PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Dictionary of the Apostolic Church — Volume 1
James Hastings · 1,014,604 words · 1012 reading sections
Section 181
the confession (bfj.o\oylav) of our hope.' — In 1 P 3*' baptism is the ' antitype ' of the bringing of Noah safe through the water ; the antitype is here the ' nobler member of the pair of relatives ' (Bigg, ICC, in loc), the fulfilment of the type ; but in He 9^ it is used conversely, as it often is in Christian antiq…
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For sealing, see 2 Co 1^ (same context as the anointing), Eph P^ (' having believed ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise'), 4^" ('sealed in the Holy Spirit'). The aorists in all three passages, which connect the Holy Ghost with the sealing, point to the definite time when they became believers (Chase, Confirm…
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To this preparatory stage is also to be assigned the baptism of Jesus by John ; it was not the institution of Christian baptism, though it paved the way for it, and in some sense our Lord may be said to have thereby sanctified ' water to the mystical washing away of sin.' Such also was the baptizing by Jesus' disciples…
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except 1 Co 10^ which (according to the best read- ing) has the middle i^aiTT'KjavTo (cf. 1 Co 6", Ac 22'" ; above, 1) ; 1 Co 6" has ' in (iv) the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.' Of these passages only Ac 8'® lO'"* 19^ are naiTa- tives of baptisms. The Pauline references clearly do not ref…
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Most of the Eastern Churches, Orthodox or Separated, use the passive voice ' N. is baptized,' or the like. The Westerns, on the contrary, always use the active : 'N., I baptize thee.' The latter is perhaps the older form ; it is found in the Canons of Hippolytus and (in the plural, ' We baptize thee ') in the Acts of X…
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(c) Clothing the neophytes. — In the early Church the putting off of the clothes of the candidates before baptism , and tlie clothing of them afterwards, usually in white robes, were emphasized as cere- monial actions ; but of this we have no certain evidence before the 4th century. Constantine Avas buried in his bapti…
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fellow apostles, prayed for the newly-baptized that they might receive the Holy Ghost, and laid their hands upon them ; and they received the Holy Ghost. In ch. 19, St. Paul finds about twelve men at Ephesus who had received John's baptism ; these are ' baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus,' and St. Paul himself la…
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Again, other reference to the laying on of hands after immersion is seen by some in 2 Ti 1^ (which is usually taken to refer to Timothy's ordination, though Chase refers it — not 1 Ti 1^^ — to his baptism, i.e. confirmation). In Ac 9^^ (cf. v.^^) also, Ananias lays his hands on Saul before baptism ; but the allusion in…
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8. Theological aspects. — (a) A study of the NT leads us to the conclusion that baptism is no mere ceremony whereby outsiders are fitly received into the Christian Church. It is a means of grace — it conveys by an outward sign the grace of God, but always under certain conditions, for which see below (/). St. Peter say…
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teristic Pauline phrase (see J. A. Robinson, Ephes., London, 1903, p. 22 tt".). So again in Lk 6-2 'cast out your name ' is equivalent to 'cast you out' ; in Ac 15'^ Barnabas and Paul are said to have hazarded their lives for the name of Jesus, i.e. for Him. In the above passages the translation 'by the authority of '…
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In the opinion of the present writer no argument can be deduced from the fact that our Lord spoke Aramaic, and that both els to ovofxa and iv t^ dvl/mari represent the simple phrase DB^a. For (though we know little of the Palestinian Aramaic of the 1st cent.) the preposition in Syriac not infrequently denotes motion; s…
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The figure of a new birth is very common in the Fathers in connexion with baptism ; e.g. Justin, Apol. i. 61, 66, and Irenaeus, c. Haer. I. xxi. 1, iii. xvii. 1 {a.vayevvr)(xi.s) ; Tert. adv. Marc. i. 28, deRes. Cam. 47 (regeneratio). (e) Baptism and the gift of the Sjnrit. — We have seen (above, 6) how closely the gi…
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9. Infant baptism. — There is no historical account in the NT of an infant being baptized ; but the indirect evidence of tlie practice is strong. In view of the analogy of circumcision, it would be strange, supposing that infants had been ex- cluded from baptism, that such exclusion should not have been mentioned. If i…
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BAEBAEIAX BAE-JESUS 137 of faith (He IP^). He was one of those "who 6ia TvLffTeus 'waxed mighty in war, turned to flight armies of aliens' (11**). James Steahan. BARBARIAN.— The Greeks of the age of in- dependence divided mankind into two classes — Hellenes or Greeks, and Barbarians, the latter term having a specia…
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LiTERATCRE.— Artt. in BDB on ' Barjesus ' (Massie) and ' Magic ' ( Whitehouse), and in EBi (Schmiedel) on ' Barjesus ' ; W. M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Trare'.ler, London, 1895, pp. 75- 8S (cf. Was Christ horn in Bethlehem .2, do. 1898, p. 54) ; C. v, Weizsacker, Apostolic Age, ifi do. 1897, pp. 80, 111, 240, 274 ; A. C. M…
