Verse 18
18. erred—Greek, "missed the aim" (see :-).
is past already—has already taken place. The beginnings of the subsequent Gnostic heresy already existed. They "wrested" ( :-) Paul's own words (Romans 6:4; Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 2:12) "to their own destruction," as though the resurrection was merely the spiritual raising of souls from the death of sin. Compare 1 Corinthians 15:12, where he shows all our hopes of future glory rest on the literal reality of the resurrection. To believe it past (as the Seleucians or Hermians did, according to AUGUSTINE [Epistles, 119.55, To Januarius, 4]), is to deny it in its true sense.
overthrow—trying to subvert "the foundation" on which alone faith can rest secure (2 Timothy 2:19; compare 2 Timothy 2:19- :).
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