16:19,20
We now come to the greetings. Aquila and Priscilla are mentioned frequently in the Bible, both in Acts and in a number of the letters. We get the infamous instruction to “greet one another with a holy kiss”. As an aside, this is an instruction which, at least in the anglo-saxon west, we have no intention of ever carrying out! It is clearly cultural and we have no qualms about ignoring the instruction.
16:21-24
Paul takes the “pen” from his amanuensis (scribe) and writes this last bit himself, demonstrating that the letter is from him. 16:22 may offend some of us, but it should not. Anyone who rejects the gospel, who rejects Christ, is already condemned. We should look forward to the return of Christ. The letter closes with Paul blessing them and declaring his love for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment