is known, and to whom nothing can be acceptable which is not attended with cordial devotion. And, upon this great principle, you may take it as a general rule, that whatsoever ye do in word, or in deed, in all your discourses, and in all your actions, you [do] all things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; all to the purposes of his glory, and all in humble dependence upon him, both for the communication of spiritual strength, and for your acceptance with God. And, while you have so dear and acceptable a name to use in your approaches to the Divine Majesty, rejoice in this inestimable privilege; perform the duties incumbent upon you with pleasure, and be continually giving thanks to God even the Father through him, who will graciously recommend, by his prevailing intercession, your prayers and praises, as well as your other services, to the Divine regard.
⁶ Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs. Calvin thinks all these words refer to David’s poetical pieces, as some of them are called קצרים, Mizmarim, psalms, attended with instruments, some חולים, Tehillim, which he thinks were prayers generally sung, and others שירים, Sharim, songs, containing not only proper and immediate acts of devotion addressed to God, but also moral and religious instructions. But I see not the authority of this interpretation, and think it much more reasonable to believe, that by hymns and spiritual songs he means such poetical composures as, under the influence of the Spirit, were written or ut-
tered. For it would be very absurd to suppose, that when there was such a girl in the church, as we are sure there was (compare 1 Cor. xiv. 15, 26,) they should be confined to the words of David in all their devotions of this kind. And it would certainly be as reasonable for us, in these latter ages, to explode all kind of prayers in public but liturgies collected from the words of Scripture, as all sacred songs in Divine worship are but literal translations from what is called the book of Psalms. Numberless passages of the Old and New Testament are equally capable of furnishing us with sacred asthma.
Reflections on the obligations of Christians to holiness.
IMPROVEMENT.
LET Christians solemnly charge upon themselves an abstinence from those vices which bring the wrath of God upon heathens; and, though it should be like wounding or cutting off our members, let us put on an holy resolution to mortify them; and, not content with refraining from all degrees of pollution, falsehood, and malignity of heart, let us be more solicitous, to put on the new man, which is the creation of God in the soul, and which bears his amiable image. Whatever our nation or rank, our education, or our circumstances in life may be, let this be our concern, that we may be in Christ, and Christ in us, for on that depends our everlasting all. Happy the most untaught savage, and the most oppressed slave, who is thus related to the incarnate wisdom of God, and the great Lord of all, infinitely beyond the politest Greek, the most ceremonious few, the freest subject, or the most despotic prince, who is a stranger to such a blessing!
If we have any reason to hope that we are the elect of God, holy and beloved by him, let this charm us to entertain the most beneficent sentiments and views with regard to our fellow creatures, and teach us to put on bowels of mercy, gentleness, humility, meekness, and long suffering. Let the grace of Christ in freely forgiving us, teach us to rejoice in opportunities of imitating it. Do we desire to feel the peace of God presiding in us, let us, exercise charity, the bond of perfectness, and let us study to be more and more thankful, in whatever stations we are placed; observing attentively its advantageous circumstances, reflecting especially how much worse things might have been, and how unworthy we ourselves are of any distinction which God may be pleased to make in our favour.
We have especially great reason most thankfully to acknowledge the Divine goodness, in providing us with so many religious advantages, and particularly with those that relate to the most decent and edifying performance of the duty of psalmody. To furnish us for a right discharge of it, let us carefully treasure up the word of Christ in our minds, and let us be ever more solicitous to preserve the melody of the heart than that of the voice. In this, and in every other service, let all be done in the name of Christ, and then we may humbly hope that all shall be accepted through him. And, if that prevailing name do not recommend us to acceptance, the divine purity will find something in every one of them which will justify God, not only in rejecting them, but in condemning us.
VOL. 5.
Duties o husbands and wives.
Colossians 3:18
The apostle recommends to the Colossians a car the duties that answered to the several relation they stood, whether they were wives or husb parents, servants or masters. Col. III. 18, 1-6.
COLOSSIANS III. 18.
