Epistles

“ These classes are six in number; that containing [pg 078] the Gospels (Evangelia or Evan.) , or the Acts and Catholic Epistles (Act. and Cath.) , or the Pauline Epistles (Paul.) , or the Apocalypse (Apoc.) , or Lectionaries of the Gospels (Evangelistaria or Evst.) , or those of the Acts and Epistles (Apostolos or Apost.) . When one manuscript (as often happens) belongs to more than one of these classes, its distinct parts are numbered separately, so that a copy of the whole New Testament will appear in four lists, and be reckoned four times over. ”

“ The picture of the word would not be complete, had we not, after the Epistles which regulated the Church, as subsisting among the Gentiles, not only the practical account of the Apostasy, as in Jude, 2 Peter, 2 Timothy, 2 Thessalonians, &c., but the moral judgment of the Church, as passing from the state noticed in the epistles,—evidences that Christ never lost sight of it, and that when it ceased to be a manifestative place of His presence—His Epistle—he takes His place and title in the throne, whence all things are governed—“the same yesterday, to day, and for ever;” ”

“ St. Paul had written to seven particular Churches—Thessalonica, Corinth, Rome, Galatia, Philippi, Colossæ, and Ephesus; and here were seven Epistles without any address to a particular Church; therefore they might fitly be called "General Epistles." Clement of Alexandria uses this term of the letter addressed to the Gentile Christians "in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia" (Acts xv. 23) by the Apostles, in the so-called Council of Jerusalem (Strom. IV. xv.) ; and Origen uses it of the Epistle of Barnabas (Con. Celsum I. lxiii.) ”

“ Subdivision 2.—The Epistles.
In the epistles which have been preserved to us, and which are no doubt but a few rescued from a much larger correspondence, the apostolic authors enforce upon their respective converts or congregations the doctrines of Christianity as understood by them. They explain the relation of Jesus to the Jewish law; they inculcate morality; they reply to objections; they hold out the prospect of the speedy revolution which they expect. ”

“ The question which we now ask when the authenticity of an Epistle is doubted is, Do we find the same man? not, Do we find the same system? There is, properly speaking, no system in St. Paul's theology, and there is a singularly rapid development of thought. The 'Pastoral Epistles' are probably not genuine, though the defence of them is not quite a desperate undertaking. Of the rest, the weight of evidence is slightly against the Pauline authorship of Ephesians, the vocabulary of which differs considerably from that of the undoubted Epistles ”

“ Order: In our English Bible the order is not chronological. In ancient manuscripts there was much variation in position; the seven General Epistles were usually placed immediately after Acts, the Gospels coming first, though not always in the order now universal. The Pauline Epistles seem to have been arranged according to length, so that the earliest and the latest stand together, viz., I and II Thes. with I and II Timothy, and Titus." (Bible Treasury, p. 123.)
Footnotes
1. "Pertaining to or of the nature of teaching; intended to instruct or edify." (Dictionary.) ”

“ The first question which confronts us on entering upon the study of the Pastoral Epistles is that of their authenticity, which of late has been confidently denied. In reading them are we reading the farewell words of the great Apostle to the ministers of Christ? Or are we reading only the well-meant but far less weighty counsels of one who in a later age assumed the name and imitated the style of St. Paul? It seems necessary to devote the first of these expositions to a discussion of this question. ”

“ The distinctive character of text exhibited by A in the Gospels, by Δ in St Mark, and by Β in the Pauline Epistles, as also the orthography of Β (Ιστρ.) peculiar to the Acts, are instances of indications which equally shew the precariousness of assuming with respect to any one MS of the New Testament that all the books in it were copied from a single volume. ”

“ With respect to these Epistles, the Britannica says: “The predominant opinion of modern criticism at present is that the genuineness of the First Epistle is certain, while that of the Second must be given up.”
First and Second Timothy and Titus, known as the Pastoral Epistles, and Hebrews were not written by Paul. The Pastoral Epistles are forgeries, while Hebrews is an anonymous work. ”

