1 Timothy 3

1 Timothy 3:1

Children, obey [your] parents. See PNT Ephesians 6:1.

1 Timothy 3:2

Fathers, provoke not your children. See PNT Ephesians 6:4.

1 Timothy 3:3

Servants, obey. See notes on Ephesians 6:5,6.

1 Timothy 3:4

And whatever ye do. See PNT Ephesians 6:7.

1 Timothy 3:5

Knowing that from the Lord. See PNT Ephesians 6:8.

1 Timothy 3:6

He that doeth wrong. Whether master or slave. And there is no respect of persons. All will be required, and before Christ, all, master and slave, stand upon the same footing.

1 Timothy 3:8

Final Exhortation SUMMARY OF COLOSSIANS 4: A Charge to Masters. Prayer and Prudence Commended. Tychicus, the Bearer of the Letter, Introduced. Onesimus Commended. Greetings from Brethren at Rome. The Epistle of the Laodiceans. Masters, give to [your] servants. See notes on “Ephesians 6:9”. This verse ought to have been joined to the section of the preceding chapter in which mutual duties are enjoined. It should be remarked that such a charge as this is not found in all the profane writings of antiquity. Even in the pages of the moralists a slave was regarded as a chattel with which the master had a right to deal according to his will. The Christian rule, at once introduced into the church, was for the master to treat his servants as he wished to be treated by his Master in heaven, and to expect the same kind of treatment that he meted out.

1 Timothy 3:9

Continue in prayer. Prayer ought to be regular, habitual. The Christian should every day have a season of prayer. See Lu 18:1 Acts 1:14 Ephesians 6:18. Watch in the same. Watch that you pray aright, in earnest, and ask for what you ought. With thanksgiving. Let thanks for mercies given ascend as you ask for new mercies.

1 Timothy 3:10

Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance. Note the spirit of this prayer; not a thought of his ease, comfort, or even safety, but only that he may be given full opportunity to preach Christ. So sublime a self-forgetfulness in a suffering prisoner is almost divine. The mystery of Christ. The gospel of Christ. It was a mystery, i.e., a hidden truth until it was revealed. See 1 Corinthians 4:1 Ephesians 6:19 Colossians 1:26 2:2. In bonds. See notes on Ephesians 6:20 Philippians 1:7.

1 Timothy 3:12

Walk in wisdom toward them that are without. Let your conduct be prudent and sagacious. Do not provoke persecution. Redeeming. Buying by giving up your own pleasure. Redeeming the time. Using every opportunity and seeking time to do them good.

1 Timothy 3:13

Let your speech [be] always with grace. Use courteous speech, calculated to attract rather than to repel. Seasoned with salt. Food without seasoning is insipid. Let the speech be so seasoned by “grace” that it will not be rejected with aversion. That ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. So that your answer to every man may be such as the case requires. The idea is to always say what is pertinent and best for the occasion.

1 Timothy 3:14

All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you. On Tychicus, see PNT Ephesians 6:21. He carried the Epistle to the Ephesians, and that to the Colossians on the same journey. He was probably a native of Ephesus, and was one of Paul’s most trusted evangelists. See Acts 20:4 2 Timothy 4:12 Titus 3:12. It should be kept in mind that all Paul’s Epistles were sent by messengers. There were no postal arrangements for carrying private letters such as exist in our times.

1 Timothy 3:15

Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose. Not only to carry letters, but to ascertain the state of the churches, and to instruct and comfort them. He came as an evangelist to help them on.

1 Timothy 3:16

With Onesimus. A peculiar interest is connected with Onesimus because he is the subject of the Epistle to Philemon (Philemon 1:10).