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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
on the Whole Bible
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Matthew Henry |
C O L O S S I A N S.
CHAP. I.
We have here,
I. The inscription, as usual,
II. His thanksgiving to God for what he had heard concerning
them–their faith, love, and hope,
III. His prayer for their knowledge, fruitfulness, and strength,
IV. An admirable summary of the Christian doctrine concerning the
operation of the Spirit, the person of the Redeemer, the work of
redemption, and the preaching of it in the gospel,
| Inscription and Apostolical Benediction. | A. D. 62. |
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1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and
Timotheus our brother,
2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at
Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ.
I. The inscription of this epistle is much the same with the rest; only
it is observable that,
1. He calls himself an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of
God. An apostle is a prime-minister in the kingdom of Christ,
immediately called by Christ, and extraordinarily qualified; his work
was peculiarly to plant the Christian church, and confirm the Christian
doctrine. He attributes this not to his own merit, strength, or
sufficiency; but to the free grace and good-will of God. He thought
himself engaged to do his utmost, as an apostle, because he was made so
by the will of God.
2. He joins Timothy in commission with himself, which is another
instance of his humility; and, though he elsewhere calls him his son
(2 Tim. ii. 1),
yet here he calls him his brother, which is an example to the elder and
more eminent ministers to look upon the younger and more obscure as
their brethren, and to treat them accordingly with kindness and
respect.
3. He calls the Christians at Colosse saints, and faithful brethren
in Christ. As all good ministers, so all good Christians, are
brethren one to another, who stand in a near relation and owe a mutual
love. Towards God they must be saints, consecrated to his honour and
sanctified by his grace, bearing his image and aiming at his glory. And
in both these, as saints to God and as brethren to one another, they
must be faithful. Faithfulness runs through every character and
relation of the Christian life, and is the crown and glory of them
all.
II. The apostolical benediction is the same as usual: Grace be unto
you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. He
wishes them grace and peace, the free favour of God and all the
blessed fruits of it; every kind of spiritual blessings, and that
from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ; jointly from
both, and distinctly from each; as in the former epistle.
| Paul’s Thanksgiving for the Colossians. | A. D. 62. |
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3 We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, praying always for you,
4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love
which ye have to all the saints,
5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye
heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and
bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye
heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
7 As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is
for you a faithful minister of Christ;
8 Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
Here he proceeds to the body of the epistle, and begins with
thanksgiving to God for what he had heard concerning them, though he
had no personal acquaintance with them, and knew their state and
character only by the reports of others.
I. He gave thanks to God for them, that they had embraced the gospel of
Christ, and given proofs of their fidelity to him. Observe, In his
prayers for them he gave thanks for them. Thanksgiving ought to be a
part of every prayer; and whatever is the matter of our rejoicing ought
to be the matter of our thanksgiving. Observe,
1. Whom he gives thanks to: To God, even the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. In our thanksgiving we must have an eye to God as God
(he is the object of thanksgiving as well as prayer), and is the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, in and through whom all good comes to us. He
is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as well as our Father; and it is
a matter of encouragement, in all our addresses to God, that we can
look to him as Christ’s Father and our Father, as his God and our God,
Observe,
2. What he gives thanks to God for–for the graces of God in them, which
were evidences of the grace of God towards them: Since we heard of
your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love you have to all the saints;
for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven,
v. 4, 5.
Faith, hope, and love, are the three principal graces in the Christian
life, and proper matter of our prayer and thanksgiving.
(1.) He gives thanks for their faith in Christ Jesus, that they were
brought to believe in him, and take upon them the profession of his
religion, and venture their souls upon his undertaking.
(2.) For their love. Besides the general love which is due to all men,
there is a particular love owing to the saints, or those who are of the
Christian brotherhood,
1 Pet. ii. 17.
We must love all the saints, bear an extensive kindness and good-will
to good men, notwithstanding smaller points of difference, and many
real weaknesses. Some understand it of their charity to the saints in
necessity, which is one branch and evidence of Christian love.
(3.) For their hope: The hope which is laid up for you in
heaven,
v. 5.
The happiness of heaven is called their hope, because it is the
thing hoped for, looking for the blessed hope,
Tit. ii. 13.
