we believe Rather, we have believed: the perfect tense implies that the faith and knowledge which they possess have been theirs for some time past. -Are sure" means literally - have come to know."

thou art that Christ, &c. These words seem to have been imported hither from S. Peter's Confession, Matthew 16:16. The true reading here is; Thou art the Holy One of God. This is altogether a different occasion from Matthew 16:16, and probably previous to it. The Confessions are worth comparing. 1. -Thou art the Son of God" (Matthew 14:33); in this the other Apostles joined. 2. -Thou art the Holy One of God" (John 6:69). 3. -Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). They increase in fulness, as we might expect.

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