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On one point — the parting of Paul and Barnabas — Gal. lias been regarded as supplementing Acts. In Paul's account of the trouble with Peter at Antioch over the eating with Gentiles (2i'"'**), his co-worker is represented as taking part with his opponents. Probably, for the moment, the mediat- ing character of Barnabas…
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(1) If the death of Jesus is sufficient to ohtain salvation, the observance of the Law cannot be essential any longer. Hence, though believing Jews may continue to observe the Law if they will, there is not sufficient ground for compelling Gentiles who turn to God and believe on Jesus to do so also. This recognition of…
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This position throws light upon the mind of our writer. He is sure that the patriarchs from Abra- ham to Moses stood in a special relation to God and received special promises from Him (v. 7, xiii. 7, xiv. 1). But, whereas St. Paul would say that the physical descendants of Abraham were not cut off from this special re…
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BAENABAS, EPISTLE OF BAEN-ABAS, EPISTLE OF 141 the Atonement and no definition of sacrifice ; he is content to show tliat according to the Scriptures Christ died for our sins and that we are thereby saved. 5. Authorship. — The Epistle is anonymous. Tradition, however, has ascribed it to Barnabas the fellow-worker of…
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8. Text. — Until the discovery of the famous Codex Sinaiticus (K) in 1862, this Epistle was known only in a Latin translation and in eight Greek MS'S. The Latin Version is found in a MS of the 8th cent., but the translation was made from a text supposed by Miiller to be earlier than K. It does not contain the last four…
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The cedar is the Roman Empire, the vine is Messiah fxxxix. 5, 7) ; in the end the last great heathen ruler will be destroyed by Messiah (xl.). Baruch again warns the people to keep the Law (xliv. 3, xlvL 5). xlYll.-lxxYii. Second prayer of Baruch, followed by a revelation to him about the resurrection of the good and…
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(2) Relation to 4- Ezra. — It is obvious that the Apocalypse of Baruch and that of Salathiel, com- monly known as 4 Ezra, have a great deal in common, both in ideas and in language. § They must have issued from the same circle, if they are not actually the work of the same author. And, further, it is almost certain tha…
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144 BAEUCH, APOCALYPSE OF BASKET lament over the ruins (x. 6-xii. 4) is uninterrupted by any gleam of hope. Surely this is -what might be expected in a work of literature, apart from the fact that it is not tUl later in the book that revela- tions about the future are given to Baruch. While, however, absolute consis…
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death' (76^«^-)- There is nothing of this arraignment of Provi- dence in the Apocalypse of Baruch. When the author thinks for a moment about the fate of apostate Israelites, he falls into intentional ob- scurity (xlii. 4, 5). In general, he is quite content to nerve himself to believe that the Mighty One will ultimate…
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BEATING.— The AV uses the word 'beat' to express some form of corporal punishment, without A'OL. I. — lO defining the particular mode of infliction. 1. In Ac S^** 221^ Avhen Sepco (' to scourge, so as to flay oft' the skin') is thus translated, the allusion is to the Jewish mode of eastigation, inflicted with a leath…
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Taking the meaning ' worthlessness,' we note that the ordinary use of ' Belial ' in the OT suits it very well ; ' sons of Belial ' or ' men of Belial ' means ' worthless or Avicked men,' according to the com- mon Hebrew idiom which substitutes a genitive for an adjective. The word is, however, twice used in the OT as a…
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Robert S. Franks. BENEDICTION [eiiKoyla, benedictio).— This term has in tlie NT all the senses of berdkdh in the OT. It signifies : (a) praises given to God or Christ (Rev 512. 18 712^ Ja 310) ; {b) in a sense exclusively biblical, f.avour or blessing from God (He 6'') ; (c) a blessing asked for (He 12''') ; (d) the b…
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i Der erste Brief des Paulxis an die Korinther, Leipzig, 1905, p. 480. and vital force. The verse prays for a holy fellowship in the Divine life mediated bj^ the Spirit, and it is a fitting conclusion to an Epistle agitated by strife. This triple benediction is well called by Bengel a ' striking testimony ' to the Hol…
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We extend the list to a few benedictions in extra-canonical Epistles in or near apostolic times. (18) 'The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you and with all men in all places who have been called by God and through Him, through whom be glory,' etc. (Clement of Rome, Ep. to Corinthians, 65 [A.D. 97]). (19) 'The Lo…
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BERYL BISHOP, ELDEE, PRESBYTER 149 the obstacles at Thessalonica "would soon be re- moved and that they would be enabled to return — a hope which was not realized (1 Th 2'^). Their city of refuge, however, proved a sphere of success- ful missionary activity. It was large and prosper- ous enough to have attracted a co…
