Division 13 S Z.r? 3vb 
 Section 
 
 1 
 
\ 
 
 
 I-'- 
 
 
 
 '".A 
 
 
 f 
 
 L, 
 
 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2019 with funding from 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 https://archive.org/details/pastoralepistlesOOerdm 
 
^i)e ^asftoral Cptetlesf 
 
 ot Banl 
 
 AN EXPOSITIO 
 
 
 r^N OF f 
 
 BY>/ 
 
 CHARLES R. ERDMAN 
 
 Professor of Practical Theology 
 Princeton Theological Seminary 
 Princeton, New Jersey 
 
 Author of "The Gospel of John, an Exposition,” "The Gospel of 
 Matthew,” "The Gospel of Mark,” "The General Epistles,” 
 "The Acts,” "The Gospel of Luke,” "Coming to 
 the Communion,” " The Return of Christ,” 
 
 "Within the Gateways of the Far East,” etc. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 THE WESTMINSTER PRESS 
 1923 
 
 1924 1 
 
Copyright, 1923 
 by 
 
 F. M. Braselman 
 
 The Bible text printed in boldface is taken from the American Standard Edition of the 
 Revised Bible, copyright, 1901, by Thomas Kelson & Sons, and is used by permission. 
 
TO 
 
 THE GREATER GLORY 
 OF THE 
 
 CHIEF SHEPHERD 
 

CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Foreword. 7 
 
 Introduction. 9 
 
 The First Epistle of Paul to Timothy.15 
 
 The Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy.82 
 
 The Epistle of Paul to Titus.131 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 The vital interest of these vigorous little letters is con¬ 
 fined to no one class of readers. Their first appeal is to 
 Christian pastors, particularly to such as are serving in 
 foreign fields, for they were written to missionaries in 
 charge of infant churches in lands only partly evangelized; 
 to such they offer indispensable instruction for daily duties, 
 and constitute an inspired handbook of pastoral care. 
 They are likewise invaluable, however, to all persons who 
 wish to know the essential faith and order of the Christian 
 Church; and their supreme appeal is to such as seek en¬ 
 largement of life, and success in service. They bring us into 
 the living presence of heroes whose words and deeds have 
 become an ennobling influence in every part of the world. 
 They cannot be read without arousing a new desire to 
 “fight the good fight of the faith,” to be “rich in good 
 works,” to “lay hold on the life which is life indeed.” 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The New Testament letters which bear the names of 
 Timothy and of Titus have been styled, for at least a cen¬ 
 tury, “The Pastoral Epistles.” This title distinguishes 
 them from letters like James and First John, which were 
 written to Christians in general, from others like Philippians 
 and Colossians, which were addressed to certain churches, 
 or from strictly personal communications such as Philemon. 
 
 These letters were directed to men who were in charge of 
 Christian congregations; they contain many personal ele¬ 
 ments, yet they are essentially of an official character and 
 designed to guide pastors in their care of churches. They 
 are, therefore, properly called “The Pastoral Epistles,” 
 both because of their content and by way of eminence, 
 for there exist elsewhere no comparable guides in pastoral 
 service. 
 
 That these letters were written by Paul, in the last years 
 of his life, need not be doubted. It is true that in recent 
 years, for the first time, this authorship has been ques¬ 
 tioned. One reason assigned has been the difficulty of 
 finding a place for the writing of these letters in the life of 
 the apostle as it is recorded in The Acts. To find such a 
 place is more than difficult; it is impossible; for the historic 
 and personal references contained in these letters show that 
 they must have been composed in a period subsequent to 
 that treated by Luke. It will be remembered that his 
 narrative closes with mention of an imprisonment of two 
 years’ duration suffered by Paul in Rome. The Pastoral 
 Epistles seem to show that the great apostle subsequently 
 was released, as he had expected, and as his Roman judges 
 admitted he deserved; and that he continued his travels 
 and his care of the churches. Any other view is a mere sup¬ 
 position with little, if any, support. 
 
 The exact order of events cannot be determined defi¬ 
 nitely; but it appears that in resuming his missionary jour- 
 
 9 
 
10 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 neys Paul realized his expressed purpose of revisiting the 
 churches in Asia Minor, possibly even of journeying west¬ 
 ward to Spain; that he went to Crete, where he left Titus 
 to care for the infant church, that on his way to Macedonia 
 he commissioned Timothy to take charge of the Christian 
 community in Ephesus, that on his journey to Nicopolis 
 he wrote the instructions contained in the First Epistle to 
 Timothy and in the Epistle to Titus, that he was subse¬ 
 quently arrested and wrote the Second Epistle to Timothy 
 from his dungeon in Rome, where, soon after, he suffered 
 the martyrdom which this last letter plainly foretold. 
 
 As the title and occasion of these Pastoral Epistles 
 clearly indicate, their substance consists chiefly in direc¬ 
 tions to ministers relative to the organization and doctrine 
 and life of the Christian Church. These three themes are 
 more or less prominent in all of these letters; yet a different 
 subject appears to be emphasized specifically in each of the 
 three epistles, and in this exact order: in First Timothy, 
 Church organization holds the chief place; Second Timothy 
 lays the stress upon sound doctrine; Titus dwells upon the 
 promotion of consistent Christian life. This order is logi¬ 
 cal ; it forms a climax; it bears a message. Church govern¬ 
 ment is not an end in itself; it is of value only as it secures 
 sound doctrine; and doctrine is of value only as it issues in 
 life. 
 
 The form of Church government outlined in the Pastoral 
 Epistles is not described in detail; nor does its exact coun¬ 
 terpart seem to exist in any modern form of ecclesiastical 
 polity, whether Episcopal or Presbyterian or Congrega¬ 
 tional. Probably the nearest approach to it is found to-day 
 in certain mission fields where considerable elasticity and 
 liberty are allowed temporarily in adopting an accepted 
 form or organization to the needs of infant churches. 
 
 The main features of the system, however, are clearly 
 marked. Evidently the chief place was held by inspired 
 apostles who had been appointed by Christ and who were 
 the official witnesses of his resurrection. 
 
 Timothy and Titus appear to have served as delegates 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 11 
 
 of the Apostle Paul, and as commissioned to represent him 
 in the accomplishment of definite and temporary tasks. 
 They were not apostles, but rather pastors and spiritual 
 leaders, and their activities did not seem to interfere with 
 the self-government of the Christians among whom they 
 sojourned. 
 
 In each local church the duties of oversight and of 
 teaching devolved upon a group of officers variously de¬ 
 signated as “elders” or “presbyters” or “bishops” or 
 “overseers.” All of these were on a perfect equality, and 
 the amount of their salary was proportioned to their fidelity 
 and service. As to their choice and ordination, and disci¬ 
 pline, special instructions were given by Paul. 
 
 There existed also a secondary ministry, namely that of 
 the “deacon,” possibly also of the “deaconess”; but the 
 exact functions of these officers are not made clear, al¬ 
 though it is commonly supposed that they were entrusted 
 with the care of the poor and with the temporal affairs of 
 the Church. 
 
 The high personal qualifications requisite for both these 
 latter offices of “elder” and “deacon” are strongly em¬ 
 phasized by pointing out the grave responsibility of the 
 Christian Church as the appointed guardian of the sacred 
 deposit of revealed truth. 
 
 Thus in the Pastoral Epistles the maintenance of sound 
 doctrine is ever regarded as the chief purpose of Church 
 government. This doctrine appears to have been endan¬ 
 gered by prevalent forms of false teaching. The exact 
 character of these heresies cannot be determined. Evi¬ 
 dently they were Jewish in their origin, and consisted 
 largely in vain speculations upon Old Testament law and 
 history, in fruitless discussions of casuistry, and in Hebrew 
 myths and rabbinical legends. 
 
 Many readers believe that these false teachings included 
 certain elements of Oriental philosophy and mysticism 
 which developed into the Gnostic theories of the second 
 century. These theories taught that matter is essentially 
 evil; therefore, the world could not have been created by 
 God but was brought into being by one in a long series of 
 
12 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 spirits or aeons which emanated from him; a place among 
 these emanations was assigned to Christ, and a reference 
 to the series is supposed to be found in “the endless gene¬ 
 alogies” of which Paul speaks in these Epistles. These 
 theories taught further that as matter was evil, there was 
 no wrong in either the abuse or the indulgence of the body. 
 
 Now it is true that the errors which Timothy and .Titus 
 were to combat do include both false asceticism and law¬ 
 lessness ; it is further true that they may have had heathen 
 elements; yet their essential nature seems to have been 
 largely that of allegorical interpretations of the Old Testa¬ 
 ment Scriptures and speculation upon the requirements 
 of Jewish law. 
 
 Beyond all question the real peril in these teachings lay 
 in their lack of any practical moral purpose and in their 
 definite tendency to result either in bodily austerity or in 
 license. Such teachings Timothy and Titus were to oppose 
 by sound doctrine which would secure sane and holy living. 
 
 The supreme interest of the Pastoral Epistles, there¬ 
 fore, is moral, ethical, practical. Their great purpose is to 
 produce purity, godliness, holiness, service, love. The er¬ 
 rors they combat recur in every age. There is always dan¬ 
 ger that religion may degenerate into mere idle speculation, 
 into the vapors of theological and philosophical debate, or 
 on the other hand, into a set of external, arbitrary rules and 
 laws of conduct. 
 
 Real religion is a matter of motive, of conviction, of de¬ 
 termination, and of belief, and it cannot fail to express it¬ 
 self in kindly words and in worthy deeds. An intelligent 
 acceptance of the great Christian verities will inevitably 
 transform character and mold conduct. True faith in a 
 living Christ will surely issue in a life of worship and serv¬ 
 ice and love. 
 
 Herein, then, is the abiding value of the Pastoral Epis¬ 
 tles, namely, in their insistence upon consistent Christian 
 living, in their inspiration to holiness, in their guidance 
 toward God. 
 
 It is true that they possess unique interest for all who are 
 concerned in the vexed problems of church organization. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 13 
 
 Aside from the teaching of these little letters, those prob¬ 
 lems can never be solved. They are the inspired manual 
 for the order of the Christian Church. 
 
 It is also true that it is easy to underrate their impor¬ 
 tance in matters of Christian faith. They contain great 
 classic passages which like precious gems flash forth the 
 radiance of revealed truth. 
 
 However, their supreme glory lies in the fact that they 
 continually remind us that truth is in order to godliness, 
 that “the grace of God hath appeared bringing salvation 
 to all men, instructing us, to the intent that, denying un¬ 
 godliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and 
 righteously and godly in this present world; looking for the 
 blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God 
 and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that 
 he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto him¬ 
 self a people for his own possession, zealous of good works.” 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO 
 TIMOTHY 
 
 It is distinction and honor enough for Timothy that he 
 enjoyed the friendship and won the affection of the Apostle 
 Paul. The character of the great apostle rises above the 
 mists of the receding centuries in ever-increasing glory and 
 grandeur, and only a man of unusual qualities would have 
 been granted the privilege of being his chosen companion 
 and the recipient of his love. 
 
 The acquaintance between them was formed when Paul, 
 on his first missionary journey, visited Lystra where Tim¬ 
 othy was living. This city lay on the great Roman road 
 between Antioch and Derbe in what is now known as 
 southern Asia Minor. It was a Roman colony. The exact 
 race to which its population belonged is not definitely 
 known. The father of Timothy, however, is called “a 
 Greek,” and it is therefore probable that Timothy enjoyed 
 the culture which this term implies. What is more certain 
 and more important, he was brought up under strong re¬ 
 ligious influences; his mother, Eunice, like his grandmother 
 Lois, was a devout Jewess, and Timothy from his earliest 
 years was instructed carefully in the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 It was during the impressionable days of Timothy’s boy¬ 
 hood that Paul made that memorable visit to Lystra when 
 the populace first wished to worship the apostle and later 
 sought to take his life. Timothy seems to have listened 
 with eagerness to the good news preached by Paul. He saw 
 him heal a helpless cripple, heard him appeal to the great 
 crowds, looked on in horror when he was stoned and left as 
 dead, and in wonder when he rose and reentered the city. 
 The next day the apostle started on his journey; and in the 
 company of earnest converts whom he left behind him in 
 Lystra were Eunice and her son Timothy. 
 
 On his second missionary journey Paul revisited Lystra 
 and chose Timothy as a companion in travel. This choice 
 was determined in part by the high esteem in which the 
 
 15 
 
16 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY 
 
 young disciple was held by the Christians both of Lystra 
 and of Iconium, and further by certain prophetic utter¬ 
 ances which intimated the fitness of Timothy for his task. 
 Accordingly, to avoid the prejudice of Jews among whom 
 he might labor, Timothy submitted to the rite of circum¬ 
 cision, and then was ordained by the presbytery, or local 
 council of elders, and in this solemn service Paul himself 
 took part. Henceforth, until the death of the apostle, Tim¬ 
 othy was his associate, his helper, his loyal friend. 
 
 Together they crossed from Asia to Europe, carrying the 
 gospel message. Together they visited Philippi and Thes- 
 salonica and Berea. For a time Timothy was left behind, 
 but he rejoined Paul at Athens, from which city he carried 
 back a message to the Thessalonians and again met Paul at 
 Corinth. Subsequently they traveled eastward together 
 to complete the missionary journey at Jerusalem and 
 Antioch. 
 
 Again on his third great evangelistic tour Paul was ac¬ 
 companied by Timothy and with him spent more than two 
 years in Ephesus. During this time Timothy was sent on 
 a difficult mission to Corinth. Later, on his return, he 
 visited Greece with Paul and was one of the company who 
 went with him on his last journey to Jerusalem, where the 
 apostle was arrested. 
 
 During the years of imprisonment Timothy was found 
 with Paul in Rome, and after the release of the apostle he 
 journeyed with him to Asia and was left in charge of the 
 church at Ephesus. Not long after, he received from Paul 
 this First Epistle, which was designed to guide and assist 
 him in his work. Some time later he received the Second 
 Epistle, the content of which shows that Paul had been 
 imprisoned again, that he was soon to be executed, and that 
 he longed for the companionship and comfort of the young 
 friend whom in this his last letter he summoned to his side. 
 
 That mission to the Ephesian church was the most dif¬ 
 ficult task to which Timothy ever had been appointed. 
 The city was one of the most important capitals of the 
 ancient world; through it surged great tides of travel and 
 of commerce; in it were found influential representatives 
 of alLthe schools of Greek and Oriental philosophy, as well 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY 17 
 
 as all forms of pagan religion. In particular, it was the seat 
 of worship of the great goddess Diana whose temple, just 
 outside the city, attracted vast multitudes of pilgrims, and 
 brought to the city both fame and wealth. In addition to 
 these heathen influences, the Ephesian Christians were sub¬ 
 jected to strong currents of Jewish thought and teaching. 
 
 That Timothy, after long years of acquaintance with 
 Paul, was accounted capable of filling such a difficult post, 
 is an eloquent testimony to his ability and his worth. It is 
 evident that Timothy was timid and retiring, but this dis¬ 
 position was due in large measure to his youth and to his 
 lack of physical strength. It is a mistake to argue from the 
 serious exhortations found in Paul’s Epistles that Timothy 
 was lacking in vigor, in moral courage, or in spiritual power. 
 The deep affection felt for him by the apostle and expressed 
 repeatedly in these letters must argue for a character of 
 peculiar beauty and depth and charm. 
 
 Nevertheless, the work to which Timothy had been as¬ 
 signed was full of serious problems, and while Paul did not 
 hesitate to entrust him with the task, he did feel it wise to 
 write to him this letter of instruction which not only served 
 for the guidance of Timothy but has also been a handbook 
 for Christian pastors in all succeeding years. It was neces¬ 
 sary for Timothy to rebuke false teachers, to direct the 
 public worship, to aid in the choice of church officers, to 
 deal wisely with many different classes in the Christian 
 community, and to lead a life which would be an example 
 and an inspiration to all the flock. 
 
 The letter contains, first, directions intended for the en¬ 
 tire church, and then such as applied more directly to Tim¬ 
 othy himself. These injunctions are full of meaning and 
 of easy application to pastors and people of the present day. 
 The letter is so far informal as to admit no very exact anal¬ 
 ysis. It is possible, however, that the following outline may 
 be of service to readers as indicating the general contents 
 of the epistle: 
 
 1. Introductory. I Tim. 1: 1-20. 
 
 A. The Salutation. Ch. 1: 1, 2. 
 
 B. The Charge Concerning Doctrine. Ch. 1:3-20. 
 
 1. The Law and the Gospel. Ch. 1:3-11. 
 
18 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY 
 
 2. The Thanksgiving of Paul. Ch. 1: 12-17. 
 
 3. The Encouragement and Warning. Ch. 1:18-20. 
 
 II. General Instruction for the Church. Chs. 2: 1 to 3: 16. 
 
 A. Public Worship. Ch. 2. 
 
 1. The Scope of Public Prayer. Ch. 2: 1-7. 
 
 2. The Demeanor of Men and Women. Ch. 2: 8-15. 
 
 B. The Qualifications of Officers. Ch. 3. 
 
 1. Bishops. Ch. 3: 1-7. 
 
 2. Deacons. Ch. 3; 8-13. 
 
 3. The Importance of the Church. Ch. 3: 14-16. 
 
 III. Advice to Timothy. Chs. 4: 1 to 6: 2 
 
 A. Personal Life and Duties. Ch. 4. 
 
 1. Warning Against False Doctrine. Ch. 4; 1-5. 
 
 2. Exhortation to Godly Living. Ch. 4: 6-10. 
 
 3. Encouragement to Faithful Service. Ch. 4: 11-16. 
 
 B. Pastoral Oversight. Chs. 5: 1 to 6: 2. 
 
 1. The Old and the Young. Ch. 5: 1, 2 
 
 2. Widows. Ch. 5:3-16. 
 
 3. Elders. Ch. 5: 17-25 
 
 4. Slaves. Ch. 6: 1, 2. 
 
 IV. Conclusion. Ch. 6: 3-21. 
 
 A. False Teachers Denounced for Vanity and Avarice. 
 
 Ch. 6: 3-10. 
 
 B. Timothy Solemnly Exhorted. Ch. 6: 11-16. 
 
 C. Postscript. Ch. 6: 17-21. 
 
 1. An Admonition to the Rich. Ch. 6: 17-19. 
 
 2. Final Charge to Timothy. Ch. 6: 20, 21a. 
 
 3. Benediction. Ch. 6: 21b. 
 
I Tim. 1:1,2 
 
 THE SALUTATION 
 
 19 
 
 I. Introductory I Timothy 1: 1-20 
 
 A. THE SALUTATION Ch. 1: 1, 2 
 
 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the com¬ 
 mandment of God our Saviour, and Christ Jesus our hope; 
 2 unto Timothy, my true child in faith: Grace, mercy, peace, 
 from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 
 
 The first question which seriously concerns a Christian 
 pastor is that of his call to the sacred office. Mistaken 
 notions of this call are responsible for keeping many worthy 
 men out of the ministry, as well as for alluring some to at¬ 
 tempt its tasks who are unqualified and who could serve 
 God more effectively in other spheres. 
 
