1 Timothy · Chapter 3

V. 1. He desireth a good work-An excellent, but laborious, employment.

Verse 1. This is a true saying] pistov o logov. This is a true doctrine. These words are joined to the last verse of the preceding chapter by several of the Greek fathers, and by them referred to the doctrine there stated. The office of a bishop] episkophv. The episcopacy, overseership or superintendency. The word oregetai, which we translate desire, signifies earnest, eager, passionate desire; and epiqumei, which we translate desire, also signifies earnestly to desire or covet. It is strange that the episcopacy, in those times, should have been an object of intense desire to any man; when it was a place of danger, awl exposure to severe labour, want, persecution, and death, without any secular emolument whatsoever. On this ground I am led to think that the Spirit of God designed these words more for the ages that were to come, than for those which were then; and in reference to after ages the whole of what follows is chiefly to be understood.

A good work.] A work it then was; heavy, incessant, and painful. There were no unpreaching prelates in those days, and should be none now. Episcopacy in the Church of God is of Divine appointment, and should be maintained and respected. Under God, there should be supreme governors in the Church as well as in the state. The state has its monarch, the Church has its bishop; one should govern according to the laws of the land, the other according to the word of God.

What a constitutional king should be, the principles of the constitution declare; what a bishop should be, the following verses particularly show.

Verse 1. Because some false teachers were now spreading their erroneous doctrines with assiduity among the believers at Ephesus, and it was necessary that Timothy (to whom the care of the church there was committed) should be assisted by some bishops, or elders, and deacons, well qualified to teach the people, the apostle, after observing what an honourable office that of a Christian bishop is, here describes the qualities and virtues necessary in one who desires to attain it. This is a true saying — Most certain in itself, and worthy of being always acknowledged and attended to; if a man desire, (or earnestly seek, as oregetai signifies,) the office of a bishop — Overseer, or pastor of Christ’s flock, frequently termed presbyters, or elders, in the New Testament. See on Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:1, 2; he desireth a good work — An excellent but laborious employment. “A bishop’s office is termed ergon, a work, to intimate that he must not spend his life in ease and idleness, but in a continued application to the duties of his office. It is also termed kalon argon, a good, or excellent work, because of its honourableness and usefulness. See on 2 Timothy 2:2. The words kalov and agaqov are often used promiscuously, to denote what is morally good. But when they are distinguished, kalov includes also the idea of honour, and ogaqov the idea of profit.

Verse 1. This is a true saying, an indubitable word, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work, a laudable sphere of labour and usefulness. But by the idea of a primitive bishop we must not convey a notion of the palace of Lambeth, nor that of Cardinal Wolsey at Bishopthorpe, but rather that of a humble pastor, desiring and burning with ardour for the salvation of souls, and at the risk of bonds, of exile, and martyrdom. The day of small things is now succeeded by splendour; and the church shows her bishops with a mitred front in the senate house.

1. A true saying—Literally, faithful is the saying. Worthy of reliance is the maxim. Desire—Reach-after, as with the hand. Paul seems unconscious that we may construe that desire into an unholy ambition. Evil is in him that evil thinks. The apostle’s pure mind is thinking only of those who earnestly desire to achieve a good work, in discharging the office. Bishop—The word is the Greek term episkopos, with both ends clipped, the initial p softened, and the central k turned into an aspirate. It is compounded of epi, over, and skopeo, to inspect; and is exactly synonymous with the Saxon overseer or the Latin superintendent. Wesley, in ordaining Coke as bishop, or first of three ordained ministerial grades, preferred the term superintendent to bishop.

The Greek word episkopos was a political term, used by the Athenians to designate those whom they appointed to superintend their foreign dependencies. As the word is used of a Church officer in the Greek Testament only by Paul and his disciple Luke, (Acts 20:28; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:7,) it is possible that such application originated with Paul. It is now agreed, we believe, generally, by Episcopalian scholars as well as others, that in the New Testament the term is always synonymous with elder. In the present chapter no order is recognised between the bishop and deacon. It is in Timothy himself, the delegate of the apostle, that Episcopalian scholars find the bishop. They thus maintain that while the word bishop, once given to the elder, was afterwards transferred to the first order, yet the order itself is the continuation of the apostolate, divested of its miraculous powers. Others maintain that while elder and bishop were originally one order, the apostles raised certain elders to a higher ordained grade, to whom the term bishop was excusively applied. The Presbyterian scholars, on the other hand, maintain that the apostolic office wholly ceased, and that the only scriptural Church officers are presbyters, or elders, and deacons.

Dr. Adam Clarke’s exposition of this paragraph is hardly less than a curiosity. He seems to suppose it a thing undoubted that episkopos here means diocesan bishop, and brings out very Episcopal conclusions: “Episcopacy in the Church of God is of divine appointment, and should be maintained and respected.… The State has its monarch, the Church has its bishops; one should govern according to the laws of the land, the other according to the word of God.” But writers like Bloomfield, Wordsworth, Ellicott, and Bishop Onderdonk, (in his Episcopacy Tested by Scripture,) find no bishop in the Scripture episkopos.

V. 2. Therefore-That he may be capable of it.

A bishop-Or pastor of a congregation.

Must be blameless-Without fault or just suspicion.

The husband of one wife-This neither means that a bishop must be married, nor that he may not marry a second wife; which it is just as lawful for him to do as to marry a first, and may in some cases be his bounden duty. But whereas polygamy and divorce on slight occasions were common both among the Jews and heathens, it teaches us that ministers, of all others, ought to stand clear of those sins.

Vigilant, prudent-Lively and zealous, yet calm and wise. Of good behaviour-Naturally flowing from that vigilance and prudence.

Verse 2. A bishop then must be blameless] Our term bishop comes from the Anglo-Saxon [A.S.], which is a mere corruption of the Greek episkopov, and the Latin episcopus; the former being compounded of epi, over, and skeptomai, to look or inspect, signifies one who has the inspection or oversight of a place, persons, or business; what we commonly term a superintendent. The New Testament writers have borrowed the term from the Septuagint, it being the word by which they translate the dyqp pakid of the Hebrew text, which signifies a visiter, one that personally inspects the people or business over which he presides. It is given by St. Paul to the elders at Ephesus, who had the oversight of Christ’s flock, Acts 20:28; and to such like persons in other places, Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:2, the place in question; and Titus 1:7.

Let us consider the qualifications of a Christian bishop, and then we shall soon discover who is fit for the office.

First.-This Christian bishop must be blameless; anepilhpton, a person against whom no evil can be proved; one who is everywhere invulnerable; for the word is a metaphor, taken from the case of an expert and skilful pugilist, who so defends every part of his body that it is impossible for his antagonist to give one hit. So this Christian bishop is one that has so conducted himself, as to put it out of the reach of any person to prove that he is either unsound in a single article of the Christian faith, or deficient in the fulfilment of any duty incumbent on a Christian. He must be irreprehensible; for how can he reprove that in others which they can reprove in him?

Second.-He must be the husband of one wife. He should be a married man, but he should be no polygamist; and have only one wife, i.e. one at a time. It does not mean that, if he has been married, and his wife die, he should never marry another. Some have most foolishly spiritualized this, and say, that by one wife the Church is intended! This silly quibbling needs no refutation. The apostle’s meaning appears to be this: that he should not be a man who has divorced his wife and married another; nor one that has two wives at a time. It does not appear to have been any part of the apostle’s design to prohibit second marriages, of which some have made such a serious business. But it is natural for some men to tithe mint and cummin in religion, while they neglect the weightier matters of the law. Third.-He must be vigilant; nhfaleon, from nh, not and piw, to drink. Watchful; for as one who drinks is apt to sleep, so he who abstains from it is more likely to keep awake, and attend to his work and charge. A bishop has to watch over the Church, and watch for it; and this will require all his care and circumspection. Instead of nhfaleon, many MSS. read nhfalion. this may be the better orthography, but makes no alteration in the sense.

Fourth.-He must be sober; swfrona, prudent or, according to the etymology of the word, from swv, sound, and frhn, mind, a man of a sound mind; having a good understanding, and the complete government of all his passions.

A bishop should be a man of learning, of an extensive and well cultivated mind, dispassionate, prudent, and sedate.

Fifth.-He must be of good behaviour; kosmion, orderly, decent, grave, and correct in the whole of his appearance, carriage, and conduct. The preceding term, swfrona, refers to the mind; this latter, kosmion, to the external manners. A clownish, rude, or boorish man should never have the rule of the Church of God; the sour, the sullen, and the boisterous should never be invested with a dignity which they would most infallibly disgrace. Sixth.-He must be given to hospitality; filoxenon, literally, a lover of strangers; one who is ready to receive into his house and relieve every necessitous stranger. Hospitality, in those primitive times, was a great and necessary virtue; then there were few inns, or places of public entertainment; to those who were noted for benevolence the necessitous stranger had recourse. A Christian bishop, professing love to God and all mankind, preaching a religion, one half of the morality of which was included in, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, would naturally be sought to by those who were in distress and destitute of friends. To enable them to entertain such, the Church over which they presided must have furnished them with the means. Such a bishop as St. Paul, who was often obliged to labour with his hands for his own support, could have little to give away. But there is a considerable difference between an apostolical bishop and an ecclesiastical bishop: the one was generally itinerant, the other comparatively local; the former had neither house nor home, the latter had both; the apostolical bishop had charge of the Church of Christ universally, the ecclesiastical bishop of the Churches in a particular district. Such should be addicted to hospitality, or works of charity; especially in these modern times, in which, besides the spiritualities, they possess the temporalities, of the Church.

Seventh.-He should be apt to teach; didaktikon, one capable of teaching; not only wise himself, but ready to communicate his wisdom to others. One whose delight is, to instruct the ignorant and those who are out of the way. He must be a preacher; an able, zealous, fervent, and assiduous preacher.

He is no bishop who has health and strength, and yet seldom or never preaches; i.e. if he can preach-if he have the necessary gifts for the office. In former times bishops wrote much and preached much; and their labours were greatly owned of God. No Church since the apostle’s days has been more honoured in this way than the British Church. And although bishops are here, as elsewhere, appointed by the state, yet we cannot help adoring the good providence of God, that, taken as a body, they have been an honour to their function; and that, since the reformation of religion in these lands, the bishops have in general been men of great learning and probity, and the ablest advocates of the Christian system, both as to its authenticity, and the purity and excellence of its doctrines and morality. CHAUCER’S character of the Clerke of Oxenford is a good paraphrase on St. Paul’s character of a primitive bishop:—

Of studie tookin he moste cure and hede,

Nought oo word spak he more than there was nede,

And that was selde in forme and and reverence,

And short, and quick, and full of high sentence;

Sowning in moral vertue was speche,

And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teache.

Verses 2, 3. A bishop then — Or an overseer of the flock of Christ, that he may be capable of such an office; must be blameless — In every respect with regard to his moral character, since any thing which might be amiss in that would tend to bring a reproach upon his office, and greatly obstruct his usefulness; the husband of one wife — This neither means that a bishop must be married, nor that he may not marry a second wife; which is just as lawful for him to do as to marry a first, and may, in some cases, be his bounden duty. But whereas polygamy and divorce, upon slight occasions, were both common among the Jews and heathen, it teaches us that ministers, of all others, ought to stand clear of those sins. Macknight’s reasoning on this subject is very conclusive. “That the gospel allows women to marry a second time, is evident from 1 Corinthians 7:9, 39. By parity of reason it allows men to marry a second time likewise. Wherefore, when it is said here that a bishop must be the husband of one wife, and (1 Timothy 5:9,) that the widow, who is employed by the church in teaching the young of her sex, must have been the wife of one husband, the apostle could not mean that persons who have married a second time are thereby disqualified for sacred offices. For in that case, a bishop whose wife dies while he is young, must lay down his office, unless he can live continently unmarried. The apostle’s meaning, therefore, in these canons, is, that such persons only were to be intrusted with sacred offices who in their married state had contented themselves with one wife, and with one husband at a time; because thereby they had showed themselves temperate in the use of sensual pleasures; through the immoderate love of which the Asiatic nations universally practised polygamy. In like manner because, according to our Lord’s determination, persons who divorced each other unjustly were guilty of adultery when they married themselves to others; also because such really had more wives and husbands than one at a time, as was the case with the woman of Samaria, (John 4:18,) the apostle, to restrain these licentious practices, which were common among the Greeks and Romans, as well as among the Jews, ordered that no widow should be chosen to instruct the younger women, but such as had been the wife of one husband only at a time.” Vigilant — Intent upon his duty, ready to resist temptation, and careful to preserve his flock from seduction; sober — Greek, swfrona, prudent; or, as the word also implies, one who governs well his passions, and whose mind is well regulated. He must be lively and zealous, yet calm and wise; of good or comely behaviour — As kosmion might be properly rendered; implying that his conduct, in all respects, must be such as becomes his office: his discourse, his dress, his visage, his gait, his manners being all suitable to the gravity of his functions. The former word respects the inward man, and this the outward. Given to hospitality — Literally, a lover of strangers. As the primitive Christians took a particular charge of orphans, widows, sick people, and of such as were imprisoned for their religion, or spoiled of their goods, so also of strangers; to the care of whom they were led by the manners of the age, and the peculiar circumstances of the times. For many of the first converts, having devoted themselves to the preaching of the gospel, often travelled from one place to another; and as there were no inns in the eastern countries like those used now with us, it was customary for travellers to lodge with their acquaintance, or with such persons as they were recommended to. But all the disciples of Christ, considering themselves as brethren, and as engaged in one common cause for the benefit of the world, they made each other welcome, though unacquainted, to such food and lodging as they could afford. And therefore, when travellers were not acquainted with the brethren in any particular place, all they had to do was to make themselves known as Christians, by declaring their faith, (2 John 1:10,) especially to the bishops, who had a liberal maintenance given them to enable them to be hospitable. Yet the bishop’s hospitality was not to be confined to the brethren: he was to extend it, on occasion at least, even to such heathen strangers as, agreeably to the manners of the times, came to him, drawn by his reputation for wisdom or beneficence. The reason was, by receiving such into his house, he would have an opportunity of recommending the true religion to them by his conversation and example. From this account it is evident, that the hospitality anciently required in a bishop was not what is now meant by that word, namely, the keeping a good table, and an open house for one’s friends and others, who are able to make him a return in kind; but it consisted in entertaining strangers of the character just now described; the poor also, and the persecuted for the sake of religion. Apt, or fit, to teach — By having a thorough knowledge of the things he is to teach, a clear manner of expressing his thoughts, and an earnest desire to instruct the ignorant; or one that is himself well instructed in the things of the kingdom of God, and is communicative of what he knows; is both able and willing to impart to others the knowledge which God hath given him. Not given to wine — Or any other kind of strong liquor; no striker — Not of such a hasty temper as to have so little government of himself as to be ready to strike those who provoke him; or one that is apt to use violence to any one, but who does every thing in a spirit of meekness, gentleness, long-suffering, and love. For the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle toward all men, 2 Timothy 2:24; not greedy — Or desirous, rather, of filthy lucre — That is, who does not make his ministry subservient to any secular design or interest; that uses no mean, base, sordid ways of getting money; who is dead to the wealth of this world, and makes it appear by his conduct that he is so, and that he lives above it. It is remarkable that the phrase aiscrokerdhv, which is here used, and signifies a person attached to sordid gain, is seldom or never used in the New Testament to express any gain, but that which is made or procured by the covetousness of Christian ministers; and “never surely,” as Doddridge observes, “does an eagerness in pursuit of money appear more dishonourable and sordid than in persons of that noble, but, alas! too often prostituted profession.” But patient — Epieikh, gentle, yielding, or moderate; one that does not insist upon the extremity of his right, but is ready to give it up, in some degree, for the sake of peace; not a brawler — A contentious person; not covetous — Afilarguron, not a lover of money, or of riches, but who, having food and raiment for himself and those dependant upon him, is content therewith.

Ver. 2. A bishop then must be blameless, in regard of his marriage, which is the first bond of society; the husband of one wife, a precept repeated in Titus 1:6. Jerome in his epistle to Oceanus, expounding this place, affirms that they could not create a bishop who had married two wives; one before his baptism, and she being dead, another after baptism. Unam ante baptismum, et ea defuncte, altera post baptismum. — SIXTUS of Sienna, p.

704. The critics stop at this word, for the oriental nations allowed of polygamy, a practice disallowed by Christ, and disavowed by the church. Ambrose, Chrysostom, and Epiphanius, are quoted here, as cautioning ministers against second marriages, which Paul allowed to the people, Romans 7:1, lest it should have the appearance of concupiscence. Sed ut inquiunt Epiphan. Chrysost. et Ambros. ne assumatur qui alteram uxori mortuæ superinduxerit, quod illud incontinentiæ suspicione non careat. Though such indeed were the ideas of many in the primitive church, as appears from Luke 2:36, and 1 Timothy 5:9; and though second marriages in the clergy cannot be proved; yet as many ministers lose the wife of their youth by consumptions, and otherwise, after a due regard to modesty, no one would wish to lay upon them the burden of celibacy for all their future years.

A bishop must be vigilant, always having his eye on his work. He must improve occasions, avert dangers, and in all things be a father to the family of God.

He must also be sober-minded. Sedate and wise, full of urbanity in manners; given to hospitality, according to his private means, and as an almoner of the church.

Apt to teach. Having a cultivated understanding, a profound acquaintance of human nature, accompanied with a readiness and fluency of speech in conversation, and an aptitude to convey instruction. In the pulpit he must be a man possessed of every adorning for the sanctuary. He must be godlike in wisdom, forcible in argument, full of ease and grace, and so conclusive that his hearers need not ask for farther light. “When I had judged a cause,” says Job, “no man spake after me.”

2. Blameless—Unimpeachable; one against whom no fair charge can be made. Husband of one wife—Upon these words, and the parallel in Titus 1:6, there have been three interpretations: as, 1, A requirement of marriage; 2, A prohibition of polygamy; and, 3, A prohibition of deuterogamy, or marriage of widower or widow.

Upon the first it may be fairly said, that though the apostle does not enjoin the marriage of an elder, he certainly assumes its probability. The text is, therefore, conclusive against enforced clerical celibacy. That deuterogamy is forbidden, or at least for that age discouraged, is the interpretation of Alford, Huther, and Wordsworth. Fairbairn has a full dissertation ably maintaining that polygamy only is forbidden. For applying it to deuterogamy it is urged that sacred professions, even among heathens, were often prohibited from deuterogamy, as by the Romans to their priestesses. Sicilian law forbade a man who gives a stepmother to his children to fill the judicial office. In an age when the female character is degraded such a law may have its reasons. Alford’s objection to applying the text to polygamy only is, that it makes Paul forbid to clergy alone what truly no Christian should, or in that age did, commit. Tertullian had used that argument long before him. “They say that the apostle permitted the repetition of marriage in such way as to forbid polygamy to the clergy alone.” But the apostle does not imply a permission to laity when he restricts the clergy, as, for instance, from the being a striker.

In favour of the application of the text to polygamy, and not deuterogamy, it may be urged, 1. That St. Paul, in Romans 7:1, 3, and 1 Corinthians 7:8, 9, decides that death dissolves the marriage tie, and permits new marriage to the survivor. He states it as marriage law without exception. The assumption of Alford, that St. Paul lays down a special ethics here for the clergy, cannot be admitted without some special proof.

2. Polygamy, in St. Paul’s time, was usual with both Jews and Gentiles. It was demoralizing both races. Rabbies had four and five wives. Converts to Christianity involved in polygamy would often present themselves for admission to the Church, and the peculiarities of their case might be considered in the instance of private Christians; but Paul forbids any such entanglement for an elder. 3. Alford admits that the early commentators, Theodoret, Chrysostom, Theophylact, each made the text forbid only polygamy. On the other hand, Fairbairn maintains, truly, that the earliest writers who made it condemn deuterogamy, as Hermas and Tertullian, were ascetically inclined. 4. The uniform shaping of the three expressions obviously applies to polgyamy only. A man whose single wife died, and who marries again a single wife only, is always the husband of one wife. See note on 1 Timothy 4:9.

Vigilant—Wide awake, and alert for all opportunities for holy success. Sober—Discreet, given to no undignified excitement or levities. Good behaviour—Orderly in external manners and conduct. Hospitality—In especial relation to entertaining Christian brethren; a duty very important in times when the present system of public accommodations but imperfectly existed. 1 Peter 4:9; Hebrews 13:2; Romans 12:13. Apt to teach—Possessing full knowledge of Christian doctrine. and naturally gifted to deliver it. See note, Titus 1:9.

Verse 3. An eighth article in his character is, he must not be given to wine; mh paroinon. This word not only signifies one who is inordinately attached to wine, a winebibber or tippler, but also one who is imperious, abusive, insolent, whether through wine or otherwise. Kypke contends for this latter acceptation here. See his proofs and examples. Ninth.-He must be no striker; mh plhkthn, not quarrelsome; not ready to strike a person who may displease him; no persecutor of those who may differ from him; not prone, as one wittily said,

“To prove his doctrine orthodox

By apostolic blows and knocks.”

It is said of Bishop Bonner, of infamous memory, that, when examining the poor Protestants whom he termed heretics, when worsted by them in argument he was used to smite them with his fists, and sometimes scourge and whip them. But though he was a most ignorant and consummate savage, yet from such a scripture as this he might have seen the necessity of surrendering his mitre.

Tenth.-He must not be greedy of filthy lucre; mh aiscrokerdh, not desirous of base gain; not using base and unjustifiable methods to raise and increase his revenues; not trading or trafficking; for what would be honourable in a secular character, would be base and dishonourable in a bishop. Though such a trait should never appear in the character of a Christian prelate, yet there is much reason to suspect that the words above are not authentic; they are omitted by ADFG, many others, the Syriac, all the Arabic, Coptic, (and Sahidic,) Æthiopic, Armenian, later Syriac, (but it appears in the margin,) the Vulgate and Itala, and by most of the Greek fathers. Griesbach has left it out of the text, in which it does not appear that it ever had a legitimate place. The word covetous, which we have below, expresses all the meaning of this; and it is not likely that the apostle would insert in the same sentence two words of the same meaning, because they were different in sound. It appears to have been borrowed from 1 Timothy 3:8.

Eleventh.-He must be patient; epieikh, meek, gentle; the opposite to plhkthn, a quarrelsome person, which it immediately follows when the spurious word aiscrokerdh is removed. Where meekness and patience do not reign, gravity cannot exist, and the love of God cannot dwell. Twelfth.-He must not be a brawler; amacon, not contentious or litigious, but quiet and peaceable.

Thirteenth.-He must not be covetous; afilarguron, not a lover of money; not desiring the office for the sake of its emoluments. He who loves money will stick at nothing in order to get it. Fair and foul methods are to him alike, provided they may be equally productive. For the sake of reputation he may wish to get all honourably; but if that cannot be, he will not scruple to adopt other methods. A brother heathen gives him this counsel: “Get money if thou canst by fair means; if not, get it by hook and by crook.”

Verses 2, 3. A bishop then — Or an overseer of the flock of Christ, that he may be capable of such an office; must be blameless — In every respect with regard to his moral character, since any thing which might be amiss in that would tend to bring a reproach upon his office, and greatly obstruct his usefulness; the husband of one wife — This neither means that a bishop must be married, nor that he may not marry a second wife; which is just as lawful for him to do as to marry a first, and may, in some cases, be his bounden duty. But whereas polygamy and divorce, upon slight occasions, were both common among the Jews and heathen, it teaches us that ministers, of all others, ought to stand clear of those sins. Macknight’s reasoning on this subject is very conclusive. “That the gospel allows women to marry a second time, is evident from 1 Corinthians 7:9, 39. By parity of reason it allows men to marry a second time likewise. Wherefore, when it is said here that a bishop must be the husband of one wife, and (1 Timothy 5:9,) that the widow, who is employed by the church in teaching the young of her sex, must have been the wife of one husband, the apostle could not mean that persons who have married a second time are thereby disqualified for sacred offices. For in that case, a bishop whose wife dies while he is young, must lay down his office, unless he can live continently unmarried. The apostle’s meaning, therefore, in these canons, is, that such persons only were to be intrusted with sacred offices who in their married state had contented themselves with one wife, and with one husband at a time; because thereby they had showed themselves temperate in the use of sensual pleasures; through the immoderate love of which the Asiatic nations universally practised polygamy. In like manner because, according to our Lord’s determination, persons who divorced each other unjustly were guilty of adultery when they married themselves to others; also because such really had more wives and husbands than one at a time, as was the case with the woman of Samaria, (John 4:18,) the apostle, to restrain these licentious practices, which were common among the Greeks and Romans, as well as among the Jews, ordered that no widow should be chosen to instruct the younger women, but such as had been the wife of one husband only at a time.” Vigilant — Intent upon his duty, ready to resist temptation, and careful to preserve his flock from seduction; sober — Greek, swfrona, prudent; or, as the word also implies, one who governs well his passions, and whose mind is well regulated. He must be lively and zealous, yet calm and wise; of good or comely behaviour — As kosmion might be properly rendered; implying that his conduct, in all respects, must be such as becomes his office: his discourse, his dress, his visage, his gait, his manners being all suitable to the gravity of his functions. The former word respects the inward man, and this the outward. Given to hospitality — Literally, a lover of strangers. As the primitive Christians took a particular charge of orphans, widows, sick people, and of such as were imprisoned for their religion, or spoiled of their goods, so also of strangers; to the care of whom they were led by the manners of the age, and the peculiar circumstances of the times. For many of the first converts, having devoted themselves to the preaching of the gospel, often travelled from one place to another; and as there were no inns in the eastern countries like those used now with us, it was customary for travellers to lodge with their acquaintance, or with such persons as they were recommended to. But all the disciples of Christ, considering themselves as brethren, and as engaged in one common cause for the benefit of the world, they made each other welcome, though unacquainted, to such food and lodging as they could afford. And therefore, when travellers were not acquainted with the brethren in any particular place, all they had to do was to make themselves known as Christians, by declaring their faith, (2 John 1:10,) especially to the bishops, who had a liberal maintenance given them to enable them to be hospitable. Yet the bishop’s hospitality was not to be confined to the brethren: he was to extend it, on occasion at least, even to such heathen strangers as, agreeably to the manners of the times, came to him, drawn by his reputation for wisdom or beneficence. The reason was, by receiving such into his house, he would have an opportunity of recommending the true religion to them by his conversation and example. From this account it is evident, that the hospitality anciently required in a bishop was not what is now meant by that word, namely, the keeping a good table, and an open house for one’s friends and others, who are able to make him a return in kind; but it consisted in entertaining strangers of the character just now described; the poor also, and the persecuted for the sake of religion. Apt, or fit, to teach — By having a thorough knowledge of the things he is to teach, a clear manner of expressing his thoughts, and an earnest desire to instruct the ignorant; or one that is himself well instructed in the things of the kingdom of God, and is communicative of what he knows; is both able and willing to impart to others the knowledge which God hath given him. Not given to wine — Or any other kind of strong liquor; no striker — Not of such a hasty temper as to have so little government of himself as to be ready to strike those who provoke him; or one that is apt to use violence to any one, but who does every thing in a spirit of meekness, gentleness, long-suffering, and love. For the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle toward all men, 2 Timothy 2:24; not greedy — Or desirous, rather, of filthy lucre — That is, who does not make his ministry subservient to any secular design or interest; that uses no mean, base, sordid ways of getting money; who is dead to the wealth of this world, and makes it appear by his conduct that he is so, and that he lives above it. It is remarkable that the phrase aiscrokerdhv, which is here used, and signifies a person attached to sordid gain, is seldom or never used in the New Testament to express any gain, but that which is made or procured by the covetousness of Christian ministers; and “never surely,” as Doddridge observes, “does an eagerness in pursuit of money appear more dishonourable and sordid than in persons of that noble, but, alas! too often prostituted profession.” But patient — Epieikh, gentle, yielding, or moderate; one that does not insist upon the extremity of his right, but is ready to give it up, in some degree, for the sake of peace; not a brawler — A contentious person; not covetous — Afilarguron, not a lover of money, or of riches, but who, having food and raiment for himself and those dependant upon him, is content therewith.

