Timothy to Hebrews - The Preterist Archive

214 Second Timothy II. 19.
is obviouBly not individual Christians (
al orepeal ^vxai^ according
to Chrys.) but the church, as the divinely founded structure whose
corner-stone is Christ (1 Cor. iii. 10, 11), and whose permanency
on earth is pledged by the dominion of his Spirit in it^ who ever
leads and binds to Christ. Of it as a community, not of the individuals
in it, holds unconditionally the promise of Matth. xvi.
18, and the words " pillar and ground of the truth" of 1 Tim. iii. 15.
Others have understood by the OeiieXiog the "foundation of the truth"
(Theodoret); or still more definitely, Christ, appealing to 1 Cor.
iii. 11 (Bretschneider) ; or the fundamental doctrine of the resurrection
( Michfelis etc.) ; or the promises of God (Ambrose) ; the
unshaken faith of God (Bengel); the election of grace (Calnn, etc.).
Decisive against these, as remarked by De Wette, is the fact that
the following tokens point manifestly to such as belong to, or wish
to enter into, the house of God, as well as the continuation of the
figure, " but in a large house," etc. The term defitXio^ (sc. Xidor),
originally = foundation-stone; must not, as Huther rightly remarks,
be taken strictly in this signification, since then assuredly the olKoiojirj
built thereon could denote only the church of Christ: nor need we enlarge
its signification to that of edifice, palace, as it signifies in fact
Jer. vi. 5 ; Is. xxv. 2, in the LXX. = v*".*? ; it signifies foundation,
substructure, and the selection of the term is explained from the
contrast with the preceding, which demanded, on the one hand, the
designation of the church as something firm and unwavering, and
on the other, as those fallen away were undoubtedly a part of the
edifice, led of course to a distinguishing of the foundation from that
which is built upon it and is liable to fall (1 Cor. iii. 12). For
when the apostle speaks of it, not as here in its essential duration,
but in its temporal manifestation (ver. 20) he compares it with a great
house which contains in itself diverse and even antagonistic elements
("some for honor, others for dishonor"). This OFjitXiog adds the
apostle, has a seal. The part, t^wv assigns the reason of the preceeding,
" in that it has," etc. I^paytV denotes " seal" and " impression
of a seal" by which a thing is secured, or designated in its
proper nature, or confirmed and ratified. The apostle elsewhere
also uses this expression in its metaphorical signification, as Rom.
iv. 11; 1 Cor. ix. 2, and so also afppayi^u), Epii. i. 13; iv. 30; 2 Cor.
i. 22; Rom. xv. 28. This seal is here conceived as consisting in an
inscription, borne by the OejiDuo^, for which analogies are found in
Deut. vi. 9 ; xi. 20 ; Rev. xxi. 14. l