14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

15 Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.

16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans;

sians. "This proves that he had seen them. After the direction concerning Mark (Acts xv. 39) he bore the word to Phrygia. Probably, therefore, he then gave these commandments about Mark." Chrysostom suggests that they may have received the directions from Barnabas. See Theodore of Mopsuestia, vol. i. 308, 309 (edit. Swete).

who are from the circumcision.] oi ovres ER TEрITоμns) Hebrew Christians, converts from Judaism.

which have been.] oitives, persons of a class who-being such as have been.

12. Epaphras who is one of you, (ó é§ vuov) i.e. belonging to Colosse. "Whatever service may have been rendered at Colosse by Philemon, or by Nymphas at Laodicea, it was to Epaphras especially that all three cities were indebted for their knowledge of the Gospel. Though he was a Colossian by birth, the fervency of his prayers and the emergency of his love are represented as extending equally to Laodicea and Hierapolis. It is obvious that he looked upon himself as responsible for the spiritual well-being of all alike." (Bp. Lightfoot, p. 31.)

complete] or fully persuaded.

13. a great zeal.] Probably great labour" (ovov with A B C D . So Tischend., Bp. Lightfoot).

them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.] "The two towns are so close that we may well suppose that the same Epistle served for both. St. Paul joins them in v. 13. In v. 16, indeed, only Laodicea is mentioned; but that is because Laodicea is a little nearer to Colosse than Hierapolis is." (Renan, 'L'Antechrist,' p. 91.)

14. Luke, the beloved physician.] Luke the physician, the beloved. It is interesting to observe that the two Evangelists, Mark (v. 10, supra) and Luke, are mentioned in the context, as well as in Philem. v. 24. (Cf. 2 Tim. iv. 11. See Introd. to St. Luke's Gospel.)

Demas.] 2 Tim. iv. 10; Philem. v. 24, perhaps Demetrius. Is the curt mention of Demas here, contrasted with the full affectionate recognition of St. Luke, the cloud

no bigger than a man's hand which prepares us for the subsequent darkness that hangs over this man? (2 Tim. iv. 10.)

15. the church which is in his house.] Or "their house," (avтŵv). "There is no clear example of a separate building set apart for Christian worship within the limits of the Roman empire before the 3rd century— though apartments in private houses might be specially devoted to that purpose" (Bp. Lightfoot). But see in opp. Bingham, 'Antiqq.' viii. 1, 13. Is there not a significant antithesis between a private "house" and "the Church" in 1 Cor. xi. 22?-cf. Rom. xvi. 5; 1 Cor. xvi. 19; Philem. v. 2; Acts xii. 12. "A domestic church. Every head of a family fills an ecclesiastical, and, in some sense, episcopal office" (Estius).

"Churches

16. and that ye likewise read the epistle the letter which I have sent to Laodicea, from Laodicea.] "Be sure that ye also read and which ye will get from them." (Bp. discussion of the controversy on the epistle Lightfoot. See his elaborate and masterly from Laodicea, pp. 274–300.) very near to each other were advised to communicate their letters reciprocally, and to read them in the congregation by turns (Renan, 'Saint Paul'). Marcion (circ. A.d. 150) considered that the Epistle to the Ephesians of our canon was the Epistle to the Laodiceans here mentioned. (Tertull. 'c. Marcion.' v. 11-17, but see Epiphan. 'Hæres.' xxii. 9, and Canon. Murator., lines 62-67.) That this view is probably to be accepted, see Introd. and Bishop Lightfoot, P. 37, and pp. 274 seqq. On the apocryphal epistle to the Laodiceans, a mere cento of Pauline phrases, see ibid. pp. 281 seqq., 299; with an ingenious attempt at the restoration of the original Greek, pp. 293, 294, and the eccentric defences of it by the Lutheran Prætorius and the Jesuit Stapleton, in spite of the sweeping condemnation of St. Jerome, ab omnibus exploditur. (De Vir. Illust.' 5.)

17. And say to Archippus.] "Say ye," with an idea of immediate and downright saying (einare). It was a more effective way to send the message through others than to address it in a direct form. It may have been also advanced age, or declining health, which hin

dered Archippus from ministerial activity, though we may be led to suspect some of that lukewarmness with which our Lord Himself charged the Laodicean church in the immediate vicinity of Colosse (Apoc. iii. 16).

which thou hast received.] The word "received," favours the inference that the ministry of Archippus-though having its sphere in Christ, "in the Lord"-was yet of regular succession, not of immediate inspiration (cf. apéλaßes with 1 Cor. xi. 23). The word signifies "traditum accipio" of office; mente accipio" of oral teaching.

that thou fulfil it.] This has often been interpreted as a hint that his ministry was drawing to its close. It has reference probably rather to "due and full performance of it "-" bene perfungi." (Grotius.)

