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by the inspiration of the Lord, says, 'Now he that ministereth seed to the sower, minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness, that ye may be enriched in all things." Likewise Paul to the Galatians, says, 'When the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman.""

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CYPRIAN expressly quotes the Epistle to the Ephesians under that title. "But the Apostle Paul, speaking of the same thing more clearly and plainly, writes to the Ephesians, and says, 'Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it, with the washing of water.'‡ So also, Paul to the Philippians, says, 'Who being appointed in the form of God, did not earnestly affect to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking on him the form of a servant; and being made in the likeness of man, and found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.'§ In the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians, it is written, 'Continue in prayer, watching in the same.' || Likewise, the blessed Apostle Paul, full of the Holy Ghost, sent to call and convert the Gentiles, warns and teaches, Beware, lest any man spoil you through philosophy, &c." He also quotes both the Epistles to the Thessalonians. In his book of Testimonies, he says, "If the Apostle Paul, writing to Timothy, said, 'Let no man despise thy youth,' much more may it be said of you and your colleagues, 'Let no man despise thy age."""Therefore the Apostle writes to Timothy, and exhorts, 'that a bishop should not strive, but be gentle, and apt to teach." These two Epistles are elsewhere quoted distinctly, as the First and Second to Timothy. He also quotes, from the Epistle to Titus, the passage, "A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition, reject."‡‡

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CYPRIAN no where quotes the Epistle to the Hebrews. It is probable, therefore, that he, like some others of the Latin Fathers, did not believe it to be Paul's, or was doubtful respecting it.

Neither does he cite the Epistle to Philemon; of this no other reason need be sought, but its contents and brevity. How many Christian authors have written volumes, without any citation of that Epistle.

VICTORINUS, who lived near the close of the third century,

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often quotes Paul's Epistles; and, among the rest, he cites the Epistle to the Hebrews, which he seems to have believed to be the production of Paul.

DIONYSIUS of Alexandria, also a contemporary of Origen, and a man of great learning, in the few fragments of his works which remain, often refers to Paul's Epistles.

NOVATUS, presbyter of the Church of Rome, who flourished about the middle of the third century, expressly cites from the Epistle to the Romans, that famous testimony to Christ's divinity, so often quoted by the Fathers, "Whose are the Fathers, of whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed for ever." And it deserves to be recollected, that although so many, beginning with Irenæus, have cited this passage, yet none of them appear to have thought the words capable of any other meaning, than the plain, obvious sense, which strikes the reader at first. That it was a mere exclamation of praise, seems never to have entered their minds. NoVATUS also quotes the First and Second Epistles to the Corinthians, the Epistles to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, and to the Philippians. From this last Epistle, he cites these remarkable words: "Who being in the form of God,”* and interprets the following clause in exact accordance with another of the Fathers: "Did not earnestly seek to be like God, or to be equal with God." He quotes from the Epistle to the Colossians, these words: "Whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers, things visible and invisible, by him all things consist." The Epistles to Timothy, and to Titus, are also cited by this author.

METHODIUS, who lived in the latter part of the third century, quotes Paul's Epistle to the Romans, First and Second to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, the First to the Thessalonians, and the First to Timothy. He has also taken several passages from the Epistle to the Hebrews; and quotes it in such a manner, as to render it highly probable, that he esteemed it to be a part of Sacred Scripture, and ascribed it to Paul.

EUSEBIUS, the learned historian, undoubtedly received thirteen Epistles of Paul as genuine; and he seems to have entertained no doubt respecting the Canonical authority of the Epistle to the Hebrews; but he sometimes expresses himself doubtfully of its author, while at other times he quotes it as Paul's, without any apparent hesitation. In speaking of the universally-acknowledged Epistle of Clement of Rome, he observes:

* Phil. ii, 6.

+ Col. i, 16, 17.

"In which, inserting many sentiments of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and also using some of the very words of it, he plainly manifests that Epistle to be no modern writing. And hence it has, not without reason, been reckoned among the other writings of the Apostle; for Paul having written to the Hebrews in their own language, some think that the Evangelist Luke, others, that this very Clement translated it; which last is the more probable of the two, there being a resemblance between the style of the Epistle of Clement, and that to the Hebrews; nor are the sentiments of these two writings very different." In his Ecclesiastical History, he speaks "Of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and divers other Epistles of Paul." And Theodoret positively asserts, that Eusebius received this Epistle as Paul's, and that he manifested that all the ancients, almost, were of the same opinion. It seems, from these facts, that in the time of Eusebius, the churches with which he was acquainted, did generally receive the Epistle to the Hebrews, as the writing of Paul.

AMBROSE, Bishop of Milan, received fourteen Epistles of Paul.

JEROME received, as undoubted, all Paul's Epistles, except that to the Hebrews, concerning which he says, in his letter to Evangelius, "That all the Greeks, and some of the Latins, received this Epistle."

