the Epistle to the Colossians was addressed to a church in which St. Paul had never been. This we infer from the first verse of the second chapter: "For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh." There could be no propriety in thus joining the Colossians and Laodiceans with those "who had not seen his face in the flesh," if they did not also belong to the same description*. Now, his address to the Colossians, whom he had not visited, is precisely the same as his address to the Christians, to whom he wrote in the epistle which we are now considering : "We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which have to all the saints," Col. ch. i. 3. he speaks to the Colossians: in the epistle before us, as follows: "Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you in my prayers," chap.

ye

Thus,

* Dr. Lardner contends against the validity of this conclusion; but, I think, without success. LARDNER, vol. xiv. p. 473, edit. 1757.

i. 15. The terms of this address are ob

servable. The words " having heard of your faith and love," are the very words, we see, which he uses towards strangers; and it is not probable that he should employ the same in accosting a church in which he had long exercised his ministry, and whose "faith and love" he must have personally known*. The Epistle to the Romans was written before St. Paul had been at Rome; and his address to them runs in the same strain with that just now quoted: "I thank my God, through Jesus Christ, for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world:" Rom. ch. i. 8. Let us now see what was the form in which our apostle was accustomed to introduce his epistles, when he wrote to those with whom he was

Mr. Locke endeavours to avoid this difficulty, by explaining their faith, of which St. Paul, had heard," to mean the steadfastness of their persuasion that they were called into the kingdom of God, without subjection to the Mosaic institution. But this interpretation seems to me extremely hard; for, in the manner in which faith is here joined with love, in the expression, "your faith and love," it could not be meant to denote any particular, tenet which distinguished one set of Christians from others; forasmuch as the expression describes the general virtues of the Christian profession. Vide LOCKE in loc.

already acquainted. To the Corinthians it was this: "I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Christ Jesus," 1 Cor. ch. i. 4. To the Philippians: "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you," Phil. ch. i. 3. To the Thessalonians: "We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love," 1 Thess. ch. i. 3. To Timothy: "I thank God, whom I serve from my fathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day," 2 Tim. ch. i. 3. In these quotations, it is usually his remembrance, and never his hearing of them, which he makes the subject of his thankfulness to God.

fore

As great difficulties stand in the way supposing the epistle before us to have been written to the church of Ephesus, so I think it probable that it is actually the Epistle to the Laodiceans, referred to in the fourth chapter of the Epistle to the Colossians. The text which contains that reference is this: "When this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of

the Laodiceans, and that

ye

likewise read the

epistle from Laodicea," ch. iv. 16. The

66

epistle from Laodicea" was an epistle sent by St. Paul to that church, and b them transmitted to Colosse. The two churches were mutually to communicate the epistles they had received. This is the way in which the direction is explained by the greater part of commentators, and is the most probable sense that can be given to it. It is also probable that the epistle alluded to was an epistle which had been received by the church of Laodicea lately. It appears then, with a considerable degree of evidence, that there existed an epistle of St. Paul's nearly of the same date with the Epistle to the Colossians, and an epistle directed to a church (for such the church of Laodicea was) in which St. Paul had never been. What has been observed concerning the epistle before us, shows that it answers perfectly to that cha

racter.

Nor does the mistake seem very difficult to account for. Whoever inspects the map of Asia Minor will see, that a person proceeding from Rome to Laodicea would probably land at Ephesus, as the nearest frequented sea-port in that direction. Might

not Tychicus then, in passing through Ephesus, communicate to the Christians of that place the letter with which he was charged? And might not copies of that letter be multiplied and preserved at Ephesus? Might not some of the copies drop the words of designation & Aaodineia*, which it was of no consequence to an Ephesian to retain? Might not copies of the letter come out into the Christian church at large from Ephesus; and might not this give occasion to a belief that the letter was written to that church? And

* And it is remarkable that there seem to have been some ancient copies without the words of designation, either the words in Ephesus, or the words in Laodicea. St. Basil, a writer of the fourth century, speaking of the present epistle, has this very singular passage: " And writing to the Ephesians, as truly united to him who is through knowledge, he (Paul) calleth them in a peculiar sense such who are; saying to the saints who are und (or even) the faithful in Christ Jesus; for so those before us have transmitted it, and we have found it in ancient copies." Dr. Mill interprets (and, notwithstanding some objections that have been made to him, in my opinion rightly interprets) these words of Basil, as declaring that this father had seen certain copies of the epistle in which the words" in Ephesus" were wanting. And the passage, I think, must be considered as Basil's fanciful way of explaining what was really a corrupt and defective reading; for I do not believe it possible that the author of the epistle could have "originally written dylos rois 801, without any name of place to follow it..