sins the apostle gives as the reason why they should be reproved.
V. 18. Vile however as those sins are, they are capa- ble of being corrected. They are not beyond cure. Reprove them. Let in the light of divine truth upon them, and they will be corrected or healed. For the truth is divinely efficacious. It is the organon of God; that through which he exerts his power in the sanctifi- cation and salvation of men. Such seems to be the general meaning of this difficult verse.
It is connected with the preceding verse, and is de- signed to enforce the command, ἐλέγχετε, reprove. ‘Re- prove the things done in secret by the wicked—for though they are too bad to be even named, yet being reproved, they are made manifest by the light, and thereby corrected, for every thing made manifest, i. e. revealed in its true nature by divine light, becomes light; that is, is reformed.’ This interpretation gives a simple and consistent sense, assumes no unusual signi- fication of the terms employed, nor any forced con- struction, and is suited to the context. It supposes— 1. That τὰ πάντα ἐλεγχόμενα refers to τὰ κρυφῇ γινόμενα of v.12. The things done in secret are the all things, which being reproved, are manifested. 2. The words ὑπὸ τοῦ φωτός are not to be connected with ἐλεγχόμενα, as though the sense were, ‘being reproved by the light;’ but with φανεροῦται, so that the sense is, ‘are made manifest by the light.’ This construction is re- quired by the following clause. 3. φανερούμενον is passive, and not middle with an active sense. The