PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Dictionary of the Apostolic Church — Volume 1
James Hastings · 1,014,604 words · 1012 reading sections
Section 541
We can see the transition from (2) to (3) in the expression used by St. Peter when speaking of the work of God among the Gentiles. He says that God made no distinction, ' cleansing their hearts by faith ' or ' by the faith ' (15^). This leads us to note that in Acts faith is made the medium for healing, cleansing, and…
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This revolutionizing faith is awakened by the preaching of the gospel : ' Belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ ' (Ro 10'''), i.e. by the word concerning Christ, or, as it is called earlier (Ro 10*), ' the word of faith,' i.e. the word that deals with justifying faith. This faith, according to St.…
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The faith which receives this blessing is faith in Christ Jesus. This faith is conceived by St. Paul not as a mere intellectual assent or as a recogni- tion of the unseen world, but as an enthusiastic trust in Christ as Saviour, and as a complete devo- tion to Him as Lord. The whole inner nature, including mind, heart,…
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It ought to be observed that throughout this Epistle there is also implied a faith in the work of God by Christ, the great High Priest and Mediator of a new covenant. Possibly this work ougiit to be regarded as a part of the word of God, for the writer conceives of God's word coming in the OT through such works as the …
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Literature.— H. Bushnell, The New Life, 1860, p. 44 ; J. C. Hare, The Victory of Faith\ 1874 ; J. T. O'Brien, The Nature and the Effects of Faith*, 1877 ; N. Smyth, 2'he Reality of Faith, 1888, also The Religious Feeling— a Study for Faith, n.d. ; J. Kaftan, Glaube und Dogma^,'l8S9 ; C. Gore, in Luz 3/wndii2, 1891 , p.…
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3d-6 and perform their duties. Masters must put a new spirit into their oversight ; slaves must become only the more diligent and faithful in their service ; husbands and wives must remain faithful to tlieir marriage vows, even when the new bond to Christ has been fashioned. Within the Christian Church those called t…
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There is no evidence that the teaching of the OT as a whole on the subject of sin was in the slightest degree attected by the narrative in Gn 3, as the instances cited to the contrary disappear on closer scrutiny ; but the universality of man's sin- fulness is asserted as a fact, although no reason for it is offered. I…
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'The only parallels adduced by Sanday and Headlam from approximately contemporary literature are the passages of 4 Ezra [the passages given above] relating to the cor 'riudignmn. But the cor malignum is certainly the yezer hara of the liahbis, retrardc'd by Pseudo-Ezra, as well as by talmudic writers, as in- herent in …
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?ass to the discussion of St. Paul's doctrine of the 'all. 2. St. Paul's doctrine of the Fall.— Although the classical passage on the subject is Ro 5'-''^', yet there are references to Adam in 1 Co IS'^'* ^^' ^- ** which may be briefly examined in so far as they present doctrine supplementary to that in Ro 5. (a) 1 C…
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(|8) In v.^'^ St. Paul affirms the entrance of sin into the world, and death as its penalty, as the result of Adam's transgression, and the diffusion of death among mankind in consequence either of Adam's sin alone, or of the spread of sin among all his descendants. There is this ambiguity about the meaning in the clau…
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'That suggested by Dr. Sanday and Mr. Headlam, from whose weighty opinion it is here ventured to diverge, is an equally important element to be "supplied." Indeed, it may be asked whether the idea of inherited sinfulness, as the cause of death to all who come between Adam and Moses, does not call at least as loudly for…
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(b) It is with the presence, guilt, and power of sin in individual experience and racial history, as the human need which the Divine grace in Christ meets, that Christian theology is alone concerned, and all other questions of the origin of sin or death are speculative, and not practical, and should be assigned the sec…
