The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 55

answering to l-ylv,.-o JJlfJa.ins in the former the gospel in its living power on the souls of verse) unto 118 by them that heard (i.e. men, and its results in the world before our by the apostles and others who knew Christ eyes•. It f.s thus that ?ur faith is strength- in the flesh). Here the writer ranks himself ened 1n the sal vat1on at first spoken among those who he.d not heard Christ him- through the Lord, and confirmed to us by self: his doing which has been considered them that h~rd." Four expressions are to afford a presumption against St. Paul need for the muacnlous accompaniments of having been the writer. For, though not an the first preaching of the gospel, denoting, eye-witness of Christ's ministry, he is in the apparently, not so much different classes of habit elsewhere of insisting strongly on his miracles, o.s different ways of regardin"' having received his "knowledge of the them. They were (1) aigns ( 1111µiia.), attesting mystery," not from men or through men, the truth of what was preached ; (2) wonders but by direct revelation from the ascended (.-,pa..-a.), something out of the common Saviour ( cf. Gal. i. 1, 12). Still, he does not course of things, arresting attention ; (3) deny elsewhere that for the facts of Christ's divers powers ( 1ro11cl71.a., ivvc!µ<« ), varying history he was indebted to the testimony of manifestations of a Divine power at work; others (cf. 1 Oor. xv. 3, etc.). It was rather (4) distributions of the Holy Ghost (nv,uµ,fro• the meaning of the mystery that he had li-ylov µ•p«Tµo(), gifts of the Spirit to indi- learnt from heaven. vidual Christians apportioned variously-the Ver. 4.-God also bearing them witness ; last expression having especial reference to rather, God attuting with them. The word the xa.p(<Tµa.Ta. of the apostolic Church, so is ov11•1r1µa.p.-vpovJn'os, a double compound, often alluded to in St. Paul's Epistles. The meaning to attest jointly with others. The phrase, with that which follows, according idea is that the hearers of" the Lord" testi- to his own will, is peculiarly Pauline, o.nd fied, and God attested their testimony by confirms the conclusion that the writer, the signs that accompanied their ministry. though not necosBArily St. Paul himself, wo.s The passage is instructive 68 expressing the at any rate one of the circle influenced by grounds of acceptance of the gospel. Its bis teaching. truth was already "con.firmed" to believers Ver. 5.-Here the second division of the by the testimony of unimpeachable wit- first section of the argument, according to nesses to that which, so attested, carried the summary given above (eh. i. 2), begins. with it its own evidence. But the signs at- But it is also connected logico.lly with the tending the apostolio ministry were granted interposed exhortation, the sequence of for further attestation. Thus " signs and thought b~ing as follows : " How she.II we wonders,'' the craving for which as 11 con- esoo.pe, if we neglect so groat salvation?"- dition of belief was so condemned by our l!'or (as an additional reason) not to angels Lord, have their true evidential value (but to the Son, ns will be seen) did he assigned them. They did not furnish the (God) nbject the world to oome, whereof we origin11l basis of belief, whioh rested on speak, "The world to come (,i oi1eovµ,vr, Christ himself, his Person, and his work, 68 ,/ µt71.71.ov<Ta.)" must be understood, in accord- unimpeachably attested. They oame in only ance with what has been said above in ex- as suitable aocompaniments of a Divine planation of" the last of these days" (eh. i. dispensation, and 68 additional oonfuma- J ), as referring to the age of the Messie.h's tions. The apologists of the last generation kingdom foretold in propheoy. The word were given to rest the evidenoe of Chris- µ171.71.ov<Ta.11 does not in itself necesso.rily tianity too exolusively on miracles. The imply futurity from the writer's standpoint, tendenoy of the present 11ge is to dwell though, according to what was said above, rothor on its intemo.l evidence, and, so far the complete fulfilmont of the prophetic ns it can be done, to explain away the anticipation is to bo looked for in tho secon,l miracles. 'fhey are not to be explained ndvent, whatever earnest and foretaste of it away, having been, as has been said, fitting there may be nlready under the gospel dis- accompaniments and confl..rmations of such a pensntion. The word oi1eovµl1171v (sub -y~,v) dispensation as the gospel was. But to us, is the same as was used ( eh. i. 6) in refer- as well as to those early believers, they are enoe to the Son's advent, denoting the sphere not the first or main ground of our belief. of created things over which he should To us, as to them, Christ and his gospel, reign. And it is suitably used here with a testified to as they a.re by" them that beard," view to the coming quotation from Ps. viii., are their own suffioient evidence. Indeed, in which the primary idea is man's supre- the cogency of the "signs" in the way of macy over the inhabited globe. The whole evidence is lees now than formerly, since phrase mo.y bo taken to express the so.me they too have now passed into the category idea ns the " now h011vene and a new earth, of things that rest on testimony. The evi- wherein dwelleth righteousness" ( cf. 2 Pet, dential counterpart to them in our c11se ie iii. 13). the continued attestation whioh God gives to Ver. 6.-But one in a oertain plaoe (or,  THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. [cu. u. 1-18.