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Ver. 6. Therefore we are confident] Not hesitant, or halting, as Adrian the emperor was, and as he that cried out on his deathbed, Anxius vixi, dubius metior, nescio quo vado, I have lived carefully, I die doubtfully, I go I know not whither: Socrates also, that wisest of philosophers, could not with all his skill resolve his friends whether it were better for a man to die or live longer. Cicero, comforting himself as well as he could by the help of philosophy against the fear of death, cries out and complains at length, that the medicine was too weak for the disease, nescio quomodo, imbecillior est medicina quam morbus; it is the true Christian only that can be confident that his end shall be happy, though his beginning and middle haply may be troublesome, Psalms 37:37. Whilst we are at home] Or stay for a night as in an inn, ενδημουντες. A man that comes into an inn, if he can get a better room, he will; if not, he can be content with it; for, saith he, it is but for a night. So it should be with us.
Ver. 7. For we walk by faith] Which puts our heads into heaven, sets us on the top of Pisgah with Moses, and therehence descries and describes unto us the promised land, gives us to set one foot aforehand in the porch of Paradise, to see as Stephen did Christ holding out a crown, with this inscription, Vincenti dabo I die conquering. Not by sight] Sense corrects imagination, reason sense, but faith corrects both, thrusting Hagar out of doors, when haughty and haunty grown. But as Nabash, so the devil labours to put out the right eye of faith, and to leave us only the left eye of reason.
Ver. 8. And willing rather] Death is not to be desired as a punishment of sin, but as a period of sin; not as a postern gate to let out our temporal, but as a street door to let in eternal life. To be present with the Lord] This Bernard calleth Repatriasse. Plotinus the philosopher could say when he died, that which is divine in me I carry back, επι το πρωτογονον θειον, to the original divine, that is, to God. (Synes. ep. 139.) But whether this man believed himself or not, I greatly doubt.
Ver. 9. Wherefore we labour] Our hope of heaven maketh us active and abundant in God’s service. The doctrine of assurance is not a doctrine of liberty, but the contrary, 1 John 3:3. We make it our ambition, φιλοτιμουμεθα, saith the apostle here, to get acceptance in heaven, waiting till our Father shall call us home, and passing the time of our sojourning here in fear, 1 Peter 1:17. The saints have their commoration upon earth, ενδημουντες, their conversation in heaven.
Ver. 10. For we must all, &c.] This great assize will not be such an assembly as that of Ahasuerus, of his nobles, princes, and captains only; nor such as the biddings of rich men to their feasts, of their rich neighbours only; but like the invitation of that householder that sent his servants to compel all to come in, Luke 14:12. On that day Adam shall see all his nephews together. Appear before, &c.] Be laid open, and have all ripped up, φανερωθηναι. Our sins that are now written as it were with the juice of lemons, shall then by the fire of the last day be made legible. And as in April both wholesome roots and poisonous discover themselves, which in the winter were not seen, so at the day of judgment good and evil actions. (Mac. Hom. 12.) The things done in his body] That is, the just reward of those things; In die iudicii plus valebit conscientia pura, quam marsupia plena. (Bernard.) Then shall a good conscience be more worth than all the world’s good. And this was that which made Paul so sincere a preacher and so insatiable a server of God, as Chrysostom calleth him. Whether it be good or bad] Wicked men shall give an account, 1. De bonis commissis, of goods committed to them. 2. De bonis dismissis, of good neglected by them. 3. De malis commissis, of evils committed. 4. De malis permissis, of evils done by others, suffered by them. Itaque vivamus, saith the orator. (Cic. iv. in Ver.) Let us so live as those that must render an account of all.
Ver. 11. Knowing therefore the terror, &c.] What a terrible time it will be with the wicked, who shall in vain tire the deaf mountains with their hideous outcries to fall upon them, &c. We persuade men] To flee from the wrath to come; to repent and be converted, that their sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come, Acts 3:19. We speak persuasively to this purpose, but it is God only that persuades.
Ver. 12. Which glory in appearance] Gr. εν προσωπω, in the face. Hypocrites, as they repent in the face, Matthew 6:16, so they rejoice in the face, not in the heart. Their joy is but skin deep, it is but the hypocrisy of mirth; they do not laugh, but grin; their hearts ache many times when their faces counterfeit a smile; their mirth is frothy and flashy, such as smooths the brow but fills not the breast, such as wets the mouth but warms not the heart.
Ver. 13. It is to God] i.e. When to the world we seem mad of pride and vain glory, yet then we respect only God’s glory. It is for your sakes] i.e. For your learning, that we are more modest and sparing in commending our apostleship. It is a good rule, Quicquid agas, propter Deum agas, do all for God’s sake.