Ver. 3. Not given to wine. A word put for the whole of temperance, for a minister is watched at a feast, and on all other occasions where there is any danger of self-indulgence.

No striker. It would seem from king Ina’s laws, that our Saxon fathers often fought at court; and fighting was common enough among the Greeks. In ecclesiastics especially, contests of this kind are not allowed. On the contrary, brotherly love is strictly required.

Not greedy of filthy lucre. Content with what is customary, fair and just, in all his dealings; conceding the disputed penny to the contentious, rather than enter into strife.

Not a brawler. A man stored with conscious wisdom may be

communicative, free and easy in conversation and discourse, but he cannot be garrulous. Meekness and simplicity are the characteristics of true religion, and ought especially to adorn the ministerial profession. Not covetous. In the developement of character, if it appear that the pastor’s heart is set either on land, or mansions, or the aggrandisement of his family, and that he has at the same time been deficient in the duties of charity and beneficence, the people will avoid his company, as they detest his faults.

3. Not given to wine—Avoiding the stimulants that intoxicate, (according to the rule of 1 Timothy 5:23,) unless medical reasons interfere. No striker—The natural result of intoxication, and the natural tendency of the oriental temperament. Greedy of filthy lucre—Literal Greek, not silver-loving.

V. 4. Having his children in subjection with all seriousness-For levity undermines all domestic authority; and this direction, by a parity of reason, belongs to all parents.

Verse 4. The fourteenth qualification of a Christian bishop is, that he ruleth well his own house; tou idiou oikou kalev proistamenon, one who properly presides over and governs his own family. One who has the command, of his own house, not by sternness, severity, and tyranny, but with all gravity; governing his household by rule, every one knowing his own place, and each doing his own work, and each work having the proper time assigned for its beginning and end. This is a maxim of common sense; no family can be prosperous that is not under subjection, and no person can govern a family but the head of it, the husband, who is, both by nature and the appointment of God, the head or governor of his own house. See Clarke’s note on “Ephesians 5:22”.

Verses 4-6. One that ruleth well his own house — That not only rules it, but rules it well, and keeps his family in good order: that rules it so as to promote religion and virtue in all its members; rules it calmly, but firmly; never using harshness where gentleness and love will produce the desired effect; having his children — If he be a father; in subjection, with all gravity — Or seriousness; for levity undermines all domestic authority: and he must thus rule his house both that he may set a good example to other masters of families, and that he may thereby give proof of his ability to preside over the church of God. For if a man know not how to rule his own house — So as to preserve a due decorum in the family where he has such a natural authority; how should he be able to take care of — Or to govern, in a proper manner, that greater and more important society, the church of God — In which there will be such a diversity of characters and dispositions, and over which it will be impossible for him to maintain an equal inspection and influence? Not a novice — neofuton, literally, one newly ingrafted, namely, into the body of Christ, or newly planted, namely, in the garden of his church; that is, one newly converted. Such were not to be made bishops, or presbyters; because, being yet but imperfectly instructed in the Christian doctrine, they were not fit to teach it to others. Besides, as their zeal, constancy, fidelity, and other graces, had not been sufficiently tried, they could have had but little authority, especially with the brethren of longer standing and greater experience. Lest being lifted up with pride — Greek, tufwqeiv, puffed up, with this new honour conferred upon him, or the applause which frequently follows it; he fell into the condemnation of the devil — The same into which the devil fell, or be guilty of the sin of self-conceit and high-mindedness, for which the devil was condemned.

Ver. 4, 5. One that ruleth well his own house. See on Ephesians 6:1-4.

4. House… children—How entirely adverse to Scripture is the requirement of clerical celibacy is transparent from this passage, where the elder’s care of his family is token of his ability to care for his Church. Indeed, Vigilantius, the great opponent of Jerome, had some reason for maintaining that St. Paul required marriage in the clergy.

Verse 5. For if a man know not] Method is a matter of great importance in all the affairs of life. It is a true saying, He that does little with his head must do much with his hands; and even then the business is not half done for want of method. Now, he who has a proper method of doing business will show it in every affair of life, even the least. He who has a disorderly family has no government of that family; he probably has none because he has no method, no plan, of presiding. It was natural for the apostle to say, If a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the Church of God? Look at a man’s domestic arrangements; if they be not good, he should not be trusted with any branch of government, whether ecclesiastical or civil.

Verses 4-6. One that ruleth well his own house — That not only rules it, but rules it well, and keeps his family in good order: that rules it so as to promote religion and virtue in all its members; rules it calmly, but firmly; never using harshness where gentleness and love will produce the desired effect; having his children — If he be a father; in subjection, with all gravity — Or seriousness; for levity undermines all domestic authority: and he must thus rule his house both that he may set a good example to other masters of families, and that he may thereby give proof of his ability to preside over the church of God. For if a man know not how to rule his own house — So as to preserve a due decorum in the family where he has such a natural authority; how should he be able to take care of — Or to govern, in a proper manner, that greater and more important society, the church of God — In which there will be such a diversity of characters and dispositions, and over which it will be impossible for him to maintain an equal inspection and influence? Not a novice — neofuton, literally, one newly ingrafted, namely, into the body of Christ, or newly planted, namely, in the garden of his church; that is, one newly converted. Such were not to be made bishops, or presbyters; because, being yet but imperfectly instructed in the Christian doctrine, they were not fit to teach it to others. Besides, as their zeal, constancy, fidelity, and other graces, had not been sufficiently tried, they could have had but little authority, especially with the brethren of longer standing and greater experience. Lest being lifted up with pride — Greek, tufwqeiv, puffed up, with this new honour conferred upon him, or the applause which frequently follows it; he fell into the condemnation of the devil — The same into which the devil fell, or be guilty of the sin of self-conceit and high-mindedness, for which the devil was condemned.

Ver. 4, 5. One that ruleth well his own house. See on Ephesians 6:1-4.

5. House… church—An argument from the less to the greater: from the man’s own house to the house of God. The passage suggests the relations of the episkopos to his Church; those of paternity, rule, instruction.

V. 6. Lest being puffed up-With this new honour, or with the applause which frequently follows it.

He fall into the condemnation of the devil-The same into which the devil fell.

Verse 6. Fifteenth.-It is required that he be not a novice] neofuton. Not a young plant, not recently ingrafted, that is, one not newly converted to the faith; (old MS. Bible;) one who has been of considerable standing in the Christian Church, if he have the preceding qualifications, may be safely trusted with the government of that Church. It is impossible that one who is not long and deeply experienced in the ways of God can guide others in the way of life. Hence presbyters or elders were generally appointed to have the oversight of the rest, and hence presbyter and bishop seem to have been two names for the same office; yet all presbyters or elders certainly were not bishops, because all presbyters had not the qualifications marked above. But the apostle gives another reason: Lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. It is natural for man to think himself of more importance than his fellows when they are intrusted to his government. The apostle’s term tufwqeiv, puffed up, inflated, is a metaphor taken from a bladder when filled with air or wind. It is a substance, has a certain size, is light, can be the sport of the wind, but has nothing in it but air. Such is the classical coxcomb; a mere puffball, a disgrace to his function, and despised by every intelligent man. Should we not say to those whom it may concern,

“From such apostles, O ye mitred heads,

Preserve the Church; and lay not careless hands

On skulls that cannot teach, and will not learn.”

From these words of the apostle we are led to infer that pride or self-conceit was the cause of the devil’s downfall. In Ecclus. x. there are some excellent sayings concerning pride: “Pride is hurtful before God and man.” “Why is earth and ashes proud?” “The beginning of pride is when one departeth from God.” “For pride is the beginning of sin; and he that hath it shall pour out abomination.” “PRIDE was not made for MEN.” See verses 7, 9, 12, 13, and 18, of the above chapter.

Verses 4-6. One that ruleth well his own house — That not only rules it, but rules it well, and keeps his family in good order: that rules it so as to promote religion and virtue in all its members; rules it calmly, but firmly; never using harshness where gentleness and love will produce the desired effect; having his children — If he be a father; in subjection, with all gravity — Or seriousness; for levity undermines all domestic authority: and he must thus rule his house both that he may set a good example to other masters of families, and that he may thereby give proof of his ability to preside over the church of God. For if a man know not how to rule his own house — So as to preserve a due decorum in the family where he has such a natural authority; how should he be able to take care of — Or to govern, in a proper manner, that greater and more important society, the church of God — In which there will be such a diversity of characters and dispositions, and over which it will be impossible for him to maintain an equal inspection and influence? Not a novice — neofuton, literally, one newly ingrafted, namely, into the body of Christ, or newly planted, namely, in the garden of his church; that is, one newly converted. Such were not to be made bishops, or presbyters; because, being yet but imperfectly instructed in the Christian doctrine, they were not fit to teach it to others. Besides, as their zeal, constancy, fidelity, and other graces, had not been sufficiently tried, they could have had but little authority, especially with the brethren of longer standing and greater experience. Lest being lifted up with pride — Greek, tufwqeiv, puffed up, with this new honour conferred upon him, or the applause which frequently follows it; he fell into the condemnation of the devil — The same into which the devil fell, or be guilty of the sin of self-conceit and high-mindedness, for which the devil was condemned.

Ver. 6. Not a novice. A man unskilled in his work, and full of himself, and therefore hurried by his pride into the condemnation of the devil. Such a teacher is a pest to his auditory, and a disgrace to his profession.

6. Novice—Literal, new-plant; green young convert. Lifted up with pride—At his sudden elevation. Condemnation for pride of the devil, who was cast down to hell for rebellion.

V. 7. He ought also to have a good report-To have had a fair character in time past.

From them that are without-That are not Christians.

Lest he fall into reproach-By their rehearsing his former life, which might discourage and prove a snare to him.

Verse 7. The sixteenth requisite is, that he should have a good report of them which are without] That he should be one who had not been previously a profligate, or scandalous in his life. Such a person, when converted, may be a worthy private member of religious society; but I believe God rarely calls such to the work of the ministry, and never to the episcopate. Them that are without are the Jews, Gentiles, and the unconverted of all kinds. For the meaning of this term see Clarke’s note on “Colossians 4:5”.

Lest he fall into reproach] For his former scandalous life. And the snare of the devil.] Snares and temptations, such as he fell in and fell by before. This is called the snare of the devil; for, as he well knows the constitution of such persons, and what is most likely to prevail, he infers that what was effectual before to their transgressing may be so still; therefore on all suitable occasions he tempts them to their old sins. Backsliders in general fall by those sins to which they were addicted previously to their conversion. Former inveterate habits will revive in him who does not continue to deny himself, and watch unto prayer. The snare of the devil.-Some would translate pagida tou diabolou, the snare of the accuser; and they give the same meaning to the word in 1 Timothy 3:6, because it is evident that diabolouv has that meaning, 1 Timothy 3:11, and our translators render it slanderers. Now, though diabolov signifies an accuser, yet I do not see that it can, with any propriety, be restrained to this meaning in the texts in question, and especially as the word is emphatically applied to Satan himself; for he who, in Revelation 12:10, is called the accuser of the brethren, is, in Revelation 12:9, called the great dragon, the old serpent, the DEVIL, diabolov, and Satan.

Verse 7. Moreover, he must have a good report — That is, a fair or good character, or good testimony, namely, as to the time past; of them that are without — That are not Christians; lest he fall into reproach — By their rehearsing his former life; and the snare of the devil — Which Satan might make a snare of to discourage and cast him down, or in some other way entangle him in unbelief and sin. Here Macknight remarks, “It is intimated, that the sins which a person has formerly committed, when cast in his teeth after he becomes a minister, may be the means of tempting him to repeat these sins, by the devil’s suggesting to him that he has little reputation to lose. Nor is this the only evil. The people, knowing his former miscarriages, will be less affected with what he says to them. All who are candidates for the ministry ought to consider these things seriously.”

Ver. 7. He must have a good report of them that are without, else they will not hear him with reverence, or receive his message with cordiality. An unblemished reputation is essential to acceptance and success in the work of the ministry.

7. Good report… without—His public reputation, not only within but without the Church, must be good. Fall into reproach—As disgracing his preaching by his character and practice. Snare of the devil—Who is here a huntsman that sets traps and snares for the ministers specially. And if the minister has lost character with the public amid whom he preaches, the devil has a great advantage both to destroy the value of his preaching and to bring him to a downfall, whether by his own imprudences in difficulty, or by bearing him down by scandal.

b. Of deacons and deaconesses, 8-13.