 This call consists in a conviction wrought in the heart of 
 a man by the Spirit of God that it is his duty and privilege 
 to devote himself to the preaching of the gospel and to the 
 care of souls. This conviction is usually produced by 
 natural means and can be vindicated on reasonable 
 grounds. In its essence it does not differ from the expe¬ 
 rience of any follower of Christ who, however humble and 
 obscure his task, if wholly submissive to the will of his 
 Master, may have the comfort and peace of believing that 
 he is in the place appointed him by the Lord. 
 
 Paul had no doubt as to his call. He believed that it 
 came to him directly from God; it had been voiced by 
 Ananias in the hour of his conversion; it had been con¬ 
 firmed by the church at Antioch when he was ordained to 
 his life work; and now on his last missionary journey as he 
 writes to Timothy, he declares himself to be “an apostle 
 of Christ Jesus” in obedience to “the commandment of 
 God.” 
 
 The very word “apostle” used by Paul to describe his 
 office embodies the idea of divine vocation, for it means 
 “one who has been sent.” It applies specifically to that 
 little group of men who were appointed by Christ in person 
 and who were given supernatural endowments as witnesses 
 of his resurrection and as the founders of his Church. 
 
20 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 1:1, 2 
 
 This term thus used by Paul in the opening sentences 
 of the epistle sounds out a note of authority, and intimates 
 that he is writing not a merely personal letter, but is sending 
 a message to the pastor and through him to the members 
 of the Ephesian church. Thus it became of priceless value 
 for the guidance not only of that congregation, but for 
 every church of Christ through the following years. 
 
 Paul calls himself ‘‘an apostle of Christ Jesus,” not of 
 ‘‘Jesus Christ.” This is according to his usual custom. 
 While both phrases denote the same Lord, the former fixes 
 the thought upon the glorified divine Being who had been 
 known among men as ‘‘Jesus”; the latter makes more 
 prominent the human aspect of the One who had become 
 ‘‘the Christ.” This was natural for Paul who had not 
 companied with the Master in the days of his flesh, who 
 after his conversion always regarded Christ as his ascended 
 and glorified Lord. 
 
 As Paul speaks of his divine call, he employs two phrases 
 not found previously in his epistles. He describes God as 
 ‘‘our Saviour,” and Jesus Christ as ‘‘our hope.” These are 
 beautiful expressions: one pointing backward to a great 
 redeeming work; one looking forward to the fulfillment of 
 glorious promises. In the Old Testament, God is repre¬ 
 sented as a ‘‘Saviour,” but the salvation secured by him is 
 usually that of deliverance from physical peril; but here the 
 fuller meaning is intended, as one who has set us free from 
 the guilt and power of sin. Christ is called elsewhere ‘‘our 
 peace” and ‘‘our life;” here he is represented as the ground 
 and object of that confident expectation of glory which is 
 to be ours when finally we are delivered from the very 
 presence of sin and of all its consequences, when Christ 
 himself again shall appear. 
 
 While Paul describes himself here with this note of au- - 
 thority, as he turns to address Timothy, he employs a tone 
 of true tenderness: ‘‘Unto Timothy, my true child in 
 faith.” He thus refers to the fact that years ago, when he 
 was on his First Missionary Journey, his preaching had re¬ 
 sulted in the rebirth] of Timothy, so that the latter was in 
 reality his spiritual child, and to the further facts that on 
 
I Tim. 1:1, 2 
 
 THE SALUTATION 
 
 21 
 
 his Second Missionary Journey Timothy had become his 
 companion and during all the long years had rendered serv¬ 
 ice to him 'Tike a son to a father;” and now, as fora time 
 they have been separated from each other, Paul sends this 
 tender greeting to one he truly loves. 
 
 Upon Timothy he invokes “grace, mercy, peace.” There 
 is something peculiar in this petition. In all previous let¬ 
 ters his salutations have included “grace and peace”; 
 never before has Paul added the word “mercy.” “Grace” 
 denotes the divine favor in its fullest form; it is the source 
 of all spiritual life and enjoyment. “Peace” is the experi¬ 
 ence of a soul in harmony with God, which knows that 
 tranquillity and blessedness God alone can give. “ Mercy,” 
 however, turns the thoughts specially upon the ill desert 
 of the recipient and upon the compassion of God. It is just 
 possible that it was used by the apostle as a delicate sug¬ 
 gestion to the young pastor of his continual need of hu¬ 
 mility. 
 
 Surely it is a message to all modern ministers. It reminds 
 them that while God will grant all needed grace and while 
 they can expect to enjoy a peace which passes all under¬ 
 standing, still in their most sacred offices they will fall so 
 far short of perfection and of the requirements of their 
 spiritual tasks that they continually will need to cast 
 themselves upon the mercy of God. 
 
 The close relation in which Paul here unites Christ Jesus 
 with “God the Father” as the source of these blessings, as 
 well as the previous phrases in this salutation, where 
 “Christ Jesus our hope” is united with “God our Sav¬ 
 iour” in the appointment of Paul to his service, indicates 
 almost beyond question that, to the mind of the apostle, 
 Christ Jesus is no less than divine. 
 
 This divine Saviour he calls “our Lord.” Only those 
 who really submit their wills to Christ as Master and Lord 
 will know what it is to find in him their “hope” and to re¬ 
 ceive from him “grace, mercy, peace.” 
 
22 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 1:3-11 
 
 B. THE CHARGE CONCERNING DOCTRINE, Ch. 1: 3-11. 
 
 1. The Law and the Gospel. Ch. 1: 3-11 
 
 3 As I exhorted thee to tarry at Ephesus, when I was going 
 into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge certain men not to 
 teach a different doctrine, 4 neither to give heed to fables 
 and endless genealogies, which minister questionings, 
 rather than a dispensation of God which is in faith ; so do I 
 now. 5 But the end of the charge is love out of a pure heart 
 and a good conscience and faith unfeigned: 6 from which 
 things some having swerved have turned aside unto vain 
 talking; 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, though they 
 understand neither what they say, nor whereof they con¬ 
 fidently aflarm. 8 But we know that the law is good, if a man 
 use it lawfully, 9 as knowing this, that law is not made for a 
 righteous man, but for the lawless and unruly, for the un¬ 
 godly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers 
 of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for 
 fornicators, for abusers of themselves with men, for men- 
 stealers, for liars, for false swearers, and if there be any 
 other thing contrary to the sound doctrine; 11 according to 
 the gospel of the glory of the blessed God, which was com¬ 
 mitted to my trust. 
 
 The second great question which concerns a minister of 
 Christ is that of the message he is to proclaim. Exhortations 
 to sound doctrine constitute the main burden of all the 
 Pastoral Letters taken as a whole, and the introductory 
 chapter of this First Epistle to Timothy has this as its 
 chief theme. 
 
 In its form, however, this chapter is a reminder to Tim¬ 
 othy of the charge given to him by the apostle when the 
 church at Ephesus was entrusted to his pastoral care. This 
 charge was to proclaim the pure gospel, vs. 3-11, as Paul 
 himself rejoiced to do, vs. 12-17, and to which service Tim¬ 
 othy had been ordained, vs. 18-20. 
 
 To the mind of Paul there was no uncertainty as to the 
 content of the Christian message. He designates it here 
 as “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God,” v. 11; he 
 
I Tim. 1:3-11 CONCERNING DOCTRINE 
 
 23 
 
 summarizes it in the familiar saying, “Christ Jesus came 
 into the world to save sinners,” v. 15. He declares its su¬ 
 preme end to be “ love ” for God and men. V. 5. 
 
 He therefore begins the letter by recalling to Timothy 
 the fact that he had been left in Ephesus for the very pur¬ 
 pose of restraining certain men who were teaching “a dif¬ 
 ferent doctrine” and not the divine message delivered by 
 Paul. This new teaching was described as heterodoxy, 
 “another teaching,” that is, divergent from the message of 
 the apostle, which he himself considered to be an inspired 
 standard and norm of truth. 
 
 This false teaching, however, did not consist so much in 
 such a denial of essential truths as we commonly designate 
 “heresy,” but rather in an attempt to add to the gospel 
 certain fruitless speculations upon the Jewish law, which 
 Paul defines as mere “fables” and “endless genealogies.” 
 By these terms he does not refer to the stories of the Old 
 Testament, but to the rabbinical subtleties and the alle¬ 
 gorical interpretations connected with the Hebrew Scrip¬ 
 tures, and particularly with their “pedigrees,” which re¬ 
 sulted only in controversy and not in what Paul describes 
 as the discharge of a stewardship entrusted by God in the 
 sphere of Christian faith. Paul seems to intimate that re¬ 
 ligious teachers to whom has been committed the divine 
 message should make available to others those blessings 
 of God which accompany Christian faith. The true pur¬ 
 pose of such teachers should be to secure, not the dissension 
 and bitterness which issue from the fruitless discussion of 
 subtle mysteries, but rather “love out of a pure heart and 
 a good conscience and faith unfeigned.” 
 
 Paul reminds Timothy that certain leaders in the Ephe¬ 
 sian church had been indifferent to these moral qualities, y 
 and had “turned aside unto vain talking,” desiring to be 
 known as “teachers of the law,” although, indeed, they 
 understood neither the force of their own assertions nor the 
 real nature of the themes they debated. Paul does not 
 deny that the law is admirable when used in accordance 
 with its right meaning and intention , and when one remem¬ 
 bers that it was “not made for a righteous man” who ful¬ 
 fills the will of God in free obedience, but that it was in- 
 
24 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 1:3-11 
 
 tended to rebuke and restrain those who are guilty of re¬ 
 bellion against God and of acts contrary to his Command¬ 
 ments and to that wholesome instruction contained in the 
 gospel. 
 
 Evidently, then, Paul does not regard the message which 
 a Christian minister is to deliver as a matter of human 
 speculation, but rather as a divine revelation. All teaching, 
 whether in reference to duty or doctrine, must be according 
 to that message of which Paul says that, as asacred treasure, 
 it “was committed to my trust.” This message may be 
 stated in different terms; it must be given ever wider ap¬ 
 plications; but in its essence it cannot be changed. It is 
 the good news “of the glory of the blessed God,” the glad 
 tidings of his redeeming grace in Christ Jesus. 
 
 Preaching which departs from this gospel is either un¬ 
 sound or unprofitable; sometimes it is both. Here the re¬ 
 buke is directed against vain and futile speculations, and 
 against certain refinements and interpretations which de¬ 
 rived from Scripture rules of living to be accepted in place 
 of that vital principle of love, which is in itself the fulfilling 
 of all law. 
 
 Ministers need to be reminded that the gospel is not good 
 advice, but good news. It is not a code of laws, nor is it 
 merely a system of ethics, but the proclamation of the re¬ 
 deeming work of God, our Saviour. It is a message of the 
 infinite grace offered in Christ who is “ our hope.” 
 
 There is surely a place and a time for preaching the law. 
 It must be set forth not as a matter of idle debate, nor to 
 arouse curious questions of casuistry, but in all its solemn 
 grandeur as a rebuke to sinners and as a means of awaken¬ 
 ing in human hearts the conscious need of salvation. 
 
 However, the supreme end of preaching ever will be so 
 to present the grace of God in Christ as to call forth a re¬ 
 sponsive love. Yet this love as described by Paul is no 
 mere passing emotion. Paul never identifies religion with 
 shallow sentiment. The love of which he speaks must have 
 its source and its spring “ in a pure heart,” that is, one free 
 from all unholy desires and evil motives; it must come from 
 “a good conscience,” that is one which has been delivered 
 from the sense of guilt, from the consciousness of weakness 
 
I Tim. 1:12-17 CON'CERNING DOCTRINE 
 
 25 
 
 and from all unwillingness to respond to the claims of 
 moral obligation; above all, it must have its origin in “ faith 
 unfeigned,” a faith which is no empty profession, no simple, 
 easy assent to formulas, but a vital principle uniting one 
 to a living Christ, and manifested in a life ” according to the 
 gospel of the glory of the blessed God.” 
 
 2. The Thanksgiving of Paul. Ch. 1: 12-17 
 
 12 I thank him that enabled me, even Christ Jesus our 
 Lord, for that he counted me faithful, appointing me to his 
 service; 13 though I was before a blasphemer, and a 
 persecutor, and injurious: howbeit I obtained mercy, because 
 I did it ignorantly in unbelief; 14 and the grace of our Lord 
 abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ 
 Jesus. 15 Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all accepta¬ 
 tion, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; 
 of whom I am chief: 16 howbeit for this cause I obtained 
 mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all 
 his longsuffering, for an ensample of them that should there¬ 
 after believe on him unto eternal life. 17 Now unto the King 
 eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and 
 glory for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 In addition to the conviction of a divine call and to the 
 possession of a divine message, a true minister of Christ 
 needs a personal experience of divine grace. This is the 
 most necessary of all his qualifications. No man ever had 
 that experience more truly or more deeply than did Paul 
 himself. When urging Timothy to be faithful to his task, 
 Paul turns aside to express the gratitude which he himself 
 feels for the divine grace which has called him into the min¬ 
 istry and equipped him for his work in spite of his con¬ 
 scious unworthiness and the grievousness of his previous 
 sin. This thanksgiving is not wholly a digression. It 
 really enforces his charge to Timothy, for Paul so voices 
 his gratitude as to give a true conception of the gospel 
 which Timothy has been charged to keep pure; and as Paul 
 expresses his own joy in being privileged to proclaim that 
 gospel, his words cannot fail to encourage the young pastor 
 who shares with him that privilege which is so unique. 
 
 Paul expresses his thanks to a living and divine Christ 
 who showed such infinite grace in counting him faithful and 
 
26 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 1:12-17 
 
 in appointing him to public service, even though previously 
 he had been *‘a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injuri¬ 
 ous.” Paul does not mean that he had blasphemed the 
 name of God, but the name of Christ, whom he now re¬ 
 gards as a divine Master. As a persecutor he had been 
 guilty of surpassing cruelty; he had been “injurious,” but 
 he here describes the malice and the deadly hate which he 
 had shown towards the followers of Christ. There had been 
 on his part a certain demonic fierceness. He had been 
 heartless in his treatment of women and of men. He had 
 shut them in prison. He had compelled them to blaspheme 
 the name they loved. As a ruler he had given his vote to 
 have them put to death with bitter torture. In spite of all 
 this, Christ had shown him mercy. Paul’s ignorance exten¬ 
 uated his fault. It did not excuse it, for his unbelief had been 
 stubborn and sinful. Nevertheless the grace of the Lord 
 had “abounded exceedingly” toward Paul, so that there 
 was awakened an answering faith and love toward Christ. 
 Thus Paul found the experience which he calls “salvation,” 
 and with this in mind he quotes a notable saying, which 
 seems to have been current among the early believers, 
 namely, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sin¬ 
 ners.” Such a salvation as Paul had found was the very 
 purpose and end of the incarnation, and the “saying” 
 which Paul uses in this connection forms a comprehensive 
 and noble summary of Christian truth. The connection of 
 the phrases is significant. Paul is returning thanks for being 
 entrusted with the gospel. In effect he is saying, “This is 
 the gospel.” In contrast with the false teachers and to en¬ 
 courage Timothy to fidelity, he sounds forth this mighty 
 message: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sin¬ 
 ners.” 
 
 He “came into the world.” This phrase speaks to us ma¬ 
 jestically of preexistence, of Deity, of incarnation, of vol-' 
 untary humility, of grace and mercy and love; for he came 
 into the world for the sake of “sinners” and to solve for 
 them the supreme problem of the world. He came “to 
 save sinners.” Therefore, salvation refers chiefly to sin, 
 and sin finds its essence in the selfishness of the human soul. 
 Christ came to bring salvation from the guilt and power 
 
I Tim. 1:18-20 CONCERNING DOCTRINE 
 
 27 
 
 and ultimately from the presence of sin. He came to bring 
 men to a life of service and of holiness and of fellowship 
 with God. 
 
 This salvation can be expressed, as Paul further declares, 
 by faith and love, and these will be preceded by true re¬ 
 pentance; for Paul immediately refers to himself as the 
 chief of sinners. As he recalls his life of cruelty and hatred 
 and ignorant unbelief, he regards himself as truly unworthy 
 of the salvation which has been granted to him, still more 
 of the high service to which he has been called as a minis¬ 
 ter of Christ. He states, however, the special reason which 
 Christ had in showing him such abounding grace. Itjvvas 
 that Paul might serve as a supreme example of one who had 
 been saved by grace. It was to give encouragement to all 
 other men that, in view of the “longsuffering” of Christ 
 shown toward Paul, they might expect similar mercy to be 
 granted to them, no matter how grievous their sin. Paul de¬ 
 clares that to them, if only they believe, will be granted 
 “eternal life,” by which phrase he does not mean to indicate 
 mere continuance of existence, but a kind and quality of 
 life, a life of moral excellence and of blessed fellowship with 
 God through Jesus Christ. 
 
 No wonder that Paul breaks out in a doxology of praise, 
 “ unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God.” 
 To him he ascribes “honor and glory for ever and ever.” 
 
 Probably no truer preparation can come to a minister of 
 Christ than that of realizing his own absolute unworthiness 
 and of believing that it is the infinite mercy of his Lord 
 which has called him from sin to holiness and from the ser¬ 
 vice of self to the ministry of the gospel. When one appre¬ 
 ciates this infinite grace, he knows something of the exul¬ 
 tation and the joy voiced by the apostle, and he is encour¬ 
 aged, as Timothy must have been when he read these 
 words, to share with Paul the blessed experience of pro¬ 
 claiming the message of divine grace. 
 
 3. The Encouragement and Warning. Ch. 1: 18-20 
 
 18 This charge I commit unto thee, my child Timothy, 
 according to the prophecies which led the way to thee, that 
 by them thou mayest war the good warfare; 19 holding faith 
 
28 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 1:18-20 
 
 and a good conscience; which some having thrust from them 
 made shipwreck concerning the faith: 20 of whom is Hy- 
 menaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered unto Satan, that 
 they might be taught not to blaspheme. 
 
 Even when convinced of a call to the ministry, instructed 
 in the gospel message, and conscious of a personal expe¬ 
 rience of divine grace, one is not justified in assuming the 
 sacred duties of a Christian pastor unless he has received 
 the public san£tion of the Church. Paul ever regarded the 
 organized society of believers as a divine institution, and 
 he defended its right to determine who could be enrolled 
 as its members and who could serve as its officers. 
 
 Thus when further enforcing his charge to Timothy and 
 urging him to guard the purity of the gospel, he reminds 
 him of the inspired predictions uttered at the time when 
 Timothy was ordained and encourages him in accord¬ 
 ance with these prophecies to “war the good warfare” 
 as a soldier of Christ, “holding faith and a good con¬ 
 science.” 
 
