H 



P\i I. 



ignored in die ancient . ix i!i-tioii-. with such 

 mnixalled delicacy \et with such alisoltite pie 

 ciiiim. UN in-i-tin^ mi iin- new tmili. 'Kin." x.' 

 in >t ili.it NOIII Unlics art* ili.' temple- of ill.- Hiily 



Cho-t. who ilwelleth ill Mill?' In- placed rha-tity 

 on a wholly nexv ha-i-. and r.mtiil.iit.-.l indefinite 



a nn.l meaning to Clui-t'- elucidation of (he 

 dutii ]iii|i!i.'.l in tln> sexenth commandment M 



I I., tin- thought- f tin 1 In-art. 

 \- a ri-forint-r St Paul not only rclievi-d the 



M from that yoke of |-tty I,evitic oliervances 

 which exen St I'i'ti-r pronounci-d to have Iwen 

 ininli-i.ililf. l.iit IK- cmancipati-d all true religion 

 lioiii tin- linnli-n of external Pharisaic icstriction-. 

 Ironi all oral law* anil traditions of tin- elder-. and 

 -ia-ti.-al tyrannic- of ccremoniali-m, anil all 

 ti-tior of humanly invented -ins. Hi- was the 

 ilivim-ly appointed rliHinpion of the principle 'Ye 

 shall know tli<> truth, ami tin- truth -hall make 

 V.MI free.' This is tin- keynote of om- of his most 

 important epistle* that to tin- Calatian in whirli 

 he allu.li- no li than .-l.-v.-n linn - to tin- privilege 

 nil iluty of st.in.liin; f- st i" tin- liU-rty NX 

 with Christ hath made u .1. ii. 4: iii. _'>: 



iv. -M. ii. 2i. .'>, 31 ; v. I. 13 |. ll.-n.i- this epistle 

 powerfully sxvayed \Vyclif. lluss. Sax onnrola, 

 Luther. Tyndale. Wesley. anil all jjreat icli^'imis 

 reformers. Thi- tiuths which Luther learned from 

 it hecamc in hi- haii.l- the instriimi-nt for the 

 ili-livi-ram-' of the ehim-li from tin- tyranny of 

 Home. ''rhi- Kjii-tle to the lialatians,' lie said, 

 1 i my epistle. I have lietrotheil myself to it. It 

 i> my wife.' IJen^el rails this epi-tle -the -urn 

 and inarniw of Christianity,' ami say- oi ' v. 1 6 ' in 

 tli ..... -lands all Christianity.' 



(4) In the Kpistle to tin- t ialatianx we also find 

 the erm of that ^n-at diM-trinal system which makes 

 St 1'anl the ehief founder of Christian theology. 

 In the doctrinal section of the epistle i iii. I i\ 

 he had proxi-d the diN-trine of our justification hy 

 faith. lie had shown that justification is not 

 attainable In outward ordinances. His prinifs had 

 been drawn from the Christian eonsei.uisness (iii. 

 from the (lid Testament i iii. i> 1S|, and hy 

 ental.li-liin^ the secondary |Hisition of tin- law Kotli 

 ohjccliielv , iii. l!l '.111 ail. I Mlhjeetively (iv. 1-18). 

 In the Kpi-lle to the Uonian-. wlii.-li \vas proli.-ililv 

 a circular treatise, sent round with .lillerent uppeii- 

 diei of [H-isonal ^ni-liiiy- to varimi- churches, the 

 tlieine of ju-lilication i- in. ire systetnatieally worked 

 mil. The ke\ noli- of that epistle is the reeiirient 

 wonl n//, ax illustrative of the spiritual uiih.-i 

 iwlity of the ^o-pel to meet tin- universality of 

 man need for the j-ns|>el. In this epistle i he four 



: |>ositions are ( I ) all are guilty In-fore Co.1 ; 

 (2) all ni-ed a saviour : (3) Christ died for all; 

 (4) we are all one l>dy in Him. In Adam all 

 re equally guilty I i. In iii. an. in Clnisi all are 

 equally redeemed i iii. '.'I :tn.,. Tin- ^raud fnnda- 



!:ll theme of the epi-lle i- ^-ixell in Ho in. i. 



111. 17. It is stated not UK a ifnrlrinr of sin, or a 

 imputations, or a thetilo^ieal shihlKilelh, 

 hut n a moment. MI- praetieal truth. The element- 

 of that yieat Niimmaiv :ti- < I i ju-lili.'ati.>ii : iln- 

 n<.')iteonKtieiw of CIH| impute<l to man: fj) faith; 



Illllll'" iM-li.-f. li-inj; lii-t to self slinell.ler, then to 



liiyMir union with Clui-t. which IM-.-OIIICS the ^-erni 

 of a new life in the h.-ait ; (3| thi- plan of sulva 

 lion hy i i- ollci.'.l ^raluiloii-ly to all; 



(41 tl ..... l.jeci of this fnitli is .lesns Christ, xx I ...... 



