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4:1. Here again, as between 1 and 2, the division of chapters is unintelligently made. The first six verses of this chapter belong to the preceding one, and the close connexion between the two paragraphs is obvious: the opening verses of this chapter show how close it is, for the Apostle is still urging the claims of his office, especially against those who charge him with insincerity and self-commendation.
The six verses run in couplets; the glory of the new ministry (1, 2); the condition of those who are too blind to see the glory of the Gospel (3, 4); the source of the glory (5, 6). A fresh departure is made at v. 7. With 1-6 comp. 1Th_2:1-12, which is a similar vindication of Apostolic authority on behalf of St Paul and his colleagues, and contains several similar expressions.
Δὰτῦο In 1Co_4:17 both AV and RV have ‘For this cause,’ which might well be retained here, v 7:13, and 13:10, in order to mark a difference between δὰτῦο δό(4:16), which might be ‘wherefore,’ and ον(5:20), which is usually ‘therefore.’ Vulg. has ideo for δὰτῦο propter quod for δό and ergo for ον not invariably, but in this Epistle. See Index IV.
κθςἠεθμν ‘Even as we received mercy.’ The words belong to what precedes; ‘seeing that, in full accordance with God’s mercy, we have this ministry.’ It is of God’s goodness, and not of any merit of his own, that he has a calling of so high an order. Habentes eam, non ex meritis, sed ex Dei misericordia, quae nos ministros suos fecit (Herveius). Cf. the similar use of κθπρin 3:18 to show how Divine action is the explanation of wonderful results. Hort, on 1Pe_2:10, points out that this verb is used “in reference to the signal mercy of the gift of the Gospel.” St Paul uses it several times of his own conversion and call (here; 1Co_7:25; 1Ti_1:13, 1Ti_1:16). The use of so humble an expression respecting his appointment to the Apostleship had special point in writing to Corinth, because there he had been accused of being self-asserting and aggressive. Cf. 1Co_15:9, 1Co_15:10. For δαοί see on 5:18.
In these six verses, as in the preceding chapter, St Paul is sometimes answering charges which had been brought against himself, and sometimes indirectly bringing charges against his Judaizing opponents by hinting that they do what he declares that he himself does not do; and we cannot always decide which of the two he is doing. In some cases he may be doing both. It is also difficult to decide whether the 1st pers. plur. includes Timothy or anyone else. Apparently the Apostle is thinking mainly of himself.
οκἐκκῦε. ‘We do not lose heart.’ The verb indicates the timidity which shrinks from coming forward and speaking out. Such faintheartedness takes refuge in silence and inactivity, in order to escape criticism, and therefore is the opposite of πρηί. In Eph_3:13, μ ἐκκῖ follows a mention of πρηί. The consciousness that he owed his ministry to the graciousness of God inspired the Apostle with courage and frankness. Misericordia Dei, per quam ministerium accipitur, facit strenuos et sinceros. Etiam Moses misericordiam adeptus est, et inde tantam invenit admissionem (Beng.). Chrys. paraphrases, ο κτπποε, ἀλ κὶχίοε κὶπρηιζμθ. In short, the Apostle acts up to his own exhortation, ἀδίεθ, κααοσε(see on 1Co_16:13). Cf. ο γρἔωε ἡῖ πεμ διίς(2Ti_1:7).
Excepting Luk_8:1 (where see note), the verb is found only in Paul (v. 16; 2Th_3:13; Gal_6:9; Eph_3:13), and everywhere there is a v. l. ἐκκ Here we should read ἐκκ (אA B D* F G 17, 67*) rather than ἐκκ(C D3 E K L P). In all five passages D3 K L P have ἐκκ in four they are joined by C and E, and in three by F and G. The other uncials vary between ἐκκ which is right in Luk_18:1, and may be right in Gal_6:9 and Eph_3:13. The evidence is tabulated by Gregory in Prolegomena to Tisch. Exo_8, p. 78. The verb is not found in LXX, but ἐκκis used by Symmachus four times, and ἐκκonce. Polyb. 4:19:10 has τ πμεντςβηεα ἐεάηα of the Lacedemonians dishonourably neglecting to send the promised reinforcements; and Philo, De confus. ling. §13, has οτ ἐκκύεο ἐνμθν ἀλ έρμνςὠεδσ τῖ ἐ ατνμικτρμνι. Vulg. here has non deficimus, d and e non deficimus, g non fiamus segnes, Ambrst. non infirmemur.