What is laid out upon believers in this world is much; but what is laid
up for them in heaven is much more. And we have reason to give thanks
to God for the hope of heaven which good Christians have, or their
well-grounded expectation of the future glory. Their faith in Christ,
and love to the saints, had an eye to the hope laid up for them in
heaven. The more we fix our hopes on the recompence of reward in
the other world, the more free and liberal shall we be of our earthly
treasure upon all occasions of doing good.
II. Having blessed God for these graces, he blesses God for the means
of grace which they enjoyed: Wherein you heard before in the word of
the truth of the gospel. They had heard in the word of the truth of
the gospel concerning this hope laid up for them in heaven.
Observe,
1. The gospel is the word of truth, and what we may safely venture our
immortal souls upon: it proceeds from the God of truth and the Spirit
of truth, and is a faithful saying. He calls it the grace of God in
truth,
v. 6.
2. It is a great mercy to hear this word of truth; for the great thing
we learn from it is the happiness of heaven. Eternal life is brought
to light by the gospel,
They heard of the hope laid up in heaven in the word of the truth of
the gospel. “Which has come unto you, as it hath to all the world,
and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you,
v. 6.
This gospel is preached and brings forth fruit in other nations; it has
come to you, as it hath to all the world, according to the
commission, Go preach the gospel in all the nations, and to
every creature.” Observe,
(1.) All who hear the word of the gospel ought to bring forth the fruit
of the gospel, that is, be obedient to it, and have their principles
and lives formed according to it. This was the doctrine first preached:
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance,
Matt. iii. 8.
And our Lord says, If you know these things, happy are you if you do
them,
John xiii. 17.
Observe,
(2.) Wherever the gospel comes, it will bring forth fruit to the honour
and glory of God: It bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in
you. We mistake, if we think to monopolize the comforts and
benefits of the gospel to ourselves. Does the gospel bring forth fruit
in us? So it does in others.
III. He takes this occasion to mention the minister by whom they
believed
(v. 7, 8):
As you also learned of Epaphras, our dear fellow-servant, who is for
you a faithful minister of Christ. He mentions him with great
respect, to engage their love to him.
1. He calls him his fellow-servant, to signify not only that they
served the same Master, but that they were engaged in the same work.
They were fellow-labourers in the work of the Lord, though one was an
apostle and the other an ordinary minister.
2. He calls him his dear fellow-servant: all the servants of Christ
ought to love one another, and it is an endearing consideration that
they are engaged in the same service.
3. He represents him as one who was a faithful minister of Christ to
them, who discharged his trust and fulfilled his ministry among them.
Observe, Christ is our proper Master, and we are his ministers. He does
not say who is your minister; but who is the minister of Christ for
you. It is by his authority and appointment, though for the
people’s service.
4. He represents him as one who gave them a good word: Who also
declared unto us your love in the Spirit,
v. 8.
He recommends him to their affection, from the good report he made of
their sincere love to Christ and all his members, which was wrought in
them by the Spirit, and is agreeable to the spirit of the gospel.
Faithful ministers are glad to be able to speak well of their
people.
| Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians. | A. D. 62. |
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9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not
cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with
the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding;
10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing,
being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the
knowledge of God;
11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious
power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
The apostle proceeds in these verses to pray for them. He heard that
they were good, and he prayed that they might be better. He was
constant in this prayer: We do not cease to pray for you. It may
be he could hear of them but seldom, but he constantly prayed for
them.–And desire that you may be filled with the knowledge, &c.
Observe what it is that he begs of God for them,
I. That they might be knowing intelligent Christians: filled with
the knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding. Observe,
1. The knowledge of our duty is the best knowledge. A mere empty notion
of the greatest truths is insignificant. Our knowledge of the will of
God must be always practical: we must know it, in order to do it.
2. Our knowledge is then a blessing indeed when it is in wisdom, when
we know how to apply our general knowledge to our particular occasions,
and to suit it to all emergencies.
3. Christians should endeavour to be filled with knowledge; not only to
know the will of God, but to know more of it, and to increase in the
knowledge of God (as it is
v. 10),
and to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour,
2 Pet. iii. 18.
II. That their conversation might be good. Good knowledge without a
good life will not profit. Our understanding is then a spiritual
understanding when we exemplify it in our way of living: That you
may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing
(v. 10),
that is, as becomes the relation we stand in to him and the profession
we make of him. The agreeableness of our conversation to our religion
is pleasing to God as well as to good men. We walk unto all
well-pleasing when we walk in all things according to the will of God.
