Prayer, salutation, A. M. 4058. A. D. 54. 15 Yet count him not as an ene- || hand, which is the token in every A. M. 4058. my, b but admonish him as a brother. epistle: so I write. 16 Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. 17 The salutation of Paul with mine own Leviticus xix. 17; 1 Thessalonians v. 14.- bTitus iii. 10. - Romans xv. 33; xvi. 20; 1 Corinthians xiv. 33; 2 having no company with him; that he may be ashamed-In order that, being shunned by all as an evil-doer, he may be ashamed of his conduct and amend. Yet count him not as an enemy-An obstinate, incurable sinner, no more to be regarded; || but admonish him as a brother-Remind him of his duty and danger as a member of the same body with yourselves; or tell him lovingly of the reason why you shun him. 18. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. The second epistle to the Thessalonians was written from Athens. Corinthians xiii. 11; 1 Thessalonians v. 23. d 1 Corinthians xvi. 21; Colossians iv. 18.-e Romans xvi. 24. This prayer the apostle subjoins to the foregoing command, to intimate that if the rulers of the church are faithful in their exhortations and admonitions, it is to be expected that the Lord will follow their labours with his blessing, and make them effectual for producing peace and righteousness among the members of his body. The Lord be with you all-A wish this founded on Christ's promise, (Matt. xxviii. 20,) Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world, with which promise it is probable Paul was made acquainted. The salutation of Paul with mine own hand-See on 1 Cor. xvi. 21; Gal. vi. 11; which is the token in every epistle-The mark to know those that are true from such as are counterfeit. So I write-This is my custom in all b Verses 16, 17. Now the Lord of peace himself See on Rom. xv. 33; or Christ may be here intended, and called the Lord of peace, in allusion to Isa. ix. 6, where he is foretold under the character of || the Prince of peace, because he was to reconcile Jews and Gentiles to God and to one another. Give you peace by all means-In every way and manner. | my epistles. VOL. II. ( 27 ) 417 PREFACE то THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE ΤΟ TIMOTHY. TIMOTHY, or Timotheus, was a native of Lystra, in the Lesser Asia. His father was a Greek, but his grandmother Lois, and his mother Eunice, were pious Jewish women, and trained him up from a child in the knowledge of the Scriptures. When young, and probably by hearing the gospel preached by Paul or Barnabas, he was converted to the Christian faith and from the time of his conversion made such proficiency in the knowledge of the gospel, and was so remarkable for his piety and zeal in the cause of Christ, that he attracted the esteem of all the brethren in those parts, and was so well spoken of by them, that Paul would have him to accompany him in his journeys through the Gentile countries, and to assist him in his labours of preaching the gospel. And ast Timothy, though a Jew, had not been circumcised, by reason that his father was a Gentile, the apostle thought it proper that he should bear that mark of his descent from a Jewess, because without it the Jews would have looked on him as a heathen, and would have despised his instructions. This, and not any opinion that circumcision was necessary to salvation, caused the apostle to propose and Timothy to receive that rite, by which the Jews, from the earliest times, had been distinguished from the rest of mankind. Afterward the presbyters at Lystra, the more strongly to impress Timothy with a sense of the importance of the work he had undertaken, solemnly set him apart to the office of an evangelist, by the laying on of their hands and by prayer. This was followed by the laying on of the apostle's hands, for the purpose of communicating to Timothy the gifts of the Holy Ghost, 2 Tim. i. 6. Timothy being thus prepared to be the apostle's fellow-labourer in the gospel, accompanied him and Silas when they visited the churches of Phrygia, and delivered to them the decrees of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem, declaring it unnecessary for the believing Gentiles to be circumcised, and to observe the ceremonial law of Moses. Having gone through these countries, and at length come to Troas, where Luke joined them, they were directed by a vision to go into Macedonia. Loosing, therefore, from Troas, they all passed over to Neapolis, and from thence went to Philippi, where they were instrumental in converting many, and in planting a Christian church. Leaving Luke at Philippi, they proceeded from thence to Thessalonica, where also they made many converts; but, being opposed with great violence by the unbelieving Jews, they were obliged to flee to Berea, whither the Jews from Thessalonica followed them. To elude their rage, Paul, who was most obnoxious to them, departed from Berea by night to go to Athens, leaving Silas and Timothy in Berea. While the apostle remained at Athens, Timothy came to him, and gave him such an account of the afflicted state of the