God, being put to a death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit;
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison:6
soul appertaining to his human nature, to raise him up from the dead, any more than there is such a power in any other human soul. That power does not belong to a human soul in any of its relations or conditions. (2.) It seems equally clear that this does not refer to the Holy Spirit, or the Third Person of the Trinity, for it maybe doubted whether the work of raising the dead is any where ascribed to that Spirit. His peculiar province is to enlighten, awaken, convict, convert, and sanctify the soul; to apply the work of redemption to the hearts of men, and to lead them to God. This influence is moral, not physical: an influence accompanying the truth, not the exertion of mere physical power. (3.)It remains, then, thatthe reference is to his own divine nature— a nature by which he was restored to life after he was crucified— to the Son of God, regarded as the Second Person of the Trinity. This appears, not only from the facts above stated, but also (a) from the connection. It is stated that it was in or by this Spirit that he went and preached in the days of Noah. But it was not his Spirit as a man that did this, for his human soul had then no existence. Yet it seems that he did this personally or directly, and not by the influences of the Holy Spirit, for it is said that "he went and preached." The reference, therefore, can not be to the Holy Ghost, and the fair conclusion is that it refers to his divine nature. (&) This accords with what the apostle Paul says (Rom. i. 3, 4): " Which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh" — that is, in respect to his human nature — "and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness" — that is, in respect to his divine nature— "by the resurrection from the dead. ' ' See Notes on that passage, (c) It accords with what the Saviour himself says (John x. 17, 18): " I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and 1 have power to take it again." This must refer to his divine nature, for it is impossible to conceive that a human soul shouldhavethepower of restoring its former tenement, the body, to life. See Notes on the passage. The conclusion, then, to which we have come, is that the passage means that, as a mau, a human being, he was put to death; in respect to ahigher nature, or by a higher nature, here denominated Spirit (Uvtvfia), he was restored to life. As a man, he died; as the incarnate Son of God, the Messiah, he was made alive again by the power of his own divine Spirit, and exalted to heaven. Comp. Robinson's Lex. on the word Hvtv/ma, C.
19. By which. Evidently by the Spirit referred to in the previous verse — lv u»— the divine nature of the Son of God; that by which he was " quickened" again after he had been put to death; the Son of God regarded as a divine being, or in that same nature which afterward became incarnate, and whose agency was employed in quickening the man Christ Jesus, who had been put to death. The meaning is, that the same " Spirit" which was efficacious in restoring him to life, after he was put to death, was that by which he preached to the spirits in prison. 1 He went. To wit, in the days of Noah. No particular stress should be laid here on the phrase " he went." The literal sense is, " he having gone, preached," etc. — iropEv^th. It is well known that such expressions are often redundant in Greek writers, as in others. So Herodotus: "To these things they spake, saying'1'' — for they said. ' ' An d he, speaking, said;' ' that is, he said. So Eph. ii. 17: " And came and preached peace," etc. Matt, ix. 13: "But go and learn what that meaneth," etc. So God is often represented as coming, as descending, etc., when he brings a message to mankind. Thus Gen. xi. 5: " The Lord came down to see the city and the tower." Exod. xix. 20: " The Lord came down upon Mount Sinai." Numb. xi. 25: "The Lord came down in a cloud." 2 Sam. xxii. 10: "He bowed the heavens, and came down.'''' The idea, however, would be conveyed by this language that he did this personally, or by himself, and not merely by employing the agency of another. It would then be implied here that, though the instrumentality of Noah was employed, yet that it was done not by the Holy Spirit, but by him who "afterward beeame incarnate. On the supposition, therefore, that this whole passage refers to his preaching to the antediluvians in the time of Noah, and not to the "spirits" after they were confined in prison, this is language which the apostle would have properly and probably used. If that supposition meet the full force of the language, then no argument can be based on it in proof that he went to preach to them after their death, and while his body was lying in the grave, f And preached. The word used here {kiv'ipv^iv) is of a general character, meaning to make a proclamation of any kind, as a crier does, or, to deliver a message, and does not necessarily imply that it was the Gospel which was preached, nor does it determine any thing in regard to the nature of the message. It is not affirmed that he preached the Gospel, for if that specific idea had been expressed it would have been rather by another word— suayytXi^w. The word here used would be appropriate to such a message as Noah brought to his contemporaries, or to any communication which God makes to men. See Matt. iii. 1; iv. 17; Mark i. 35; v. 20; vii. 36. It is implied in the expression, as already remarked, that he did this himself; that it was the same Son of God who subsequently became incarnate, and not the Holy Spirit, that did this; though the language is consistent with the supposition that he did it by the instrumentality of another, to wit, Noah. Qui facit per alium, facit per se. God himself really proclaims a message to mankind when he does it by the instrumentality of prophets or apostles, or other ministers of religion; and all that is necessarily implied in this language would be met by the supposition that Christ delivered a message to the antediluvian race by the agency of Noah. No argument, therefore, can be derived from this language to prove that Christ went and personally preached to those who were confined in Hades or in prison. U Unto the spirits in prison. That is, clearly, to the spirits now in prison, for this is the fair meaning of the passage. The obvious sense is, that Peter supposed that there were " spirits in prison" at the time when he wrote, and that to those same spirits the Son of God had atsome time " preached," or hadmade some proclamation respecting the will of God. As this is the only passage in the New Testament on which the Romish doctrine of purgatory is supposed to rest, it is important to ascertain the fair meaning of the language here employed. There are three obvious inquiries in ascertaining its signification. Who are referred to by spirits? What is meant by in prison? Was the message brought to them while in the prison, or at some previous period? It Who are referred to by spirits? The specification in the next verse determines this. They where those " who were sometime disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah." No others are specified; and if it should be maintained that this means that he went down to hell, or to Sheol, and preached to those who are confined there, it could be inferred from this passage only that he preached to that portion of the lost spirits confined there which belonged to the particular generation in which Noah lived. Why he should do this, or how there should be such a separation made in Hades that it could be done, or what was the nature of the message which he delivered to that portion, are questions which it is impossible for any man who holds to the opinion that Christ went down to hell after "his death to preach to answer. But if it mean that he preached to those who lived in the days of Noah, while they were yet alive, the question will be asked, Why are they called "spirits?" Were they spints then, or were they men like others? To this the answer is easy. Peter speaks of them as they were when he wrote; not as they had been, or were at the time when the message was preached to them. The idea is, that to those spirits then in prison who had formerly lived in the days of Noah, the message had been in fact delivered. It was not necessary to speak of them precisely as they were at the lime when it was delivered, but only in such a way as to identify them. We should use similar language now. If we saw a company of men in prison who had seen better days —a multitude now drunken and debased and poor and riotous — it would not be improper to say that "the prospect of wealth and honor was once held out to this rugged and wretched multitude." All that is needful is to identify them as the same persons who once had this prospect. In regard to the inquiry, then, who these "spirits" were, there can be no difference of opinion. They were that ivicked race which lived in the days of Noah. There is no allusion in this passage to any other; there is no intimation that to any others of those "in prison" the message here referred to had been delivered. II. What is meant by prison here? Purgatory, or the limbus patrum, say the Romanists — a place in which departed souls are supposed to be confined, and in which their final destiny may still be affected by the purifying fires which they endure, by the prayers of the living, or by a message in some way conveyed to their gloomy abodes— by means of which such sins may be expiated as do not deserve eternal damnation. The Syriac here is "i?i Sheol," referring to the abodes of the dead, or the place in which departed spirits are supposed to dwell. The word rendered prison ((pvXaKij) means properly watch, guard — the act of keeping watch, or the guard itself; then watch-post, or station; then a place where any one is watched or guarded, as a prison; then a watch in the s^nse of a division of the night, as the morning watch. It is used in the New Testament, with reference to the future world, only in the following places: 1 Pet. ill. 19: " Preached unto the spirits in prison;" and Rev. xx. 7: "Satan shall be loosed out of his prison." An idea similar to the one here expressed may be found in 2 Pet. ii. 4, though the word prison does not there occur: "God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them unto chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;" and in Jude 6: "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day." The allusion, in the passage before us, is undoubtedly td confinement or imprisonment in the invisible world; and perhaps to those who are reserved there with reference to some future arrangement — for this idea enters commonly into the use of the word prison. There is, however, no specification of the place where this is; no intimation that it is purgatory — a place where the departed are supposed to undergo purification; no intimation that their condition can be affected by any thing that we can do; no intimation that those particularly referred to differ in any sense from ttfe others who are confined in that world; no hint that they can be released by any prayers or sacrifices of ours. This passage, therefore, can not be adduced to support the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory, for (1) The essential ideas which enter into the doctrine of purgatory are not to be found in the word here used; (2.) There is no evidence in the fair interpretation of the passage that any message is borne to them while in prison; (3.) There is not the slightest hint that they can be released by any prayers or offerings of those who dwell on the earth. The simple idea is that of persons confined as in a prison; and the passage will prove only that in the time when the apostle wrote there were those who were thus confined. III. Was the message brought to them while in prison, or at some previous period? The Romanists say that it was while in prison; that Christ, after he was put to death in the body, was still kept alive in his spirit, and went and proclaimed his Gospel to those who were in prison. So Bloomfield maintains {inloc.\ and so G^cumenius and Cyril, as quoted by Bloomfield. But against this view there are plain objections drawn from the language of Peter himself. (1.) As we have seen, the fair interpretation of the passage "quickened by the Spirit," is not that he was kept alive as to his human soul, but that he, after being dead, was made alive by his own divine energy. (2.) If the meaning be that he went and preached after his death, it seems difficult to know why the reference is to those only who "had been disobedient in the days of Noah." Why were they alone selected for this message? Are they separate from others? Were they the only ones in purgatory who could be beneficially affected by his preaching? On the other method of interpretation, we can suggest a reason why they were particularly specified. But how can we on this? (3.) The language employed does not demand this interpre-
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once* the longsuffering of God waited in the
days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water.
tation. Its full meaning is met by the interpretation that Christ once preached to the spirits then in prison, to wit, in the days of Noah; that is, that he caused a divine message to be borne to them. Thus it would be proper to say "that Whiten* eld came to America, and preached to the souls in perdition;" or to go among the graves of the first settlers of New Haven, and say, "Davenport came from England to preach to the dead men around us." (4.) This interpretation accords with the design of the apostle in inculcating the duty of submission under trials; in encouraging those whom he addressed to be patient in their persecutions. See the analysis of the chapter. With this object in view, there was entire propriety in directing them to the long-suffering and forbearance evinced by the Saviour, through Noah. lie was opposed, reviled, disbelieved, and, we may suppose, persecuted. It was to the purpose to direct them to the fact that he was saved as the result of his steadfastness to him who had commanded him to preach to that ungodly generation. But what pertinency would there have been in saying that Christ went down to hell, and delivered some sort of a message there, we know not what, to those who are confined there?