2. ἀεπμθ. The verb both in act. and mid. has a variety of meanings, but there is no doubt as to its meaning here; ‘we have renounced’ or ‘we renounce,’ abdicamus occulta dedecoris (Vulg.). The aor. is timeless, or “ingressive,” J. H. Moulton, pp. 109, 134. This is more probable than that the aor. refers to the same period as ἠεθμν It is not likely that St Paul means that at his call he definitely renounced certain things. And of course ἀεπμθ does not mean that he had previously practised what he here says that he has renounced, as was the case with St Matthew and Zacchaeus as toll-collectors. He means that these practices are quite alien to the work of an Apostle. On this 1st aor. in -αsee WH. App. p. 164; Winer, p. 103; Blass, §21. 1. The mid. of ἀεπνis not found in classical Attic, and the dictum of Thomas Magister (57) that ἀεπμνis better Greek than ἀεπνmay be doubted. In Joseph. Ant. XVII. iii. 1 we have ἀεπσα τνετνγμτν—a very rare instance of the 2nd aor. mid.
τ κυτ τςασύη. The exact meaning of ‘the hidden things of shame’ is not clear; but they are the opposite of πρηί. ‘The hidden things which bring disgrace when they are known,’ or ‘which make a man ashamed of himself,’ or ‘which shame makes a man conceal.’ The general sense is much the same however we analyse the expression. He is not thinking of heathen vices (Eph_5:12), but of the underhand methods of the false teachers. An allusion to circumcision (Thdrt.) is certainly not intended. See on τ κυτ τῦσόος(1Co_4:5). ‘The hidden things of dishonesty’ (AV) was not far wrong in 1611, when ‘dishonesty’ might mean ‘disgrace,’ and ‘honesty’ (1Ti_2:2) might mean ‘decorous behaviour,’ and ‘honest’ (Rom_12:17) ‘honourable,’ or ‘of good report.’ This usage still survives in the expression “to make her an honest woman,” but ‘dishonesty’ here is now misleading.
μ πρπτῦτςἐ πνυγᾳ ‘So that we do not walk in craftiness’; non ambulantes in astutia (Vulg.). This is a result of renouncing τ κυτ τ ασύη. By πνυγαis meant unscrupulous readiness to adopt any means in order to gain one’s ends. Excepting Luk_20:23, only in Paul (11:3; 1Co_3:19; Eph_4:14). The Apostle had been accused of being a πνῦγς(12:16), and if 10-13 is part of the intermediate severe letter, this passage may be a reference to that, or to 11:3. If πνυγαrefers to the manoeuvres of the Judaizers, it may point to their efforts to undermine the influence of the Apostle. In our ignorance of the circumstances, there is abundant room for conjectures. See on 1Co_3:3 for πρπτῖ of daily conduct, a very freq. use in Paul, = versari; also Hort on 1Pe_1:15; Milligan on 1Th_2:12; Lukyn Williams on Gal_1:13.
μδ δλῦτςτ λγντ Θο. See on 3:17. The verb occurs nowhere else in N.T. and only twice in LXX (Psa_15:3, Psa_36:2). Here, as in 2:17 and 1Co_14:36, ὁλγςτ Θο means the Gospel message, which is its usual, though not invariable, meaning in Paul (1Th_2:13; Php_1:14; Col_1:25; 1Ti_4:5; 2Ti_2:9; Tit_2:5). See Harnack, The Constitution and Law of the Church, p. 340. By δλῦτςhe means using fallacious arguments and misinterpretations, and falsifying the relation of the old revelation to the new. The Judaizers of course resented his use of the O.T. and his disregard of the letter of the Law.
ἀλ τ φνρσι ‘But, on the contrary, by manifestation.’ The word occurs in Biblical Greek only here and 1Co_12:7: it is selected in opposition to τ κυτ τςασύη Cf. 1:12, 3:12, 11:3.
τςἀηεα. In opposition to δλῦτς ‘By the manifestation of the truth’ stands first with emphasis; by that, and by nothing else, do they commend themselves; no letters of recommendation, no wily arts, no crying of ‘peace’ when there is no peace (Jer_6:14, Jer_8:11). In Gal_2:5, Gal_2:14, where St Paul is dealing with similar opponents, we have the more definite expression ἡἀήεατ εαγλο, and in Col_1:5, ὁλγςτςἀηεα τ εαγλο. In all these places the expression is a protest against misrepresentations of the Gospel and spurious substitutes for it, especially such as destroyed Christian liberty. Veritas quam manifestamus nos ipsos effcit commendabiles (Herveius).
σνσάοτςἑυος This looks back to 3:1-6. Remembering who sent him and made him competent for the work, he is not afraid to magnify his office, although he knows that his doing so may be maliciously misinterpreted. Reflexive pronouns of the 3rd pers. with verbs of the 1st pers. plur. are freq. (v. 5, 5:12, 15, 6:4; 1Co_11:31; Rom_8:23, Rom_8:15:1; etc.). The simplification is convenient where it causes no ambiguity.
