the apostle, after his departure had not failed to put the Coloffians in mind of his doctrine. Befides, if Epaphras had converted the Coloffians, the apostle inftead of faying, chap. iv. 12. Epaphras who came from you, a fervant of Chrift faluteth you, would rather have faid, as Lardner has obferved, Epaphras by whom ye believed; or fomewhat to the like purpose, expreffive of the obligations they lay under to him.

The following are the arguments which prove that Paul converted the Coloffians. First, This apoftle speaking of the Chriftian church, fays, chap. i. 25. Whereof I am made a minifter, according to the difpenfation of God, which was given me on your account, fully to preach the word of God. But if the difpenfation of God was given Paul on account of the Coloffians, fully to preach the word of God, can it be imagined, that, notwithtanding he was so often in Phrygia, he would neglect his commillion so far, as never to preach the gospel in Coloffe ?-Secondly, Throughout the whole of this epiftle, the apostle and the Coloffians are represented as taking a special interest in each others affairs, like persons who were bound to each other, by the strongest ties of friendship. For example, chap. ii. 5. Though in the flesh I be abfent, yet in spirit I am with you, rejoi ting when I fee your order, and the firmness of your faith.—In like manner, chap. iv. 7. All things concerning me, Tychicus a beloved brother, and faithful minister, and fellow fervant in the Lord, will make known to you. 8. Whom, 1 have fent to you for this very purpose, that he may know the fate of your affairs and comfort your hearts. Nay, as a perfon for whofe opinion the Coloffians had the highest regard, he bare teftimony to them concerning Epaphras their own paftor, chap. i. 7. that he was a faithful minifter of Jefus Chrift with respect to them, and chap. iv. 13. had much zeal for them, and for thofe in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis: all which are expreffions of fuch an affection, as would naturally fubfift between perfons converted to the faith of the gospel, and him who had converted them.-Thirdly, The apostle wrote the falutation to the Coloffians with his own hand, as he did to the other churches, which were planted by himself, and who knew his hand-writing. Whereas in his epistle to the Romans, who were ftrangers to him, the falutations were

written

written by Tertius.-Fourthly, That the Coloffians were converted by an apoftle, appears from chap. ii. 6. Seeing then ye have received Chrift Jefus the Lord, walk ye in him; 7. Rooted in bim, and built upon him, and made firm in the faith, even as ye have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. This the apoftle could not have faid to the Coloffians, if their only teacher had been Epaphras, or any other who was not an apostle. See alfo chap. i. 6. From the day ye heard it, and knew the grace of God in truth. These things, as Dr. Lardner very well ob ferves, Can. vol. ii. chap. 14. fhew that the Coloffians were converted by an apostle. Now, who fhould this be but Paul himself, who made fo many journeys into their country, and preached there with fuch fuccefs?

Upon the whole, we may believe that the churches in Coloffe, Laodicea, and Hierapolis, were planted by St. Paul, with the affistance of Timothy in particular; and therefore in writing this epiftle, Timothy joined the apoftle, as one well known to the Coloffians, and greatly refpected by them.

SECT. II. Of the Occafion of writing the Epifle to the Coloffians.

When the news of Paul's confinement at Rome reached the Christians in Coloffe, they fent Epaphras, (a native of their city, chap. iv. 12. and formerly an idolater, chap. 1. 13. but now a Christian minister in their church, chap. i. 7.) all the way to Rome to comfort the apostle, by declaring the affection which the Coloffians bare to him as their spiritual father, chap.i. 8. and to give him an account of their state, and to bring them back word how matters went with him, chap. iv. 7,—9.

From Epaphras the apoftle learned, that the greateft part of the Coloffians perfevered in the faith, and were remarkable for their love to all the brethren, chap. i. 4. But that certain false teachers had perfuaded fome of them to worship angels, and to abstain from animal food, and to obferve the Jewish festivals, new moons, and fabbaths, and to mortify their bodies by long continued faftings: In fhort, to practife the rites of the law of Mofes as abfolutely neceffary to their falvation, chap. ii. 16.23.

Long before the light of the gospel fhone on the world, the Greeks had introduced their philofophy into many of the countries of the Leffer Afia, and among the rest into Phrygia, where, it would seem the doctrines of Pythagoras and of Plato were much admired. The followers of Plato held, that the government of the world is carried on by beings inferior to the gods, but fuperior to men, fuch as the Jews believed angels to be. These 'they called Aauoves, a name which in the Greek language fignifies Divinities: and these they enjoined their fect to worship, on account of their agency in human affairs. See Coloff. ii. 8. note 2.-The philofophy of Pythagoras led to a different difcipline. They held, that mankind had all lived in fome preexistent state, and that for the fins committed by them in their pre-exiftent ftate, fome of their fouls were fent into human bodies, and others of them into the bodies of brutes, to be punished for, and to be purged from, their former fins. Wherefore, believing the whole brute creation to be animated by human fouls, they held it unlawful to kill any thing which hath life, and abstained wholly from animal food. Withal, effectually to free themselves from the vices and pollutions contracted in their pre-existent state, they practifed repeated and long continued fastings and other severities, for the purpose of thoroughly fubjecting the body with its appetites to the foul.

