TEXT.

16 Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.

17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

18 For they, that are such, serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and, by good words and fair speeches, deceive the hearts of the simple.

19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad, therefore, on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good; and simple concerning evil.

20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

PARAPHRASE.

lologus, and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olym16 pas, and all the saints who are with them. Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.

17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark those who cause divisions and offences, contrary to the doctrine, which 18 you have learned, and avoid them. For they serve

not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own bellies, and by good words and fair speeches, insinuating them19 selves, deceive well-meaning, simple men.

Your

conversion and ready compliance with the doctrine of the gospel, when it was brought to you, is known in the world †, and generally talked of: I am glad, for your sakes, that you so forwardly obeyed the gospel. But give me leave to advise you to be wise and cautious in preserving yourselves steady in what is wise and good; but employ no thought, or skill, how to circumvent, or injure another: be in this re20 gard very plain and simple. For God, who is the giver and lover of peace, will soon rid you of these ministers of Satan §, the disturbers of your peace,

NOTES.

18 Such as these we have a description of, Tit. i. 10. 11.

19

See chap. i. 8.

A direction much like this you have, 1 Cor. xiv. 20, and Eph. iv. 13-15. 20 So those who made divisions in the church of Corinth are called, 2 Cor. xi. 14, 15.,

TEXT.

21 Timotheus, my work-fellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.

22 I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. 23 Gaius mine host, and of the whole church saluteth you. Erastus, the chamberlain of the city, saluteth you, and Quartus, a brother.

24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 25 Now to him, that is of power to stablish you, according to my

PARAPHRASE.

who make divisions amongst you*. The The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. 21 Timothy, my work-fellow, and Lucius and Jason, 22 and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you. I Tertius,

who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord, 23 Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth

you. Erastus, the chamberlain of the city, saluteth 24 you; and Quartus, a brother. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

25 Now, to him that is able to settle and establish you in an adherence to my † gospel, and to that which I

NOTES.

"Shall bruise Satan," i. e. shall break the force and attempts of Satan, upon your peace, by these his instruments, who would engage you in quarrels and discords.

25+"My gospel." St. Paul cannot be supposed to have used such an expression as this, unless he knew that what he preached had something in it, that distinguished it from what was preached by others; which was plainly the mys tery, as he every-where calls it, of God's purpose, of taking in the gentiles to be his people, under the Messiah, and that without subjecting them to circumcision, or the law of Moses. This is that which he here calls τὸ κήρυ/μα Ιησε Χρις, "the preaching of Jesus Christ; "for, without this, he did not think that Christ was preached to the gentiles, as he ought to be: and, therefore, in several places of his epistle to the galatians he call it "the truth," and "the truth of the gos66 pel; " and uses the like expressions to the ephesians and colossians. This is that mystery, which he is so much concerned, that the ephesians should understand and stick firm to, which was revealed to him, according to that gospel, whereof he was made the minister; as may be seen at large, in that epistle, particularly chap. iii. 6. 7. The same thing he declares to the colossians, in his epistle to them, particularly chap. i. 22-27, and ii. 6-8. For that he in a peculiar manner, preached this doctrine, so as none of the other apostles did, may be seen Acts xxi. 18-25, Acts xv. 6, 7. For though the other apostles and elders of the church of Jerusalem had determined, that the gentiles should only keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; yet it is plain enough from what they say, Acts xxi. 20-24, that they taught not, nay, probably did not think, what St. Paul openly declares to

TEXT.

gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, (according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret, since the world began ; 26 But now is made manifest, and, by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations, for the obedience of faith.)

PARAPHRASE.

deliver, concerning Jesus Christ, in my preaching, conformable to the revelation of the mystery *, 26 which lay unexplained in the † secular times; But now is laid open, and, by the writings of the prophets,

NOTES.

the ephesians, that the law of Moses was abolished by the death of Christ, Eph. ii. 15. Which, if St. Peter and St. James had been as clear in as was St. Paul, St. Peter would not have incurred his reproof, as he did by his carriage, mentioned Gaf. ii. 12, &c. But in all this may be seen the wisdom and goodness of God, to both jews and gentiles. See note, Eph. ii, 15.

That the mystery, he here speaks of, is the calling of the gentiles, may be seen in the following words; which is that which, in many of his epistles, he calls mystery. See Eph. i, 9, and iii. 3—9, Col. i. 25—27.

66

+ Χρόνοις αἰωνίοις in the secular times," or in the times under the law. Why the times, under the law, were called xpóvor divor, we may find reason in their jubilees, which were alwves, 66 secula," or ages," by which all the time, under the law, was measured; and so xpó al is used 2 Tim. i. 9, Tit. i. 2. And so aves are put for the times of the law, or the jubilees. Luke i. 70, Acts iii. 21, 1 Cor. ii. 7, and x. 11, Eph. iii. 9, Col. i. 26, Heb. ix. 26. And so God is called the rock, by, alwvwv, of ages, Isa. xxvi. 4, in the same sense i that he is called the rock of Israel, Ísa. xxx. 29, i.e. the strength and support of the jewish state: for it is of the jews the prophet here speaks. So Exod. xxi. 6,biy?, eis tòv xiwva, signifies not, as we translate it," for ever,” bnt to the jubilee; " which will appear, if we compare Lev. xxv. 39–41, and Exod. xxi. 2, see "Burthogg's christianity, a revealed mystery," p. 17, 18. Now, that the times of the law, were the times spoken of here, by St. Paul, seems plain, from that which he declares to have continued a mystery, during all those times; to wit, God's purpose of taking in the gentiles to be his people, under the Messiah: for this could not be said to be a mystery, at any other time, but during the time that the jews were the peculiar people of God, separated to him, from among the nations of the earth. Before that time, there was no such name, or notion of distinction, as gentiles. Before the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the calling of the israelites to be God's peculiar people, was as much a mystery, as the calling of others, out of other nations, was a mystery afterwards. All, that St. Paul insists on here, and in all the places where he mentions this mystery, is to show, that though God has declared this his purpose to the jews, by the predictions of his prophets amongst them; yet it lay concealed from their knowledge, it was a mystery to them; they understood no such thing: there was not any where the least suspicion, or thought of it, till the Messiah being come, it was openly declared, by St. Paul, to the jews and gentiles, and made out by the writings of the prophets, which were now understood.

TEXT.

27 To God, only wise, be glory, through Jesus Christ, for ever. Amen.

PARAPHRASE.

made known (according to the commandment of the everlasting God) to the gentiles of all nations, for the bringing them in, to the obedience of the law 27 of faith. To the only wise God be glory, through Jesus Christ, for ever. Amen.