πὸ πσνσνίηι ἀθώω. ‘Unto the human conscience in all its forms’; see Westcott on Eph_1:3, Eph_4:8, and cf. Rom_2:9; Eph_1:8, Eph_1:4:19, 31, Eph_1:5:3, Eph_1:9, Eph_1:6:18; etc. Passion and prejudice are no safe judges; reason cannot always be trusted; even conscience is not infallible, for the conscience of this or that individual, or class, or profession may give a faulty decision. St Paul takes a wider range. He appeals to every kind of conscience among men, confident that they will all admit the justice of his claim; and securus judicat orbis terrarum. For this use of πό comp. πὸ τνΘό in 3:4; for σνίηι see on 1:12.
ἐώιντῦΘο. The accumulation of solemn language in this verse here reaches a climax. He has felt the seriousness of the charges which had been openly formulated, or secretly insinuated, against him by his wily opponents, and he meets them seriously and without compromise. He appeals, not only to every form of human conscience, but to Him to whose mercy (v. 1) he owes the high calling which has subjected him to so much criticism, and under whose eye every conscience works: τὺ ε φοονα ἔοε μρυα κὶτντῦσνιόο Ἐότν(Thdrt.). The appeal can go no higher. Magnum esset, si hoc solummodo de hominibus diceret; sed, quia homines falli possunt, ideo subjunxit quod majus est incomparabiliter (Atto Vercellensis). Cf. 7:13; Rom_14:22.
The reading σνσάοτς(A ? B P 47, 67*, 80) is not quite certain; σνσάτς(אC D* F G 17, 39) is preferred by some editors: either is to be preferred to σνσῶτς(D3 E K L). Winer, p. 94, note.
3. ε δ κὶἔτνκκλμέο τ εαγλο ἡῶ. ‘But even though the Gospel which we preach really is veiled.’ The use of ε κί(v. 16, 5:16, 12:11) rather than κὶε, and the emphatic position of ἔτν which here cannot be enclitic, show that St Paul concedes what is stated hypothetically to be actually a fact. Winer, p. 554. In spite of the φνρσςτςἀηεα, the good tidings were not recognized as such by all. Some denied that there had been any φνρσς his preaching was obscure and shifty. He had said that a veil hid the meaning of the Law from them; it was more true to say that a veil hid his Gospel from them. The Apostle here admits this; a veil has hid and does hide (perf. part.) the Gospel from them, but the veil is on their own hearts (3:15). It is not the fault of the Gospel or of those who preach it that it is rejected by some; it is the hearers’ own fault, because they listen in an attitude that is fatal. They desire, not the truth, but the confirmation of their own views.
The sublimity of St Paul’s teaching and his paradoxical expressions laid him open to the charge of saying ‘things hard to be understood’ (2Pe_3:16). But that was not the cause of the vehement opposition to his teaching. His chief offence was his declaring the Law to be obsolete, and thereby (his enemies said) opening the door to boundless licence. So they declared that his Gospel was imperfect. He had never known the Christ, nor had been intimate with those who had known Him. They, on the contrary, had authentic information.
ἐ τῖ ἀολμνι. ‘In the case of those who are perishing’ (see on 2:15). The ἐ is not superfluous (Blass, §41. 2); nor does it mean ‘in the hearts of,’ for the Gospel had not reached their hearts; nor ‘in their judgment,’ like ἐ ἐο, 1Co_14:11, for the question is one of fact, not of opinion; but ‘in their case.’ The uses of ἐ in late Greek are very various; J. H. Moulton, p. 103. Calvin comments on the confidence of the Apostle in this declaration; magnae fiduciae argumentum est, quod pro reprobis ducere audet omnes qui doctrinam respuunt. And then, perhaps remembering his own attitude towards those who dissented from him, he adds, Verum simili fiducia instructos esse convenit, quicunque pro Dei ministris haberi volunt; ut intrepida conscientia non dubitent omnes doctrinae suae adversarios ad Dei tribunal citare, ut illiuc damnationem certam referant. See on 1Jn_4:16, where the writer says that he and his fellow-teachers receive their inspiration from God, and their message is rejected only by those who are not of God and are not striving to know Him.
4. ὁθὸ τῦαῶο τύο. The expression occurs nowhere else; but St Paul speaks of τνἄχνατςἐοσα τῦἀρς(see on Eph_2:2), while St John, in three utterances attributed to Christ, has ὁἄχντῦκσο τύο. In Mar_3:22 = Mat_12:24 and Luk_11:15 (Mat_9:34), Christ’s opponents say that He casts out demons ἐ τ ἄχνιτνδιοίν In all these cases Satan is meant, and in harmony with these passages St John says that the whole κσο, i.e. the whole of the moral and intellectual universe, so far as it is estranged from God, lies in the power of the evil one (see on 1Jn_5:19). This does not mean that God abdicates or surrenders any portion of His dominion to Satan, but that those to whom He has granted free will place themselves under the power of darkness.* Here it is not this κσο, mundus, but ὁαὼ οτς ‘this age,’ seculum, that is said to have Satan for its god. During the time—believed by St Paul to be short—which would elapse before the Coming of the Lord, Satan reigned wherever there was opposition to the will of God, and this was an enormous sphere.