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Starting from the original identity of ' bishop ' and ' presbyter,' Theodore (on 1 Ti 3^'*) infers that episcopacy existed from the first. The first bishops, among whom were Timothy and Titus, were con- secrated by apostles, governed whole provinces, and were sometimes called ' apostles.' Theodore erroneously supposed …
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In James, the brother of the Lord, we seem to have the first instance of a monarchical ruler in a Christian community. But it is improbable that in connexion with him the idea of one ruler for the wiiole Cliurch arose, and still more improbable that Mt 16'* was written as a protest against any such claim being made for…
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The presence of Jews in Bithynia is indicated by Philo {Leg. ad Gaium, 36). In his second missionary journey, St. Paul, always drawn to the great centres of GnBco-Roman civilization, attempted with Silas to enter Bithynia (iirelpa^ov eis ttju Bidwiav iropev- d-qvai.), intending probablj' to evangelize Nicsea and Nicome…
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Blasphemy was not exclusively a Jewish and Christian conception. To the Greeks also it was a high otl'ence ^\a<y (prjixelv els ^eot/s (Plato, Bej). 281 E). The majesty of the gods and the sacredness of the temples were jealously guarded. St. Paul, who reasoned against idolatry, never used oppro- brious language about t…
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In the rest of the NT jxaKapios is less used than in the Gospels. St. Paul has it twice only (Ro 4^* ^), and then in an OT quotation. In 1 Ti V^ and 6^"* (never in the Gospels) it is applied to God, but in this sense evXoy-riTos is usual. In regard to men, it is applied to those who give (Ac 20^^), who are for- given (…
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Lfteratitre. — Art. 'Blindness' in DCG ; Sanday-Headlam, Romans5{ICC, 1902) ; J. Armitagre Robinson, Ephesians, 1903, p. 26411. ; B. F. Westcott, Ephesians, 1906, p. 06 ; JThSt iii. [1901-02] 81. C. A. BeCKWITH. BLOOD. — 1. Meaning of the term. — Among its simplest designations, ' blood ' represents the blood which fl…
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Looking back over this subject as a whole, it is evident that the apostolic writers do not let their attention rest on blood as such, but only on blood as it is a vehicle and symbol of life. For the blood represents the life, even if this is taken by violence. Christ's blood freely given, with the sole aim of recoverin…
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Christian Cliiircli as a social wiiole, the 'one body' with many members (Ro 12^, 1 Co 12i'^- -'" etc.). Svnibolicallv the bread of the Lord's Supper is designated a'^s the body of Christ (1 Co lO'^ IT-"- ^t- -«). 2. The doctrine. — Outside of the Pauline Epistles the references to the body are few in number, and do n…
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(c) The body and sanctification. — St. Paul's view of the body as an essential part of the human personality appears further in his doctrine of the bodily holiness of a Christian man. In Corinth the perverted notion had grown up that since the body was not a part of the true personality, bodilj- acts were morally indif…
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even ^^nde^ theories of a Real Presence, which is something other and more than a purely spiritual presence, the bread which Jesus broke at the Last Supper was, in the first place, a symbol of His own body of flesh and blood which was yielded to death in a sacrifice of love. Literature. — H. Cremer, Bibl.-Theol. Lex.^…
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Literature. — D. Russell Scott, art. 'Boldness (Christian)' in ERE ii. 785, with lit. there cited; also J. H. Jowett, The Transfigured Church, 1910, p. 181. T. NiCOL. BOND (Col 2^*).— The point here lies in the word Xeip6ypa(pov. For ' bond ' in the sense of dov^os, see 1 Co 12^* etc., and in that of a-vvdea/xos (liga…
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The bondage of the will ('the will, deprived of liberty, is led or dragged by necessity to evil ' [Calvin, Inst. iii. 2]), a theologounienon figuring so largely in the Augustinian and the Reformed the- ology, strains Pauline teaching and finds little or no illustration in the Ante-Nicene Fathers. 3. The righteous life…
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shall be destroyed ' appears in Jub. xxx. 22.* The second conception, that of a record, appears in En. Ixxxix. 70 ft'., where the evil deeds of the shepherds are recorded and read before the Lord ; cf. xc. 17, 20, xcviii. 7, 8, civ. 7 (a daily record). The idea of a book of fate or prophetic history, is repre- sented b…
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And the thouglit, as has been said, is worthy of its setting, for this sealed book is the book of destiny, the prophetic history of the world as fore- known in the purpose of God ; and the fact that the Lion of the tribe of .Judali alone prevails to open the book is the symbolic expression of what would be described in…
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The OT and NT alike use only one word for ' brethren ' (o'nx and dSeXepoi respectiveljO> ancl trust to its flexibility to express every needed shade of meaning. d5eX06s is of great frequency (about 40 times in Mt. and still oftener in Acts). In the Gospels the literal use predominates ; in the Acts and Epistles various…