LET me now remind you, as I frequently do my other Christian friends, both in my sermons and epistles, of how great importance it is to endeavour after such a temper and behaviour, in respect to the relative duties of life, as may adorn a Christian profession. And be particularly exhorted, ye wives, that ye be subject to your own husbands, though they should be Jews or heathens, as it is becoming in the Lord: for a modest, respectful, obedient behaviour in this most endearing relation, will make your characters appear beautiful, and so far gain upon those of them who are strangers to Christianity, as to give them a good opinion of it upon that account. And, on the other hand, ye husbands, be exhorted tenderly to love [your] wives, and be not severe and bitter against them, as too many in the world are, who become domestic tyrants, and quarrel with their wives upon every trifling occasion; thus overbearing those whom they should rather guard and comfort, breaking their tender spirits, and perhaps shortening their days.
Children, see to it that ye be obedient to [your own] parents, in all lawful things; for this is well pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who, when he condescended to dwell in human flesh, was a constant example of filial piety, not only to his real mother, but to him who was only his supposed father. (Luke xi. 51.) And ye fathers, see to it, that you do not so abuse the superiority of the relation, as, by a perverse and excessively severe conduct, to provoke your children, [to wrath,] lest they be discouraged from attempting to please you, when it shall seem to be an impossible task; and be rendered unfit to pass through the
World with advantage, when their spirits have been so unreasonably broken under an oppressive yoke in the earliest years of life. Ye servants, be subject in all things, so far as duty will permit, to [them that are,] with respect to the flesh, [your] masters, and whose property Divine Providence has suffered you to become: obey their commands, and take care of their interest, not merely with eye service, as those who are solicitous only to be men pleasers, but as in the simplicity of your heart, fearing God, and therefore for his sake attending to the offices of that humble station he has been pleased to assign you; as those who remember that his authority enforces that of your earthly masters. And whatsoever work ye are employed in, pursue it heartily and diligently, as therein paying a tribute of love and duty to the Lord Jesus Christ himself, and not to men alone: Knowing that, in this case, your diligence in your secular calling shall be accepted, with regard to the principle from whence it proceeds, and that you shall receive from the Lord Jesus Christ the gracious recompense; not indeed an estate in this world, like that which your masters may value themselves upon, but, what is infinitely more important, the possession of an eternal inheritance above. For ye herein serve the Lord Christ, whose rewards are according to his own majesty, grace, and power, and not according to the meanness of our deserts. And, on the other hand, he that is injurious to any, in one relation of life or another, shall receive according to the injury that he hath done, and there is no respect of persons with God. Nor shall a Christian servant be excused because it is an heathen master he hath injured. On the same principles, ye masters are to be exhorted and charged, that ye render unto [your] servants justice and equity; even to those who are most entirely in your power, and who have no human appeal left, whatever wrongs they may receive; knowing that ye also have a Master in the heavens, to whom you must give an account, whose power is irresistible, and who seeing, as he does, the whole of your conduct, will another day bring you unto judg-
St. Paul exhorts them to continue in prayer
ent for every relation you have sustained, and will not forget your treatment of your very slaves. And that, on the whole, all these different duties may be well discharged, and all these relations in life properly filled up, persevere in fervent and earnest prayer to God, watching against negligence and indolence in it, and endeavouring to keep up your hearts and your hopes, with a mixture of thanksgiving for those mercies which you have already received in answer to former petitions, or in which God has prevented you with the blessings of his goodness. And these are so various and so important, that, in whatever circumstances you are, you will necessarily have cause for praise. At the same time also, in a particular manner be praying for us,³ that God may open to us a door of utterance; (compare 1 Cor. xvi. 9;) that I may have an opportunity to speak of the gospel in general, and the right of the believing Gentiles to all its privileges, even the mystery of Christ, for which also I am in bonds; bonds, then most grievous to me, when they prove an obstruction to that great business and joy of my life, the propagation of that sacred scheme and system of truths in which the glory of God and the happiness of men is so highly concerned. And pray that, when these restraints shall be taken off, I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak, and may never be so terrified by the most formidable enemies or dangers, as in any degree to suppress it.