Being fruitful in every good work. This is what we should aim
at. Good words will not do without good works. We must abound in good
works, and in every good work: not in some only, which are more easy,
and suitable, and safe, but in all, and every instance of them. There
must be a regular uniform regard to all the will of God. And the more
fruitful we are in good works the more we shall increase in the
knowledge of God. He who doeth his will shall know of the doctrine
whether it be of God,
John vii. 17.
III. That they might be strengthened: Strengthened with all might
according to his glorious power
(v. 11),
fortified against the temptations of Satan and furnished for all their
duty. It is a great comfort to us that he who undertakes to give
strength to his people is a God of power and of glorious power. Where
there is spiritual life there is still need of spiritual strength,
strength for all the actions of the spiritual life. To be strengthened
is to be furnished by the grace of God for every good work, and
fortified by that grace against every evil one: it is to be enabled to
do our duty, and still to hold fast our integrity. The blessed Spirit
is the author of this strength; for we are strengthened with might
by his Spirit in the inward man,
Eph. iii. 16.
The word of God is the means of it, by which he conveys it; and it must
be fetched in by prayer. It was in answer to earnest prayer that the
apostle obtained sufficient grace. In praying for spiritual strength we
are not straitened in the promises, and therefore should not be
straitened in our own hopes and desires. Observe,
1. He prayed that they might be strengthened with might: this seems a
tautology; but he means, that they might be mightily strengthened, or
strengthened with might derived from another.
2. It is with all might. It seems unreasonable that a creature should
be strengthened with all might, for that is to make him
almighty; but he means, with all that might which we have
occasion for, to enable us to discharge our duty or preserve our
innocence, that grace which is sufficient for us in all the trials of
life and able to help us in time of need.
3. It is according to his glorious power. He means, according to
the grace of God: but the grace of God in the hearts of believers is
the power of God; and there is a glory in this power; it is an
excellent and sufficient power. And the communications of strength are
not according to our weakness, to whom the strength is communicated,
but according to his power, from whom it is received. When God gives
he gives like himself, and when he strengthens he strengthens like
himself.
4. The special use of this strength was for suffering work: That you
may be strengthened unto all patience and long-suffering with
joyfulness. He prays not only that they may be supported
under their troubles, but strengthened for them: the reason is
there is work to be done even when we are suffering. And those who are
strengthened according to his glorious power are strengthened,
(1.) To all patience. When patience hath its perfect work
then we are strengthened to all patience–when we not only bear our
troubles patiently, but receive them as gifts from God, and are
thankful for them. To you it is given to suffer,
Phil. i. 29.
When we bear our troubles well, though ever so many, and the
circumstances of them ever so aggravating, then we bear them with all
patience. And the same reason for bearing one trouble will hold for
bearing another, if it be a good reason. All patience includes all the
kinds of it; not only bearing patience, but waiting patience.
(2.) This is even unto long-suffering, that is, drawn out to a great
length: not only to bear trouble awhile, but to bear it as long as God
pleases to continue it.
(3.) It is with joyfulness, to rejoice in tribulation, to take joyfully
the spoiling of our goods, and rejoice that we are counted worthy to
suffer for his name, to have joy as well as patience in the troubles of
life. This we could never do by any strength of our own, but as we are
strengthened by the grace of God.
| The Redeemer’s Dignity; The Work of Redemption; Paul’s Preaching. | A. D. 62. |
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12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath
translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the
forgiveness of sins:
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of
every creature:
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and
that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things
were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he
might have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness
dwell;
20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by
him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say,
whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy
and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be
not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard,
and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven;
whereof I Paul am made a minister;
24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that
which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his
body’s sake, which is the church:
25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation
of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from
generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the
glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory:
28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in
all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ
Jesus:
29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working,
which worketh in me mightily.
Here is a summary of the doctrine of the gospel concerning the great
work of our redemption by Christ. It comes in here not as the matter of
a sermon, but as the matter of a thanksgiving; for our salvation by
Christ furnishes us with abundant matter of thanksgiving in every view
of it: Giving thanks unto the Father,
v. 12.
