Philippians 4:5

moderation--from a Greek root, "to yield," whence yieldingness [TRENCH]; or from a root, "it is fitting," whence "reasonableness of dealing" [ALFORD], that considerateness for others, not urging one's own rights to the uttermost, but waiving a part, and thereby rectifying the injustices of justice. The archetype of this grace is God, who presses not the strictness of His law against us as we deserve (Psa 130:3-4); though having exacted the fullest payment for us from our Divine Surety. There are included in "moderation," candor and kindliness. Joy in the Lord raises us above rigorism towards others (Phi 4:5), and carefulness (Phi 4:6) as to one's own affairs. Sadness produces morose harshness towards others, and a troublesome spirit in ourselves.

Let . . . be known--that is, in your conduct to others, let nothing inconsistent with "moderation" be seen. Not a precept to make a display of moderation. Let this grace "be known" to men in acts; let "your requests be made to God" in word (Phi 4:6).

unto all men--even to the "perverse" (Phi 2:15), that so ye may win them. Exercise "forbearance" even to your persecutors. None is so ungracious as not to be kindly to someone, from some motive or another, on some occasion; the believer is to be so "unto all men" at all times.

The Lord is at hand--The Lord's coming again speedily is the grand motive to every Christian grace (Jam 5:8-9). Harshness to others (the opposite of "moderation") would be taking into our own hands prematurely the prerogatives of judging, which belongs to the Lord alone (Co1 4:5); and so provoking God to judge us by the strict letter of the law (Jam 2:12-13).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Php_4:5

Let your moderation be known unto all men

I.

What is moderation? An equal temperament of mind.

1. Moderate in undergoing afflictions (Luk_21:19).

(1) They are less than we deserve (Lam_3:39; Ezr_9:13).

(2) They are balanced by other mercies.

(3) They produce spiritual blessings (Heb_12:10).

2. Moderate in our love to, and desires of, all temporal enjoyments (Jer_45:5).

(1) Because they are temporal (1Jn_2:15-17).

(2) The more we desire them, the more we may (Ecc_1:7-8; Ecc_4:8).

(3) They can never make us happy.

3. Moderate in our enjoyment of temporal mercies.

(1) We may easily exceed (Jud_1:2; Luk_21:34).

(2) Excess changes their nature into curses.

4. Moderate in our anger for injuries received.

(1) So as not to let it boil up into hatred (Mat_5:22; Mat_5:44).

(2) Nor continue long (Eph_4:26).

5. Moderate in our cares about the world (Php_4:6).

(1) So as to make use of no unlawful means to get an estate (Jer_17:11; Pro_22:16).

(2) So as not to neglect our souls for our bodies (Mat_6:33).

II. How known unto all men.

1. So as that it may be real and apparent (Mat_5:16).

2. Universal, towards all (1Pe_1:15).

III. The reason. The Lord is at hand. How?

1. So as to be present everywhere (Psa_139:7; Pro_15:3).

Otherwise He would not be infinite, and so not God. He is everywhere.

(1) In His substance (Jer_23:23-24).

(2) So as to know what is done everywhere (Heb_4:13).

(3) So as to observe and ponder every action (Pro_5:21; Pro_15:3).

2. He is ready to come to judgment (Heb_10:37).

(1) To examine our actions (Ecc_12:14).

(2) To give to everyone according to their deserts (2Co_5:10).

(3) We know not how soon (1Th_5:2; 2Pe_3:10; Mar_13:35-36).

Uses.

1. Have a care of excess, but be moderate in all things. Consider--

(1) By this means you will always keep yourself in an even frame (Luk_21:19).

(2) You will avoid sorrow as well as sin.

2. Often consider the omnipresence of God--in your civil commerces, in solitude, in company, when you pray and hear.

3. Often consider that the Lord is at hand to judge either to eternal misery or joy (Mat_25:46). (Bishop Beveridge.)

Moderation: a fable

Hamet and Raschid, two neighbouring shepherds of India, in a time of great drought, made a request each of the Genius of Distribution: Hamet for a little brook which would never dry in summer, and in winter never overflow. Immediately the genius caused the fountain to bubble at his feet, and scatter its rills over the meadows: the flowers renewed their fragrance, the trees spread a greener foliage, and the flocks and herds quenched their thirst. Raschid, not satisfied with Hamets moderate request, desired the genius to turn the Ganges through his grounds, with all its waters and all their inhabitants. As Raschid was looking with contempt upon Hamet and his small request, he heard, on a sudden, the roar of torrents, and saw a mighty stream come rolling on, which was the Ganges broken loose from its bounds. The flood roiled forward into the lands of Raschid: his plantations were torn up, his flocks overwhelmed, he was swept away before it, and a crocodile devoured him. (Dr. Johnson.)

Christian moderation

I. The principle.

1. As to moderation in certain habits.

(1) An ancient moralist tells us that virtue is a medium between two extremes. The extreme opposite to a vice is not a virtue, though everything opposite to virtue must be vice. Virtue is a road which has a hedge and ditch on both sides. Frugality, e.g., is such a road. If you break through the hedge on one side, you fall into wastefulness; if on the other, into covetousness. Humility is another: pride on one side, servility on the other. Magnanimity is bordered by cowardice and rashness.

(2) But while virtue is moderation between opposite vices, there is no place properly speaking for moderation in virtue. No man should think of being moderately magnanimous or humble. Neither can there be any moderation in vice--moderate avarice or extravagance.

(3) Yet foolish as it looks, there is a great deal of this sort of moderation, and much of what the world calls respectability is nothing else. Many a tradesman would eschew a great fraud, and yet be guilty of minor acts of dishonesty. He would not refuse to pay his creditors, but he thinks nothing of wearing down the health of his servants by over labour. He would not lie, but he has no scruples in over or understating the truth.

(4) The proper province of moderation is to regulate those powers, principles, and tendencies in man which have no evil in themselves, but which become evil by absence of restraint; e.g.

(a) The desire of knowledge; the cause and consequences of the first offence should teach us the need of putting a check upon it.

(b) So also the desire of power. Acquisitiveness is a natural propensity. If there were no such desire, what would become of the interests of society and civilization? But there is nothing that becomes more destructive when not held in by Christian principles.

2. As to moderation in certain feelings. The other phase of meaning in the word is gentleness. It includes the control of anger. Indignation against evil is virtuous, but resentment, even against an evil doer, is the opposite.

