12---Τά.
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13. ' νυνὶ δὲ ἐν χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ὑμεῖς οἱ ™ ποτὲ ὄντες " μακρὰν ° ἐγγὺς | Acts xxii.
ἐγενήθητε ᾿ "ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ χριστοῦ.
Rom. vi. 22 41(19); Paul only. v. 17 only in Paul; Isa. lvii. το; Dan. ix. 7.
m Ver. τι reff.
I (XXiv. 13
14. αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ἡ
n Luke xv. 20 al.; Acts ii. 39; here and ο Abs., Luke xix. 11; John xix. 42; Phil. iv. 5.
p Luke xxii. 20; Rom. iii. 25, v. 9; Heb. x. 19; Rev. i. 5; v. ο.
leyev. εγγ. NAB 17, 31, 37, etc., Eus., Euth., Dial., Epiph., Ir., Tert., al.; text
DEFGKL, most mss., Chr., Thdrt., Dam., al.
tion of the fact that they were without the help and protection of God. The first of the three senses, however, seems even more in harmony with the preceding negations. As they were without Christ, and without hope, so were they without God—without the knowledge of the one true and living and thus destitute of any God. So in Gal. iv. 8 Paul speaks of Gentiles like these as knowing not God and doing service unto them which by nature are no gods. The clause ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ is connected by some with the whole preceding description (Koppe, etc.); by others with the two last sentences in the description—the ἐλπίδα μὴ ἔχοντες andthe ἄθεοι (ΑὉ}.). But it rather makes one idea with the immediately preceding term ἄθεοι. It is difficult to say in what particular sense the κόσμος is used here— whether in the simple, non-ethical sense, or in the deeper sense which it has in John and also at times in some degree in Paul (x Cor. i. 21, vi. 2, xi. 32; 2 Cor. vii. 10). Whichever is preferred—whether “ with- out God in the world of men,” or “without God in this evil world” —an appropriate idea results. But the implied contrast with the previous πολιτεία τοῦ ᾿Ισραὴλ leads most to decide for the latter. The domain of their life was this present evil world, and in it, alienated as it was from God, they had no God.
Ver. 13. νυνὶ δὲ ἐν Χριστῷ ᾿Ιησοῦ ὑμεῖς οἵ ποτε ὄντες μακρὰν ἐγγὺς ἐγενη- θητε: but now in Christ Fesus ye that aforetime were far off are become nigh. In classical Greek νυνί is used only of time, mostly with present tenses, rarely with the future, and means at this very moment. In the NT it is used mostly of time, but also as a logical particle, bringing a statement to a conclusion, = vebus sic stantibus, as the case stands (Rom. vii. 17; 1 Cor. xv. 20, etc.). Here it has the usual temporal meaning—now as contrasted with the previous period, the καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ. The ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ is put emphatically first and is to be connected with the νυνί (ΕἸ]., etc.) rather than with the ἐγενήθητε, the point being this—then ye were separate from Christ,
For αιµατι, ονοματι 49.
but now ye are in Him, united with Him, and so are become nigh. It is difficult, if not impracticable, to discover in each case a reason for the use of Χριστὸς "Ingots instead of the simple Χριστός; and the ᾿Ιησοῦ indeed is dropped by some ancient authorities (L., Iren., Orig., Tert., εἴς). But the double designation is appropriate here—then they were without Christ, having no part in the Messiah in whom the Jew had hope; now they are in living, present, personal fellowship with the Saviour known among men as Christ Jesus. The μακράν repeats the idea of distance and separation previously ex- pressed by ἀπηλλοτριωμένοι and ξένοι. The expression ἐγγὺς γίνεσθαι, to come or become near, which is common enough in profane Greek, occurs only here in the NT. The order of the TR, ἐγγὺς ἐγενή- θητε, is supported by DFKL, etc. ; but ἐγενήθητε ἐγγύς is the reading of BRA, 17, Vulg., Goth., etc., and is adopted by most (LTTrWHRYV). For the designa- tion of the Gentiles as “ far off” and the use of the phrase ‘bring nigh” in the sense of making them members of the theocracy, cf. Isa. lvii. 19; Dan. ix. 7; and for examples in Jewish literature, see Wetst., in loc.; Schéttg., Hore Hebr., i, 76. The verses which immediately follow refer to the removal of the ancient barrier between Jew and Gentile. The ἐγενήθητε ἐγγύς, however, need not be restricted to that. It is in contrast with the whole previous condition of separa- tion from Christ, with all that that meant with regard to the commonwealth of Israel, the covenants, hope, and God. It is probably to be taken, therefore, in the large sense of being brought into the Kingdom of God, made near to God Himself and so brought to hope and privi- lege.—év τῷ αἵματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ: in (or, by) the blood of Christ. On the import of the phrase “the blood of Christ”’ see under i. 7 above. The év here has much the same sense as the διὰ there. They both express instrumentality. If there is any difference between them it is that διὰ expresses simple, objective, instru- mentality, while ἐν denotes what ΕἸ].