He does not discourse of the work of redemption in the natural order of
it; for then he would speak of the purchase of it first, and afterwards
of the application of it. But here he inverts the order, because, in
our sense and feeling of it, the application goes before the purchase.
We first find the benefits of redemption in our hearts, and then are
led by those streams to the original and fountain-head. The order and
connection of the apostle’s discourse may be considered in the
following manner:–
I. He speaks concerning the operations of the Spirit of grace upon us.
We must give thanks for them, because by these we are qualified for an
interest in the mediation of the Son: Giving thanks to the
Father, &c.,
It is spoken of as the work of the Father, because the Spirit of grace
is the Spirit of the Father, and the Father works in us by his Spirit.
Those in whom the work of grace is wrought must give thanks unto the
Father. If we have the comfort of it, he must have the glory of it. Now
what is it which is wrought for us in the application of redemption?
1. “He hath delivered us from the power of darkness,
v. 13.
He has rescued us from the state of heathenish darkness and wickedness.
He hath saved us from the dominion of sin, which is darkness
(1 John i. 6),
from the dominion of Satan, who is the prince of darkness
(Eph. vi. 12),
and from the damnation of hell, which is utter darkness,”
They are called out of darkness,
1 Pet. ii. 9.
2. “He hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son,
brought us into the gospel-state, and made us members of the church of
Christ, which is a state of light and purity.” You were once
darkness, but now are you light in the Lord,
Eph. v. 8.
Who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light,
1 Pet. ii. 9.
Those were made willing subjects of Christ who were the slaves of
Satan. The conversion of a sinner is the translation of a soul into the
kingdom of Christ out of the kingdom of the devil. The power of sin is
shaken off, and the power of Christ submitted to. The law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus makes them free from the law of sin and
death; and it is the kingdom of his dear Son, or the Son of his
peculiar love, his beloved Son
and eminently the beloved,
3. “He hath not only done this, but hath made us meet to partake of
the inheritance of the saints in light,
v. 12.
He hath prepared us for the eternal happiness of heaven, as the
Israelites divided the promised land by lot; and has given us the
earnest and assurance of it.” This he mentions first because it is the
first indication of the future blessedness, that by the grace of God we
find ourselves in some measure prepared for it. God gives grace and
glory, and we are here told what they both are.
(1.) What that glory is. It is the inheritance of the saints in
light. It is an inheritance, and belongs to them as children, which
is the best security and the sweetest tenure: If children, then
heirs,
Rom. viii. 17.
And it is an inheritance of the saints-proper to sanctified souls.
Those who are not saints on earth will never be saints in heaven. And
it is an inheritance in light; the perfection of knowledge, holiness,
and joy, by communion with God, who is light, and the Father of lights,
(2.) What this grace is. It is a meetness for the inheritance: “He
hath made us meet to be partakers, that is, suited and fitted us
for the heavenly state by a proper temper and habit of soul; and he
makes us meet by the powerful influence of his Spirit.” It is the
effect of the divine power to change the heart, and make it heavenly.
Observe, All who are designed for heaven hereafter are prepared for
heaven now. As those who live and die unsanctified go out of the world
with their hell about them, so those who are sanctified and renewed go
out of the world with their heaven about them. Those who have the
inheritance of sons have the education of sons and the disposition of
sons: they have the Spirit of adoption, whereby they cry, Abba,
Father.
Rom. viii. 15.
And, because you are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son
into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father,
Gal. iv. 6.
This meetness for heaven is the earnest of the Spirit in our heart,
which is part of payment, and assures the full payment. Those who are
sanctified shall be glorified
and will be for ever indebted to the grace of God, which hath
sanctified them.
II. Concerning the person of the Redeemer. Glorious things are here
said of him; for blessed Paul was full of Christ, and took all
occasions to speak honourably of him. He speaks of him distinctly as
God, and as Mediator.
1. As God he speaks of him,
(1.) He is the image of the invisible God. Not as man was made
in the image of God
(Gen. i. 27),
in his natural faculties and dominion over the creatures: no, he is the
express image of his person,
Heb. i. 3.
He is so the image of God as the son is the image of his father, who
has a natural likeness to him; so that he who has seen him has seen
the Father, and his glory was the glory of the only-begotten of
the Father,
John i. 14; xiv. 9.