II. The manifestation. That our moderation may be known unto all men--

1. It must be decided. There must be no pressing towards the borders of excess, even though not touched. No hard driving at a bargain which would look like avarice. No such demands on servants as would look like oppression; no indulgence which would look like sensuality.

2. It must spring from principle. A man may be moderate in one thing, and not in another. An ascetic in eating and drinking, may be licentious. A man who has no ambition may be avaricious.

3. It must he habitually exercised. How many in their religious connections profess principles which are outraged in the home or in the shop.

III. The motive. The Lord is at hand. We tell men of the injuriousness of evil ways: as they make their bed they must lie upon it. But while forceful, it is an appeal to self-love in its lowest form, and habits formed upon it do not rise higher than mere prudence. Here is the Christian motive.

1. The judgment of the last day is approaching. This anticipation awakens an awful sense of responsibility.

2. But the Lord is an actual presence now. His judgment is passing on us at this moment; and we are now responsible. But is He not a Saviour as well as Judge? at hand to forgive the penitent and help the believer. (J. Stoughton, D. D.)

Christian moderation

The word here rendered moderation in our Bible is connected by derivation and usage with ideas not of control, but of yielding. It is rendered Lindigkeit, yieldingness, giving way, in Luthers German Bible; and I fully believe the interpretation to be right. Forbearance, gentleness, are the alternative renderings of our Revised Version, and both suggest the thought of giving way. Let your yieldingness be known unto all men; the Lord is near. St. Paul is dealing throughout this passage with certain holy conditions necessary to an experience of the peace of God keeping the heart and thoughts in Christ Jesus. Standing fast in the Lord, harmony and mutual helpfulness in the Lord, rejoicing in the Lord, and prayerful and thankful communion with the Lord, are among these conditions. And with them, in the midst of them, appears this also: Let your yieldingness be known unto all men; the Lord is near. This connection with the deep peace of God throws a glory over the word and the precept. The yieldingness which is here enjoined is nothing akin to weakness, indolence, or indifference. It is a positive grace of the Spirit; it flows from the fulness of Jesus Christ. What is it? We shall find the answer partly by remembering how, from another point of view, the gospel enjoins, and knows how to impart, the most resolute unyieldingness. If anything can work the great miracle of making a weak character strong, it is the gospel. It can make the regenerate will say no to self on a hundred points where never anything but yes was heard before. Nothing in the moral world is so immovable as the will of a living Christian, sustained by the power of God the Holy Spirit, on some clear case of principle. I lately read of the uncompromising decision of a Christian man, in high military command in India, fifty years ago. He had accepted office, and £10,000 a year, being far from rich meanwhile in private means, on the condition that he should not be asked to give official countenance to idolatry. The condition was not observed. He was required to sign a grant of money to an idol temple. The East India Company would not give way, nor would their distinguished servant. He resigned his command promptly, and came home without a murmur, and without a compensation. Here, in a conspicuous case, was the unyieldingness of the gospel, a mighty grace which, thank God, is being daily exemplified in His sight in a thousand smaller instances. Yet this very case equally well illustrates from another side the yieldingness of the gospel. From the point of view of principle this admirable Christian was fixed as a rock, as a mountain; from the point of view of self-interest he was movable as air. That it was a sacrifice of selfs gain and glory to resign was as nothing in his path. His interests were his Masters. Jesus Christ was in him where by nature self is. He was jealous and sensitive for the Lord; indifferent, oblivious for himself. Yieldingness, in our passage, is in fact selflessness. It is meekness, not weakness; the attitude of a man out of whom the Lord has cast the evil spirit of self. It is a blessed thing to be a moderate in this sense. A living calm pervades that soul. A thousand anxieties, and a thousand regrets, incident to the life of self, are spared it. It is at leisure from itself, and therefore free for many a delightful energy and enterprise when God calls it in that direction, as well as ready for imprisonment and apparent inutility when that is His will. Nothing does the worlds microscope discover more keenly than selflessness in a Christian man or woman. Nothing at once baffles its experience and explanation, and attracts its notice and respect, like the genuine selflessness, the yieldingness, of the grace of God. Let ours, then, be known unto all men; not paraded and thrown into an attitude, but kept in practice and use in real life, where it can be put to real tests. And would we read something, in this same verse, of its heavenly secret? It lies before us: the Lord is near. He is near, not here in the sense of coming soon, but in that of standing by; in the sense of His presence, and the secret of it, around His servant. The very words used here by St. Paul occur in this connection in the Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Old Testament, a translation old even in St. Pauls time: Thou art near (ἐγλύς), O Lord. The thought is of the calm and overshadowing of His recollected and realized Presence; that Divine atmosphere in which bitter things, and things narrow with the contractions and distortions of self, must die, and in which all that is sweet and loving lives. From the provoking of all men, from the strife of tongues, there is Divine protection and concealment there. St. Paul himself beautifully exemplifies his own words, in this same Epistle, in the first chapter. The brethren at Rome who preached Christ of envy and strife, supposing to add affliction to his bonds, certainly took a very irritating line of action. And their action tried St. Paul. But it did not irritate him. (H. C. G. Moule, M. A.)

Christian Forbearance

By moderation is meant, not temperance in the gratification of our desires generally, but specially temperance or self-restraint in our relations to others, abstinence from anger, harshness, vengeance. Elsewhere in the New Testament, where the original word occurs, the rendering is gentleness, clemency, patience, any one of which is preferable to this ambiguous moderation. The exact idea is a considerate and forbearing spirit. The apostle would have us make allowances for the ignorance and weakness of others, knowing how much and constant need we stand in of having allowances made for ourselves, both by God and man. Taken generally, his precept here calls upon us, for example, in our business dealings, to remember that human laws, however carefully devised, may ever and anon, if rigidly enforced, act unjustly and cruelly; and to guide ourselves therefore, in every case, by the broad principles of equity in the sight of God. Similarly, in our judgment of the conduct of men, it enjoins upon us to take a kindly view, wherever this is possible, never believing evil of them until we cannot help it. In the case which seems to be at present specially before Pauls mind, that of a person who is persecuted for righteousness sake, he would have the sufferer to form the mildest judgment he can respecting the procedure and character of his enemy; to remember and pity the melancholy darkness of soul which prompts the persecution; and, even if he be in a position to avenge himself, to withhold his hand, and leave the matter with the Lord Jesus. When He comes, all wrongs will be righted (Jam_5:9). (R. Johnstone, LL. B.)