20. Which sometime were disobedient. Which were once, or formerly (ttote), disobedient*or rebellious. The language here does not 0iply that they had ceased to be disobedient, or that they had become obedient at the time when the apostle wrote; but the object is to direct the attention to a former race of men characterized by disobedience, and to show the patience evinced under their provocations in endeavoring to do them good. To say that men were formerly rebellious, or rebellious in a specified age, is no evidence that they are otherwise now. The meaning here is, that they did not obey the command of God when he called them to repentance by the preaching of Noah. Cornp. 2 Pet. ii. 5, where Noah is called "a preacher of righteousness." U When once the long-suffering of Ood waited in the days of Noah. God waited on that guilty race a hundred and twenty years (Gen. vi. 3), a period sufficiently protracted to evince his long- suffering toward one generation. It is not improbable that during that whole period Noah was in various ways preaching to that wicked generation. Comp. Notes on Heb. xi. 7. If While the ark was a preparing. It is probable that preparations were made for building the ark during a considerable portion of that time. St. Peter's, at Rome, was a much longer time in building; and it is to be remembered that in the age of the world when Noah lived, and with the imperfect knowledge of the arts of naval architecture which must have prevailed, it was a much more serious undertaking to construct an ark that would hold such a variety and such a number of animals as that was designed to, and that would float safely for more than a year in a universal flood, than it was to construct such a fabric as St. Peter's in the days when that edifice was reared. 1 W herein few, that is, eight souls. Eight persons, Noah and his wife, and his three sons and their wives. Gen. vii. 7. The design of this allusion to their being saved seems to be to encourage those whom Peter addressed to perseverance and fidelity in the midst of the opposition which they might experience. Noah was not disheartened. Sustained by the Spirit of Christ — the presence of the Son of God— he continued to preach. He did not abandon his purpose, and the result was that he was saved. True, they were few in number who were saved. The great mass continued to be wicked; but this very fact should be an encouragement to us — that though the great mass of any one generation may be wicked, God can protect and save the few who are faithful. If By water. They were borne up by the waters, and were thus preserved. The thought on which the apostle makes his remarks, and which leads him in the next verse to the suggestions about baptism, is, that water was employed in their preservation, or that they owed their safety in an important sense to that element. In
21 The like figure whereunto, even baptism, a doth also now save
us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer
like manner we owe our salvation, in an important sense, to -water; or there is an important agency which water is made to perform in our salvation. The apostle does not say that it was in the same way, or that the one was a type designed to represent the other, or even that the efficacy of water was in both cases the same; but he says that as Noah owed his salvation to water, so there is an important sense in which water is employed in ours. There is in certain respects — he does not say in all respects — a resemblance between the agency of water in the salvation of Noah, and the agency of water in our salvation. In both cases water is employed, though it may not be in the same manner, or with precisely the same efficacy.
21. The like figure whereunto, even baptism, doth also now save us. There are some various readings here in the Greek text, but the sense is not essentially varied. Some have proposed to read (a>) to wJiich, instead of (o) which, so as to make it mean, "the antetype to which — baptism — now also saves us." The antecedent to the relative, whichever word is used, is clearly not the ark, but water, and the idea is, that as Noah was saved by water, so there is a sense in which water is made instrumental in our salvation. The mention of water in the case of Noah, in connection with his being saved, by an obvious association suggested to the mind of the apostle the use of water in our salvation, and hence led him to make the remark about the connection of baptism with our salvation. The Greek word here rendered figure (avriTvirov), antetype, means properly resisting a blow or an impression (from di/xi and twos); that is, hard, solid. In the New Testament, however, it is used in a different sense, and (duTi) anti, in composition, implies resemblance, correspondence; and hence the word means formed after a type or model; like; corresponding; that which corresponds to a type. Rob., Lex. The word occurs only in this place and Heb. ix. 24, rendered figures. The meaning here is, that baptism corresponds to, or has a resemblance to, the water bv which Noah was saved; or that there is a use of water in the one case which corresponds in some respects to the water that was used in the other, to wit, in effecting salvation. The apostle does not say that it corresponds in all respects: in respect, for example, to quantity, or to the manner of the application, or to the efficacy; but there is a sense in which water'performs an important part in our salvation, as it did in his. ^[ Baptism. Not the mere application of water, for that idea the apostle expressly disclaims when he says that it involves not " the putting away the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God." The sense is that baptism, including all that is properly meant by baptism as a religious rite — that is, baptism administered in connection with true repentance, and true faith in the Lord Jesus, and as a symbol of the putting away of sin, and of the renewing influences of the Holy Spirit, and as an act of unreserved dedication to God — now saves us. On the meaning of the word baptism, see Notes on Matt. iii. 6. H Doth also now save us. The water saved Noah and his family from perishing in the flood by bearing up the ark. Baptism, in the proper sense of the term, as above explained, where the water used is a symbol, in like manner now saves us; that is, the wrater is an emblem of that purifying by which we are saved. It may be said to save us, not as the meritorious cause, but as the indispensable condition of s^vation. No man can be saved without that regenerated and purified heart of which baptism is the appropriate symbol, and when it would be proper to administer that ordinance. The apostle can not have meant that water saves us in the same way in which it saved Noah, for that can not be true. It is neither the same in quantity, nor is it applied in the same manner, nor is it efficacious in the same way. It is indeed connected with our salvation in its own proper wray, as an emblem of that purifying of the heart by which we are saved. Thus it corresponds with the salvation of Noah by water, and is the (avTiTvirov) antetype of that. Nor does it mean that the salvation of Noah by water was designed to be a type of Christian baptism. There is not the least evidence of this; and it should not be affirmed without proof. The apostle saw a resemblance in some respects between the one and the other; such a resemblance that the one naturally suggested the other to his mind, and the resemblance was so important as to make it a proper ground of remark. The points of resemblance in the two cases seem to have been these: (1.) There was salvation in both; Noah was saved from death, and we from hell. (2.) Water is employed in both cases — in the case of Noah to uphold the ark; in ours to be a symbol of purification. (3.) The water in both cases is connected with salvation: in the case of Noah by sustaining the ark; in ours by being a symbol of salvation, of purity, of cleansing, of that by which we may be brought to God. The meaning of this part of the verse, therefore, may be thus expressed: "Noah and his family were saved by water, the antetype to which (to wit, that which in important respects corresponds to that) — baptism (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, or the mere application of material water, but that purifying of the heart of which it is the appropriate emblem) — now saves us." H Not the putting away of the filth of the flesh. Not a mere external washing, however solemnly done. No outward ablution or purifying saves us but that which pertains to the conscience. This important clause is thrown in to guard the statement from the abuse to which it would otherwise be liable, the supposition that baptism has of itself a purifying and saving power. To guard against this, the apostle expressly declares that he means much more than a mere outward application of water. If But the answer of a good conscience toward God. The word here rendered answer {kiripuiT^fxa) means properly a question, an inquiry. It is "spoken of a question put to a convert at baptism, or rather of the whole process of question and answer; that is, by implication,exami?iation,professio?i. ' ' — Rob., Lex. It is designed to mark the spiritual character of the baptismal rite in contrast with a mere external purification, and evidently refers to something that occurred at baptism: some question, inquiry, or examination, that took place then; and it would seem to imply (1) that when baptism was performed, there was some question or inquiry in regard to the belief of the candidate; (2) that an answer was expected implying that there was a good conscience — that is, that the* candidate had an enlightened conscience, and was sincere in his profession; and (3) that the real efficacy of baptism, or its power in saving, was not in the mere external rite, but in the state of the heart, indicated by the question and answer, of which that was the emblem. On the meaning of the phrase "a good conscience, see Notes on ver. 16 of this chapter. Comp. on this verse, Neander, Geschich. der Pflanz. u. Leit. dei' chr. Kirche, p. 203 seq., in Bibl. Mepos., iv., 272 seq. It is in the highest degree probable that questions would be proposed to candidates for baptism respecting their belief, and we have an instance of this fact undoubtedly in the case before us. How extensive such examinations would be; what points would be embraced; how much reference there was to personal experience, we have, of course, no certain means of ascertaining. We may suppose, however, that the examination pertained to what constituted the essential doctrines of the Christian religion, as distinguished from other systems, and to the cordial belief of that system by the candidate. If By the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is, we are saved in this manner through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The entire efficiency in the case is derived from that. If he had not been raised from the dead, baptism would have been vain, and there would have been no power to save us. See this illustrated at length in the Notes on Rom. vi. 4, 5. The points, therefore, which are established in regard to baptism by this important passage are these: (1.) That Christian baptism is not a mere external rite; a mere outward ablution; a mere application of water to the body. It is not contemplated that it shall be an empty form, and its essence does not consist in a mere " putting away of the filth of the flesh." There is a work to be done in respect to the conscience which can not be reached by the application of water. (2.) That there was an examination among the early Christians when a candidate was about to be of a good conscience "toward God), by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
