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Heb. vi. 3.

t

t1 Cor. iv. 19. return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from James iv. 15. Ephesus. 22 And when he had landed at Cæsarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch. 23 And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over [all] the country of "Galatia and Phrygia in order, * strengthening all the disciples.

u Gal. i. 2: iv. 14.

ch. xiv. 22: xv. 32, 41.

y 1 Cor. i. 12: iii. 5, 6: iv.

6. Tit. iii. 13.

24 y And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures,

romit: not in the original.

■ in the original: came to Ephesus, being mighty in the Scriptures.

"I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem," seems necessitated on the principle of being guided in doubtful cases by the testimony of our most ancient MSS. The text thus produced is the shortest and simplest, and the facts, of other glosses having been attempted on this verse, and of one MS. inserting the words without altering the construction to suit them, and of other variations, tend perhaps to throw discredit on the insertion. The gloss, if such it be, has probably been owing to an endeavour to conform the circumstances to those related in ch. xx. 16. If the words are to stand, and for those who read them, it may still be interesting to enquire at what feast they may be supposed to point. (1) Not at the Passover: for the ordinary duration of the winter shutting up of the sea was till the vernal equinox. And we are not at liberty to assume an exceptional case, such as sometimes occurred. Hence, if the voyage from Corinth at all approached the length of that from Philippi to Jerusalem in ch. xx., xxi., he would have set sail at a time when it would have been hardly possible. (2) Not at the Feast of Tabernacles. For if it were, he must have sailed from Corinth in August or September. Now, as he stayed there something more than a year and a half, his sea-voyage from Bercea to Athens would in this case have been made in the depth of winter; which (especially as a choice of land or water was open to him) is impossible. (3) It remains, then, that the feast should have been Pentecost; at which Paul also visited Jerusalem, ch. xx. 16. The Apostle's promise of return was fulfilled ch. xix. 1 ff.

22. and gone up] to Jerusalem : for (1) it would be out of the question to suppose that Paul made the long detour by Cæsarea only to go up into the town from the beach, as supposed by most of those who omit the disputed words in ver. 21, and salute the disciples,-and (2) the expression he went down to Antioch, which

suits a journey from Jerusalem (ch. xi. 27),
would not apply to one from Cæsarea.
and saluted the church] The payment of
his vow is not mentioned, partly because
it is understood from the mere mention of
the vow itself, ver. 18,-partly, perhaps,
because it was privately done, and with no
view to attract notice as in ch. xxi.

23.] PAUL'S VISIT TO THE CHURCHES IN GALATIA AND PHRYGIA.-Either (1) Galatia is here a general term including Lycaonia, and St. Paul went by Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, &c. as before in ch. xvi., or (2) he did not visit Lycaonia this time, but went through Cappadocia : to which also the words "having passed through the upper tracts" (ch. xix. 1) seem to point,

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upper Asia" being the country east of the Halys. We find Christian churches in Cappadocia, 1 Pet. i. 1. On this journey, as connected with the state of the Galatian churches, see Introduction to Gal.

§ 3. 1. in order implies that he regularly visited the churches, each as they lay in his route.-One work accomplished by him in this journey was the ordaining (but apparently not collecting) a contribution for the poor saints at Jerusalem: see 1 Cor. xvi. 1,-Timotheus and Erastus probably accompanied him, see ch. xix. 22; 2 Cor. i. 1; and Gaius and Aristarchus, ch. xix. 29; and perhaps Titus, 2 Cor. xii. 18 al. (and Sosthenes? 1 Cor. i. 1, but see on ver. 17).

24-28.] APOLLOS AT EPHESUS, AND IN ACHAIA. The name Apollos is abbreviated from Apollonius, as Lucas from Lucanus, &c. born at Alexandria] literally, an Alexandrian by race. Alexandria was the great seat of the Hellenistic or later Greek language, learning, and philosophy (see ch. vi. 9). A large number of Jews had been planted there by its founder, Alexander the Great. The celebrated LXX version of the Old Test. was made there under the Ptolemies. There took place that remarkable fusion of Greek

came to Ephesus. 25 This man t was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being " fervent in the spirit, he z Rom. xii. 11. spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord,

u

X

a knowing only the baptism of John. 26 And he began to a ch. xix. 3. speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. 27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him who, when

he was come, helped them much which had believed b1 Cor. iii. 6. through grace: 28 for he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus ech. ix. 22: was Christ.

trender, had been.