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The prophetic writer of Revelation naturally retains the old picturesque language with its dread suggestion. His armies of angelic horsemen have breastplates of fire and of hyacinth and of brim- stone— red and blue and yellow — and their breath is fire and smoke and brimstone (9^''). The worship- pers of the Beast and …
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4. Interdependence of the love for God and love for the brethren.— The love for God and the love for the brethren are not, according to the apostolic teaching, two independent facts. In examining their relation, it should be remembered that the love for God and the love for Christ are to the NT practically interchangea…
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(2) On the negative side.— The negation of self. Love for the brethren originates only through the death of the sinful love of self. Those who die this death no longer live to themselves (2 Co 5'5, Gal 2'^ 6l^ Ph 2*- 21) ; love is the opposite of all self-pleas- ing and self-seeking (Ro \b^^-, 2 Co 2^-'^ Gal 1'" I Th 2…
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BUILDLN"G BUSINESS 163 are manifested. They have not grasped the Divine idea of the Church, and therefore they are rebuked : ' I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual but as unto carnal' (3'). With a tender smile of blame he calls them 'babes in Christ,' who have not grown into the height and freedom of their c…
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In the conduct of their business Christians are required to set an example to the world. They are to be honest (1 Th 41-), to owe no man anything (Ro 13®), to avoid covetousness which leads to dis- honesty (He 13^), and to refuse to go into partner- ship with extortioners (1 Co 5"), Business disputes between Christians…
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In Ac 25 and following, the Caesar is appealed to by St. Paul, after his unjust arrest at Jerusalem. The right of appeal (provocatio) was one of the bulwarks of the original republican constitution. By it a citizen could appeal to his fellow-citizens in assembly against any injustice on the part of a magistrate. The pl…
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In apostolic times Csesarea was politically the capital of the province of Judaea, and the residence of the Roman procurators. Tacitus describes it as 'the head of Judaea* (Hist. ii. 78). Among its inhabitants there were both Jews and Greeks. The city was elaborately beautified with temples, theatres, palaces, arches, …
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166 CAINITES CALIGULA celestial and terrestrial. The Cainites possessed a fictitious work entitled ' The Gospel of Judas,' and Irenseus says that he had himself collected writ- ings of theirs, where they advocated that the work of Hystera should be dissolved. By Hystera they meant the Maker of Heaven and Earth. They…
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Literature. — In addition to the Literature named in the article, the following may be consulted : H. L. Mansel, Gnostic Heresies, London, 1875 ; A. Hilgenfeld, Die Ketzergeschichte des Urchristenthuins, Leipzig, 1884 ; A. Harnack, Geschichte der altchristlichen Litteratur, i. [Leipzig, 1S93] p. 163 fif., ii. [1897] p.…
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Certain changes were made in the Eastern pro- vinces in the reign of Gains. The territory of Antiochus of Commagene, which had been made a province by Tiberius, was restored to his son : it ran along the northern side of the province of Cilicia. Herod Agrippa received the tetrarchy of his uncle Philip, along with Abile…
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•The called' (ol kXtjtoL) to whom St. Paul ad- dresses the Epistle to the Romans, are 'called to be Jesus Christ's ' (Ro 1®) and they are ' called to be saints' (Ro 1'), the meaning of the word being identical with our 'converted.' They are 'called according to his purpose' (Ro 8^) — God's electing purpose from all ete…
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CANDLE, CANDLESTICK.— See Lamp, Lamp- stand. CANKER.— See Gangrene. CAPPADOCIA (Ka7r7ra5oK/a). — Cappadocia was an elevated table-land, with ill-defined and varying boundaries, in the east centre of Asia Minor. It was drained chiefly by the Halys and its tributaries, and intersected by great mountains, the highest of…
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(a) Instances of commendable human care are to be found in concern for personal righteousness (He 12'^ Tit 3^) ; zeal [a-irovdy]) for correcting a wrong (2 Co 7") ; interest in the welfare of one's fellows, especially those who are of the household of faith (1 Co 12-', 2 Co 7^^ s's, Ph 2-» 4"*) ; anxiety for the church…
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The use of cdpKLvos in such cases, however, is not to be taken as lending any support to the view that St. Paul recognized in the body the source and principle of sin. The language he uses in Gal 5^^*-, 1 Co 3* suggests rather that his contrast of 'carnal' and 'spiritual' (Ro 8^*-) is equivalent to the contrast he else…
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CASTOR CENCHRE^ 171 he was marched into the barracks. Fort Antonia was for some days his place of confinement. Hither came his nephew with a message which saved him from falling into the hands of fanatical conspirators (23^*), and here Christ Himself seemed to stand by him with words of good cheer (v."). From the ca…
913 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.