V.1. Παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς ἐγὼ ὁ δέσμιος ἐν Κυρίῳ. The exhortation is a general one; it flows from the preceding doctrines, and is enforced by the authority, and the sufferings of him who gave it. As you are partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, “ Z therefore beseech you.” I the prisoner, not of, but i the Lord, ἐν Κυρίῳ. He was a prisoner because he was in the Lord and for his sake. It was as a Christian and in the cause of Christ he suffered bonds. Compare the frequently occurring expressions, συνεργὸς ἐν Χρι- στῷ, ἀγαπητὸς ἐν Κυρίῳ, δόκιμος ἐν Χριστῷ, ἐκλεκτὸς ἐν Κυρίῳ. He speaks as a prisoner not to excite sym- pathy, not merely to add weight to his exhortation, but rather as exulting that he was counted worthy to suffer for Christ’s sake. This is in accordance with the beauti- ful remark of Theodoret: tots διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν δεσμοῖς ἐναβρύνεται μᾶλλον ἤ βασιλεὺς διαδήματι, he glories ὧν his chains more than a king in his diadem. “1, the martyr Paul, the crowned apostle, exhort you,’ &e. All is thus in keeping with the elevated tone of feeling which marks the preceding passage.
CHAP. Iv. vs. 1. 2. 199
The exhortation is, ἀξίως περιπατῆσαι τῆς κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε, to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith they were called. That vocation was to sonship; ch. 1, 5. This includes three things—holiness, exaltation, and unity. They were called to be conformed to the image of Christ, to share in his exaltation and glory, and to constitute one family as all are the children of God. <A conversation becoming such a vocation, therefore, should be characterized by holiness, humi- lity, and mutual forbearance and brotherly love. The apostle, therefore, immediately adds, wzth all lowliness and meekness. Undeserved honour always produces these effects upon the ingenuous. To be raised from the depths of degradation and misery and made the sons of God, and thus exalted to an inconceivable elevation and dignity, does and must produce humility and meekness. Where these effects are not found, we may conclude the exaltation has not taken place. Lowl- ness of mind, ταπεινοφροσύνη, includes a low estimate of one’s self, founded on the consciousness of guilt and weakness, and a consequent disposition to be low, unnoticed, and unpraised. It stands opposed not only to self-complacency and self-conceit, but also to self- exaltation, and setting one’s self up to attract the hon- our which comes from men. This is taught in Rom. 12, 16, where τὰ ὑψηλὰ φρονοῦντες, seeking ligh things, is opposed to the lowliness of mind here inculcated. There is a natural connection between humility and meekness, and therefore they are here joined together as in so many other places. Πραότης is softness, mild-