able to put down his personal enemies, but for edification^ i. e. the building up of the church in holiness and peace. Power in the church comes not from the civil magistrate, nor from the people, but from Christ only. He is, as Calvin says, Solus Dominus et Magister. And this power can be legiti- mately exercised only for the edification of the church. When exercised for other objects, or for the destruction of the church, then it should be disowned and resisted. Even an apostle, or an angel from heaven, who should preach any other gospel — teach or require any thing contrary to the word of God — would be accursed. And of this contrariety, from the necessity of the case, and from the authority of Scripture, the people, i. e. those who are required to believe and obey, are (at their peril) to be the judges. If they reject a true apostle, their sin is as great as if they gave ear to false teach- ers. Having the inward teaching of the Spirit, they know of the doctrine whether it be of God.
9. That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters.
The connection of this clause (tVa ^xy] loKiii) is somewhat doubtful. If it belongs immediately to the preceding words, the sense is, ' I should not be ashamed — in order that I should seem,' i. e. God would so order it that I should not appear as an emj)ty boaster. But this is evidently unnatural. The de- sign of God in sustaining the apostle, and giving him a victory over the enemies of the truth, was something higher than pre- serving him from being regarded as a boaster. A very large number of commentators connect this verse with the 11th, throwing the 10th into a parenthesis. 'That I may not seem to terrify you — let such an one think, &c.' But neither in this way is the connection natural or logical; and v. 11 evi- dently refers to v. 10, and would not be intelUgible if that verse were omitted; verse 11, therefore, is not a parenthesis. A clause \\Ax\\ tm, as we have seen before in this epistle, (com- pare also Gal. 2, 10,) often depends on some word or words omitted but easily supplied from the context. In this case we may supply, ' Tliis I say.'* ' This I say in order that I may not appear, &c.' So Luther (" Das sage ich aber "), Bcza, and many others. As if I would terrify^ ws tiv lK<^o^dv. This is the only instance in the New Testament where o.v after a con- junction is used with the infinitive. Winer resolves it into