The Lord is at hand--

I. Providentially (Psa_139:1-24).

II. Spiritually. Christ in you the hope of glory. Where two or three are gathered in My Name.

III. Personally. To punish evil and to glorify His own. (Bishop Montagu Villiers.)

The nearness of Christ

Although corporeally Christ has left this world and is far beyond our mortal ken, yet, spiritually and essentially, He is near at hand to every man. I am with you always.

I. In all the operations of nature. In Him all things consist. Nature is not merely His creation: it is His organ, His instrument. He is in it as the soul is in the body, animating and directing every part. He is in all seasons of the year. He flashes in the lightning. He speaks in the thunder. He is in every ray of light and every wave of air.

II. In all the events of history. In the creations of literature, the progress of science, in all the advancing steps of civilization. Every event of life is an advent of Christ. He stands at the door of our nature and knocks. He originates the good and controls the evil.

III. In all redemptive influences. In the words of the prophets and apostles; in the ministry of His gospel; in the agency of His Spirit. Conclusion: Let us realize this: eschew evil, pursue good; be heroic in duty and magnanimous in trial. The Lord stood by me, said Paul. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

The Lord is near

Therefore--

I. Be joyful.

II. Be gentle.

III. Be trustful.

IV. Be prayerful.

V. Be peaceful. (C. J. P. Eyre, M. A.)

The omnipresence of God

I. The doctrine. The words are not applicable merely to some persons, nations, occasions, circumstances, but to all. The Lord is at hand to the pious and the profane; in places of devotion and places of commerce and pleasure. He fills all time and space (Psa_139:1-24).

II. The occasions which are specially calculated to remind us of this.

1. Gods visitations in the death of those around us.

2. Our own advancing years.

3. The vicissitudes of the seasons.

4. The march of time towards eternity.

III. The ground and source of the sinners safety.

1. Redemption in Christ.

2. Regeneration and holiness by the Spirit.

3. Divine friendship.

IV. Practical effects.

1. In view of Christs present and future nearness, men should be ready for His manifestation.

2. Diligent in duty.

3. Dead to the world. (W. Nicholson.)

The Lord is at hand

I. To inspect our conduct. All things are naked and open to Him, and with Him is no respect of persons (Jer_17:10).

II. Either to approve or disapprove our conduct. At this moment God is weighing us in the balance of His sanctuary. To be the object of His approbation is the highest blessing. We can then be indifferent to the worlds censures. But to be condemned of Him is our heaviest curse.

III. To regulate the affairs of His Church and accomplish the predictions of His word.

1. To convict the sinner.

2. Edify the believer.

3. Extend His gospel.

IV. To summon us to His tribunal. This He does practically at death. (Congregational Remembrancer.)

Deliverance at hand

I have heard one say, as he bent over a friend who was groaning under the surgeons knife, It will soon be over! and so Jesus, with tender fellow feeling for their infirmities, consoles His suffering people. Amid your trials, think of that--they will soon be over; sooner, perhaps, than you fancy. Your salvation, not only nearer than when you believed, may be nearer than you suppose; even now the cry may be sounding in heaven--Room for another saint! a crown for another head! and the next turn of the road may bring you in front of the gates of glory. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)

Near and distant relative terms

Near and distant are relative terms. For the little child, whose limbs soon grow weary, the friends house is far away, which for his father is but a step from home. So to the child, reckoning by his life, an event seems long past, far away in a hoary antiquity, which to the man on whom have come the snows of many winters, and who reckons by his life, seems to have occurred but yesterday. Now faith, in the measure of its vigour, enables us to see things in the light of God, giving us oneness of view with Him. When, then, our apostle says, The Lord is at hand, he speaks as one who has been taught to reckon according to the years of the lifetime of the Most High--unbeginning, unending. On the same principle, you remember, in another place, he estimates the Christians affliction--affliction extending perhaps over threescore years and ten--as but for a moment, because the standard by which he computes is the eternal duration of the weight of glory which is to follow, (R. Johnstone, LL. B.)

The Lord is at hand

As an illustration of that, let the gay young man think of Belshazzars feast. There is the gorgeous oriental palace, with its massive architecture, its huge columns, its gigantic figures, its pictured halls; and there are the thousand lords in their rich robes, and the king, in the pomp of an eastern despot, drinking wine before the thousand. And in the same hour there came forth the fingers of a mans hand, and they wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the kings palace; the mysterious hand moves and writes--moves and writes--and there are letters, words burnt into the wall, as with a pen of flame. The king knows not what they mean till the prophet comes to tell; and then their import is found to be, that the miserable man who wears the crown is weighed in the balances and found wanting, and his kingdom is torn from him. So, though not visibly, yet really, there is over against the intemperate young man, the sensual young man, an omniscient Eye beholding his deeds, and an unerring Hand recording his doom, opposite him in the casino, and in other haunts of dissipation and vice. Here it is: conscience at times makes you tremble, and the minister of the gospel interprets the Divine revelation, and tells you of the wrath to come. The Lord is at hand; and as an illustration of that let every man of business read the parable of the rich fool, in the twelfth chapter of St. Luke, and the sixteenth verse. There you have epitomized the history of many a London tradesman: the goods are laid up, not that the soul may take its ease, but that there may be a grand funeral, and much excitement at the reading of the will, and perhaps quarrelling over the property, and a gorgeous tomb in one of the suburban cemeteries, and a scattering of the huge gold heap by some profligate son; and the poor, careful soul who toiled and saved, and made others toil and save, who was at his books till midnight, and grudged the hours of sleep and rest to his poor shopman, where is he?--where is he? To think that men can go on as they do, digging, and delving, and scraping together money, money, money, while death is at the door, and the judgment is at hand, and hell is opening its mouth to swallow up the worldly! The Lord is at hand. Read as an illustration of that in another way--And being in the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard, very precious, and she brake the box, and poured it on His head. And Jesus said, She hath wrought a good work on Me; she hath done what she could. And so, whatever you do from love to Jesus in the way of helping men, in the way of checking sin, in the way of saving souls, in the way of lightening misery, He is at hand to notice, to record, to approve, to bless. (J. Stoughton, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES

Php_4:5. Let your moderation be known.—This moderation or forbearance is the very opposite of the spirit which will “cavil on the ninth part of a hair” in the way of asserting personal rights.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Php_4:5