18. The salutation by the hand of me Paul.]

"The salutation of this letter is signed by my own hand," to which was added, in his own writing, in the genitive, Παύλου, “ of Paul.” St. Paul, as is well known, did not write his Epistles with his own hand; he dictated (Rom. xvi. 22). The words in Philemon (“ I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay," v. 19) surely need not imply that the whole Epistle, or any more than the eight Greek words (or possibly only tvo, ἐγὼ ἀποτίσω) were in St. Paul's handwriting. The paragraph in Galat. vi. 11, leads to the same inference. The formal salutation only was his autograph. (2 Thess. iii. 17). The passionate religious controversies of the time, the decisive weight given in the Church to Apostolic authority, and the imperfect conditions of epistolary writing, easily gave occasion to forgeries. (2 Thess. ii. 2; Dion. Cor. apud Euseb. H. E.' iv. 23). It has been conjectured that St. Paul sent round a specimen of his hand

writing with his Epistles, easily recognised from its large, rough, impetuous formation of letters. (nikois ypáμpaow, Galat. vi. 11, not "how long an Epistle," but " in what large letters.") It is certain that it was his habit (according to a very general usage) to write at the end of his letters his name, and probably some other words, as a guarantee of the authenticity of the letter. (2 Thess. iii. 17; 1 Cor. xvi. 21; Coloss. iv. 18. M. Renan refers to Cic. ‘ad Att.' viii. 1; Suetonius, Tib.' 21, 32; Dion Cass. lviii. 11; Cavedoni, "Le Salut. delle Epist. di S. Paolo' (Tom. xvii. series 3 of Mem. di relig.,' printed at Modena), pp. 12 seqq.; 'Saint Paul,' p. 233, note.*)

Remember my bonds.] St. Paul, having dictated the letter and signed his name, added with his own hand these four words- μνημο νεύετέ μου τῶν δεσμῶν. He dwells upon his this chapter. He is no Stoic; he has a sense bonds with marked and touching iteration in of injustice and undeserved indignity, and a feeling that his sufferings give him a claim upon those to whom he writes. Three times in this chapter he appeals to his chains (iv. 3, 10, 18). Cf. Ephes. iii. 1, iv. 1, vi. 20; Philem. 9. The words may well imply, in a sort of to suffer in like manner for the truth." under-tone, "Be willing, after my example, (Theodore of Mopsuestia.)

Grace be with you.] Such forms of benediction have a tendency to be shortened by the friction of time and use. They are rounded off for the sake of convenience and portability. Cf. the longer form in the earlier Epistles (1 Thess. v. 28; 2 Thess. iii. 18; 1 Cor. xvi. 23; 2 Cor. xiii. 13; Galat. iii. 8; Rom. xvi. 20 (24); Philipp. iv. 23; and the form with TávTwv inserted (Titus iii. 15; Heb. xiii. 25) with this shortened form (Coloss. iv. 18; 1 Tim. vi. 21; 2 Tim. iv. 22).

Bp. Lightfoot, in a deeply interesting note, shows the possible connection of this warning against drawing back from the work of Christ with that other warning against lukewarmness sent through St. John to the angel of the Church of Laodicea. (Apoc. iii. 16). That Divine Epistle would appear to have four points of contact with the Epistle to the Colossians. (1) The special title by which Jesus speaks of Himself as "the Beginning of the Creation of God" (Apoc. iii. 14). St. Paul seems to write in the same atmosphere of thought when he says of Christ, "By Him were all things created; all things were created

by Him and for Him... Who is the Beginning" (Coloss. i. 16-18). This great and singular title might well seem to point at the same line of heretical thought in the same locality, and to have a special suitability for those who were carried away by "a religion of angels." (2) The magnificent privilege of "sitting with Christ" (Apoc. iv. 21) has the same tone as Coloss. iii. 1. (3) The warning against lukewarmness (Coloss. iv. 17), compared with the burden to Laodicea (Apoc. iii. 19). If Archippus were the Bishop (Angel) of Laodicea, in whom the Church over which he presides is summed up and personified, the connection would be

still more remarkable. (4) May we not suppose wealth, intellectual as well as literal, to be aimed at in the words, "Thou sayest that I am rich"?1 („λovσiós eiu, Apoc. iii. 17). The passages in Coloss. i. 27, ii. 2, 3 (cf. Ephes. i. 18) might seem to be addressed to persons who thought and spoke much of svealth, whether in this metaphorical or in a more literal sense. In this last sense Laodicea was wealthy. After its overthrow by an earthquake, it was rebuilt without