Ver. 14. The love of Christ, &c.] As reward hath an attractive, and punishment an impulsive, so love hath a compulsive faculty. This love of Christ had so closed in St Paul, so hemmed him in, and begirt him round, that his adversaries reported him a mad man, as 2 Corinthians 5:13; he erred in love toward his sweet Saviour, and even exhaled has blessed soul in continual sallies, as it were, and expressions of his dear affection to the Lord Jesus. The word συνεχει he here useth, imports that he was even shut up by his love to his dear Lord, as in a pound or pinfold, so that he could not get out. He had meditated so much upon Christ’s love, donec totus fixus in corde, qui totus fixus in cruce, that his heart was turned into a lump of love. Then were all dead] All the body suffered in and with Christ the head, and so are freed by his death, Hebrews 2:9, as if themselves in person had died.
Ver. 15. Should not henceforth] Servati sumus ut serviamus. The redeemed among the Romans were to observe and honour those that ransomed them as parents, all their days.
Ver. 16. No man after the flesh] i.e. We esteem no man simply the better or worse for his wealth, poverty, honour, ignominy, or anything outward. See James 1:9-11. Thomas Watts, martyr, spake thus at his death to his wife and children: Wife, and my good children, I must now depart from you, therefore henceforth know I you no more; but as the Lord hath given you to me, so I give you again to him, whom I charge you see that ye obey. (Acts and Mon.) Though we have known Christ] As possibly Paul might have known Christ in the flesh; for Jesus of Nazareth was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, Luke 24:19. Austin wished that he might have seen three things: Rome flourishing, Paul preaching, Christ conversing with men upon earth. Bede comes after, and correcting this last wish, saith, Yea, but let me see the King in his beauty, Christ in his heavenly kingdom. Paul was so spiritualized that he took knowledge of nothing here below; he passed through the world as a man in a deep muse, or that so looks for a lost jewel, that he overlooks all besides it.
Ver. 17. Is a new creature] Either a new man or no man in Christ. Get into him therefore with all speed; for till this be done, though thou shouldest spend thy time in gathering up pearls and jewels, thou art an undone creature. All things are become new] The substance of the soul is the same, the qualities and operations altered. In regeneration our natures are translated, not destroyed, no, not our constitution and complexion. As the melancholy man doth not cease to be so after conversion, only the humour is sanctified to a fitness for godly sorrow, holy meditation, &c., so of other humours.
Ver. 18. And all things are of God] He is both author and finisher of our faith, the God of all grace, the Father of all lights, &c. And hath given us the ministry] He hath taken this office from the angels, those first preachers of peace, Luke 2:10,14. The angel told Cornelius his prayers were heard in heaven; but for the doctrine of reconciliation he refers him to Peter, Acts 10:36.
Ver. 19. That God was in Christ, &c.] As the salt waters of the sea, when they are strained through the earth, they are sweet in the rivers; so (saith one) the waters of majesty and justice in God, though terrible, yet being strained and derived through Christ, they are sweet and delightful. Reconciling the world] What the apostle meaneth by this, see his own exposition. [See Trapp on “Ro 11:15”]
Ver. 20. Ambassadors for Christ] And therefore sacred persons, not to be violated on pain of God’s heavy displeasure: “Do my prophets no harm.” They that would annihilate the ministry, go to pull the stars out of Christ’s hand; and they will find it a work not feasible. As though God did beseech you] God’s grace even kneels to us. En flexanimam suadae medullam; who can turn his back upon such blessed and bleeding embracements?
Ver. 21. To be sin for us] That is, a sin offering, or an exceeding sinner, as Exodus 29:14. So Christ was, 1. By imputation, for our sins were “made to meet upon him,” as that evangelical prophet hath it, Isaiah 53:6 2. By reputation, for he was reckoned among malefactors, ibid. And yet one Augustinus de Roma, archbishop of Nazareth, was censured in the Council of Basil for affirming that Christ was peccatorum maximus, the greatest of sinners. See Aug. Enchirid. xli. Christ so loved us, saith one, that he endured that which he most hated, to become sin for us (he was made sin passive in himself to satisfy for sin active in us), and the want of that which was more worth than a world to him, the sense of God’s favour for a time. Ama amorem illius, &c., saith Bernard. There are two things in guilt, saith a late reverend writer (Dr Sibbs): 1. The merit and desert of it; this Christ took not. 2. The obligation to punishment; this he took, and so he “became sin,” that is, bound to the punishment of sin. The son of a traitor loseth his father’s lands, not by any communion of fault, but by communion of nature, because he is part of his father. The son is no traitor; but by his nearness to his father is wrapped in the same punishment; so here. In a city that is obnoxious to the king’s displeasure, perhaps there are some that are not guilty of the offence; yet being all citizens, they are all punished by reason of their communion. So Christ, by communion with our natures, took upon him whatsoever was penal that belonged to sin, though he took not, nor could take, the demerit of sin. Who knew no sin] That is, with a practical knowledge; with an intellectual he did, else he could not have reproved it. We know no more than we practise. Christ is said to “know no sin,” because he did none. That we might be made, &c.] As Christ became sin, not by sin inherent in him, but by our sin imputed to him; so are we made the righteousness of God, by Christ’s righteousness imputed and given unto us. This the Papists jeeringly call “putative righteousness.”