22 Who is gone into heaven, and
is on the right hand of God; angels b and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
baptized, and of course such an examination is proper now. JVhatever was the ground of the examination, it related to that which existed before the baptism was administered. It was not expected that it should be accomplished by the baptism. There is, therefore, implied evidence here that there was no reliance placed on that ordinance to produce that which constituted the "answer of a good conscience;" in other words, that it was not supposed to have an efficacy to produce that of itself, or was not a converting or regenerating ordinance. (3.) The "answer" which was returned in the inquiry was to be such as indicated a good conscience; that is, as Bloomfield expresses it (New Test., in loc), " that which enables us to return such an answer as springs from a good conscience toward God, which can be no other than the inward change and renovation wrought by the Spirit." It was supposed, therefore, that there would be an internal work of grace; that there would be much more than an outward rite in the whole transaction. The application of water is, in fact, but an emblem or symbol of that grace in the heart, and is to be administered as denoting that. It does not convey grace to the soul by any physical efficacy of the water. It is a symbol of the purifying influences of religion, and is made a means of grace in the same wray as obedience to any other of the commands of God. (4.) There is no efficacy in the mere application of water in any form, or with any ceremonies of religion, to put away sin. It is the " good conscience," the renovated heart, the purified soul, of which baptism is the emblem, that furnishes evidence of the divine acceptance and favor. Comp. Heb. ix. 9, 10. There must be a deep internal work on the soul of man in order that he may be acceptable to God, and when that is wanting no external rite is of any avail. Yet (5) it does not follow from this that baptism is of no importance. The argument of the apostle here is, that it is of great importance. Noah was saved by water; and so baptism has an important connection with our salvation. As water bore up the ark, and was the means of saving Noah, so baptism by water is the emblem of our salvation, and when administered in connection with a "good conscience," that is, with a renovated heart, it is as certainly connected with our salvation as the sustaining waters of the flood were with the salvation of Noah. No man can prove from the Bible that baptism has no important connection with salvation; and no man can prove that by neglecting it he will be as likely to obtain the divine favor as he would by observing it. It is a means of exhibiting great and important truths in an impressive manner to the soul; it is a means of leading the soul to an entire dedication to a God of purity; it.is a means through wrhich God manifests himself to the soul, and through which he imparts grace as he does in all other acts of obedience to his commandments.
22. Who is gone into heaven. See Notes on Acts i. 9. If And is on the right hand of God. See Notes on Mark xvi. 19. H Angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. See Notes on Eph. i. 20, 21. The reason why the apostle here adverts to the fact that the Lord Jesus is raised up to the right hand of God, and is so honored in heaven, seems to have been to encourage those to whom he wrote to persevere in the service of God, though they were persecuted. The Lord Jesus was in like manner persecuted. He was reviled and rejected and put to death. Yet he ultimately triumphed. He was raised from the dead, and was exalted to the highest place of honor in the universe. Even so they, if they did not faint, might hope to come off in the end triumphant. As Noah, who had been faithful and steadfast when surrounded by a scoffing, world, was at last preserved by his faith from ruin; and as the Redeemer, though persecuted and put to death, was at last exalted to the right hand of God, so would it be with them if they bore their trials patiently, and did not faint or fail in the persecutions which they endured.
In view of the exposition in vs. 1 and 2, we may remark, (1) that it is our duty to seek the conversion and salvation of our impenitent relatives and friends. All Christians have relatives and friends who are impenitent; it is a rare thing that some of the members of their own families are not so. In most families, even Christian families, there is a husband or a wife, a father or a mother, a son or daughter, a brother or sister, who is not converted. To all such, they who are Christians owe important duties, and there is none more important than that of seeking their conversion. That this is a duty is clearly implied in this passage in reference to a wife, and for the same reason it is a duty In reference to all other persons. It may be further apparent from these considerations: (a) It is an important part of the business of all Christians to seek the salvation of others. This is clearly the duty of ministers of the Gospel; but it is no less the duty of all who profess to be followers of the Saviour, and to take him as their example and guide. Comp. James v. 19, 20. (6) It is a duty peculiarly devolving on those who have relatives who are unconverted, on account of the advantages which they have for doing it. They are with them constantly; they have their confidence and affection; they can feel more for them than any one else can; and if they are not concerned for their salvation, they can not hope that others will be. (c) It is not wholly an improper motive to seek their salvation from the happiness which it would confer on those who are already Christians. It is not improper that a wife should be stimulated to desire the conversion of her husband from the increased enjoyment which she would have if her husband were united with her in the same hope of heaven, and from the pleasure which it would give to enjoy the privilege of religious worship in the family, and the aid which would be furnished in training up her children in the Lord. A Christian wife and mother has important duties to perform toward her children; it is not improper that in performing those duties she should earnestly desire the co-operation of her partner in life.
(2.) Those who have impenitent husbands and friends should be en-
| couraged in seeking their conversion. It is plainly implied (vs. 1, 2) that it; was not to be regarded as a hopeless i thing, but that in all cases they were to regard it as possible that unbelieving husbands might be brought to the knowledge of the truth. If this is true of 7iusbands, it is no less true of other friends. We should never despair of the conversion of a friend as long as life lasts, however far he may be from the path of virtue and piety. The grounds of encouragement are such^as these: (a) You have an influence over them which no other one has, and that influence may be regarded as capital, which will give you great advantages in seeking their conversion. (&) You have access to them when their minds are most open to serious impressions. Every man has times when he may be approached on the subject of religion: when he is pensive and serious; when he is disappointed and sad; when the affairs of this world do not go well with him, and his thoughts are drawn along to a better. There are occasions in the life of every man when he is ready to open his mind to a friend on the subject of religion, and when he would be glad of a word of friendly counsel and encouragement. It is much to have access to a man at such times. (c) If all the facts were known which have occurred, there would be no lack of encouragement to labor for the conversion of impenitent relatives and friends. Many a husband owes his salvation to the persevering solicitude and prayers of a wife; many a son will enter heaven because a mother never ceased to pray for his salvation, even when to human view there seemed no hope of it.
(3.) We may learn (vs. 1, 2) what are the principal means by which we are to hope to secure the conversion and salvation of impenitent friends. It is to be mainly by a pure life, by a holy walk, by a consistent example. Conversation, properly so called,* is not to be regarded as excluded from those means, but the main dependence is to be on a holy life. This is to be so because (a) most persons form their notions of religion from what they see in the lives of its professed friends. It is not so much what they hear in the pulpit, for they regard preaching as a mere professional business by which a man gets a living; not so much by books in defense and explanation of religion, for they seldom or never read them; not so much by what religion enabled the martyrs to do, for they may have scarcely heard the names of even the most illustrious of the martyrs; but it is by what they see in the walk and conversation of those who profess to be Christians, especially of those who are their near relations. The husband is forming his views of religion constantly from what he sees on the brow and in the eye of his professedly Christian wife; the brother from what he sees in his sister; the child from what he sees in the parent, (b) Those who profess to be Christians have an opportunity of showing the power of religion in a way which is superior to any abstract argument. Keligion controls their temper; it makes them kind and gentle; it sustains them in trial; it prompts them to deeds of benevolence; it disposes them to be contented, to be forgiving, to be patient in the reverses of life. Every one may thus be always doing something to make an impression favorable to religion on the minds of others. Yet it is also true that much may be done and should be done for the conversion of others by conversation, properly so called, or by direct address and appeal. There is nothing, however, which requires to be managed with more prudence than conversation with those who are not Christians, or than any direct efforts to lead them to attend to the subject of religion. In regard to this it may be observed, (a) That it does no good to be always talking with them. Such a course only produces disgust. (6) It does no good to talk to them at unseasonable and improper times. If they are specially engaged in their business, and would not like to be interrupted — if they are in company with strangers, or even with their family — it does little good to attempt a conversation with them. It is "the word that is fitly spoken that is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." Pro v. xxv. 11. (c) It does no good to scold them on the subject of religion, with a view to make them Christians, for in such a case you show a spirit the very reverse of that religion which you are professedly endeavoring to persuade them to embrace, (d) All conversation with impenitent sinners should be kind, tender, and respectful. It should be addressed to them when they will be disposed to listen; usually when they are alone; and especially when from trials or other causes they may be in such a state of mind that they will be willing to listen. It may be added that impenitent sinners are much more frequently in such a state of mind than most Christians suppose, and that they often wonder that their Christian friends do not speak to them about the salvation of the soul.
From the exposition given of the important verses 18-21, we may derive the following inferences:
(1.) The pre-existence of Christ. If he preached to the antediluvians in the time of Noah, he must have had an existence at that time.
(2.) His divinity. If he were "quickened" or restored to life by his own exalted nature, he must be divine; for there is no more inalienable attribute of the Deity than the power of raising the dead.