St Paul speaks frequently of ὁαὼ οτς(1Co_1:20, 1Co_1:2:6, 1Co_1:8, 1Co_1:3:18; Rom_12:2; Eph_1:21), or ὁνναώ (1Ti_6:17; 2Ti_4:10; Tit_2:12), or ὁννκιό (Rom_3:26, Rom_8:18, Rom_11:5), or ὁαὼ ὁἐετς(Gal_1:4), where it is especially stigmatized as πνρς or, in a remarkable expression which combines both terms, ὁαὼ τῦκσο τύο (Eph_2:2). The opposite of this evil age or world is ὁαὼ μλω (Eph_1:21; cf. Heb_6:5; Luk_15:30, Luk_20:35), which is more commonly designated ἡβσλί τῦΘο, the period or realm in which God reigns supreme. If Satan is the ruler of this limited age, God is the King of the countless ages which are to follow it; He is ὁβσλὺ τναώω (1Ti_1:17; Tob. 13:6, 10; cf. Psa_145:13, and see J. H. Bernard on 1Ti_1:17). In [Clem. Rom.] 2:6 it is said ἔτνδ οτςὁαὼ κὶὁμλω δοἐθο, and as we cannot be friends of both, we must detach ourselves from this one and cling firmly to the other.
It is startling to find one who had all his life held idolatry in abomination, and been zealous for the glory of the one true God, using this grandis et horribilis descriptio Satanae (Beng.) and electing to apply the term θό to the arch-enemy of God and of mankind (P. Gardner, The Religious Experience of St Paul, p. 203); but what he says about the worship of demons (see on 1Co_10:20) is some explanation of his view. There was a Rabbinical saying, “The first God is the true God, but the second God is Samael,” and Irenaeus (1. v. 4) says that the Valentinians called the devil Κσορτρ See J. A. Robinson on Eph_6:12; Dalman, Words, p. 165.
This verse contains the strongest item of evidence for what is called “the dualistic element in the thinking of St Paul,” i.e. the recognition of a power or powers other than God, external to man, exerting influence over human affairs, and in some sense independent of God; and it has been maintained that on this point the dualism of the N.T. is sharper than that of contemporary Judaism. It may be so. Increased recognition of the mystery of ‘the unsearchable riches of Christ’ would lead to a deeper appreciation of ‘the mystery of lawlessness.’
Fear of giving Apostolic support to the Manichaean doctrine of a good God and an evil one caused various Fathers, both Greek and Latin, to interpret this passage of God. Irenaeus (111. vii. 1) and others (Orig. Chrys. Thdrt. Tert. Hil. Aug.) adopt the device of taking τῦαῶο τύο as the gen. after τνἀίτν‘in whom God has blinded the minds of the unbelievers of this world’; and ‘the unbelievers of this world’ is interpreted to mean those who have no part in the other world, the world of light and bliss. Aug. (c. Faust. xxi. 2) says that plerique nostrum take the sentence in this way. He and others seem to be aware that this is questionable exegesis; but they are of opinion that, as Atto of Vercelli expresses it, because to interpret the words as meaning Satan brings us near to error, we must understand them as meaning God Himself. Calvin’s comment on this is to the point; Videmus quid faciat contentionis fervor in disputationibus: si composito animo legissent illi ones Pauli verba, nemini eorum in mentem venisset ita in coactum sensum torquere: sed quia urgebant adversarii, magis de illis propulsandis quam de inquirenda Pauli mente solliciti fuerunt. See Chase, The Lord’s Prayer in the Early Church, pp. 88 f.
ἐύλσντ νήαατνἀίτν ‘Blinded the minds of the unbelieving.’ Nothing is gained by making τ ἀίτνproleptic, ‘so that they did not believe’; on the contrary, it spoils what is the probable meaning. It was because they refused to believe that Satan had power to blind them. They resisted the influence of light until they lost the power of appreciating it. If the adjective had been proleptic, we should have had ἄιτ rather than τσ ἀίτν which is a kind of after-thought added to explain how the disastrous blinding became possible. Neither ἀεκήοςin 1Co_1:8 (see note there), nor σμοφνin Php_3:21 (see note) is parallel to τνἀίτνhere. As in 3:14, νήααhere must mean ‘minds’ rather than ‘thoughts’ : to speak of blinding men’s thoughts is somewhat incongruous. In LXX ἄιτςis very rare; in N.T. it is specially freq. in 1 and 2 Cor., and is almost always used of unconverted Gentiles But here there is such constant allusion to the Judaizers that we can hardly limit τνἀίτνto heathen. Cf. Tit_1:15.