Christian Equity—

I. Does not exact all the claims of legal justice.—“Let your moderation [forbearance] be known.” Human laws, however carefully devised, may sometimes, if rigidly enforced, act unjustly and cruelly. We should guide ourselves at all times by the broad principles of equity in the sight of God. We should not urge our own rights to the uttermost, but be willing to waive a part, and thus rectify the injustice of justice. “The archetype of this grace is God, who presses not the strictness of His law against us as we deserve, though having exacted the fullest payment for us from our divine Surety” (Fausset). It is not gentleness as an innate feeling, but as the result of self-restraint. It does not insist on what is its due, it does not stand on etiquette or right, but it descends and complies. It is opposed to that rigor which never bends nor deviates, and which, as it gives the last farthing, uniformly exacts it. It is not facile pliability—a reed in the breeze—but that generous and indulgent feeling that knows what is its right, but recedes from it; is conscious of what is merited, but does not contend for strict proportion. It is that grace which was defective in one or other, or both, of the women who are charged by the apostle to be of one mind in the Lord. For, slow to take offence, it is swift to forgive it. Let a misunderstanding arise, and no false delicacy will prevent it from taking the first step towards reconciliation or adjustment of opinion (Eadie).

II. Should be evident in dealing with all classes.—“Be known unto all men.” We are to practise forbearance, not only towards our Christian brethren, but towards the world, even towards the enemies of the gospel. It is a rebuke to the Christian spirit to be austere, unbending, and scrupulously exacting. If we are always rejoicing in the Lord, we cannot cherish hard feelings towards any. The Christian should be notorious for gentleness and forbearance; all with whom we come in contact should be made to know it and feel it. We should be prepared for yielding up what may be our own rights, and to endure wrong rather than dishonour Christ, or give a false representation of the heavenly life which He exemplified and recommended, and which is becoming in all his professed followers. “This gentleness manifests itself at one time as equanimity and patience under all circumstances, among all men and in manifold experiences; at another as integrity in business relations; as justice, forbearance, and goodness in exercising power; as impartiality and mercy in judging; as noble yielding, joyful giving, and patient enduring and forgiving” (Passavant).

III. Should be practised as conscious of the near advent of Christ.—“The Lord is at hand.” The early Church had a vivid sense of the immediateness of the second coming of Christ, and were taught to do and bear everything as in His sight. We lose much in spiritual power, and in the realisation of eternal things, when we consign that advent to the remote and indistinct future. After all, the second coming of Christ, and not our own death, is the goal on which our eye should be fixed, as the period which will furnish us with the true and final value of our life-work. In the first ages it would have been deemed a kind of apostasy not to have sighed after the day of the Lord. The coming of the Lord is a motive to show moderation and clemency towards all men, even towards our enemies, for the great Judge is near, who will rectify all inequalities and redress all wrongs.

Lessons.—

1. Equity is superior to legal enactments.

2. It is a sorry spectacle when Christians appeal to the civil courts to settle their differences.

3. The Christian spirit is the highest equity.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

4:5 Believers are to be considerate in their responses to others, even in persecution. They can afford to leave justice in God’s hands because they know the Lord is coming soon (cp. Jas 5:8-9).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Php 4:5. Τὸ ἐπιεικὲς, your kindly spirit [æquitas[53]]) Joy in the Lord produces true kindliness in regard to our neighbour, and proper unconcern [freedom from over-carefulness] about one’s own affairs, Php 4:6; likewise true candour towards men and God Himself: and this candour is expressed by the words, γνωσθήτω, let it be known, i.e. in acts, and, γνωριζέσθω, let (your requests) be made known, viz. by prayer, Php 4:6. Moroseness is the companion of sadness and care.—γνωσθήτω, let be known) from the thing itself. There are some who cherish gentleness (æquitas, a yielding and kindly spirit) in their mind, and wish no ill to the unkindly, but yet they conceal their benignity; these do not act rightly.—πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις, to all men) good and bad, or the unkindly, ch. Php 2:15, even that the wicked may be gained. No one is so harsh in spirit as not to show himself kindly to some one, from sympathy, fear, hope of gain, emulation, etc. The believer does this to all. [But if, among all men, you know even one who has experienced the contrary conduct at your hand, see that even yet you show to him kindliness.—V. g.]—ὁ Κυρίος, the Lord) Christ the Judge, favourable to you, but executing vengeance upon the wicked. This consideration produces kindliness; Jas 5:9.

[53] Wahl, Clavis, N. 1, renders it ‘humanitas,’ kindness and gentleness towards others. He adds, others interpret it ‘modestia.’ moderation. Beng. has ‘æquitas,’ which includes both fairness and kindliness towards others, and equanimity in one’s own mind. Th. εἴκω, I yield.—ED.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Phi 4:5 . τ . ἐπιεικ . “Reasonableness.” Matthew Arnold finds in this a preeminent feature in the character of Jesus and designates it “sweet reasonableness” (see Literature and Dogma , pp. 66, 138). The trait could not be more vividly delineated than in the words of W. Pater ( Marius the Epicurean , ii., p. 120), describing the spirit of the new Christian society as it appeared to a pagan. “As if by way of a due recognition of some immeasurable Divine condescension manifest in a certain historic fact, its influence was felt more especially at those points which demanded some sacrifice of one’s self, for the weak, for the aged, for little children, and even for the dead. And then, for its constant outward token, its significant manner or index, it issued in a certain debonair grace, and a certain mystic attractiveness, a courtesy, which made Marius doubt whether that famed Greek blitheness or gaiety or grace in the handling of life had been, after all, an unrivalled success.” A definition is given by Aristot., Eth. Nic. , 5, 10, 3, τὸ ἐπιεικὲς δίκαιον μέν ἐστιν , οὐ τὸ κατὰ νόμον δέ , ἀλλʼ ἐπανόρθωμα νομίμου δικαίου , where the point is that it means a yielding up of certain real rights. This spirit, in the Christian life, is due to those higher claims of love which Christ has set in the forefront. Cf. 2Co 10:1 , Tit 3:2 . Their joy (Phi 4:4 ) really depends on this “reasonableness” having as wide a scope as possible. It is he who shows forbearance and graciousness all round ( γνωσθ . πᾶσιν ἀνθ .) who can preserve an undisturbed heart. In Ps. Son 5:14 God is called χρηστὸς καὶ ἐπιεικής . ὁ κ . ἐγγύς . Quite evidently Paul expects a speedy return of Christ. It was natural in the beginning of the Church’s history, before men had a large enough perspective in which to discern the tardy processes of the Kingdom of God. Cf. chap. Phi 3:21 . This solemn fact which governs the whole of Paul’s thinking, and has especially moulded his ethical teaching, readily suggests “reasonableness”. The Lord, the Judge, is at the door. Leave all wrongs for Him to adjust. Forbear all wrath and retaliation ( Cf. Rom 12:19 ff.). But further, in view of such a prospect, earthly bickerings and wranglings are utterly trivial. Cf. 1Jn 2:28 , “Abide in Him, so that if He be manifested, we may have boldness and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” A close parallel is Jas 5:8 .