And in his letter to Dardanus, "That it was not only received, as Paul's, by all the churches of the East, in his time, but by all the Ecclesiastical writers in former times, though many ascribe it to Barnabas, or Clement." He also says, "That it was daily read in the churches: and if the Latins did not receive this Epistle, as the Greeks rejected the Revelation of John, he received both; not being so much influenced by present times, as the judgment of ancient writers, who quote both; and that not as they quote Apocryphal books, and even Heathen writings, but as Canonical and Ecclesiastical."

JEROME, in speaking of the writings of Paul, gives the following very full and satisfactory testimony: "He wrote," says he, "nine Epistles to seven churches. To the Romans, one; to the Corinthians, two; to the Galatians, one; to the Philippians, one; to the Colossians, one; to the Thessalonians, two; to the Ephesians, one; to Timothy, two; to Titus, one; to Philemon, one. But the Epistle called, to the Hebrews, is not thought to be his, because of the difference of argument and style; but rather Barnabas's, as Tertullian thought; or Luke's, according to some others; or Clement's, who was afterwards

Bishop of Rome; who being much with Paul, clothed and adorned Paul's sense in his own language. Or if it be Paul's, he might decline putting his name to it in the inscription, for fear of offending the Jews. Moreover, he wrote as a Hebrew to the Hebrews, it being his own language; whence it came to pass, that being translated, it has more elegance in the Greek than his other Epistles. This they say is the reason of its differing from Paul's other writings. There is also an Epistle to the Laodiceans, but it is rejected by every body." Jerome commonly quotes the Epistle to the Hebrews, as the Apostle Paul's; and, as we have seen before, this was his prevailing opinion, which is not contradicted in the long passage just cited.

AUGUSTINE received fourteen Epistles of Paul, the last of which, in his catalogue, is, the Epistle to the Hebrews; he was aware, however, that some in his time thought it of doubtful authority" However," says he, "I am inclined to follow the opinion of the churches of the East, who receive it among the Canonical Scriptures.'

The time when each of these Epistles was written, cannot be ascertained with any exactness. It is not even agreed among the learned, which was the First of Paul's Epistles. Generally, indeed, it has been thought that the two Epistles to the Thessalonians were composed earlier than the others; but of late, some learned men have given precedence to the Epistle to the Galatians. And this opinion is not altogether confined to the moderns, for Tertullian mentions this Epistle as among the first of Paul's writings. But the more common opinion is, that it was written during the long abode of this Apostle at Corinth. Among the advocates of this opinion, we find L'Enfant, Beausobre, Lardner, &c.; while Grotius, Capel, Witsius, and Wall, suppose that it was written at Ephesus. These last, together with Fabricius and Mill, place the date of the Epistle to the Galatians after that to the Romans.

Macknight maintains that it was written from Antioch, after the Council of Jerusalem; and offers, in support of his opinion, several plausible arguments, which, if they do not prove all that he wishes, seem to render it probable that the time of this Epistle being written was soon after the Council of Jerusalem. Semler, however, is of opinion that this Epistle was written prior to the Council of Jerusalem.

From these various opinions, it is sufficiently evident that the precise date of the Epistle to the Galatians cannot be ascertained. If we take the opinions of those who give the earliest date, the time of writing will not be later than A.D. 47. But

if we receive as more probable the opinions of those who think that it was written after the Council of Jerusalem, we shall bring it down to the year 50; while, according to the opinion more commonly adopted, its date will be A.D. 52, or 53. And if we prefer the opinions of those who assign the latest date to this Epistle, we shall bring it down several years later, and instead of giving it the first place, will give it the ninth or tenth.

There seem to be better data for determining that the First Epistle to the Thessalonians was written from Corinth, about the year 51; and the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians was probably written a few months afterwards, from the same place.

Michaelis and Dr Hales unite in giving the next place, in the order of time, to the Epistle to Titus. Lardner, however, places it considerably later; and Paley assigns to it a date later than any other author. On this subject there is little else than conjecture to guide us.

The year in which this Epistle was written, according to Michaelis and Hales, was 53; according to Lardner, 56; according to Barrington, 57; and according to Whitby, Pearson, and Paley, 65.

The Epistle next in order is the First to the Corinthians, the date of which can be determined, with considerable precision, from the Epistle itself. "I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost." These words teach where this Epistle was written, and, by a comparison with other passages of Scripture, that it was penned near the close of Paul's long residence at Ephesus, from which place he departed about A.D. 57. This, then, is the proper date of this Epistle.

The First Epistle to Timothy will stand next, if we follow the opinion most commonly entertained by learned men; and its date will be A. D. 57, or A. D. 58. This opinion is supported by the authority of Athanasius, Theodoret, Baronius, Capellus, Blondel, Hammond, Grotius, Salmasius, Lightfoot, Benson, Barrington, Michaelis, Doddridge, and others. But Pearson, Rosenmüller, Macknight, Paley, Tomline, &c., place it as low as the year of our Lord 64, or 65.

The Second Epistle to the Corinthians was written probably about a year after the First, which will bring it to A. D. 58. In the same year, it is thought, that Paul wrote his very important Epistle to the Romans. On this point, however, there is some diversity of opinion. But the Epistle itself contains internal evidence that it was written at Corinth, when

* 1 Cor. xvi, 8.

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