Thessalonian brethren, as induced him to send that evangelist back to comfort them. The apostle, meeting with little success at Athens, did not think it proper to continue there many days, but leaving that city, went forward to Corinth, where Silas and Timothy came to him, and assisted him in the work of preaching the gospel to the Corinthians. And when he left Corinth, they accompanied him first to Ephesus, then to Jerusalem, and after that to Antioch in Syria. Having spent some time in Antioch, Paul set out with Timothy on his third apostolical journey; in which, after visiting all the churches of Galatia and Phrygia, in the order in which they had been planted, they came to Ephesus the second time, and there abode long. In short, from the time Timothy first joined the apostle as his assistant, he never left him, except when sent by him on some special errand. And by his affection, fidelity, and zeal, he so recommended himself to all the disciples, and acquired such authority among them, that Paul inserted his name in the inscription of several of the letters which he wrote to the churches, to show that their doctrine was one and the same. 418 ( 27* ) b PREFACE TO THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. Timothy, it must be observed, was properly, as was Titus also, an itinerant evangelist; a kind of secondary apostle, whose office was to regulate all things in the churches to which he was sent, and to inspect and reform whatsoever was amiss either in the bishops, deacons, or people. St. Paul had, doubtless, largely instructed him in private conversation for the due execution of so weighty an office. Yet, to fix things more upon his mind, and to give him an opportunity of having recourse to them afterward, as there might be occasion, and of communicating them to others, as also to leave divine directions in writing, for the use of the church and its ministers, in all ages, he sent him this excellent pastoral letter, which contains a great variety of important instructions and advices. With respect to the date of this epistle, learned men have been greatly divided in their opinions. The hypothesis which has prevailed most generally is, that it was written about A. D. 60, when Paul had lately quitted Ephesus, on account of the tumult raised there by Demetrius, and was gone into Macedonia, Acts xx. 1. And this has been the opinion of many learned critics, ancient and modern; particularly of Athanasius, Theodoret, Baronius, Ludovic, Capellus, Blondel, Hammond, Grotius, Salmasius, Lightfoot, and Benson. On the other hand, Bishop Pearson endeavours to prove, that it could not be written till between the time of the first and second imprisonment of Paul at Rome, about A. D. 68; which opinion has been embraced by Le Clerc, L'Enfant, Cave, Fabricius, Mill, Whitby, Paley, Macknight, and others. The following arguments, however, in favour of the former hypothesis, do not appear to the author of this work to have yet received a satisfactory answer, and therefore he prefers the ancient opinion. 1. When Paul wrote his first epistle to him, Timothy was a young man, as appears from 1 Tim. iv. 12, where the apostle says, "Let no man despise thy youth;" which is also referred to 1 Cor. xvi. 10, 11. Now supposing he were only sixteen years of age when converted to Christianity, which is thought to have been in St. Paul's journey through the Lesser Asia, recorded Acts xiv., (see note on Acts xvi. 1,) he would, in the year 60, be about thirty years of age; but in 68, when the latter hypothesis supposes the epistle was written, he would be thirty-eight, and certainly past the time of youth; thirty being the age at which the Levites were, according to the law, to enter upon their office. 2. The state of things in the church at Ephesus, in A. D. 60, better suits the contents of the first epistle than it does in A. D. 68. For it appears from chap. i. 3-7, and other passages, that those corruptions which the apostle speaks of as greatly increased and risen to a considerable height, when he met the elders of Ephesus at Miletus, and when he wrote his second epistle, were but just beginning to creep into the church at the time of his writing the first. To which it may be added that, from the particular instructions which the apostle gives Timothy about ordination, it seems as if the church at Ephesus, and those in the neighbourhood, had few or no bishops at the time it was written; from whence it appears extremely probable that the meeting between Paul and the elders of Ephesus at Miletus, must have been after the writing of this epistle. But, 3. The argument on which the principal stress hath been laid, in favour of the first hypothesis, is taken from the solemn prophetic declaration which Paul made when he took his leave of the elders of Ephesus at Miletus, in the following words, "I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more," Acts xx. 25. From whence it is inferred, that he must have written this epistle to Timothy before that interview, since in it he not only expresses a full expectation of returning, but speaks of his having just left Ephesus when he set out on his journey for Macedonia. The epistle contains three parts: I. The inscription, chap. i. 1, 2. II. The instruction of Timothy how to behave at Ephesus; wherein, 1. In general, he gives an injunction to deliver to them that taught the law in a wrong manner, and confirms, at the same time, the sum of the gospel, as exemplified in himself, verses 3-20. 