 Paul seems to indicate that ordination, as received by 
 Timothy at the hands of the presbytery, is an appointment 
 to office in recognition of appropriate gifts. Often a 
 Christian minister has been in the position of the young 
 pastor in charge of the church at Ephesus. In times of dis¬ 
 couragement, in the face of crushing obligations, when 
 fearful of failure and defeat, he has recalled the scene in 
 which he was set apart for his sacred task by the repre¬ 
 sentatives of the Church. He has remembered the favor¬ 
 able testimonies to his ability and promise which were pre¬ 
 sented by those who had investigated his qualifications 
 for the high task to which he was being appointed, and his 
 heart has been strengthened. Girded about as with armor 
 by those predictions of usefulness and by those cherished 
 expressions of confidence, he has gone forth with new cour¬ 
 age to serve faithfully as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 
 
 On the other hand, Timothy is warned of the peril which 
 attends false teaching and is assured that as the Church 
 has a right to determine what men it may properly ordain, 
 so, too, at times it is obliged to exclude from its ministry and 
 
I Tim. 1:18-20 CONCERNING DOCTRINE 
 
 29 
 
 even from its membership those who are corrupting its 
 pure doctrine. 
 
 Paul refers to Hymenaeus and Alexander. The latter is 
 difficult to identify; but Hymenaeus is probably the same 
 person who is mentioned in a later letter as one who was 
 denying a bodily resurrection, on the ground, probably, 
 that for a believer, resurrection, in a spiritual sense, has 
 taken place already. Whatever the exact nature of their 
 dangerous doctrine, Paul traces the cause of their defection 
 from the faith to a previous lapse in morals. They had 
 thrust away from themselves “a good conscience,” and 
 consequently had “made shipwreck concerning the faith.” 
 It is pitifully true, that to those who are guilty of moral 
 weakness and failure, things divine become less and less 
 real, and finally when one is blinded by sin, he no longer 
 sees with the eyes of faith the realities of the gospel. 
 
 In reference to these offenders, Paul declares that they 
 have been “delivered unto Satan, that they might be 
 taught not to blaspheme.” It is probable that by this ex¬ 
 pression “delivered unto Satan,” Paul means more than 
 excommunication. It surely means that; but it is also 
 possible that, in the early days of the Church, as with the 
 imposition of apostolic hands miraculous powers were con¬ 
 ferred, so excommunication from the Church in some cases 
 may have been followed by bodily suffering. However, 
 when a person was thus “remanded to Satan for punish¬ 
 ment,” it was with a view to his reformation and restora¬ 
 tion to Christian fellowship. Paul hopes that these men 
 will learn by their experience not to desecrate sacred things, 
 nor to use their influence in undermining the faith of be¬ 
 lievers. 
 
 These solemn words both of encouragement and of warn¬ 
 ing must impress upon all readers the sanctity of the 
 Chrisdan Church. They cannot fail to remind us of the 
 solemn responsibilities which rest upon its ordained offi¬ 
 cers, and also of the holy privileges which result from its 
 fellowship and its communion, and of the duty which rests 
 upon all to maintain its ordinances and to guard carefully 
 its sacred deposit of revealed truth. 
 
30 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 2:1-7 
 
 II. General Instruction for the Church. Chs. 2:1 
 
 TO 3: 16 
 
 A. PUBLIC WORSHIP. Ch. 2 
 
 1. The Scope of Public Prayer. Ch, 2: 1-7 
 
 I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, in¬ 
 tercessions, thanksgivings, be made for all men; 2 for kings 
 and all that are in high place ; that we may lead a tranquil and 
 quiet life in all godliness and gravity. 3 This is good and ac¬ 
 ceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 who would have all 
 men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For 
 there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, 
 himself man, Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself a ransom for 
 all; the testimony to be borne in its own times; 7 whereimto I 
 was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I speak the truth, I 
 lie not), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 
 
 When one has been called to the ministry, when he has 
 been instructed in Christian truth, when he has had an ex¬ 
 perience of divine grace, and when, finally, he has been or¬ 
 dained by the action of the Church, the first great task 
 which confronts him is that of conducting public worship. 
 It is a supremely difficult task. It demands tact and wis¬ 
 dom and discipline, and it taxes all the powers of the mind 
 and heart. Upon its rightful discharge depends in large 
 measure the spiritual life and development of Christian 
 congregations and the value of their appointed services. 
 
 Thus after his introductory chapter, when Paul comes to 
 the very substance of his letter and gives to the young pas¬ 
 tor instructions intended for the guidance of the whole 
 church, he first lays stress upon the conduct of public wor¬ 
 ship. In tfie days of the apostles this worship was very 
 simple in character, yet it was composed of those elements 
 which are essential in most church services to-day, namely, 
 prayer and praise and preaching. Paul insists that the 
 scope of this prayer and thanksgiving should be universal, 
 and that the task of public preaching should be entrusted 
 not to women but to men. 
 
I Tim. 2:1-7 
 
 PUBLIC WORSHIP 
 
 31 
 
 “ I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, 
 prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, be made for all men.” 
 It is possible to trace shades of distinction between ‘^sup¬ 
 plications,” “prayers,” and “intercessions”; but Paul is not 
 so much concerned with these as with impressing the fact 
 that this prayer and praise should have in view all classes 
 and conditions of men. There is always danger that pub¬ 
 lic intercession and thanksgiving may voice the desires and 
 aspirations of only fractions of worshiping congregations, 
 or may confine the sympathy and thought of these wor¬ 
 shipers to narrow and bounded horizons. 
 
 For one class in particular prayer is urged: “for kings 
 and all that are in high place.” Paul might have gone on 
 to specify other classes, but he not unnaturally gives as ex¬ 
 amples of proper objects for universal prayer those men 
 upon whom rest the greatest obligations and those who 
 possess the widest power for evil and for good. It is the 
 more significant that these com.mands were written in the 
 days when Nero was emperor. If Paul commanded Chris¬ 
 tians to pray for such a “king,” surely no man is to be re¬ 
 garded as beyond the realm in which Christian interces¬ 
 sors must feel a sympathy and concern. 
 
 Nor are we to forget that these prayers are to be united 
 with “thanksgivings.” These, in public worship, are most 
 commonly expressed in the form of hymns, and it is evi¬ 
 dent from history that the singing of such hymns formed 
 an element in public worship from the earliest days of the 
 Church. Our hymns well may be prayers in their sub¬ 
 stance, and our prayers properly may be voiced in the form 
 of hymns. 
 
 The reason which Paul assigns for such universal prayer 
 and praTse^ay appear to savor somewhat of selfishness, 
 “that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness 
 and gravity.” However, Paul does not mean that this is 
 the only end which such prayers have in view. There are 
 many other results which follow; and in any case, it is 
 right for us to desire such tranquillity and peace as may 
 worthily express, in life and conduct, our Christian faith, 
 such tranquillity and peace as are only possible when pub¬ 
 lic order is being properly preserved. 
 
32 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 2:1-7 
 
 While these desirable results may be expected by Chris¬ 
 tians, yet the whole exhortation indicates that prayer on 
 their part is to be unselfish. It is never to be limited to per¬ 
 sonal interests; it reaches out in its sympathies toward the 
 whole human race. 
 
 Of such universal scope in prayer Paul declares, “This 
 is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;’’ 
 for hi^love and sympathy are boundless. He “would have 
 all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the 
 truth.’’ All are included in his love. He is the Saviour of 
 all, even though his salvation can be experienced only by 
 those who accept his gracious provision. Salvation is not 
 limited by his willingness, but by the reluctance and un¬ 
 belief of men. This salvation is inseparable from faith, and 
 therefore from “knowledge,” as Paul indicates that “to 
 be saved” involves coming “to the knowledge of the 
 truth.” 
 
 Paul further demonstrates that all men come within the 
 saving purpose of God, and therefore should be remem¬ 
 bered in prayer by the people of God, as he makes the great 
 affirmation that “there is one God.” The unity of the di¬ 
 vine Being indicates that God stands in the same relation 
 to all his creatures and that all mankind must be embraced 
 alike in his mercy and his love. 
 
 This same truth is still further established by a refer¬ 
 ence to the incarnation, as Paul states that there is “one 
 mediator also between God and men.” There is no place, 
 then, for the mediation of saints or of angels. Jesus Christ is 
 the one and only Being through whom we have access to 
 God. He truly represents God to man and man to God; and 
 as there is only one such Being, and as he is “himself man” 
 while at the same time God, the way to God must be open 
 to all men alike. 
 
 A third proof that God would have all to be saved, and 
 therefore that prayers are to be made for all, is found in the 
 universal purpose of the atonement of Christ, “who gave 
 himself a ransom for all.” This voluntary giving of him¬ 
 self in life, and particularly in his atoning death, provided 
 for all a way of deliverance from the guilt and power of sin; 
 and inasmuch as this redeeming act was in place of all and 
 
I Tim. 2:8-15 
 
 PUBLIC WORSHIP 
 
 33 
 
 in behalf of all, therefore salvation must have been divinely 
 intended for all. 
 
 It is the duty of the Church to proclaim to all this uni¬ 
 versal salvation and to further this work by continual pe¬ 
 tition, Now that redemption has been accomplished, and, 
 until all have heard its message, these are the “times” for 
 this “testimony to be borne.” 
 
 The ministry of Paul is a final argument for the univer¬ 
 sality of this salvation, for he has been sent to aid in this 
 universal proclamation which was enjoined upon the 
 Church. His ministry is not self-chosen. He has been ap¬ 
 pointed by God as a herald of the gospel; this is his work. 
 He is an “apostle,” that is, he is “one sent” on a divine 
 mission, as he solemnly affirms. He has been delegated 
 particularly as “a teacher of the Gentiles,” that is, he is to 
 bring the good news to the most distant and godless nations 
 with a view to reaching the peoples of the whole world. 
 He is to instruct these Gentiles as to the nature of saving 
 truth and of the Christian faith. All this shows how wide 
 is the gracious purpose of God. Shall the sympathies of his 
 people be more restricted? Shall they not also yearn for the 
 salvation of all men? And shall they not express this yearn¬ 
 ing in ceaseless sympathetic prayer? 
 
 It is true that public prayer for all men seems to us at 
 times vague and unmeaning and unreal. Let us remember, 
 however, that while unlimited in its scope, such prayer may 
 be specific in its content. Paul by way of illustration des¬ 
 ignates “kings” and those in authority. He might have 
 continued indefinitely his enumeration of the different 
 classes who are the proper objects of petition. Even the 
 prayer of public assemblies may be specific and pointed; 
 and it never should be narrowed by selfishness or circum¬ 
 scribed by provincialism, or enfeebled by unbelief. Prayer 
 always involves mysteries, but we should be encouraged to 
 believe that its exercise is related to the salvation of human 
 souls, and is therefore “good and acceptable in the sight of 
 God.” 
 
 2. The Demeanor of Men and Women. Ch. 2: 8-15 
 
 8 I desire therefore that the men pray in every place, lifting 
 up holy hands, without wrath and disputing. 9 In like manner, 
 
34 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 2:8-lS 
 
 that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shame- 
 fastness and sobriety; not with braided hair, and gold or pearls 
 or costly raiment; 10 but (which becometh women professing 
 godliness) through good works. 11 Let a woman learn in quiet¬ 
 ness with all subjection. 12 But I permit not a woman to teach, 
 nor to have dominion over a man, but to be in quietness. 13 
 For Adam was first formed, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not 
 beguiled, but the woman being beguiled hath fallen into trans¬ 
 gression; 15 but she shall be saved through her child-bearing, 
 if they continue in faith and love and sanctification with so¬ 
 briety. 
 
 In giving instruction to Timothy as to the public wor¬ 
 ship of the Christian congregation, Paul first emphasized 
 the universal scope of public prayer; he now dwells upon 
 the spirit in which this prayer is to be offered and upon the 
 behavior of the worshipers. 
 
 It will be remembered that in apostolic days the manner 
 of public worship was extremely informal. No one order 
 of service was followed and the duty of offering prayer or 
 of giving spiritual instruction was limited to no one person. 
 Here, however, Paul enjoins that men rather than women 
 should lead in these acts of worship, “in every place” where 
 congregations of believers assemble for public religious 
 services. “I desire therefore that the men pray in every 
 place.” The force of the command, however, is not upon 
 this restriction as to the persons who are to lead in worship 
 but upon the spirit in which they are to pray. They are to 
 do so “lifting up holy hands, without wrath and disput¬ 
 ing.” The lifting up of the hands was a familiar and sig¬ 
 nificant attitude in prayer; but Paul here is not insisting 
 upon a posture of the body, but upon a state of the heart. 
 Those who pray are to be free from sin and yielded to the 
 service of God. Furthermore, they are to pray “without 
 wrath and disputing.” Some prefer to render these words, 
 “without anger and doubting,” and it is true that the con¬ 
 ditions of effectual prayer are love toward man and faith 
 in God. 
 
 However, as the apostle has in mind the whole period of 
 public worship, he may refer to the acrimonious disputes 
 and heated discussions which sometimes arose in those as^ 
 
I Tim. 2:8-15 
 
 PUBLIC WORSHIP 
 
 35 
 
 semblies of the primitive Church. Those who were to offer 
 prayer must be free from “wrath and disputing.” Chris¬ 
 tians can worship God acceptably only in an atmosphere 
 of love. 
 
 As to the women worshipers, they are to conduct them¬ 
 selves with becoming modesty. They are not to attract 
 attention to themselves by excessive ornaments and by 
 striking costume, but rather to be conspicuous for their 
 goodness and grace. In describing this conduct Paul uses 
 one word which since the days of Wyclif has been rendered 
 into English by “shamefastness,” and has been misunder¬ 
 stood usually because of the corrupt spelling “shamefaced¬ 
 ness.” The word has nothing to do with the “face” nor 
 with “shame” as we use that word. “Shamefastness” is 
 that conduct which is “held fast” by proper self-respect. 
 It denotes demeanor which is restrained by true womanly 
 reserve. 
 
 Accordingly, Paul advises, “Let a woman learn in quiet¬ 
 ness with all subjection. But I permit not a woman to 
 teach, nor to have dominion over a man, but to be in quiet¬ 
 ness.” The reference here is probably to “wives” in con¬ 
 trast to “husbands” and specifically to their conduct in 
 public worship. Paul elsewhere indicates how helpful wo¬ 
 men may be as teachers, particularly in guiding the young. 
 II Tim. 3: 14; Titus 2: 3. Then, too, later on in this 
 epistle, Paul indicates that certain specified officers are ex¬ 
 pected to exercise the function of teaching the congrega¬ 
 tion. He here is urging women to be careful neither to in¬ 
 terrupt the worship nor to assume the place of public offi¬ 
 cial teachers in the Christian Church. 
 
 Paul gives two reasons for insisting upon choosing a man 
 rather than his wife for this position of public teacher. The 
 first is taken from the story of the creation: “Adam was 
 first formed, then Eve.” This to the apostle’s mind inti¬ 
 mated a certain independence or priority or responsibility 
 which places upon a husband some duties from which a 
 wife should be relieved. 
 
 The second is from the story of the Eall: “Adam was not 
 beguiled, but the woman being beguiled hath fallen into 
 transgression.” Adam acted in accordance with his own 
 
36 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 2:8-15 
 
 choice and with his eyes open. On the other hand, Eve was 
 deceived. In his act Adam was by no means morally supe¬ 
 rior to his wife, even if it is granted that his mind was more 
 clear; and all that Paul intimates is that a woman, because 
 of her greater trustfulness, is more easily misled into false 
 beliefs and so is less qualified to be a public teacher of 
 Christian truth. Paul does not mean that a woman is men¬ 
 tally or morally or spiritually inferior to a man. Both men 
 and women have the defects of their qualities. However, 
 both are on the same plane before God and are heirs to his 
 eternal salvation. Therefore, Paul adds that, while a wo¬ 
 man need not assume the official duties of a Christian pas¬ 
 tor, nevertheless she may enjoy all the benefits of salva¬ 
 tion, in her own more natural sphere of wife and mother, 
 if she continues to be faithful and loving and holy, as well 
 as modest and womanly in her demeanor. 
 
 It is not difficult to understand why such statements by 
 Paul have made him unpopular with certain elect ladies of 
 the present day. Yet it should be said in defense of the 
 apostle that his writings, taken as a whole, have done more 
 for the emancipation of woman, more to secure her social 
 and civil and political rights, than the productions of any 
 other author who could be named; and her highest happi¬ 
 ness is enjoyed only in those countries where the Christian 
 principles set forth by the great apostle are accepted and 
 obeyed. If he does, however, in passages like this, distin¬ 
 guish between the respective duties of men and of women, 
 it appears to many that this distinction “lies deep down in 
 the facts of human nature as originally constituted.” Let 
 us be on our guard against drawing wide inferences from 
 this particular chapter, even as to these respective duties. 
 Paul is giving advice to Timothy as to the conduct of pub¬ 
 lic worship, and his main message is this, namely, that 
 whatever the parts assigned to men or to women, the Chris¬ 
 tian pastor should secure for the congregation a dignified, a 
 reverent, a spiritual service, with a view to the edification 
 of believers, and the salvation of all men. 
 
I Tim. 3:1-7 QUALIFICATIONS OF OFFICERS 
 
 37 
 
 B. THE QUALIFICATIONS OF OFFICERS. Ch. 3 
 1. Bishops. Ch. 3: 1-7 
 
 1 Faithful is the saying, If a man seeketh the office of a 
 bishop, he desireth a good work. 2 The bishop therefore must 
 be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, 
 sober-minded, orderly, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 
 3 no brawler, no striker; but gentle, not contentious, no lover 
 of money; 4 one that ruleth well his own house, having his 
 children in subjection with all gravity; 5 (but if a man 
 knoweth not how to rule his own house, how shall he take 
 care of the church of God?) 6 not a novice, lest being puffed 
 up he fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover he 
 must have good testimony from them that are without; 
 lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 
 
 Every Christian pastor is personally concerned with the 
 matter of church organization. Whatever theory he may 
 hold as to ecclesiastical polity, whether Episcopal, Presby¬ 
 terian, or Congregational, he should seek to know the 
 teachings of the New Testament and the practice of the 
 primitive Church in matters of government and order. 
 Such knowledge will give him assurance of the divine sanc¬ 
 tion for the high office he holds; it will prevent him from 
 becoming autocratic as he understands the duties of his 
 fellow officers, and his right relation to the congregation; 
 it will protect him from being crushed by burdens he should 
 share with others, and it will prepare him to plan and con¬ 
 duct with more of wisdom and efficiency the work en¬ 
 trusted to his care. 
 
 Therefore, when Paul has instructed Timothy as to the 
 public worship of the church, he turns next to give direc¬ 
 tions as to its permanent organization. He specifies two 
 classes of officers, “bishops” and “deacons,” but makes 
 here no mention of their respective duties or of their re¬ 
 spective numbers. The whole stress is laid upon their qual¬ 
 ifications. 
 
 With reference to the “bishop,” however, it is stated 
 
38 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 3:1-7 
 
 that he shall have ability as a public teacher, and the very 
 word indicates further that he is to exercise oversight of the 
 congregation. The term used is episkopos” or “over¬ 
 seer,” and seems to refer to the same officer elsewhere de¬ 
 signated as “presbyter” or “elder.” The office itself was 
 derived possibly from the usage among the Jews whose 
 synagogues were ruled by groups of “elders.” 
 