(2.) He is the first-born of every creature. Not that he is
himself a creature; for it is prototokos pases
ktiseos—born or begotten before all the
creation, or before any creature was made, which is the
scripture-way of representing eternity, and by which the eternity of
God is represented to us: I was set up from everlasting, from the
beginning, or ever the earth was; when there was no depth, before the
mountains were settled, while as yet he had not made the earth,
Prov. viii. 23-26.
It signifies his dominion over all things, as the first-born in a
family is heir and lord of all, so he is the heir of all things,
Heb. i. 2.
The word, with only the change of the accent, prototokos,
signifies actively the first begetter or producer of all things, and so
it well agrees with the following clause. Vid. Isidor. Peleus.
epist. 30 lib. 3.
(3.) He is so far from beginning himself a creature that he is the
Creator: For by him were all things created, which are in heaven and
earth, visible and invisible,
v. 16.
He made all things out of nothing, the highest angel in heaven, as well
as men upon earth. He made the world, the upper and lower world, with
all the inhabitants of both. All things were made by him, and
without him was not any thing made which was made,
John i. 3.
He speaks here as if there were several orders of angels: Whether
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, which must
signify either different degrees of excellence or different offices and
employments. Angels, authorities, and powers,
1 Pet. iii. 22.
Christ is the eternal wisdom of the Father, and the world was made in
wisdom. He is the eternal Word, and the world was made by the word of
God. He is the arm of the Lord, and the world was made by that
arm. All things are created by him and for him; di autou
kai eis auton. Being created by him, they were created for him;
being made by his power, they were made according to his pleasure and
for his praise. He is the end, as well as the cause of all things.
To him are all things,
Rom. xi. 36;
eis auton ta panta.
(4.) He was before all things. He had a being before the world
was made, before the beginning of time, and therefore from all
eternity. Wisdom was with the Father, and possessed by him in the
beginning of his ways, before his works of old,
And in the beginning the Word was with God and was God,
He not only had a being before he was born of the virgin, but he had a
being before all time.
(5.) By him all things consist. They not only subsist in their
beings, but consist in their order and dependences. He not only created
them all at first, but it is by the word of his power that they are
still upheld,
The whole creation is kept together by the power of the Son of God, and
made to consist in its proper frame. It is preserved from disbanding
and running into confusion.
2. The apostle next shows what he is as Mediator,
(1.) He is the head of the body the church: not only a head of
government and direction, as the king is the head of the state and has
right to prescribe laws, but a head of vital influence, as the head in
the natural body: for all grace and strength are derived from him: and
the church is his body, the fulness of him who filleth all in
all,
Eph. i. 22, 23.
(2.) He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead,
arche, prototokos–the principle, the first-born from the
dead; the principle of our resurrection, as well as the first-born
himself. All our hopes and joys take their rise from him who is the
author of our salvation. Not that he was the first who ever rose from
the dead, but the first and only one who rose by his own power, and was
declared to be the Son of God, and Lord of all things. And he is
the head of the resurrection, and has given us an example and evidence
of our resurrection from the dead. He rose as the first-fruits,
(3.) He hath in all things the pre-eminence. It was the will of
the Father that he should have all power in heaven and earth,
that he might be preferred above angels and all the powers in heaven
(he has obtained a more excellent name than they,
Heb. i. 4),
and that in all the affairs of the kingdom of God among men he should
have the pre-eminence. He has the pre-eminence in the hearts of his
people above the world and the flesh; and by giving him the
pre-eminence we comply with the Father’s will, That all men should
honour the Son even as they honour the Father,
John v. 23.
(4.) All fulness dwells in him, and it pleased the Father it should do
so
(v. 19),
not only a fulness of abundance for himself, but redundance for us, a
fulness of merit and righteousness, of strength and grace. As the head
is the seat and source of the animal spirits, so is Christ of all
graces to his people. It pleased the Father that all fulness
should dwell in him; and we may have free resort to him for all that
grace for which we have occasion. He not only intercedes for it, but is
the trustee in whose hands it is lodged to dispense to us: Of his
fulness we receive, and grace for grace, grace in us answering to
that grace which is in him
(John i. 16),
and he fills all in all,
Eph. i. 23.