ADDITIONAL NOTES to CHAP. I.-15. The image of the invisible God.] The note upon this passage simply refers to the use of the word image. It would, however, be a grave deficiency to omit all mention of the grand dogmatic significance which has been justly found in it by the greatest theologians of the Church. By no writer, ancient or modern, has this truth been better expressed than by Melanchthon -"The Image of God." When John affirms that "The Word was made Flesh," the whole texture of his narrative proves that he speaks not of an evanescent sound, but of a Personal Substantial Existence (poτάμενον). Before the assumption of the Human Nature the Person exists who is called the Word and the Image of God; it is here declared that all things are made and sustained by Him. As the creative Nature is in the Man Christ, it necessarily follows that it cannot be an evanescent sound. But He is called Image of the invisible God, for these reasons:—(1) Had human nature retained its original excellence, it would have been a less dimmed and clouded mirror of the Divine Nature. Yet even in its present darkness some features can still be traced. In the act of thinking, the human mind forthwith paints an image of the thing thought. But we cannot transfuse and project our essence into those images. They are momentary thoughts, evanescent mental actions. But the Eternal God, in His self-intuition, begets His thought of Himself, which is His own very Image, and that not an evanescent image, but a Personal Existence to which His Essence is communicated. This Image, then, is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, and to Him, as such, three great

help from Rome. See Bp. Lightfoot, pp. 41-44.1

18.] Thus the absolute xápis in the final benediction may be taken as a chronological note. Bp. Lightfoot, who makes the remark, finds another note of the same kind in the exchange of τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις of the earlier Epistles (Thess., Corinth., Galat.) for the ayious of later Epistles (Rom., Philipp., Coloss., Ephes.).

the Epistle to the Colossians. appellations are suitable from this point of view (a) He is termed the Aoyos, because He is begotten by the Thought of God; (b) He is termed Eikov, because thought is the image of the thing thought; (c) He is termed 'Anavyaoua (Heb. i. 3), that is, splendour issuing or off-raying from light: "Light from Light, as it is in the Creed "(Loci Theol. 'De Filio,' Melanchthon. Opp. i. 152). "More fully, then, He is called Image, because God, in the necessary personality of His perfect selfmanifestation, thinking Himself so to speak, by that thought of Himself begets His Image. And, as this substantial Image appears gloriously in the Human Nature of Christ, who perfectly knows the Eternal Father, and is perfectly like God because of the substantial Image shining forth in Him-Christ as God and Man, is THE IMAGE of the Invisible God. (2) We are to consider that the term 'Image of the Invisible God' is to be understood not only of the transcendent relation of the Son, but of His manifestation to us. (3) Further, this title of Image warns us to distinguish the true God from all false gods and idols. The invisible God proposes to thee His visible Image, and bids thee worship Him as the true God. (4) This Image of God is sent to us, that we may become again, through Him, the image of God (2 Cor. iii. 18)." (Melanchthon. 'Enarr. Epist. ad Coloss.' Opp. iv. 336).

CHAP. IV.-17. The writer desires that the view given in the note upon the message to Archippus should be qualified by subsequent observations in the Introduction to the Epistle of Philemon, and in the note on Philemon (ver. 2).

I.

(b) Jesus is worshipped

Force of this

The First of St. Paul's extant Epistles abounds in direct prayer to Christ-St. Paul's teaching a reproduction of St. Stephen's

690

693

B. View of Christ's work in this earliest among St. Paul's Epistles 691 2. Eschatological element in the Epistles to the Thessalonians The supposed error of St. Paul, and of the New Testament generally, as to our Lord's coming.

I.

693

WHEN THEN St. Paul first landed upon the continent of Europe (Acts Continent xvi. 11), and had preached at Philippi in Macedonia, he passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia to Thessalonica, immediately to the south of which lie the snowclad slopes of Mount Olympus. This city, situated upon the Thermean Gulf, and once the capital of Macedonia, had formerly the name of Therme. Under that name we read of it as one of the camping-places of Xerxes.1 Cassander

703

703

703

Authenticity of the Epistle (a) Baur's objection. (b) External witness enlarged it, and bestowed upon it a new name, in honour of his wife Thessalonica, daughter of Philip, King of Macedon. "As a commercial port," says a recent traveller, "Salonica must always hold a high place, and under a different government must become one of the most important centres of trade in the East, whether one regards its natural advantages as a harbour, or the richness and fertility of the back country, to which it forms the outlet." It was the largest and most populous city of Macedonia, and enjoyed cor.siderable commercial relations. Under the Romans it was 1 Strabo, Geograph. i. 7.