From the things which the apostle Paul hath written to the Coloffians, it appears that, before their converfion, fome of them had embraced the disclipline of Pythagoras, and others of them the philosophy of Plato; and that the Judaizers who came to Coloffe, the more effectually to recommend the law of Mofes to the Chriftians in that city, had affirmed that Pythagoras derived his discipline, and Plato his dogmas, from the writings of Mofes. That thefe falfe teachers made ufe of an argument of this kind, to recommend the Jewish institutions to the Coloffians, is the more probable that fome of the early Chriftian writers, and, if I am not miftaken, fome of the Jewish writers alfo in the first ages, affirmed the very fame fact. See Ryan's hiftory of the effects of religion on mankind, Sect. 2. The truth is, the Pythagorean discipline bears fome resemblance to the abflinence from unclean meats, and to the fastings enjoined in the law of Mofes. But, be this as it may be, it cannot be

denied that the Pythagorean precepts, both concerning the abftinence from animal food, and concerning the mortification of the body by fafting and other severities, together with the doctrines of Piato concerning the agency of angels in human affairs, and the honour which is due to them from men on that account, are all exprefsly condemned by the apostle in his epiftle to the Coloffians. This being the cafe, may we not believe that the Judaizing teachers, who it is well known artfully fuited their tenets to the characters and prejudices of the perfons whom they addreffed, talked to the Coloffians, in a plaufible and pompous manner, concerning the dignity and office of angels, and represented them as proper objects of worship to mankind, on account of the bleffings which they received through their miniftry; and even infinuated, that, to render mankind complete in knowledge, new revelations of the will of God, more perfect than thofe made by Chrift, might be expected through the miniftry of angels, who they affirmed were better acquainted with the will of God, than it was poffible for Christ to be; as, according to them, he was nothing but a man. Nay, thefe impoftors, may have gone fo far as to obtrude their own. falfe doctrines on the Coloffians, as new revelations made to them by angels. Farther, in proof of the agency of angels in human affairs, and to fhew that they are proper objects of men's worship, they would not neglect to tell the Coloffians, that the law of Mofes was given by the miniftry of angels, and that angels conducted the Ifraelites into Canaan. - And with respect to fuch of the Coloffians as were tinctured with the Platonic phi lofophy, we know that to perfuade them to worship angels, or at leaft to make ufe of their mediation, in worshipping God, they affirmed that it was arrogance in finners to worship God without fome mediator, and therefore they exhorted the Coloffians, as an exercife of humility becoming them, to fend up their prayers to God by the mediation of angels; which they faid was more acceptable to God, and more effectual, than the mediation of Chrift, who could not be fuppofed to have power with God, like the angels his minifters in the government of the world. Laftly, As the heathens in general, trusting to pro pitiatory facrifices for the pardon of their fins, were extremely

attached

attached to that kind of facrifice, we may suppose, although it is not mentioned by the apostle, that the Judaizers told the Colof. fians, fince there were no propitiatory facrifices prescribed in the gofpel, it was undoubtedly the will of God to continue the facrifices and purifications of the law of Mofes, which he himself had appointed as the means of procuring the pardon of fin. And, by this argument also, they endeavoured to allure the Coloffians to embrace the law.-Upon the whole, the Judaizers recommended the law, as an inftitution excellently calculated for procuring the pardon of fin, and for perfecting men in virtue, confequently as abfolutely neceffary to falvation.

But this whole form of doctrine, by drawing men away from Christ the head, and making them forfeit all the benefit which they may derive from his mediation, it was neceffary that an effectual remedy fhould be provided for putting a stop to so pernicious a scheme of error. And fuch a remedy the Spirit of God actually provided, by inspiring the apostle Paul to write this excellent epistle, wherein all the errors of the false teachers are condemned, either directly, or by establishing the contrary truths. In particular, the Levitical facrifices and purifications, were fhewed to be of no manner of ufe under the gospel, by the apostle's doctrine, chap. i. 14. That we have redemption through the blood, that is, the facrifice of Chrift, even the forgiveness of fins.—In like manner, the vain figment, that angels are fuperior in dignity and power to Christ, was entirely destroyed by the apostle's doctrine, chap. i. 15. that Chrift is the image of the invisible God, the first born, or Lord, of the whole creation, ver. 16. Becaufe by him were created, all things which are in the heavens, and which are upon the earth, things vifible, and things invisible, whether they be thrones, or lordships, &c. confequently, that the angels themselves, whatever their nature, or their office in the universe may be, were created by Chrift, and are abfolutely fubject to him, ver. 18. That he is the head, or ruler, of the body, even of the church, ver. 19. For it pleafed the Father, that in him all the fulness of perfection and power should continually dwell; confequently that the Coloffians had no inducement to worship, either evil angels through fear, or good angels from humility. And, to put these important doctrines concerning the dignity. and office of Chrift beyond all doubt, the apoftle told the Co

loffians,