III. Concerning the work of redemption. He speaks of the nature of it,
or wherein it consists; and of the means of it, by which it was
procured.
1. Wherein it consists. It is made to lie in two things:–
(1.) In the remission of sin: In whom we have redemption, even the
forgiveness of sins,
v. 14.
It was sin which sold us, sin which enslaved us: if we are redeemed, we
must be redeemed from sin; and this is by forgiveness, or remitting the
obligation to punishment. So
In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, according to
the riches of his grace.
(2.) In reconciliation to God. God by him reconciled all things to
himself,
v. 20.
He is the Mediator of reconciliation, who procures peace as well as
pardon for sinners, who brings them into a state of friendship and
favour at present, and will bring all holy creatures, angels as well as
men, into one glorious and blessed society at last: things in earth,
or things in heaven. So
He will gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are
in heaven and which are on earth. The word is
anakephalaiosasthai—he will bring them all under one
head. The Gentiles, who were alienated, and enemies in their
minds by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled,
v. 21.
Here see what was their condition by nature, and in their Gentile
state–estranged from God, and at enmity with God: and yet this
enmity is slain, and, notwithstanding this distance, we are now
reconciled. Christ has laid the foundation for our reconciliation; for
he has paid the price of it, has purchased the proffer and promise of
it, proclaims it as a prophet, applies it as a king. Observe, The
greatest enemies to God, who have stood at the greatest distance and
bidden him defiance, may be reconciled, if it by not their own
fault.
2. How the redemption is procured: it is through his blood
(v. 14);
he has made peace through the blood of his cross
(v. 20),
and it is in the body of his flesh through death,
v. 22.
It was the blood which made an atonement, for the blood is the life;
and without the shedding of blood there is no remission,
Heb. ix. 22.
There was such a value in the blood of Christ that, on account of
Christ’s shedding it, God was willing to deal with men upon new terms
to bring them under a covenant of grace, and for his sake, and
in consideration of his death upon the cross, to pardon and accept to
favour all who comply with them.
IV. Concerning the preaching of this redemption. Here observe,
1. To whom it was preached: To every creature under heaven
(v. 23),
that is, it was ordered to be preached to every creature,
It may be preached to every creature; for the gospel excludes none who
do not exclude themselves. More or less it has been or will be preached
to every nation, though many have sinned away the light of it and
perhaps some have never yet enjoyed it.
2. By whom it was preached: Whereof I Paul am made a minister.
Paul was a great apostle; but he looks upon it as the highest of his
titles of honour to be a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul
takes all occasions to speak of his office; for he magnified his
office,
Rom. xi. 13.
And again in
Whereof I am made a minister. Observe here,
(1.) Whence Paul had his ministry: it was according to the
dispensation of God which was given to him
(v. 25),
the economy or wise disposition of things in the house of God. He was
steward and master-builder, and this was given to him: he did not usurp
it, nor take it to himself; and he could not challenge it as a debt. He
received it from God as a gift, and took it as a favour.
(2.) For whose sake he had his ministry: “It is for you, for
your benefit: ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake,
2 Cor. iv. 5.
We are Christ’s ministers for the good of his people, to fulfil the
word of God (that is, fully to preach it), of which you will have
the greater advantage. The more we fulfil our ministry, or fill up all
the parts of it, the greater will be the benefit of the people; they
will be the more filled with knowledge, and furnished for service.”
(3.) What kind of preacher Paul was. This is particularly
represented.
[1.] He was a suffering preacher: Who now rejoice in my sufferings
for you,
v. 24.
He suffered in the cause of Christ, and for the good of the church. He
suffered for preaching the gospel to them. And, while he suffered in so
good a cause, he could rejoice in his sufferings, rejoice that he
was counted worthy to suffer, and esteem it an honour to him.
And fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my
flesh. Not that the afflictions of Paul, or any other, were
expiations for sin, as the sufferings of Christ were. There was nothing
wanting in them, nothing which needed to be filled up. They were
perfectly sufficient to answer the intention of them, the satisfaction
of God’s justice, in order to the salvation of his people. But the
sufferings of Paul and other good ministers made them conformable to
Christ; and they followed him in his suffering state: so they are said
to fill up what was behind of the sufferings of Christ, as the wax
fills up the vacuities of the seal, when it receives the impression of
it. Or it may be meant not of Christ’s sufferings, but of his suffering
for Christ. He filled that which was behind. He had a certain
rate and measure of suffering for Christ assigned him; and, as his
sufferings were agreeable to that appointment, so he was still filling
up more and more what was behind, or remained of them to his share.