In dictating, St Paul has packed his sentence too full, and the construction is so nearly broken that the meaning is in some respects obscure. It is not clear whether ο ἀολμνιand ο ἄιτιare coextensive. If not, which of the two includes the other? The latter question can be answered with some certainty, if it arises. It is not likely that ο ἀολμνιis the larger class, of which only some are ἄιτι But it is possible that ο ἄιτιis a large class, some of whom, by being blinded, become ἀολμνι We must translate ἐ ος‘in whose case,’ not ‘among whom’: either ‘in whose case Satan has blinded the understandings of some who believed not’; or, ‘in whose case Satan blinded their understandings because they believed not.’ The latter is more probably correct, as being the simpler construction. If we adopt it, then all the ἄιτιare blinded and become ἀολμνι and the two classes are coextensive. The interest of the discussion lies in the question whether St Paul contemplated the possibility of ‘unbelievers’ who were not ‘perishing.’
εςτ μ αγσι The verb may be either transitive, ‘to see,’ or intransitive, ‘to dawn’; therefore either, ‘that they should not see the illumination of the Gospel of the glory of the Christ,’ or, ‘that the illumination of the Gospel, etc., should not dawn’ upon them. Both AV and RV take the latter meaning; RV. marg. takes the former, which has in its favour the order of the words and the absence of ατῖ, which is not genuine, but has been inserted in some texts in order to make the latter meaning more possible. Qui oculos ad lucem claudunt justum est ut eis lux occultetur (Herveius); or, as Thdrt. puts it, ἀθνῦιγρὀθλοςπλμο ἥις The rapid sequence, ‘see’ or ‘dawn,’ ‘illumination,’ ‘good-tidings,’ ‘glory,’ ‘the Christ,’ ‘image of God,’ shows how anxious St Paul is to give some idea of the amazing brightness and beauty which was lost when unbelievers came into the power of Satan. There is something stately both here and in v. 6 in the series of four genitives in succession. In N.T. αγζι occurs nowhere else, and in LXX it is very rare; φτσό occurs here and v. 6 and six times in LXX. It is possible that here we have a trace of the influence of the Book of Wisdom on St Paul; cf. ἀαγσαγρἐτνφτςαδο, κὶἔοτο ἀηέωο τςτῦθο ἐεγίς(Wisd. 7:26). See on 5:1, 4. In the Testaments (Lev_14:4), τ φςτυ νμυτ δθνεςφτσὸ πνὸ ἀθώο. As we might expect, neither αηάενnor φτσό has been found in papyri; they deal with subjects that do not require the use of such words.
τςδξςτῦΧιτῦ The Gospel ‘which contains and proclaims the glory of the Messiah.’ This was precisely what the Gospel preached by the Judaizers did not do.* The addition of these words was perhaps suggested by the glory of Moses. In 1Ti_1:11 we have ‘the Gospel of the glory of the blessed God.’ Neither expression is inconsistent with ὁλγςτῦσαρῦ which is foolishness τῖ ἀολμνι (see on 1Co_1:18). It was the cross which led direct to the glory: ‘He became obedient to the death of the cross; wherefore also (δὸκί God highly exalted Him’ (Php_2:9; cf. Joh_10:17; Heb_2:9).†
ὄ ἐτνεκντυ Θο. Here again, as in ἐώιντῦΘο (v. 2), we reach the supreme climax. This addition to the sentence, which is complete without it, is made in order to show what ‘the glory of the Christ’ means; hinc satis intelligi potest, quanta sit gloria Christi (Beng.). It means the glory which is shed abroad by the one visible Representative of the invisible God, a glory which cannot be seen by those whom Satan has blinded. See on Php_2:6 and Col_1:15, and comp. Χρκὴ τςὑοτσω ατῦ(Heb_1:3). This is one of the passages in which St Paul comes near to the Johannine doctrine of the Λγς See Bernard, ad loc. The Alexandrian school interprets the εκνΘο of the Λγς see Lightfoot on Col_3:10, and Foundations, pp. 192 f. Cf. Joh_8:19; Wisd. 7:26.
Baljon and others suggest that τνἀίτνis a gloss; Bachmann, that the original reading may have been ατντνἀίτνor simply ατν αγσι(אB F G K L P) rather than κτυάα (C D E H) or δαγσι(A 17). After αγσιD2 and 3 E K L P, Syrr. Vulg. Aeth. Goth. add ατῖ, which some editors accept; but אA B C D* F G H 17, Lat-Vet. omit, and insertion to smooth the construction is more probable than accidental omission. For ΧιτῦC has Κρο. After τῦΘο, א L P, Syr-Hark. add τῦἀρτυfrom Col_1:15.
