our dear fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful minister of' Christ "that he was the founder of the Church there. The Apostle had been "for the space of three years" teaching and preaching in Ephesus, and we learn that, from his sojourn and labours there, "all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks." (Acts xix. 10.) What more likely than that, during this period, Epaphras, Philemon, and others from Colossæ, met with St. Paul at Ephesus, heard the gospel from his lips, became acquainted with him, and thus formed the seeds, so to speak, of the Colossian Church? Although, therefore, the Apostle had not himself been there, he had a personal as well as an apostolic interest in this Church; and when erroneous teaching began to make its appearance among the Christians in that city, St. Paul was at once aroused to make an effort to crush its power, stem its progress, and preserve the converts from its baleful influence. This was the occasion of this epistle. There has been much discussion as to who the false teachers were, and as to what were the precise errors which were promulged; and there is some difficulty in determining the point. From the data given or suggested by the contents of the epistle, the false teachers seem to have been Jewish Christians of a Judaizing tendency, whose attempt was to mix with the free and spiritual gospel of Christ the theosophy and angelology of the Jews-elements derived from the philosophy of the East. Josephus informs us that, by order of Antiochus the Great, two thousand Jewish families were transplanted to Phrygia from Babylon and Mesopotamia, B.C. 198.† These, imbued more or less with the doctrines of Zoroaster, would be likely to give an * See Bleek's Introduction to the New Test., vol. ii. p. 24. Alford's Greek Test., vol. iii., Prolegomena. † Joseph. Antiq. of the Jews, Bk. xii. cap. iii. sect. 4. impulse to the wild speculative tendency which prevailed in that part of Asia Minor. It is well known that the Phrygians were, as a people, not only skilful in various arts, but strongly marked by a disposition to fanaticism and mysticism. This is traced in the worship of Cybele, the local deity, and in the Montanism which was rife in the churches of that region in the second century. False doctrines were evidently taught at Colossæ as an incipient system, which developed into more definite shape and form a century or two later; but, as the various points are referred to more in detail as they come up in the course of the exposition, I do not allude to them further here. We can, however, see that Phrygia was the very region where Judaism and Orientalism would meet, and be likely to combine in errors such as are opposed by St. Paul in this epistle. All was then "in flow "-not fully developed nor firmly set in any definite system. The Church at Colossa was evidently composed mainly of Gentile Christians. Its ecclesiastical organization seems to have been in an incipient or imperfect state, if we may judge from the way in which the Apostle refers to the ministers, with no allusion to bishops and deacons. Dean Alford, in his Prolegomena (Greek Testament, vol. iii.), gives a list of more than thirty words used in this epistle, and not elsewhere found in the New Testament-words technically known as äraέ λeyóμeva-the most of which occur in the second chapter, and are therefore to be ascribed to the nature of the subject discussed. The epistle is one of much grandeur and richness. Its similarity to the epistle to the Ephesians has often been remarked. The one throws light upon the other, and they cannot be well studied apart. So many are the parallel passages, that they may be viewed as twin epistles. Bishop Wordsworth says the Apostle is both a builder and a soldier. "He builds up the truth in one epistle, and he wars against error in the other. He builds in the epistle to the Ephesians; in the epistle to the Church of Colossæ he has his sword girded at his side." * Both these epistles, with that to Philemon, were most probably written about the same time, as they are sent from Rome together, and by the same messengers, A.D. 62. SYNOPSIS OF THE EPISTLE. I. Inscription and salutation, i. 1–9. 1. Thanksgiving for the character of the Colossians, vv. 3-5. 2. Prayer for them, vv. 6--12. II. Doctrinal and fundamental, i. 13-27. 1. The glory of Christ Jesus. (1.) His relation to the Father, v. 16. (2.) His relation to the universe, vv. 16, 17. (4.) His relation to fallen man, vv. 20-22. 2. Personal and pastoral, i. 24-ii. 5. (1.) The apostle's joy in his sufferings, vv. 25, 26. (2.) His ministry, vv. 27-29. (3.) His anxiety for the converts, ii. 1-5. III. Argumentative and hortatory, ii. 5—iii. 1. 1. Reasons for Christian fidelity and adherence to the Gospel. (1.) Christ's infinite fulness, vv. 2, 3. (2.) Their new life in Him, vv. 6, 7, 10. 16-23. * Greek New Test. Introd. to the Ep. to the Colossians. IV. Ethical and practical, iii. 1-iv. 7. 1. Grounds of duty and devotedness, vv. 1—4. (2.) Virtues to be practised, vv. 10-13. (1.) Wives and husbands, vv. 18, 19. (3.) To wise conversation, v. 6. V. Conclusion Personal and salutatory, iv. 7-18. NEW TRANSLATION. The following translation is from the text of Dr. Tregelles, the principle of which, as announced by himself in his Greek New Testament, is "to give the text on the authority of the ancient witnesses, MSS. and versions, with the aid of the earlier citations, so as to present as far as possible the text best attested in the earlier centuries." CHAPTER I. 3 Paul an Apostle of Christ Jesus, through the will of God, and Timothy his brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colossæ: Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father. We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, always praying for you, 'having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in the heavens, which ye heard of before in the word of the truth of the gospel: which is present among you as also in all the world; it is bringing forth fruit, and growing, even as it is in you also, from the day ye heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth as ye learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf; who has also declared to us your love in the Spirit. For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease praying for you, and making request that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding; so as to walk worthy of the Lord, unto all pleasing, bringing forth fruit in every good work, and growing by the knowledge of God; "being strengthened with all strength, according to the power of His glory, unto all patience and longsuffering with joy: giving thanks unto the Father, who has made us meet for the portion of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 who rescued us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, Hin whom we are having the redemption, the forgiveness of sins; 15 who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 because in Him were all things created, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers,— all things have been created through Him and for Him; "and He is before all things, and in Him all things subsist; and He is the head of the body, the church: who is the Beginning, the firstborn from the dead, in order that in all things He might be the first: 19 because He was well pleased that all the fulness should dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things unto Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross, whether they be things on the earth or things in the heavens. 21 And you that once were alienated and enemies in the mind in your wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled, in the body of His flesh through the death, to present you holy and blameless and without any charge before Him, "if at least ye continue in the faith grounded and stable, and not being moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye heard, which was preached in the whole creation which is under heaven, whereof I Paul was made a minister. 24 I now rejoice in the sufferings on your behalf, and am filling up what is wanting of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for the sake of His body, which is the Church of which I was made a minister according to the dispensation of God which was given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God: 26 the mystery which hath been hidden from the ages and from the generations, but now has been manifested to His saints; 27 to whom it was God's will to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery in the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of the glory; whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, in order that we |