 The duties of the “bishop” in the early Church, there¬ 
 fore, appear to have been those of spiritual oversight and 
 of religious instruction. The nearest parallel in modern 
 days to this office is that of the “pastor,” and it is for this 
 reason that these letters of the Apostle Paul are known as 
 his Pastoral Epistles. 
 
 In referring to the office of bishop, Paul begins by quot¬ 
 ing with approval a popular saying to the effect that “if a 
 man seeketh the office of a bishop, he desireth a good 
 work.” The currency of this saying indicates the high es¬ 
 timate in which the office was held. The saying indicates 
 that the position was one not merely of honor or of ease, 
 but involved “work” of the highest and most beneficent 
 sort. It further intimates that there were those who really 
 aspired to the office. Such aspirations Paul does not re¬ 
 buke. They need to be aroused and encouraged in the 
 present day. When one receives a “call to the ministry,” 
 this desire is simply deepened into a sacred conviction of 
 duty. 
 
 For this important office Paul enumerates certain strict 
 requirements. It is to be noted that most of these are 
 moral and only one is mental. They should not be regarded 
 as ground for undervaluing the intellectual qualifications 
 for the Christian ministry, but they do call attention to the 
 equally important spiritual qualifications which are de¬ 
 manded, and they indicate that an attractiye p^sonality. 
 is^he supreme condition of successln ministerial service. 
 
 Paul, first of all, demands that an “overseer” of the 
 Christian congregation must be “without reproach,” not 
 a man who merely has committed no offense, but one 
 whose conduct gives “no handle” which could be laid hold 
 of to injure his reputation. 
 
I Tim. 3:1-7 QUALIFICATIONS OF OFFICERS 
 
 39 
 
 He must be “the husband of one wife,” that is, a faith¬ 
 ful husband, or literally, “a man of one woman.” The 
 meaning of this phrase has been the occasion of endless 
 controversy and is open to a number of interpretations. 
 11 can hardly refer to polygamy, for this would be tolerated 
 in no Church member, and need not be specified in the case 
 of an officer; nor does it refer, probably, to remarriage after 
 the death of a wife, as Paul encouraged second marriages, 
 and a man whose first wife was dead might be in all reality, 
 after a second marriage, “the husband of one wife.” It is 
 quite possible that the reference is to remarriage after di¬ 
 vorce. Such an act might involve misunderstandings and 
 suspicions from which a church officer should be free. 
 
 A Christian pastor must be “temperate.” This no more 
 means to encourage moderate drinkers than the former 
 phrase was intended to disqualify bachelors. It rather de¬ 
 notes sobriety in judgment as well as in act. 
 
 It is somewhat akin to the following term, “sober- 
 minded.” This last does not denote solemnity, nor gloom, 
 although the appearance of some ministers may have 
 given support to such a conclusion. It indicates serious¬ 
 ness, but more exactly, “self-control,” and that perfect 
 self-m^astery which keeps one from the indulgence of the 
 sensualist and from the austerity of the ascetic. 
 
 “Orderly” is an adjective which with propriety might 
 be pressed upon the notice of many ministers, in their do¬ 
 mestic habits as well as in their pastoral activities. The 
 term refers, however, not to the physical but to the moral 
 sphere, and denotes that outward conduct which is ex¬ 
 hibited by one who is “temperate” and “sober-minded”; 
 it denotes the demeanor of one who is not disorderly, who 
 is “well-behaved,” who is neither immodest nor shy, who 
 is indeed a “true Christian gentleman.” 
 
 The next virtue which Paul enjoins is that of “hospital¬ 
 ity.” In his day this was possibly even more important 
 than it is in our day. Then proper places of public enter¬ 
 tainment were difficult to find. Ancient inns were usually 
 of ill repute. Then, too, Christian travelers were often poor, 
 and hesitated to place themselves under obligation to un¬ 
 believers. Thus, by entertaining such travelers, particu- 
 
40 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 3:1-7 
 
 larly such as were missionaries of the cross, the influence 
 of the Church could be extended, while at the same time 
 the spirit of love and sympathy could be shown. While the 
 modern minister need not impoverish himself or overburden 
 his wife, he will find many ways of manifesting this grace, 
 or at least of revealing the generous spirit which is its soul. 
 How perfectly this grace is being shown by workers on the 
 “foreign field,” only those who have accepted its bounties 
 can testify. Paul was the first great missionary and his 
 words are understood best by those who have sojourned in 
 mission lands. 
 
 The next requirement was one which in the days of the 
 apostle began to assume a new seriousness. It was from 
 some points of view the most important of all the quali¬ 
 fications he suggested. The Church was being deprived by 
 death of the personal followers of Christ and of the in¬ 
 spired prophets who had first proclaimed the gospel and 
 instructed believers in Christian truth. It was necessary, 
 therefore, that those officers who were given oversight of 
 the larger congregations should be “apt to teach.” Only 
 thus, by placing upon these leaders responsibility for doc¬ 
 trine as well as for discipline, could the rising heresies be 
 rebuked and the purity of the gospel preserved. Nor is 
 there less need to-day for a teaching ministry. One who 
 presides over the spiritual interests of a modern congrega¬ 
 tion should possess not merely the moral and spiritual 
 qualifications Paul here enumerates, but should also be 
 “apt to teach.” A shepherd must feed his flock; a pastor 
 must break the bread of life for his people and must rightly 
 divide the word of truth. Ability for this sacred task is the 
 supreme requirement for those to whom is entrusted the 
 care of souls. 
 
 Referring again to moral equipment, one who is a 
 “brawler” or “quarrelsome over wine,” or violent in a simi¬ 
 lar manner for any other cause, is disqualified for the minis¬ 
 try as is one who is a “striker,” that is one who in anger 
 resorts to physical force. A Christian minister must be “gen¬ 
 tle,” sweetly reasonable, eager to show forbearance and 
 kindly consideration; he must not be “contentious” or 
 
1 Tim.3:l-7 QUALIFICATIONS OF OFFICERS 
 
 41 
 
 quarrelsome, even as to matters of doctrine; nor must he be 
 a “lover of money,” a passion from which, in spite of their 
 poverty, even Christian ministers are not always free. He 
 must be “one that ruleth well his own house,” able to keep 
 his children submissive and respectful, for this will prove 
 his capacity for government, obviously a necessary quali¬ 
 fication for a pastor; “but if a man knoweth not how to 
 rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church,” 
 which is in reality the household of God. 
 
 Moreover, one is not to be appointed to the oversight of 
 a congregation who is himself a recent convert to Chris¬ 
 tianity, “a novice.” Such appointment might be necessary 
 in a very young church like that in Crete. Therefore, Paul 
 does not include this warning in writing to Titus; but at 
 Ephesus, where twelve or more years had passed since the 
 church was formed, it would be possible to secure as officers 
 men of some maturity and spiritual experience. The par¬ 
 ticular peril of a young convert who is placed in a position 
 of prominence and power is that of pride. As Paul inti¬ 
 mates, a “ novice ” might be puffed up with self-conceit and 
 vanity, and so fall under the doom incurred by the Devil, 
 and ceasing to be a minister of light, he might become an 
 instrument of darkness. 
 
 On the other hand, and as a last requirement, a person 
 chosen as pastor “must have good testimony from them 
 that are without”; that is, he must not only be favorably 
 known by his fellow Christians, but he must also have a 
 good reputation in the community where the church is lo¬ 
 cated ; otherwise his ill repute may bring obloquy upon the 
 church, and the very fact that he is under suspicion and re¬ 
 proach may prove a temptation to recklessness and sin; 
 this latter seems to be what Paul means by “the snare of 
 the devil.” 
 
 Such then is the list of qualifications for the pastoral 
 office enumerated by the Apostle Paul. It is not to be re¬ 
 garded as exhaustive. These qualifications demand moral 
 rather than mental excellence. They refer more to temper¬ 
 ament, tact, experience, and reputation than to intellectual 
 gifts. The latter certainly are not to be regarded as un¬ 
 necessary. Nevertheless, however exacting the conditions 
 
42 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 3:8-13 
 
 which the church at any time may impose upon candidates 
 for the ministry, none will be more essential, more supreme¬ 
 ly important than that of a high Christian character. 
 
 2. Deacons. Ch. 3: 8-13 
 
 8 Deacons in like manner must be grave, not double- 
 tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; 
 
 9 holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. 
 
 10 And let these also first be proved; then let them serve as 
 deacons, if they be blameless. 11 Women in like manner 
 must be grave, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all 
 things. 12 Let deacons be husbands of one wife, ruling 
 their children and their own houses well. 13 For they that 
 have served well as deacons gain to themselves a good 
 standing, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ 
 Jesus. 
 
 After specifying the qualifications of pastors, or “bish¬ 
 ops,” or “overseers,” Paul passes to the enumeration of 
 somewhat similar requirem.ents for those who are to be 
 chosen as “deacons.” The exact nature of this secondary 
 office in the Christian church is nowhere set forth in the 
 New Testament. The origin of the office and its main 
 functions are supposed to be described in the sixth chapter 
 of The Acts, when seven men were chosen and ordained to 
 administer the finances and, more specifically, to care for 
 the poor of the congregation. These functions are, there¬ 
 fore, quite commonly assigned to this office, although in 
 this matter there is no wide agreement among the different 
 denominations of Christians. Some churches assign to 
 deacons spiritual duties, while by others the office is wholly 
 disregarded. 
 
 It would seem to be wise, and in accordance with the 
 practice of the primitive Church, to have in every congre¬ 
 gation the service of such authorized officers to aid the pas¬ 
 tor in his work and to relieve him from the burden of many 
 administrative duties, particularly in the care of the more 
 needy members of the flock. 
 
 The first qualification for such officers is that they should 
 be “dignified,” or as the word is also translated, “grave,” 
 
ITim. 3:8-13 QUALIFICATIONS OF OFFICERS 
 
 43 
 
 for even though their position is subordinate to that of the 
 pastor, it is a place of honor, and their work is done in the 
 name of the whole congregation of believers. Therefore, 
 their tasks, however humble, are to be performed seriously 
 and with becoming gravity. 
 
 Deacons are not to be ‘'double-tongued,” that is, saying 
 one thing to one person and another to another, and so 
 giving rise to misunderstandings and discord and forfeit¬ 
 ing the confidence of the churches they serve. 
 
 They are not to be addicted to wine, nor “greedy of filthy 
 lucre.” This last phrase of the apostle does not indicate 
 that he regarded money as evil in itself. Possibly the trans¬ 
 lation “base gain” may be preferable. The reference here 
 is not merely to the love of money, but to the dishonest 
 acquiring of money; and the warning here is particularly 
 pertinent for deacons, as they are expected to administer 
 the finances of the church and to be the custodians of its 
 trust funds. Judas was not the last treasurer who betrayed 
 his Lord for a few pieces of silver. 
 
 On the contrary, the deacons were to be men whose con¬ 
 sciences were clear, or as Paul says, men “holding the mys¬ 
 tery of the faith in a pure conscience.” A “mystery,” in 
 the New Testament, means a truth once concealed but now 
 revealed. “The mystery of the faith,” therefore, means 
 the knowledge of Christ and his salvation. This was to be 
 regarded as a sacred treasure and those who held it in their 
 hearts were to keep their consciences clean from any stain. 
 
 Nor were these deacons to be appointed hastily to their 
 office. They should “first be proved,” or tested, either by 
 a period of probationary training, or by a careful exam¬ 
 ination of their past, and only when found “blameless,” or 
 free from accusation, could they be allowed to serve the 
 church. 
 
 Their “wives,” too, must meet the same requirements 
 as themselves, for they would often find it necessary to share 
 with their husbands the performance of delicate duties. 
 It is true, many feel that the reference here is not to the 
 “wives” of deacons, as indicated by the Authorized Ver¬ 
 sion, but to an order of “deaconesses.” The Revised Ver- 
 
44 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 3:8-13 
 
 sion leaves the matter undetermined by translating the 
 word, “women.” It is surely safe to say that the require¬ 
 ments here mentioned are such as may well be regarded 
 proper for all women workers in the church, whether dea¬ 
 conesses, the wives of deacons, or other women performing 
 similar tasks. 
 
 These women must be “grave,” that is, comporting 
 themselves with the same dignity as the deacons. They 
 must not be “slanderers,” for it would be very easy to make 
 a wrong use of the many details which they would learn in 
 reference to the private lives of the members of the con¬ 
 gregation and of their families. 
 
 They must be “temperate” and sane, and not governed 
 merely by their emotions. They must be absolutely re¬ 
 liable and trustworthy and “faithful in all things.” 
 
 This reference is made to the wives of deacons, probably 
 because Paul is proceeding to refer, as a climax of his re¬ 
 quirements, to the family life of these church officers. They 
 are to be “faithful husbands, ”or, as the words are commonly 
 rendered, “husbands of one wife”; they are to be men who 
 are “ruling their children and their own houses well.” 
 
 These latter requirements are made also of bishops, but 
 on different grounds. Bishops are thus to show their qual¬ 
 ification to be spiritual rulers and “overseers”; deacons are 
 thus to win and preserve the esteem and confidence of their 
 fellow Christians. 
 
 Therefore Paul concludes by saying that those who meet 
 these requirements, both as to private life and as to official 
 conduct, ‘ ‘gain to themselves a good standing, and great 
 boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.” The exact 
 meaning of these phrases is not quite clear; but from what 
 he has just written, he seems to indicate that such fidelity 
 in office, however humble may be the duties of the deacons, 
 will not fail to secure for them high respect and enviable 
 positions of wholesome influence in the church. They will 
 experience also great “boldness,” or “assurance,” in their 
 service, not only because they consciously enjoy the confi¬ 
 dence of the congregations they serve, but because of 
 their continual faith in Christ Jesus, their Master and 
 their Lord. 
 
I Tim. 3:14-16 QUALIFICATIONS OF OFFICERS 
 
 45 
 
 3. The Importance of the Church. Ch. 3: 14-16 
 
 14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee 
 shortly; 15 but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how 
 men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which 
 is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the 
 truth. 16 And without controversy great is the mystery of 
 godliness; 
 
 He who was manifested in the flesh. 
 
 Justified in the spirit. 
 
 Seen of angels. 
 
 Preached among the nations. 
 
 Believed on in the world. 
 
 Received up in glory. 
 
 Nothing can be of more encouragement to a Christian 
 minister in his important work, nothing can make him 
 more careful in conducting the public service of the con¬ 
 gregation and in securing the appointment of duly qualified 
 officers, than his realizing the divine origin of the Church 
 and its sacred function of supporting and transmitting the 
 glorious truth which centers in Christ. 
 
 Thus, when Paul has given Timothy instructions as to 
 public worship and as to the qualification of church officers, 
 he explains his motives in writing and here emphasizes his 
 exhortations by reminding Timothy of the important place 
 which the Church occupies, and by giving a brief popular 
 summary of its most important teachings. 
 
 He states that he expects soon to visit Timothy in Ephe- 
 sus: “These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto 
 thee shortly.” He realizes, however, the uncertainty of 
 his plans and the possibility of delay, “but if I tarry 
 long, that thou mayest know how men ought to behave 
 themselves in the house of God.” He feels, therefore, that 
 in any case these general directions will indicate how men 
 and women, pastors and deacons, are to conduct them¬ 
 selves in the Church,which is in reality the family or house¬ 
 hold of God, which as such should be carefully directed. 
 He further designates this divine household as “the church 
 of the living God,” indicating that it is not a human but 
 a divine institution, and that it must be ordered according 
 to the will of God. 
 
46 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 3:14-16 
 
 Further still, Paul designates the Church as “the pillar 
 and ground of the truth,” for just as a pillar supports a roof, 
 or as a foundation sustains a building, so this society of 
 believers has been divinely appointed to sustain and up¬ 
 hold in the world the truth which God has revealed to man. 
 
 That the whole system of Christian belief is thus a divine 
 revelation and not a human invention, Paul indicates by 
 describing it as “the mystery of godliness.” According to 
 New Testament usage, a “mystery’\does not signify some¬ 
 thing concealed or baffling or obscure, but it denotes a se¬ 
 cret which has been made known; thus the counsels of 
 grace for the salvation of mankind have been revealed 
 through Jesus Christ and are summarized in the gospel, 
 which is called thus specifically “the mystery of godli¬ 
 ness,” for its great purpose and its result is to produce god¬ 
 liness, or to persuade and enable men to do the holy will of 
 God. 
 
 This mystery Paul declares to be “great,” not in its ob¬ 
 scurity, but in its importance; it is weighty, significant, 
 sublime. 11 is such ‘ ‘ without controversy, ’’ that is, beyond 
 all question or doubt. That its greatness is admitted and 
 acknowledged, Paul intimates as he summarizes its main 
 contents by quoting a primitive creed or confession of the 
 Christian faith. Because of the balanced and rhythmic 
 structure of the phrases, many believe it to be the frag¬ 
 ment of an ancient hymn. Therefore it is printed in the 
 Revised Version as a stanza of six lines, or as two stanzas 
 with three lines each. Possibly better still, it may be re¬ 
 garded as composed of. three couplets, for this grouping of 
 the phrases brings out more forcibly the contrasts of the 
 successive lines: 
 
 “Manifested in the flesh. 
 
 Justified in the spirit, 
 
 “Seen of angels. 
 
 Preached among the nations, 
 
 “Believed on in the world, 
 
 Received up in glory.” 
 
I Tim. 3:14-16 QUALIFICATIONS OF OFFICERS 
 
 47 
 
 The Person who is the subject of each one of these state¬ 
 ments is Jesus Christ our Lord. It matters little whether 
 the first line reads “God was manifested in the flesh,” or 
 “ He who was manifested in the flesh.” The latter is proba¬ 
 bly more correct, but in either case we have a clear and 
 definite staternent of the Deity and incarnation of Christ. 
 It would be impossible to make such a statement of a being 
 who was only man. “ He who was manifested in the flesh ” 
 previously must have been higher and greater than man. 
 This statement of Paul is like that of John: “The Word 
 became flesh.” He who had existed from all eternity in the 
 form of God was manifest in mortal flesh as the God Man, 
 Christ Jesus. 
 
 He was “justified in the spirit”; here the first contrast is 
 drawn: it is between “flesh” and “spirit,” but these words 
 are not used in the sense in which they are commonly 
 placed in contrast by the apostle when he wishes to dis¬ 
 tinguish that which is evil in Christians from that which is 
 good. By “spirit” he here means the inmost being of 
 Christ— his heart, his soul, the spring of all his motives 
 and desires; even in this realm he was shown or declared or 
 proved to be just and sinless and faultless and perfect. 
 The first line speaks of his real humanity, the second of his 
 complete holiness; the former of his actual manhood, the 
 latter of his spiritual perfection. 
 
 He was “seen of angels.” They sang at his birth, they 
 ministered in the hour of his temptation. They attended 
 his teaching in Galilee. They strengthened him in his 
 agony. They guarded his tomb. They proclaimed his res¬ 
 urrection. They witnessed his ascension and predicted his 
 return. Of their presence he was ever conscious, and now 
 in countless array they stand about his throne. 
 
