our view, But or Silas It may be remarked that, while staying at Antioch BB hie hee.d- que.rt.ere, and while moving about, as to carry out the busineee entrusted to him he no doubt did, both. in company with Paul and apart from him, among the Christians in those parts, in Syria and Cilicia in general as well e.s in the capital, he would be acting all along in the cape.city of a delegated envoy, "apostle,'' of the Jerusalem conference, wearing a character which Bt. Paul would thus become accnRtomed to regard as shared by him with himself. And here we observe another particular mentioned by St. Luke, enhancing the con- sideration with which Silas, with Judas Barsabas, would be regarded among Christians. He speaks of them as" being themselves also prophets," whose earnest and diligent exhor- tation, he tells us, proved of great benefit to the Antiochian believers (Acts xv. 32). After discharging this commission, Silas and Judas returned to Jerusalem to those who bad sent them forth upon it (1rpos Toh l,.,..°",,..c,uwriu a./rro6s, L. T. Tr. Rev., instead of the words, 1rpos ,,.ol,s lt.1ro0',,.&>.ovs of Textus Receptus; the same editors expunge ver. 34, ~EBof• 3~ ,,.r;; Jli>.!f l1r,µewa., 11b'l'oii). Later, however, we find Silas again at Antioch; at least, when St. Paul, then apparently at Antioch, desired a companion for his second journey therefrom, he " selected " Silas to be the one to go with him. All this proves the high estimation in which Silas was held by the brethren, both at Jerusalem and at Antioch. He would naturally appear to them as a man well :fitted to move side by side with Paul, whose peculiar calling a.s an "apostle" in the higher sense was a fact as yet but imperfectly disclosed to the Church. At the same time, St. Luke's expression (ver. 40), l1ri.\e(&µ,vos %1>.a.v, indicates a certain subordination as marking his position in relation to St. Paul-an inference which is confirmed by the manner in which St. Luke proceeds to narrate the commencement of the expedition ; for he employs the singular number in the verbs found in Acts xv. 40 down to xvi. 3, writing .also ~bv .,J,,.r;;, not O'bv a.bToi\ in Acts xvi. 3, furnishing a marked contrast witll the plural number which he uniformly employs in narrating St. Paul's journey with Barnabas. On the other hand, we cannot doubt that Timothy, whom St. Paul attached to the party, ai:i~ also Luke himself, who was about this time (cf. l(71,,.~0'IJ/L<v, Acts xvi. 10) likewise enlisted in the service, and perhaps others, were as truly w11pfrcu as Mark had been, helping in evangelistic work under Paul's direction, and in training for a "better degree" (1 Tim. iii. 10) to be attained by-and-by; Timothy, however, as it should seem, holding among these subordinate workers the chief place. Nevertheless, it is evident that Silas held in the party a higher position altogether than any of these last-named subordinates; and when at their starting from Antioch Paul was" delivered over (1ra.p11806eb) to the grace of the Lord by the brethren," we, cannot doubt that this solemn and formal act of commendation embraced with St_: Paul his coadjutor Silas as well; and that, as Barnabas and Paul when going forth on. the former journey, so now Paul and Silas when going forth on this, went as alike,. "apostles," and sealed, we may also feel assured, with the like Divine sanction as Bar- 1 nabas and Paul had been when they had been "sent forth by the Holy G-bost" (Act.a xiii. 2, 4). j The particulars now alleged relative to Silas's close association with St. Paul and1 to acts of delegation or recognition whereby the Church connected them together as its authorized agents, sufficiently evince, not only that it would be perfectly justifiable, but also that it would be extremely natural aud obvious, for St. Paul, when he had· occasion to speak of the ministerial office exercised by himself and Silas in con• junction, to describe it, and, if need were, to argue upon it, as a uii!:iistry exercised. bf, "apo,tlcs" or by II apostles of Christ " (see above, p. xxxv,) :s:xx.viil THE EPIS'l.'LE TO THE (tALA'l.'IANS.
And we are able to adduce an instance of St. Paul's actually doing this, na111ely;,~ what we read in 1 Thess. ii. 6, 6. ,, 1 . ,·