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fome ambiguity in the external evidence. Marcion, a heretic of the fecond century, as quoted by Tertullion, a father in the beginning of the third, calls it the epistle to the Laodiceans. From what we know of Marcion, his judgment is little to be relied upon; nor is it perfectly clear that Marcion was rightly understood by Tertullion. If, however, Marcion be brought to prove that fome copies in his time gave εν Λαοδικεια in the superscription, his testimony, if it be truly interpreted, is not diminished by his herefy; for, as Grotius obferves, "cur meá "re mentiretur nihil erat cafue." The name Ev Eper, in the firft verfe, upon which word fingly depends the proof that the epistle was written to the Ephefians, is not read in all the manufcripts now extant. I admit, however, that the external evidence preponderates with a manifeft excefs on the fide of the received reading. The objection therefore principally arises from the contents of the epiftle itself, which, in many refpects, militate with the fuppofition that it was written to the church of Ephefus. According to the hiftory, St. Paul had paffed two whole

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whole years at Ephefus, Acts, chap. xix. ver. 10. And in this point, viz. of St. Paul having preached for a confiderable length of time at Ephesus, the hiftory is confirmed by the two epiftles to the Corinthians, and by the two epiftles to Timothy; "I will tarry "at Ephefus unto Pentecoft," 1 Cor. ch. xvi. ver. 8. "We would not have you ignorant "of our trouble which came to us in Afia,” 2 Cor. ch.i. ver. 8: "As I befought thee ❝to abide still at Ephefus, when I went into "Macedonia," 1 Tim. ch. i. ver. 3. "And "in how many things he miniftered to me

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at Ephefus thou knoweft well," 2 Tim. ch.i. ver. 18. I adduce these testimonies, because, had it been a competition of credit between the history and the epiftle, I should have thought myself bound to have preferred the epiftle. Now, every epiftle which St. Paul wrote to churches, which he himfelf had founded, or which he had vifited, abounds with references, and appeals to what had paffed during the time that he was prefent amongst them; whereas there is not a text in the epistle to the Ephefians, from which we can collect that he had ever been

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at Ephesus at all. The two epiftles to the Corinthians, the epiftle to the Galatians, the epiftle to the Philippians, and the two epiftles to the Theffalonians, are of this class; and they are full of allufions to the apostle's hiftory, his reception, and his conduct, whilft amongst them; the total want of which, in the epistle before us, is very difficult to account for, if it was in truth written to the church of Ephefus, in which city he had refided for fo long a time. This is the first and strongest objection. But farther, the epiftle to the Coloffians was addreffed to a church, in which St. Paul had never been. This we infer from the first verse of the fecond chapter: " For I would that ye knew "what great conflict I have for you and for "them at Laodicea, and for as many as have "not seen my face in the flesh." There could be no propriety in thus joining the Coloffians and Laodiceans with thofe "who "had not teen his face in the flesh," if they did not alfo belong to the fame defcription *.

* Dr. Lardner contends against the validity of this conclufion; but, I think, without fuccefs. LARDNER, Vol. XIV. p. 473, edit. 1757.

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Now, his address to the Coloffians, whom he had not visited, is precifely the fame as his addrefs to the Chriftians, to whom he wrote in the epistle, which we are now confidering: "We give thanks to God and the "Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, praying "always for you, fince we heard of your faith "in Chrift Jefus, and of the love which "have to all the faints," Col. ch. i. ver. 3. Thus he speaks to the Coloffians, in the epiftle before us, as follows: "Wherefore I "alfo, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jefus, and love unto all the faints, cease "not to give thanks for you in my prayers," chap. i. ver. 15. The terms of this addrefs are obfervable. The words "having heard of your faith and love," are the very words, we fee, which he uses towards strangers; and it is not probable that he should employ the fame in accofting a church in which he had long exercised his ministry, and whose "faith and love" he must have perfonally known*. The epiftle to the Romans was written

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*Mr. Locke endeavours to avoid this difficulty, by explaining" their faith, of which St. Paul had heard,"

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written before St. Paul had been at Rome; and his addrefs to them runs in the fame ftrain with that juft now quoted: "I thank

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my God, through Jefus Chrift, for you "all, that your faith is spoken of throughout "the whole world." Rom. chap. i. ver. 8. Let us now see what was the form in which our apostle was accustomed to introduce his epiftles, when he wrote to those with whom he was already acquainted. To the Corinthians it was this: "I thank my God al

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ways on your behalf, for the grace of God "which is given you by Chrift Jefus," 1 Cor. ch. i. ver. 4. To the Philippians: "Ithank my God upon every remembrance "of you," Phil. ch. i. ver. 3. To the Theffalonians: "We give thanks to God always " for you all, making mention of you in

to mean the steadfastness of their perfuafion that they ware called into the kingdom of God, without subjection to the Mofaic inftitution. But this interpretation seems to me extremely hard; for, in the manner in which faith is here joined with love, in the expreffion, " your faith and love," it could not be meant to denote any particular tenet which distinguished one set of Chriftians from othes; forafmuch as the expreffion defcribes the general virtues of the Christian profeffion. Vide LOCKE in loc. R 4 66 our

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