 In contrast with the angels, Gentiles are next mentioned. 
 He was “preached among the nations.” Pie has not been 
 seen by them, but what may be even better, he has been so 
 proclaimed that by accepting the message, men of all na¬ 
 tions are being transformed into his likeness and fitted for 
 his service. 
 
 Thus the last couplet contains this contrast: “Believed 
 on in the world, received up in glory.” There is, then, a 
 
48 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 3:14-16 
 
 sphere brighter and better than the world in which we live. 
 Into it our Lord has entered, and to it he will bring all who 
 accept the salvation he has prepared. He calls them to be 
 heirs of his glory. 
 
 Whether these six lines were borrowed from an early 
 Christian hymn, or whether they here were first written 
 by Paul, they contain such a majesty of meaning that the 
 apostle is justified in declaring that such realities are of su¬ 
 preme importance, and that the Church which maintains 
 and supports them is “ the pillar and ground of the truth ”; 
 and it is not strange that he was deeply concerned about 
 the public services and the appointed officers of this divine 
 society which was ordained to convey these glad tidings to 
 all the world. 
 
I Tim. 4; 1-5 
 
 LIFE AND DUTIES 
 
 49 
 
 III. Advice to Timothy Chs. 4:1 to 6:2 
 
 A. PERSONAL LIFE AND DUTIES. Ch. 4 
 1. Warning Against False Doctrine. Ch. 4: 1-5 
 
 1 But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall 
 fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and 
 doctrines of demons, 2 through the hypocrisy of men that 
 speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot 
 iron; 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from 
 meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving 
 by them that believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature 
 of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received 
 with thanksgiving: 5 for it is sanctified through the word of 
 God and prayer. 
 
 No pastor can hope to escape the pain of having false 
 teachers appear among the members of his flock. Against 
 this peril, however, he must be on his guard. At times it 
 will be necessary to discipline even church officers whose 
 influence is subversive of the peace and faith of the con¬ 
 gregation, as Paul indicates in the next chapter. Here, 
 however, in the chapter now opening, he dwells upon the 
 first and fundamental duty of a pastor, under such cir¬ 
 cumstances, which is to counteract such evil influences by 
 right living and sound teaching. 
 
 Such personal advice to Timothy seems to form the 
 substance of the remaining portion of the letter and to con¬ 
 stitute its second great division. The line of separation 
 between the parts, however, is not to be emphasized too 
 strongly. As a matter of fact, the course of thought is 
 rather continuous. Paul has just given a summary of Chris¬ 
 tian doctrine in order to emphasize the need of properly 
 organizing the Church which is '‘the pillar and ground of 
 the truth.” He now turns to warn Timothy of the attacks 
 certain to be made upon the faith of which the Church is 
 the appointed support and stay. The very fact of such 
 false teaching further emphasizes what Paul has said in the 
 
50 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 4: 1-5 
 
 first part of the letter in reference to the necessity of allow¬ 
 ing only properly qualified persons to conduct the public 
 worship and to serve as officers of the Church. 
 
 Paul here declares that in spite of all that the Church 
 can do to guard the sacred deposit of truth, defections from 
 the faith would surely take place. Such had been predicted 
 already and with great definiteness by men who were di¬ 
 vinely inspired: “But the Spirit saith expressly, that in 
 later times some shall fall away from the faith.” Years 
 before, when bidding farewell to the Ephesian elders, the 
 apostle himself had said, “ I know that after my departing 
 grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the 
 flock; and from among your own selves shall men arise, 
 speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after 
 them.” Acts 20:29,30. So, too, in an earlier letter to the 
 Thessalonians, he pictured a great apostasy which is im¬ 
 mediately to precede the close of the present age. To 
 these and to similar predictions of other apostles and of our 
 Lord himself, Paul may here refer. However, it is evident 
 that he is not fixing his thought upon a distant future. 
 Although he speaks of “later times,” he proceeds to warn 
 Timothy against perils already prevalent. Indeed, the 
 frequent references in the New Testament to the dark days 
 of doubt and apostasy which precede the return of Christ 
 are so phrased that the reader may be warned by them of 
 dangers from which no age is free, and may be on guard 
 against forms of unbelief and against corrupting practices 
 which are prevalent in every age. 
 
 The cause of the falling away which Paul here describes 
 is tracedTy him to the influence of “seducing spirits and 
 doctrines of demons.” Thus, in contrast to the Spirit of 
 truth, he intimates that the false teachings prevalent in 
 the Ephesian church are to be ultimately attributed to the 
 Spirit of error. These doctrines taught by demons, how¬ 
 ever, are voiced through human agents, by men who in 
 “ hypocrisy” and under the guise of being spiritual leaders, 
 “ speak lies.” They have grown so accustomed to sin, they 
 are such willing and obedient servants of error, as to be 
 “branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron.” 
 
 The two particular errors of which they are guiltyi as 
 
I Tim. 4: 1-5 
 
 LIFE AND DUTIES 
 
 51 
 
 specified here, are their “forbidding to marry, and com¬ 
 manding to abstain from meats.’’ The heresy, therefore, 
 was in the nature of a false asceticism. It taught self- 
 denial for its own sake, rather than with a view to accom¬ 
 plishing some great good. 
 
 Paul often is supposed to have opposed marriage. This 
 passage, on the contrary, shows that, to his mind, com¬ 
 pulsory celibacy, as a rule of life, was of demonic rather 
 than of divine origin. Paul advised marriage; he regarded 
 it as a divine ordinance. Even for a “bishop’’ or a “dea¬ 
 con’’ he declared it to be proper for one to be “ the husband 
 of one wife,’’ and to be the head of a godly household. It 
 is true, however, that Paul elsewhere admits that excep¬ 
 tions to this rule might be allowable and even admirable. 
 He declares that occasionally one may have the gift of 
 celibacy and that, at a special crisis in history and to per¬ 
 form a particular task for the Church, he might remain un¬ 
 married. He never indicates, however, that this is a ground 
 for praise or an indication of any higher degree of spiritual 
 life. The latter was the essence of the false teaching which 
 he here rebukes. This departure from the faith was led by 
 men who regarded marriage as degrading and who forbade 
 those to marry who wished to be well-pleasing to God and 
 to attain the greater heights of spiritual experience. 
 
 Thus, too, in reference to the command given by the 
 false teachers, “to abstain from meats,’’ that is, from food 
 of various kinds, and not simply from flesh; although it is 
 true that the latter was usually prohibited by the leaders 
 of the early heretical sects. Paul, of course, agreed with his 
 Master in admitting that fasting might be a means to a 
 worthy end. It might be endured for the sake of physical 
 health, or to express real sorrow, or to share food with 
 others, or to make some spiritual exercise more profitable; 
 but what he condemned was the teaching that fasting is in 
 itself praiseworthy or that refraining from certain kinds of 
 proper foods is meritorious or wins the special favor of God. 
 On the contrary, he insists that food has been “created to 
 be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and 
 know the truth’’; not by these alone, but by these as well 
 as by others. Paul would teach that the fact of being a 
 
52 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 4:6-10 
 
 Christian does not place one in a different position from 
 his fellow men in relation to the things which God has 
 created for the good of the human race. Those who “be¬ 
 lieve and know the truth” are not for that reason to ab¬ 
 stain from any kind of healthful food; as Paul adds, “for 
 every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be re¬ 
 jected, if it be received with thanksgiving.” The word 
 “creature” might suggest only animate things, but the 
 reference here is more wide and refers to everything made 
 by God. Everything is “good” and is to be gratefully ac¬ 
 cepted and used in accordance with its divine intent and 
 purpose. To make distinctions between various kinds of 
 wholesome food on the ground that the use of one and the 
 rejection of the other is a sign or means of spiritual grace, 
 is not only absurd; it is also the mark and proof of a spu¬ 
 rious asceticism, even of demonic unbelief. 
 
 True faith accepts all the beneficent creations of God 
 with thanksgiving, and even the most common food “is 
 sanctified through the word of God and prayer.” This 
 latter seems rightly to refer to the custom of thanksgiving 
 before meals. This was in accordance with the example of 
 our Lord, who blessed the bread before he broke it. It 
 seems to have been a universal custom in the early Church. 
 These thanksgivings included phrases from Scripture and 
 these are possibly indicated by “the word of God.” They 
 were solemn but joyful recognitions of the goodness and 
 mercy and grace of God. They designated him as the 
 Giver of every good and perfect gift. No food of which 
 believers partake in such a spirit of gratitude can be re¬ 
 garded as evil; even the simplest repast thus becomes al¬ 
 most a sacrament. 
 
 2. Exhortation to Godly Living. Ch. 4: 6-10 
 
 6 If thou put the brethren in mind of these things, thou 
 shalt be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished in the 
 words of the faith, and of the good doctrine which thou hast 
 followed until now: 7 but refuse profane and old wives’ 
 fables. And exercise thyself unto godliness: 8 for bodily 
 exercise is profitable for a little; but godliness is profitable 
 for all things, having promise of the life which now is, and 
 of that which is to come. 9 Faithful is the saying and worthy 
 
I Tim. 4: 6-10 
 
 LIFE AND DUTIES 
 
 53 
 
 of all acceptation. 10 For to this end we labor and strive, 
 because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the 
 Saviour of all men, specially of them that believe. 
 
 In the previous paragraph Paul has been warning Tim¬ 
 othy against the false doctrines which taught that Chris¬ 
 tians would attain to higher holiness if they refrained from 
 marriage and abstained from certain foods. Timothy is 
 here exhorted to withstand such false doctrine by sound 
 teaching and by personal piety. In his teaching he is to 
 present to his fellow Christians the truths which Paul has 
 just set forth as to the proper use of food, which God had 
 created for the use of man, which was to be received with 
 thanksgiving and sanctified by prayer. He is to rebuke 
 asceticism and to show the right relation which Christians 
 are to sustain to the good gifts God has granted for the 
 well-being of men: “If thou put the brethren in mind of 
 these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Christ Jesus.’’ 
 
 The last phrase is one of peculiar beauty if used to de¬ 
 scribe a faithful pastor of a Christian church; it is a high 
 honor to be called in that sense “a good minister of Christ 
 Jesus.’’ Paul, however, does not use the phrase with this 
 meaning. By the word “minister’’ he does not refer to a 
 church officer; he uses the term in its original meaning of a 
 “servant,’’ and he declares that by such true teaching 
 Timothy will show himself to be a faithful servant of his 
 Lord, he will render a real service to Jesus Christ. He will 
 show that he is “nourished in the words of the faith,’’ and 
 indeed he must continue to be so nourished by the sound 
 teaching of the gospel as to practical life, if his service is to 
 be faithful. Such teaching Timothy had accepted always, 
 as Paul intimates in the phrase, “which thou hast followed 
 until now.’’ 
 
 On the other hand, Timothy must be careful to resist 
 and to shun the wicked and silly myths of the false teach¬ 
 ers: “But refuse profane and old wives’ fables.’’ Instead 
 of following the foolish and evil practices of the false as¬ 
 cetics, Timothy must train himself in spirituality and dis¬ 
 cipline himself in true piety. “ Exercise thyself unto godli¬ 
 ness,’’ Paul significantly says. The severity to the body 
 
54 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 4:6-10 
 
 advocated by false teachers was worse than useless; how¬ 
 ever, there is a kind of bodily discipline which may be a 
 help to holiness, namely, the refusal to 4 II 0 W the appetites 
 to rule the will, the restraint and control exercised over the 
 body by a sound mind and a pure heart. 
 
 Such discipline, like all physical training, does have its 
 benefits; but there is even a higher discipline of the spirit 
 itself, which brings to man unlimited and abiding good: 
 “for bodily exercise is profitable for a little; but godliness 
 is profitable for all things, having promise of the life which 
 now is, and of that which is to come.” A consistent 
 Christian walk does not necessarily forfeit the best things 
 which the present life has to promise, and it is certain to 
 issue in the higher joys of the life that-is to come. In a 
 certain real sense the Christian “makes the best of both 
 worlds.” Piety is consistent with worldly advancement; 
 under certain conditions it secures it; however, to practice 
 piety for the sake of such advancement is impious. The 
 Christian may enjoy prosperity, but if he follows Christ 
 only for the sake of gain, he does not understand his Mas¬ 
 ter. The “promise,” however, assured to piety is of the 
 truest blessedness, and of glorious well-being both here and 
 hereafter. Such blessedness may be accompanied by pres¬ 
 ent discomfort and self-denial and distress; but, for those 
 who really trust in God, it will issue in the highest possible 
 life and in eternal joy: “godliness is profitable,” in this 
 sense; and Paul declares the “saying” to be “faithful” and 
 “vvwthy of all acceptation;” but he at once adds that it 
 may be accompanied by present pain and discipline: “for 
 to this end we labor and strive, because we have our hope 
 set on the living God.” He will at last vindicate his claims 
 to justice. He gives grace needed for the present, and 
 promises glory in the world to come. He is the “Saviour 
 of all men,” for them he has provided life in all its fullness, 
 he has made possible, for all, the highest well-being; yet he 
 conditions this blessedness upon faith in Christ, so that 
 while God is the Saviour of all, Paul can add, “specially of 
 them that believe.” 
 
 In contrast with spurious asceticism, true piety is “prof¬ 
 itable for all things”; in contrast with the bodily training 
 
I Tim. 4: 11-16 LIFE AND DUTIES 
 
 55 
 
 which may secure ''a corruptible crown,” those who exer¬ 
 cise themselves unto godliness will receive a crown of life 
 that will never fade away. 
 
 3. Encouragement to Faithful Service. Ch. 4: 11-16 
 
 11 These things command and teach. 12 Let no man de¬ 
 spise thy [youth; but be thou an ensample to them that 
 believe, in word, in manner of life, in love, in faith, in purity. 
 
 13 Till I come, give heed to reading, to exhortation, to teaching. 
 
 14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee 
 by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 
 
 15 Be diligent in these things; give thyself wholly to them; 
 that thy progress may be manifest unto all. 16 Take heed to 
 thyself, and to thy teaching. Continue in these things; for in 
 doing this thou shalt save both thyself and them that hear 
 thee. 
 
 It would be difficult to imagine six verses more weighted 
 with wise counsel for a young minister than these. Nor 
 are they lacking in significance to the members of the flock, 
 who need to know the nature of the cares and duties and 
 temptations and trials which press upon the Christian pas¬ 
 tor, who thus may be the better prepared to extend to him 
 their sympathy, and to profit by his ministry. 
 
 First of all, Paul enjoins Timothy to command and to 
 commend the conduct and the principles he has just been 
 outlining, in view of the false teaching at Ephesus. Such 
 errors of practice can be met in part by the godly life which 
 Timothy has been encouraged to lead. However, the silent 
 influence of a holy example may not always suffice to cor¬ 
 rect evil conduct. Sometimes it is necessary for a minister 
 of Christ to speak out with that authority granted him by 
 the whole Church at the time of his ordination. Therefore 
 Paul urges, “These things command and teach”; Timothy 
 is to enjoin certain behavior and he is to “ teach ” the moral 
 principles involved. Some Christian truths are so funda¬ 
 mental and some forms of duty so obvious that a minister 
 can often speak with authority even though he is not dic¬ 
 tatorial or dogmatic. 
 
 One thing which might have tempted Timothy to keep 
 silent, even in the face of obvious errors of teaching and 
 
56 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 4: 11-16 
 
 practice, was his youth. Therefore Paul encourages him to 
 “ let no man despise ” him or set him aside on this account. 
 After all, age is a relative matter. Timothy, in point of 
 fact, was no child. He had been traveling as a companion 
 of Paul for some sixteen years, and must have been surely 
 as old as sixteen when he left his home. However, here at 
 Ephesus were teachers and leaders who may have been 
 twice his age, men who held positions of influence in the 
 church and community, men who were the more powerful 
 because of the false asceticism which gave them a reputa¬ 
 tion for saintliness, and who were revered because of their 
 advancing years, yet who must be rebuked and publicly 
 admonished by the young pastor whom Paul had sent to 
 represent him and to order aright the affairs of the church. 
 It is not strange that he uses the words, “Let no man de¬ 
 spise thy youth.” Nor was Timothy the last youthful pas¬ 
 tor to need the comfort of these words. To act as the pub¬ 
 lic mentor and guide of those who are more mature and 
 more experienced is a task which throws one back upon his 
 Master, and makes him depend upon divine grace, and 
 seek more earnestly to understand the inspired Word that 
 he may speak with the authority which becomes an am¬ 
 bassador of Christ, however many or few his years. 
 
 Two things, at least, a young minister can do; first, he can 
 be careful as to his life and service, and secondly he can 
 remember his divine commission. Both of these courses 
 of action Paul points out to Timothy. Instead of show¬ 
 ing timidity, because conscious of his youth or other 
 limitations, Timothy was urged to be “an ensample to 
 them that believe, in word, in manner of life, in love, in 
 faith, in purity.” Possibly the “word” and “manner of 
 life” may refer to Timothy’s public activity, and the 
 “love” and “faith” and “purity” may define the virtues 
 which were to mold more particularly his private conduct. 
 In any event, these terms describe for us conduct of such 
 beauty and charm as would disarm any criticism based 
 upon the mere fact that Timothy was young. It is often true 
 to-day that even a youthful pastor so commends himself by 
 his life and service that his comparative immaturity and 
 his lack of experience are forgotten or overlooked. Ad- 
 
I Tim. 4: 11-16 
 
 LIFE AND DUTIES 
 
 57 
 
 vanced years usually bring a ripeness which qualifies for the 
 highest service, yet much of the work of the pastorate can 
 be done successfully by one who, whatever his age, is an 
 example to his flock in the character of his public utterance, 
 in his social life, and by his manifest love and faith and 
 purity. 
 
 As to the public service which Timothy is to render, Paul 
 specifies the three elements which have always constituted 
 the main task of the preacher. He is to ‘‘ give heed to read¬ 
 ing, to exhortation, to teaching.” By the first of these three, 
 Paul means the public reading of the Scripture. It is prob¬ 
 ably not unkind to say that a very large proportion of 
 those who have succeeded Timothy in the work of the 
 Christian ministry have not given very careful attention 
 to the solemn responsibility and to the great privilege of 
 such public reading. Too frequently it is done listlessly, 
 thoughtlessly, and badly. A Christian minister should 
 “give heed” to this difficult art. 
 
 The second of these terms, “exhortation,” implies what 
 we commonly understand by preaching. It, too, requires 
 preparation and thought and care. It is associated by Paul 
 with “teaching.” Possibly the two are closely allied in 
 meaning, but surely there is a definite message, in the last 
 word, for the pastor of the present day. He is really to be 
 a teacher, and this task is not to be confined simply to the 
 pulpit, although it is to begin there. It includes all those 
 methods whereby the members of the flock, both old and 
 young, are not merely exhorted to the performance of cer¬ 
 tain duties, but are wisely instructed in all the truths of 
 the Christian faith and are led out into various forms of 
 unselfish service. 
 