(3.) If Christ preached to the heathen world in the time of Noah, for the same reason it may be regarded as true that all the messages which are brought to men, calling them to repentance, in any age or country, are through him. Thus it was Christ who spake by the prophets and by the apostles; and thus he speaks now by his ministers.
(4.) If the interpretation suggested is well-founded, it takes away one of the strongest supports of the doctrine of purgatory. There is no stronger passage of the Bible in support of this doctrine than the one before us; and if this do not countenance it, it may be safely affirmed that it has not a shadow of proof in the sacred Scriptures.
(5.) It follows that there is no hope or prospect that the Gospel will be preached to those who are lost. This is the only passage in the Bible that could be supposed to teach such a doctrine; and if the interpretation above proposed be correct, this furnishes no ground of belief that if a man die impenitent he will ever be favored with another offer of mercy. This interpretation also accords with all the other representations in the Bible. "As the tree falleth, so it lies." "He that is holy, let him be holy still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still." All the rcpre- sentations In the Bible lead us to suppose that the eternal destiny of the soul after death is lixed, and that the only change which can ever occur in the future state is that which will be produced by development: the development of the principles of piety in heaven; the development ot the principles of evil in hell.
(6.) It follows that, if there is not a place of purgatory in the future world, there is a place of punishment. If the word prison, in the passage before us, do not mean purgatory, and do not refer to a detention with a prospect or possibility of release, it must refer to detention of another kind and for another purpose, and that can be only with reference "to the judgment of the great day." 2 Pet. ii. 14; Jude 6. From that gloomy prison there is no evidence that any have been or will be released.
(7.) Men should embrace the Gospel at once. Now it is offered to them; in the future world it will not be. But even if it could be proved that the Gospel would be offered to them in the future world, it would be better to embrace it now. Why should men go down to that world to suffer long before they become reconciled to God? Why choose to taste the sorrows of hell before they embrace the offers of mercy? Why go to that world of woe at all? Are men so in love with suffering and danger that they esteem it wise to go down to that dark prison-house, with the intention or the hope that the Gospel may be offered to them there, and that when there they may be disposed to embrace it? Even if it could be shown, therefore, that they might again hear the voice of mercy and salvation, how much wiser would it be to hearken to the voice now, and become reconciled to God here, and never experience in any way the pangs of the second death! But of any such offer of mercy in the world of despair the Bible contains no intimation, and he who goes to the eternal world unreconciled to God perishes forever. The moment when he crosses the line between time and eternity, he goes forever beyond the boundaries of hope.
This chapter relates principally to the manner in which those to whom the apostle wrote ought to bear their trials, and to the encouragements to a holy life notwithstanding their persecutions. He had commenced the subject in the preceding chapter, and had referred them particularly to the example of the Saviour. His great solicitude was, that if they suffered, it should not be for crime, and that their enemies should not be able to bring any well-founded accusation against them. He would have them pure and harmless; patient and submissive; faithful in the performance of their duties, and confidently looking forward to the time when they would be delivered. He exhorts them, therefore, to the following things: (a) To arm themselves with the same mind that was in Christ; to consider that the past time of their lives was enough for them to have wrought the will of the flesh; and to reflect that it was their duty to be separate from the world, in whatever way the world might regard their conduct — remembering that they who calumniated the,m must soon give account to God. Ver. 1-6. (b) He reminds them that the end of all things was at hand, and that it became them to be sober, and watch unto prayer. Ver. 7. (c) He exhorts them to the exercise of mutual love and hospitality—virtues eminently useful in a time of persecution and affliction. Vs. 8, 9. (d) He exhorts them to a performance of every duty with seriousness of manner and fidelity— whether it were in preaching or in dispensing alms to the poor and needy. Vs. 10, 11. (e) He tells them not to think it strange that they were called to pass through fiery trials, nor to suppose that any unusual thing had happened to them; reminds them that they only partook of Christ's sufferings, and that it was to be regarded as a favor if any one suffered as a Christian; and presses upon them the thought that they ought to be careful that none of them suffered for crime. Ver. 13-16. (/) He reminds them that the righteous would be saved with difficulty, and that the wicked would certainly be destroyed; and exhorts them, therefore, to commit the keeping of their souls to a faithlul Creator. Vs. 18, 19.
1. Forasmuch then as Christ hatJi suffered for us in the flesh. Since he as a man has died for us. See Notes on ch. iii. 18. The design was to set the
FORASMUCH then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: a for he * that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin:
2 That c he no longer should live the rest of his time in the* flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will
3 For d the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we
suffering Redeemer before them as an example in their trials. ^[ Arm yourselves likewise with the same mind. That is, evidently, the same mind that he evinced — a readiness to suffer in the cause of religion; a readiness to die as he had done. This readiness to suffer and die the apostle speaks of as armor, and having this is represented as being armed. Armor is put on for offensive or defensive purposes in war; and the idea of the apostle here is, that that state of mind in which we are ready to meet with persecution and trial, and in which we are ready to die, will answer the purpose of armor in engaging in the conflicts and strifes which pertain to us as Christians, and especially in meeting with persecutions and trials. We are to put on the same fortitude which the Lord Jesus had, and this will be the best defense against our foes, and the best security of victory. 1 For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. Comp. Notes on Rom. vi. 7. To " suffer in the flesh " is to die. The expression here has a proverbial aspect, and seems to have meant something like this: " When a man is dead, he will sin no more;" referring of course to the present life. So if a Christian become dead in a moral sense—dead to this world, dead by being crucified with Christ (see Notes on Gal. ii. 20) — he may be expected to cease from sin. The reasoning is based on the idea that there is such a union between Christ and the believer that his death on the cross secured the death of the believer to the world. Comp. 2 Tim. ii. 11; Col. ii. 20; iii. 3.
2. That he no longer should live. That is, he has become, through the death of Christ, dead to the world and to the former things which influenced him, in order that he should hereafter live not to the lusts of the flesh. See Notes on 2 Cor. v. 15. H The rest of his time in the flesh. The remainder of the time that he is to continue in the flesh; that is, that he is to live on the earth. If To the lusts of men. Such lusts as men commonly live for and indulge in. Some of these arc enumerated in the following verse. T[ But to the will of God. In such a manner as God commands. The object of redemption is to rescue us frombeingswayed by wicked passions, and to make us conformed wholly to the will of God.
3. For the time past of our life may suffice us. "We have spent sufficient time in indulging ourselves, and following our wicked propensities, and we should hereafter live in a different manner." This does not mean that it was ever proper thus to live, but that, as we would say, "we have had enough of these things; we have tried them; there is no reason why we should indulge in them any more." An expression quite similar to this occurs in Horace: " Lusisti satis,edisti satis, atque bibisti. Tcmpus abire tibi est," etc.— Epist. ii.,213. If To have wrought the will of the Gentiles. This does not mean to be subservient to their will, but to have done what they willed to do; that is, to live as they did. That the Gentiles or heathen lived in the manner immediately specified, see demonstrated in the Notes on Rom. i. 21-32. "[[ When we walked in lasciviousness. When we lived in the indulgence of corrupt passions—the word walk being often used in the Scriptures to denote the manner of life. On the word lasciviousness, see Notes on Rom. xiii. 13. The apostle says we, not as meaning that he himself had been addicted to these vices, but as speaking of those who were Christians in general. It is common to say that we lived so and so, when speaking of a collection of persons, without meaning that each one was guilty of all the practices enumerated. See Notes on 1 Thess. iv. 17 for a similar use of the word we. The use of the word we in this place would show that the apostle did not mean to set himself up ns better than they were, but was willing to be identified with them. ^ Lmts. The indulgence of unlawful desires. See Notes on Rom. i. 24. ^ JSxcess of wine. The word here used (oivod>\vyia) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It properly means overflowing of wine (oIt/09, wine, and tfrXvw, to overflow); then wine-drinking; drunkenness. That this was a common vice need not be proved. Multitudes of those who became Christians had been drunkards, for intemperance abounded in all the heathen world. Comp. 1 Cor. vi. 9-11. It should not be inferred here from the English translation, "excess of wine," that wine is improper only when used to excess, or that the moderate use of wine is proper. Whatever may be true on that point, nothing can be determined in regard to it from the use of this word. The apostle had his eye on one thing— on such a use of wine as led to intoxication; such as they had indulged in before their conversion. About the impropriety of that there could be no doubt. Whether any use of wine by Christians or other persons were lawful, was another question. It should be added, moreover, that the phrase " excess of wine " does not precisely convey the meaning of the original. The word excess would naturally imply something more than was needful; or something beyond the proper limit or measure; but no such idea is in the original word. That refers merely to the abundance of wine, without any reference to the inquiry whether there were more than was proper or not. Tindal renders it, somewhat better, drunkenness. So Luther, Trunkenheit. U Revelings. Rendered rioting in Rom. xiii. 13. See Notes on that verse. The Greek word (kwjuos) occurs only here and in Rom. xiii. 13, and* Gal. v. 21. It means feasting, revel; " a carousing or merrymaking after supper, the guests often sallying into the streets, and goingthrough the city with torches, music, and songs in honor of Bacchus," etc. — Robinson, Lex. The word would apply to all such noisy and boisterous processions now— scenes wholly inappropriate to the Christian. H Banquetings. The word here used (ttotos) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means properly drinking; an act of drinking; then a drinking bout;
drinking together. The thing forbidden by it is an assembling together for the purpose of drinking. There is nothing in this word referring to eating, or to banqueting, as the term is now commonly employed. The idea in the passage is that it is improper for Christians to meet together for the purpose of drinking — as wine, toasts, etc. The prohibition would apply to all those assemblages where this is understood to be the main object. It would forbid, therefore, an attendance on all those celebrations in which drinking toasts is understood to be an essential part of the festivities, and all those where hilarity and joyfulness are sought to be produced by the intoxicating bowl. Such are not proper places for Christians. H And abominable idolatries. Literally, unlawful idolatries; that is, unlawful to the Jews, or forbidden by their laws. Then the expression is used in the sense of wicked, impious, since what is unlawful is impious and wrong. That the vices here referred to were practiced by the heathen world is well known. See Notes on Rom. i. 26-31. That many who became Christians were guilty of them before their conversion is clear from this passage. The fact that they were thus converted shows the power of the Gospel, and also that we should not despair in regard to those who are indulging in these vices now. They seem, indeed, almost to be hopeless; but we should remember that many who became Christians when the Gospel was first preached, as well as since, were of this character. If they were reclaimed; if those who had been addicted to the gross and debasing vices referred to here were brought into the kingdom of God, we should believe that those who are living in the same manner now may also be recovered. From the statement made in this verse that " the time past of our lives may suffice to have wrought the will of the Gentiles," we may remark that the same may be said by "all Christians of themselves — the same thing is true of all who are living in sin. (1.) It is true of all who are Christians, and they feel it, that they lived long enough in sin. (a) They made a' fair trial— many of them with ample opportunities; with abundant wealth; with all that the fashionable world could furnish; with all that
walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil a of you.