In regard to the office of deacon we may first remark, that if the Greek word diakonos, with its cognates, were always rendered deacons, we should have deacons in great number in the New Testament. Thus we should have Matthew 20:26, Let him be your deacon; John 2:5, the mother of Jesus said to the deacons; 12:26, The king said to the deacons; Romans 13:4, the magistrate is the deacon of God; Galatians 2:17, deacon of sin. From all which instances, and many more, it appears that the true meaning of the word is servitor. The word is not applied to the seventy sent forth by our Lord; nor to the seven in Acts 6, save in the verb form serve. It appears for the first time as an unmistakable church officer in Philippians 1:1; there, as here, used by Paul in connexion with the episkopos. Under sanction from these two texts, however, we may, in Romans 16:1, read deaconess in honour of Phebe; and in Romans 12:7, deaconship; and some hold 1 Corinthians 12:28, helps, to mean deaconships.

In regard to this office in the Church we may note two distinctive points: First. It was not, like prophecy, healing, tongues, etc., an extraordinary gift or charism, bestowed at the will of the spirit without the agency of man. The individual was humanly selected according to qualifications, and probably ordained by the imposition of hands. Second. In all cases, both the word and its connexions embrace generically the idea of subordination and service in sacred function. The deacon was subordinate to the apostle and to the episkopos. Hence, while his duties are not very precisely defined in Scripture, yet throughout the history of the Church a sort of semblance has been maintained in this respect. He may assist the bishop or elder in the ritual; he may, in absence of the elder, read a homily; he may catechize the catechumen, keep order in the congregation, see to the poor, and administer to the necessities of the persecuted.

In modern Protestant Churches the same generic idea of servitorship is variously maintained. In Presbyterian and Congregational Churches, approaching nearer to the model of Acts 6 than any other Church, the deacon is overseer of the poor, yet leading the conference and prayer meeting in absence of the minister. In the Methodist Episcopal Church the deacon is a subordinate minister, with a few symbolical exclusions from higher functions, an apprentice rather than a servitor in the ministry. In this respect there appears a parallel from the probable fact that in the New Testament Church the deaconship was a reserve from which the elders were likely to be selected. Note 1 Timothy 5:13.

V. 8. Likewise the deacons must be serious-Men of a grave, decent, venerable behaviour. But where are presbyters? Were this order essentially distinct from that of bishops, could the apostle have passed it over in silence?

Not desirous of filthy gain-With what abhorrence does he everywhere speak of this! All that is gained (above food and raiment) by ministering in holy things is filthy gain indeed; far more filthy than what is honestly gained by raking kennels, or emptying common sewers.

Verse 8. Likewise must the deacons] The term deacon, diakonov, simply signifies a regular or stated servant: from dia, through or emphatic, and konew, to minister or serve. See it explained in Clarke’s note on “Matthew 20:26”. As nearly the same qualifications were required in the deacons as in the bishops, the reader may consult what is said on the preceding verses.

Grave] Of a sedate and dignified carriage and conduct.

Not double-tongued] Speaking one thing to one person, and another thing to another, on the same subject. This is hypocrisy and deceit. This word might also be translated liars.

Not given to much wine] Neither a drunkard, tippler, nor what is called a jovial companion. All this would be inconsistent with gravity. Not greedy of filthy lucre] See Clarke on “1 Timothy 3:3”.

Verses 8, 9. Likewise the deacons — Of whom see on Acts 6:3, 4, and Philippians 1:1; must be grave — Or serious, as some render semnouv: men of a steady, decent, and venerable behaviour. No mention is made of presbyters, or elders, as distinct from bishops; evidently because (as has been observed on verse 1, and Philippians 1:1) they were not distinct from them; but the two names were used promiscuously for the same persons. Not double-tongued — Deceitful and dissembling, speaking one thing in one company, and another in another; not given to much wine — Which would render them utterly unfit for their office; not greedy, or desirous of filthy lucre — See on verse 3. “With what abhorrence does the apostle everywhere speak of this! All that is gained, (above food and raiment,) by ministering in holy things, is filthy gain indeed! Far more filthy than what is honestly gained by raking kennels, or emptying common sewers.” — Wesley. Holding the mystery of faith in a pure conscience — Well instructed in, and firmly believing, all the great doctrines of the gospel, and adorning them by a correspondent practice; or steadfast in faith, and holy in heart and life. Although the apostle did not mention it, Timothy would readily infer from this direction concerning deacons, that it was equally necessary in bishops as in them to be sound in the faith, and holy in life. As soundness in the faith was required in deacons, it is probable they were sometimes, if not generally, employed in teaching; but whether by preaching or catechising is not certain. They likewise acted as readers in the congregations.

8. Double-tongued—The liability of subordinates, to be obsequious to superiors and supercilious to inferiors. Greedy—So as to be tempted to embezzle the church funds.

V. 9. Holding fast the faith in a pure conscience-Steadfast in faith, holy in heart and life.

Verse 9. Holding the mystery of the faith] Instead of thv pistewv, the faith, one MS. (the readings of which are found in the margin of a copy of Mill’s Greek text in the Bodleian library, and which is marked 61 in Griesbach) reads anastasewv, of the resurrection. This reading, like many others in this MS., is found nowhere else; and is worthy of little regard, but as expressing what appeared to the writer to be the apostle’s meaning. One of the greatest mysteries of the faith was undoubtedly the resurrection of the dead; and this was held in a pure conscience when the person so exercised himself as to have a conscience void of offence towards God and towards men. See Acts 24:16. What has been since called Antinomianism, that is, making void the moral law, by a pretended faith in the righteousness of Christ, is that which the apostle has here particularly in view.

Verses 8, 9. Likewise the deacons — Of whom see on Acts 6:3, 4, and Philippians 1:1; must be grave — Or serious, as some render semnouv: men of a steady, decent, and venerable behaviour. No mention is made of presbyters, or elders, as distinct from bishops; evidently because (as has been observed on verse 1, and Philippians 1:1) they were not distinct from them; but the two names were used promiscuously for the same persons. Not double-tongued — Deceitful and dissembling, speaking one thing in one company, and another in another; not given to much wine — Which would render them utterly unfit for their office; not greedy, or desirous of filthy lucre — See on verse 3. “With what abhorrence does the apostle everywhere speak of this! All that is gained, (above food and raiment,) by ministering in holy things, is filthy gain indeed! Far more filthy than what is honestly gained by raking kennels, or emptying common sewers.” — Wesley. Holding the mystery of faith in a pure conscience — Well instructed in, and firmly believing, all the great doctrines of the gospel, and adorning them by a correspondent practice; or steadfast in faith, and holy in heart and life. Although the apostle did not mention it, Timothy would readily infer from this direction concerning deacons, that it was equally necessary in bishops as in them to be sound in the faith, and holy in life. As soundness in the faith was required in deacons, it is probable they were sometimes, if not generally, employed in teaching; but whether by preaching or catechising is not certain. They likewise acted as readers in the congregations.

Ver. 9. Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. His mind must be enlarged in the knowledge of the truth; he must also retain it and teach it, with a conscientious regard to every other ministerial duty. He must be like his model, “in labours more abundant.”

9. Mystery—See note on verse 16. Faith—In regard to doctrine. Conscience—In regard to moral character and conduct.

V. 10. Let these be proved first-Let a trial be made how they believe. Then let them minister-Let them be fixed in that office.

Verse 10. Let these-be proved] Let them not be young converts, or persons lately brought to the knowledge of the truth. This is the same in spirit with what is required of the bishops, 1 Timothy 3:6. Let no man be put into an office in the Church till he has given full proof of his sincerity and steadiness, by having been for a considerable time a consistent private member of the Church.

Being found blameless.] anegklhtoi ontev. Being irreproachable; persons against whom no evil can be proved. The same as in 1 Timothy 3:2, though a different word is used. See the note there.

Verse 10. Let these also — (The word also implies that the same rule was to be observed with relation to bishops) first be proved — “By the examination,” says Whitby, “of the soundness of their faith, and the purity of their former lives: and then let them be admitted to use the office of a deacon, being thus found blameless.” And he shows, by a quotation from the Life of the Emperor Severus, written by Lampridius, and from the epistles of Cyprian, that such an examination was used at the ordination of both bishops and deacons in the churches of the early Christians, and that it was a practice derived from the apostles. Some, however, think that the apostle required, in this direction, that no one should be made either a bishop or a deacon, till he had given proof both of his steadfastness in the faith, and of his genuine piety and good conduct during a reasonable space of time after his conversion: or, that the persons admitted to these offices should be under trial for a while, how they conducted themselves therein, and then afterward, if they gave satisfaction, they should be confirmed in them.

10. Proved—Not by prefixing a period of probation; but by the scrutiny of the Church and eldership, carefully noting their life, character, and qualifications, and making them a matter of free discussion, in order to a right decision by vote before ordination. Use the office of a deacon— Literally, let them serve.

V. 11. Faithful in all things-Both to God, their husbands, and the poor.

Verse 11. Even so must their wives be grave] I believe the apostle does not mean here the wives either of the bishops or deacons in particular, but the Christian women in general. The original is simply: gunaikav wsautwv semnav. Let the women likewise be grave. Whatever is spoken here becomes women in general; but if the apostle had those termed deaconesses in his eye, which is quite possible, the words are peculiarly suitable to them. That there was such an order in the apostolic and primitive Church, and that they were appointed to their office by the imposition of hands, has already been noticed on Romans 16:1. Possibly, therefore, the apostle may have had this order of deaconesses in view, to whom it was as necessary to give counsels and cautions as to the deacons themselves; and to prescribe their qualifications, lest improper persons should insinuate themselves into that office.

Not slanderers] mh diabolouv. Literally, not devils. See Clarke on “1 Timothy 3:7”. This may be properly enough translated slanderers, backbiters, tale-bearers, &c., for all these are of their father, the devil, and his lusts they will do. Let all such, with the vast tribe of calumniators and dealers in scandal, remember that the apostle ranks them all with malicious, fallen spirits; a consideration which one would suppose might be sufficient to deter them from their injurious and abominable conduct. Sober] See Clarke on “1 Timothy 3:2”.

Faithful in all things.] The deaconesses had much to do among the poor, and especially among poor women, in dispensing the bounty of the Church. They were not only faithfully to expend all they had got, and for the purpose for which they got it; but they must do this with impartiality, showing no respect of persons, the degree of distress being the only rule by which the distribution was to be regulated.

Verse 11. Even so must their wives — Namely, the wives of the deacons; be grave — Serious in their deportment; not slanderers — Or false accusers of the brethren and others; sober — Or watchful, (as nhfaleouv may be rendered,) for occasions of doing good, and guarding against every temptation to evil; faithful — To God, their husbands, and the poor; in all things — Committed to their care, lest their imprudent and unfaithful conduct should bring the character of their husbands under suspicion. The apostle, however, may be understood here, as not only speaking of the wives of the deacons and bishops, but of the believing women in general, and particularly of those who were invested with any office in the church. So the Vulgate interprets his meaning, having here, mulieres similiter pudicas, the women in like manner must be modest. Chrysostom also, and the Greek commentators, with most of the Latin fathers, were of opinion that the apostle, in this passage, is speaking both of those women who, in the first age, were employed in ministering to the afflicted, and of those who were appointed to teach the young of their own sex the principles of religion. As the manners of the Greeks did not permit men to have much intercourse with women of character, unless they were their relations, and as the Asiatics were under still greater restraints, it was proper that an order of female teachers should be instituted in the church for instructing the young of their own sex. These, it seems, were generally widows, Clement of Alexandria reckoning widows among ecclesiastical persons, Pædag., lib. 3. c. 12; and Grotius tells us that these female presbyters, or elders, were ordained by imposition of hands till the council of Laodicea.

11. Wives—The Greek word may signify either woman or wife. The their is not in the Greek. The question thence arises, whether St. Paul means wives of the deacons, or deaconesses. Note Romans 16:2. The absence of any prescription for the wives of the elders seems very decisive in favour of the latter. The existence of an ordained grade of deaconesses in the early Church was recognised by Tertullian, Origen, and others of the ecclesiastical writers. Slanderers—Not dealing in scandal and personal gossip.

Verse 12. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife] This is the same that is required of the bishops. See Clarke on “1 Timothy 3:2”; “1 Timothy 3:4”; and “1 Timothy 3:5”.

Verses 12, 13. Let the deacons — As well as the bishops; be husbands of one wife — That is, such as have shown their temperance by avoiding polygamy and causeless divorce; (see on verse 2;) ruling their children, &c. — This qualification, which was required in bishops likewise, shows how anxious the apostle was that all who bore sacred offices should be unblameable in every respect; knowing that the disorderly behaviour of the members of their family might give occasion to suspect that they had been careless of their morals. For they that have used — Have discharged; the office of a deacon well, (see Romans 12:7, 8,) purchase to themselves a good degree — Greek, baqmon, step, namely, toward some higher office; and great boldness — From the testimony of a good conscience; in the faith which is in Christ Jesus — Namely, in professing and teaching it, for even the wicked must respect persons who show so much benevolence and activity in relieving the poor, the afflicted, and the persecuted.

12. Briefly reiterating for the deacons some of the qualifications required above for the elders.

V. 13. They purchase a good degree-Or step, toward some higher office. And much boldness-From the testimony of a good conscience.

