THE EPISTLE OF ST PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS. CHAPTER V. Verse 18. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit. AND BE NOT DRUNK WITH WINE] Kai mee methuskesthe oinō, 'and be not surcharged with wine.' Drinking immense quantities of wine was common among the Greeks, and (strange as it may appear to modern bibbers) the intoxicating liquors used were largely diluted, with the express intention of making the potations both deep and prolonged. Public sentiment in Athens, in the time of Plato, did not go beyond condemning drunkenness—and not always that, for at the festivals of Dionysius (Bacchus) 'the giver of wine,' an abnegation of sobriety was almost universal ! IN WHICH] En hō, 'in which.' The subject of this 'which' may be the previous word 'wine,' or the whole of the preceding clause; that is, it may signify ‘in which wine,' or 'in which state of vinous intemperance.' Bengel's note is emphatic,-En hō, in quo vino scilicet quatenus immoderate hauritur, 'in which wine, evidently, since it is immoderately swallowed.' Doddridge takes the same view, and regards this construction as a beautiful figure. Having before him the Lxx. rendering of Prov. xx. 1-akolaston oinos, ‘wine is an incorrigible thing,'—the apostle might readily affirm that 'in' wine, estin asōtia, ‘there is unsavableness.' Nor would such an affirmation be purely figurative, seeing that the alcoholic element is the active producer of that appetite and that sensuality which plunge multitudes into perdition. IS EXCESS] Estin asōtia, 'is unsavableness' = utter depravity and dissoluteness. The word asōtia is compounded of a and sōtia, and literally signifies the absence of salvation—a state of hopeless moral disintegration and ruin. Clement of Alexandria, in his ‘Pædagogue,' b. ii., says:—“I admire those who desire no other beverage than water, the medicine of a wise temperance, avoiding wine as they would fire. It is desirable young men and maidens should forego the medicament altogether, for . . . hence arise irregular desires and licentious conduct;. . . the whole body is excited before its time by the action of wine on the system. The body inflames the soul. Well, then, has the apostle said, 'Be not surcharged with wine, in which is asōtia, a shameful licentiousness.' He seems to signify the impossibility of salvation (sōteeria) to drunkards, for the word asōteia, in Greek, means equally 'luxury,' and an incapacity for salvation."—(A. D. 200.) Similarly the French word roué, 'one broken on the wheel,' is also applied to an utter profligate. The English rendering 'excess' is very tame; and, being a mere repetition of the idea contained in 'drunk,' is a platitude unworthy of inspiration. More to the point is Wiclif's version, And nyle ye be drunken of wyne, in whiche is leecherie.' The Rheims V. has 'wherein is riotousnes.' The Latin Vulgate has luxuria, 'luxuriousness,' akin to the word which it supplies in Prov. xx. I,-luxuriosa res vinum est. Beza has luxus, 'wantonness' or 'extravagance.' Calvin says, In quo nomine intelligo lascivias omne genus et dissolutiones, by which term I understand all kind of impurities and dissipations.' The epithet as an adverb occurs in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke xv. 13), where the words rendered in A. V. 'in riotous living' are zōn asōtōs, 'living ruinously.' BUT BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT] Alla pleerousthe en Pneumati, 'but be ye filled in spirit,' or with the Spirit.' Either "be not filled-full of wine as to your body, as the heathen are, but be ye filled in your spirit with all holy influences"; or, "let your fulness be not that of wine, but of the Spirit which you have received by faith in Christ." The first interpretation is favoured by the absence of the article to (the) before Pneumati (Spirit), but the other is generally adopted, and the signification is not different; for if, as all commentators agree, the mee methuskesthe of the first clause is in apposition with the pleerousthe of the second, the oinos of the one requires an expressed or implied agent to correspond, which can be no other than the Holy Spirit, given to those that believe. Dr Eadie, in his Commentary, rejects the opinion that the apostle alludes, as in 1 Cor. xi., to any abuse of the old love-feasts, or of the Lord's Supper; and he contrasts the vain attempt of men of the world to keep full of the wine whose fumes and stimulation are evanescent, with the Christian's full possession by the influences of the Spirit, which are not only powerful, but replete with satisfaction to the heart of man.' Conybeare and Howson give the following as the sense of the whole passage : "When you meet let your enjoyment consist not in fulness of wine, but fulness of the Spirit; let your songs be not the drinking-songs of heathen feasts, but psalms and hymns; and their accompaniment not the music of the lyre, but the melody of the heart; while you sing them to the praise not of Bacchus or Venus, but of the Lord Jesus Christ." Obs. 1. The apostle's Divine philosophy at once goes to causes. He presents in this verse a practical antithesis between fulness of wine and fulness of the Divine Spirit; not an antithesis between one state of fulness and another—mere effects,— but an antithesis pointing to an intrinsic contrariety of nature and operation between the sources of such fulness-viz., inebriating wine and the Holy Spirit. This contrast will be better understood by quoting the preceding words, 'Wherefore be ye not unwise' (aphrones, without reason) = not forgetting how antagonistic to the full possession and exercise of your mind the use of wine comes to be, taken in quantities that some may not call excessive. 