5. ο γρἑυοςκρσοε. In spite of such strong disclaimers as 1Co_1:13, St Paul was accused of preaching himself. His giving himself as a pattern to be imitated (1Co_4:16, 1Co_4:7:7, 1Co_4:11:1; etc.) would serve as a handle for this charge; see on 3:1. It is less probable that by this accusation his enemies meant that his revelations were delusions or deliberate fictions; he had never seen Jesus and knew nothing about Him; what he called “preaching Christ” was preaching his own fancies. This does not suit the context very well. The γρrefers to the preceding verses. ‘I call it “our Gospel” (v. 3), because we preach it, but its contents are “the glory of Christ” (v. 4); for it is not ourselves that we preach, but (what is very different) Christ Jesus as Lord.’ Ἑυοςis emphatic by position, but κροςis not to be understood with it. ‘It is not ourselves that we preach as lords, but Christ Jesus that we preach as Lord’ is an antithesis which St Paul would not be likely to make. To ‘preach Christ as Lord’ is to preach Him as crucified, risen, and glorified, the Lord to whom ‘all authority in heaven and earth has been given.’ To confess Him as Lord is to declare oneself a Christian (Rom_10:9; 1Co_12:3). Κρο suggests the δύοςwhich follows as an antithesis.
ἑυοςδ δύοςὑῶ. ‘While (we account) ourselves as your bondservants.’ Grammatically, κρσοε governs the second ἑυοςas well as the first, but that is not what the Apostle means. He has just stated that he does not preach himself, which is to be understood absolutely. From no point of view and in no capacity does he do that; but the position which he assumes in relation to his converts is not that of Saviour, but of a slave. In 1Co_3:5 he said δάοο, ‘servants’: in 1Co_4:1, ὑηέα, ‘underlings’; here he says δῦο, ‘slaves.’ Elsewhere he calls himself the δῦο of Jesus Christ (Rom_1:1; Php_1:1); and the qualifying words which he adds here show that this is his meaning here. It is because Christian ministers are the bondservants of Christ that they are the bondservants of those to whom they minister; and only so far as service to them does not interfere with service to Him, is it allowable to be bondservants to men. This is the only passage in which St Paul speaks of being the δῦο of his converts. See Chadwick, Pastoral Teaching of St Paul, p. 128. Cf. 1Co_7:23, 1Co_9:19.
δὰἸσῦ. Propter Jesum, ‘for Jesus’ sake.’ The use of this name without Χιτνcommonly denotes our Lord in the time of His humiliation (vv. 10-14; 1Th_1:10, 1Th_4:14); see on 1Co_9:1; J. A. Robinson, Ephesians, pp. 23, 107. It is rare in the Pauline Epistles, but it has special point here. It is not in order to curry favour with the Corinthians, or to flatter their conceit, that he counts himself as their δῦο, but he does so for the sake of Him who ἑυὸ ἐέωε μρὴ δύο λβν(Php_2:7); for the sake of Him who commanded His Apostles to be ready for the meanest service (Joh_13:14-16). Non ad gloriam nostram praedicamus Evangelium, sed ad claritatem Christi, cui obedimus, dum vobis in ministerio verbi servimus non propter vestrum meritum, sed propter Domini praeceptum (Herveius). For His sake they made themselves the servants of all, in order to bring the more adherents to Him; see on 1Co_9:19.
Some editors make vv. 3 and 4 parenthetical and treat this verse as a continuation and explanation of v. 2. Others, with more reason, make this verse a parenthesis. Clearness is not gained by either arrangement. The connexion (γρ of v. 5 with vv. 3 and 4 has been pointed out. There is perhaps yet another thought. ‘We do not preach ourselves but Jesus as Lord; therefore those unbelievers who reject our preaching reject, not us, but the Lord Jesus.’ On the other hand, the connexion between v. 4 and v. 6 is close.
This is one of the places in which it is hard to decide between ΧιτνΙσῦ (B H K L, Syr-Pesh. Copt. Arm.) and Ἰς Χ (אA C D E, Latt. Syr-Hark. Goth.). F G have Κρο before Ἰς Χ. P omits Κρο. Vulg-Clem. and some inferior Latin authorities insert nostrum after Dominum; ‘we preach Jesus Christ our Lord.’ For δὰἸσῦ, א A** C 17, Latt. (per, not propter) Copt. have δὰἸσῦ ‘through Jesus.’
6. ὅι This explains why they must preach Christ and not themselves; ‘Because the God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, is He who shone in our hearts.’ This is another reason for not treating v. 5 as a parenthesis. ‘Out of darkness’ should come before ‘light shall shine’ in English, as in the Greek. To omit ὅ is a needless simplification; ἐτνis to be supplied with ὅ. The statement is in antithesis to v. 4, which has influenced the structure of this verse. The unbelieving opponents have been blinded by Satan; the Apostle has been illumined by God Himself, the Creator of Light. Satan reduced them from unbelief to total blindness; God has brought him from darkness to light. In this verse the 1st pers. plur. must mean primarily the Apostle, for the reference to his own experiences on the road to Damascus and in Damascus are almost as clear as his reference to ‘Let there be light.’ With regard to that, it is possible that some recollection of ἐαέελνἐ σόε φς(Psa_111:4), or of φςπισ ἐ σόος(Job_37:15), has influenced his wording. He wants for his purpose ἐ σόοςas well as φς it was out of darkness, both physical and spiritual, that God rescued him. God blinded his bodily eyes for three days as a means towards healing his spiritual blindness. How could a man who had had these experiences preach himself?
