Ver. 11. Cf. Gal. iii. 28. He has been speaking of sins inconsistent with brotherly love, anger and falsehood. Such sins are incompatible with Christi- anity, which has abolished even those deep distinctions that divided mankind into hostile camps. In the splendid sweep of the great principle, which has cancelled the most radical differences of nationality, ceremonial status, culture and social position, all minor causes of strife are necessarily included. The sol- vent of national, racial and even religious hate cannot be powerless before the petty strifes of a Christian church. — ὅπου οὐκ ἔνι: “ where there cannot be”. ὅπ. seems to refer to ‘‘the new man,” not to “knowledge” or “the image’’. In the new man created by God all these dis-
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$40 πᾶσιν Χριστός.
12. ἐνδύσασθε οὖν ὡς ἐκλεκτοὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἅγιοι
καὶ ἠγαπημένοι, σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ, χρηστότητα, ταπεινοφροσύνην, πραύτητα, µακροθυµίαν, 13. ἀνεχόμενοι ἀλλήλων καὶ χαριζόμενοι iOnly here ἑαυτοῖς, ἐάν τις πρός τινα ἔχῃ μομφήν" καθὼς καὶ ὁ Κύριος 1
ακ.
1 80 Ln., Tr., W.H., R.V., Ws. with ABD*FG.
mg. with SacCDbcEKLP. eos: μ᾿".
tinctions vanish. ἔνι seems not to be for ἔνεστι, as used to be said, but, as Butt- mann maintained, a form of ἐν. Winer- Schmiedel says “ἔνι is the older form of ἐν, and has the significance ο[ ἔνεστιν ’'. --ΦΈλλην κ.τ.λ. The first two pairs con- tain opposites, in race and then in re- ligion. For the third pair Paul cannot employ an antithesis, since “EAA., the contrast to Bdp., has already been used in the sense of Gentile. He therefore adds to barbarian the Scythian as the extreme example—Scythae barbaris bar- bariores ριον a ty reverts to the method of opposition in the last pair. The order Ελλ. κ. Ἴονδ. is unusual, and perhaps due to the fact that he is writing to Gentiles, but in Gal. iii. 28 he is writ- ing to Gentiles too. The usual order is resumed in περ. κ. ἀκρ. In δοῦλ. ἐλεύθ. he may have a reference to Philemon and Onesimus, but the terms occur also in the Galatian Πδιι-- πάντα καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν Χριστός. This expresses the thought that Christ is all, and that He is in all the relations of life; πᾶσιν is neuter, and X. is placed at the end for emphasis. Since He is all, and all things are one in Him, He is the principle of unity, through whom all the distinctions that mar the oneness of mankind are done away.
Ver. 12. This verse and ver. 13 are parallel to Eph. iv. 2, 32. The ethical consequences of having put on the new man are now drawn out in detail.— ἐνδύσασθε οὖν: not since Christ has be- come all and in all to you (Lightf.), but since you have put on the new man. ἐκλεκτοὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ: {.ε., as conformity to your position as God’s elect demands. The election is God’s choice of them in Christ before creation (Eph. i. 4).---ἅγιοι καὶ ἠγαπημένοι qualify ἐκλ., and are not vocatives. ἦγ. means, as elsewhere in N.T., beloved of God; he is speaking of their position as Christians.—omAdyyxva οἰκτιρμοῦ : “a heart of compassion,” the σπλ. being regarded as the seat of emotion.—xpyotétyTa: almost “ sweet-
ἐχαρίσατο ὑμῖν οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς - 14. ἐπὶ πᾶσι δὲ τούτοις τὴν ἀγά-
Χριστος: T., W.H. mg., R.V.
ness of disposition’’. It is opposed to “ severity” (of God) in Rom. xi. 22.--- ταπεινοφροσύνην, πραύτητα: both virtues towards fellow-men, and quite different from tam. in ii. 18. Neither has refer- ence to man’s relation to God. Each is a specifically Christian virtue.
Ver. 13. χαριζόμενοι ἑαντοῖς: * for- giving yourselves,” but while the varia- tion from ἀλλήλ. is probably intentional, the practical difference is very slight. The thought that Christians are members one of another may underlie the choice of expression (cf. 1 Pet. iv. 8). It may be chosen to correspond to ὑμῖν. may have reference to the case of Phile- mon and Onesimus.—é Κύριος: whether this or 6 Χριστὸς be read the reference is to Christ. In the parallel Eph, iv. 32 we have “God in Christ,” which is Paul’s usual way of putting it. But that is no reason for ρα Κύρ. to God, for Jesus when on earth forgave sins. The. forgiveness they have received is used to enforce the duty of forgiving others. The best illustration is the parable in Matt. xviii. 23-25.