As for yourselves, walk in wisdom towards them that are without the pale of the church, your heathen neighbours, and particularly your magistrates, doing nothing to disgrace religion in their eyes, or unnecessarily to exasperate them against you; redeeming the time; endeavouring to employ it as usefully as you can, and to protract your period of service as long as may be, by prudently declining any dangers to which duty does not require you to expose yourselves.
³ Praying for us.] Dr. Whitby justly friends, should never speak of the inter-observes, that it is very remarkable that cession of the virgin Mary, or of departe Paul, who so often and so earnestly en-savits or angels, if he believed it a duty to treats the intercession of his Christian seek it.
ctions on the importance of relative duties.
Let your speech [be] always with grace,ᵇ conducted in the most mild and courteous, the most proper and graceful manner; so that it may appear influenced by a governing principle of Divine grace and unfeigned piety in your hearts. Let it in this respect be so seasoned with the salt of heavenly wisdom, as may render it savoury and edifying. In this view reflect upon things and circumstances before you speak, that you may not utter any thing which would be rash and foolish, but may know how you ought to answer every one who may question you about your religion and your conduct, in a manner that may most effectually tend to your own security, and to the edification of others. Compare 1 Pet. iii. 15.
IMPROVEMENT.
How happy will particular persons, families, and larger societies be, if these apostolic maxims be carefully pursued! While wives are submissive to their husbands, and husbands affectionate to their wives; children obedient to their parents, and parents tenderly careful of their children; servants revering the commands of their masters, and conscientiously and constantly attending to their interests; and masters concerned to maintain all equity in their behaviour to those of their servants who are most entirely in their power; remembering on all sides the account to be given to the supreme Master in heaven, and humbly looking for the reward of the inheritance.
To engage a steady and uniform care in all these various duties, and to make us truly good in every relation of life, let us be daily drawing down grace from God, by continuing instant in prayer; and, as our spirits are so ready to grow cold and indifferent in it, let us watch thereunto, lest by insensible degrees we grow remiss in the performance, and from that remissness come entirely or frequently to neglect it.
Let every mercy we receive from God awaken our thankfulness, and animate our devotion; and let us not forget in our prayers the ministers of Christ; but ask for them those assistances from on high which may enable them to open their mouth boldly, in declaring that mysterious and important doctrine with which they are charged, and on which the salvation of immortal souls depends.
ᵇ Always with grace] Dr. Scott thinks, Scott’s Christian Life, Vol. I. p. 285. I have that the phrase «χαῖλι» signifies cheerful included this in the paraphrase, but can and agreeable, not whining and melancholy, not apprehend it was chiefly designed.
278 St. Paul refers them to Tychicus for an account of himself. SECT. vii. verse To enforce their labours as much as possible, let us add the influence of a regular and amiable behaviour, conducting ourselves with wisdom towards all, and particularly those who are strangers to religion; and redeeming time, as those that know its infinite importance, because they see eternity connected with it. And, that we may not, as is so frequent, lose the time we spend in conversation, let us seek more of the salt of Divine grace in our hearts, to correct their innate corruption, and learn the happy art of improving discourse well, and of answering others in such a manner, that, without dictating to them, we may gently lead them to the most useful reflections, and make our lips, like those of the righteous, a fountain of life unto them. (Prov. x. 11.) S E C T. VIII. The apostle concludes his epistle to the Colossians with recommending Tychicus and Onesimus to them, and inserts various salutations, and a solemn admonition to Archippus. Col. IV. 7, to the end. COLOSSIANS IV. 7. SECT. viii. Col. iv. 7 IT is now time that I should draw towards the close of this epistle, which I will not enlarge by insisting particularly on the things which relate to myself: for Tychicus, a beloved brother, and a faithful deacon of your church, and fellow servant with me in the delightful work of our common Lord, will make them known to you by word of mouth, in a more particular manner than I can now conveniently write of them. To him I intrust this epistle, and to him I refer you for an account of my present situation, whom I have now sent to you for this very purpose, that he may know your affairs, and when he returns to me again (as I hope he quickly will) I may know them also; and that he in the mean time may comfort your hearts by his Christian counsels and exhortations, as well as by the information he may bring you of what has passed here, and of the state of the Col. IV. 7. ALL my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord: 8 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts; a Tychicus] From comparing this verse with Eph. vi. 21, 22, where Tychicus is mentioned as sent by Paul from Rome to Ephesus, a city not very far from Colosse, it may, I think, (as has been already observed in the Introduction to this epistle, and in that to the Ephesians,) be very probably inferred, that these two epistles which contain many passages very nearly resembling one another, were written about the same time, and might be sent together.
