The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 105

out ae a convert of hie own; while the Lord appeo.ring to him bade him to depo.rt m11nner in which he is here no.med to the thence without delo.y (Acte :xxii. 17, 21). Go.l11tio.ns euggeete the eurmiee tho.t he wo.e The two accounts in each instance a.re no etro.nger to themeelvee, The o.poetle mutually supplementary, the one viewing mo.y be euppoeed to ho.ve secured hie being the ce.ee historically from the outside, the appointed by the Antiochio.n Church to be other Rfl an autobiographical reminiscence one of the deputation to Jerueo.lem, both from '19ithin. The apostle's reason for thus tho.t he might be o. representative of the pointedly mentioning the especial direction Ohurch of the uncircumcision, o.nd on under which he took this journey, had account of his great more.I fitness to take evidently reference to its being the design po.rt in the delicate and critical business of Christ, that thereby, together with other then on foot. About the time the apostle objects to be snbserved by it, the doctrine wrote this letter to the Galatians, he was and ministerial work of Paul should b,,, much employed by him, being entrusted sealed with the recognition of hi~ first with missions, which, like that earlier one, apostles and of his earliest Church-a result required especial firmness and discretion of prime necessity for the prosperous de- tempered with truly Christian sentiment velopment of the whole Church; more impor- (cf. 2 Cor. ii. 13; vii. 6, 13-15; viii. 16, 22; tant, perhaps, than even its more ostensible xii. 18. See Mr. Phillott's o.rticle on "Titns" result as described by St. Luke. And com- in Smith's • Dictionary of the Bible'). munioo.ted unto tham (,co.! iiv,0,µ1w avTo,,); Ver. 2.-And I went up by revelation; or, and I laid before them. The verb occUl's in and I went up in accordance with a revela- the New Testament besides only in Arts tion'( iiv,/31,v 6~ KaTa. a.1ro,cc/.l1.V>/ltv). The form of :xxv. 14, where it means simply giving the sentence in the Greek is similar to that(e.g.) king an account of Paul's case with the view in John xxi. 1; Rom. iii. 22; Jas. i. 6: a apparently of getting his opinion upon it. word of the preceding context is taken up In the present case St. Paul stated his afresh for the purpose of being qualified or doctrine to the persons referred to, with the explained. Revelo.tions were frequently view likewise of seeing what they would made to the o.postle, both to communicate eay; but certainly not with any intention 01· importo.nt truths (Eph. iii. 3) and to direct having it modified by their suggestions or encoUl'age his proceedings. They appeo.r ( cf. the use of iiv,BeTo in 2 l\Iacc. iii. 9, to have been made in different ways: as, which presents o. curiously similar conjunc- through dreams or visions (Acts xvi. 9, 10; tion of particulars). By them, i.e. those ther6, xviii. 9; xxii. 18-21; xxvii. 23); through are obviously meant, not the inho.bitants in prophets ( Acts :xiii. 2 ; xxi. 11) ; often, no general, but the Christia.us ol' the place, doubt, through a strong impulse borne in though not immediately before mentione,l. uvon his <spirit, prompting him to, or de- We have the like use of the pronoun in bo.rring him from, some po.rticular line of Acts xx. 2; 2 Cur. ii. 13. That gospel which conduct (Acts xvi. 6, 7). The jolll'ney now I pree.oh ( TO eva-y-ye/\.tov f> 1C71pvrrrro,). The in question being that recorded by St. Luke present tense of the verb points to the whole (Acts :xv., init.), we have to observe tho.t St. period of hie ministry up to the time nt Luke ascribes his going to a decision come which he was writing. It ie implied that to by the brethren at Antioch (Acts :xv. 2). his teaching had been the so.me oil 11long. But there ie no discrepancy here. It is an Elsewhere he styles it "my gospel" (Rom. obvious supposition, th11t the apostle, taking ii. 16; xvi. 25; 2 Tim. iL 8). Among the into considemtion, pcrho.ps, the prejudice Gentiles ( lv To,s iOv,rr,); olluding to the entertained ag11inet him at J erue11lem, not complexion of his doctrine o.s bearing upon only, as Christ had himself intimo.ted to him, the 11ccept11nce of Gentiles before God simply by the unbelieving Jews (Acts :xxii. 18), upon their faith in Christ (et'. Eph. lii. I, but, o.s Jamee later on confessed, by even 6, 8). But privo.tely (1e<&T' llilav Ii,). The the members of the Church itself (Acts phro.se, /CaT' l6iav, occurs sixteen times besi,le~ xxi. 21 ; comp. on both points, Rom. :xvi. 31), in the New Test11ment, o.lwriys in the se1Jst1 felt at first eome hesitation in accepting the of privately, apart (of. e.g. Murk iv. 3!; vi. commission ; wo.s ho by going likely to for- 31, 32; vii. 33; ix. 2, 28). To them whioh ward their views ?-but th11t his hesitation were of repute.tion (ro,s /io1eoii,n); them who was overruled by Obrist himself, who in were of repute; men eminent in repute o.nd eome way revealed to him tho.t it was hie position. The phrase, o/ ao1eoiivTes, was used will th11t he should go. Similarly, when in this sense both in clo.ssieo.l Greek an,! in vi•itiug J erus11lem for the first time after the later "common ditllecL" (Eurip., 'Hee.,' his conversion, his ho.ety dep11rture from the 2\H ; • He1·110I.,' 897 ; ' Troad.,' 6 I7 ; ' Horo- city is 11ttributed by St. Luke to the care of diun,' vi. 1). There is no reasoll to suppose the disciples for his safoty (Acts i:x. 25); that thore ie any tone of dispomgement in whereas St. Po.ul, in his epoech from the the phraso, 11e ir tho persons spokeu o~ 11te.irs, ascribes it to u." trnucc," iu wl,ich tbo "aeowcd" to be wore thnn they re11lly werti. 70 THE EPISTLE TO THE GALA'l'IANS. [CHIU, l-:-,21,