ὁεπν Ἐ σόοςφςλμε. The Apostle reminds his converts of the first creative word that is recorded. The God who is Light (see on 1Jn_1:5), the nature of which is to communicate itself and expel darkness, and who is ‘the Father of lights’ (Jam_1:17), and therefore the Source of all intellectual and spiritual illumination, is the God who illuminated the Apostles, and in a special manner St Paul. God did not allow darkness to reign over the material universe. With the first utterance attributed to Him He dispersed it. Magnum opus, as Bengel remarks. It is not likely that He would allow darkness to prevail throughout the spiritual world. From the first He provided means for dispersing that also. The old lamps, however, were going out; but better ones have taken their place, and some of them have been sent to Corinth.
ὃ ἔαψνἐ τῖ κρίι ἡῶ. ‘Is He who shone in our hearts,’ illuminating our whole moral and spiritual being. He who over the primeval chaos said, ‘Let there be light,’ and provided sun, moon, and stars to preserve and spread it, has shed light into the chaos of our souls, and has thus provided instruments for the perpetual φνρσςτςἀηεα (v. 2). The details of this process in the case of St Paul himself are told us to some extent in Gal_1:15, Gal_1:16. As λμε must be intransitive in the previous clause, it is probable that ἔαψνalso is intransitive. Some, however, understand φς which is the nom. to λμε, as the acc. after ἔαψν ‘made light to shine.’ But in class. Grk. the transitive use of λμενis poetical and somewhat rare.
πὸ φτσὸ τςγώεςτςδξςτῦΘο. The stately series of genitives is parallel to that in v. 4. In both cases the first genitive is subjective; ‘the illumining which the knowledge of the glory (or, the Gospel of the glory) produces.’* In v. 4, φτσὸ τ εαγλο cannot mean ‘the enlightenment which produces the Gospel,’ and it is unlikely that φτ τ γώεςmeans ‘the enlightenment which issues in knowledge.’ The knowledge which has this illumining power is in the Apostles, imparted to them by God with a view to (πό) their employing it to illuminate others. In the account of his conversion given by St Paul to King Agrippa he states that Christ told him of this purpose at the outset; ‘To this end (εςτῦο have I appeared to thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness, delivering thee from the People and from the Gentiles, to whom I send thee, to open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God’ (Act_26:16-18). ‘With a view to illumining men with the knowledge of the glory of God’ gives the sense. Some would limit the action of φτσό to ἐ τῖ κρίι ἡῶ, ‘God shone in our hearts to illumine them, ’ so that the scope of the statement does not extend beyond the Apostles and preachers; but vv. 3 and 4 clearly cover those to whom they preached, and the hearers are probably included here.
ἐ ποώῳΧιτῦ Like ὅ ἐτνεκντ Θο in v. 4, this is an addition to a sentence which would be complete without it, yet an addition which is full of meaning. Christ is the image of God, and in His face is revealed so much of the Divine glory as can be communicated to men, and it is this which Apostles know and have to make known. It may be that St Paul is still thinking of the reflexion of the Divine glory on the face of Moses, and hence says ἐ ποώῳΧιτῦrather than ἐ Χιτ.†But it is more probable that he is thinking of the Divine glory in the face of Christ, which he himself saw on the road to Damascus. Elsewhere he merely affirms that he has seen the Lord (1Co_9:1, 1Co_15:8), or that God revealed His Son to him (Gal_1:15). Here he seems to be desiring to tell, as in the narratives in Acts, the splendour of the vision. Christ was revealed to him by God-in a glory which was Divine. When he speaks of having knowledge ‘of the glory of God in the face of Christ,’ he is speaking of what he himself has seen. See Bousset, ad loc. For ποώῳsee on 2:10.
On this lofty level St Paul leaves for a while (till v. 11) the glorification of Apostleship, which is a different thing from glorification of himself. God does wonderful work with very humble instruments, and takes His instruments sometimes from very unexpected quarters. St Paul often remarks how true this is of himself. But whatever this demerits may be, they only enhance the glory of the Apostleship. What he has accomplished is due to the grace given to an Apostle, not to the abilities of Saul of Tarsus.