erts salutations from his friends at Rome.
hurches around, so far as I have been made acquainted with it. And with him comes Onesimus,ᵇ a faithful and beloved brother, who is [one] of you, and has resided at Rome some time. They will be able more particularly to inform you of the state of things here.
Aristarchus, once my companion and fellow labourer at Ephesus, (Acts xix. 29.) and now my fellow captive for the sake of the gospel, salutes you in the Lord; and John Mark, who is sister’s son to that great and excellent apostle Barnabas, concerning whom ye have formerly received instructions: he will quickly leave these parts; I desire therefore that, if he comes to you, ye would receive him with all respect and affection, as he is one who, whatever misunderstanding there might once have been between us, is entitled to my sincerest esteem.ᶜ (Compare Acts xv. 38.) And I am also to send you the salutation of Jesus, who is called Justus,ᵈ and well deserves the name, on account of his strict and approved integrity. These whom I have named last are the only persons, who, being of the circumcision, [have been] fellow labourers with me in the service of the kingdom of God, and who have been a comfort to me under my sufferings in the defence of its interests, and been ready to concur with me in any endeavours for its advancement.
Epaphras, who is one of your own society, and whom I judge to be a most faithful servant of Christ, salutes you, and is always striving and wrestling with God for you in [his] prayers, that ye may attain to the greatest improvements and establishments in Christianity, and
ᵇ Onesimus] This verse makes it probable, that this epistle, if it was not written, was at least delivered after that to Philemon, and that the admirable letter to him produced its desired effect. See the Introduction to the Ephesians, p. 89.
ᶜ My sincerest esteem.] That, notwithstanding the breach mentioned in the text referred to, there had been an entire reconciliation between Paul and Mark, farther appears from 2 Tim. iv. 11, and Philem. ver. 24.
ᵈ Jesus who is called Justus] Mr. Fleming thinks that good man changed his name from a principle of conscience, as questioning at least whether it was lawful to wear that which had been Divinely appropriated to the great Saviour; which seem to have been his own opinion. Flem. Christol. Vol. III. p. 604. But I can scarce think he would have exchanged it for that of Justus, which rather seems to be an additional name which the respect of his friends had bestowed upon him.
He directs his epistle to be read by the Laodicea
so stand, amidst all temptations and dangers, perfect and complete in the whole will of God, and may retain the purity of the gospel, unadulterated with those debasing mixtures which some are so eager to introduce. I am fully persuaded, that he is thus mindful of you at the throne of grace; for I can bear witness to him, that he has great zeal for you, and for all those Christians that are in your parts, and particularly in the neighbouring cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis.
Luke, the beloved physician, who is deservedly dear to you and to me, and to all our fellow Christians, salutes you; and Demas likewise, who hitherto continues with me.
Salute, in my name, the Christian brethren in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church that is in his house: for I know there are several Christians, who either reside in it, or meet for social worship there.
And, as I am desirous that my writings during my confinement may be as useful as possible to my Christian friends, I desire that when this epistle is read publicly to you in your religious assembly, as (having inscribed it to the whole society) I am assured it will be, you cause it also to be read to the church of the Laodiceans; and for that purpose take proper methods for conveying it immediately to them; that so you may also the more easily have an opportunity to read that which I have written to them, and which I doubt not but you may procure from Laodicea; as, on your imparting this to them, they will see it is my request that it may be communicated to you.
