The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Peter — Section 180

tho Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon sciousnes~ of epirilnal knowledue anrl hiuh you. 'fhe form oftho eentenco in the Greek is spiritual dignity exposed Christians to tlio unusual. Some regnrcl the first clnuse, To Tijr same temptation. Hilgenfeld sees here nri 8&!11r, os o periphroeis for B&~a, and translate, allusion 1<? 'frajan's laws a:;ainst informers, "For glory nnd the Spirit of God resteth o.nd uses 1t as an argum8nt for his theory upon you." But there is no other instance of the late date of this Epistle. of euch B periphrasis in the New Testament Ver. 16.-Yet if any man suffer as a (Winer, iii. 18. 3); it is better to supply Chrbtian. The worrl "Christian" occurs 1rveup.a. l\Ien revile them, but God glorilidh only tl!ree times in the New Testament- them. The Spirit of glory, the Spirit which twice in the Acts of the Ap,,stlcs (xi. 2G; halh the glorious attributes of God, the xxvi. 28), and here. "The disciples wn" Spirit which proceerleth from the Father called Chri~tians first in A:11ioch." They who dwelleth in the glory, in the Shechinoh, were originally described among-st them- -that Spirit restcth upon them, and shecls selves a~ "the disciples," H the brtthren," on them the glory of holy suffering, the glory "the believers,"" the eket," or" the saints;" which hung ol'Ound the cross of Christ. by the Jews they were ca11ed "the Na- 'l'wo of tile most ancient manuscript8, with zarenes" (Acts xxiv. 5), as still in Moham- some others, insert the words Kai Buv&.p.eo,r, medan countries. The name was probal,ly " the Spirit of glory, and of power, an,! of invrnted by the heathen, and nacd at first God." 'fhe Spirit is power from on high as a term of ckrision; there is something of (Luke xxiv. {9). (For "resteth," comp. scorn in Agrippa's use of it. It did not at lsa. xi. 2.) 'Eir( with the accusative suggests once become common among the disciples the thought of the Spirit descending upon of the LorJ. St. Peter (wl,o preached at them and resting there (comp. John i. 32, Antioch (Gal. ii. 11), and is said to have 33). The Spirit abides upon those who been Bishop of Antioch) is the only ei>cred patiently suffer for Cllrist. On their part ha writer who a.clopts it instead of the older is evil spoken of, but on your part he is names, anrl that only once, and in con- glorified. These words are not found in the 11ection with threatened persecution. St. most ancient manuscripts, and a.re probably James may possibly allucle to it in ii. 7. e. gloss, but a true one. Those who reviled But it was not commonly used nmon~ the suffering Christiane really blasphemed believers till after New Testament time; the Holy Spirit of God, by whom they were Then they began to discern its admirable strengthened; the Holy Spirit was glol'ificu euitahleness. It reminded them that the by their patient endurance. centrn of their religion was not a sy8tem of Ver. 15.-But let none of you suffer as a. doctrines, but 11 Per:ion, and that Person the murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil-doer ; Messiah, the Anointed of God. 'l'he literally, for let none of you. etc. They a.re Hebrew origin of the word, tile Greek blessed who suffer in the Name of Christ, dross, tile Latin termination, seemed to because they belong to Christ : for it is not point, like tile threefolil inscription on the the suffering which brings the blessedness, cross, to tho universalitv of Christ's re- but the cause, the faith and palience with ligion - to ite empire, first over all the which the suffering is borne. The word civilized nations, and through them, by for" evil-doer,"KaKo,roa&r, ie used by St. Pckr continually increasing triumphs, over the in two other places (eh. ii. l'l and 14). Cllris- whole worlu. It reminded them that they tions were ~poken against as evil-doerd ; too were anointed, that they had an they must be very careful to preserve th•ir unction from the Holy One. Its very cor- purity, and to suffer, if need be, not for ruption through heothen ignorance, Chres- evil-doing, but for well-doing (eh. iii. 17). tian from XP'1tr'Tor, good (tbe Sinaitio lfonu- Or as a busybody in other men's matters. ecript hns XP11<T'T&a.vc/, in this place) had its This clause represents one Greek word, a.>..>.o- lesson-it spoke of sweetness nnd of good- .,.p10nriu1to1ros; it n1eans on l1rlcnco1ros, in- ness. See the oft-quoted passage from spector, overseer (" bishop" ie the modern Tertu!liau : "Sed quurn et perperaru Chres- form of the word), of other men's matters- tiani nuncupamur a vobis (nnm nee nominis of things that do not concern him. St. certa est notitia penes vos) de snnvitote et Peter ueee the word J1ritr1<01ror only once benignitate compositum est." Let him not (eh. ii. 25), where he describes Christ as be e.shc.me:i; but let him glorify God on this the Bishop of our souls. It cannot Le behalf. The best-supported reading is ,v taken here in itd ecclesiastica.J sense, "let 'Ttp ov&p.a'TI 'TOltT'!'- This may be understood no me.n suffer e.s a bi,;hop in matter11 which as an idi01u, in the snme sense ae the reaJing do not concern him; but if as a Christian of the Authorized Version ; but it hi lletter to (bishop), Jet him not be ashamed." 'l'he translate it litere.lly, in thia name, i.e. either Jews were often accused of constituting the name of Christ, or (more proh.tbly, per- themselves judges nnd meddling in other haps) tbat of Christian. The heathen blas- men'11 matters; it may bo tht\t the con- pbemcrl that worlhy Nnwe; sufforiug Ch.ris-  li6 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PE'l'ER. [cH. 1v. 1-19.