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(b) OLKos, besides being used for 'house' in the sense of a structure, represents (like dormis) familia, the 'family' in its AA'idest sense (see also Home). It is used fl) for all living tender one roof — father, mother, near relations, and dependents — fiequently in the NT : Ac 7'" (Pharaoh), 10^ and 11'* (Cornelius),…
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(c) Children. — The duty of obedience to parents is insisted on by St. Paul in Eph &^-*, Col S'-"'-, where the two-edged injunction of the Fifth Com- mandment is referred to as involving duties of parents to children as well as of children to parents. The relation of tiie younger to the elder in the family must have be…
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Under this head we may notice four households mentioned in the NT : the ' household of Ctesar' (^ KaL<TaposoiKLa),Vh4^'^ ; 'theyof Aristobulus.'Ro 16"*; ' they of Narcissus,' Ro 16^^ ; and ' they of Chloe,' 1 Co 1^^. For the last see above (b) ; but the first three households were probably all part of the Imperial ' f…
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4. The Christian family as a church. — We often read in the NT of families or households becoming Christian as a body ; e.g. those of Cornelius (Ac 10^ 1 1»), Lydia (\&^ : the first in St. Paul's history), the jailer at Philippi (IG^i-^s), Crispus (18^). So in Jn 4^* it is recorded that the king's ofiicer (paaCKiKbs) a…
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Another Christian family in Rome has left a relic of its house as a centre of worship in the church of San Clemente. This now consists of three structures, one above the other ; the highest, now level with the ground, is mediaeval, but con- tains the Byzantine furniture (ambones, rails, etc.) ; the middle one is of the…
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401 ii. 5, V. 2 ; in the last two paragi-aphs the succour given by Queen Helena is detailed. St. Luke, while careful to maintain the position of Agabus as a prophet, here in the sense of one foretelling the future (cf. Ac 21"), himself reviews the situation from a point outside the reign of Claudius, which terminated…
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Two questions of critical interest emerge from a careful consideration of the use of v-qaTela. in this passage. 1. Chronological. — The word seems to afford an important clue to the exact year in which the voyage of St. Paul to Rome took place. In this connexion we must note that, in all probability, the phrase ^vros …
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W. Cruickshank. FEAR (</)6i3os, ^o^elffOai, ^o^epSs ; d(p6j3us, ' without fear ' ; ?/c0o/3os, ' exceedingly afraid '). — While there is a natural fear in the presence of danger — e.g. in a hurricane at sea (Ac 27") — which is not speci- fically human, spiritual fear is distinctive of man, whose motives and actions lac…
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James Strahan. FEASTING. — 1. Pagan feastings. — These are dealt with in this article only in so far as they are alluded to in the apostolic literature. The allu- sions are incidental, and no attempt is made at minute description. (I) We find Kufioi. or drinking-bouts mentioned (Ro 13l^ Gal 5-1, 1 P 4^), and the lice…
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•Where the feast is held under the auspices of a heathen god and as a sequel to his sacrifice,' then abstinence must follow ; * participation under these circumstances becomes an act of apostasj', and the feaster identifies himself with the idol asdistinctlj as in the Lord's Supper he identifies himself with Christ' (G…
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Other references to the feet are derived from Oriental customs. The sandals are removed in holy places (Ac 7^^), as before entering the mosque of to-day. The removal of the master's sandals is a slave's work (13-^). To wash the dusty feet of guests is a rite of hospitality (cf. Lk 1**, Jn IS'*'-), and the habit of rend…
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Of the subsequent life of Felix, nothing is known. Literature.— H. M. Luckock, Footprints of the Apostles as traced by St. L/uke, 1905, pt. ii. p. 243 ; A. Maclaren, Exposi- tions : 'Acts, oh. xiii.-end,' 1907, pp. 281, 287 ; G. H. Morrison, The Footsteps of the Flock, 1904, p. 362 ; M. Jones, St. Paul the Orator, 191…