Luke, the beloved physician.] From comparing this with ver. 11, where Paul says, he had no fellow labourer of the circumcision, but those whom he had named, the late Lord Barrington concludes, that Luke was a proselyte of the gate before he was converted to Christianity. And I think it may be fairly concluded that he was not a Jew.
Read that from Laodicea.] Commentators are much divided as to the interpretation of these words. The ancients generally thought the epistle here referred to was that to the Ephesians, which being inscribed to the chief church in these arts,
(and, as Archbishop Wake, in his Preface to the Apostolic Fathers, p. 94, by a much more modern name, calls it the metropolis,) might be communicated to the Laodiceans, and so to the Colossians. But there is no direction of this kind in that epistle, and it would have been much more natural for Paul to have directed these Colossians to have sent to Ephesus for an epistle inscribed to that church. There is no ground however to imagine that it refers (as some have thought) to an epistle written by the apostle Paul from Laodicea, where it is reasonable to conclude, from Colossians ii. 1, that he has
ul concudes his epistle with his own hand.
Before I conclude, I must add one word by way of particular caution and exhortation to one person among you, whose character is of great and public importance. Say therefore to Archippus,8 in my name and in your own, take heed to the ministry, which thou hast received in the name and by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, that thou fulfil it with diligence and care; for the consequence of neglecting this high and holy office, after having so solemnly undertaken it, will be infinitely dangerous and fatal.
Thus far I have used the pen of a friend; but now I add the salutation of [me] Paul, written with mine own hand, as a token of the genuineness of the epistle. Remember my bonds, and bear me upon your heart with that affection which you owe to an apostle, and to one who is now a confessor for the truth he hath preached. Grace [be] with you from Christ, the fountain of it. Amen. You have my repeated and most affectionate prayers for it, and my the God of grace and peace confirm it by his most efficacious Amen!
never been; nor can I think it likely, that it means an epistle written to him from the church of Laodicea, which the apostle would not have ordered to be read publicly in the church in the same manner with his own epistle. Others have much more probably supposed that it was an epistle written to the Laodiceans by St. Paul, though the epistle extant under that name (which may be seen in Fabricius, Cod. Apocr. Vol II. p. 873) has nothing so remarkable in its contents as to make it at all requisite for this church to send for it; and indeed has not any of the spirit and flame of the apostle Paul, or any thing worthy of him but what is borrowed from his other epistles, though it be even shorter than that to Philemon. We may rather conclude it to be now lost; for all the epistles which the apostles ever wrote are not preserved, any more than all the words and actions of our blessed Lord. (Compare John xx. 30, and xxi 25.) If this be not allowed, we must refer it (as above) to the epistle to the Ephesians, which might be intended, as some think, to be communicated as a circular epistle, and a copy of it ordered to be sent to Laodicea, from whence, as it lay nearer to
them, the Colossians might more easily obtain it than from Ephesus. This has the rather been supposed, as the epistle to the Ephesians is the only one of all Paul’s epistles that has nothing in it peculiarly adapted to the state of that church to which it is directed, but has much of common concernment to all Christians, especially to the Gentile converts. And in this case it is no wonder the apostle should make such a reference, as there is so great a resemblance between this epistle to the Colossians and that to the Ephesians, and as so many of the sentiments only suggested here are more largely illustrated there. Compare Col. i. 26, with Eph. iii. 9; Col. ii. 13, with Eph. ii. 1, &c Col iii. 11, with Eph. i. 10, &c Col iii. 18, 19, with Eph. v. 22-33, and the like.
Say to Archippus.] This seems an intimation that Archippus, whoever he were, was not so diligent and active in the prosecution of his ministry as could have been wished. But that his fault was entangling himself with Jewish disputations, as some have supposed, is so far from being evident, that I see nothing to make it at all probable.
VOL. 5.
Reflections on the zeal of Epaphras for the Colossians,
IMPROVEMENT.