Verse 13. That have used the office of a deacon well] They who, having been tried or proved, 1 Timothy 3:10, have shown by their steadiness, activity, and zeal, that they might be raised to a higher office, are here said to have purchased to themselves a good degree, baqmon kalon. for, instead of having to administer to the bodies and bodily wants of the poor, the faithful deacons were raised to minister in holy things; and, instead of ministering the bread that perisheth, they were raised to the presbyterate or episcopate, to minister the bread of life to immortal souls. And hence the apostle adds; And great boldness in the faith; pollhn parrhsian, great liberty of speech; i.e. in teaching the doctrines of Christianity, and in expounding the Scriptures, and preaching. It seems to have been a practice dictated by common sense, that the most grave and steady of the believers should be employed as deacons; the most experienced and zealous of the deacons should be raised to the rank of elders; and the most able and pious of the elders be consecrated bishops. As to a bishop of bishops, that age did not know such. The pope of Rome was the first who took this title. The same office, but not with the same powers nor abuse, is found in the patriarch of the Greek Church, and the archbishop of the Protestant Church. As the deacon had many private members under his care, so the presbyter or elder had several deacons under his care; the bishop, several presbyters; and the archbishop, several bishops. But I speak now more of the modern than of the ancient Church. The distinction in some of these offices is not so apparent in ancient times; and some of the offices themselves are modern, or comparatively so. But deacon, presbyter, and bishop, existed in the apostolic Church, and may therefore be considered of Divine origin.

Verses 12, 13. Let the deacons — As well as the bishops; be husbands of one wife — That is, such as have shown their temperance by avoiding polygamy and causeless divorce; (see on verse 2;) ruling their children, &c. — This qualification, which was required in bishops likewise, shows how anxious the apostle was that all who bore sacred offices should be unblameable in every respect; knowing that the disorderly behaviour of the members of their family might give occasion to suspect that they had been careless of their morals. For they that have used — Have discharged; the office of a deacon well, (see Romans 12:7, 8,) purchase to themselves a good degree — Greek, baqmon, step, namely, toward some higher office; and great boldness — From the testimony of a good conscience; in the faith which is in Christ Jesus — Namely, in professing and teaching it, for even the wicked must respect persons who show so much benevolence and activity in relieving the poor, the afflicted, and the persecuted.

13. A good degree—An honourable step. The word is well defined in Robinson’s Lexicon New Testament, a step, namely, “of a stair, or door,” etc.; derived from bainw, to walk, or advance. Hence unquestionably, we think, Grotius gives the true meaning: “They make for themselves an honourable step, namely, to the presbyterate. For so was the custom of those ages; from the most excellent of the Christian people to select the deacons, and from the most excellent deacons, the presbyters, and from the most excellent presbyters, the president. In the Clementine Constitutions are prayers for the deacon in which we read the words: “Render worthy him who has performed the deaconship to him committed, inflexibly, blamelessly, unimpeachably, to be exalted to a higher step.” The connexion shows this to be the meaning. The previous verse shadows the qualifications of the eldership as the model for the deacon. The clause following these words promises a greater freedom of exercise as belonging to the next step. The most natural construction, certainly, should view the step as belonging to the sphere of the deaconship. So Wesley, “They purchase a good degree, or step to some higher office.” To the objection that this would be placing an objectionable motive before the deacon, Wordsworth properly replies, that St. Paul is not addressing the deacon at all, but Timothy, the superintendent. Just so he directs Timothy (1 Timothy 5:17) to put a double value upon the best elders. Great boldness—Or freedom of speech; an advance step in liberty of exercise well becoming a higher office.

3. In doctrine.

a. Timothy set as champion of the doctrine of the incarnation against the errorists predicted by the Spirit as about to appear, 14-4:10.

Verse 14. These things write I] That is: I write only these things; because I hope to come unto thee shortly.

Verses 14-16. These things — Concerning the character of persons fit to be intrusted with the office of bishops or deacons; I write, hoping to come to thee shortly — It seems evident from hence, that Paul intended to have come back to Timothy at Ephesus in a little time, but was providentially called another way; but, as Doddridge observes, it can by no means be concluded from hence that Paul wrote this epistle to Timothy after his imprisonment at Rome. But if I tarry long — If I am hindered from coming, I give thee these instructions in the mean time; that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself — That is, how to discharge thy office properly; (which is the scope of the whole epistle;) in the house of God — In which thou hast the honour to bear so high an office, even in that house, or family, which is the church of the living God — Where he is worshipped in spirit and in truth by his believing people, manifests his special presence, and bestows peculiar blessings. The tabernacle first, and afterward the temple, obtained the name of the house or habitation of God, because there the symbol of the divine presence resided, 1 Samuel 1:7; Matthew 21:13; 23. 38. But under the gospel dispensation no material building or temple is called the house of God. That appellation is given only to the church of God, or to those societies of men who profess to believe in Christ, and join together in worshipping God according to the gospel form. The pillar and ground — Or support, as edraiwma signifies; of the truth — That is, of the whole system of gospel truth. “Some commentators think Timothy is called, in this passage, the pillar and support of the truth, for the same reason that Peter, James, and John are called pillars, (Galatians 2:9,) and that the particle wv, as, should be supplied before these words, and the clause translated thus: That thou mayest know how thou ought to behave thyself, as the pillar and support of the truth in the church, of the living God. But, not to insist on the harshness and irregularity of this construction, it must be observed, that seeing the interpretation of the passage hath been much contested, a word, which entirely changes the apostle’s meaning, should by no means be inserted in the text on mere conjecture, because in that manner the Scriptures may be made to speak any thing which bold critics please.” — Macknight. According to the common reading, the church of God is evidently here called the pillar and support of truth. And since the apostle must be understood as speaking, not of any particular falsely pretended, fallen, or corrupt church, but of the true, genuine, catholic church, or, as he expresses himself, the church of the living God, consisting of all the true churches of Christ throughout the world, and comprehending all true believers and lovers of God, all who hold the mystery of faith in a pure conscience; (verse 9;) this church, so constituted, may with perfect propriety be termed the pillar and support of the truth, as preserving, from age to age, the Holy Scriptures, which attest the truth, and as always believing and maintaining the great fundamental articles of the Christian faith. Bengelius, however, and many others, adopt a different reading, so far as to end the sentence with the church of the living God, and to begin the next with the words following, thus: The mystery of godliness is the pillar and ground of truth, and confessedly a great thing. And this reading is approved by Witsius, Whitby, Doddridge, Wesley, and many other eminent commentators. According to this interpretation, by the mystery of godliness we are to understand that wonderful and sublime doctrine which is revealed in the gospel, and immediately specified in six articles, which sum up the whole economy of Christ upon earth.

God was manifest in the flesh — Namely, the Word that was in the beginning with God, and was God, was incarnated, (John 1:14,) in the human nature of Jesus, conceived by a miracle in the womb of the virgin, and born of her, to whom, therefore, the divine names of God, Lord, and Jehovah, are repeatedly given in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments; as also the divine titles of the true God, 1 John 5:20; God over all blessed for ever, Romans 9:5; Jehovah of hosts, Isaiah 8:13, 14; Hosea 12:5; the Lord of glory, 1 Corinthians 2:8; the Holy One and Just, and the Prince of life, Acts 3:14, 15; the first and last, Revelation 1:17. To him divine attributes are ascribed; omnipresence, Matthew 18:20; omnipotence, Philippians 3:21; omniscience, Revelation 2:23. And divine works, namely, those of creation, John 1:3; preservation, Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3; redemption and salvation, passim, and judging all mankind at the last day, Matthew 25:31, 32, &c. And to him, as we have very often seen in the course of these notes, divine worship was frequently paid by those divinely-inspired persons, who could not be mistaken, particularly in a matter so momentous. He was manifested in the form of a servant, in the fashion of a man, for thirty-three years, his divine glory frequently breaking forth through the veil of his humanity, especially in the wisdom of his discourses, in the power of his miracles, in the holiness of his spotless life, and in his unspeakable and never-ceasing benevolence, beneficence, and other divine virtues, and in a peculiar manner when he was transfigured on the holy mount, 2 Peter 1:16: 17. Justified in the Spirit — The Lord Jesus appeared on earth in all the infirmity and frailty of mortal flesh, poor, despised, persecuted, and at last put to death as a blasphemer; yet he professed and maintained a high claim, the highest possible, even that of being the Messiah, the Son of God in a peculiar sense, and one with his Father, John 8:58, and 10:30, 36. Now how could he be justified in making this claim? He was justified in, or by, the Spirit — Namely, the Holy Ghost; 1st, That Spirit had moved holy men of old, (2 Peter 1:21,) to utter many predictions concerning him, and these were all exactly fulfilled in him. 2d, The Spirit descended upon him in a visible form at his baptism, and pointed him out as the person, whom the voice from heaven declared to be God’s beloved Son; and this Spirit he possessed without measure in its gifts and graces, as his doctrine, life, and miracles showed. 3d, By this Spirit he was raised from the dead, (1 Peter 3:18,) and thereby powerfully demonstrated to be the Son of God, Romans 1:4. 4th, He baptized his disciples with this Spirit, particularly on the day of pentecost, according to the prediction of the Baptist, (Matthew 3:11,) and his own often-repeated promise, and thereby convinced of sin those that did not believe in him, whether Jews or Gentiles, and showed them to be inexcusable in resisting such evidence; giving full proof, at the same time, that he himself was righteous, John 16:7-10. Seen of angels — However regardless men might be of this astonishing mystery, this manifestation of God in the flesh, the angels viewed it with deep and constant attention and great interest, as a most astonishing and instructive spectacle, more mysterious than any work of creation, or dispensation of providence, and giving them such views of their Maker’s justice and grace, and especially of his love, as they had not had before, 1 Peter 1:12. Accordingly they worshipped him at his entrance into the world, Hebrews 1:6; celebrated his birth, Luke 2:9-13; ministered to him in the desert, Matthew 4:11; and in his agonies, Luke 2:43; were present at his resurrection and ascension, Luke 24:4; Acts 1:10. Preached to the Gentiles — This also is termed a mystery Ephesians 3:4-6; Colossians 1:25; where see the notes. And if we consider how the Gentile world was sunk in idolatry and vice of every kind, and that whoever preached the gospel to them must testify against their abominable practices in strong terms, and therefore had every reason to expect the most violent opposition and ill usage, even to imprisonment, torture, and martyrdom, we must allow both that God manifested astonishing grace in sending his apostles to preach the gospel to them, and that these his messengers displayed amazing fortitude in going so willingly to preach it. Believed on in the world — This was a still greater mystery; 1st, That a poor, mean, and persecuted man, crucified as the vilest malefactor, should be believed on as the Messiah expected by the Jews and all nations — the Son of God — the Saviour of the world. 2d, That his gospel, so simple and unpromising in appearance, preached without wisdom of words, and by men who had not the advantage of wealth, power, or learning to recommend them, and whose doctrine condemned the reigning idolatry, should be believed in as a revelation from God: especially as, 3d, It could not prevail but it must evidently overthrow the heathen idolatry, established and revered for ages, and bring all the esteemed doctrines of the philosophers into discredit, and therefore would certainly be opposed and persecuted by the three classes of people of the greatest power, the priesthood, the philosophers, and the Roman emperor, with all subordinate kings and magistrates. 4th, Whoever believed it were under an indispensable obligation to confess it; and whoever did so was in danger of suffering the loss of all things, imprisonment, torture, and death. But notwithstanding all these obstacles in the way, Jesus and his gospel were believed on in the world. “This undeniable fact, of which the evidence remains at this day, is mentioned as a part of the mystery of godliness, because it is a strong proof of the truth of Christ’s resurrection, and of the spiritual gifts and miraculous powers by which the apostles and their assistants are said, in the Christian records, to have spread the gospel through the world. For, to believe that the multitudes, not only among the barbarous nations, but among the learned Greeks and Romans, who forsook their native religion and embraced the gospel, were persuaded to do so merely by the force of words, without the aid of miracles and spiritual gifts, is to believe a greater miracle than any recorded in the gospel history.” — Macknight. Received up into glory — When his ministry on earth was completed; when he had fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies, and answered the ancient types; taught the whole truth belonging to his new dispensation, and confirmed it by miracles; had set his followers a perfect example; expiated sin by dying, broke the power of death by his resurrection; giving his disciples clear proof thereof by frequently appearing to them, as well as by showing them that the ancient prophets had foretold these things; and had given them their commission and all needful instruction; — He, who had so long tabernacled in our frail nature in a state of poverty, reproach, and suffering, was received up into glory: that is, as the eternal Son of God, he resumed the glory he had with his Father before the world was; (John 17:5;) his human nature was transformed and glorified, and in his complete person, as God and man, he was placed at the head of the whole creation for the good of his church, (Ephesians 1:20-22,) invested with all authority and power in heaven and on earth, and constituted the final Judge of men and angels.

14. These things—Not only the precepts of Church order in 1 Timothy 2:1-3:13, but including the entire charge against the heresies in chapter first. For as the charge is against their false doctrines, so the Church order, in possession of the true doctrine, is the stronghold against them. Write I—Place them on visible monumental records. Shortly—Greek, sooner; that is, sooner than his writing a letter naturally presupposed.

V. 15. That thou mayest know how to behave-This is the scope of the epistle.

In the house of God-Who is the master of the family.

Which is-As if he had said, By the house of God, I mean the Church.

Verse 15. But if I tarry long] That is: Not withstanding I hope to come to thee shortly, and therefore do not feel the necessity of writing at large; yet, lest I should be delayed, I write what I judge necessary to direct thy conduct in the Church of God.

The house of God] This is spoken in allusion to the ancient tabernacle; which was God’s house, and in which the symbol of the Divine Majesty dwelt. So the Christian Church is God’s house, and every believer is a habitation of God through the Spirit.