It is often debated whether the experiences which produced his conversion were objective or subjective, whether there was any light that was seen by others and any voice that was heard by others. The accounts agree about the sight, but not about the sound. May there not be an error about both? May not the whole of the experiences have been mental, and confined to the future Apostle?* These questions will continue to be asked, and no answer to them can be proved to be true. What is certain is that these experiences produced in St Paul a conviction, which lasted the whole of his life and influenced his whole life, that he had seen and held a conversation with the risen Lord Jesus. In this passage he himself seems to give us both a subjective and an objective element. In ὃ ἔαψνἐ κρίι ἡῶ we have an internal experience; in ἡδξ τῦΘο ἐ ποώῳΧιτῦwe have an external one. Comp. ἐ ἐο (Gal_1:16) with the one and ἑρκ (1Co_9:1) with the other (Klö ad loc.). The reasonableness of believing in both these elements is well put by A. T. Robertson, Epochs in the Life of St Paul, ch. iii.; and by J. H. Ropes, The Apostolic Age, pp. 107-110. See also Ramsay, The Teaching of Paul in Terms of the Present Day, p. 15.
λμε (א A D* 67**, Syrr. Aeth.) rather than λμα (א C D3 E F G H K L P, Latt. Goth. Arm.), which was perhaps substituted because the wording is so different from Gen_1:3; ‘who commanded the light to shine out of darkness’ avoids divergence as to the form of the command. D* F G Chrys. Tert. Ambrst. omit ὅ before ἔαψν which simplifies the construction. C* D* F G d e g r Aeth. substitute ατῦfor τῦΘο, έ ποώῳΧιτῦ(A B 17, Arm. (codd.), Orig. Chrys. Tert.) rather than ἐ π. ἸσῦΧ (אC H K L P, Syrr. Copt. Goth.) or ἐ π. Χ. Ἰσῦ(D E F G, Latt.).
4:7-5:10. The Sufferings and Supports of an Apostle
It may seem strange that so glorious a dispensation should be proclaimed by such frail and suffering ministers; but that proves that the power of it is from God and not from them. They are sustained by God’s power and by the prospect of future blessedness. The sure hope that present suffering leads on to eternal glory enables them to bear all things in the service of Christ.
7 But this glory has another side. This illuminating power is entrusted to unattractive and worthless persons, as treasure is stored in earthen jars, in order that it may be patent to all that the excellence of power which we exhibit is God’s gift, and does not emanate from us. 8 In our conflicts we suffer heavily, but are never utterly defeated. Often hard pressed, yet not driven to surrender; in desperate plight, yet not in despair; 9 chased from the field, yet not left to the mercy of the foe; beaten to the earth, yet not killed outright; 10 always carrying about in the body the imminent danger of dying as Jesus died, in order that by the continual escapes and deliverances of our bodies it might be manifest to the world that Jesus is still alive. 11 Yes, every day that we live we are continually being handed over to death for the sake of Jesus, in order that in just that part of us which is liable to death it might be made manifest to all that the living Jesus is at work. 12 So then it is His death that takes effect in us while it is His life which, through its power in us, takes effect in you. 18 There is a Psalmist who has written, ‘I believed, therefore I spoke.’ That is just our case. We have exactly the same spirit of faith and trust that he had, and therefore we do not keep silence. 14 We also speak with confidence, because we know that He who raised the Lord Jesus from the grave will, in virtue of His Resurrection, raise us up also, and will bring us into His presence, side by side with you. 15 For all that we do and all that we suffer is done and suffered for your benefit, in order that the grace which is bestowed on us, being augmented by the increasing number of those who believe with us and pray for us, may cause a greater volume of thanksgiving to rise both from us and from them to the glory of God.
16 No wonder, therefore, that, with your salvation to work for and this faith to sustain us, we do not lose heart and act as cowards. On the contrary, although our physical powers are wasting away, yet what is spiritual in us is being ceaselessly made fresh and strong. 17 By this I mean that our present afflictions, which may seem heavy and protracted, are really light and momentary compared with the enduring substantiality of glory which they are working out for us in an ever increasingly preponderating degree. 18 And we are sure of this, because we direct our gaze, not towards the fleeting things which we now see around us, but towards the lasting realities which to us are at present unseen.
5. 1 I affirm this because we known well that, if the tentlike body which is our earthly dwelling should be taken down, God supplies us with a better building, a dwelling that is supernatural, lasting, with its site not on earth but in heaven. 2 For truly in this tent-dwelling we sigh and groan, desiring greatly to have our heavenly home put over us, 3 sure that this putting of it on will secure us from being found at Christ’s coming without any house at all. 4 For verily we that are still in our tent, awaiting His return, have reason to sigh and groan, feeling oppressed because, while we shrink from the idea of losing it by death, we desire to have the better dwelling placed over it, in order that all that is perishable in the one may be swallowed up by the imperishable nature of the other. 5 Our feelings may seem to be a poor security for this, but we have a far stronger on