could be derived from low and gross indulgences. Many who are now Christians had opportunities of living in splendor and ease; many moved in gay and brilliant circles; many occupied positions of influence, or had brilliant prospects of distinction; many gave indulgence to gross propensities; many were the companions of the vile and the abandoned. Those who are now Christians — take the Church at large — have had ample opportunity of making the fullest trial of what sin and the world can furnish. (&) They all feel that the past is enough for this manner of living. It is "sufficient" to satisfy them that the world can not impart what the soul demands. They need a better portion; and they can.now see that there is no reason why they should desire to continue the experiment in regard to what the world can give. On that unwise and wicked experiment they have expended time enough; and, satisfied with that, they desire to return to it no more. (2.) The same thing is true of the wicked— of all who are living for the world. The time past should be regarded as sufficient to make an experiment in sinful indulgences; for (a) the experiment has been made by millions before them, and has always failed, and they can hope to find in such pursuits only what has always been found — disappointment, mortification, and despair. (b) They have made a sufficient experiment. They have never found in those indulgences what they flattered themselves they would find, and they have seen enough to satisfy them that what the immortal soul needs can never be obtained there, (c) They have spent sufficient time in this hopeless experiment. Life is short. Man has no time to waste. He may soon die; and at whatever period of life any one may be who is living in sin, we may say to him that he has already wasted enough of life; that he has thrown away enough of probation in a fruitless attempt to find happiness where it can never be found. For any purpose whatever for which any one could suppose it to be desirable to live in sin the past should suffice. But why should it ever be deemed desirable at all? The fruits of sin are always disappointment, tears, death, despair.
4. Wherein they think it strange. In respect to which vices they who were once your partners and accomplices now think it strange that you no longer unite with them. They do not understand the reasons why you have left them. They regard you as abandoning a course which has much to attract and to make life cheerful and happy, for a severe and gloomy superstition. This is a true account of the feelings which the people of the world have when their companions and friends leave them and become Christians. It is to them a strange and unaccountable thing that they give up the pleasures of the world for a course of life which to them seems to promise any thing but happiness. Even the kindred of the Saviour regarded him as "beside himself" (Mark iii.21),andFestus supposed that Paul was mad. Acts xxvi. 24. There is almost nothing which the people of the world so little comprehend as the reasons which influence those who are possessed of ample means of worldly enjoyment to leave the circles of gayety and vanity, and to give themselves to the serious employments of religion. The epithets of fool, enthusiast, fanatic, are terms which frequently occur to the heart to denote this, if they are not always allowed to escape from the lips. The reasons why they esteem this so strange are something like the following: (1.) They do not appreciate the motives which influence those who leave them. They feel that it is proper to enjoy the world, and to make life cheerful, and they do not understand what it is to act under a deep sense of responsibility to God, and with reference to eternity. They live for themselves. They seek happiness as the end and aim of life. They have never been accustomed to direct the mind onward to another world, and
5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
to the account which they must soon render at the bar of God. Unaccustomed to act from any higher motives than those which pertain to the present world, they can not appreciate the conduct of those who begin to live and act for eternity. (2.) They do not yet see the guilt and folly of sinful pleasures. They are not convinced of the deep sinfulness of the human soul, and they think it strange that others should abandon a course of lite which seems to them so innocent. They do not see why those who have been so long accustomed to these indulgences should have changed their opinions, and why they now regard those things as sinful which they once considered to be harmless. (3.) They do not see the force of the argument for religion. Not having the views of the unspeakable importance of religious truth and duty which Christians have, they wonder that they should break off from the course of life which they formerly pursued, and separate from the mass of their fellow-men. Hence they sometimes regard the conduct of Christians as amiable weakness; sometimes as superstition; sometimes as sheer folly; sometimes as madness; and sometimes as sourness and misanthropy. In all respects they esteem it " strange." •'Lions and beasts of savage name Put on the nature of the lamb; While the wide world esteems it strange, Gaze and admire, and hate the change."
IT That ye run not with them. There may be an allusion here to the wellknown orgies of Bacchus, in which his votaries ran as if excited by the furies, and were urged on as if transported with madness. See Ovid, Metamor., iii., 529, thus translated by Addison:
"For now, through prostrate Greece, young Bacchus rode, While howling matrons celebrate the god; All ranks and sexes to his orgies ran, To mingle in the pomp and All the train."
The language, however, will well describe revels of any sort, and at any period of the world, f To the same excess of riot. The word rendered ex-
6 For, for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged *
cess (avdxv<n<:) means properly a, pouring out, an affusion; and the idea here is, that all the sources and forms of riot and disorder were poured out together. There was no withholding, no restraint. The most unlimited indulgence was given to the passions. This was the case among the ancients in the disorders referred to, as it is now in scenes of midnight revelry. On the meaning of the ^ord riot, see Notes on Eph. v. 18. Comp. Titus i. 6. 1 Speaking evil of you. Greek, blaspheming. See Notes on Matt. ix. 3. The meaning here is, that they used harsh and reproachful epithets when speaking of those who would not unite with them in their revelry. They called them fools, fanatics, hypocrites, etc. The idea is not that they blasphemed God, or that they charged Christians with crime, but that they used language fitted to injure the feelings, the character, and the reputation of those who would no longer unite with them in the ways of vice and folly.
5. Who shall give account. That is, they can not do this with impunity. They are guilty of a great wrong, and they must answer for it to God. 1 That is ready to judge. That is, "who is prepared to judge" (tw etoLfiws 'ixovTi). So the phrase is used in Acts xxi. 13: "I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem." So also in 2 Cor. xii. 14: " The third time I am ready to come to you." Compare the word ready (kVoi/xos) in Matt. xxii. 4, 8; xxiv. 44; xxv. 10; Luke xii. 40; xxii. 33; 1 Pet. i. 5. The meaning is not that he was about to do it, or that the day of judgment was near at hand — whatever the apostle may have supposed to be true on that point — but that he was prepared for it; that all the arrangements were made with reference to it; that there was nothing to hinder it. 1 To judge the quick and the dead. The living and the dead; that is, those who will be alive when he comes, and those in their graves. This is a common phrase todenote all who will be brought before the bar of God for judgment. See Notes on Acts x. 42. Comp. 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17; 2 Tim. iv.
1. The meaning in this connection seems to be that they should bear their trials, and the opposition which they would meet with, patiently, not feeling that they were forgotten, nor attempting to avenge themselves; for the Lord would vindicate them when he should come to judgment, and would call those who had injured them to an account for all the wrongs which they had done to the children
6. For, for this cause. The expression, " For, for this cause," refers to an end to be reached, or an object to be gained, or a reason why any thing referred to is" done. The end or reason why the thing referred to here, to wit, that "the Gospel was preached to the dead," was done, is stated in the subsequent part of the verse to have been " that they might be judged," etc. It was with reference to this, or in order that this might be, that the Gospel was preached to them. 1 That the Gospel was preached to the dead. Many, as Doddridge, Whitby, and others, understand this of those who are spiritually dead, that is, the Gentiles, and suppose that the object for which this was done was that "they might be brought to such a state of life as their carnal neighbors will look upon as a kind of condemnation aud death." — Doddridge. Others have supposed that it refers to those who had suffered martyrdom in the cause of Christianity; others, that it refers to the sinners of the old world (Saurin), expressing a hope that some of them might be saved; and others, that it means that the Saviour went down and preached to those who are dead, in accordance with one of the interpretations given of chap. iii. 19. It seems to me that the most natural and obvious interpretation is to refer it to those of their own number who were then dead, to whom the Gospel had been preached when living, and who had become true Christians. This is the interpretation proposed by Wetstein, Rosenmuller, Bloomfield, and others. In support of this it may be said, (1.) That this is the natural and obvious meaning of the word dead, which should be understood literally, unless there is some good reason in the connection for departing from the common meaning of the word. (2.) The apostle had just used the word in that sense in the previous verse. (3.) This will suit the connection, and accord with the design of the apostle. He was addressing those who were suffering persecution. It was natural, in s'uch a connection, to refer to those who had died in the faith, and to show, for their encouragement, that though they had been put to death, yet they still lived to God. He therefore says that the design in publishing the Gospel to them was, that though they might be judged by men in the usual manner, and put to death, yet that in respect to their higher and nobler nature, the spirit, they might live unto God. It was not uncommon or unnatural for the apostles, in writing to those who were suffering persecution, to refer to those who had been removed by death, and to make their condition and example an argument for fidelity and perseverance. ' Comp. 1 Thess. iv. 13; Rev. xiv. 13. 1 That they might be judged according to men in the flesh. That is, so far as men are concerned (Kara avSpwirovs); or, in other words, in respect to the treatment which they received from men in the flesh, they were judged and condemned; in respect to God, and the treatment whicn they received from him (/cccra 3-£oi/), they would live in spirit. Men judged them severely, and put them to death for their religion; God gave them life, and saved them. By the one they were condemned in the flesh — so far as pain and sorrow and death could be inflicted on the body; by the other they were made to live in spirit— to be his, to live with him. The word judged here, I suppose, therefore, to refer to a sentence passed on them for their religion, consigning them to death for it. There is a particle in the original (/xh — indeed) which has not been retained in the common translation, but which is quite important to the sense: "that they might indeed be judged in the flesh, but live," etc. The direct object or design of preaching the Gospel to them was not that they might be condemned and put to death by man, but this was indeed or in fact one of the results in the way to a higher object. H But live according to God. In respect to God, or so far as he was concerned. By him they would not be condemned. By him they would be made to live — to have the true life. The Gospel was preached
according to men in the flesh, but live "according to God in the spirit.