The Church of the living God] The assembly in which God lives and works; each member of which is a living stone, all of whom, properly united among themselves, grow up unto a holy temple in the Lord. The pillar and ground of the truth.] Never was there a greater variety of opinions on any portion of the sacred Scripture than has been on this and the following verse. Commentators and critics have given senses and meanings till there is no meaning to be seen. It would be almost impossible, after reading all that has been said on this passage, for any man to make up his own mind. To what, or to whom, does the pillar and ground of the truth refer?

1. Some say to Timothy, who is called the pillar, &c., because left there to support and defend the truth of God against false doctrines and false teachers; and is so called for the same reason that Peter, James, and John, are said to be pillars, i.e. supporters of the truth of God. Galatians 2:9.

2. Others suppose that the pillar and ground of the truth is spoken of GOD; and that ov esti, who is, should be supplied as referring immediately to qeov, God, just before. By this mode of interpretation the passage will read thus: That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, WHO IS (ov esti) the pillar and ground of the truth. How God may be fitly termed the pillar and ground of truth, requires no explanation.

3. Others think that the words should be understood of the CHURCH of the living God; and in this case the feminine relative htiv esti, which is, must be repeated immediately after ekklhsia, the Church. The house of God is the Church of the living God; WHICH (Church) IS the pillar and ground of the truth. That is: The full revelation of God’s truth is in the Christian Church. The great doctrines of that Church are the truth without error, metaphor, or figure. Formerly the truth was but partially revealed, much of it being shadowed with types, ceremonies, and comparatively dark prophecies; but now all is plain, and the full revelation given; and the foundation on which this truth rests are the grand facts detailed in the Gospel, especially those which concern the incarnation, miracles, passion, death, and resurrection of Christ, and the mission of the Holy Spirit.

4. Lastly, others refer the whole to to thv eusebeiav musthrion, the mystery of godliness; and translate the clause thus: The mystery of godliness is the pillar and ground of the truth; and, without controversy, a great thing. This gives a very good sense, but it is not much favoured by the arrangement of the words in the original.

Verses 14-16. These things — Concerning the character of persons fit to be intrusted with the office of bishops or deacons; I write, hoping to come to thee shortly — It seems evident from hence, that Paul intended to have come back to Timothy at Ephesus in a little time, but was providentially called another way; but, as Doddridge observes, it can by no means be concluded from hence that Paul wrote this epistle to Timothy after his imprisonment at Rome. But if I tarry long — If I am hindered from coming, I give thee these instructions in the mean time; that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself — That is, how to discharge thy office properly; (which is the scope of the whole epistle;) in the house of God — In which thou hast the honour to bear so high an office, even in that house, or family, which is the church of the living God — Where he is worshipped in spirit and in truth by his believing people, manifests his special presence, and bestows peculiar blessings. The tabernacle first, and afterward the temple, obtained the name of the house or habitation of God, because there the symbol of the divine presence resided, 1 Samuel 1:7; Matthew 21:13; 23. 38. But under the gospel dispensation no material building or temple is called the house of God. That appellation is given only to the church of God, or to those societies of men who profess to believe in Christ, and join together in worshipping God according to the gospel form. The pillar and ground — Or support, as edraiwma signifies; of the truth — That is, of the whole system of gospel truth. “Some commentators think Timothy is called, in this passage, the pillar and support of the truth, for the same reason that Peter, James, and John are called pillars, (Galatians 2:9,) and that the particle wv, as, should be supplied before these words, and the clause translated thus: That thou mayest know how thou ought to behave thyself, as the pillar and support of the truth in the church, of the living God. But, not to insist on the harshness and irregularity of this construction, it must be observed, that seeing the interpretation of the passage hath been much contested, a word, which entirely changes the apostle’s meaning, should by no means be inserted in the text on mere conjecture, because in that manner the Scriptures may be made to speak any thing which bold critics please.” — Macknight. According to the common reading, the church of God is evidently here called the pillar and support of truth. And since the apostle must be understood as speaking, not of any particular falsely pretended, fallen, or corrupt church, but of the true, genuine, catholic church, or, as he expresses himself, the church of the living God, consisting of all the true churches of Christ throughout the world, and comprehending all true believers and lovers of God, all who hold the mystery of faith in a pure conscience; (verse 9;) this church, so constituted, may with perfect propriety be termed the pillar and support of the truth, as preserving, from age to age, the Holy Scriptures, which attest the truth, and as always believing and maintaining the great fundamental articles of the Christian faith. Bengelius, however, and many others, adopt a different reading, so far as to end the sentence with the church of the living God, and to begin the next with the words following, thus: The mystery of godliness is the pillar and ground of truth, and confessedly a great thing. And this reading is approved by Witsius, Whitby, Doddridge, Wesley, and many other eminent commentators. According to this interpretation, by the mystery of godliness we are to understand that wonderful and sublime doctrine which is revealed in the gospel, and immediately specified in six articles, which sum up the whole economy of Christ upon earth.

God was manifest in the flesh — Namely, the Word that was in the beginning with God, and was God, was incarnated, (John 1:14,) in the human nature of Jesus, conceived by a miracle in the womb of the virgin, and born of her, to whom, therefore, the divine names of God, Lord, and Jehovah, are repeatedly given in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments; as also the divine titles of the true God, 1 John 5:20; God over all blessed for ever, Romans 9:5; Jehovah of hosts, Isaiah 8:13, 14; Hosea 12:5; the Lord of glory, 1 Corinthians 2:8; the Holy One and Just, and the Prince of life, Acts 3:14, 15; the first and last, Revelation 1:17. To him divine attributes are ascribed; omnipresence, Matthew 18:20; omnipotence, Philippians 3:21; omniscience, Revelation 2:23. And divine works, namely, those of creation, John 1:3; preservation, Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3; redemption and salvation, passim, and judging all mankind at the last day, Matthew 25:31, 32, &c. And to him, as we have very often seen in the course of these notes, divine worship was frequently paid by those divinely-inspired persons, who could not be mistaken, particularly in a matter so momentous. He was manifested in the form of a servant, in the fashion of a man, for thirty-three years, his divine glory frequently breaking forth through the veil of his humanity, especially in the wisdom of his discourses, in the power of his miracles, in the holiness of his spotless life, and in his unspeakable and never-ceasing benevolence, beneficence, and other divine virtues, and in a peculiar manner when he was transfigured on the holy mount, 2 Peter 1:16: 17. Justified in the Spirit — The Lord Jesus appeared on earth in all the infirmity and frailty of mortal flesh, poor, despised, persecuted, and at last put to death as a blasphemer; yet he professed and maintained a high claim, the highest possible, even that of being the Messiah, the Son of God in a peculiar sense, and one with his Father, John 8:58, and 10:30, 36. Now how could he be justified in making this claim? He was justified in, or by, the Spirit — Namely, the Holy Ghost; 1st, That Spirit had moved holy men of old, (2 Peter 1:21,) to utter many predictions concerning him, and these were all exactly fulfilled in him. 2d, The Spirit descended upon him in a visible form at his baptism, and pointed him out as the person, whom the voice from heaven declared to be God’s beloved Son; and this Spirit he possessed without measure in its gifts and graces, as his doctrine, life, and miracles showed. 3d, By this Spirit he was raised from the dead, (1 Peter 3:18,) and thereby powerfully demonstrated to be the Son of God, Romans 1:4. 4th, He baptized his disciples with this Spirit, particularly on the day of pentecost, according to the prediction of the Baptist, (Matthew 3:11,) and his own often-repeated promise, and thereby convinced of sin those that did not believe in him, whether Jews or Gentiles, and showed them to be inexcusable in resisting such evidence; giving full proof, at the same time, that he himself was righteous, John 16:7-10. Seen of angels — However regardless men might be of this astonishing mystery, this manifestation of God in the flesh, the angels viewed it with deep and constant attention and great interest, as a most astonishing and instructive spectacle, more mysterious than any work of creation, or dispensation of providence, and giving them such views of their Maker’s justice and grace, and especially of his love, as they had not had before, 1 Peter 1:12. Accordingly they worshipped him at his entrance into the world, Hebrews 1:6; celebrated his birth, Luke 2:9-13; ministered to him in the desert, Matthew 4:11; and in his agonies, Luke 2:43; were present at his resurrection and ascension, Luke 24:4; Acts 1:10. Preached to the Gentiles — This also is termed a mystery Ephesians 3:4-6; Colossians 1:25; where see the notes. And if we consider how the Gentile world was sunk in idolatry and vice of every kind, and that whoever preached the gospel to them must testify against their abominable practices in strong terms, and therefore had every reason to expect the most violent opposition and ill usage, even to imprisonment, torture, and martyrdom, we must allow both that God manifested astonishing grace in sending his apostles to preach the gospel to them, and that these his messengers displayed amazing fortitude in going so willingly to preach it. Believed on in the world — This was a still greater mystery; 1st, That a poor, mean, and persecuted man, crucified as the vilest malefactor, should be believed on as the Messiah expected by the Jews and all nations — the Son of God — the Saviour of the world. 2d, That his gospel, so simple and unpromising in appearance, preached without wisdom of words, and by men who had not the advantage of wealth, power, or learning to recommend them, and whose doctrine condemned the reigning idolatry, should be believed in as a revelation from God: especially as, 3d, It could not prevail but it must evidently overthrow the heathen idolatry, established and revered for ages, and bring all the esteemed doctrines of the philosophers into discredit, and therefore would certainly be opposed and persecuted by the three classes of people of the greatest power, the priesthood, the philosophers, and the Roman emperor, with all subordinate kings and magistrates. 4th, Whoever believed it were under an indispensable obligation to confess it; and whoever did so was in danger of suffering the loss of all things, imprisonment, torture, and death. But notwithstanding all these obstacles in the way, Jesus and his gospel were believed on in the world. “This undeniable fact, of which the evidence remains at this day, is mentioned as a part of the mystery of godliness, because it is a strong proof of the truth of Christ’s resurrection, and of the spiritual gifts and miraculous powers by which the apostles and their assistants are said, in the Christian records, to have spread the gospel through the world. For, to believe that the multitudes, not only among the barbarous nations, but among the learned Greeks and Romans, who forsook their native religion and embraced the gospel, were persuaded to do so merely by the force of words, without the aid of miracles and spiritual gifts, is to believe a greater miracle than any recorded in the gospel history.” — Macknight. Received up into glory — When his ministry on earth was completed; when he had fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies, and answered the ancient types; taught the whole truth belonging to his new dispensation, and confirmed it by miracles; had set his followers a perfect example; expiated sin by dying, broke the power of death by his resurrection; giving his disciples clear proof thereof by frequently appearing to them, as well as by showing them that the ancient prophets had foretold these things; and had given them their commission and all needful instruction; — He, who had so long tabernacled in our frail nature in a state of poverty, reproach, and suffering, was received up into glory: that is, as the eternal Son of God, he resumed the glory he had with his Father before the world was; (John 17:5;) his human nature was transformed and glorified, and in his complete person, as God and man, he was placed at the head of the whole creation for the good of his church, (Ephesians 1:20-22,) invested with all authority and power in heaven and on earth, and constituted the final Judge of men and angels.

Ver. 15. Know how to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth; as the holy priests and levites conducted the worship of the ancient tabernacle, for the Hebrew word kahal, or congregation, agrees with the word church. The stones in the ancient temple are called “stones of fire,” Ezekiel 28:14; and such should ministers ever be in the sanctuary. So much the more so, seeing that the christian temple is the church of the living God; and her high and anointed priest is the Son of God himself. On this rock the church is built, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. All her doctrines must be permanent, as her foundations are sure.

The church is likewise called the pillar and ground of the truth; the pillar on which the truth is inscribed in legible characters, and the foundation on which it rests. “The church of the living God,” says Chrysostom, “is the pillar and stability of truth;” like the foundations of the earth it remains immoveable. This monument of truth, reared by the hand of God, exhibits to all future generations the doctrine and the discipline of the apostolic age, graven as in the rock for ever.

15. If I tarry long—So that the letter was a proviso against his failing to come soon, or ever. Behave thyself in the house of God—The word behave unfortunately suggests to the ordinary reader the idea of personal deportment; it really designates Timothy’s official management in governing the Church, in doctrine, ordinations, and administration, according to the directions thus far by Paul prescribed. House of God— Huther objects that if Timothy’s personal management is here intended, then the house of God must mean the Church of Ephesus. Undoubtedly it does. Timothy and the Church of Ephesus are solely here meant, and the whole epistle and all its contents are applicable to other cases only by fair inference. And so it is with a large share of the New Testament. The rule in the immediate case is placed on record for future application to future cases. Huther well notes that the term house of God is the original designation of the temple, Matthew 21:13: thence applied to the Church of the Old Testament, Hebrews 3:2-5; now to the Church of the New Testament in which God dwells, Hebrews 3:6; 1 Peter 4:17. Synonymous is Ephesians 2:22, habitation of God, and 1 Corinthians 3:16, and 2 Corinthians 6:16, temple of God. Church of the living God—Emphatic explanation of the previous phrase. Living God—A solemn and impressive epithet; used, perhaps, to distinguish Jehovah from the lifeless Diana of Ephesus. The pillar and ground of the truth—That St. Paul should, after having called the church a house, then make it but a pillar, has been decried by some critics as a very tasteless anti-climax. And to avoid this objection some very forced interpretations have been invented; as for instance, the making pillar apposition with thou, and identical with Timothy. But this criticism fails to appreciate St. Paul’s purpose in this rapid change of figure. The Church, as the sphere within which Timothy is to administer, is a house; but as a bulwark against the invasion of the errorism predicted in the next verses, it is a pillar and basis. The Church is hereby the pillar and ground, not merely of truth, nor of the truth, as the gospel generally, but of the truth beautifully summarized in the next verse, the truth of the incarnation, against which the errorists of 1 Timothy 4:1-3 are assailants.