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Literature. — E. von Dobschiitz, Christian Life in the Primi- tive Church, Eng. tr., 1904 ; A. Harnack, Die Mission und Ausbreitung des Christentums in den ersten drei Jahrhun- derten'^, 1906, i. 127-171 (Eng. tr., Mission and Expansion^, 1908, i. 147-198). Cf. also the Literature at the end of the art. Communion. E. V…
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The meaning of Ja 3^^ is clear : a tree is known by its fruits ; a fig-tree cannot bring forth olives, neither can an olive-tree bring forth figs ; a man's 'works' are, in short, an inl'allible index to his ; faith' (Ja 2^^). In Rev 6'3 fios form part of the imagery in the vision of the Opening of the First Six Seals. …
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1. Fire as a form of Divine manifestation. — (a) In this section may be grouped passages in which fire is simply an indication of the Divine presence, or symbol of Divine attributes other than those specially displayed in the punishment of sin. (a) In Ac 2* one of the two outward manifestations attending the descent of…
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(a) The use of fire for these purposes has led to the word being figuratively applied to the trials, especially in the form of severe persecutions, which the early Christians were called on to endure at the hands of their heathen oppressors (1 P V). From the searching ordeal by fire, it was the Divine design that their…
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(7) Literal, material fire is the means by which the total and final destruction of the harlot-city, mystic Babylon, is eftected (18 passim). Nero Redivivus and his Parthian allies, to whom the burning of the city is attributed, are only the human instruments in God's hand for executing His judgment upon her {IS-"- -•»…
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(5) In the Apocalj'pse the Lake of Fire is the place of final punishment to which are consigned (I) the Beast and the False Prophet (19-«), (2) Satan (2u"), (3) Death and Hades (20'-»), (4) the dupes of Satan, whose names are not written in the Book of Life (20i= ; cf. 138 14«'- IQ^" 208). xhe figure of ' the lake of f…
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2. Usage in the NT. — The word 'firstborn' is used in the NT both literally and figuratively. In Lk 2^ our Lord is spoken of as Mary's ' firstborn ' ; in Mt 1^ the word, though found in CD and some versions, is clearly an interpolation. It implies in Lk. the privilege of the birthright ; but neither there nor in the OT…
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The reference to this institution is best seen in Ro IP*^: 'and if the firstfruit is holy, so is the lump,' where the allusion is to the heave-ofi'ering mentioned in Nu 15^^"-^ The Pauline argument is what Jowett has called ' an argument from tend- encies'— ' as the beginning is, so shall the comple- tion be ; as the c…
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6. In Heb. we have a special use of ' flesh ' to designate earthly existence — a iise which must be distinguished from those that have been already dealt with. ' In the days of his flesh ' (He 5') does not mean in the days when He possessed a body, or in the days M-hen He bore our human nature ; for the author finnly b…
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(2) Jesus had said to Peter : ^oa-Ke ra dpvia fiov . . . irolfiaive to, irpd^ard fiov, ' Feed my lambs . . . tend my sheep' (Jn 2P"- '"). Accordingly the Apostle, ' in a personal reminiscence ' (W. H. Bennett, The General Epistles [Cent. Bible, 1901], p. 36) and, in ' unobtrusive allusions to Christ's life which har- m…
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3. The term ' fool ' (S.(ppuv), signifying mental stupidity, is applied to the imaginary controver- sialist of 1 Co 15^, who finds unnecessary difli- culties in the Resurrection (cf. the ' foolish con- troversies ' of 1 Ti 6\ 2 Ti 2'^, Tit S^). i. The 'foolish Galatians' [dvoTp-oi) appear to be rebuked for bad judgmen…
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'This knowledge,' says Hort in his note on the expression, 'is not a knowledge of facts respecting a person, but a knowledge of himself ; it is, so to speak, a contemplation of him in his in- dividuality, yet not as an indifferent object but as standing in personal relations to Him who thus " foreknows" him. It must no…
