That the communication of thy faith
The grace of faith itself cannot be communicated from one to
another; a believing parent cannot communicate it to his
children, nor a master to his servants, nor a minister to his
hearers; but an account of it, of its actings and exercises, of
the joy of it, and of the peace a soul is filled with through
believing, may be given to the mutual comfort and edification of
saints; and it may be shown forth to others by the fruits of it,
works of righteousness: but here it seems to design acts of
beneficence, communicating to the necessities of others, as
flowing from faith; and these words are to be connected with (
Philemon
1:4 ) as a part of the apostle's prayers, as what is
contained in the preceding verse is the matter of his
thanksgiving. And his prayer is, that such a communication of
good things, which springs from faith,
may be effectual;
to answer some very good purposes, the good of others, and the
service of the interest of Christ, and the glory of God; or, as
the Vulgate Latin version reads, only by the change of one
letter, that it "may be evident"; to which the Syriac version
seems to incline, rendering it, that it "may be fruitful in
works"; or show itself in fruits of righteousness, in works of
mercy and kindness; and the apostle's sense is, that it might be
more and more so:
by the acknowledging of every good thing that is in you in
Christ
Jesus;
the meaning is, that every good thing that is in the saints, or
among them, should be acknowledged to come to them in and through
Christ Jesus, in whom all fulness of grace dwells, and from whom
all is imparted; and that every good thing that is communicated,
or done in faith, which is effectual to any good purpose, should
be owned as done by the grace and strength of Christ, and be done
to his saints, as if done to himself, and be directed to his
glory: the phrase, "in you", respects not Philemon only, but
Apphia, Archippus, and the church in Philemon's house; the Arabic
version reads, in us.