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The second is not taking all things in good part, they behave themselves moderately with all men.

The taking away of an objection: We must not be disquieted through impatience, seeing that God is at hand to give us remedy in time against all our miseries.

Your quiet and settled mind.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 5. Let your moderation be known] The word επιεικες is of very extensive signification; it means the same as επιεικεια, mildness, patience, yieldingness, gentleness, clemency, moderation, unwillingness to litigate or contend; but moderation is expressive enough as a general term. "Moderation," says Dr. Macknight, "means meekness under provocation, readiness to forgive injuries, equity in the management of business, candour in judging of the characters and actions of others, sweetness of disposition, and the entire government of the passions."

The Lord is at hand.] A phrase something similar to the Maranatha of 1Co 16:22: The Lord is Judge, and is at hand to punish. Schoettgen supposes, from this verse, taken in connection with the preceding, that Euodias and Syntyche were of a quarrelsome disposition; and hence the exhortation and threatening in the third and fifth verses.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5 Your moderation This may be explained in two ways. We may understand him as bidding them rather give up their right, than that any one should have occasion to complain of their sharpness or severity. “Let all that have to deal with you have experience of your equity and humanity.” In this way to know, will mean to experience. Or we may understand him as exhorting them to endure all things with equanimity. This latter meaning I rather prefer; for is a term that is made use of by the Greeks themselves to denote moderation of spirit — when we are not easily moved by injuries, when we are not easily annoyed by adversity, but retain equanimity of temper. In accordance with this, Cicero makes use of the following expression, — “My mind is tranquil, which takes everything in good part.” Such equanimity — which is as it were the mother of patience — he requires here on the part of the Philippians, and, indeed, such as will manifest itself to all, according as occasion will require, by producing its proper effects. The term modesty does not seem appropriate here, because Paul is not in this passage cautioning them against haughty insolence, but directs them to conduct themselves peaceably in everything, and exercise control over themselves, even in the endurance of injuries or inconveniences.

The Lord is at hand Here we have an anticipation, by which he obviates an objection that might be brought forward. For carnal sense rises in opposition to the foregoing statement. For as the rage of the wicked is the more inflamed in proportion to our mildness, and the more they see us prepared for enduring, are the more emboldened to inflict injuries, we are with difficulty induced to possess our souls in patience. (Luke 21:19.) Hence those proverbs, — “We must howl when among wolves.” “Those who act like sheep will quickly be devoured by wolves.” Hence we conclude, that the ferocity of the wicked must be repressed by corresponding violence, that they may not insult us with impunity. To such considerations Paul here opposes confidence in Divine providence. He replies, I say, that the Lord is at hand, whose power can overcome their audacity, and whose goodness can conquer their malice. He promises that he will aid us, provided we obey his commandment. Now, who would not rather be protected by the hand of God alone, than have all the resources of the world at his command?

Here we have a most beautiful sentiment, from which we learn, in the first place, that ignorance of the providence of God is the cause of all impatience, and that this is the reason why we are so quickly, and on trivial accounts, thrown into confusion, and often, too, become disheartened because we do not recognize the fact that the Lord cares for us. On the other hand, we learn that this is the only remedy for tranquillizing our minds — when we repose unreservedly in his providential care, as knowing that we are not exposed either to the rashness of fortune, or to the caprice of the wicked, but are under the regulation of God’s fatherly care. In fine, the man that is in possession of this truth, that God is present with him, has what he may rest upon with security.

There are, however, two ways in which the Lord is said to be at hand — either because his judgment is at hand, or because he is prepared to give help to his own people, in which sense it is made use of here; and also in Psalm 145:18, The Lord is near to all that call upon him. The meaning therefore is, — “Miserable were the condition of the pious, if the Lord were at a distance from them.” But as he has received them under his protection and guardianship, and defends them by his hand, which is everywhere present, let them rest upon this consideration, that they may not be intimidated by the rage of the wicked. It is well known, and matter of common occurrence, that the term solicitudo (carefulness) is employed to denote that anxiety which proceeds from distrust of Divine power or help.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(5) Your moderation.—The word here rendered “moderation,” properly denotes a sense of what is seemly, or equitable, as distinct from what is required by strict duty or formal law. Such distinction the world recognises when it speaks of what is enjoined, not so much by duty as by “good taste, or “right feeling,” or (with some peculiarity of application) by “chivalrous” feeling, or the “spirit of a gentleman.” Here it denotes the general sense of what is seemly in a Christian tone of character. In 2Co_10:1 (where it is translated “gentleness”) it is ascribed emphatically to our Lord Himself. But the usage of the New Testament appropriates it especially to the “sweet reasonableness” which “gentleness” may well designate. Thus, in Act_24:4 it clearly signifies patience, or forbearance; in 2Co_10:1 it is associated with meekness; in 1Ti_3:3, Tit_3:2, with peaceableness; in 1Pe_2:8, with kindness; in Jas_3:17 the word “gentle” is placed between “peaceable” and “easy to be entreated” (or rather, persuaded). This spirit is, no doubt, “moderation;” but it is something more. It may refer here both to the exhortation to unity in Php_4:1-3, and to the exhortation to joy immediately preceding. It would help the one and chasten the other.

The Lord is at hand.—A translation of the Syriac “Maran-atha” of 1Co_16:22—obviously a Christian watchword, probably referring to the Second Advent as near at hand; although, of course, not excluding the larger idea of that presence of Christ in His Church of which that Second Advent is the consummation.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5. moderation] R.V., “forbearance”; margin, “gentleness”; Wyclif, “patience”; Tyndale and Cranmer, “softenes”; Geneva, “patient mynde”; Rheims, “modestie”; Lat. versions, modestia; Beza, œquitas; Luther, Lindigkeit. The word is full of interest and significance, and is very difficult of translation. Perhaps forbearance, though inadequate, is a fair rendering. It means in effect considerateness, the attitude of thought and will which in remembrance of others forgets self, and willingly yields up the purely personal claims of self. The “self-less” man is the “moderate” man of this passage; the man who is yielding as air in respect of personal feeling or interest, though firm as a rock in respect of moral principle. See an excellent discussion, Trench, Synonyms, § xliii.—The editor may be allowed to refer to a small book of his own in further illustration, Thoughts on the Spiritual Life, ch. 3.

be known, &c.] Trench (quoted above) shews that the quality here commended is essentially, by usage as well as etymology, a thing having to do with life, action, intercourse. For its existence, so to speak, society is necessary. “Men” must be met and dealt with, and so must “know” it by its practical fruits.