“ Soon after Paul came to Corinth, it is supposed, he wrote the first epistle to the Thessalonians, which in order of time was the first of all the epistles he wrote by divine inspiration; and the second epistle to the same church was written not long after. Ministers may be serving Christ, and promoting the great ends of their ministry, by writing good letters, as well as by preaching good sermons. ”

“ Epistilbite, ep-i-stil′bīt, n. a whitish hydrous silicate of aluminium, calcium, and sodium.
Epistle, e-pis′l, n. a writing sent to one, a letter: esp. a letter to an individual or church from an apostle, as the Epistles of Paul: the extract from one of the apostolical epistles read as part of the communion service.—v.i. (Milt.) to preface.—ns. Epis′tler, Epis′toler, a letter-writer; Epis′tler, one who reads the liturgical epistle in the communion service.—adjs. ”

“ It is suitable, therefore, that the record of the facts should hold the first place. The apostolic epistles, which unfold the doctrines and duties involved in the gospel, and make a practical application of them to all the manifold relations of life, naturally follow the historic record. The mighty system of prophecies contained in the book of Revelation, which stretches over the whole future history of the church to the end of time, forms an appropriate close to the entire collection of writings. ”

“ The Pastoral Epistles are three in number—viz., I Timothy, II Timothy, and Titus. They are so called because they bear upon pastoral duties. From the earliest times they have been ascribed to Paul, and received as of canonical authority by the Church. They all belong to the same period, and they were all written towards the close of the Apostle's life. ”

“ If we wish the clearest statements of the nature and person of Christ, we turn to Paul's Epistle to the Colossians. If we wish the fullest dissertation upon Christ's work as a sacrifice, we go to the Epistle to the Hebrews. If we seek to prove that men are justified by faith, and not by works, it is to the Epistles to Romans and Galatians that we betake ourselves,—to the writings of the servant rather than the words of the Master. Now this fuller development of Christian doctrine contained in the teaching of the Apostles cannot be denied, and need not be wondered at. ”

“ An argument in favour of the genuineness of the epistles may be derived from the fact that each of the doubtful epistles is connected with others that are not doubtful by subtle links both of style and thought. If the reasons suggested above are not adequate, then we must set down the questioned epistles to some disciple of St Paul, who has carried the ideas and principles of his master a step farther or has applied them to a different set of problems and conditions. ”

“ V. As to the Epistles of Paul, besides the place they now occupy in our Bibles, they sometimes follow the gospels immediately.
(a) Gospels, Pauline Epistles; the Sinaitic MS., Jerome, Epiphanius, Augustine, the third council of Toledo, Isidore, Innocent I., Eugenius IV., the stichometry of the Clermont MS.
(b) The usual order of the Greek Church is, Gospels, Acts, Catholic Epistles, Pauline, &c., as in Cyril of Jerusalem, the Laodicean Council (60) , Athanasius, Leontius of Byzantium, the MSS. A. B., but not א. The critical Greek Testaments of Lachmann and Tischendorf adopt this order. ”

“ The great end to be attained is likeness to Christ (2:5) .
Time of Writing.—This epistle is generally regarded as the latest of the letters written during the first imprisonment in Rome, and in the same year with those to the churches at Colossæ, and Ephesus. It was probably sent to Philippi shortly after the other Epistles (Colossians, Philemon, and Ephesians) had been dispatched to Asia Minor. ”

“ It is a matter of common knowledge that there exist such things as Apocryphal Gospels, Acts, Epistles, Revelations—in fact apocryphal representatives of every one of the classes of writings which form the New Testament. Bible dictionaries, encyclopaedias, manuals, and text-books have made the fact familiar. ”