7 But the end h of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch c unto prayer.
to them in order that so far as God is concerned, so far as their relation to him was concerned, so far as he would deal with them, they might live. The word live here seems to refer to the whole life that was the eonsequence of their being brought under the power of the Gospel: (a) that they might have spiritual life imparted to them; (b) that they might live a life of holiness in this world; (c) that they might live hereafter in the world to come. In one respeet, and so far as men were concerned, their embracing the Gospel was followed by death; in another respect, and so far as God was concerned, it was followed by life. The value and permanence of the latter, as contrasted with the former, seems to have been the thought in the mind of the apostle in encouraging those to whom he wrote to exercise patience in their trials, and to show fidelity in the service of their Master. U In the spirit. In their souls, as contrasted with their, body. In respect to that — to the flesh — they were put to death; in respect to their souls — their higher natures — they were made truly to live. The argument, then, in this verse is,that in the trials which we endure on account of religion, we should remember the example of those who have suffered for it, and should remember why the Gospel was preached to them. It was in a subordinate sense, indeed, that they might glorify God by a martyr's death; but in a higher sense, that in this world and the next they might truly live. The flesh might suffer in consequence of their embracing the Gospel that was preached to them, but the soul would live. Animated by their example, we should be willing to suffer in the flesh if we may forever live with God.
7. But the end of all things is at hand. This declaration is also evidently designed to support and encourage them in their trials, and to excite them to lead a holy life by the assurance that the end of all things was drawing High. The phrase "the end of all things" would naturally refer to the end of the world, the winding up of human affairs. It is not absolutely certain, however, that the apostle used it here in this sense. It might mean that so far as they were concerned, or in respect to them, the end of all things drew near. Death is to each one the end of all things here below — the end of his plans and of his interest in all that pertains to sublunary affairs. Even if the phrase did originally and properly refer to the end ol the world, it is probable that it would soon come to denote the end of life in relation to the affairs of each individual, since, if it were believed that the end of the world was near, it must consequently be believed that the termination of the earthly career of each one also drew near to a close. It is possible that the latter signification may have come ultimately to predominate, and that Peter may have used it in this sense without referring to the other. Compare Notes on 2 Pet. in. 8-14, for his views on this subject. See also Notes on Rom. xiii. 11, 12. The word rendered "is at hand" (fiyyiKu) may refer either to proximity of place or time, and it always denotes that the place or the time referred to was not far off. In the former sense, as referring to nearness of place, see Matt, xxi. 1; Mark xi. 1; Luke vii. 12; xv. 25; xviii. 35, 40; xix. 29, 37, 41; xxiv. 15; Acts ix. 3; x. 9; xxi. 33; in the latter sense, as referring to time as being near, see Matt. iii. 2; iv. 17; x. 7; xxi. 34; xxvi. 45; Mark i. 15; Luke xxi. 20, 28; Acts vii. 17; Rom. xiii. 12; Heb. x. 25; 1 Pet. iv. 7. The idea as applied to time, or to an approaching event, is undoubtedly that it is close by; it is not far off; it will soon occur. If this refer to the end of the world, it would mean that it was soon to occur; if to death, that this was an event which could not be far distant, perhaps an event that was to be hastened by their trials. The fact that it is such language as we now naturally address to men, saying that in respect to them "the end of all things is at hand," shows that it can not be demonstrated that Peter did not use it in the same sense, and consequently that it can not be proved that he meant to teach that the end of the wflrld was then soon to occur. Tf Be ye therefore sober.
8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves:
Serious, thoughtful, considerate. Let a fact of so much importance make a solemn impression on your minds, and preserve you from frivolity, levity, and vanity. See the word explained in the Notes on 1 Tim. hi. 2. T[ And watch unto prayer. Be looking out for the end of all things in such a manner as to lead you to embrace all proper opportunities of prayer. Compare Notes on Matt. xxvi. 39, 41. The word rendered watch means to be sober, temperate, abstinent, especially in respect to wine; then watchful, circumspect. The important truth, then, taught by this passage is, that the near approach of the end of all things sJiould make us serious and prayerful. I. The end may be regarded as approaching. This is true (1) of all things; of the winding up of the affairs of this world. It is constantly drawing nearer and nearer, and no one can tell how soon it will occur. The period is wisely hidden from the knowledge of men (see Matt. xxiv. 36; Acts i. 7), among other reasons in order that we may be always ready. No man can tell certainly at what time it will come; no man can demonstrate that it may not come at any moment. Every where in the Scriptures it is represented that it will come at an unexpected hour, as a thief in the night, and when the mass of men will be slumbering in false security. Matt, xxiv. 37-39, 42, 43; 1 Thess. v. 2; Luke xxi. 34. (2.) It is near in relation to each one of us. The day of our death can not be far distant; it may be near. The very next thing that we may have to do may be to lie down and die. II. It is proper that such a nearness of the end of all things should lead us to be serious, and to pray. (1.) To be serious; for (a) the end of all things, in regard to us, is a most important event. It closes our probation. It fixes our character. It seals up our destiny. It makes all ever onward in character and doom unchangeable. (&) We are so made as to be serious in view of such events. God has so constituted the mind that when we lose property, health, or friends; when we look into a grave, or are beset with dangers; when we are in the room of the dying or the dead, we are serious and thoughtful. It is unnatural not to be so. Levity and frivolity on such occasions are as contrary to all the finer and better feelings of our nature as they are to the precepts of the Bible, (c) There are advantages in seriousness of mind. It enables us to take better views of things. Eccles. vii. 2, 3. A calm, sober, sedate mind is the best for a contemplation of truth, and for looking at things as they are. (2.) To be watchful unto prayer; for (a) men naturally pray when they suppose that the end of all things is coming. An earthquake induces them to pray. An eclipse, or any other supposed prodigy, leads men to pray if they suppose the end of the world is drawing near. A shipwreck, or any other sudden danger, leads them to pray. Psa. cvii. 27. So men often pray in sickness who have never prayed in days of health, (b) It is proper to do it. Death is an important event, and in anticipation of such an event we should pray. Who can help us then but God? Who can conduct us through the dark valley but he? Who can save us amid the wrecks and ruins of the universe but he? Who can dissipate our fears, and make us calm amid the convulsions of dissolving nature, but God? As that event, therefore, may come upon us at any hour, it should lead us to constant prayer, and the more so because when it comes we may be in no state of mind to pray. The posture which we feel would be most appropriate when the messenger of death shall come, is that of prayer.
8. And above all things. More than all things else. *[f Have fervent charity among yourselves. Warm, ardent love toward each other. On the nature of charity, see Notes on 1 Cor. xiii. 1. The word rendered fervent means properly extended; then intent, earnest, fervent. H For charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Love to another will so cover or hide a great many imperfections in him that you will not notice them. This passage is quoted from Prov. x. 12: "Love covereth all sins." For the truth of it we have only to appeal to the experience of every one. (a) True love to another makes us kind to his imperfections,
10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same
charitable toward his faults, and often blind even to the existence of faults. We would not sec the imperfections of those whom we love, and our attachment for what we esteem their real excellences makes us insensible to their errors, (b) If we love them, we are ready to cover over their faults, even those which we may see in them. Of love the Christian poet says: '"Tis gentle, delicate, and kind, To faults compassionate or blind." The passage before us is not the same in signification as that in James v. 20, "He which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." See Notes on that passage. That passage means that by the conversion of another the sins of him who is converted will be covered over, or not brought to judgment for condemnation; that is, they will be covered over so far as God is concerned — this passage means that, under the influence of love, the sins of another will be covered over so far as we are concerned; that is, they will be unobserved or forgiven. The language here used does not mean, as the Romanists maintain, that "charity will procure us. pardon for a multitude of sins;" for, besides that such a doctrine is contrary to the uniform teachings of the Scriptures elsewhere, it is a departure from the obvious meaning of the passage. The subject on which the apostle is treating is the advantage of love in our conduct toward others, and this he enforces by saying that it will make us kind to their imperfections, and lead us to overlook their faults. It is nowhere taught in the Scriptures that our "charity" to others will be an atonement or expiation for our own offenses. If it could be so, the atonement made by Christ would have been unnecessary. Love, however, is of inestimable value in the treatment of others; and imperfect as we are, and liable to go astray, we all have occasion to cast ourselves on the charity of our brethren, and to avail ourselves much and often of that "love which covers over a multitude of sins."