THE friendly disposition of St. Paul fails not to shew itself in the close, as well as entrance of every epistle, and indeed runs through all the parts of each. It cannot but give some pleasure to the pious reader, to whom the memory of such a servant of Christ will always be precious, to find that there were some even of the circumcision that were comforts to him in his afflictions; as well as that John Mark, the nephew of Barnabas, was so thoroughly reconciled, and made one of his most agreeable and useful friends; though there was a time when Paul thought it inconsistent with prudence and duty to admit him as a companion. He that reproveeth a man shall afterwards find more favour, than he who flattereth with the tongue. (Prov. xxviii. 23.) And if the faithfulness of plain rebukes may be the means of recovering our brethren to a sense of their duty, they will no doubt be sensible of the obligation, and it will add firmness and endearment to future friendship.
When Epaphras was at a distance from his brethren at Colosse, he was not only praying for them, but, as the word signifies, wrestling with God in his prayers on their account; an important evidence of his Christian affection for them. And how well were his petitions chosen! That they might not only be sincerely good, as they already were, but perfect and complete in all the will of God; that there might be in their hearts and actions a more entire conformity to it. May that be our character and happiness to have respect to all God’s commandments, and to carry our regards to them as far as we possibly can.
Commendable, and perfectly consistent with the strictest modesty, was the concern which the apostle expresses, that his epistles might be diffused as far as possible, and that Christians in different societies might receive the benefit of them. And indeed they turn so much upon matters of universal importance, that they are admirably calculated for the edification of those who may live in the most distant countries and ages. Surely there cannot be a more sacrilegious attempt upon Christian liberty and piety than to take them away from the common people, to whom Paul expressly ordered they should be publicly read: nor can there be greater madness than to pretend to guard men from error and heresy, by concealing from them writings which the Holy Spirit himself suggested, to lead them to truth and holiness.
We know not what there might be so particular in the character or circumstances of Archippa as to require the solemn admonition with which the epistle closes. But, whatever the occasion of it were, it certainly suggests a most useful and important
and the apostle’s admonition to Archippus.
thought to all the ministers of the gospel. It is of the Lord Jesus Christ that they receive their ministry; to him they are quickly to render a strict account of it. May they all therefore take heed to it! May they be sensible of the importance of the trust, and have grace to be faithful in it; that they may give up their account with the joy of that steward, who, having approved his fidelity on earth, shall receive his reward in heaven. Amen!
The END of the FAMILY EXPOSITOR on the EPISTLE to the COLOSSIANS.
THE
MILY EXPOSITOR;
OR,
A PARAPHRASE
OF
EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
THE
THESSALONIANS;
WITH
NOTES, AND A PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT OF EACH SECTION.
A
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
TO THE
PARAPHRASE AND NOTES
ON
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO
THE
THESSALONIANS.
THIS epistle is addressed to the inhabitants of Thessalonica, a large populous city, the metropolis of Macedonia. It stood upon the Thermaian bay, which was part of the Egean sea, and was so called from Thermæ, the ancient name of the city.
It appears from the history of the Acts, (chap. xvii. 1,) that the Christian religion was planted here by Paul and Silas, soon after they left Philippi, where they had met with such unworthy treatment. (Compare Acts xvi. 24, with 1 Thess. ii. 2.) At their first entrance, they preached with so much success, that great numbers of the Gentiles, and some of the Jews, who were settled in that city, embraced the gospel with the utmost readiness. (Compare 1 Thess. i. 5, 9) But the unbelieving Jews, animated by the same inveterate spirit with their brethren in Judea, stirred up the idolatrous inhabitants against the apostle and his Christian friends, and in a riotous manner assaulted the house where some of them were assembled; but, not finding Paul and Silas, as they expected, they carried Jason and some others of the brethren before the magistrate, who took security for their good behaviour, and then dismissed them. In the mean while, the apostle and his companion, having been concealed by their friends till the storm was a
A general introduction
little abated, were obliged to leave them abruptly, and go in the night to Berea: where for some time they met with a very favourable reception; but were soon disturbed by the malice of these restless enemies who pursued them thither; and the apostle had once more the mortification to leave a place that seemed to promise so rich a harvest. Acts xvii. 1—14.