“The Lord is at hand”:—in the sense of presence, not of coming. Cp. Psalms 119 (LXX. 118):151, “Thou art near, O Lord”; where the Greek is the same. And for the spiritual principle, see Psa_31:19-20; Psa_121:5. Not that the deeply calming expectation of the Lord’s approaching Return is excluded from thought here; but Psalms 119. decides for the other as the leading truth.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Let your moderation be known unto all men,.... The Vulgate Latin reads, "your modesty". The Syriac and Arabic versions, "your meekness", or "humility"; graces which accompany moderation, and are very necessary to it, but not that itself. The Ethiopic version renders it, "your authority", which by no means agrees; for moderation lies not in exerting authority and power to the uttermost, at least with rigour, but in showing clemency and lenity; not dealing with men according to the severity of laws and strict justice, but according to equity, and with mildness and gentleness; giving up strict and proper right, receding from what is a man's due, and not rigidly insisting on it; putting up with affronts and injuries, and bearing them with patience; and interpreting things in the best sense, and putting the best constructions on words and actions they will bear; and in using inferiors and equals with all humanity, kindness, and respect: and this is what is here intended, which the apostle would have made "known"; exercised and practised publicly, that it might be seen and known of all, and God might be glorified, by whose name they were called, though their agreeable conversation among men; see Mat 5:16; and he would not only have this known unto, but exercised towards "all men"; not only to believers, the members of the church, by ruling with gentleness, by bearing the infirmities of the weak, and by forgiving offences; but also to unbelievers, to the men of the world, by not avenging themselves, but giving way to wrath; by patient suffering for well doing, without making any returns of ill, either by words or deeds: this is the moderation here meant, and not moderation in eating and drinking, and in apparel, and in the love and use of, and care for the things of this world; though such moderation highly becomes professors of religion; and much less moderation in religion, or towards the false teachers, thinking and speaking well of them; and interpreting their notions in the best sense, hoping they may mean otherwise than they say, and therefore should treat their persons with great respect, and their principles with tenderness; but this can never be thought to be the apostle's sense, after he had himself given them such names and characters, as in Phi 3:2; and besides, though we may, and many times ought, as men and Christians, to give way, and yield up what is our right and due, for the sake of peace, yet we cannot, nor ought to give up anything, that of right belongs to God and Christ, in matters of doctrine or worship; nor in the least abate of our zeal for the same, or give way to false teachers in any respect, nor for any time: moreover, moderation in religion is nothing else but lukewarmness and indifference, than which nothing is more detestable, or abhorred by Christ. The argument or reason enforcing moderation in the above sense of it follows,

the Lord is at hand. The Syriac version reads, "our Lord": and the Ethiopic version, "God is at hand". The sense is, either the Lord is near, he is omnipresent, and sees and observes the conduct of his people, their deportment in the world, and to one another; and therefore, as in his presence, and under his eye, they should behave according to equity, and with kindness and tenderness towards their fellow creatures and fellow Christians: or the Lord is nigh unto them, as he is to all that call upon him in truth, Psa 145:18; he is a present help in time of trouble, Psa 46:1; he is in the midst of them, and will help, and that right early, Psa 46:5; and will avenge his elect, and vindicate their cause, and right all their wrongs in his due time; and therefore they should take all things patiently, and not avenge themselves: or in a little while Christ will come to judgment, when he will plead the cause of his people, and convince ungodly sinners of their ungodly deeds, and hard speeches against him and his, Jde 1:15; and therefore they should leave all to that time, and commit themselves to him that judgeth righteously, Pe1 2:23.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

Ver. 5. Let your moderation] Or equality, such as was that of David, Psa 26:12. The scales of his mind hung equal, giving him liberty in all occurrences to enjoy himself. All immoderations are enemies to health; so they are also to the quietness of the mind. (Hippocrates.) Against these (as against poisons) there be two kinds of antidotes, prayer and patience, the one hot, the other cold: the one quenching, the other quickening. The word το επιεικες, here used by the apostle, properly signifieth moderation in law businesses, or in laying claim to a man’s own right, the preferring of equity before extremity (Arist. Ethic. v. 10), as holding utmost right to be utmost wrong. Summum ius summa iniuria. Austin tells us that it was grown to a proverb among his countrymen, Ut habeas quietum tempus, perde aliquid. For a quiet life, part with some part of thy fight, as Abraham did, Gen 13:9.

The Lord is at hand] To right you and recompense you, to pay you for all your pains and patience. Iudex pro foribus, saith St James, Jas 5:9.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Let your moderation be known unto all men - That is, let it be such that others may see it. This does not mean that they were to make an ostentatious display of it, but that it should be such a characteristic of their lives that it would be constantly visible to others. The word “moderation” - ἐπιεικὲς epieikes - refers to restraint on the passions, general soberness of living, being free from all excesses. The word properly means that which is fit or suitable, and then propriety, gentleness, mildness - They were to indulge in no excess of passion, or dress, or eating, or drinking. They were to govern their appetites, restrain their temper, and to be examples of what was proper for people in view of the expectation that the Lord would soon appear.

The Lord is at hand - Is near; see the Phi 3:20 note; 1Co 16:22 note. This has the appearance of being a phrase in common use among the early Christians, and as being designed to keep before their minds a lively impression of an event which ought, by its anticipation, to produce an important effect. Whether, by this phrase, they commonly understood the coming of the Lord to destroy Jerusalem, or to remove them by death, or to judge the world, or to reign personally on the earth, it is impossible now to determine, and is not very material to a proper understanding of its use here. The idea is, that the expectation that the Lord Jesus will “come,” ought to be allowed to produce moderation of our passions, in our manner of living, in our expectations of what this world can furnish, and in our desires of earthly good. On him who feels that he is soon to die, and to stand at the bar of God - on him who expects soon to see the Lord Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven, it cannot fail to have this effect. People indulge their passions - are extravagant in their plans of life, and in their expectations of earthly good for themselves and for their families, because they have no realizing sense of the truth that there is before them a vast eternity. He that has a lively expectation that heaven will soon be his, will form very moderate expectations of what this world can furnish.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Let your moderation be known; exercising an even temper of mind, in governing the sensual appetite, with modesty, patience, and gentleness, in opposition to all impetuousness and inordinacy of affections, yea, to all excess and exorbitances in words and actions.

