Biblical commentary on the New Testament - The Christian ...

Ixxii . THE
PAULINE EPISTLES.
related in the Acts. We shall therefore devote sejmrate considera/-
tion to these Epistles.
CHAPTER V.
CONTINUATION.—OF THE PAULINE EPISTLES COMPOSED DUEING
AND AFTER PAUL'S IMPRISONMENT AT ROME.
Of the Epistles composed by Paul during his imprisonment at
Eome, the Epistles to the Philippians, Colossians and Philemon,
can be easily shown with sufficient certainty to be genuine writings
of the apostle. First, as to the Epistle to the Philippians, Paul
clearly represents himself therein, not only as a prisoner, but also as
a prisoner at Kome ;
for he speaks of the barracks occupied by the
imperial guards (the Praetorium : Luther translates the word by
Piiclit-haus, or hall of justice, Phil. i. 13), into which the fame of his
imprisonment had extended itself. Probably Paul had won over to
the gospel the soldiers set to guard him, to whom he was wont to
preach, and, through these, others in the camp may have been con-,
verted. Even the imperial palace itself is mentioned by Paul
(Phil. iv. 22), as having been already penetrated by the seeds of the
word of God. These clear allusions leave not the slightest doubt
that the Epistle was written from Rome. Nor can any doubt remain
as to the question, whether it was really written to the inhabitants
of the Macedonian city PJiiUjipi. For, according to Acts
xvi. 12 seq. the apostle's labours in this city had been particularly
blessed. The Lord at once opened the heart of Lydia, so that she
believed the preaching of Paul. An unfortunate occurrence respect-
ing a damsel possessed with a spirit of divination, which the apostle
expelled, constrained him to leave the city. The church of Philippi,
however, always preserved a particular attachment to the Apostle
Paul, and his acknowledgement of this fact runs through the whole
of his letter to them. The apostle calls them his brethren dearly
beloved and longed for, his joy and crown (Phil. iv. 1), and thanks
the Philippian Christians that they so faithfully had respect to his
bodily necessities (Phil. iv. 15, 16). These characteristics are decisive
in favour of the genuineness of the Epistles, which, more-
over, has not been contested either in ancient or modern times.
The case is the same in regard to the Epistle to the Colossians.
This church was not founded by Paul in person ; as he himself indicates
in Col. ii. 1. He had indeed been in Phrygia, but had not
visited the city of Colosse on his journey through this province of
Asia Minor. Paul nevertheless wrote to them, as also to tbe