 Timothy is further warned and encouraged by being re¬ 
 minded of his ordination. In spite of his comparative 
 youth, he is to speak out boldly as Paul has already urged, 
 and he is to remember that if he fails so to do, it will be¬ 
 come more and more difficult for him to perform his ob¬ 
 vious task. Therefore Paul adds, “Neglect not the gift 
 that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the 
 laying on of the hands of the presbytery.” Here Paul re¬ 
 minds his young friend of the experience which had been 
 
58 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 4; 11-16 
 
 his when he had been solemnly set aside as a minister of 
 Christ. At that time the elders, as they laid upon him their 
 hands in the solemn service of ordination, had recognized 
 the gracious gift for teaching and for administering to the 
 church which the Holy Spirit had bestowed upon Timothy, 
 and which was in accordance with the inspired predictions 
 which had led Paul to choose him as a companion in the 
 ministry. This gracious gift Timothy must exercise. 
 Therefore Paul continues, “Be diligent in these things; 
 give thyself wholly to them; that thy progress may be man¬ 
 ifest unto all.” Inactivity, even laziness, has been said 
 to be a besetting sin of the ministry. If so, it is a sin against 
 which ministers are usually on their guard. It is a temp¬ 
 tation which is most commonly overcome. Nevertheless, 
 it may at times be necessary for young pastors to be urged 
 to show diligence in their task and not to be held back 
 either by timidity or slothfulness or fear. In the ministry 
 one must show continual growTh. He will either progress 
 or fall back. Ceaseless vigilance is here, as elsewhere, the 
 price of continued and increasing usefulness, and prog¬ 
 ress is possible only along the path of diligence in the per¬ 
 formance of daily tasks. 
 
 Thus Paul gives as a closing exhortation, “Take heed to 
 thyself, and to thy teaching.” The pastor needs to prepare 
 not only his sermons, but also himself. One who is giving 
 constant heed to his own character, to his mental growth, 
 and to his spiritual development, will be certain to make 
 his progress manifest to all. 
 
 If this is his habit of life, as Paul says, if he is found to 
 “continue in these things,” he will then have the expe¬ 
 rience which Paul intimates to Timothy—“in doing this 
 thou shalt save both thyself and them that hear thee”— 
 for it is true that by fidelity to duty one does further secure 
 his own salvation and also that of those who are committed 
 to his guidance and care. 
 
I Tim. 5:1,2 PASTORAL OVERSIGHT 
 
 59 
 
 B. PASTORAL OVERSIGHT. Chs. 5:1 to 6: 2 
 1. The Old and the Young. Ch. 5:1,2 
 
 1 Rebuke not an elder, but exhort him as a father; the 
 younger men as brethren: 2 the elder women as mothers; 
 the younger as sisters, in all purity. 
 
 There are many duties which devolve upon a Christian 
 minister in his capacity of pastor as distinct from that 
 of preacher. He must deal with the members of his flock 
 as individuals, in addition to addressing them at public 
 gatherings. To him is given the care or the “ cure ” of souls, 
 and this difflcult task can be accomplished only by per¬ 
 sonal contacts. It requires sympathy and patience, and 
 wisdom and skill. It makes one a more helpful preacher, 
 but it secures results which cannot be attained by preach¬ 
 ing. Each age, each condition, each separate soul needs 
 special treatment. 
 
 Therefore, when Paul, in earlier portions of his letter, 
 has instructed Timothy in the conduct of congregational 
 worship, when he has urged him to be careful and faithful 
 in this public reading of the Scripture, in exhortation and 
 instruction, he now turns to urge him to accord to the per¬ 
 sons under his care the consideration and treatment ap¬ 
 propriate to the age, the position, the need, and the dignity 
 of each. 
 
 When he says, first of all, “ Rebuke not an elder, but ex¬ 
 hort him as a father,” he does not refer to a church officer, 
 an “elder” or presbyter or bishop, but to one of the older 
 men of his congregation. These are not to be treated 
 harshly or censured unkindly, but even when they are at 
 fault, respect for age must temper the form of rebuke. 
 
 Nor should the young men be sharply reprimanded. At 
 times severity might be necessary, but the spirit of the 
 admonition should be loving and never vindictive or bitter; 
 in fact, Timothy was to treat “the younger men as 
 brethren.” 
 
60 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 5: 3-16 
 
 The same kindly, courteous consideration was to be 
 shown to the women of the congregation; to “the elder 
 women as mothers; the younger as sisters;” and here the 
 apostle adds significantly, “in all purity,” for any breach of 
 strict propriety may injure or destroy the reputation and 
 influence of even the most eloquent preacher or the most 
 energetic pastor. 
 
 2. Widows. Ch. 5: 3-16 
 
 3 Honor widows that are widows indeed. 4 But if any 
 widow hath children or grandchildren, let them learn first to 
 show piety towards their own family, and to requite their 
 parents: for this is acceptable in the sight of God. 5 Now she 
 that is a widow indeed, and desolate, hath her hope set on 
 God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and 
 day. 6 But she that giveth herself to pleasure is dead while 
 she liveth. 7 These things also command, that they may be 
 without reproach. 8 But if any provideth not for his own, and 
 specially his own household, he hath denied the faith, and is 
 worse than an unbeliever. 9 Let none be enrolled as a widow 
 under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man, 
 10 well reported of for good works; if she hath brought up 
 children, if she hath used hospitality to strangers, if she 
 hath washed the saints’ feet, if she hath relieved tiie afflicted, 
 if she hath diligently followed every good work. 11 But younger 
 widows refuse: for when they have waxed wanton against 
 Christ, they desire to marry; 12 having condemnation, be¬ 
 cause they have rejected their first pledge. 13 And withal they 
 learn also to be idle, going about from house to house; and 
 not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking 
 things which they ought not. 14 I desire therefore that the 
 younger widows marry, bear children, rule the household, 
 give no occasion to the adversary for reviling: 15 for already 
 some are turned aside after Satan. 16 If any woman that 
 believeth hath widows, let her relieve them, and let not the 
 church be burdened; that it may relieve them that are widows 
 indeed. 
 
 Church finance offers problems which every Christian 
 pastor must face. No matter how faithful and efficient the 
 officers appointed to administer the temporal affairs of a 
 congregation, the pastor, under ordinary circumstances, 
 must aid in the adoption of wise measures both for raising 
 
I Tim. 5:3-16 PASTORAL OVERSIGHT 
 
 61 
 
 and for dispensing the money necessary to further the work 
 of the church. This is particularly true in reference to the 
 funds employed in relief of the poor. 
 
 Upon this phase of pastoral oversight Paul casts no little 
 light as he instructs Timothy in reference to the care of 
 widows who were dependent upon the church. He does not 
 give all the directions needed by a minister to-day, and he 
 includes certain references which may not apply directly 
 to finance; but he does illustrate certain abiding principles 
 which are as important as they are obvious. 
 
 First, the administration of finances is as truly a matter 
 which concerns the welfare of a church as the conduct of 
 public services or the appointment of qualified officers. 
 It received the same careful consideration by an inspired 
 apostle as he wrote to a young pastor at Ephesus. 
 
 Second, the burden of church support should be fairly dis¬ 
 tributed, and those best able should assume the largest share. 
 
 Third, every church should care for the poor among its 
 own numbers. Usually, no Church member should be a 
 care to the community or dependent upon public charity. 
 
 Fourth, the poor funds should be distributed with great 
 care and wisdom. No persons should be supported who are 
 able to care for themselves, .or who have relatives upon 
 whom they may depend. Only those who are worthy as 
 well as needy should be aided regularly. Every effort 
 should be made to encourage independence, to share re¬ 
 sponsibility, and to maintain the good name of the church 
 and its members. 
 
 In introducing the discussion Paul urges Timothy to 
 “honor widows that are widows indeed.” He has been 
 speaking of the courteous consideration which should be 
 given to all the various classes in the congregation, to men 
 and women, to young and old. Thus by the word “ honor ” 
 he meant to denote regard and sympathy, but also such 
 respect as would manifest itself in material comforts and 
 in financial aid when such were needed. 
 
 By “widows indeed” were meant those who were truly 
 bereft and helpless, and who also conducted themselves 
 with becoming dignity and propriety. 
 
62 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 5: 3-16 
 
 Those who had “children or grandchildren” were hardly 
 to be regarded as helpless. These members of their own 
 households should assume the burden of cheering their 
 loneliness and of supplying their wants. These children 
 should “learn” from Timothy to regard this as a “first” 
 duty, even taking precedence to any form of church or 
 charitable work. They must be taught that “charity 
 begins at home.” This care for widowed parents is a true 
 way “to show piety,” for it is required by the Fifth Com¬ 
 mandment, and in immediate connection with duties owed 
 to God; further, it is an act of proper gratitude in return for 
 similar care already received in years of helplessness; it is 
 merely what might be expected of children, namely, “to 
 requite their parents”; it “is acceptable in the sight of 
 God” and regarded as a service rendered to him. 
 
 If, however, the support of a widow is to fall upon the 
 church, great care must be exercised to determine that she 
 is worthy of this care. In some large measure she must be 
 otherwise helpless; she must also be one who has “her 
 hope set on God,” and who lives a life characterized by 
 devotion and prayer. 
 
 On the other hand, a woman who has private means, or 
 who gives herself wholly to. pleasure and indulgence, one 
 indeed who is spiritually “dead,” should on no account 
 receive financial support from the church. 
 
 Timothy is urged to impress these principles upon be¬ 
 lievers—not only upon widows, but also upon those to 
 whom the latter might rightfully look for support. Paul 
 adds that if any one of the latter fails in his obvious duty 
 to provide for his relatives “and especially his own house¬ 
 hold, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an un¬ 
 believer.” This truth applies to others besides widows. It 
 refers to the proper care for children and kindred. This, 
 even the dictates of reason and natural affection would 
 demand. Even an unconverted pagan would show such 
 consideration for his own relatives. 
 
 It is pitiful to note how often this precept of the apostle 
 is abused as a cloak for the niggardly support of Christian 
 work by men who are heaping up fortunes to be squandered 
 by their children. They declare that they are caring for 
 
I Tim. 5:3-16 PASTORAL OVERSIGHT 
 
 63 
 
 their own. It is possible to do this worthy thing in such a 
 selfish way as to be no better than ‘‘an unbeliever.” 
 
 As to those who are enrolled as regular recipients of aid 
 from the church, Paul specifies that ‘‘none be enrolled as 
 a widow under threescore years old.” As this is an abso¬ 
 lute requirement, it is rather difficult to agree with the 
 many who hold that Paul is here describing an order of 
 deaconesses, or of church widows, to whom were entrusted 
 certain official duties in connection with the life and work 
 of the congregation. It would rather appear that the com¬ 
 paratively advanced age of all these widows who were to 
 be supported by the church indicates that they were sup¬ 
 posed to be beyond the years of active toil and were in¬ 
 tended by the apostle to be freed from care in their declin¬ 
 ing years. 
 
 Yet age was not the sole requirement. High Christian 
 character was insisted upon by the apostle quite as defi¬ 
 nitely. One who was enrolled must have been ‘‘the wife of 
 one man.” This can hardly mean that a widow who had 
 been married twice was ineligible to such church support, 
 for Paul proceeds at once to urge young widows to marry. 
 It is represented as being altogether in accordance with the 
 divine will that such second marriages should take place. 
 It is difficult to suppose, therefore, that one who in her 
 youth, after the death of her husband, marries again should 
 therefore be thus penalized so that if again bereaved, and 
 if utterly helpless and friendless, she could not be supported 
 by the church. Probably the expression means a woman 
 whose married life had been blameless and unblemished. 
 
 She must also have been a good mother, in case she had 
 been granted children; and further, she must have been a 
 generous hostess as far as means and opportunities had 
 permitted; she must have ‘‘used hospitality to strangers.” 
 She must have ‘‘washed the saints’ feet,” not literally, but 
 as the phrase must indicate, she must have been ready to 
 render humble ministries to her fellow Christians; and fur¬ 
 ther, she must have ‘‘relieved the afflicted,” giving sym¬ 
 pathy to all who were in distress; and in short, she must 
 have lived a life of loving service, having ‘‘diligently fol¬ 
 lowed every good work.” 
 
64 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 5; 3-16 
 
 On the other hand, young widows were not to be placed 
 on the roll of those dependent upon the church for support, 
 for such a practice would be dangerous both for them and 
 for the good name of the church. Because of their very 
 youth, they might feel the restraints of a life of such sanc¬ 
 tity and seriousness as widows supported by the church 
 were apparently supposed to lead, and they might incur 
 the charge of unfaithfulness to Christ, or at least, as these 
 words of Paul are more commonly understood, they would 
 by their marriage break the pledge made when they were 
 placed upon the roll of dependent widows. Further, even 
 though unmarried, the fact that they were being supported 
 without working while-young and full of vigor, would place 
 them in danger of becoming idle gossipers, meddlesome and 
 reckless in speech. Paul therefore earnestly advises “that 
 the younger widows marry, bear children, rule the house¬ 
 hold, give no occasion to the adversary for reviling.” By the 
 “adversary” Paul probably means the unbeliever who 
 might be eager to spread an evil report of a professing 
 Christian; but Paul warns young widows of a similar and 
 more terrible Adversary, and shows that his fears are not 
 unfounded and his advice not unnecessary, when he adds 
 that some have already left the Christian life and “ turned 
 aside after Satan.” 
 
 In conclusion Paul refers again to the necessity of re¬ 
 lieving the church from the care of those who have relatives 
 on whom they might depend. He widens the principle, 
 however, and relieves it from possible misunderstanding. 
 Not only are men to care for widowed mothers and grand¬ 
 mothers, as an earlier sentence has required, but women, 
 also, must do everything in their power to support needy 
 relatives that the burden may not fall upon the church. 
 “ If any woman that believeth hath widows, let her relieve 
 them, and let not the church be burdened.” There will 
 always be a great demand upon the church for relief and 
 aid; this must be given gladly and liberally. Yet for this 
 very reason it must be given carefully and wisely, in order 
 that the funds may suffice to aid those who are most truly 
 in need. Thus can the good name of the church be main- 
 
I Tim. 5:17-25 PASTORAL OVERSIGHT 
 
 65 
 
 tained; thus can Christ be served in the persons of those 
 who belong to him and whose hope is in him. 
 
 3. Elders. Ch. 5:17-25 
 
 17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double 
 honor, especially those who labor in the word and in teaching. 
 18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when 
 he treadeth out the com. And, The laborer is worthy of his 
 hire. 19 Against an elder receive not an accusation, except 
 at the mouth of two or three witnesses. 20 Them that sin 
 reprove in the sight of all, that the rest also may be in fear. 
 211 charge thee in the sight of God, and Christ Jesus, and the 
 elect angels, that thou observe these things without prejudice, 
 doing nothing by partiality. 22 Lay hands hastily on no man, 
 neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure. 
 23 Be no longer a drinker of water, but use a little wine for 
 thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities. 24 Some men’s 
 sins are evident, going before unto judgment; and some men 
 also they follow after. 25 In like manner also there are good 
 works that are evident; and such as are otherwise cannot be 
 hid. 
 
 Much of the success or failure attending the work of a 
 pastor will be due to the officers of the particular church 
 he serves. These men can make or mar his ministry. The 
 high qualifications for such official positions were set forth 
 in the third chapter of this epistle. Paul here turns to con¬ 
 sider the relation which Timothy sustains to the chief 
 order of these officers, namely the “elders”; and he refers 
 specifically to their remuneration, their discipline, and the 
 necessity of carefully ascertaining their worthy character 
 before setting them aside for their sacred tasks. 
 
 It is true that wide differences of opinion exist as to 
 the exact nature of the “elders” or “presbyters,” just as 
 there is even wider divergence in practice among modern 
 churches as to the duties assigned to those officers who 
 more or less exactly correspond to these ministers of the 
 primitive Church. It is commonly supposed, however, 
 that they were the spiritual rulers of the local church, and 
 that while the duties of oversight were common to all, some 
 of them served in addition as preachers and teachers, and 
 that is the meaning of Paul as he here directs Timothy, 
 
66 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 5: 17-25 
 
 “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double 
 honor, especially those who labor in the word and in teach¬ 
 ing.” That is, there was one office but two functions; all 
 elders ruled, that was their essential duty; some also exer¬ 
 cised the gift of public instruction. All who ruled faithfully 
 and well, particularly if they rendered the additional serv¬ 
 ice of preaching, were to be “counted worthy of double 
 honor.” The last word indicates not merely the high re¬ 
 spect and deference to be shown them, but also the stipend 
 which they were to receive. This financial remuneration 
 was to be proportioned to fidelity and the amount of time 
 devoted to official duties. 
 
 The principle was enforced by a quotation from the Old 
 Testament: “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he tread- 
 eth out the corn”; that is, the ox, when engaged in thresh¬ 
 ing grain, should be left free to take necessary food; so, by 
 way of analogy, a minister who was devoting his time and 
 energies to Christian work should receive support from the 
 Christian church. 
 
 Paul further quotes what is commonly regarded as a 
 popular proverb: “The laborer is worthy of his hire.” As 
 used by our Lord, this saying now forms a part of inspired 
 Scripture, and expresses the common belief of the Church, 
 as sanctioned by Paul, that one who is engaged in preach¬ 
 ing the gospel, and in similar sacred ministry, should 
 receive proper remuneration from the community of 
 believers. 
 
 The pastor is further concerned with the discipline of 
 these officers. In fact, church finance, as illustrated in the 
 matter of administering the poor fund and securing the 
 salaries of ministers, seems to be of no greater importance 
 to the apostle than the maintenance of the good name of 
 the Church, which can be secured only by the rebuke and 
 punishment of offenders, particularly of such as hold high 
 positions of responsibility as spiritual rulers. 
 
 However, Timothy is cautioned to proceed with extreme 
 care. He is not to act upon mere rumor. “ Against an elder 
 receive not an accusation, except at the mouth of two or 
 three witnesses.” It is unwise to begin a legal process in- 
 
I Tim. 5: 17-25 PASTORAL OVERSIGHT 
 
 67 
 
 volving serious charges unless there is in hand sufficient 
 evidence to make conviction practically certain. 
 
 On the other hand, when the sin is open or confessed, or 
 when guilt has been established, then the rebuke is to be 
 publicly administered, or at least in the presence of all the 
 church officers, that others may be warned of their peril 
 and may fear to commit similar offenses. 
 
 Most solemnly does Paul charge Timothy to carry out 
 these injuctions, and in every case to act without prejudice 
 or partiality, as one who is standing in the presence of the 
 eternal Judge, whose conduct is known to his Master, who 
 is observed by the holy angels, whom Paul calls “elect” 
 not as specifying an angelic order, but as referring to those 
 supernatural agents of God who have kept true to him and 
 have been sent to minister to the heirs of salvation. 
 
 Great caution is to be exercised by Timothy as to the 
 men who are candidates for this sacred office. They are 
 not to be ordained unless Timothy is certain as to their 
 qualifications and character: “Lay hands hastily on no 
 man.” 
 