Unto all men; both in the eye of the church, and those without, according to our Saviour’s sermon and example, Mat 5:16,39-41; 17:27; not rigorously insisting upon our own rights, but with due self-denial putting the best construction upon the words and deeds of others; not troubling our hearts, Joh 14:1; banishing that solicitude about the good things of this life, which he doth in the next verse caution against: so 1Co 7:29-32.

The Lord is at hand; considering the cogent motive of the Lord’s approach, as Heb 10:25; Jam 5:8; not only in regard of his Deity, whereby he reigns amongst his enemies, Act 17:27; Jer 23:29; nor in regard of his special aids to his servants: Psa 14:5; but in regard of his coming to judgment, and setting all things right in a just distribution of rewards and punishments, to comfort his children, and confound those that disobey him, Mat 18:34,35; Mr 10:29,30; Col 3:24; Col 4:1; Heb 10:37; 1Pe 3:8,9; Re 22:20. But still we must remember, when we conceive of the Lord’s being at hand in regard of death and judgment, we must not take our own but God’s measures, in waiting our appointed time during his pleasure, Mat 24:36; Act 1:7.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5. Moderation—The word means forbearance, yieldingness. It is the grace which is slow to take offence, and swift to forgive; which suffers wrong rather than quarrels, and refrains from the rigid enforcement of legal rights. Justice may exact an extreme penalty and demand the uttermost farthing; but they who are expecting a Saviour, from whom they need clemency, may well show all men that they are of a like character.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Let your moderation be known unto all men; rather, forbearance, or gentleness. The word epieikeia (here the neuter adjective is used) is translated "gentleness" in 2Co_10:1, where it is attributed to our Lord himself. In the Aristotelian" Ethics" it stands for the temper which contents itself with less than its due, and shrinks from insisting on its strict rights. There is no joy in a narrow selfishness; joy involves an open heart, a generous love. Joy in the Lord tends to make men gentle and mild to others. "Gaudium in Domino," says Bengel, "parit veram aequitatem erga proximum." Unto all men; heathen as well as Christian. Compare our Lord"s word: "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." St. Paul would have the heathen say, "See how these Christians love one another." Their mutual love would be the blessed means of drawing fresh converts to the faith. There may possibly be an allusion here to the differences between Euodia and Syntyche; let there be no more disagreements, but rather mutual forbearance. The Lord is at hand. The Aramaic Maranatha ("the Lord cometh") in 1Co_16:22 seems to imply that these words were current in the Church as a formula of warning, like "Hallelujah" as a set form of praise. The Lord is at hand therefore be not careful to exact your full rights; love is more precious than gold in the treasury of heaven. Comp. Jam_5:8, "Be ye also patient,... for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." Others interpret the words, not of the future advent, but of the Lord"s present nearness. Comp. Psa_145:18, "The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him." But this seems scarcely so appropriate here.

The virtue of forbearance.

"Let your forbearance be known to all men. The Lord is at hand?

I THE NATURE OF THIS VIRTUE.

1. It is the opposite of contention and aggrandizement, rigour and severity.

2. It is the spirit that enables a man to bear injuries with patience and not to demand all that is rightly his due, for the sake of peace. The apostle corrected the litigios spirit of the Corinthians by asking them, "Why do ye not rather take wrong?" (1Co_6:7)

II THE ADVANTAGES OF THIS VIRTUE.

1. It contributes greatly to the comfort life and the peace of society. There is always a tendency to friction in the relations of life where the spirit of forbearance does not govern them.

2. It contributes to the usefullness of Christian people and promotes the glory of God. This true spirit of Christ will give a man great influence with his fellows and will redound to the credit of the gospel.

III THE REASON TO ENFORCE THIS DUTY. "The Lord is at hand." Let us bear with others, seeing the time is near when we may expect the Lord to hear with us. All our rivalries and disputes ought to disappear in the light of the judgment morning. T.C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Let your gentleness - Yieldingness, sweetness of temper, the result of joy in the Lord. Be known - By your whole behaviour. To all men - Good and bad, gentle and froward. Those of the roughest tempers are good natured to some, from natural sympathy and various motives; a Christian, to all. The Lord - The judge, the rewarder, the avenger. Is at hand - Standeth at the door.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

That is, let your mildness and gentleness towards others, your meekness and patience under your own trials, be very conspicuous, because the Lord is at hand to execute judgment on his own crucifiers, and on the persecutors of his own people.

Learn, That the consideration of the certainty and suddenness of Christ’s coming to judgment, ought to be improved by us as an argument to all mildness and gentleness towards others, and to all meekness and patience under our present sufferings. Let your moderation be known unto all men, &c.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5. Let your moderation. Your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. A special watchword of the early church in time of trouble. It meant practically “Deliverance is near.”

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

5. τὸ ἐπιεικὲς ὑμῶν. Vulg., Modestia vestra; A.V., “your moderation”; Wyclif, “youre pacience”; Tindale and ‘Cranmer,’ “youre softenes”; Geneva, “your patient mynde”; Rheims, “your modestie”; Luther, Eure Lindigkeit; R.V. text, “your forbearance,” marg. “your gentleness.” “Forbearance” is best, though scarcely adequate. Ἐπιεικής, ἐπιέκεια, are connected either with εἴκω, “to yield,” or, more probably, with τὸ εἰκὸς (ἔοικα), “the equitable.” Aristotle (Eth. N., v. 10. 6) contrasts the ἐπιεικής with the ἀκριβοδίκαιος, the stickler for his full rights; the ἐπιεικής will rather take sides against himself, look from the other’s point of view, remember his own duties and the other’s rights. Ἐπιείκεια is, so to speak, πραότης applied in action. In the N.T. we have it (or ἐπιεικής) in e.g. 2Co 10:1, παρακαλῶ ὑμᾶς διὰ τῆς πραότητος καὶ ἐπιεικείας τοῦ Χριστοῦ: 1Ti 3:2-3, δεῖ … ἐπίσκοπον … εἶναι … ἐπιεικῆ, ἄμαχον (so Tit 3:2): Jas 3:17, σοφία … ἐπιεικής, εὐπειθής.—The ἐπιεικές ὑμῶν of this passage is the spirit which will yield like air in matters of personal feeling or interest, while it will stand like rock in respect of moral principle. See Trench’s careful discussion, N. T. Synonyms, § xliii.

