posed ; we see the gifts of the Spirit in full opera- tion ; we are made aware of the Haws and incon- sistencies which, had we not heen informed on such {jood authority, could hardly l>e believed to liave disfigured the period of the Church's first love ; the rival parties and their wrangles, the backsliders and the sowers of tares among the wheat, all pass before our eyes. Yet it is this church anil its artairs that draw forth from the Apostle the pane- gyric on love in ch. 13, tlie praise of unity in cli. 14, and the demonstration of the resurrection of the body in cli. 15. Such was the letter-writer's power of illustrating great principles in small duties. Several passages (e.g. ()'-• " 8''* 10^ 15'-- "') become more intelligible if it be assumed that St. Paul is quoting the sentiment* of the Corinthians, before replying to their queries.
Between 1 and 2 Cor., it is thought by some scholars, St. Paul paid a visit to Corinth not men- tioned in Acts, and, returning to Ephesus after a stormy interview, wrote a tempestuous letter, part of which is preserved in 2 Co lO'-lS". The bearer of this missive was Titus, who, on his way back to Ephesus, was met by St. Paul in Macedonia, and was able to give so cheering an account of the effect produced at Corinth that at once he was sent back with another letter, conceived in a totally ditl'erent tone, which has come down to us under the title of 2 Corinthians. This new Epistle has all tlie appearance of having been written in a recoil from painful excitement and in the exulta- tion caused by the receipt of good news. In it the author lays bare his innermost feelings more fully than in any other proiluction of his pen. If anyone wishes to know the real St. Paul, this is the oppor- tunity. It has been called the Ich-epistel, also St. Paul's Apologia pro Vita Sun. A portion of it (2'--6'") has been taken by A. T. Robertson as a text for a treatise entitled The Gloi-y of the Ministry : Paul's Exultation in Preaching, n.d. ; and certainly it can hardly be fully understood except by those who have devoted their life to the salvation of others, and have felt what St. Paul calls the pangs of labour in bringing souls to the birth through the gospel. The mood throughout is one of triumph, but at the beginning of ch. 10 there is a sudden change to a tone of intense sharp- ness and even bitterness. By some this is accounted for by the supposition mentioned above ; but others are satisfied with supposing an alteration in the mood of the writer, accompanied perhaps by some delay between the composition of the earlier and the latter halves of the Epistle. Happily, though the tone is changed, the autobiographical revela- tions still continue, and St. Paul completes the portrait of himself.
(d) Romans. — The Epistle to the Romans is, in not a few respects, the greatest of all the produc- tions of St. Paul's pen. It lacks, indeed, the personal and affectionate note so characteristic of his writings ; for it is the only Epistle of his sent to a church not founded or as yet visited by him- self. To this fact, however, is due in some degree its greatness ; because, while in writing to churches ■ already visited he could take it for granted that his correspondents knew his gospel so well that he did not require to repeat it, he was compelled, when writing to those who had never seen his face in the Hesh, to state his gospel at full length. Of this opportunity advantage is taken to the full in the present case ; and there is no question that in Rom. we have the essence of what he preached in every city which he evangelized. As at Miletus lie declared to the elders from Epiiesus that for three years he had preached in the capital of Asia ' repentance toward (iod and f.aith toward our Lord Jesus Christ' (Ac 20'-'), so in Romans the need which all men, whether Gentiles or Jews, have of
repentance is first fully unfolded, and this is fol- lowed by an equally am|>le and convincing ex- hibition of the liajipy ellects due to faith in the Saviour. Hero we have illustrations from Hebrew history, and especially from the Father of the Faithful, such as would be welcome in every syna- gogue, as well as a philosopliy of the history of mankind such as would be more likely to captivate Gentile hearers. Although, as has been mentioned, the personal note is absent, yet, after his demon- stration is complete, at the close of ch. 8, he turns to discuss the tragic fact that the Jewish race had missed its destiny and allowed the gospel intended for them to pass over to the Gentiles. How was this to be reconciled with the election of God, in which St. Paul was a firm lieliever? The answer occupies no less than three chapters, and it permits us to see into the verj' heart of the writer, wlio, though with the indignation of a Christian he could speak as he had done in Thoss. of the chosen people, yet was a Jew to the marrow of his bones, and was ready, he declares, to be himself ' accursed from Christ,' if by so being he could save his brethren according to the Hesh. The same noble unselfishness pervades the discussion of ' meats' in the chapters that follow, though his ethical genius would be considered by many to rise to its cul- minating point in ch. 12. In the book as it now stands there is, at the close, an unusually long list of greetings to friends; and the question arises how he could have known so many in a city which he had never visited. It may be replieil that Rome was, in that age, such a centre that visitors might be present in it from many of the cities and towns visited by him in other lands. But this will hardly suffice, and a different explanation seems to be at least possible. An Epistle like this, so impersonal and didactic, was well fitted to be sent to various churches, and several copies might be executed and dispatched to different communities. The greetings, then, which now stand in Rom. may have been intended for one of these. It may have been Ephesus, and a close scrutiny of the names is said to point to Ephesus rather than to Rome.