Ezekiel, Jonah, and Pastoral Epistles by Patrick Fairbairn - Titus 3:3 - 3:3

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Ezekiel, Jonah, and Pastoral Epistles by Patrick Fairbairn - Titus 3:3 - 3:3


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Ver. 3. As a reason for the manifestation of this mild and benignant spirit toward others, even degraded and ignorant heathen, the apostle refers to their own similar state in the past, and the marvellously kind and compassionate treatment they had, notwithstanding, experienced from their heavenly Father: For we also (we, namely, who are now Christians) were once foolish (or void of understanding; see Gal_3:1, Eph_4:18), disobedient, going astray., serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. It is a dark picture of the natural state of men, and must be understood in the general, as more or less applicable to all who are left to the workings of corrupt nature, especially when that nature has developed itself amid the manifold temptations and pernicious examples of heathenism, but not without a measure of exemplification also even in such as, like St. Paul himself, have been brought up amid the decencies of a religious profession, so long as the heart has remained a stranger to the renewing grace of God. If, therefore, we may justly enough say that Paul was not thinking of himself primarily here,—was thinking rather of those in whom, up to the period of their conversion to the faith of Christ, the propensities and dispositions of nature had taken their free course,—there is no reason, on the other hand, for supposing that the apostle could have dreamt of excepting himself, as if he had not been conscious of possessing the same elements of character in his natural state. Elsewhere he has expressly affirmed as much of men universally, including himself (Rom_1:18 sq., Romans 2, Rom_3:9-20, Romans 7, etc.); and it can scarcely be characterized otherwise than as absurd in Schrader to speak of the writer here forgetting the representation given of the apostle at 2Ti_1:3 as a man who from his forefathers had served God with a pure conscience. For in our passage, in so far as he contemplates himself, it is as lying in the corruption and following the tendencies of nature; while in the other he thinks only of what he was from the time that the sense of religion had been awakened in him, and he entered intelligently into the faith and spirit of his believing ancestry. The particular expressions are all simple enough. It may be doubted whether ðëáíþìåíïé should be taken in the neuter or the passive sense—going astray, or led astray, deceived. It occurs in both senses in New Testament Scripture: comp. Mat_22:29, Mar_12:27, Gal_6:7, with Joh_7:47, 1Co_6:9, 2Ti_3:13; but here, where the whole tenor of the passage has respect to evil in its more active manifestations, the neuter sense seems to be the more suitable. So the Vulg. errantes; also the Syriac, Ellicott, Huther, and others. The term here used for pleasures—pleasures, namely, of a grovelling or sinful kind— ἡäïíáῖò , is not elsewhere found in St. Paul’s writings, but occurs in other books, Luk_8:14; Jas_4:1, Jas_4:3; 2Pe_2:13; and the idea of doing service or being in bondage to such things is employed more than once by our apostle, Rom_6:6, Rom_6:16, Rom_16:18. It cannot therefore with any justice be called an un-Pauline form of expression. Living, spending life ( äéÜãïíôåò , sc. âéï ́ í ), in malice and envy, expresses only what is implied of men in their natural state at Eph_4:31, Col_3:8. The term óôõãçôïß is found only here, but is of the same import as ìéóçôïé ́ (Hesych.): it indicates the possession of qualities which are fitted to awaken the dislike of others—selfishness in some one or other of its aspects; and in proportion as this existed there could not fail to be exhibitions of the remaining quality, hating one another. Comp. Gal_5:15. In regard to all the qualities, the degrees of strength and forms of manifestation might be infinitely diversified; but of this the apostle says nothing.