V. 16. The mystery of godliness-Afterwards specified in six articles, which sum up the whole economy of Christ upon earth.

Is the pillar and ground-The foundation and support of all the truth taught in his church.

God was manifest in the flesh-In the form of a servant, the fashion of a man, for three and thirty years.

Justified by the Spirit-Publicly "declared to be the Son of God," by his resurrection from the dead.

Seen-Chiefly after his resurrection.

By angels-Both good and bad.

Preached among the Gentiles-This elegantly follows. The angels were the least, the Gentiles the farthest, removed from him; and the foundation both of this preaching and of their faith was laid before his assumption. Was believed on in the world-Opposed to heaven, into which he was taken up. The first point is, He was manifested in the flesh; the last, He was taken up into glory.

Verse 16. And, without controversy] kai omologoumenev. And confessedly, by general consent, it is a thing which no man can or ought to dispute; any phrase of this kind expresses the meaning of the original. God was manifest in the flesh] If we take in the whole of the 14th, 15th, and 16th verses, {1 Timothy 3:14-16} we may make a consistent translation in the following manner, and the whole paragraph will stand thus: Hoping to see thee shortly; but should I tarry long, these things I now write unto thee, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God. The mystery of godliness, which is the pillar and ground of the truth, is, without controversy, a great thing. And then he proceeds to show what this mystery of godliness is, which he sums up in the six following particulars: 1. God was manifest in the flesh; 2. Justified in the Spirit; 3. Seen of angels; 4. Preached unto the Gentiles; 5. Believed on in the world;

6. Received up into glory.

Though all this makes a very plain and consistent sense, yet we are perplexed by various readings on the first clause, qeoj efanerwqh en sarki, God was manifest in the flesh; for instead of qeov, God, several MSS., versions, and fathers, have ov or o, who or which. And this is generally referred to the word mystery; Great is the mystery of godliness, WHICH was manifest in the flesh.

The insertion of, qeov for ov, or ov for qeov, may be easily accounted for. In ancient times the Greek was all written in capitals, for the common Greek character is comparatively of modern date. In these early times words of frequent recurrence were written contractedly, thus: for pathr, - pr-È qeov, -qv-È kuriov, -kv-È ihsouv, -ihv-, &c. This is very frequent in the oldest MSS., and is continually recurring in the Codex Bexæ, and Codex Alexandrinus. If, therefore, the middle stroke of the q, in -qv-, happened to be faint, or obliterated, and the dash above not very apparent, both of which I have observed in ancient MSS., then -qv-, the contraction for qeov, God, might be mistaken for ov, which or who; and vice versa. This appears to have been the case in the Codex Alexandrinus, in this passage. To me there is ample reason to believe that the Codex Alexandrinus originally read -qv-, God, in this place; but the stroke becoming faint by length of time and injudicious handling, of which the MS. in this place has had a large proportion, some person has supplied the place, most reprehensibly, with a thick black line. This has destroyed the evidence of this MS., as now it can neither be quoted pRomans or con, though it is very likely that the person who supplied the ink line, did it from a conscientious conviction that -qv-was the original reading of this MS. I examined this MS. about thirty years ago, and this was the conviction that rested then on my mind. I have seen the MS. several times since, and have not changed my opinion. The enemies of the Deity of Christ have been at as much pains to destroy the evidence afforded by the common reading in support of this doctrine as if this text were the only one by which it can be supported; they must be aware that John 1:1, and John 1:14, proclaim the same truth; and that in those verses there is no authority to doubt the genuineness of the reading. We read, therefore, God was manifested in the flesh, and I cannot see what good sense can be taken out of, the GOSPEL was manifested in the flesh; or, the mystery of godliness was manifested in the flesh. After seriously considering this subject in every point of light, I hold with the reading in the commonly received text. Justified in the Spirit] By the miracles which were wrought by the apostle in and through the name of Jesus; as well as by his resurrection from the dead, through the energy of the Holy Ghost, by which he was proved to be the Son of God with power. Christ was, justified from all the calumnies of the Jews, who crucified him as an impostor. All these miracles, being wrought by the power of God, were a full proof of his innocence; for, had he not been what he professed to be, God would not have borne such a decisive testimony to his Messiahship.

Seen of angels] By aggeloi here, some understand not those celestial or infernal beings commonly called angels, but apostles and other persons who became messengers, to carry far and wide and attest the truth of his resurrection from the dead. If, however, we take the word seen, in its Jewish acceptation, for made known, we may here retain the term angels in its common acceptation; for it is certain that previously to our Lord’s ascension to heaven, these holy beings could have little knowledge of the necessity, reasons, and economy of human salvation; nor of the nature of Christ as God and man. St. Peter informs us that the angels desire to look into these things, 1 Peter 1:12. And St. Paul says the same thing, Ephesians 3:9,10, when speaking of the revelation of the Gospel plan of salvation, which he calls the mystery, which FROM the BEGINNING OF THE WORLD had been HID in God; and which was now published, that unto the PRINCIPALITIES and POWERS in heavenly places might be MADE KNOWN, by the Church, the manifold wisdom of God. Even those angelic beings have got an accession to their blessedness, by an increase of knowledge in the things which concern Jesus Christ, and the whole scheme of human salvation, through his incarnation, passion, death, resurrection, ascension, and glorification.

Preached unto the Gentiles] This was one grand part of the mystery which had been hidden in God, that the Gentiles should be made fellow heirs with the Jews, and be admitted into the kingdom of God. To the Gentiles, therefore, he was proclaimed as having pulled down the middle wall of partition between them and the Jews; that, through him, God had granted unto them repentance unto life; and that they also might have redemption in his blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Believed on in the world] Was received by mankind as the promised Messiah, the Anointed of God, and the only Saviour of fallen man. This is a most striking part of the mystery of godliness, that one who was crucified as a malefactor, and whose kingdom is not of this world, and whose doctrines are opposed to all the sinful propensities of the human heart, should, wherever his Gospel is preached, be acknowledged as the only Saviour of sinners, and the Judge of quick and dead! But some would restrict the meaning to the Jews, whose economy is often denominated hzh µlw[ olam hazzeh, this world, and which words both our Lord and the apostles often use in the same sense. Notwithstanding their prejudices, many even of the Jews believed on him; and a great company of the priests themselves, who were his crucifiers, became obedient to the faith. Acts 6:7. This was an additional proof of Christ’s innocence.

Received up into glory.] Even that human nature which he took of the Virgin Mary was raised, not only from the grave, but taken up into glory, and this in the most visible and palpable manner. This is a part of the mystery of godliness which, while we have every reasonable evidence to believe, we have not powers to comprehend. His reception into glory is of the utmost consequence to the Christian faith; as, in consequence, Jesus Christ in his human nature ever appears before the throne as our sacrifice and as our Mediator.

1. THE directions given in this chapter concerning bishops and deacons should be carefully weighed by every branch of the Christian Church. Not only the offices which are of Divine appointment, such as bishop, presbyter, and deacon, should be most religiously preserved in the Church; but, that they may have their full effect, the persons exercising them should be such as the apostle prescribes. Religion will surely suffer, when religious order is either contemned or neglected; and even the words of God will be treated with contempt, if ministered by unholy persons. Let order, therefore, be duly observed; and let those who fill these orders be not only wholly irreprehensible in their conduct, but also able ministers of the new covenant. A wicked man can neither have, nor communicate, authority to dispense heavenly mysteries; and a fool, or a blockhead, can never teach others the way of salvation. The highest abilities are not too great for a preacher of the Gospel; nor is it possible that he can have too much human learning. But all is nothing unless he can bring the grace and Spirit of God into all his ministrations; and these will never accompany him unless he live in the spirit of prayer and humility, fearing and loving God, and hating covetousness.

2. It is well known that almost every Church supposes itself to be THE true Church; and some consider themselves the only Church, and deny salvation to all who are not of their communion. To such a Church the two last verses in this chapter have been confidently self-applied, as being the pillar and ground of the truth-the possessor and dispenser of all the mysteries of God. But, supposing that the words in verse 1 Timothy 3:15 are spoken of the Church, it is the Christian Church, as defined under article the third above, that must be meant; and we may see from this the vanity of applying the words to any particular Church, as if it had all the truth without error, and none else could pretend either to truth or ecclesiastical authority. The Christian Church is a widely different thing; it is the whole system of Christianity as laid down in the New Testament; it is built on the great foundation of prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. It is composed of all who hold the doctrines of Christianity; who acknowledge Jesus as their Teacher, Redeemer, and only Advocate; of all who love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and their neighbour as themselves; or who are labouring after this conformity to the mind and command of their Creator. It is not known by any particular name; it is not distinguished by any particular form in its mode of worship; it is not exclusively here or there. It is the house of God-it is where God’s Spirit dwells, where his precepts are obeyed, and where pure, unadulterated love to God and man prevails. It is not in the creed or religious confessions of any denomination of Christians; for, as all who hold the truth and live a holy life, acknowledging Jesus alone as the head of the Church and Saviour of the world, are members of his mystical body; (and such may be found in all sects and parties;) so the Church of Christ may be said to be everywhere, and to be confined nowhere; i.e. in whatever place Christianity is credited and acknowledged. The wicked of all sorts, no matter what their profession may be, and all persecutors of religious people, who differ from them, are without the pale of this Church. Essentially must their spirit and conduct be changed, before the living Head of this spiritual building can acknowledge them as members of the heavenly family.

This text, therefore, will never apply to the Romish Church, till that Church be, both in doctrine and discipline, what the Christian Church should be. When it is the established religion of any country it gives no toleration to those who differ from it; and in Protestant countries its cry for toleration and secular authority is loud and long. I wish its partisans the full and free exercise of their religion, even to its superstitions and nonsense; but how can they expect toleration who give none? The Protestant Church tolerates it fully; it persecutes the Protestants to bonds and death when it has power; which then is the true Church of Christ?

I TIMOTHY

Verses 14-16. These things — Concerning the character of persons fit to be intrusted with the office of bishops or deacons; I write, hoping to come to thee shortly — It seems evident from hence, that Paul intended to have come back to Timothy at Ephesus in a little time, but was providentially called another way; but, as Doddridge observes, it can by no means be concluded from hence that Paul wrote this epistle to Timothy after his imprisonment at Rome. But if I tarry long — If I am hindered from coming, I give thee these instructions in the mean time; that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself — That is, how to discharge thy office properly; (which is the scope of the whole epistle;) in the house of God — In which thou hast the honour to bear so high an office, even in that house, or family, which is the church of the living God — Where he is worshipped in spirit and in truth by his believing people, manifests his special presence, and bestows peculiar blessings. The tabernacle first, and afterward the temple, obtained the name of the house or habitation of God, because there the symbol of the divine presence resided, 1 Samuel 1:7; Matthew 21:13; 23. 38. But under the gospel dispensation no material building or temple is called the house of God. That appellation is given only to the church of God, or to those societies of men who profess to believe in Christ, and join together in worshipping God according to the gospel form. The pillar and ground — Or support, as edraiwma signifies; of the truth — That is, of the whole system of gospel truth. “Some commentators think Timothy is called, in this passage, the pillar and support of the truth, for the same reason that Peter, James, and John are called pillars, (Galatians 2:9,) and that the particle wv, as, should be supplied before these words, and the clause translated thus: That thou mayest know how thou ought to behave thyself, as the pillar and support of the truth in the church, of the living God. But, not to insist on the harshness and irregularity of this construction, it must be observed, that seeing the interpretation of the passage hath been much contested, a word, which entirely changes the apostle’s meaning, should by no means be inserted in the text on mere conjecture, because in that manner the Scriptures may be made to speak any thing which bold critics please.” — Macknight. According to the common reading, the church of God is evidently here called the pillar and support of truth. And since the apostle must be understood as speaking, not of any particular falsely pretended, fallen, or corrupt church, but of the true, genuine, catholic church, or, as he expresses himself, the church of the living God, consisting of all the true churches of Christ throughout the world, and comprehending all true believers and lovers of God, all who hold the mystery of faith in a pure conscience; (verse 9;) this church, so constituted, may with perfect propriety be termed the pillar and support of the truth, as preserving, from age to age, the Holy Scriptures, which attest the truth, and as always believing and maintaining the great fundamental articles of the Christian faith. Bengelius, however, and many others, adopt a different reading, so far as to end the sentence with the church of the living God, and to begin the next with the words following, thus: The mystery of godliness is the pillar and ground of truth, and confessedly a great thing. And this reading is approved by Witsius, Whitby, Doddridge, Wesley, and many other eminent commentators. According to this interpretation, by the mystery of godliness we are to understand that wonderful and sublime doctrine which is revealed in the gospel, and immediately specified in six articles, which sum up the whole economy of Christ upon earth.

