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wants, according to his riches in glory, through Christ 20 Jesus. Now unto our God, and Father, be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

21 Salute every one that is holy through Christ Jesus. 22 The brethren that are with me salute you. All the saints salute you; chiefly those that are of Cæsar's household'. 23 The favour of [our] Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, [Amen.]*

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To the Philippians was written from Rome by Epaphroditus. R. T.

THE EPISTLE

OF PAUL TO THE COLOSSIANS.

1 PAUL,

CHAPTER 1.

an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, 2 and Timothy our brother, to the holy and faithful brethren in Christ that are at Colossé : favour be unto you, and peace, from God our Father'.

3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Je4 sus Christ, (praying always for you, since we heard of your

faith in Christ Jesus, and of your love to all the saints,) 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which ye have heard before in the true doctrine of the go6 spel; which is come to you, as it is in all the world also; [and] bringeth forth fruit, and increaseth; even as it doth among you since the day ye heard of it, and knew the fa7 vour of God in truth; as ye have learned [also] from Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful 8 minister of Christ; who hath declared also to us your love in your spirit.

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For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, cease not to pray for you, and to ask that ye may be filled with the knowledge of God's will, in all spiritual wisdom and 10 understanding; that ye may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord so as to please him in all things, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of

1 and from the Lord Jesus Christ. R.T. 2 the love which ye have, Mss. 3 Gr. word of truth, N.m. ♦ as it bringeth forth fruit and increaseth in all the world also, even as among you, Mss. N. m. 5 for us, Mss. • Gr. to all pleasing, N. m. 7 unto the knowledge, R. T.

11 God; strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and endurance with joyful12 ness; and giving thanks to the Father, that hath made us

fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light': 13 and that hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and

hath translated us into the kingdom of his beloved Son2: 14 by whom we have redemption 3, even the forgiveness of our 15 sins*; and who is the image of the invisible God, the first16 born of the whole creation*: for by him all things were

created that are in heaven, and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or

'Or, hath made us fit by the light to be partakers, &c. See Rosenmuller, "Gr. the son of his love. 3 redemption through his blood, R. T. 4 N. m. every creature, N. The apostle explains his meaning, ver. 18.

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"Redemption:" that is, deliverance from our heathen state; which signifies the same as forgiveness of sin." Being now brought into a holy state, all which they had done in their state of heathenism was no longer a bar to their admission into a state of reconciliation and privilege. In plain language, *nothing which they had done in their heathen state excluded them from being members of the christian community.

That the apostle does not here intend the creation of natural substances is evident; for, 1st, He does not say that by him were created heaven and earth, but things in heaven, and things on earth: 2dly, He does not, in descending into detail, specify things themselves, viz. celestial and terrestrial substances, but merely states of things, viz. thrones, dominions, &c. which are only ranks and orders of beings in the rational and moral world: 3dly, It is plain from comparing ver. 15 and ver. 18, that Christ is called the first-born of the whole creation, because he is the first who was raised from the dead to an immortal life: 4thly, The creation of natural objects, the heaven, the earth and sea, and all things therein, when they are plainly and unequivocally mentioned, is uniformly and invariably ascribed to the Father, both in the Old Testament and the New. Hence it follows, that the creation which the apostle here ascribes to Christ, expresses that great change which was introduced into the moral world, and particularly into the relative situation of Jews and gentiles, by the dispensation of the gospel, This is often called creation, or the new creation, and is usually ascribed to Jesus Christ, who was the great prophet and messenger of the new covenant. See Eph. i. 10; ii, 10-15; iii. 9; iv. 24; Col. iii. 10; 2 Cor. v. 17. This great change the apostle here describes under the symbol of a revolution introduced by Christ amongst certain ranks and orders of beings, by whom, according to the Jewish demonology, borrowed from the Oriental philosophy, the affairs of states and individuals were superintended and governed. See Mr. Lindsey's Sequel, p. 477, and Wetstein in loc.

principalities, or powers: all these1 things were created by 17 him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him 18 all these things subsist: and he is the head of his body,

the church: who is the chief3, the first-born from the dead, 19 that in all things he might be the first. For it hath pleased 20 the Father to inhabit all fulness by him*; and, having

made peace through his blood shed on the cross, that by him he would reconcile all things to himself: by him, I say, 21 whether they be things on earth, or things in heaven t. And

you that were formerly aliens ‡, and enemies in your mind, 22 by wicked works, yet he hath now reconciled by his fleshly

body, through his death, to present you holy, and spotless, 23 and irreproachable in his sight; if ye continue grounded and steadfast in the faith, and not moved away from the hope given by the gospel' which ye have heard, and which hath been preached to every creature that is under heaven; of which I Paul have been made a minister.

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I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and in my turn fill up that which in my flesh remaineth behind of my afflic tions because of Christ, for the sake of his body, which is 25 the church: of which church I have been made a minister,

according to the dispensation of God which hath been given me toward you, that I may fully preach the word of God, 26 even the mystery which hath been hidden from ages and from

generations, but now hath been made manifest to his saints:

Gr.

'all things, N. See Wakefield. "Or, he was, N. m. 3 beginning, N. See N.m. 4 Or, have the first place. N. m. 5 Gr. the blood of his cross. "the body of his flesh :" q. d. his own person, himself. 7 Gr. hope of the gospel.

* See Peirce, and Lindsey's Ans. to Robinson, p. 45. The church is the fulness, or the completion of the body of Christ, Eph. i. 23, which God inhabits by his spirit communicated by Christ, Eph. ii. 22. The Primate adopts the public version of this text, "that in him all fulness should dwell."

+ that is, gentiles or Jews, who were first reconciled to one another, and then to God, by Christ. See Eph. i. 10, and Mr. Locke's note, also Eph. ii, 14-16, and Mr. Peirce's note upon this text.

In their heathen state they were ceremonially and morally sinners. They are now ceremonially reconciled, i, e. brought to the profession of christianity that they may be morally purified.

27 to whom God hath been willing to make known what are the glorious riches' of this mystery among the gentiles; which mystery is Christ among you, the hope of glory : 28 whom we preach, admonishing every man, and teaching every man, with all wisdom; that we may present every man 29 perfect in Christ: for which I labour also, and contend

according to his working which worketh in me mightily. CH. 11. For I would that ye knew what earnest care I have for

you, and for those at Laodicea, and for as many as have not 2 seen my face in the flesh; that their hearts might be comforted, they being knit together in love, and to all riches of the full assurance of their understanding 3, to the knowledge 3 of the mystery of God; in which are hidden all the trea4 sures of wisdom and knowledge. Now I say this, lest any 5 man should deceive you by persuasive words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in my spirit, rejoicing, and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your 6 faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus 7 the Lord, so walk in him; rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein in thanksgiving.

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Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the deity* bodily: 10 and ye are filled through him, who is the head of all prin11 cipality and power: through whom ye have been circumcised also with a circumcision not made by hands, by put

Gr." the riches of the glory." 2 Christ Jesus, R. T. 3 Or, of the most fully assured understanding. of God the Father and of Christ, R. T. and N.

* "Godhead," N. Compare Eph. iii. 19, where Christians are said to be filled with all the fulness of God. "The scholastic word godhead," says Mr. Lindsey, "is rejected, because to common readers it countenances the strange notion of a God consisting of three persons." Lindsey's Second Address, p. 283, 284. "All those blessings which proceed from the Godhead, and wherewith we are filled, dwell in Christ, truly and substantially.” Peirce in loc.

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