с

xvii. 3. ver.

5.

u render, accurately, and below, more accurately. The word is the same. I read, concerning Jesus.

Oriental, and Judaic elements of thought and belief, which was destined to enter so widely, for good and for evil, into the minds and writings of Christians. We see in the providential calling of Apollos to the ministry, an instance of adaptation of the workman to the work. A masterly exposition of the Scriptures by a learned Hellenist of Alexandria formed the most appropriate watering (1 Cor. iii. 6) for those who had been planted by the pupil of Gamaliel. The word rendered eloquent may mean learned. But the former meaning is most appropriate here, both because the peculiar kind of learning implied by it, acquaintance with stories and legends, would not be likely to be predicated of Apollos, and because the subsequent words, mighty in the Scriptures, sufficiently indicate his learning, and in what it lay.

25.] Apollos had received (from his youth?) the true doctrine of the Messiahship of Jesus, as pointed out by John the Baptist doubtless from some disciple of John; but more than this he knew not. The doctrines of the Cross, -the Resurrection, the outpouring of the Spirit,-these were unknown to him: but more particularly (from the words knowing only the baptism of John") the latter, as connected with Christian baptism: see further on ch. xix. 2, 3.-The mistake of supposing that he did not know Jesus to be the Messiah, has arisen from the description of his subsequent work at Corinth, ver. 28, but by no means follows from it: this he did before, but not so completely. The same mistake has led to the alteration of Jesus into "the

Lord" in the ordinary text, it having been
well imagined that he could not teach accu-
rately the things concerning Jesus, if he
did not know him to be the Messiah:
whereas by these words is imported that
he knew and taught accurately the facts
respecting Jesus, but of the consequences
of that which he taught, of all which may
be summed up in the doctrine of Christian
baptism, he had no idea. knowing

only . . .] Meyer well remarks, that it is
not meant that he was absolutely ignorant
of the fact of there being such a thing as
Christian baptism, but ignorant of its
being any thing different from that of
John: he knew, or recognized in baptism
only that which the baptism of John was:
a sign of repentance.
26. more
accurately] The former accuracy was only
in facts: this is the still more expanded
accuracy of doctrine. That was merely
"the things concerning Jesus," as He lived
and ministered on earth: this included
also the promise of the Spirit, and its per-
formance. 27. exhorting the disciples
to receive him] Probably this exhortation
was given by Priscilla and Aquila princi-
pally. It may have been from their account
of the Corinthian church, that he was de-
sirous to go to Achaia. through grace]
These words may be joined with the verb
helped, implying that the grace was in him.
But the rendering in the text is much more
probable, those who had believed through
grace. "The for, which follows, should
be noticed. His coming was a valuable as-
sistance to the Christians against the Jews,
in the controversies which had doubtless

a 1 Cor. i. 12: iii. 5, 6.

b ch. viii. 10. see 1 Sam. iii. 7.

d Matt. iii. 11. John i. 15, 27, 30. ch. i. 5:

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XIX. 1 And it came to pass, that, while a Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, 2 he said unto them, a Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, bb We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And

ech. xviii. 25. they said, Unto John's baptism. 4 Then said Paul, d John [ verily] baptized with the baptism of repentance, x. 16: xii. saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on [Christ] Jesus. 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name

24, 25.

e ch. viii. 16.

z render, parts, or tracts.

а

render, Did ye receive the Holy Ghost when ye believed? b render, We did not so much as hear whether there were.

28.

been going on since Paul's departure." Cony-
beare and Howson, edn. 2, ii. p. 10.
mightily convinced] The original word is a
very forcible one,-he argued down, as we
say,-proved in their teeth:' and then it has
also the sense of continuity,-that this was
not done once or twice, but continuously.

CHAP. XIX. 1-40.] ARRIVAL, RESI-
DENCE, AND ACTS OF PAUL AT EPHESUS.

