The one preach Christ of contention
That is, those that preached of envy and strife, an not of good
will to Christ, to the Gospel, to the souls of men, or to the
apostle; and though they preached Christ, yet
not sincerely
or "purely"; not but that they delivered the sincere milk of the
word, and preached the pure Gospel of Christ, without any mixture
and adulteration; but then they did not preach it with a sincere
heart, and a pure intention; for this respects not the doctrine
they preached, but their views in it, which were not honest and
upright; they did not preach Christ from a principle of love to
his person, and from an inward experience of the power of his
Gospel, and a zealous affection for it, and firm attachment to
it, and with a view to the glory of God, the honour of Christ,
and the good of immortal souls; but were influenced by avarice,
ambition, and envy: they had very evil designs upon the apostle,
supposing to add affliction to my bonds;
imagining that by their free and bold way of preaching Christ
openly in the city without control, and with impunity, it might
be thought that the apostle did not lie in bonds for preaching
Christ, but for some other crime; or otherwise why were not they
laid hold on and put under confinement also? or thinking that by
such numbers of them frequently preaching Christ about the city,
it would either incense and stir up the Jews, Paul's accusers, to
prosecute him more vigorously; or excite Nero to take more
cognizance of his case, and either more closely confine him, or
hasten the bringing his cause to a hearing, and him to
punishment, as the ringleader of this sect, to the terror of
others; but this they could not do without exposing themselves to
great danger, unless they were determined to recant, as soon as
they should be taken up; wherefore it should rather seem that
their view was in preaching Christ to carry away the glory of it
from the apostle, and take it to themselves; and fancying that he
was a man of the same cast with them, desirous of vain glory,
they thought it would afflict and distress him, he being in
bonds, and not at liberty to exert himself, and make use of his
superior gifts and abilities; but in this they were mistaken, he
was so far from being made uneasy hereby, that he rejoiced at the
preaching of Christ, let their intentions be what they would; and
therefore he does not say that they did add affliction to his
bonds; but they "supposed", or thought, that the method they took
would do it.