participle ; comp. To/^as, ver. 14. He announced peace with His own mouth to the apostles, Luke xxiv. 36 ; John xx. 19, 21, 26 ; and by them to others. — s/pyjv^v lif^Tv rote, {taxpav, jc.r.X.) Acts ii. 39, note. — %ai ro/c) There is great elegance in mentioning s/pr^Vy peace, only once in this passage. The peace of both is undivided.
18. "Or/, because) — ~npo$ rbv Tlarspa) to the Father ', as to [our] Father. In this verse mention is made of Christ, of the Spirit, of the Father, in the same order in which Christ, the Spirit of promise, and God, are referred to at ver. 12 ; [comp. ch. i. 3, 5]. In a different order [the Three Divine Persons are mentioned] in Rev. i. 4, 5.
19. OV-/.STIJ no longer) Antithetic to their former state. — gsi/o/, strangers) Its opposite is citizens, a metaphor derived from a city or state. — <ra/>o/%o/, foreigners [* inquilini,' sojourners in the city, from a foreign state]) Its opposite is, domestics [home-born mem bers of the household] : the metaphor is taken from a house. — ruv ayfuvy of the saints) [the holy commonwealth] of Israel, ver. 12 ; comp. iii. 18. — ro\j ©sou, of God) Again the Holy Trinity is indicated, ver. 19 [God], 20 [Jesus Christ], 22 [the Spirit].
20. 'EvoixodQ/AriQsvrzg, built upon) A phrase frequent with Paul, writing to the Ephesians, iii. 18, (comp. Acts xx. 32) ; and to Timothy, bishop of Ephesus, a metaphor taken from architec ture; 1 Tim. iii. 15 ; 2 Tim. ii. 19. — l<zl r& QepeMy, on the foun dation) As the foundation supports the whole building, so the testimony of the" apostles and prophets is the substruction or support of the faith of all believers ; by them the foundation was laid ; Christ Jesus is here said to be the head of the corner. The same Person is spoken of as the very foundation, 1 Cor. iii. 11. — Kccf Kpopyruiv, and prophets) Prophets of the New Testa ment, who are next to the apostles ; iv. 11, iii. 5. — ovros cwpo- yuviafov au™S, being chief corner stone of it) Paul briefly in dicates the passage in Isaiah xxviii. 16, as very well known ; comp. 1 Pet. ii. 6, note. Christ Jesus is the chief corner stone of the foundation. The participle ovros, at the beginning of this clause, is strongly demonstrative in the present tense. The pronoun auroD is to be referred to flg/xgXfy;1 for if it were con-
1 But Engl. Vers. takes it, Jesus Christ Himself, Beng. renders it, " Jesus Christ being the chief corner-stone of it" viz. of the foundation. — ED