God was manifest in the flesh — Namely, the Word that was in the beginning with God, and was God, was incarnated, (John 1:14,) in the human nature of Jesus, conceived by a miracle in the womb of the virgin, and born of her, to whom, therefore, the divine names of God, Lord, and Jehovah, are repeatedly given in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments; as also the divine titles of the true God, 1 John 5:20; God over all blessed for ever, Romans 9:5; Jehovah of hosts, Isaiah 8:13, 14; Hosea 12:5; the Lord of glory, 1 Corinthians 2:8; the Holy One and Just, and the Prince of life, Acts 3:14, 15; the first and last, Revelation 1:17. To him divine attributes are ascribed; omnipresence, Matthew 18:20; omnipotence, Philippians 3:21; omniscience, Revelation 2:23. And divine works, namely, those of creation, John 1:3; preservation, Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3; redemption and salvation, passim, and judging all mankind at the last day, Matthew 25:31, 32, &c. And to him, as we have very often seen in the course of these notes, divine worship was frequently paid by those divinely-inspired persons, who could not be mistaken, particularly in a matter so momentous. He was manifested in the form of a servant, in the fashion of a man, for thirty-three years, his divine glory frequently breaking forth through the veil of his humanity, especially in the wisdom of his discourses, in the power of his miracles, in the holiness of his spotless life, and in his unspeakable and never-ceasing benevolence, beneficence, and other divine virtues, and in a peculiar manner when he was transfigured on the holy mount, 2 Peter 1:16: 17. Justified in the Spirit — The Lord Jesus appeared on earth in all the infirmity and frailty of mortal flesh, poor, despised, persecuted, and at last put to death as a blasphemer; yet he professed and maintained a high claim, the highest possible, even that of being the Messiah, the Son of God in a peculiar sense, and one with his Father, John 8:58, and 10:30, 36. Now how could he be justified in making this claim? He was justified in, or by, the Spirit — Namely, the Holy Ghost; 1st, That Spirit had moved holy men of old, (2 Peter 1:21,) to utter many predictions concerning him, and these were all exactly fulfilled in him. 2d, The Spirit descended upon him in a visible form at his baptism, and pointed him out as the person, whom the voice from heaven declared to be God’s beloved Son; and this Spirit he possessed without measure in its gifts and graces, as his doctrine, life, and miracles showed. 3d, By this Spirit he was raised from the dead, (1 Peter 3:18,) and thereby powerfully demonstrated to be the Son of God, Romans 1:4. 4th, He baptized his disciples with this Spirit, particularly on the day of pentecost, according to the prediction of the Baptist, (Matthew 3:11,) and his own often-repeated promise, and thereby convinced of sin those that did not believe in him, whether Jews or Gentiles, and showed them to be inexcusable in resisting such evidence; giving full proof, at the same time, that he himself was righteous, John 16:7-10. Seen of angels — However regardless men might be of this astonishing mystery, this manifestation of God in the flesh, the angels viewed it with deep and constant attention and great interest, as a most astonishing and instructive spectacle, more mysterious than any work of creation, or dispensation of providence, and giving them such views of their Maker’s justice and grace, and especially of his love, as they had not had before, 1 Peter 1:12. Accordingly they worshipped him at his entrance into the world, Hebrews 1:6; celebrated his birth, Luke 2:9-13; ministered to him in the desert, Matthew 4:11; and in his agonies, Luke 2:43; were present at his resurrection and ascension, Luke 24:4; Acts 1:10. Preached to the Gentiles — This also is termed a mystery Ephesians 3:4-6; Colossians 1:25; where see the notes. And if we consider how the Gentile world was sunk in idolatry and vice of every kind, and that whoever preached the gospel to them must testify against their abominable practices in strong terms, and therefore had every reason to expect the most violent opposition and ill usage, even to imprisonment, torture, and martyrdom, we must allow both that God manifested astonishing grace in sending his apostles to preach the gospel to them, and that these his messengers displayed amazing fortitude in going so willingly to preach it. Believed on in the world — This was a still greater mystery; 1st, That a poor, mean, and persecuted man, crucified as the vilest malefactor, should be believed on as the Messiah expected by the Jews and all nations — the Son of God — the Saviour of the world. 2d, That his gospel, so simple and unpromising in appearance, preached without wisdom of words, and by men who had not the advantage of wealth, power, or learning to recommend them, and whose doctrine condemned the reigning idolatry, should be believed in as a revelation from God: especially as, 3d, It could not prevail but it must evidently overthrow the heathen idolatry, established and revered for ages, and bring all the esteemed doctrines of the philosophers into discredit, and therefore would certainly be opposed and persecuted by the three classes of people of the greatest power, the priesthood, the philosophers, and the Roman emperor, with all subordinate kings and magistrates. 4th, Whoever believed it were under an indispensable obligation to confess it; and whoever did so was in danger of suffering the loss of all things, imprisonment, torture, and death. But notwithstanding all these obstacles in the way, Jesus and his gospel were believed on in the world. “This undeniable fact, of which the evidence remains at this day, is mentioned as a part of the mystery of godliness, because it is a strong proof of the truth of Christ’s resurrection, and of the spiritual gifts and miraculous powers by which the apostles and their assistants are said, in the Christian records, to have spread the gospel through the world. For, to believe that the multitudes, not only among the barbarous nations, but among the learned Greeks and Romans, who forsook their native religion and embraced the gospel, were persuaded to do so merely by the force of words, without the aid of miracles and spiritual gifts, is to believe a greater miracle than any recorded in the gospel history.” — Macknight. Received up into glory — When his ministry on earth was completed; when he had fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies, and answered the ancient types; taught the whole truth belonging to his new dispensation, and confirmed it by miracles; had set his followers a perfect example; expiated sin by dying, broke the power of death by his resurrection; giving his disciples clear proof thereof by frequently appearing to them, as well as by showing them that the ancient prophets had foretold these things; and had given them their commission and all needful instruction; — He, who had so long tabernacled in our frail nature in a state of poverty, reproach, and suffering, was received up into glory: that is, as the eternal Son of God, he resumed the glory he had with his Father before the world was; (John 17:5;) his human nature was transformed and glorified, and in his complete person, as God and man, he was placed at the head of the whole creation for the good of his church, (Ephesians 1:20-22,) invested with all authority and power in heaven and on earth, and constituted the final Judge of men and angels.

Ver. 16. Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness, that is, of the incarnation. God was manifest in the flesh. Qeov efanerwqh en sarki. So Chrysostom, and Theophylact read; also Erasmus, and Heinsius: ed. Cantab. 1640, p. 488. But the word, God, is wanting in the Greek of Syrus, and in the Latin. Of course, Griesbach omits it in his unitarian Greek testament. Erasmus complains of the Latin, Quod manifestum est in carne, because what follows refers to God; therefore this reading appears to him dry or insipid, and is equivalent to, What was manifested, what was justified, &c. The authority of Chrysostom for this reading far surpasses that of Syrus, in whose copy the divinity is understood as manifest in the flesh. This reading agrees with all the promises of the manifestation of Christ, or that the glory of the Lord should be revealed. Isaiah 40:4, 5. 45:8. 52:6. Haggai 2:7. Such are the ideas of the prophets, whose words were never understood in any other sense.

But the expression, “manifested in the flesh,” coincides especially with the promise that Christ was to be the woman’s Seed, Abraham’s heir, and of David’s stock, the root of Jesse, all corresponding with the christian scriptures. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law. Galatians 4:6. The Son of God was manifested. 1 John 3:8.

Dr. Doddridge on this text allows that the deity dwelt incarnate in our Lord’s humanity; and then handsomely adds, that he was “the divine person he professed to be.” Harmer, in his translation of the new testament, does the same. John 1:1. “And the Word was a divine person.” Angels also are divine persons, if we know the import of the word. But I would ask whether the apostles anywhere call angels God, and prefix, as in the Greek, an emphatic article before the word? I would ask whether they anywhere wish mercy and peace to them that call on the name of an angel, as they do to them that call on the name of the Lord Christ: and calling on the name of the Lord was the highest act of Hebrew devotion. Compare Joel 2:32. Acts 7:52. 9:14. 1 Corinthians 1:2. 2 Timothy 2:22. Harmer, Peirce, and Priestley were honest men; but while Doddridge affected orthodoxy, he did unspeakable mischief to the truth, which cannot admit of indecision and duplicity of expression. He makes a little amends, or at least a variation by an expression concerning the Holy One of God, in calling him “the illustrious person he professed to be!” Is it any wonder that the doctor’s students should afterwards prove to be nearly all Arians.

He was justified in the Spirit, was declared to be the Holy and the Just One, because he went to the Father. All his miracles, wrought by the power of the Holy Spirit, testified that he was the Christ of God. Seen of angels. The holy angels attended him through the whole of his ministry, and worshipped him as the only-begotten of the Father, for whom all things were created.

Preached unto the gentiles, and not to the jews only, for he was God’s salvation to the ends of the earth; and in him shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

Believed on in the world. The conversion of multitudes in all nations attested the efficacy of his sacrifice, and the power of his resurrection. This also is a part of the mystery of godliness, that the doctrine of the incarnation and sacrifice of Christ should be attended with such wide and powerful success.

Received up into glory, where the heavens were waiting to receive him, with the everlasting doors wide open, that the King of glory might enter in. There sits the Conqueror, at the right hand of the Majesty on high; there the Advocate with the Father, the Priest upon his throne, making intercession for all that come unto God by him, and offering up the prayers of the saints. Such is the consummation of the great mystery of godliness, filling heaven and earth with endless wonder and delight.

16. And for this truth a powerful pillar is required, for without controversy, and confessedly, it must be conceded, even to the errorists, that its mystery is great. But that it is in no discouraged or apologizing tone that the apostle admits this mystery is clear, not only from the six luminous points through which he next traces the history of the incarnation, but from the inverted form of the proposition, Great is the mystery of godliness; a proposition far sublimer than that which he once heard rung through Ephesus, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” Mystery—The same as mystery of the faith in verse 9. That mystery in a divine religion arising from its transcendent supernaturalism. Of that mystery the incarnation in all its scenes and stages is the centre and sum. As a mystery of truth it claims our faith and pervades our piety—the true rendering for godliness. And this mystery of godliness is the truth, of which the Church of Timothy, being truly its depositary and advocate, is the pillar and basis: its pillar, as a firm defender; its basis, as a true support. God—Of this word, celebrated among scholars, there are in the Greek manuscripts three various readings: God, which, and who. The reading God would render the passage a strong proof-text of the supreme divinity of Christ. The reading which would make it refer to mystery as embracing Christ. But the reading who, has now the, perhaps, unanimous concurrence of scholars. It, then, is a relative pronoun wholly without any grammatical antecedent. To this conclusion commentators like Huther, Alford, Ellicott, Wordsworth, and Fairbairn, as well as critics like Lachmann, Tisehendorf, and Tregelles, are forced.

Connected with this reading is a very interesting history of the text of the Alexandrine MS. in the British Museum. (See our vol. iii, p. 7.) In the Greek the difference between the readings would be very slight to the eye. God and who would be respectively -QC and OC; the former being distinguished by two horizontal marks; the one within the letter, and part of it; the other, a sign of contraction above the letter. In the Alexandrine Codex some person (probably Patrick Young, librarian to King Charles I.) had made both the horizontal marks with a fresh pen; for which the reason was assigned that they were both very dim. By this the value of the Codex seemed destroyed as evidence for all future examiners. Dr. Clarke inspected the text, and adopted the conclusion that the new marks were truly a renewing of the old, and that the true reading was God. But in our day the letters have been subjected to a powerful magnifying lens, by Alford, by Wordsworth, and by Ellicott. Their decision is, that what Young may have mistaken for a horizontal mark was the glimmer through the leaf of part of a letter on the opposite page. Huther would account for the relative without an antecedent by supposing that the six rhythmical clauses are so many lines of a primitive Christian hymn. But Alford happily suggests the parallelism of Colossians 1:27, “this mystery, among the Gentiles; which is Christ,” etc. In the present passage the apostle thinks of the mystery as being impersonated in Christ, and so adds his who. The passage, therefore, can no longer be quoted in proof of the absolute deity of Christ; but, rather, as may appear, for his pre-existence. Manifest in the flesh—So he was the eternal Word made flesh. John 1:14. And the same John pronounces him to be antichrist who denies that he has come in the flesh. 1 John 4:2. This was the collision of the apostles with the heretics of verse 4, “commanding to abstain from meats,” because they held matter to be intrinsically evil, and so denied that a perfect Christ could come in real flesh. Justified in the Spirit—The article to be omitted. Spirit—Christ’s highest nature antithetical to flesh, his lowest. Justified—As the perfect second Adam, as the first was condemned. Justified—As perfectly righteous personally; and as absolutely perfect in the discharge of his Messianic office. Negatively, he was pure from sin; positively, he fulfilled all righteousness. He was on earth the express image of God; showing how God would be and do if God were man. Seen of angels—The whole scene of his incarnate history was transacted beneath the view of the higher intelligences. See our note on 1 Corinthians 11:10. This does not necessarily mean, as Chrysostom, that he had, as second person of the Trinity, been unseen by angels. It only affirms that his incarnate history was under the angelic contemplation. Not merely by glimpses, as we see them in the gospels announcing his birth, strengthening him in the garden, opening his tomb, and attesting his resurrection; but, as we do not see them though they see us, by permanent perception. The three clauses thus far present the incarnate as an observed manifestation; the next three contemplate his Messianic success. Preached unto the Gentiles—Rather, unto the nations, irrespective of race. Such was his commission to his apostles. Matthew 28:19. And so Paul is a teacher of the Gentiles. Chap. 2:7. Believed on in the world—So that his coming is the world’s great event. It is made a different world by his entering it. Received up into glory—Rather, in glory. His ascension is fully expressed in received up; and at that point the in glory commences. It is the incarnate Christ in the grandeur of such a history that Timothy is to maintain in Ephesus. It is a summary of the evangelical history, proving Paul to be in truth a fifth evangelist, fully confirming the other four. But against Timothy, and the Church, and this Incarnate, a direful apostasy is soon to muster its ranks, as the verses following will declare.