γνωσθήτω πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις. For τὸ ἐπιεικὲς is essentially practical and operative. Estius (quoted by Trench) says that “ἐπιείκεια magis [quam πραότης] ad exteriorem conversationem pertinet.”

ὁ κύριος ἐγγύς. Perhaps rather in the sense of presence than of coming; cp. Psalms 118 (Heb., 119):151, ἐγγὺς εἶ, κύριε. “In the secret of His presence” (בְּסֵתֶר פָּנָיו ἐν ἀποκρύφῳ τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ, Psalms 31 (30):19) they were to be “hid” from the vexations of life around them. Yet the deeply calming thought of the Lord’s Return may well be latent in the words too. In the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (probably cent. i.), the final Eucharistic prayer closes with the words Μαρὰν ἀθὰ (“The Lord cometh,” 1Co 16:21) ἀμήν.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5.] τὸ ἐπιεικές, your forbearance, from ἐπί, implying direction, and εἰκός, ἔοικα (not εἴκω, to yield, as Trench, N. T. Syn. 171: see Palm and Rost’s Lex., under the word, as also under ΕἼΚΩ and ἔοικα), reasonableness of dealing, wherein not strictness of legal right, but consideration for one another, is the rule of practice. Aristot., Eth. Nic. v. 10. 6, defines it to be that which fills up the necessary deficiencies of law, which is general, by dealing with particular cases as the law-giver would have dealt with them if he had been by. διό, he adds, δίκαιον μέν ἐστι, καὶ βέλτιόν τινος δικαίου· … καὶ ἔστιν αὕτη ἡ φύσις ἡ τοῦ ἐπιεικοῦς, ἐπανόρθωμα νόμου, ᾗ ἐλλείπει διὰ τὸ καθόλου. And he describes the ἐπιεικής as ὁ μὴ ἀκριβοδίκαιος ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον. See Trench, New Test. Syn., as above.

By the γνωσθήτω πᾶσιν ἀνθρ., the Apostle rather intends, ‘let no man know of you any inconsistency with ἐπιείκεια.’ The universality of it justifies its application even to those described above, ch. 3:18 f.,—that though warned against them, they were to shew all moderation and clemency towards them: so Chrys. Meyer observes well, that the succession of these precepts seems to explain itself psychologically by the disposition of spiritual joy in the Lord exalting us both above rigorism, and above anxiety of mind (ver. 6).

ὁ κύριος ἐγγύς] These words may apply either to the foregoing—‘the Lord will soon come, He is the avenger; it is yours to be moderate and clement’ (so De Wette, al.): or to the following—‘the Lord is near, be not anxious:’ so Chrys., Thdrt., all. Perhaps we may best regard it as the transition from the one to the other: Christ’s coming is at hand—this is the best enforcer of clemency and forbearance: it also leads on to the duty of banishing anxiety.

ὁ κύριος is Christ, and the ἐγγύς refers to the παρουσία; see on ch. 3:20.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5. τὸ ἐπιεικὲς ὑμῶν: ‘your forbearance.’ From εἰκός, ‘reasonable’; hence, ‘not unduly rigorous.’ Aristot. Nich. Eth. v. 10, contrasts it with ἀκριβοδίκαιος, ‘severely judging.’ The idea is, ‘do not make a rigorous and obstinate stand for what is your just due.’ Comp. Ign. Eph. x., ἀδελφοὶ αὐτῶν εὑρεθῶμεν τῇ ἐπιεικείᾳ: ‘Let us show ourselves their brothers by our forbearance.’

Ἐπιεικής in N.T., 1Ti 3:3; Tit 3:2, where it is joined with ἄμαχος; 1Pe 2:18; Jas 3:17, with ἀγαθὸς and εὐπειθής. Ἐπιείκεια, Act 24:4; 2Co 10:1; the latter with πραΰτης. LXX, ἐπιεικής, Psa_86 (85):5: ἐπιείκεια, Sap. 2:19; 2 Macc. 2:22; 3 Macc. 3:15. Ἐπιεικῶς, not in N.T., 1Sa 12:22; 1Sa_2 K. 6:3; 2 Macc. 9:27. The neuter adjective with the article =; the abstract noun ἐπιείκεια. (Comp. τὸ χρηστὸν, Rom 2:4; τὸ μωρὸν, 1Co 1:25.)

Mey. remarks that the disposition of Christian joyfulness must elevate men quite as much above strict insistence on their rights and claims as above solicitude.

πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις: Not to your fellow-Christians only.

ὁ κύριος ἐγγύς: ‘the Lord is near.’ For κύριος, see on 2:11.In the Gospels usually ‘God.’ In Paul mostly ‘Christ,’ and more commonly with the article (Win. xix. 1). The phrase expresses the general expectation of the speedy second coming of Christ. Comp. Μαρὰν ἀθά (1Co 16:22), ‘the Lord will come,’ or ‘the Lord is here.’ See also Rom 13:12; Jas 5:8. Ἐγγύς, of time. The connection of thought may be either with what precedes, or with what follows; i.e. the near approach of Christ may be regarded as a motive to either forbearance or restfulness of spirit. Most modern expositors connect with the former, but the thought proceeds upon the line of the latter. Apart from this fact there is nothing to prevent our connecting ὁ κύρ. ἐγ. with both, as Alf. and Ellic. ‘Be forbearing; the Lord is at hand who will right all wrongs and give to each his due. Be not anxious. The Lord is at hand. Why be concerned about what is so soon to pass away? The Lord’s coming will deliver you from all earthly care.’ (Comp. 1Co 7:29-31.)

Some of the earlier interpreters, taking ἐγγύς in a local sense, explain of the perpetual nearness of Christ; as Mat 28:20 (Aug.). Others, taking κύριος =; ‘God,’ of the helpful presence of God’s providence; as Psa 34:18, Psa 119:151, Psa 145:18 (am E., Calov., Ril.). But this does not accord with the Pauline usage of κύριος.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rejoice. See on ch. Phi 1:4, and 2Co 13:11.

Moderation [το επιεικες] . Wrong. Rev., correctly, forbearance. See on gentle, 1Pe 2:18.

The Lord is at hand. See on 1Co 16:22.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.