 The special reason assigned for such caution is the fact 
 that one who has a part in appointing to the ministry un¬ 
 worthy men, must be regarded as sharing in the wrong 
 such men subsequently commit. Against such partnership 
 in evil Timothy must be on his guard. “Keep thyself 
 pure,” writes the apostle, with a strong accent on “thy¬ 
 self,” for in dealing with the sins of others, and in acting as 
 a judge of the moral character of others, there is special 
 reason that Timothy should keep himself honorable, and 
 upright and blameless. 
 
 However, he is to be on his guard against a false asceti¬ 
 cism. Either as an act of self-denial or a protest against 
 prevailing excess, Timothy had been refraining from all 
 use of wine; therefore Paul advises him as follows: “Be no 
 longer a drinker of water, but use a little wine for thy 
 stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.” 
 
 In view of the injurious character of alcoholic drinks, 
 Paul has been criticized frequently for his advice. It should 
 be noticed, however, that it is the medicinal use of wine 
 
68 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 5: 17-25 
 
 that Paul proposes, and, that he regards the kind of wine 
 which Timothy could secure as calculated to relieve him 
 from the ailments by which he was distressed. It would 
 seem obvious that the weak stomach of Timothy should 
 not be used as an argument that modern liquor is needed 
 as a beverage. 
 
 However, if wine was recommended by Paul as a remedy 
 for sickness, it is a fair question whether any Christians are 
 right in teaching that “the prayer of faith” should be the 
 only recourse for the cure of disease, and that medicines 
 or other “means” should not be employed. 
 
 The very advice which Paul gives to Timothy seems to 
 caution him against any false extremes, and to urge him to 
 use his sanctified common sense. 
 
 Above all, these words of the apostle bear on their very 
 surface a principle upon which all will probably agree, 
 namely, that a Christian minister needs to have a due re¬ 
 gard to maintaining his bodily health. A pale, weak, ema¬ 
 ciated ascetic is not the ideal pastor proposed by Paul, and 
 while the Pastoral Epistles are full of exhortations to 
 spiritual attainments and excellencies, it is to the credit of 
 the great apostle that he does not feel it is beneath his 
 dignity to advise a young minister as to his diet, and con¬ 
 cerning the recovery or maintenance of physical health. 
 
 This, however, is by way of parenthesis. Timothy is 
 being instructed as to the need of disciplining men for 
 their sins and of carefully judging the moral character of 
 candidates for the office of elder; and Paul adds a final 
 word of encouragement to assure him that there is usually 
 no need of haste, and that he must not be timid. 
 
 In the same way, “there are good works that are evi¬ 
 dent,” so that in their light it is easy to form correct im¬ 
 pressions as to the character of the men who perform them; 
 “and such as are otherwise,” that is, are for a time con¬ 
 cealed, “cannot be hid” permanently; they are certain to 
 be revealed some day. Thus, in the case of worthy men, 
 our high estimate of their characters will ultimately be con¬ 
 firmed. With such facts in mind, it should not be regarded 
 impossible either to administer discipline or to choose men 
 who are worthy to fill the positions of spiritual oversight. 
 
I Tim. 6:1,2 PASTORAL OVERSIGHT 
 
 69 
 
 4. Slaves. Ch. 6: 1, 2 
 
 1 Let as many as are servants under the yoke count 
 their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God 
 and the doctrine be not blasphemed. 2 And they that have 
 believing masters, let them not despise them, because they 
 are bret^en; but let them serve them the rather, because 
 they that partake of the benefit are believing and beloved. 
 These things teach and exhort. 
 
 In the days of the early Christians the institution of 
 slavery was universal throughout the Roman Empire, and 
 was recognized and established by law. It gave rise to 
 questions of the most delicate and difficult character with¬ 
 in the membership of the Church. 
 
 Should a master who became a Christian set his slaves 
 free? Should a slave who accepted Christ demand his 
 liberty? How should Christian masters and slaves be re¬ 
 lated to one another? 
 
 Not unnaturally, therefore, when Paul has instructed 
 Timothy as to the duty of the pastor toward the various 
 classes in his congregation, he turns last of all to tell him of 
 the conduct which he is to enjoin upon Christian slaves. 
 
 He deals first with those who have unbelieving masters. 
 Such are not to be insolent or unruly. They are not to in¬ 
 sist upon social equality or political freedom. They are not 
 to foment strife and revolution. Such lawlessness and vio¬ 
 lence on the part of Christians would bring disgrace upon 
 the name of God and upon his gospel: “Let as many as are 
 servants under the yoke count their own masters worthy of 
 all honor, that the name of God and the doctrine be not 
 blasphemed.” 
 
 An equally great temptation would confront slaves 
 when their masters became Christians. They would be 
 assured of their equality before God, and of their common 
 brotherhood in Christ. Presuming upon these relation¬ 
 ships they might be inclined to show toward their masters 
 unbecoming familiarity and contempt. Therefore Paul 
 urges Timothy to warn such as “have believing masters” 
 not to “despise them, because they are brethren,” but on 
 the other hand to labor even more faithfully just because 
 the masters who would profit by this improved service 
 
FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 70 
 
 I Tim. 6: 1, 2 
 
 were believers and beloved and as such were worthy of fi¬ 
 delity and kindly regard. 
 
 Thus wisely did Paul deal with the problems which rose 
 out of slavery, the monster evil of his day; and his teach¬ 
 ings are invaluable to the Christian pastor who seeks light 
 upon the most pressing problems of the present, namely, 
 upon those questions which rise out of our modern social 
 and industrial and political order. What are the right re¬ 
 lations between the white and the colored races, between 
 labor and capital, between rulers and subjects? Surely 
 gigantic evils exist, and cruel injustice seems to be wrought 
 into the very fabric of our social order. What course shall 
 the Christian follow? 
 
 We may note that Paul neither denounced slavery nor 
 incited revolution. He taught great principles which 
 worked slowly and surely, which abolished slavery and 
 made for political liberty and social justice. The modern 
 minister must proclaim human brotherhood and equality, 
 and must seek to apply the teachings of the gospel to all 
 human relationship; however, he is neither to incite nor to 
 countenance violence; he is not to array class against class, 
 nor to imagine that human welfare will be advanced by the 
 disregard of social conventions or by the sudden over¬ 
 throw of political institutions. 
 
 The social ethics of Christianity need to be widely advo¬ 
 cated; but just how far their logical conclusions are to be 
 pressed in any case must be determined by wisdom and 
 common sense, and by a due regard for the rights of all 
 parties concerned. Mutual love and consideration be¬ 
 tween man and man will make life happier and more secure 
 under even the present social order, and no order can pos¬ 
 sibly be satisfactory or enduring unless there exists that 
 spirit of Christian brotherhood 'W'hich Paul advocated when 
 he urged even slaves to show toward their masters fidelity 
 and respect. 
 
I Tim. 6; 3-10 
 
 FALSE TEACHERS 
 
 71 
 
 IV. Conclusion. Ch. 6: 3-21 
 
 A. FALSE TEACHERS DENOUNCED FOR VANITY 
 AND AVARICE. Ch. 6: 3-10 
 
 3 If any man teacheth a different doctrine, and consenteth 
 not to sound words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; 4 he is 
 puffed up, knowing nothing, but doting about questionings and 
 disputes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil 
 surmisings, 5 wranglings of men corrupted in mind and 
 bereft of the truth, supposing that godliness is a way of gain. 
 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain: 7 for we 
 brought nothing into the world, for neither can we carry any¬ 
 thing out; 8 but having food and covering we shall be there¬ 
 with content. 9 But they that are minded to be rich fall into a 
 temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, 
 such as drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the 
 love of money is a root of all kinds of evil: which some reach¬ 
 ing after have been led astray from the faith, and have 
 pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 
 
 In the remaining portion of the epistle, Paul reverts to 
 two themes on which he has laid great stress in the earlier 
 chapters, namely, the necessity of sound doctrine and of 
 right living. While the main portion of the letter has dealt 
 with a third topic, namely, that of church organization and 
 its related pastoral duties, Paul dwells in this letter, as in all 
 the Pastoral Epistles, upon the duty of a Christian minis¬ 
 ter to be sound in his teaching and to furnish in his own 
 life an example which his congregation can safely follow. 
 
 In a real sense these closing paragraphs form a climax 
 and a logical conclusion for all the teaching which precedes, 
 for they emphasize the great motives by which a Christian 
 minister should be inspired. In contrast with the false 
 teachers who are moved by vanity and love of money, 
 Timothy is to seek for holiness and to be inspired by the 
 hope of his Lord’s return. 
 
 In referring to the false teachers, who were causing such 
 trouble to the church at Ephesus, Paul describes them as 
 
72 FIRST TIMOTHY I Tim. 6: 3-10 
 
 teaching “a different doctrine.” He thus again suggests 
 that there is a divine standard of truth, even the gospel 
 which has been revealed through Christ. It is this gospel 
 which Paul further defines as consisting of “sound words,” 
 and further describes as being “the words of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ,” and further still, as “the doctrine which is accord¬ 
 ing to godliness,” that is, the doctrine which teaches and 
 develops and results in true piety. 
 
 The first motive which Paul ascribes to one who teaches 
 such a “different doctrine” is that of vanity. Paul de¬ 
 scribes such a teacher as both proud and ignorant: “he is 
 puffed up, knowing nothing.” He has a morbid appetite 
 for idle discussions and quarrels about words, “doting 
 about questionings and disputes of words.” These here¬ 
 tics are thus described as wasting time in mere academic 
 disputes. Unfortunately this disease has never been con¬ 
 fined to heretics, and even the most orthodox teachers 
 have been tempted to wage such wars of words. It should 
 be remembered, however, that by the ignorant the dis¬ 
 cussion of even vital questions is frequently regarded as a 
 mere battle about words, as the consideration of essential 
 Christian truths seemed to the mind of Greek philosophers 
 to be of this futile nature. 
 
 As to such really empty and vain disputes, Paul states 
 that their only result will be “envy, strife, railings.” He 
 declares that these feuds characterize “men corrupted in 
 mind and bereft of the truth.” The last phrase indicates 
 that the truth was once theirs, but it has been lost. They 
 “have disinherited themselves.” Their chief error con¬ 
 sists in regarding the profession of Christianity as a means 
 of financial profit, “supposing that godliness is a way of 
 gain.” Paul at once adds, “But godliness with content¬ 
 ment is great gain,” and here he lifts the word “ gain” even 
 as he does the word “godliness” to a higher sense. He 
 means that true piety, and not an empty profession of 
 faith, is a W'ay of securing the very highest good and not 
 mere earthly treasure; but he adds a very significant clause, 
 the “godliness” which “is great gain” must be accom¬ 
 panied “with contentment.” The last is a word of large 
 meaning. It denotes independence of any lot, and the 
 
I Tim. 6: 3-10 
 
 FALSE TEACHERS 
 
 73 
 
 ability of finding resources in oneself, and in being indiffer¬ 
 ent to everything else besides. It does not indicate mere 
 satisfaction with what one possesses, but a satisfaction 
 wholly disconnected with all outward circumstances. Paul 
 gives a reason for this statement in the phrase which fol¬ 
 lows: “for we brought nothing into the world, for neither 
 can we carry anything out”; that is, nothing the world can 
 give makes any real addition to the man himself; his real 
 good consists in his moral and spiritual being, not in any 
 wealth or possessions he may gather about him. Paul fur¬ 
 ther adds, “Having food and covering we shall be there¬ 
 with content”; whatever else may be granted may be re¬ 
 ceived with thanks; it may be useful and add comfort. It 
 is not, however, absolutely necessary, and the true Chris¬ 
 tian will be satisfied when his needs are supplied. 
 
 Paul, however, is not praising poverty, nor declaring it a 
 crime to possess property; he is only rebuking avarice, and 
 showing that real contentment is independent of either 
 poverty or wealth. 
 
 It is against the peril of avarice that he proceeds to warn 
 Timothy, and through him all religious teachers, and, in¬ 
 deed, all the followers of Christ. “They that are minded 
 to be rich,” that is, those who place before them wealth as 
 the chief goal in life, “fall into a temptation,” namely, 
 that of using wrong means for accomplishing their ends, 
 “and a snare,” so that they find themselves enmeshed in a 
 net of circumstances from which they cannot extricate 
 themselves without the loss either of honor or of money. 
 Then, as riches increase, they tend to develop many “fool¬ 
 ish and hurtful lusts,” that is, the desire for unreasonable 
 and injurious pleasures and gratifications which overwhelm 
 men in moral ruin, or, as Paul declares, “drown men in 
 destruction and perdition.” 
 
 Such a downward course of those who have yielded to 
 avarice has been observed only too frequently, in the case 
 of men within as well as outside the Church. Paul empha¬ 
 sizes his warning, however, by the statement that “the 
 love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” He does not 
 speak disparagingly of money, for it may be an instrument 
 of all kinds of good, but of the “love of money,” the lust 
 
74 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 6: 11-16 
 
 of gold, the passion for gain, out of which evil of every 
 kind may spring. Nor does he mean that avarice is the 
 only passion out of which such deadly fruit may grow, but 
 that it is a motive, which, if allowed to take root in the 
 heart, will be prolific of evils of every kind. 
 
 Then Paul adds that there are some persons, even within 
 the number of professing Christians, who because of their 
 ‘Teaching after” money have made shipwreck both of 
 their faith and of their happiness, they “have been led 
 astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through 
 with many sorrows.” Just what these sorrows are, Paul 
 leaves the reader to conclude. Evidently he intends to 
 suggest the poignant griefs of one whom conscience tor¬ 
 ments for disgraceful efforts to secure wordly gain, or the 
 final disillusionment of one who has made gold his god. 
 
 B. TIMOTHY SOLEMNLY EXHORTED. Ch. 6: 11-16 
 
 11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow 
 after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 
 12 Fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the life eternal, 
 whereunto thou wast called, and didst confess the good con¬ 
 fession in the sight of many witnesses. 13 I charge thee in 
 the sight of God, who giveth life to all things, and of Christ 
 Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed the good con¬ 
 fession; 14 that thou keep the commandment, without spot, 
 without reproach, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ: 15 which in its own times he shall show, who is the 
 blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of 
 lords; 16 who only hath immortality, dwelling in light unap¬ 
 proachable ; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom 
 be honor and power eternal. Amen. 
 
 The supreme concern of the Christian pastor must ever 
 be that of the purity and sanctity of his own motives. Thus 
 when Paul has warned Timothy against the vanity and 
 avarice which controlled the false teachers in Ephesus, he 
 brings his epistle to a climax in a solemn charge to shun 
 these evils and earnestly to seek the things of the highest 
 good, not to set his heart upon selfish and worldly gain, but 
 to be looking for “the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 
 
 Paul appeals to Timothy as a “man of God,” using a 
 
I Tim. 6: 11-16 FINAL EXHORTATION 
 
 75 
 
 phrase commonly employed in the Old Testament to desig¬ 
 nate a prophet; but he does not mean to describe Timothy 
 technically as a Christian minister, but possibly to remind 
 him that he has been entrusted with a divine message; and 
 the exhortation which follows is surely applicable to all 
 who are true servants of God. 
 
 “Flee these things,” that is, the pride, the vanity, and 
 the avarice of the false teachers. Instead of their use of 
 religion as a means of gain, Timothy is to strive earnestly 
 for a character pleasing to God and for that true piety by 
 which alone such a character can be produced. 
 
 If the false teachers “have been led astray from the 
 faith ” by their love of money, Timothy is to maintain that 
 devotion to Christ which manifests itself in deeds of love. 
 If they have been led into bitterness and wrangling, Tim¬ 
 othy must manifest patience and meekness. 
 
 He is exhorted to “fight the good fight of the faith.” 
 Here Paul uses words which refer to the ancient Greek 
 games, and he pictures the Christian life as a “contest,” 
 noble, indeed, in contrast with the physical struggles of 
 the arena, a contest in which victory can be secured only 
 by faith in Christ, and in which the prize is nothing less 
 than life eternal. 
 
 To the enjoyment of this life here and hereafter, Timothy 
 was “called” at the time he accepted Christ, and when he 
 confessed “the good confession in the sight of many wit¬ 
 nesses.” From the reference to this “good confession” 
 which Timothy made in earlier days, Paul passes naturally 
 to exhort Timothy to continue steadfast in the present 
 trials through which he is passing and in which he is sur¬ 
 rounded by witnesses whose real but unseen presence will 
 strengthen him to be faithful and true. 
 
 Paul charges Timothy “in the sight of God, who giveth 
 life to all things,” that is, in the sight of the One who is the 
 Source or Preserver of all beings, and who will therefore 
 protect and deliver Timothy, however great the perils 
 which may surround him. 
 
 He charges him further in the presence of “Christ Jesus, 
 who before Pontius Pilate witnessed the good confession,” 
 that Timothy, also, may be fearless and uncompromising 
 
76 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 6: 11-16 
 
 in his witness to the truth. The exact “charge,” however, 
 Paul now specifies: “That thou keep the commandment 
 without spot, without reproach, until the appearing of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ.” By “the commandment” Paul means 
 the whole moral content of the gospel. This Timothy must 
 keep “without spot, without reproach,” by his own ob¬ 
 servance of it in his life and conduct, quite as much as by 
 his open proclamation of its truth. 
 
 In a strict sense nothing can affect the “commandment”; 
 it will always be “without spot, without reproach”; yet, 
 practically, the divine message may suffer and be brought 
 into disrepute by the faulty lives of Christian ministers. 
 Those who preach the gospel must adorn the doctrine by 
 their lives. Thus, while the terms “spotless” and “blame¬ 
 less” literally define “the commandment,” in reality it is 
 Timothy who is to be “unspotted” and “free from re¬ 
 proach,” lest the message he delivers may be disregarded 
 and despised. 
 
 This unblemished life is to be lived, “the commandment” 
 is to be kept, “until the appearing of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ.” This is a clear reference to the return of Christ, 
 or the Second Advent, by which is meant no mere spiritual 
 influence upon men, nor the moral development of society, 
 but an actual, visible, personal manifestation, the glorious 
 “appearing of our Lord.” 
 
 Paul does not mean, however, that Timothy of necessity 
 will live until that day; but this event is to be regarded as 
 one which might occur in his lifetime, and is ever to be 
 regarded as an inspiring hope. Paul never affirms that the 
 event is near. In his earliest letters he specifically taught 
 that an apostasy would first develop and a “man of sin” 
 appear. II Thess. 2 : 3. How long the delay may be is 
 never foretold. As stated here, this return of Christ was to 
 be “in its own times,” known to God alone. 
 
 It was for Timothy, as it is the privilege of every subse¬ 
 quent generation of believers, to find in the hope of “the 
 appearing of our Lord” an incentive to fidelity in service 
 and to purity of life. 
 