[2.] He was a close preacher: he preached not only in public, but
from house to house, from person to person. Whom we preach,
warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom,
v. 28.
Every man has need to be warned and taught, and therefore let every man
have his share. Observe, First, When we warn people of what they
do amiss, we must teach them to do better: warning and teaching must go
together. Secondly, Men must be warned and taught in all wisdom.
We must choose the fittest seasons, and use the likeliest means, and
accommodate ourselves to the different circumstances and capacities of
those we have to do with, and teach them as they are able to bear. That
which he aimed at was to present every man perfect in Christ
Jesus, teleios, either perfect in the knowledge of
the Christian doctrine (Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be
thus minded,
Phil. iii. 15; 2 Tim. iii. 17),
or else crowned with a glorious reward hereafter, when he will
present to himself a glorious church
(Eph. v. 27),
and bring them to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb. xii. 23.
Observe, Ministers ought to aim at the improvement and salvation of
every particular person who hears them. Thirdly, He was a
laborious preacher, and one who took pains: he was no loiter, and did
not do his work negligently
(v. 29):
Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which
worketh in me mightily. He laboured and strove, used great
diligence and contended with many difficulties, according to the
measure of grace afforded to him and the extraordinary presence of
Christ which was with him. Observe, As Paul laid out himself to do much
good, so he had this favour, that the power of God wrought in him the
more effectually. The more we labour in the work of the Lord the
greater measures of help we may expect from him in it
(Eph. iii. 7):
According to the gift of the grace of God given unto me, by the
effectual working of his power.
3. The gospel which was preached. We have an account of this: Even
the mystery which hath been hid from ages, and from generations, but is
now made manifest to his saints,
v. 26, 27.
Observe,
(1.) The mystery of the gospel was long hidden: it was concealed from
ages and generations, the several ages of the church under the
Old-Testament dispensation. They were in a state of minority, and
training up for a more perfect state of things, and could not look to
the end of those things which were ordained,
(2.) This mystery now, in the fulness of time, is made manifest to the
saints, or clearly revealed and made apparent. The veil which was over
Moses’s face is done away in Christ,
The meanest saint under the gospel understands more than the greatest
prophets under the law. He who is least in the kingdom of heaven is
greater than they. The mystery of Christ, which in other ages was
not made known unto the sons of men, is now revealed unto his holy
apostles and prophets by the Spirit,
Eph. iii. 4, 5.
And what is this mystery? It is the riches of God’s glory among the
Gentiles. The peculiar doctrine of the gospel was a mystery which was
before hidden, and is now made manifest and made known. But the great
mystery here referred to is the breaking down of the partition-wall
between the Jew and Gentile, and preaching the gospel to the Gentile
world, and making those partakers of the privileges of the gospel state
who before lay in ignorance and idolatry: That the Gentiles should
be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers together of his
promise in Christ by the gospel,
Eph. iii. 6.
This mystery, thus made known, is Christ in you (or among you)
the hope of glory. Observe, Christ is the hope of glory. The
ground of our hope is Christ in the word, or the gospel revelation,
declaring the nature and methods of obtaining it. The evidence of our
hope is Christ in the heart, or the sanctification of the soul, and its
preparation for the heavenly glory.
4. The duty of those who are interested in this redemption: If you
continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from
the hope of the gospel which you have heard,
v. 23.
We must continue in the faith grounded and settled, and not be moved
away from the hope of the gospel; that is, we must be so well fixed in
our minds as not to be moved from it by any temptations. We must be
stedfast and immovable
and hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering,
Heb. x. 23.
Observe, We can expect the happy end of our faith only when we continue
in the faith, and are so far grounded and settled in it as not to be
moved from it. We must not draw back unto perdition, but
believe unto the saving of the soul,
Heb. x. 39.
We must be faithful to death, through all trials, that we may receive
the crown of life, and receive the end of our faith, the salvation
of our souls,
1 Pet. i. 9.
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