2. Whether the asōtia 'dissoluteness' be referred to wine as its germinal and active principle, or to 'drunkenness' as the state of body and mind which brings the profligacy into play, the fact of connection is affirmed, and is to be solemnly taken into account in all Christian enterprises and efforts of reformation. When intoxicating liquor exerts its specific effects it places the subject in asōtia, which is not merely a state in which he cannot be saved, but is synonymous with a condition of moral corruption quite inimical to the reception of saving truth. Alcohol deranges the functions of the brain-the medium of mental action,-and tends to bring about organic disease, so that its influence on mind and morals is entirely different in character from the influence of such evil inclinations and habits as leave the brain in healthy rapport with the intellectual powers. Hence the renunciation of inebriating drinks is generally a pre-requisite for the acceptance of the Holy Spirit, and has been found a positive and direct means of preparation for spiritual impressions by thousands of once prodigal drunkards. 3. The objection, that since the apostle says, 'Be not drunk with wine,' he virtually sanctions a use of wine short of drunkenness, is one of those superficial inferences in which uneducated or prejudiced minds delight. It is surely possible in our day for a Christian missionary to condemn and forbid intemperance by opium, without approving of the use of that drug in any degree. If the words *in which is dissoluteness' are joined to the word 'wine,' a powerful warning is given in respect to wine itself; and however the clauses may be construed, the passage in its entirety neither recommends intoxicating drink nor implies that its use, in the smallest measure, is either salutary or safe. The soul filled with the Spirit' is not supposed to crave after strong drink, but is more likely to resemble the wise man of whom Philo (Paul's contemporary) observes, that he will never voluntarily make use of unmixed wine, or of any drug of folly' (akraton kai pan aphrosunees pharmakon hekōn oupote). Expositors, not themselves abstainers, illustrate this text by a reference to Luke i. 14, where the promise that John should be 'filled with the Holy Spirit,' even from his birth, was connected with the heavenly prohibition, wine and strong drink he shall not drink.' Thus Olshausen, in his comment on this verse, writes, "Man feels the want of a strengthening through spiritual influences from without; instead of seeking for these in the Holy Spirit, he in his blindness has recourse to the 'natural' spirit, that is, to wine and strong drinks. Therefore, according to the point of view of the Law, the Old Testament recommends abstinence from wine and strong drinks in order to preserve the soul free from all merely natural influences, and by that means to make it more susceptible of the operations of the Holy Spirit." THE EPISTLE OF ST PAUL TO THE PHILIPPIANS. CHAPTER IV. VERSE 5. Let your moderation be known unto all men. hand. The Lord is at MODERATION] Epicikes, 'seemliness,' or 'gentleness.' The Vulgate has modestia, which the Rheims version converts into 'modestie.' Wiclif gives 'be youre pacience known to alle men'; Tyndale and Cranmer, 'softness'; the Geneva V. 'patient mynde.' Had the A. V. read moderation-of-mind,' the ignorant perversion of this text into an objection to the Temperance movement—as if the apostle were recommending 'moderation-in-liquors '-would have been avoided. The reference is either to that propriety and consistency of conduct which Christians should ever exhibit, or to that gentleness and equanimity of soul which should ever be manifested to all, even their persecutors; for 'the Lord is at hand,'—at hand to reward His people and judge their oppressors. So far as this text can have any bearing on the use of strong drinks, it would be impossible to show that Christian moderation of disposition-whether decorum or serenity— is ever increased by the use of the smallest quantity of the wine which is a mocker; while there is lamentable evidence of breaches of propriety and good temper provoked by its influence on professing Christians of every name. Cowper, who was a good Greek scholar, very well rebukes the prevalent perversion of this text in favour of sensuality : 'The selfsame word that bids our lusts obey, Is misapplied to sanctify their sway.' CHAPTER IV. VERSE 8. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. This comprehensive principle is an answer to the objection that abstinence is not commanded in the Scriptures; since, if it be included under any of the whatsoevers' of this verse, it is as really affirmed and stamped with apostolic authority as if distinctly pointed out. Nowhere do the sacred writers profess to give an exhaustive enumeration of all varieties of virtuous conduct. In the application of this catholic course of Christian morals, all that is necessary is to ascertain whether any particular act or line of conduct comes under the rule laid down; if it does, the scriptural application of it comes out as clearly and conclusively as, in logic, the conclusion of a properly constructed syllogism issues from its premisses. This apostolic' description aptly and singularly unites the two elements contained respectively in the definition of morality given by Socrates and Plato. The former defines virtue as that which is done with 'perception '—i. e. of truth and suitability; the latter, as an action in resistance of appetite, manifesting moral strength, or the control of the fleshly by the spiritual nature. "The Christian has had to deal with a thousand things against which no Divine [verbal] intimation could have been quoted, but the evil of which conscience [enlightened by fact] would have taught him. Men practically ignore their conscience in this matter."—(A. Purey-Cust, M. A.) |