2. In particular, he prescribes to men a method of prayer, chap. ii. 1-8; to women, good works and modesty, verses 9-15. He recounts the requisites of a bishop, chap. iii. 1-7; the duties of deacons, verses 8-10; of women, verses 11-13. 3. He shows what Timothy should teach, verse 14; chap. iv. 1-6; what he should avoid, verses 7-11; what he should follow after, verses 12-16. How he should treat men and women, chap. v. 1, 2; widows, verses 3-16; elders, 17-19; offenders, 20, 21; himself, 22, 23; those he doubts of, 24, 25; servants, chap. vi. 1, 2. 4. False teachers are reproved, verses 3-10; Timothy is admonished and quickened, 11, 12; precepts are prescribed to be enforced on the rich, 17-19. III. The conclusion, voises 20, 21. THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE ΤΟ ΤΙΜΟΤΗΥ. CHAPTER I. After the ordinary salutation, Paul, (1,) Reminds Timothy of the charge which he had given him at Ephesus, to adhere steadfastly to the Christian doctrine, 3, 4. (2,) Represents the true end and use of the Mosaic law, 5-11. (3,) With humble gratitude he relates his own marvellous conversion and call to the apostleship, 12–17. (4,) Charges Timothy to maintain faith and a good conscience, which some having abandoned, had been excommunicated, 18–20. A. D. 65. A. D. 65. A. M. 4069. PAUL, an apostle of Jesus Christ || 3 As I besought thee to abide still A. M. 4069. a by the commandment of God at Ephesus, & when I went into Maour Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is cedonia, that thou mightest charge some that our hope; they teach no other doctrine, e с 2 Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith; Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. a Acts ix. 15.- Chap. ii. 3. Col. i. 27.1; 1 Cor. iv. 17; Phil. ii. 19; 1 Thess. iii. 2.Gal. i. 3; 2 Tim. i. 2. NOTES ON CHAPTER I. k 4 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith; so do. d Acts xvi. Acts xx. 1, 3; Phil. ii. 24. Gal. i. 6, 7; Chap. vi. e Tit. i. 4. || 3, 10. Chap. iv. 7; vi. 4, 20; 2 Tim. ii. 14, 16, 23. Chap. vi. 4. es. To Timothy he adds mercy, the most tender grace toward those who stand in need of it, as indeed all do. The experience of this prepares a man to be a minister of the gospel. the apostle. Grace, mercy, and peace-St. Paul Verses 1, 2. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ-wishes grace and peace in his epistles to the churchThe apostle begins his epistle with asserting his apostolical dignity, not because Timothy was in any doubt concerning it, but to make the Ephesians sensible of the danger they incurred, if they rejected the charges and admonitions which the apostle ordered Timothy to deliver to them. Familiarity is to be set aside where the things of God are concerned. By-Or according to; the commandment -The authoritative appointment; of God our Saviour-So styled in many other places likewise, as being the grand orderer of the whole scheme of our salvation; and Christ our hope-That is, the author, object, and ground of all our hope. To Timothy, my own son-If Timothy was not at first converted by the apostle, (which it is not certain he was from any historical account that has reached us,) yet he might term him his own, or genuine son, because of the parental affection he had for him, the complacency which he found in that assistance which he had received from him in the work of the ministry, in which he had faithfully served him, like a son with his father, (Phil. ii. 22,) and in the filial reverence and affection which this excellent young evangelist expressed to him; not to mention that Timothy had received much establishment in the faith through Verses 3, 4. As I besought thee-Hapekaλeoa σe, I entreated thee. It is observed by Beza, that by using this soft expression the apostle hath left a singular example of modesty, to be imitated by superiors in their behaviour toward their inferiors in the church. When I went into Macedonia, (Acts xx. 1,) that thou || mightest charge some-Who appeared to be inclined to introduce their own corrupt notions into the church; that they teach no other doctrine-Than I have taught. Let them put nothing in the place of it, add nothing to it. These teachers were probably Judaizers, and members of the church at Ephesus; for with other teachers Timothy could have little influence. In not mentioning the names of these corrupt teachers, the apostle showed great delicacy, hoping that they might still be reclaimed. The same delicacy he had observed in his treatment of the false teacher or teachers at Corinth, and of the incestuous person there. Neither give heed to fables-To fabulous Jewish traditions, so as either to teach or