Ver. 16. “The one proclaim Christ of faction not sincerely.”545 That is, not with pure motives, nor from regard to the matter itself; but why? “thinking to add affliction to my bonds.”546 As they think that I shall thus fall into greater peril, they add affliction to affliction. O cruelty! O devilish instigation! They saw him in bonds, and cast into prison, and still they envied him. They would increase his calamities, and render him subject to greater anger: well said he, “thinking,” for it did not so turn out. They thought indeed to grieve me by this; but I rejoiced that the Gospel was furthered. Ver. 17. “But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the Gospel.” What means, “that I am set for the defense of the Gospel”?547 It is, They are preparing for548 the account which I must give to God, and assisting me. What is meant by “for the defense”? I have been appointed to preach, I must give account, and answer for the work to which I have been appointed; they assist me, that my defense may be easy; for if there be found many who have been instructed and have believed, my defense will be easy. So it is possible to do a good work, from a motive which is not good. And not only is there no reward in store for such an action, but punishment. For as they preached Christ from a desire to involve the preacher of Christ in greater perils, not only shall they receive no reward, but shall be subject to vengeance and punishment.549 “And some of love.” That is, they know that I must give account for the Gospel. Ver. 18. “What then? only that every way, whether in pretense, or in truth, Christ is proclaimed.” But see the wisdom of the Man. He did not vehemently accuse them, but mentioned the result; what difference does it make to me, says he, whether it be done in this or that way? only that every way, “whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed.” He did not say, “Let him be proclaimed,” as some suppose, stating that he opens the way for the heresies, but, “He is proclaimed.”550 For in the first place he did not lay down the law and say, as if laying down the law, “Let Him be proclaimed,” but he reported what was taking 545 [The order of vers. 16 and 17 is transposed in Rev. Ver., upon the authority of nearly all the uncial mss., nearly all the ancient versions, and other documents. It is best here to leave Chrys.’s order, which is that of the Common Ver., but the translation of Rev. Ver. is given as elsewhere.—J.A.B.] 546 [So Chrys.’s text. The true text is (as Rev. Ver.) “thinking to raise up affliction for me in my bonds.”—J.A.B.] 547 He takes “the Gospel” here in the sense of St. Paul’s preaching of the Gospel. Theodoret takes it of his being a champion of the Gospel among men. 548 [The altered text has “cutting down,” “lessening.”—J.A.B.] 549 [The altered text puts these three last sentences under ver. 16.—J.A.B.] 550 [This sentence, wanting in all known mss. of Chrys. is supplied by Field from a Catena. It evidently fell out, as often happened in copying, through similarity to the following sentence. The amplifying repetition is quite in Chrys.’s manner.—J.A.B.] 339 Philippians 1:8-11