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1 Timothy 1 - Peake Arthur S. and Grieve A. J. - Peake's Comment

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1 Timothy 1

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;

2 unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Christian Ministry

3 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,

4 neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.

5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

6 from which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;

7 desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

9 knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

10 for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

13 who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

19 holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

20 of whom is Hymenæus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

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1 Timothy 1

I. Introductory·

(a) 1Ti 1:1 f. Salutation.—Paul greets Timothy, his true son in the faith. The character of his communication leads him to write, even to a personal friend, in his official capacity as an apostle by Divine commandment.

1Ti 1:1 . God our Saviour.—This title is not applied to God by Paul outside the Pastorals. It is, however, familiar in OT, and appears also in Luk 1:47 and Jud 1:25 .—Christ Jesus our hope: cf. Col 1:27 . This union of Christ Jesus with God as the source of Paul’s apostle-ship, like their association in 2 under the vinculum of a single preposition, carries important theological implications.

1Ti 1:2 . mercy: added to Paul’s usual salutation only here and 2Ti 1:2 , cf. 2Jn 1:3 .



(b) 1Ti 1:3-20 . Reminder of Paul’s Verbal Charge.

1Ti 1:3-11 . The False Teaching, and a Digression on the Law.—Some years before, Paul had foretold that error would assail the Church in Asia (Act 20:29 f.). His fear had now been realised. On his recent visit to Macedonia (Intro. § 5) he had already given Timothy instruction concerning it, and this he here renews. The authority of the errorists to teach is not disputed. Perhaps all Christian men could engage in teaching; Zahn, INT, ii. 96: it is the content of their doctrine that is challenged. This seems to have taken the forra of a speculative Judaism—its exponents posed as “teachers of the law”—dealing with legendary matter (e.g. the Haggadah) alien to the Gospel’s purpose. Such doctrine is (a) evil in tendency, leading to “vain talking” and aimless discussions (including, perhaps, “the trivial casuistry which constituted no small part of the Halacha”—Hort) (cf. Tit 1:10 ); (b) irrelevant, missing the true end of the Christian teaching—not useless controversy, but love (1Ti 1:5 )—and so constituting a “different doctrine” (1Ti 1:3 ); (c) ignorant, its propounders understanding neither their own assertions nor their subject-matter (1Ti 1:7 ). This disparaging reference to self-styled “teachers of the law,” however—here follows a brief digression (1Ti 1:8-11 )—does not imply condemnation of the Law itself. It is only its misuse that Paul deprecates. The Law is good if a teacher builds on knowledge of its true design, the restraining of wrongdoers. Such a view of the Law, indeed, is that which harmonises with Paul’s own Gospel of God’s glory.

1Ti 1:5 . conscience and faith: viewed throughout the Pastorals as closely inter-related.

1Ti 1:6 . swerved: perhaps “failed” or “forgotten” (Exp. VII, vi. 373).

1Ti 1:8 . good: the Gr. word signifies beauty as well as goodness (cf. Rom 7:16 ).

1Ti 1:9 . law: either the Mosaic Law or “law” in general, probably the former if the accompanying list of sins follows, as some hold, the order of the Decalogue. For supplementary view, see Rom 5:20 . Moffatt (INT, p. 410) needlessly sees in this paragraph proof of the writer’s sub-Pauline environment.—murderers: more probably “smiters” (mg.).

1Ti 1:10 . sound: contrast 2Ti 2:17 . This apt metaphor (cf. mg.), not found in Paul outside the Pastorals, was common in ancient Gr., and must have been familiar to him.—doctrine: the conception, found in the Pastorals, of a system of belief to be accepted and guarded, has erroneously been declared un-Pauline. Not only was it an inevitable development in the Church’s thought, but it is revealed in Paul’s earliest epistles (1Th 4:1 , 2Th 2:15 , 1Co 15:2 f., etc.).



1Ti 1:12-17 . Further Digression on God’s Mercy.—The connexion is not obvious. P. Ewald has suggested that 1Ti 1:12-17 has been displaced and should properly follow 1Ti 1:12 . It is, however, in keeping with Paul’s style that the mention of the Gospel entrusted to him should lead to such an outburst of thanksgiving. He, the persecutor, forgiven because ignorant (cf. Luk 23:34 , and the close parallel in Testament of Judah 19:3 ), was counted trustworthy for God’s service. To forgiveness was added salvation. For, accompanying Christ’s grace to him, faith had supplanted his “unbelief,” and love his former cruelty. In this mercy bestowed on himself he sees a special fitness. Since he, Paul, is chief of sinners (who but Paul could have written this?) it forms the supreme example of God’s long-suffering with sinners generally.

1Ti 1:13 . injurious: i.e. one who commits violent outrage.

1Ti 1:15 . faithful is the saying: a formula, peculiar to the Pastorals, used to affirm that an assertion is reliable. It sometimes introduces, and sometimes follows, the declaration (either in an aphorism or in a formal statement of doctrine) of what is apparently an accepted belief. The saying here is plainly a familiar maxim, which implies Christ’s pre-existence, confesses His Incarnation, but lays chief stress upon the work of salvation.—worthy, etc.: cf. Enoch, 94:1.—chief: as a man draws nearer to the light he gains a clearer vision of his own shadow.

1Ti 1:17 . King eternal: rather, “King of the ages,” i.e. of the great periods into which Jewish thought divided time. There is no allusion to the Gnostic “æons.”—only God: some authorities wrongly insert “wise” from Rom 16:27 .



1Ti 1:18-20 . The Charge Renewed.—Paul now returns to the charge committed to Timothy (1Ti 1:3-5 ) from which he has been twice diverted. That charge, once given orally, has failed to achieve its end. He now recommits it to him in writing, reminding him of its consonance with the Divine promptings which pointed him out (mg.) for the ministry. Paul’s purpose is that Timothy may fulfil his trust, rich in those possessions deliberate rejection of which results in shipwreck in the faith. Of this Hymenæus and Alexander are examples, whom Paul excommunicated, in the hope of their recovery.

1Ti 1:18 . This charge: the general “charge” of the letter (to deal with the situation in Asia), explained in detail in 1Ti 2:1 ff. This is clear from “therefore” in 1Ti 2:1 .—prophecies: these also accompanied Timothy’s ordination (1Ti 4:14 ).—which: i.e. good conscience.—the faith: 1Ti 1:10 *.

1Ti 1:20 . Hymenæus: for his error cf. 2Ti 2:17 f.—Alexander: a common name. There is no proof of identity with any of the Alexanders of Act 19:33 , Mar 15:21 , 2Ti 4:14 .—delivered, etc.: probably excommunication, with infliction of bodily disease; cf. 1Co 5:5 *, p. 649. A remedial, not a vindictive, act: Deissmann (Light from Ancient East, p. 203) connects it with the ancient custom of execration.




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Rights in the Authorized (King James) Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Published by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
Cambridge Univ. Press & BFBS
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