But the opposition which these bigots made to the gospel, and which they continued after the apostle’s departure, (1 Thess. ii. 14,) was not sufficient to shake the faith of the new converts; who, as appears from this epistle, (chap. i. 3—10; ii. 13, 14,) distinguished themselves above all the other churches for the zeal and constancy with which they adhered to the Christian cause, and the honourable character they maintained. No wonder therefore the apostle should express in such strong terms his esteem and affection for them, and the satisfaction it gave him to see such happy fruits of his labours. It cannot be certainly determined from the history, what stay the apostle made at Thessalonica. Some have imagined, from Acts xvii. 3, that he was there only three weeks: but as it appears that, during his abode in that city, he not only wrought with his own hands to procure a subsistence, (1 Thess. ii. 9; 2 Thess. iii. 8,) but also received supplies more than once from Philippi, (compare Phil. iv. 16,) it is much more probable that, after the Jews had discovered such an invincible prejudice against the gospel, he desisted from disputing or teaching in their synagogues after the third sabbath, and then preached for some time among the Gentiles, before he was driven out of the city. See Vol. III. § 39, note a, p. 249.
However, as it is certain his stay was not very considerable, and as he had left his Christian friends there in so much distress, on his as well as their own account, he sent Timothy to them from Athens, (for which place he had sailed immediately upon his leaving Berea,) to confirm them in their attachment to the gospel, and comfort them under their concern for his sufferings. (Chap. iii. 1—5.) Timothy, at his return, found the apostle at Corinth, (Acts xviii. 5,) where he con-
to the first epistle to the Thessalonians.
tinued near two years; (Acts xviii. 11;) from whence it has generally been concluded, and with great reason, that this epistle, in which he takes such particular notice of the agreeable account he had received of their character from Timothy, (chap. iii. 6,) was wrote from thence, not long after his arrival; (compare chap. ii. 17;) which will fix the date of it about the year of our Lord 52, or the twelfth of the emperor Claudius. See Vol. III. § 41, note i and k, p. 270, 271.
The apostle’s design in this epistle is, in general, to confirm the Thessalonians in their adherence to the Christian faith, and to engage them from the sufferings they had already endured in that cause, and the extraordinary character they had hitherto maintained, to make still greater advances in religion, and become yet more eminent in every branch of the Christian temper.
In pursuance of this design, having, in the inscription of the epistle, joined Timothy and Sylvanus (or Silas) (who had assisted him in establishing the church at Thessalonica) with himself, the apostle expresses his great satisfaction in the sincerity with which the Thessalonians embraced the gospel when it was first preached to them, and in the exemplary character they had since maintained; to which he assures them all the churches bore an honourable testimony, and by which they had greatly advanced the credit of their Christian profession. Chap. i. throughout.
And, in order to preserve his influence with them, and consequently to add the greater weight to his admonitions, he reminds them of the courage and fidelity with which he had preached the gospel at his first entrance among them, in spite of all the danger to which his zeal exposed him; and appeals to them for the unexceptionable and disinterested manner in which he had behaved towards them while he continued there, and the tender affectionate concern he had always shewn for their religious interests; chap. ii. 1—12. The reflection upon the pains he had taken with them, naturally led him to acknowledge, with the utmost thankfulness, the happy success that had vol. 5. 37
A general introduction
attended his labours, in their conversion to the Christian faith, which they openly and courageously professed, notwithstanding all the difficulties and dangers they were obliged to encounter. He observes to them, that he himself, and his fellow Christians in Judea, had met with the same ill treatment from the perverseness of their own countrymen, who opposed his preaching the gospel to the Gentiles; and assures them, that though he had, by the malice of his enemies, been unwillingly detained from them longer than he intended, he felt the same warmth of affection for them, and rejoiced in them as his glory and his crown; ver. 13, to the end.