regard them; and endless genealogies Questions about their genealogies. The apostle place, as rɛλos, the scope aimed at, was introduced does not speak of those recorded in the Scriptures, in the preceding verse: have turned aside into vain but of the long intricate pedigrees whereby many || jangling-Unprofitable disputes and discourses. An of the Jews strove to prove their descent from cer- affectation of high and extensive knowledge sets a tain persons: which minister questions-Which lead man at the greatest distance from faith, and all only to useless and endless controversies; rather || proper sense of true experimental religion: and of than godly edifying-The promotion of holiness, which leads men to God; which is in faith-Which edification is by faith in the great truths of the Scriptures, and in Christ, of whom the Scriptures testify as the Redeemer and Saviour of lost sinners. all vanities none are more vain than dry, empty disputes on the things of God. Desiring to be teachers of the law-Greek, voμodidaσkahoi, a word which, in the evangelists, is rendered doctors of the law, of the same import with the Hebrew word rabbis. And though it is not used exactly in that sense here, yet there seems to be some reference to it: understanding neither what they say-The very things they utter; nor whereof they affirm-The || subject they speak of, or concerning which they express themselves strongly and confidently, as the words Teρi Tivwv diabebaιevral properly signify. Verses 8-11. We know that the law is good-An Verses 5-7. Now the end-The scope, design, or substance; of the commandment-Or charge, rather, as яapayyɛhia properly signifies, being a noun derived || from the verb, translated, that thou mightest charge, verse 3. The apostle had desired Timothy to continue at Ephesus, that he might charge some to teach no other doctrine than what had been taught here he informs him what the scope of his charge to these teachers was to be, namely, that in-swers excellent purposes; if a man use it lawfully stead of inculcating fables, &c., they should inculcate -In a proper manner. Even the ceremonial law is charity, or love to God and man, proceeding from a good as it points to Christ, and is emblematical of pure heart-That is, from a heart purified by the the various branches of salvation that are in and Word and Spirit of God, from the love of sin, the through him; and the moral law is holy, just, and love of the world, and all inordinate self-love, and good, resulting from the nature of God and man, and from all corrupt affections and dispositions; a good the relations of mankind to him and each other, and conscience-A conscience properly informed con- || of admirable use both to convince men of sin, and to cerning sin and duty, thoroughly awakened and bring them to Christ for justification, as well as to sprinkled from evil, or the guilt of sin, by the blood direct such as are justified in the way of holiness. of Jesus, Heb. ix. 14; x. 22; and faith unfeigned-||The apostle's expression, If a man use it lawfully, Namely, in the truths and promises of the gospel, || plainly intimates, as Doddridge observes, "that there and in Christ, in whom those truths and promises were some who abused the law, borrowing a preare yea and amen. Observe, reader, this faith un- tence from it to condemn some of the best of men, feigned is the root of the other particulars here and to subvert the gospel. And whereas some had named. By it, and by it only, we obtain deliverance represented Paul as an enemy to the law, he here from the guilt and power of sin, essential to a good denies and disproves the charge. The design of the conscience; by it our hearts are purified, Acts xv. 9; Mosaic law was to direct the conduct of those to 1 Pet. i. 22: and as it always worketh by love, (Gal. whom it was given, and to humble them under a v. 6,) by it we obtain the love of God and of all man- sense of their sin. But it could not be intended to kind, the source, yea, and essence, of all piety and save them by a perfect conformity to it, which was virtue. Here therefore the apostle asserts that the To advvatov te vops, what the law could not do, Rom. love which he speaks of, proceeding from the prin-viii. 3." Knowing this-As first necessary in order ciples here named, is the scope and design of the to the making a right use of the law; that the law gospel doctrine, or of the whole Christian insti- is not made for-Greek, & Keiraι, does not lie against, tution, as it is indeed also of the moral law, || a righteous man-Who makes it the rule of his conand the writings of the prophets. From which Love, accompanied with these other particulars; some having swerved-The verb açoxnoavres, thus rendered, signifies to err from the mark at which a person shoots or aims; and is elegantly used in this duct, and has it written on his heart, sincerely loving it, and carefully guarding against every violation of it. Not that the righteous so fulfil the law as to answer its high demands in every respect; in that sense, by the deeds of the law shall no flesh living |