1. the upper tracts] By this name were known, the eastern parts of Asia Minor, beyond the river Halys, or in comparison with Ephesus, in the direction of that river. certain disciples] These seem to have been in the same situation as Apollos, see on ch. xviii. 25. They cannot have been mere disciples of John, on account of when ye believed, which can bear no meaning but that of believing on the Lord Jesus: but they had received only John's baptism, and had had no proof of the descent of the Holy Spirit, nor knowledge of His gifts. 2.] The indefinite past tense in the original should be faithfully rendered: not as A. V. Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?' but Did ye receive the Holy Ghost when ye became believers? i. e. on your becoming believers, had ye the gifts of the Spirit conferred on you?'-as in ch. viii. 16, 17. This is both grammatically necessary, and absolutely demanded by the sense; the enquiry being, not as to any reception of the Holy Ghost during the period since their baptism, but as to one simultaneous with their first reception into the church: and their not having then received Him is accounted for by the deficiency of their baptism. We did not so much as hear] Literally, on the contrary not

even

comit.

Here again, not, we hare not heard,' which would involve an absurdity: "for they could not be followers of Moses or of John the Baptist, without hearing of the Holy Ghost" (Bengel);— but we did not hear, at the time of our conversion:- Our reception into the faith was unaccompanied by any preaching of the office or the gifts of the Spirit,- our baptism was not followed by any imparting of His gifts: we did not so much as hear Him mentioned. The stress of the sentence is on hearing: so far from receiving the Holy Ghost, they did not even hear of His 3.] St. Paul's question establishes the above rendering :-To what then (if ye did not so much as hear of the Holy Ghost at your first believing) were ye baptized? If the question and answer in ver. 2 regarded, as in A. V., the whole interval since their conversion, this enquiry would have been more naturally expressed in the perfect tense. Unto what

existence.

unto (with a view to, as introductory to) what profession? They answer, Unto (that indicated by) the baptism of John, viz.: repentance, and the believing on Jesus, then to come, but now (see ch. xviii. 25, note) the object of our faith. 5.] Two singular perversions of this verse have occurred: (1) the Anabaptists use it to authorize the repetition of Christian baptism, whereas it is not Christian baptism which was repeated, seeing that John's baptism was not such, but only the baptism which they now for the first time received; and (2) some of the orthodox, wishing to wrest this weapon out of the hands of the Anabaptists, oddly enough suppose this verse to belong still to Paul's discourse, and

i

g

17.

46.

they gch. ii. 4: x. men

h ch. xvii. 2:

ich. i. 3:

of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands fch. vi.6: viii. upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and spake with tongues, and prophesied. 7 And all the were about twelve. 8 h And he went into the synagogue, xviii. 4. and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. 9 But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. 10 And m this con- m see ch. xx. tinued by the space of two years; so that all they which

d

d

render, the

The

to mean, and the people when they heard him (John), were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. This obviously is contrary to fact, historically: and would leave our present narrative in a singular state: for Paul, having treated their baptism as insufficient, would thus proceed on it to impose his hands, as if it were sufficient. in (into) the name of the Lord Jesus] Two questions arise here: (1) Was it the ordinary practice to rebaptize those who had been baptized either by John or by the disciples (John iv. 1 f.) before baptism became, by the effusion of the Holy Spirit, "the bath of regeneration?" This we cannot definitely answer. That it was sometimes done, this incident shews: but in all probability, in the cases of the majority of the original disciples, the greater baptism by the Holy Ghost and fire on the day of Pentecost superseded the outward form or sign. Apostles themselves received only this baptism (besides probably that of John): and most likely the same was the case with the original believers. But of the three thousand who were added on the day of Pentecost, very many must have been already baptized by John; and all were rebaptized without enquiry. (2) What conclusion can we deduce from this verse respecting the use or otherwise of baptism in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, in the apostolic period? The only answer must be, that at that early time we have no indication of set formulæ in the administration of either sacrament. Such formulæ arose of necessity, when precision in formal statement of doctrine became an absolute necessity in the church and the materials for them were found ready in the word of God, who has graciously provided for all necessities of His church in all time. But, in matter of

:

see ch. ix. 2.

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xxviii. 23.

Tim. 15.

Pet. 2. Jude 10. see ch. ix. 2: xxii. 4: xxiv.

14. ver. 23.