the Faith of Man. I.uther redi-coven-.l thi- truth 

 theoretically hy reading the epi-tles to the Unmans 

 and (ialatians in the liliraiy of hi- limna-tn x at 

 | Krfiin. e\|M-iiinentally hy the fai'ts of his inxu 

 reli^ioUH life. \Ve-ley leained it, juirtly from the 

 MoKixians. and partly from l.uthei - i-omnientary 

 on the (ialatians. after hi- return from 



, 



life and death are lor man a i;in-om and a pro- 

 piliation ; t .' i ('hii <-ssar\ H- 



rindiration of Cod's rifhteou-m in tin- pi. 

 leimi^i.,1, ,.i i . ,-ll,l I,, | M . ..l.iaim-d 



w that C.B| miyhl jiistily exery limn whose mot 

 of life is l.ii! Ii iii C|n 



St Paul dwelt therefore on three cardinal point- 

 the t;race of CIK|, the Redemption of Christ, 



. 



Hut ihi- cardinal diM-trine of jnstitieation h\ failli 

 'loiantly misunderstood nnd perilously mi-in 

 terpieted when faith is confused with mere helief. 

 HiMiker (Kfi-lrn. I'd/. I. xi. 6) lot)}; a^'o collected 

 this error: and of recent critic-, hoth Itaiir 

 i J'tiul, ii. 149) and Plleiderei ( rulini>.iii<i.\. sect. 

 5) have -iven the true- meaning of St Paul. Itaiir 

 slums how faith, beginning i hcarinj.;, and lie- 

 coming faith in I'lirisl (Cal. ii. 1G. iii. 'Jii i. and 

 more e-|-cially in I'lirisl'x l>li>i*l (i.e. the eom 

 niunicalion to man of His essential life. Horn. iii. 

 24-27 i. In-come- more inien-e as it narrows from 

 and pa.-ses from theoretic con 

 sent to dominant conviction. I'lleiderer shows 

 that there are ascending decrees and ipialilie- of 

 fnith, piissinj; from dtaa faith, x\ hich produces no 

 works, and theoretic persuasion, first into faithful- 

 ne and moral surrender, and then into mi/*tir 

 IIHIIIH irit/i Cfirixl. whieh doe- not remain leeep- 

 tixe, lint IM-COIIIC- the spirit of life a living power 

 and impulse i I Cor. vi. 17). so that, in it- true 

 sense, as Luther says. 'Faith is a divine work in 

 us. whieh change- us and creates us anew in Cod.' 

 The modern sense of faith as a lio.lv of doctrines 

 (Hit faith) may, in this connection, lie left out of 

 sif,-ht altogether, since the word i- only thus used 

 in the Pastoral Kpistles. 



(5) Hul complete as is St Paul's statement of 

 this central doctrine, which he characterised as lux 



f>-pel (Horn. ii. 1(5, xvj. 25; Cal. L 7, ii. 2: -2 

 im. ii. 8 )- complete, that is, so far a.- we can pxe 

 -ucli a title to truths whieh touch, on every side, 

 upon in-oluhle mysteries we are thankful that 

 the same . ential truths are represented in a h 

 controversial and more directly spiritual form in the 

 ejii-tles of the captivity those especially to the 

 Kphesians and Colossian.-. The mind of St Paul -- 

 a- xx e eeatonce when we read hi- epistles in chrono- 

 logical order wius not only intensely susceptihle lo 

 siirioiindin^ conditions of life and controversy, hut 

 was also one which wax constantly in a state of 

 growth and progress. The theodicy which he had 

 IM-I-H led lo formulate in the 'storm and stress 'of 

 Judaic controversy a-sumed hir^'er. richer, less rijjiil 

 and itntaxonislie forms when he imd to wean the 

 infant church from the dan^-roii- Clamour of incipi 

 enl I inostic heresies. ( >lsliau.-en calls the epistles to 

 the Itomans and Calatian- soteiiolo^ical i.e. they 

 ..... Main, so to s|H-ak. the philosophy of the plan of 

 salxatiou; and the epistles to t he' Colossian- and 

 Ephesian- Christolopcal i.e. they insist on the 

 immediate relation of the soul and of the church to 

 Christ. The epistles are closely connected, though 

 that to the Colossians is less exquisite and gracious 

 than that to I lie Kphesinns. >xliich may xvc-ll he 

 called the Kiiistle of the Ascension, the' F.pistlc of 

 'the heaxenlies.' The idea of the F.pi-tle to the 

 C..l..sians is 'Christ all in all,' and its moral is 

 summed up in the words 'Walk in Him, in Him 

 alone.' The idea of the Kpi-tlc to the Kphe.-ians i- 

 Chrisl in the universal church. In the I '.pi-tie to 

 the Honians the doctiine of salvation i- set forth 

 p-ycholonically. It is l.uilt on the moral facts of 

 the universality of sin, the in-uHiciency of man, 

 the justification of the hcliexer hy union xvith 

 Christ. In the later epi-tle- the statement of 

 I he doctrine is theolo^ic. Christ is set forth .'is the 

 een I nil Ix'inj; of the universe, and XM' see Cod's 

 denial plans realised hy the unity of ledeemed 

 humanity in Christ witli the family of heaven in 

 the heaveiilie*. 



