{b) irapio-TTjiJii is translated ' commend ' in 1 Co 8^ ('Meat conimendetli us not to God') in the sense of presenting to God ; ' non exhibebit nos
Deo '(Meyer); 'will not bring us into God's pre- sence' (Weymouth).
(c) ' Commend ' is used to translate <rvv(<rTTjfjii (1) in Ro 3^ in the sense of demonstration, setting in clearer light ('but if our unrighteousness com- mendeth the righteousness of God, what shall we say?') ; (2) in Ro 5^, in the sense of making prooj of ('God commendeth his own love towards us, in that, Avhile we were yet sinners, Christ died for us ') ; (3) in the sense of introduction in Ro 16' (' I com- mend unto you Phoebe our sister'). ' (rvviaTr]/j.L is the technical word for this kind of recommenda- tion, which was equivalent to a certificate of church membership' (Denney, EGT, 'Romans,' 1900, p. 717). Greek teachers used to give €iri(x- ToXal (Tva-raTiKaL (Diog. Laert. viii. 87). The Ephesian Christians wrote such a letter for Apollos to the Church at Corinth (Ac IS^^), St. Paul in 2 Co 8^^"^ gives an introduction for Titus and his companions to the Corinthian Church. In 2 Co 3' St. Paul finely points out that no such introduc- tion is necessary in his own case, either for or from his readers. They themselves are a letter of commendation in a double sense — they are ever written in his heart ; no need for others to com- mend them to his interest and care ; again, as his converts, they are his letter of credential to them- selves and to all the world. (4) The verb, refiex- ively used to convey the idea of self-j^raise, occurs in 2 Co 3' 5'^ lO'^' '* (where the pronoun coming before the verb occupies the prominent position) ; (5) but in 4* 6* 7" (where the pronoun follows the verb) the reference is to legitimate demonstration of one's faith and work ; e.g. zeal for purity is such a commendation (7"). An apostle's true credentials are unwearied labour, self-sacrifice, character, and loftiness of spirit (6"*).
H. BULCOCK. COMMERCE.— See TRADE.
COMMON.— See Clean.
COMMUNION.— The Greek word Koivwvla has a wider scope (see Fellowship) than the English word ' communion,' which the EV uses particularly in regard to the Lord's Supper (1 Co 10^"). St. Paul's expression is somewliat ambiguous. In what way may the cup and the bread be said to be a communion ? They may either be a symbol for communion or may constitute a communion by sacramental influence. What does the blood of Christ mean ? Is it the blood which was shed at His death, or does it signify the death itself or its effects? Or does St. Paul perhaps think of the blood as some transfigured heavenly substance? And what does the body of Christ mean ? Is it the material body, which Jesus wore on earth, and which hung on the cross, or tlie immaterial body of the heavenly Lord ? Or, again, is it the spiritual body, whose head is Christ, i.e. the Church ? And lastly, what does communion of the blood and of the body mean ? Is it communion with, i.e. par- taking of, the blood and the body, or is it a com- munion whose symbol and medium are the bloodand the body? In former times all attempts at inter- pretation distinguished sharply between those various meanings ; nowadays there is a tendency towards accepting the ditierent views as being present at the same time in the autlior's mind and in the mind of his first readers, not as entirely separate ideas, but all together in fluctuating transi- tion. Grammar and vocabulary are not decisive in such a case. We have to start from the general view of communion which early Christianity held. In this the particular meaning of communion in regard to the Lord's Slipper will be included.
There can be no doul)t but that early Christianity had a double conception of fellowship : all mem-
COMMUA^IO:X
COMMUNITY OF GOODb
235
bers of the Church -were in close fellowship one with the other, and at tlie same time each and all of them were in fellowship with the heavenly- Lord. The former conception was the more pro- minent ; but the latter no doubt was the basis of faith. Now in the Lord's Supper we find both these ideas present. St. Paul complains of the divisions at Corinth (1 Co 11'*): the members of the Church do not share their meal in a brotherly- way, nor do they wait for one another (i.e. prob- ably for the slaves "who could not be present early). Here we have the purely social and moral idea. But St. Paul, in speaking of ' the Lord's Supper' (IP"), indicates another point of view, which may be called the religious and sacramental conception : the Lord's Supper is not only a supper held at the Lord's command, or a supper held in honour of the Lord (cf. ll'-^- 2®), but it is also a supper in communion with the Lord, where the Lord is present, participating as the Host. In this way the Lord's Supper is not only the expression of an existing communion with Him, but it realizes this communion every time it is held. Now the question is : Is it the common supper which con- stitutes the communion, or are we to think of the particular elements, bread and wine, as producing the communion ? We shall try to find an answer by noting some analogies from the comparative history of religions.