31.

fact, such a baptism as this was a baptism into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. As Jews, these men were already servants of the living God-and by putting on the Son, they received in a new and more gracious sense the Father also. And in the sequel of their baptism, the imposition of hands, they sensibly became recipients of God the Holy Ghost. Where such manifestations were present, the form of words might be wanting; but with us, who have them not, it is necessary and imperative. Mr. Howson regards (i. 517; ii. 13) St. Paul's question in our ver. 3 as indicative that the name of the Holy Ghost was used in the baptismal formula. But the inference seems to me insecure. 6.] See ch. viii. 17; x. 46, and note on ch. ii. 4 and on the fact that they prophesied, ch. xi. 27, note. 9.] Probably the school of Tyrannus was a private synagogue (called Beth Midrasch by the Jews), where he might assemble the believing Jews quietly, and also invite the attendance of Gentiles to hear the word. But it is also possible that, as commonly supposed, Tyrannus may have been a Gentile sophist. The name occurs as a proper name, 2 Macc. iv. 40. 10. two years]

We cannot derive any certain estimate of the length of St. Paul's stay in Ephesus from these words,-even if we add the three months of ver. 8,-for vv. 21, 22 admit of an interval after the expiration of the two years and three months. And his own expression, ch. xx. 31, "three whole years," implies that it was longer than from this chapter would at first sight appear. He probably (compare his announced intention, 1 Cor. xvi. 8, with his expectation of meeting Titus at Troas, 2 Cor. ii. 12, 13, which shews that he was not far off the time previously arranged) left Ephesus about or soon after the third Pen

n

ch. xiv. 3.

2 Kings iv.

29.

dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews e Mark xvi. 20. and Greeks. 11 And God wrought special miracles by och. v. 15. see the hands of Paul: 12° so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. p Matt. xii. 27. 13 fp Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. 14 And there were seven sons of

q see Mark ix.

38. Luke ix. 49.

one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and 8 said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame h them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out

e literally, no common.

g read, said unto them.

tecost after that which he kept in Jerusalem. See Introd. to 1 Cor. § 6. all they which dwelt in Asia] Hyperbolical: -all had the opportunity, and probably some of every considerable town availed themselves of it. To this long teaching of St. Paul the seven churches of Asia owe their establishment. 11. no common miracles] miracles of no ordinary kind. In what they differed from the usual displays of power by the Apostles, is presently related: viz. that even garments taken from him were endued with miraculous power. 12.] Diseases, and possession by evil spirits, are here plainly distinguished from each other. The rationalists, and semi-rationalists, are much troubled to clear the fact related, that such handkerchiefs and aprons were instrumental in working the cures, from participation in what they are pleased to call a popular notion founded in superstition and error. But in this and similar narratives (see ch. v. 15, note) Christian faith finds no difficulty whatever. All miraculous working is an exertion of the direct power of the Allpowerful; a suspension by Him of His ordinary laws and whether He will use any instrument in doing this, or what instrument, must depend altogether on His own purpose in the miracle-the effect to be produced on the recipients, beholders, or hearers. Without His special selection and enabling, all instruments were vain; with these, all are capable. In the present case, as before in ch. v. 15, it was His purpose to exalt His Apostle as the Herald of His gospel, and to lay in Ephesus the strong

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The

foundation of His church. And He therefore endues him with this extraordinary power. But to argue by analogy from such a case,-to suppose that because our Lord was able, and Peter, and Paul, and in Old Test. times Elisha, were enabled, to exert this peculiar power, therefore the same will be possessed by the body or relics of every real or supposed saint, is the height of folly and fanaticism. true analogy tends directly the other way. In no cases but these do we find the power, even in the apostolic days: and the general cessation of all extraordinary gifts of the Spirit would lead us to the inference that à fortiori these, which were even then the rarest, have ceased also. 13.] See note on Matt. xii. 27, respecting the Jewish exorcists. These men, seeing the success of Paul's agency in casting out devils, adopt the name of Jesus in their own exorcisms. 14. chief of the priests] The word must be used in a wide sense. He may have been chief of the priests resident at Ephesus: or perhaps chief of one of the twenty-four courses. 15.] The narrative, from describing the nature of the attempt, passes to a single case in which it was tried, and in which (see below) two only of the brothers were apparently concerned. 16. them both] The weight of MSS. evidence for this reading is even surpassed by its internal probability. There would be every reason, as seven have been before mentioned, for altering it: but no imaginable one for substituting it for that of the common text. Two only, it would seem, were thus employed on this particular

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