1 Timothy 5

1. Rebuke not an elder. That is, “Do not reprove harshly an aged man;” an elder, not in office, but in age.

Intreat. Exhort or persuade.

3. Honour. Cp. ver. 16. “A widow indeed” (“left alone,” ver. 5), having no relative to whom she could look for support.

4 nephews. An old word for “descendants” of any degree (nepotes). R.V., “grandchildren.”

piety. That is, “filial piety”; which is to be shown partly by providing for the wants and comforts of the aged, the duty of supporting whom devolves in the first instance upon children and grandchildren.

requite. “To make return for” their care or love.

5 desolate. “Left alone”: having none on whom she could depend; and being thus led to look to God alone in constant devotion (cp. Luke ii. 37).

6 dead. Spiritually dead.

8 the faith. Faith “is active in love, and inseparable from [love; and releases none from natural duties, but imposes them on all” (Lange). an infidel. Rather, an “unbeliever.”

9. Let not a widow be taken, etc. Lit., “Let one be put down on the list as a widow, not under sixty years old.” A widow who had been a faithful wife to one husband (see note on iii. 2), and had devoted her better days to family duties and to works of piety and charity, when she reached the age of sixty, was to be enrolled amongst those whom the church maintained in comfort and honour, while she dedicated herself to its work.

11 refuse. That is, Do not put them on the roll of church widows, for when they have become impatient of the restraint, which they have taken upon themselves as a religious obligation in joining the roll or order of widows they “desire to marry”; “having judgement” (i.e., a sense of guilt) because they have broken their first faith (i.e., their engagement to celibacy); and withal “they learn,” etc.

14 the younger [women]. That is, the younger widows, as the context shows. “The greatest gift of Christianity to the social fabric is the development of the idea of home” (G. Matheson: Spiritual Development of St. Paul).

the adversary. Any opponent of the gospel.

16. If any man or woman that believeth have widows. That is, “widowed relatives”: see on ver. 3.

17 doctrine. Or, “teaching.” Those who excel in ruling or teaching the church, or in both, have a double claim to honour and support (see Deut. xxv. 4).

18. And the labourer, etc. A proverb, found also in Matt. x. 10 and Luke x. 7.

19 but. Or, “except.” For his duties expose him to the malice of the ill-disposed.

20. Them that sin rebuke, etc. Referring to elders who transgress. These are to be reproved openly before the church, as a warning to others.

21 the elect angels. God’s chosen attendants and ministers of His government. “Probably those especially selected by God as His messengers to the human race, such as Gabriel” (Conybeare and Howson).

without preferring. Rather, “without prejudging”; laying aside preconceived views or conclusions.

22. Lay hands, etc. In ordination to office in the church. You become responsible in part for the sins of those on whom you hastily lay hands.

23. Drink no longer water, etc. Rather, as R.V., “Be no longer a drinker of water”; i.e., only; but “use a little wine” medicinally. St. Paul feared that Timothy’s abstemiousness would diminish the strength both of body and mind which the wise and energetic maintenance of discipline demanded. Paley (Horæ Paulinæ, ch. xii. No. 4) quotes this passage as an evidence of the genuineness of the Epistle.

24. Some men’s sins are open beforehand, etc. Some sins are so evident that they go as heralds before those who commit them, as an evil report outstrips a man (Lange): whilst others require “after-proof.” So also (ver. 25) some good deeds are evidently and unmistakably such; whilst some are “otherwise”; i.e., they are really good, but not so obvious and above suspicion. These two verses are given as a reason for the exercise of caution - hastily accepting men for the eldership.

1 under the yoke. Slaves.

2 but rather do them service, etc. Or, “but the rather (i.e., the more) serve them, because those who receive the benefit” of such service are believers and beloved. Un-Christian masters should be served with respect for the gospel’s sake; believing masters, also, for their own.

4 doting. Lit., “diseased,” i.e., in mind; descriptive of a morbid spirit; opposed to “healthy,” or “wholesome” (3).

5 destitute of the truth. Rather, as R.V., “bereft of the truth”; having possessed, and lost it.

that gain is godliness. Or, “that godliness is a source of gain”; i.e., a mere trade for gain; “que la piété est un moyen de gain” (French version). Gain, however, it is with contentment; which looks on earthly things as soon to be left, and is satisfied with needful “food and covering.”

9 they that will be rich. Rather, “they that want to be rich,” etc.; making wealth the great object of pursuit.

10 the root of all evil. Rather, “a root of all kinds of evil,” R.V., from which they all grow.

11 man of God. That is, one devoted not to the world, but to God.

12 a good profession. Rather, “the good (or noble) confession” (and so in ver. 13). “Good” refers to the truth which is “confessed” by the disciple, and has been “attested” by our Lord (13).

14 [this] commandment. Properly, “the commandment”: all the moral obligations of Christian truth (i. 5).

15 which. Namely, Christ’s appearing.

King of kings, and Lord of lords. This title of Divine supremacy is given to our Lord in Rev. xvii. 14; xix. 16.

17 uncertain riches. Rather, “the uncertainty of riches,” both as to possession, and as to enjoyment (Prov. xxiii. 5).

to enjoy. The 18th verse shows wherein the true enjoyment of wealth consists.

19 laying up in store, etc. See Luke xvi. 9-13, and notes.

eternal life. Another reading, which is supported by the best MSS., gives the rendering: “the life which is life indeed” (R.V.). See Luke xii. 14, 15, and notes.

20 keep (guard) that which is committed to thy trust. “The deposit” of the pure gospel, entrusted to thee to dispense to others (2 Tim. i. 13, 14).

science. Rather, “the knowledge”; the false counterfeit of true Christian knowledge (see 1 Cor. xii. 8); in different ways opposing the gospel truths. This false teaching was already at work in the church, and afterwards became very prevalent in the form of the Gnostic heresies.

[The first to Timothy, etc.] The subscription is plainly incorrect. See note at close of Romans.

THIS letter followed very soon upon the First Epistle, and was written about the close of A.D. 66 or early in A.D. 67.

When it was written, St. Paul was looking forward to his approaching death (iv. 6). But he meets it without fear (i. 7, 12). He is “ready to be offered” (iv. 6). His confidence is in his living Lord (iv. 18).

But he knows the grief his imprisonment and certain martyrdom are causing to Timothy (i. 4). And the Epistle is therefore one of comfort, cheerfulness and parting counsels. He recalls with thankfulness Timothy’s early training and his personal faith (i. 5). He asserts his own confidence in Christ. Lest there should arise in Timothy’s mind any feeling of shame that his leader is a prisoner in chains, he says, “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me his prisoner” (i. 8). He is suffering hardship for the Gospel’s sake (i. 12), but he is “not ashamed,” showing that he is still the same in his loyalty to Christ in Rome as he was before he came there (cp. Rom. i. 16). The prison has made no difference to him except to increase his triumphant assurance (iv. 8). He may suffer bonds, but the word of God cannot be imprisoned (ii. 9). He may be put to death, but he looks to Timothy to carry on the work that he has begun (i. 14; iv. 2, 5).