Rom. xii. 13; Heb. xiii. 2. Without grudging. G r., " w itho ut murmurs;' ' that is, without complaining of the hardship of doing it; of the time, the expense, and the trouble required in doing it. The idea of grudging, in the common sense of that word— that is, of doing it unwillingly, or regretting the expense, or considering it as illbestowed, or as not producing an equivalent of any kind — is not the idea here. m It is that we are to do it without murmuring or complaining. It greatly enhances the value of hospitality that it be done on our part with entire cheerfulness. One of the duties involved in it is to make a guest happy; and this can be done in no other way than by showing him that he is welcome.
10. As every man hath received the gift. The word rendered gift (x«/otarfia), in the Greek, without the article, means endowment of any kind, but especially that conferred by the Holy Spirit. Here it seems to refer to every kind of endowment by which we can do good to others, especially every kind of qualification furnished by religion by which we can help others. It does not refer here particularly to the ministry of the Word — though it is applicable to that, and includes that— but to all the gifts and graces by which Ave can contribute to the welfare of others. All this is regarded as a gift, or charisma, of God. It is not owing to ourselves, but it is to be traced to him. See the word explained in the Notes on 1 Tim. iv. 14. 1[ Even so minister the same one to another. In any thing by which you can benefit another. Regard what you have and they have not as a gift bestowed upon you by God for the common good, and be ready to impart it as the wants of others may require. The word minister here (diai<ovovvTE<s) would refer to any kind of ministering, whether by counsel, by advice, by the supply of the wants of the poor, or by preaching. It has here no reference to any one of these exclusively, but means that in whatever God has favored us more than others we should be ready to minister to their wants. See 2 Tim. i. 18; 2 Cor. iii. 3; vili..19, 20...%As. good stemards. Re-
one to another, as good stewards * of the manifold grace of God.
11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that
God in all h things may be glorified through Jesus Christ; to* whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery d trial which
garding yourselves as the mere stewards of God; that is, as appointed by him to do this work for him, and intrusted by him with what is needful to benefit others. He intends to do them good, but he means to do it through your instrumentality, and has intrusted to you as a steward what he designed to confer on them. This is the true idea, in respect to any special endowments of talent, property, or grace which we may have received from God. Comp. Notes on 1 Cor. iv. 1, 2. See also Luke xvi. 1, 2, 8. II Of the manifold grace of God. The grace or favor of God evinced in many ways, or by a variety of gifts. His favors are not confined to one single thing; as, for example, to talent for doing good by preaching, but are extended to many things by which we may do good to others — influence, property, reputation, wisdom, experience. All these are to be regarded as his gifts; all are to be employed in doing good to others as we have opportunity.
11. If any man speak. As a preacher, referring here particularly to the office of the ministry. 1 Let him speak as the oracles of Ood. As the oracles of God speak; to wit, in accordance with the truth which God has revealed, and with an impressive sense of the responsibility of delivering a message from him. The word rendered oracles (\6yta) means properly something spofcen. or uttered; then any thing uttered by God— a divine communication; a revelation. Comp. Notes on Rom. iii. 2; Heb. v. 12. See the general duty here inculcated illustrated at length in the Notes on Rom. xii. 6-8. The passage here has a strong resemblance to the one in Romans. H If any man minister (ftiakoviT). This may refer, so far as the word is concerned, -either to the office of a deacon, or to any service which one renders to another. See ver. 10. The word commonly refers to service in general; to attendance on another, or to aid rendered to another, to the distribution of alms, etc. It seems probable that the word here does not refer to the office of a deacon as such, because the peculiarity of that office was to take charge of the poor of the Church, and of the funds provided for them (see Acts vi. 2, 3); but the apostle here says that they to whom he referred should "minister as of the ability which Ood giveth," which seems to imply that it was rather to distribute what was their own than what was committed to them by the Church. The word may refer to any aid which we render to others in the Church, as distributing alms, attending on the sick, etc. Comp. Notes on Rom. xii. 7, 8. If As of the ability which God giveth. In regard to property, talent, strength, influence, etc. This is the limit of all obligation. No one is bound to go beyond his ability; every one is requi red to come up to it. Comp. Mark xiv. 8; Luke xvii. 10. «H That God in all things may be glorified. That he may be honored; to wit, by our doing all the good we can to others, thus showing the power of his religion. See Notes on 1 Corinth, x. 31. H Through Jesus Christ. That is, as the medium through whom all those holy influences come by which God is honored. 1| To whom. That is, to God, for he is the main subject of the sentence. The apostle says that in all things he is to be glorified by us, and then adds in this doxology that he is worthy to be thus honored. Comp. Rev. i. 6. See Notes on 2 Tim. iv. 18. Many, however, suppose that the reference here is to the Son of God. That it would be true of him and appropriate, see Notes on Rom. ix. 5.
12. Heloved, think it not strange. Do not consider it as any thing which you had no reason to expect; as any thing which may not happen to others also. H Concerning the fiery trial which is to try you. Referring, doubtless, to some severe persecution which was then impending. We have not the means of determining precisely what this was. The word rendered is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, ° inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, "when 6 his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
fiery trial (-n-Cpwai^) occurs only here and in Rev. xviii. 9, 18; in both of which latter places it is rendered burning. It means properly a being on fire, burning, conflagration; and then any severe trial. It can not be demonstrated from this word that they -were literally to suffer by fire, but it is clear that some heavy calamity was before them. If As though some strange thing happened unto you. Something unusual; something which did not occur to others.
, 13. But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings. That is, sufferings of the same kind that he endured, and inflicted for the same reasons. Comp. Col. i. 24; James i. 2. See Notes on Matt. v. 12. The meaning here is, that they were to regard it as a matter of rejoicing that they were identified with Christ even in suffering. See this sentiment illustrated at length in the Notes on Phil. iii. 10. If That when his glory shall be revealed. At the day of judgment. See Notes on Matt. xxiv. 30. U Ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. Being admitted to the rewards which lie will then confer on his people. Comp. 1 Thess. ii. 19. Every good man will have joy when, immediately at death, he is received into the presence of his Saviour; but his joy will be complete only when, in the presence of assembled worlds, he will hear the sentence which will confirm him in happiness forever.
14. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye. That is, in his cause, or on his account. See Notes on Matt. v. 11. The sense of the word happy here is the same as blessed in Matt. v. 3, 4, 5, etc. It means that they were to regard their condition or lot as a blessed one; not that they would find personal and positive enjoyment on being reproached and vilified. It would be a blessed condition because it would be like that of their Saviour; it would show that they were his friends; it would be ac-
14 Ifcye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
15 But let none of you suffer as
companied with rich spiritual influences in the present world; and it would be followed by the rewards of heaven. If For the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. The glorious and divine Spirit. There is no doubt that there is reference here to the Holy Spirit, and the meaning is that they might expect that that Spirit would rest upon them, or abide with them, if they were persecuted for the cause of Christ. There may be some allusion here, in the language, to the fact that the Spirit of God descended and abode on the Saviour at his baptism (John i. 33); and, in like manner, they might hope to have the same Spirit resting on them. The essential idea is that, if they were called to suffer in the cause of the Redeemer, they would not be left or forsaken. They might hope that God would impart his Spirit to them in proportion to their sufferings in behalf of religion, and that they would have augmented joy and peace. This is doubtless the case with those who suffer persecution, and this is the secret reason why they are so sustained in their trials. Their persecutions are made the occasion of a much more copious effusion of the Spirit on their souls. The same principle applies, doubtless, to all the forms of trial which the children of God pass through; and in sickness, bereavement, loss of property, disappointment in their worldly plans, and death itself, they may hope that larger measures of the Spirit's influences will rest upon them. Hence it is often gain to the believer to suffer. If On their part. So far as they are concerned, or by them. 1 lie is evil spoken of. That is, the Holy Spirit. They only blaspheme him (Greek); they reproach his sacred influences by their treatment of you and your religion. If But on your part he is glorified. By your manner of speaking of him, and by the honor done to him in the patience evinced in your trials, and in your purity of life.
a murderer, or as a thief, or as an Christian, let him not be ashamed;
evil-doer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. 16 Yet if any man suffer as a but let him glorify God on this behalf. 17 For the time is come that judg-
15. But let none of you suffer as a murderer. If you must be called to suffer, see that it be not for crime. Comp. Notes on chap. hi. 14, 17. They were to be careful that their sufferings were brought upon them only in consequence of their religion, and not because any crime could be laid to their charge. If even such charges were brought against them, there should be no pretext furnished for them by their lives. H As an evil-doer. As a wicked man; or as guilty of injustice and wrong toward others. U Or as a busybody in other men's matters. The Greek word here used (aXXoTptoEiri- <r/co7ros) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means, properly, an inspector of strange things, or of the things of others. Prof. Robinson (Lex.) supposes that the word may refer to one who is "a director of heathenism;" but the more obvious signification, and the one commonly adopted, is that which occurs in our translation — one who busies himself with what does not concern him; that is, one who pries into the affairs of another; who attempts to control or direct them as if they were his own. In respect to the fault here condemned, see the Notes on Phil. ii. 4. Comp. 2 Thess. iii. 11; and 1 Tim. v. 13.
16. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian. Because he is a Christian; if he is persecuted on account of his religion. This was often done, and they had reason to expect that it might occur in their own case. Comp. Notes on chap. iii. 17. On the import of the word Christian, and the reasons why the name was given to the disciples of the Lord Jesus, see Notes on Acts xi. 26. H Let him not be ashamed. (1.) Ashamed of religion so as to refuse to suffer on account of it. (2.) Ashamed that he is despised and maltreated. He is to regard his religion as every way honorable, and all that fairly results from it in time and eternity as in all respects desirable. He is not to be ashamed to be called a Christian; he is not to be ashamed of the doctrines taught by his religion; he is not to be ashamed of the Saviour whom he professes to love; he is not to be ashamed of the society and fellowship of those who are true Christians, poor and despised though they may be; he is not to be ashamed to perform any of the duties demanded by his religion; he is not to be ashamed to have his name cast out, and himself subjected to reproach and scorn. A man should be ashamed only of that which is wrong. He should glory in that which is right, whatever may be the consequences to himself. Christians now, though not subjected to open persecution, are frequently reproached by the world on account of their religion; and though the rack may not be employed, and the fires of martyrdom are not. kindled, yet it is often true that one who is a believer is called to " suffer as a Christian." He may be reviled and despised. His views may be regarded as bigoted, narrow, severe. Opprobrious epithets, on account of his opinions, may be applied to him. His former friends and companions may leave him because he has become a Christian. A wicked father or a gay and worldly mother may oppose a child, or a husband may revile a wife on account of her religion. In all these cases the same spirit essentially is required which was enjoined on the early Christian martyrs. We are never to be ashamed of our religion, whatever results may follow from our attachment to it. Comp. Notes on Rom. i. 16. *fi But let him glorify God on this behalf. Let him prai.se God that he is deemed not unworthy to suffer in such a cause. It is a matter of thankfulness (1) that he may have this evidence that he is a Christian; (2) that he may derive the advantages which may result from his suffering as Christ did, and in his cause. See Notes on Acts v. 41, where the sentiment here expressed is fully illustrated. Comp. Notes on Phil, iii. 10; Col. i. 24.
17. For the time is come. That is, this is now to be expected. There is reason to think that this trial will now occur, and there is a propriety that it should be made. Probably the apostle referred to some indica:
ment must begin * at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
18 And if h the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
19 Wherefore, let them that suf-
tions then apparent that this was about to take*place. 1 That judgment must begin. The word judgment here (Kplfxa) seems to mean the severe trial which would determine character. It refers to such calamities as would settle the question whether there were any true religion in the heart, or would test the value of that which was professed. It was to "begin" at the house of God, or be applied to the Church first, in order that the nature and worth of religion might be seen. The reference is, doubtless, to some fearful calamity which would primarily fall on the "house of God;" that is, to some form of persecution which was to be let loose upon the Church. 1 At the house of God. Benson, Bloomfield, and many others suppose that this refers to the Jews, and to the calamities that were to come around the Temple and the holy city about to be destroyed. But the more obvious reference is to Christians, spoken of as the house or family of God. There is probably in the language here an allusion to Ezek. ix. 6r~" Slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children, and women; and begin at my sanctuary." Comp. Jer. xxv. 29. But the language used here by the apostle does not denote literally the Temple or the Jews, but those who were in his time regarded as the people of God— Christians — the Church. So the phrase (tTirt^ nn2l) house of Jehovah is used to denote the family or people of God. Numb. xii. 7; Hos. viii. 1. Comp. also 1 Tim. iii. 15, and the Notes on that verse. The sense here is, therefore, that the series of calamities referred to were to commence with the Church, or were to come first upon the people of God. Schoettgen here aptly quotes a jmssage from the writings of the Rabbins: "Punishments never come into the world unless the wicked are in it; but they do not begin unless they commence first with the righteous." If And if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them thai obey not the Gospel of God? If God brings such trials upon us who have obeyed his Gospel, what have we not reason to suppose he will bring upon those who are yet in their sins? And if we are selected first as the objects of this visitation; if there is that in us which requires such a method of dealing, what are we to suppose will occur in the end with those who make no pretensions to religion, but are yet living in open transgression? The sentiment is, that if God deals thus strictly with his own people; if there is that in them which makes the visitations of his judgment proper on them, there is a certainty that they who are not his people, but who live in iniquity, will in the end be overwhelmed with the tokens of severer wrath. Their punishment hereafter will be certain; and who can tell what will be the measure of its severity? Every wicked man, when he sees the trials which God brings upon his own people, should tremble under the apprehension of the deeper calamity which will hereafter come upon him-" self. We may remark (1) that the judgments which God brings upon his own people make it certain that the wicked will be punished. If he does not spare his own people, why should he spare others? (2.) The punishment of the wicked is merely delayed. Judgment begins at the house of God. Christians are afflicted, and are recalled from their wanderings by chastisement, and are prepared by discipline for the heavenly world. The judgment on the wicked is delayed to a future world, and in this life they have almost uninterrupted prosperity, but in the end it will be certain. See Psa. lxxiii. 1-19. The punishment will come in the end. It can not be evaded. Sooner or later justice requires that the wicked should be visited with the expressions of divine displeasure on account of sin, and in the future world there will be ample time for the infliction of all which they deserve.
18. And if the righteous scarcely be saved. If they are saved with difflcidty. The word here used (n6\is) occurs in the following places: Acts xiv. 18, u scarce restrained they the people;" xxvii. 7, "and scarce were come over against Cnidus;" ver. 8, " and hardly passing it;" ver. 16, "we had much work to come hy the boat," literally, we were able with difficulty to get the boat; Rom. v. 7, "scarcely for a righteous man will one die;" and in the passage before us. The word implies that there is some difficulty or obstruction, so that the thing came very near not happening, or so that there was much risk about it. Comp. Luke xiii. 31. The apostle in this passage seems to have had his eye on a verse in Proverbs (xi. 31), and he has merely expanded and illustrated it: " Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth; much more the wicked and the sinner." By the question which he emploj^s, he admits that the righteous are saved with difficult}', or that there are perils which jeopard their salvation, and which are of such a kind as to make it very near not happening. They would indeed be saved, but it would
, be in such a manner as to show that the circumstauces were such as to render it, to human appearances, doubtful and problematical. This peril may have arisen from many cir-
•cumstances; (a) The difficulty of forming a plan of salvation, involving a degree of wisdom wholly beyond that of man, and of such a character that beforehand it would have been problematical and doubtful whether it could be. There was but one way in which it could be done. But what human wisdom could have devised that, or thought of it? There was but One Being who could save. But who would have supposed that the Son of God would have been willing to become a man, and to die on a cross to do it? If he had been unwilling to come and die, the righteous could not have been saved. (6) The difficulty of bringing those who are saved to a willingness to accept of salvation. All were disposed alike to reject it; and there were many obstacles in the human heart, arising from pride and selfishness, and unbelief, and the love of sin, which must be overcome before any would accept of the offer of mercy. There was but One Agent who could overcome these things, and induce any of the race to embrace the Gospel — the Holy Spirit. But who could have anticipated that the Spirit of God would have undertaken to renew and sanctify the polluted human heart? Yet if he had failed, there could have been no salvation for any. (c) The difficulty of keepingthose who are converted from falling away amid the temptations and allurements of the world. Often it seems to be wholly doubtful whether they will be kept to eternal life. They have so little religion; they yield so readily to temptation; they conform so much to the world; they have so little strength to bear up under trials, that it seems as if there were nothing that would preserve them and bring them to heaven. The}7 are saved when they seem almost ready to yield to every thing, (d) The difficulty of preserving them from the power of the great enemy of souls. The adversary has vast power, and he means, if he can, to destroy those who are the children of God. Often they are in most imminent danger, and it seems to be a question of doubtful issue whether they will not be entirely overcome and perish. It is no small matter to rescue a soul from the dominion of Satan, and to bring it to heaven, so that it shall be eternally safe. Amid the internal struggles and the outward conflicts of life, it seems often a matter of doubt whether with all their effort they will be saved; and when they are safe in heaven, they will feel that they have been rescued from thousands of dangers, and that there has been many a time when they have stood on the very verge of ruin, and when, to human appearances, it was scarcely possible that they could reach that world. 1 Where shall the' ungodly and the sinner appear? What hope is there of their salvation? The meaning is, that they would certainly perish; and the doctrine in the passage is, that the fact that the righteous are saved with so much difficulty is proof that the wicked will not be saved at all. This follows, because (a) there is the same difficulty in their salvation which there was in the salvation of those who became righteous; the same difficulty arising from the love of sin, the hardness of the heart, and the arts and power of the adversary, (b) No one can be saved without effort, and in fact the righteous are saved only by constant and strenuous effort on their part. But
fer according to the will of God, commit a the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
the wicked make no effort for their own salvation. They make use of no means for it; they put forth no exertions to obtain it; they do not make it a part of their plan of life. How, then, can they be saved? — But where will they appear? I answer, (a) they will appear somewhere. They will not cease to exist when they pass away from this world. Not one of them will be annihilated; and though they vanish from the earth, and will be seen here no more, yet they will immediately make their appearance in some other part of the universe. (b) They will appear at last at the judgment-seat, as all others will, to receive their sentence according to the deeds done in the body. It follows from this (1) that the wicked will certainly be destroyed. If the righteous are scarcely saved, how can they be? (2.) That there will be a state of future punishment, for this refers to what is to occur in the future world. (3.) That the punishment of the wicked will be eternal, for it is the opposite of what is meaut by saved. The time will never come when it, will be said that they are saved. But if so, their punishment must be eternal.