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The use of this term irp65pofj.o$ emphasizes the fact that Jesus has entered heaven, not as the Jewish high priest entered the Holy of Holies, to return again, but to open a way by which His people may follow, and to prepare a place for them (Jn 14^). Morley Stevenson. FORGIVENESS.— The purpose of this article is not …
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As kindred expressions we may notice the words Xo-pl^effdai — properly, ' do a favour to a person,' or, with the accusative of the thing, ' make a present of ' — sometimes in the sense of making a present of an act of wrong-doing, i.e., not insisting on the penalty for it (2 Co 12•^ Col 2'3) ; -n-apeais (Ro 3=^), ' a t…
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Two other passages in the Epistles demand con- sideration. In Ro 6" St. Paul is glad that the Romans have become sincerely obedient ' to that form of teaching ' to which they were delivered ; and in 2 Ti 1^^ there is an exhortation to ' hold the form (RV 'pattern') of sound words which thou hast heard from me.' The wor…
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FOENICATIOI^ FORMICATION 417 nothing.' The First Epistle of St. John is occupied with the exposure of intellectual formalism (for though the Gnostic tenets, against which it is directed, are regarded as the rankest heterodoxy, the principle *is the same). To imagine that we 'know God,' while not keeping His commandm…
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But from the richness of the phraseology for sensual sins we can gather how wide-spread and multiform this evil was. We find uncleanness [aKadapffia), licentiousness {aaiXyeia) often side by side with -rropveia (2 Co 12^1, Gal 5^\ Eph 4'9). So often is vXeove^ia. found alongside vopveia that many are inclined to regard…
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* Perhaps he ha8 in mind sodomy (TraiSoAeopia or paederasty of Ro 127, 1 Ti 110, 1 Co 6!', Didache, 2f.). Literature. — See Commentaries on relevant passages; W. M. Ramsay, Letters to the Seven Churches, London, 1904; E. V. Dobschiitz, Christian Life in the Primitive Church, Eng. tr., do. 1904 ; J. G. W. Uhlhorn, The …
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(4) The figure of ' the foundation ' is used in an unusual form (condensed metaphor) in 1 Ti 6'^ : dwodrjcravpl^ovTas eavroh defxiXiov KaXbv eis rh niWov, ' laying up in store for themselves a good founda- tion against the time to come ' (cf. Sir 1^^ : Kal heto. dvOpiinrcov Ge/x^Xiov alQvoz ivbaaevae, 'and with men sli…
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420 FOUR FREEDOM OF THE WILL The Candle of the Lord, 1S92, pp. 6S, 69 ; S. A. Cook, The Foundations of Religion, in The People's Books ; J. Alcorn, The Sure Foundation, 1893, p. 3; W. E. Cha.Awick., Social Rdation- ships in the Light of Christianity, 1910, p. 154. W. M. Gkaxt. FOUR.— See Numbers. FRANKINCENSE (X/S…
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This persistence of familiar categories of thought in the presence of new experiences is seen especially in references to the Holy Spirit. He ' falls upon ' the disciples ; he gives them to speak with ' other tongues' (cf. also 18* 20-^); but from the Acts alone it is impossible to saj^ how far this is regarded as perm…
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Yet we must be careful not to drive the figure too far ; or rather, we must bt prepared to go far enough. The change has not simply been wrought for him, but in him. It is not merely a change from a master to a father ; but from the spirit of a slave to that of a son, by the spirit of sonship. Cowed and overpowered bef…
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One word, liowever, may usefully be added at this point with reference to Spinoza, as entliusi- astic an exponent of freedom as Kant or St. Paul. Human freedom Spinoza defines as 'a form of reality M-hich our understanding acquires through direct union with God, so that it can bring forth ideas in itself, and efl'ects …
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FEEEDOM OF THE WILL FEEEDOM OF THE WILL 423 spiritual, like the natural, world rests on certain sequences : if A takes place, then B follows. We are responsible for choosing or not choosing A, and so for the consequent presence or absence of B. The only modifications are that («), if we may judge from the practice of…
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i. Other NT books. — The remaining NT writings call for little notice. The well-known passage in St. James (1^) speaks of the law of freedom into which the doer of the word looks, as opposed to the careless glance at the reflexion of himself in a mirror, as it were, which is cast by the man who is only a hearer. There …
