consistent with the spirit of the apostle, with his exalted views of the equality of all men in Christ, and with his expectation that all earthly distinctions would soon be swept away. The advice to slaves to avail themselves of the opportunity to be- come free, it is said, would be trivial in the estimation of one who believed that those slaves might, at any moment, be ex- alted to be kings and priests to God. It must be admitted that this interpretation is plausible. It is not, however, de- manded either by the language used, or by the context. The conjunction (xat), overlooked in our version, maybe rendered cdso. ' Wast thou called being a slave ? care not for it ; but if also (i. e. in addition to your being called) thou canst become free, use it rather.' Luther, Calvin, Beza, and the great body of commentators from their day to this, understand the apos- tle to say that liberty was to be chosen if the opportunity to become free were offered. That the context does not conflict with this view of the passage, which our translators evidently adopted, has already been shown.
22. Por he that is called in the Lord, (being) a servant, is the Lord's freeman : likewise also he that is called, (being) free, is Christ's servant.
The connection is with the first, not with the last clause of V. 21. 'Care not for your bondage, /or,' &c. Se that is called in the Lord ; or, as the words stand, ' The slave called in the Lord.' That is, the converted slave. Is the Lord's freeman^ i. e. is one whom the Lord has redeemed. The pos- session of that liberty with which Christ makes his people free, is so great a blessing, that all other things, even the con- dition of slavery, are comparatively of no account. Paul, in Rom. 8, 18-23, says that the afflictions of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glorious liberty of the sons of God, towards which the whole creation, now subject to vanity, looks with longing expectation. A man need care little about his external condition in this world, who is freed from the bondage of Satan, the curse of the law, the dominion of sin, and who is made a child and heir of God ; that is, who is conformed to the image of his Son, and made a partaker of his exaltation and kingdom. Likewise also he that is called^ being free^ is the Lord's servant (i. e. slave, SovXos). The dis- tinction between master and slave is obliterated. To be the Lord*s freeman, and to be the Jword's slave, are the same thing.