1 Timothy 3

1 may have [free] course. Lit., “may run”; may make swift progress in Corinth, where the apostle was now preaching, as it had done in Thessalonica. Respecting the opposition alluded to in ver. 2, see Acts xviii.

2 faith. Rather, “the faith”; they do not receive, but oppose the gospel.

3 the Lord. Our Lord Jesus Christ: cp. ii. 16, and see on ver. 5.

from evil. Or, as R.V., “from the evil one”; see notes, Matt. vi. 13; John xvii. 15.

5 the patient waiting for Christ. Rather, “the patience of Christ,” i.e., such constancy as He manifested.

6 disorderly. See note on 1 Thess. v. 14. “Tradition” here means instruction: see note on ii. 15; and cp. ver. 10.

8 wrought with labour, etc. See Acts xviii. 3, and note.

9 power. Or, “right”; namely, to require support from those to whom we minister (1 Cor. ix. 6).

12 that with quietness they work. As opposed to the lazy and meddlesome life of the busybodies.

13. But ye, brethren. That is, ye who are free from this fault.

be not weary. “Not in the sense of physical exhaustion from over-work, but weary in the sense of losing heart in the presence of discouragement. Cp. Gal. vi. 9” (Buckland in Devotional Commentary).

14 have no company with him. Lit., “do not mix yourselves up with him,” not absolutely prohibiting all communication (see ver. 15), but only such social intercourse as would imply connivance at his misconduct: see note on 1 Cor. v. 10.

15. Yet. Rather, “And.” Let this separation be regarded as correction rather than as punishment.

16 always by all means. “At all times, in all ways,” R.V.

17 which is the token, etc. To attest the genuineness of the Epistle; for Paul generally employed an amanuensis to write the letter itself: cp. on Rom. xvi. 22.

[written from Athens.] Rather, from Corinth.

THE great value of the three “Pastoral Epistles,” 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, is that they lay down principles for the guidance of the Christian minister and for the discipline of the Christian Church. Some portions of the letters, however, are local or temporary in their immediate application.

I a bishop. See note, Phil. i. 1.

2 the husband of one wife. This may mean, either that an overseer or pastor of the church must not, like many Jews at that period, have more than one wife at a time; or that he must not have given way to the prevalent custom of divorce.

3 given to wine. “Violent over wine” (Wace in Speaker’s Commentary).

4 one that ruleth well his own house, etc. This verse, like ver. 2, clearly implies that the minister of the gospel might be a family man, not bound by a vow of celibacy.

having [his] children in subjection, etc. Keeping with dignity his children in subjection.

6 not a novice. One newly converted, if raised to such a post, would be apt to be inflated with pride, and thus to fall under the condemnation which the devil brought upon himself by that sin.

7 the snare of the devil. If Satan can destroy a minister’s reputation in the world, he thereby harasses his soul, spoils his usefulness, and injures the church.

8 greedy of filthy lucre. A commonly misused phrase. Money or gain is not “filthy” or evil in itself. The “filthiness” or evil is in the man using it and not in the money. The Greek word αἰαχροκερδείς really means “sordidly greedy of gain.” See also Titus i. 11.

9 mystery. See note on Matt. xiii. 11.

10 let these also, etc. After being tested, let them serve as deacons, provided that they are irreproachable.

11 wives. Rather, “women”; meaning apparently women who acted as deaconesses (who might or might not be deacons’ wives): cp. note on Rom. xvi. 1; and see Titus ii. 3, 4.

12 husbands of one wife. See above on ver. 2.

13 purchase to themselves a good degree. They “gain for themselves an honourable standing.”

15 the pillar and ground of the truth. Rather, “a pillar and ground of the truth.” Referring to the community of believers, which, when well disciplined according to the apostolic teaching, is a living witness and support of the truth. “The Church is the pillar and basement of the truth, because it sustains it, as Calvin says, by making it known by its preaching, by preserving it unmutilated and pure, and by transmitting it to posterity” (Wace, in Speaker’s Commentary). Cp. Article XX. of the Thirty-Nine Articles.

16 mystery of godliness. The (revealed) secret of practical religion. The particulars that follow, setting forth the facts of redemption, appear from their term and balanced form to have been some early creed or hymn. It may be arranged thus, so as to mark the antithetic clauses:

“who was manifested in flesh, justified in spirit; seen of angels: preached among (the) nations, believed on in the world; received up in glory.”

2. L

God. According to the reading now generally adopted by scholars, the “mystery of godliness” is itself declared to have been manifested in flesh. “Confessedly great is the mystery of godliness, even He who was manifested.” Christ incarnate is the mystery, as in the approved reading of Col. ii. 2, where see note.

Justified in the spirit. These words are very variously interpreted. No interpretation seems so satisfactory as that of Gurney (Devotional Commentary), or more in keeping with St. Paul’s use of the word “justify.” It is that the Resurrection was the Saviour’s justification. He was then “declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness” (Rom. i. 3).