“ Hort labours to throw suspicion on “the Passover” (τὸ πάσχα) ,—in defiance of every known Manuscript,—every known Version,—and every Father who quotes or recognizes the place.790 We find nine columns devoted to his vindication of this weak imagination; although so partial are his Notes, that countless “various Readings” of great interest and importance are left wholly undiscussed. Nay, sometimes entire Epistles are dismissed with a single weak annotation (e.g. 1 and 2 Thessalonians) ,—or with none, as in the case of the Epistle to the Philippians. ”

“ It is peculiar. After the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and the historical books, follow Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, Wisdom, Sirach, the twelve minor prophets, the four greater; three books of the Maccabees, Judith, Esdras, Esther, Job, and Tobit. In the New Testament, the four gospels, Matthew, John, Mark, Luke, are succeeded by ten epistles of Paul, two of Peter, the epistle of James, three of John, and that of Jude. ”

“ To the Epistle it selfe there belong two common adjuncts. An Inscription, verses 1, 2. A Subscription, in the three last. In the Inscription there is contained, according to the usuall manner of Epistles, a holy salutation, shewing first, by whom this Epistle was written, secondly, to whom, thirdly, with what minde or affection it was written unto them; which is set forth by that pious wish, wherein he wisheth unto them the greatest good, Grace and Peace. In the person writing, and the good wished there are all things the same with those that are spoken of in the second Epistle. ”

“ The Apostolic Constitutions give a kind of canon like that in the 59th of Laodicea. After speaking of the books of Moses, Joshua, Judges, Kings, Chronicles, those belonging to the return from the captivity, those of Job, Solomon, the [pg 091] sixteen prophets, and the Psalms of David; our Acts, the epistles of Paul, and the four gospels are mentioned. It is remarkable that the Catholic epistles are not given. That they are indicated under Acts is altogether improbable. ”

“ The key-note of the book, the animus of it, comes out in the phrase which I have quoted from its title-page, and which speaks of writings ‘not included in the New Testament by its compilers’. The words call up a picture of a number of men—probably bishops in mitres—seated round a table piled with rolls and books. One pile is labelled ‘Gospels’, another ‘Epistles’, and so on. The members of this committee examine each volume with more or less care: most of them are put aside with gestures of disapproval. ”

“ The Mass. 3. The Mass, which we call the Communion Service, was contained in the Missale, so far as the text was concerned. The Epistles and Gospels, being read at separate lecterns, would often be written in separate books, called Epistolaria and Evangeliaria. ”

“ Everywhere I heard it said, that, to understand the Old as well as the New Testament, the original languages were requisite. The latter I could read quite easily; because, that there might be no want of exercise, even on Sundays, the so-called Epistles and Gospels had, after church, to be recited, translated, and in some measure explained. I now purposed doing the same thing with the Old Testament, the peculiarities of which had always especially interested me. ”

“ Those critics who recognize the genuine apostle only in the four previous epistles and reject whatever does not conform strictly to their type, do not perceive how much is needed to make up a man like the apostle Paul. Without the inwardness, the brooding faculty, the power of abstract and metaphysical thinking displayed in the epistles of this group, he could never have wrought out the system of doctrine contained in those earlier writings, nor grasped the principles which he there applies with such vigour and effect. ”

“ The Pastoral Epistles
By the Rev. ALFRED PLUMMER, D.D., Master of University College, Durham.
"An admirable sample of what popular theology ought to be."—Saturday Review.
"The treatment is throughout scholarlike, lucid, thoughtful."—Guardian.
The First Epistle to the Corinthians
By the Rev. Prof. MARCUS DODS, D.D.
"A clear, close, unaffected, unostentatious exposition, not verse by verse, but thought after thought, of this most interesting perhaps, and certainly most various, of all the Apostle's writings."—London Quarterly Review. ”

“ Christ.
47:003:001 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some
others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of
commendation from you?
47:003:002 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
47:003:003 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. ”

“ But, besides these references to the preceding part of holy writ, in some of these epistles there are contained prophecies, either wholly new or at least more largely and plainly revealed, as that in the Revelation concerning the rise, reign, and fall of antichrist, of which great apostasy we have some account in 2 Thess. ”