EXPOSITION, &c.

CHAPTER I.

VERSE 1. Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.)

PAUL'S name was originally Saul, but, although a Jew, being the apostle of the Gentiles, he is called Paul from the time that Sergius Paulus, the deputy of Cyprus, believed through his instrumentality.'

In this, as in his other epistles, he describes himself as an apostle,- -a messenger, -one who had been sent, but not by men, nor by the intervention or instrumentality of man, but immediately by Jesus Christ, and through Him by God the Father. The Lord appeared to him on the way to Damascus, and appointed him the apostle of the Gentiles. Thus he was placed in every respect on a level with the eleven whom the Lord had commissioned to be His ambassadors, who should proclaim pardon through faith in His name to the very chief of sinners.

As there were twelve patriarchs, the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel, the Lord ordained twelve, to whom He gave the name of Apostles, thus distinguishing them from the

1 Acts xiii. 9, 12.

2 Acts xxvi. 17.

3 Luke vi. 13.

Seventy whom he sent out to preach in Judea during His personal ministry.

It is a striking peculiarity of the ministry, both of Moses and of Christ, that neither of them fully explained the doctrine which he taught during his abode upon earth. Founders of new religions have arisen, who promulgated their entire systems; but both Moses and Christ referred the full development of their doctrine to a future period, and this, in connexion with what afterwards took place, affords a demonstration of both having come forth from God. Moses required that his law should remain without addition or diminution till the appearance of a prophet like unto him, to whom Israel were to hearken on pain of exclusion from the Divine favour. Many prophets were raised up in Israel previous to the appearance of Christ, but none like unto Moses, who was not only a lawgiver, 2 but discharged the offices of a prophet, priest, and king.* The Lord Jesus told His disciples, when about to leave them, that He had many things to say to them, which they could not yet bear, but that He would send them another teacher -the spirit of truth-who should lead them into all the truth. This promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecosta feast ordained by Moses in commemoration of the giving of the law-by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit; and then, and not till then, was the kingdom of God fully exhibited. From that period, the apostles were enabled with infallible certainty to promulgate the laws of the kingdom, and to confirm their doctrine by mighty signs and wonders. Hence, they could say, "If any man think himself to be a prophet,

* Although Aaron was appointed high priest, and the priesthood was hereditary in his family, Moses had not only constant access to the holy place, but officiated as priest at the consecration of Aaron, Lev. viii. 1 Deut. xviii. 15, 19. Acts iii. 22, 23. 3 John xiv. 16, 17, and 26. 2 Deut. xxxiv. 1.

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or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord." "We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 992 In fact, Christ spoke in them. When He said, "as my Father sent me, so send I you,' He pledged Himself for the truth of what they taught, as the Father had done in regard to the Lord Jesus, when He said "this is my beloved Son, hear ye Him." Thus the Gospel was committed to the apostles; they were Christ's ambassadors, and were furnished with ample credentials. 3

The Apostles are represented as having the keys of the kingdom of heaven committed to them. Much has been said on "the power of the keys," and a very plain subject has been obscured by professed explanations. Nothing is more obvious than that by the keys committed to the Apostles, we are to understand the doctrine by the faith of which men enter the kingdom. Those who made the commandment of God of none effect by their tradition, are represented as taking away the key of knowledge, neither entering themselves, nor suffering others to enter.♦

When the Lord inquired of the twelve, what men said of Him, they replied, some considered Him to be John the baptist, some Elias, others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. On the question being put, "But whom say ye that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Peter was the spokesman upon this occasion, and Jesus-having pronounced him blessed, and declared that flesh and blood had not revealed it to him, but his Heavenly Father-confirmed to him the name of Peter, which he had formerly given him, and declared, "upon

1 1 Cor. xiv. 37.

2 1 John iv. 6.

3 2 Cor. xii. 12.

4 Luke xi. 52. 5 John i. 42.

this rock I will build my church." The rock is evidently the truth which Peter had declared. Jesus being the Christ, the Son of God, is the foundation and chief corner-stone of the Church, but Peter was one of the twelve foundations of the wall of the city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem,' for he and his fellow apostles with all authority made known the doctrine of the kingdom, not only to their own, but to all succeeding generations, and upon their doctrine the kingdom rests.

Ever since the days of the Apostles, the building of mercy has been advancing, and it shall continue to advance, till the topstone be brought forth with shouting, crying, Grace, grace unto it! While every wise master builder carefully lays the foundation, he never thinks of repeating the process. Being satisfied that the foundation is secure, he carries forward the building. The Apostles fully promulgated the doctrine of Christ, and completed the Holy Scriptures, in which the laws of his kingdom are recorded. This kingdom cannot be moved; its laws are unchangeable, so that there is no further need of inspired teachers being raised up for the guidance and direction of its subjects.

Upon the Lord's committing to Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, are founded the pretensions of the pope, who, as the successor of Peter, lays claim to infallibility and universal authority over the Church. That Peter had no official authority above the other Apostles, is manifest by Paul's declaration, that he was not a whit behind the very chiefest Apostles; and so far from admitting Peter's superiority, we find in this epistle, that, when Peter acted improperly, Paul publicly reproved him, and pointed out the inconsistency of his conduct. When the Lord delivered the commission to the Apostles after his resurrection, no

1 Rev. xxi. 14,

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special notice was taken of Peter. The keys of the kingdom were equally put into the hands of the eleven, and, as if to guard against ascribing superiority to Peter, we find the Lord giving him the most severe rebuke which He ever administered to any of his disciples. "He turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan; thou art an offence unto me for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." 112 And he alone forfeited his apostleship by denying his Master, and was formally reinstated in his office, but without the slightest hint of preeminence over the others.

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Peter, James, and John were indeed peculiarly distinguished during our Lord's personal ministry. They alone were permitted to be present when he raised the ruler's daughter. They alone attended him on the holy mount, and were nearest him during his agony at Gethsemane; but their official authority was no greater than that of the other Apostles. We have seen that the Lord said he would give to Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and in correspondence with this declaration, he was particularly distinguished on the day of Pentecost. standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice." also made choice among the Apostles, that "the Gentiles by his mouth should hear the word of the Gospel, and believe." This is elsewhere termed "opening the door of faith to the Gentiles," "7 which confirms the interpretation given of the keys of the kingdom of heaven. But however

Peter,

God

distinguished Peter might be, it affords no plea for the domination of the pope, for the allegation of Peter having been bishop of Rome, is one of those vain traditions by which the mother of harlots has made void the law of God.

1 Mark xvi. 15. 16.

2 Matt. xvi. 23.

3 John xxi. 15.

4 Luke viii. 51.

5 Acts ii. 14.

6 Acts xv. 7.

7 Acts xiv. 27.