As a farther proof of his regard, the apostle informs them, that when he came to Athens, he was so much concerned, lest, being discouraged by his sufferings, they should be tempted to cast off their profession, that he could not forbear sending Timothy to comfort and strengthen them; and expresses in very strong terms the sensible pleasure he felt, in the midst of all his afflictions, from the agreeable account he received of their faith and love; to which he adds, that he was continually praying for their farther establishment in religion, and for an opportunity of making them another visit, in order to promote their edification, which lay so near his heart. Chap. iii. throughout.
The apostle, having thus given the Thessalonians a sufficient testimony of his sincere regard, proceeds to renew the practical exhortations he had given them in the name of Christ, while he continued with them; recommending, in particular, chastity, in opposition to all kinds of uncleanness for which the idolatrous Gentiles were so notorious; justice, in opposition to all manner of fraud and dishonesty; charity, in which he acknowledges they already excelled; and a diligent application to their proper business, joined with a prudent behaviour towards their heathen neighbours. Chap. iv. 1—12. In order to comfort them under the loss of some of their Christian friends, of whose death it is probable the apostle might have heard by Timothy, he assures them, that those
to the first epistle to the Thessalonians.
who were fallen asleep in Jesus should be raised again at the last day, and, together with those that remained alive, should be caught up to meet their Lord, and share his triumph, ver. 13, to the end. And, having thus laid a solid foundation on which to build their hope, he takes occasion to press upon them the necessity of preparing for so awful an event, that it might not overtake them unawares; and represents the peculiar obligations they were under to sobriety and watchfulness, from the superior light and knowledge they enjoyed, and the hopes they were taught to entertain from the death and resurrection of Christ. Chap. v. 1—11.
The apostle, in the conclusion of his epistle, recommends to them a respectful behaviour to their ministers, and lays down some directions for their conduct towards persons of different tempers and characters in the church, adding other practical precepts of a more general nature; and, having offered up a solemn petition for their farther advancement and steadfastness in religion, he closes with his usual benediction; ver. 12, to the end of the epistle.
From this analysis of the epistle, the reader cannot but have observed, what a paternal affection and concern the apostle discovers for these new converts: and it is remarkable, with how much address he improves all that influence which his zeal and fidelity in their service must naturally give him, to inculcate upon them the precepts of the gospel, and persuade them to act agreeably to their sacred character. This was the grand point he kept always in view; and to which every thing else was made subservient. Nothing appears, in any part of his writings, like a design to establish his own reputation, or to make use of his ascendency over his Christian friends, to answer any secular purposes of his own: on the contrary, in this, and in his other epistles, he discovers a most generous disinterested regard for their welfare, expressly disclaiming all authority over their consciences, and appealing to them that he had chose to maintain himself by the labour of his own hands, rather than prove burdensome to the churches, or give
A general introduction, &c.
the least colour for a suspicion, that, under pretence of zeal for the gospel, and concern for their improvement, he was carrying on any private sinister views.
The discovery of so excellent a temper, as it tends greatly to raise our idea of the apostle, so it must be allowed to carry with it a strong presumptive argument in favour of the doctrines he taught, and consequently of the truth of Christianity itself: for he evidently appears to have been governed by the very same principles he recommends to others, and, by their influence, to have been raised above all regard to his temporal interests, and every motive that could come in competition with the honour of God, and the advancement of religion in the world. And indeed whoever reads over St. Paul’s epistles with attention, and enters into the spirit with which they were wrote, will discern such intrinsic characters of their genuineness, and the Divine authority of the doctrines they contain, as will perhaps produce in him a stronger conviction than all the external evidence with which they are attended. To which we may add, that the exact coincidence, observable between the many allusions to particular facts, in this as well as in other epistles, and the account of the facts themselves, as they are recorded in the history of the Acts, is a remarkable confirmation of the truth of each. Compare Vol. III. § 39, note ², p. 249.
AND NOTES
HE
THE APOSTLE TO THE
ONIANS.