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When we pass from the Gospels to the passages enumerated at the beginning of this article there are only two tliat need even a brief comment. The 'friends' at Sidon whom St. Paul was per- mitted to visit probably mean Christians in that city; the more usual term would be 'brethren' (dSeX^oi). In 3 Jn " the word may hav…
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FRUIT FULNESS 425 cf. 2 Ti 2®), Rev 18'^ 22^ — passages -which, like some of the others, are on the borderland between the literal and the symbolic. Jiide '^ compares the ' un- godly ' of the day with ' trees in late autumn when the fruit is past.' In Ac 2^" the word is used in its physiological sense. {b) Specific…
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(2) The unfriiiffi(l. — The other side of the picture can be briefly dismissed. Those who walk in dark- ness are spoken of as unfruitful (Eph 5"). ' What fruit had you then in those things of which you are ashamed?' asks St. Paul in Ro 6-S though we might possibly translate, ' What fruit had you then? — Things (gratifi…
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The term with such an application is a startling novelty in NT phraseology, and is an instructive example of the hospitality of early Christian thought, of the promptitude with which it appro- priated from its complex intellectual and religious environment such categories as it could convert to its own use. Since the c…
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2. In Ko 16^, a member of the Church of Corinth, whom St. Paul in the postscript to Piomans calls his ' host' and the host of 'the whole church,' and whose salutations are sent to the readers of the letter. He was evidently a man of position and means (the greeting from him immediately pre- cedes that from Erastus, ' t…
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428 GALATIA GALATIA Minor by Pompey in 64 B.C., Galatia was made a Roman client-State. Three chiefs (tetrarchs) were appointed, one for each tribe, of whom the ablest and most ambitious, Ueiotarus, the friend of Cicero {ad Fam. viii. 10, ix. 12, xv. 1, 2, 4), contrived to seize tiie territories of tlie others, and, …
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Tacitus {Hist. ii. 9) mentions 'Galatiam ac Pamphyliam pro- vincias' ; in Anii. xiii. 35 he says, ' et habiti per Galatiam Cap- padociamque dilectus' ; and in Ann. xv. 6 he has ' Galatarum Cappadocunique auxilia.' An Iconian inscription to an Imperial officer (CIG 3991) designates his administrative district PoAa- TiKi…
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Similarly Renan (Saint Paul, 1S69, p. 12S): 'The apostolic group thus made almost at one stretch a journey of more t han one hundred leagues, across la little-known country, which, from an absence of Koman colonies and Jewish synagogues, did not offer tbtm any of the facilities which they had met with up to that time.'…
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430 GALATIA GALATIANS, EPISTLE TO THE usage, implies that St. Paul did not traverse North Galatia (Chtirch in the Roman Emp., p. 81). The evidence for a definite usage, however, IS scanty, ' Pontus Galaticus' (which occurs in Ptolemy and inscriptions) not being quite a parallel case ; and other explanations of the p…
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Literature. — J. Weiss, art. ' Kleinasien ' in PRE^ ; W. M. Ramsay, art. 'Galatia' in HDB; P. W. Schmiedel, art. ' Galatia ' in EBi. The chief contributions to both sides of the Galatian controversy are given by J. Moffatt, LXT, 1911, pp. 90-92. The important monotjraphs of V. Weber — Die Abfass- ung des Galaterbriefs …
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Finally, the Apostle meets the charge of pleasing men by exposing the motives of the Judaizers, whose main object was to escape persecution and to gain applause (6^-- ^* 4") ; with this he contrasts his own self-sacrificing love for his converts (4^^) and the hardships he has suffered for his fearless proclamation of t…
904 wordsSource & rights
Public-domain historical reference work (1915–1916); OCR text from Internet Archive. Historical scholarship and terminology reflect its era; OCR may contain errors. Verify quotations and current scholarly claims independently.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.