1_Paul an apostle _If he had written to Timothy alone, it would have been unnecessary to claim this designation, and to maintain it in the manner that he does. Timothy would undoubtedly have been satisfied with having merely the name; for he knew that Paul was an Apostle of Christ, and had no need o... [ Continue Reading ]
2_To Timothy my own son _This commendation expresses no small praise. Paul means by it, that he owns Timothy to be a true and not a bastard son, and wishes that others should acknowledge him to be such; and he even applauds Timothy in the same manner as if he were another Paul. But how does this agr... [ Continue Reading ]
3._As I besought thee _Either the syntax is elliptical, or the particle ἵνα is redundant; and in both cases the meaning will be obvious. (3) First, he reminds Timothy why he was besought to remain at Ephesus. It was with great reluctance, and through hard necessity, that he parted with a companion s... [ Continue Reading ]
4_And not to give heed to fables _He applies the term “fables,” in my opinion, not only to contrived falsehoods, but to trifles or fooleries which have no solidity; for it is possible that something which is not false may yet be fabulous. In this sense, Suetonius speaks of fabulous history, (5) and... [ Continue Reading ]
Those unprincipled men with whom Timothy had to deal, boasted of having the law on their side, in consequence of which Paul anticipates, and shews that the law gives them no support but was even opposed to them, and that it agreed perfectly with the gospel which he had taught. The defense set up by... [ Continue Reading ]
6_From which some having gone astray _He continues to pursue the metaphor of an object or end; for the verb ἀστοχεῖν, the participle of which is here given, signifies to err or go aside from a mark. (12) _Have turned aside to idle talking _This is a remarkable passage, in which he condemns for “idle... [ Continue Reading ]
7_Wishing to be teachers of the law _He does not reprove those who openly attack the instruction of the law, but those who boast of belonging to the rank of teachers of it. He affirms that such persons have no understanding, because they harass their faculties to no purpose by curious questions. And... [ Continue Reading ]
8_Now we know that the law is good _He again anticipates the calumny with which they loaded him; for, whenever he resisted their empty display, they seized on this shield for their defense “What then? Do you wish to have the law buried, and blotted out of the remembrance of men?” In order to repel t... [ Continue Reading ]
9_That the law is not made for a righteous man _The apostle did not intend to argue about the whole office of the law, but views it in reference to men. It frequently happens that they who wish to be regarded as the greatest zealots for the law, give evidence by their whole life that they are the gr... [ Continue Reading ]
10_For robbers _The Latin word _plagium _ was employed by ancient writers to denote the carrying off or enticing the slave of another man, or the false sale of a freeman. Those who wish to obtain more full information on this subject may consult authors on the civil law, and especially on the Flavia... [ Continue Reading ]
11_According to the gospel of glory _By calling it “the gospel of glory,” that is, “the glorious gospel,” he sharply rebukes those who labored to degrade the gospel, in which God displays his glory. He expressly says that it _hath been intrusted to him, _that all may know that there is no other gosp... [ Continue Reading ]
12_I give thanks _Great is the dignity — of the apostleship, which Paul has claimed for himself; and he could not, looking at his former life, be accounted at all worthy of so high an honor. Accordingly, that he may not be accused of presumption, he comes unavoidably to make mention of his own perso... [ Continue Reading ]
13_. Who was formerly a blasphemer and persecutor; _a blasphemer against God, a persecutor and oppressor against the Church. We see how candidly he acknowledges that it might be brought against him as a reproach, and how far he is from extenuating his sins, and how, by willingly acknowledging his un... [ Continue Reading ]
14_And the grace of our Lord _He again magnifies the grace of God towards himself, not only for the purpose of removing the dislike of it and testifying his gratitude, but also to employ it as a shield against the slanders of wicked men, whose whole design was to bring down his apostleship to a lowe... [ Continue Reading ]
15_It is a faithful saying _After having defended his ministry from slander and unjust accusations, not satisfied with this, he turns to his own advantage what might have been brought against him by his adversaries as a reproach. He shews that it was profitable to the Church that he had been such a... [ Continue Reading ]
16_That in me the first Jesus Christ might shew _When he calls himself _the first, _he alludes to what he had said a little before, that he was the first (26) among sinners and, therefore, this word means “chiefly,” or, “above all.” The Apostle’s meaning is, that, from the very beginning, God held o... [ Continue Reading ]
17_Now to the King eternal _His amazing vehemence at length breaks out into this exclamation; because he could not find words to express his gratitude; for those sudden bursts occur chiefly when we are constrained to break off the discourse, in consequence of being overpowered by the vastness of the... [ Continue Reading ]
18_I recommend to thee this commandment _All that he had introduced about his own person may be viewed as a digression from his subject. Having to arm Timothy with authority, it became necessary for himself to be clothed with the highest authority; and, therefore, he took an early opportunity of ref... [ Continue Reading ]
19_Having faith and a good conscience _I understand the word _faith _to be a general term, denoting sound doctrine. In the same sense he afterwards speaks of “the mystery of faith.” (1 Timothy 3:9.) And, indeed, the chief things demanded from a teacher are these two: — that he shall hold by the pure... [ Continue Reading ]
20_Of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander_. The former will be again mentioned in the Second Epistle, in which the kind of “shipwreck” which he made is likewise described; for he said that the resurrection was past. (2 Timothy 2:17.) There is reason to believe that Alexander also was bewitched by an er... [ Continue Reading ]