 The solemn exhortation now melts into the music of a 
 glorious doxology. He who in due season is to bring to 
 
I Tim. 6: 11-16 FINAL EXHORTATION 
 
 .77 
 
 pass the return of Christ is described as “the blessed and 
 only Potentate,” the One who enjoys perfect bliss and 
 absolute sovereignty, “King of kings and Lord of lords.” 
 He “only hath immortality,” essential and underived, 
 “dwelling in light unapproachable” because of its bril¬ 
 liance and splendor, “whom no man hath seen nor can see,” 
 as his glory is revealed to men only in the face of Jesus 
 Christ. To this blessed, sovereign, majestic, everlasting, 
 invisible God, is ascribed “honor and power eternal.” 
 
 Amidst all the dark and abounding idolatries of earth, 
 the Christian Church should sound out more widely the 
 glad, good news embodied in this majestic hymn of praise 
 to the one true and living God. 
 
78 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY 
 
 I Tim. 6: 17-19 
 
 C. POSTSCRIPT. Ch. 6: 17-19 
 1. An Admonition to the Rich. Ch. 6 : 17-19 
 
 17 Charge them that are rich in this present world, that 
 they be not highminded, nor have their hope set on the im- 
 certainty of riches, but on God, who giveth us richly all 
 things to enjoy; 18 that they do good, that they be rich in 
 good works, that they be ready to distribute, wiUing to com¬ 
 municate; 19 laying up in store for themselves a good foun¬ 
 dation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on the 
 life which is life indeed. 
 
 The modern minister needs to be on his guard lest he 
 may deal unwisely with the problems related to wealth. 
 The present social and industrial order does involve in¬ 
 justice and distressing inequalities. Nevertheless, a Chris¬ 
 tian leader must be careful not to deny the right of private 
 property or to intimate that a man is sinful or dangerous 
 because he is rich. 
 
 Neither Christ nor Paul ever condemned rich men be¬ 
 cause they were rich, but only because they put their trust 
 in wealth or failed to use it aright. Thus, when Paul is 
 writing the closing paragraphs of this letter, he pauses to 
 give an admonition to the rich. He has, in this very chap¬ 
 ter, given a solemn warning against avarice, and particu¬ 
 larly against the avarice of religious teachers; here he is 
 making an advance upon his thought, for he is addressing 
 wealthy Christians, and is warning them against putting 
 a false confidence in their riches, and is urging them to 
 make a wise use of their wealth. 
 
 When he tells Timothy to “charge them that are rich in 
 this present world, that they be not highminded,” he is 
 referring to members of the Church. Evidently there were 
 among them men of wealth, owners of slaves, v. 2, pos¬ 
 sessors of large means. This is the sense of the phrase, 
 “rich in this present world”; the contrast is not between 
 spiritual and material riches, but between the rich and the 
 poor in worldly goods. Those who are possessors of ma- 
 
I Tim. 6: 20, 21a 
 
 POSTSCRIPT 
 
 79 
 
 terial goods are not urged to sell them or to give them up, 
 but are charged not to be “highminded,” that is, proud, 
 for pride of purse is “not merely vulgar, it is sinful” , nor 
 are they to trust in riches, or to set their hopes upon them, 
 for these so often take wings and fly away, as Paul implies 
 by his expression, “the uncertainty of riches,” which is a 
 strong way of saying “riches, which are uncertain.” 
 
 In contrast to such an insecure foundation for our hopes 
 and confidence, Paul declares that our trust is to be in 
 God “who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” Riches 
 are therefore a real good, if rightly used. For they are given 
 by God, who is the Giver of every good and perfect gift, 
 and they are intended not only to be possessed but to be 
 enjoyed. 
 
 However, rightful ownership and real enjoyment must 
 be united with a proper use of wealth. Therefore, Timothy 
 is to charge his wealthy parishioners to “do good,” to be 
 “ rich in good works,” which, after all, constitute the truest 
 wealth, “ready to distribute,” that is, to share their 
 blessings with others. The result of such a generous, un¬ 
 selfish, helpful use of wealth will be the “laying up in 
 store for themselves a good foundation against the time to 
 come,” that is, this true garnering of the wealth of good 
 deeds will supply for them a solid foundation for the future, 
 and will enable them to grasp and enjoy the prize of eternal 
 life, or to “lay hold on the life which is life indeed.” While 
 some of these phrases are so condensed and figurative as 
 to allow some latitude of interpretation, nevertheless the 
 main meaning is plain and accords perfectly with the 
 teaching of our Master as to the stewardship of wealth, 
 its uncertain tenure, and its possible use to “lay up . . . 
 treasures in heaven.” 
 
 2. A Final Charge to Timothy. Ch. 6: 20, 21a 
 
 20 O Timothy, guard that which is committed unto thee, 
 turning away from the profane babblings and oppositions of the 
 knowledge which is falsely so called: 21 which some profess¬ 
 ing have erred concerning the faith. 
 
 It has been noted properly that this last charge to Tim¬ 
 othy is in large measure a summary of the whole epistle. 
 
80 
 
 FIRST TIMOTHY I Tim. 6: 20, 21a 
 
 It is a solemn reminder that the gospel must be guarded 
 against the assaults of false teachers. It intimates to the 
 Christian minister that the truth committed to his trust, 
 while continually in peril of being corrupted by proud ad¬ 
 vocates of heresy, must ever be preserved with fidelity 
 and boldness, even as it must be proclaimed with love. 
 
 This last mention of Timothy, by name, gives a solemn 
 tone to the warning, and makes it more emphatic, as a 
 personal address. “O Timothy, guard that which is com¬ 
 mitted unto thee.” This “deposit,” to quote the exact 
 word employed by Paul, this “which is committed” to 
 Timothy, can be nothing else than the Christian creed, 
 the faith of the Church, the gospel of Christ. It is likened 
 to a treasure entrusted to a bank for safe-keeping. 
 
 As an ancient writer maintained, this gospel message is 
 one which has been “committed” to the ministers of the 
 Church, not invented by them; which they have received, 
 not which they have devised; a thing not of wit but of learn¬ 
 ing; not of private assumption but of public tradition; a 
 thing brought to them, not brought forth of them, wherein 
 they must be not authors but keepers, not founders but ob¬ 
 servers, not leaders but followers. “Wherefore,” he con¬ 
 cludes, as he addresses a particular pastor, “in such sort 
 deliver the same things which thou has learnt, that albeit 
 thou teachest after a new manner, yet thou never teach 
 new things.” 
 
 Therefore Timothy is to “guard” the apostolic gospel 
 as a sacred trust which he has received from Paul, which 
 he must keep safe and intact, and which he must transmit 
 to the church at Ephesus, and through these believers to 
 those who shall come after. 
 
 In order that he may succeed in this difficult task, he 
 must turn away from the irreverent and empty babblings 
 and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge.” 
 Paul refers to the heresies already rife in the Ephesian 
 church, which consisted largely of puerile and profitless 
 intellectual subtleties and allegorical interpretations of the 
 Old Testament law, and were definitely contrasted with 
 the practical morality of the gospel as proclaimed by Paul. 
 He is insisting here that a professed knowledge of God, on 
 
I Tim. 6: 20, 21b 
 
 POSTSCRIPT 
 
 81 
 
 the part of those who do not love him and submit to his 
 will, is really no “knowledge” at all. Such mere idle 
 speculation has no real power; and therefore Paul adds 
 that some who professed such knowledge “have erred,” 
 or “missed the mark,” “concerning the faith.” They have 
 been aiming in the wrong direction. Real religion is not a 
 matter of logical subtleties but the application of truth 
 to life. 
 
 3. Benediction. Ch. 6:21b 
 
 Grace be with you. 
 
 The benediction, “Grace be with you,” is a character¬ 
 istic ending for the letters of Paul. The “grace” he invokes 
 is elsewhere expressed as “the grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ”; it is that unmerited favor upon which all be¬ 
 lievers need to rely, and especially those who are serving 
 as pastors of the flock. 
 
 The word “you” is plural, and, while in Greek corre¬ 
 spondence thiswas often used in reference toan individual, it 
 is commonly supposed that Paul had in mind here the 
 whole church at Ephesus, and thus indicates that these 
 Pastoral Epistles were not intended to bear merely per¬ 
 sonal instructions to the pastor addressed, but guidance 
 for the whole society of believers. Thus, to-day, while the 
 first message of these letters may come to Christian pastors, 
 no member of the flock can read them thoughtfully and 
 prayerfully without finding guidance and strength, and a 
 new share in the grace of Christ. 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO 
 TIMOTHY 
 
 The Second Epistle written by the Apostle Paul to 
 Timothy is the most personal of the Pastoral Epistles. 
 Possibly no other of the New Testament letters makes so 
 tender and so pathetic an appeal. Every paragraph is 
 suffused with emotion, every sentence throbs with the 
 pulse beats of a human heart. Paul, the dauntless mis¬ 
 sionary hero, the founder of the Church in Asia Minor and 
 in Europe, is now an aged prisoner in Rome, suffering, 
 deserted, despised, condemned, and soon to be led forth 
 to a cruel death. In his previous captivity he had been 
 allowed to dwell in his own hired house, to converse freely 
 with his friends, and to direct his wide missionary work; 
 now he is chained in a dark dungeon, he is distressed with 
 the cold, he is absolutely alone save for one faithful friend, 
 Luke, “the beloved physician,” to whom, probably, he is 
 dictating this moving message of farewell. 
 
 Yet in another sense Paul is not alone. To the eye of 
 imagination his prison cell is crowded with a throng of 
 saints and heroes and sufferers of all the ages down to the 
 present day. The number is almost countless of those who 
 know what it is to suffer imprisonment, or to be racked 
 with pain, or to be discouraged and lonely and shadowed by 
 the approach of death; but their faces grow bright with 
 cheer and their hearts bound with new hope and their 
 fears are dissolved as they hear the apostle speaking, not 
 to Luke alone but to all who are in distress and who in 
 the darkness put their trust in Christ; and the gloom dis¬ 
 appears and the scene is flooded with glory as Paul utters 
 his triumphant words: “I know him whom I have be¬ 
 lieved. ... I have fought the good fight, I have finished 
 the course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid 
 up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the 
 righteous judge, shall give to me at that day. . . . The 
 Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will save 
 me unto his heavenly kingdom.” 
 
 82 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY 83 
 
 The immediate purpose of the letter is to summon to 
 his side Timothy, his beloved friend and the companion 
 of his long missionary journeys. In the darkness and 
 dreariness of his imprisonment, Paul not unnaturally 
 longed for the comforting fellowship of one who was as 
 dear to him as his own soul, his beloved, and faithful child 
 in the Lord, one who so long had served with him as a son 
 with a father. 
 
 For Timothy, as well as for Paul, these are times of 
 trouble and testing, of deep anxiety, even of discourage¬ 
 ment and of fear. He has been appointed by Paul as the 
 superintending pastor of the great mission at Ephesus. 
 By nature he is timid and sensitive, and he is painfully 
 conscious that he is unequal to the difficult work to which 
 he has been sent. The days are growing even darker; not 
 only are there false teachers within the Church who are 
 seeking to corrupt its doctrine, but from without, perse¬ 
 cutors and bitter enemies are threatening the very ex¬ 
 istence of the infant society. The cruelties of Nero are at 
 their height. The heartless emperor has set fire to Rome 
 and has turned the popular suspicion and anger against the 
 Christians who are everywhere spoken against, suspected, 
 hated, and oppressed. At such a time we can imagine 
 how Timothy would rejoice if he could have the presence 
 and counsel and encouragement of Paul; but on the con¬ 
 trary he learns that the friend he adores has been seized 
 by enemies and imprisoned and is about to die. 
 
 However, we may imagine what comfort and new 
 strength come to Timothy as he reads the promises and 
 the affectionate exhortations of this little letter. We can 
 also realize in part how far this letter now has come and 
 to how many pastors distressed by distracting cares, to 
 how many missionaries surrounded by unsympathetic 
 multitudes and sinking beneath crushing burdens, to how 
 many other faithful Christians torn by anxiety for the 
 welfare of their work, have these chapters come to dispel 
 the clouds, to strengthen faith, to stimulate zeal, to give 
 peace and confidence in hours of trial and even in the face 
 of death. To them, also, as well as to Timothy, comes the 
 
84 THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY 
 
 exhortation to suffer hardship as good soldiers of Christ 
 and the promise that “ if we endure, we shall also reign with 
 him.” 
 
 However, as we read this letter, it becomes evident that 
 Paul is not concerned for himself alone, nor yet for Tim¬ 
 othy, his beloved friend, but for the Christian Church 
 which is so dear to their hearts and for which Paul was 
 ready to pour out his life. The apostle feels deep anxiety 
 for its pure doctrine and for its consistent life, and there¬ 
 fore as he writes he urges Timothy to perfect its organiza¬ 
 tion and to commit its beliefs “to faithful men, who shall 
 be able to teach others also,” and this with a view to with¬ 
 standing the influences of false teachers whose corrupt 
 doctrines are resulting in unholy lives and are indicating 
 that for the Church even more grievous times are to come. 
 
 Therefore, to all who love the Church of Christ, the 
 message of this epistle will be precious, for it contains the 
 last will and testament of the apostle; it conveys his fare¬ 
 well warning and advice. It indicates the need of appoint¬ 
 ing, as official witnesses, men who proclaim a pure gospel, 
 in order that consistent character may be developed and 
 that the coming and Kingdom of Christ may be hastened. 
 “The substance of the epistle is just this: Be not ashamed; 
 be brave, be faithful to the truth as I have been. Oppose 
 the false teachers. Come to me, for I am alone and soon 
 to die.” The exhortations are at once too informal, too 
 diverse, and too fervent to admit of any rigid classification, 
 but the following outline may aid somewhat in appreciating 
 the message of this the last letter which has come from the 
 Apostle Paul: 
 
 I. Introduction. II Tim. 1 : 1-5. 
 
 A. Salutation. Ch. 1 : 1, 2. 
 
 B. ’ Thanksgiving. Ch. 1 : 3-5. 
 
 II. Exhortations to Steadfastness in Service. Chs. 1 : 6 
 
 to 2 : 13. 
 
 A. To Zeal and Courage: The Example of Paul. Ch. 
 
 1 : 6 - 12 . 
 
 B. To Fidelity and Loyalty: The Example of One- 
 
 siphorus. Ch. 1 : 13-18. 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY 85 
 
 C. To Transmit the Truth, and to Endure Hardship 
 for Its Sake. Ch. 2 : 1-13. 
 
 III. Exhortations to Sound Doctrine. Chs. 2 : 14 to 4 : 8. 
 
 A. The Evil Influence of False Teaching. Ch. 2:14-26. 
 
 B. The Difficult Days Ahead. Ch. 3. 
 
 C. Paul’s Approaching Death. Ch. 4 : 1-8. 
 
 IV. Conclusion. Ch. 4 : 9-22. 
 
 A. Personal Matters. Ch. 4 : 9-18. 
 
 B. Salutation and Benediction. Ch. 4 : 19-22. 
 
86 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY 
 
 II Tim. 1: 1, 2 
 
 1. Introduction. II Tim. 1 : 1-5 
 
 A. SALUTATION. Ch. 1: 1, 2 
 
 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, 
 according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus, 
 2 to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, peace, from 
 God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 
 
 Thus for the last time Paul addresses his dear young 
 friend, Timothy; thus he begins that matchless farewell 
 which has cheered countless readers in all ages of the 
 Christian Church. 
 
 To us of the present day, and in the Western world, 
 there may seem to be something of formality and of cold¬ 
 ness in a greeting which the writer begins with the mention 
 of his own name. We remember, however, that this was as 
 fixed a custom in the days of Paul as it is for us to place 
 signatures at the close of our letters. No name of more 
 thrilling significance could have been written. Its mere 
 mention summons before us vividly one of the most strik¬ 
 ing personalities in the history of the world, a master mind, 
 a soul of almost infinite capacity for joy and grief, for 
 hope and pain, for friendship and for faith. 
 
 So well do we know him, so familiar are we with the fact 
 that he is now opening his last message, that we instinc¬ 
 tively feel he is here calling us to listen to his words. 
 
 There is something official in the title by which he de¬ 
 scribes himself: “Paul, an apostle”; he intends to convey 
 an intimation of authority; he is about to write a pastoral 
 epistle—not a personal note, but a letter to a minister who 
 is in charge of an important church, who needs encourage¬ 
 ment and counsel and, also, a deepening conviction of the 
 dignity and importance of his task. However, the personal 
 element in the letter is to be supreme, and this is fore¬ 
 shadowed by the phrase which Paul adds to the name of 
 Timothy, to whom he is writing. He calls him his “beloved 
 child.” It is this phrase which gives a special note of 
 
II Tim. 1:1,2 
 
 SALUTATION 
 
 87 
 
 tenderness to the salutation and prepares us for the mes¬ 
 sages which follcw, as Paul pours out his whole heart to 
 the companion who had not only shared his greatest trials 
 and triumphs, but also long had enjoyed such affection as 
 a father bestows upon a son; and now Timothy is being 
 summoned to the side of the great apostle, to whom he 
 owes his spiritual life, that he may bring comfort and cheer 
 and receive from him a tender last farewell. 
 
 The name, however, which makes this salutation differ 
 from those of most letters, ancient and modern, and which 
 gives it at once its significance and its dignity, is that 
 neither of Paul nor of Timothy but of “Christ Jesus.” 
 We note the order of the words. Other apostles speak of 
 “Jesus Christ ”; Paul alone, and usually, speaks of ‘ ‘ Christ 
 Jesus.” Just what this difference implies, it may be unwise 
 to insist. Originally the word “Jesus ” was a personal name, 
 and “Christ” an official title; in the course of time, these 
 terms were interchanged rather freely; Jesus had proved 
 to be the Christ, and the Christ had been known among 
 men as Jesus of Nazareth. However, while the other 
 apostles had known their Master first as a man and later 
 as a Messiah, it may be that for this reason they called 
 him Jesus Christ, while Paul, whose first vision was of the 
 glorified Lord, always thought of him as the divine Christ 
 who had borne the human name of Jesus, and whom Paul 
 loved and adored as Christ Jesus. 
 
 Whichever term we may employ, the lesson for us is 
 plain: that we should never regard our Master merely as 
 a man, but, first and last, should reverence him and love 
 him as the Christ, crucified, risen, glorified, divine. 
 
 Three times in the brief compass of this salutation Paul 
 repeats the blessed title. He calls himself “an apostle of 
 Christ Jesus”; he speaks of “the life which is in Christ 
 Jesus”; he prays for grace, mercy and peace “from God 
 the Father and Christ Jesus.” Possibly as we begin our 
 letters or address ourselves to the various tasks of life, it 
 would be helpful for us likewise to remember that we are 
 servants of Christ, that our lives are linked with Christ, 
 and that all our blessings flow from Christ. Surely this 
 would give a new gladness to our most dreary days. 
 
88 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY 
 
 II Tim. 1: 3-5 
 
 In the very phrase, “the promise of the life which is in 
 Christ Jesus,” there is a wealth of meaning. Paul here 
 indicates that the apostleship is due to divine appointment, 
 for he calls himself an apostle “through the will of God,” 
 and he further declares that this appointment is in order 
 that he may proclaim the gospel which he here calls the 
 promise of life. This is the very essence of the good news. 
 It offers life in all its fullness to those who submit their 
 lives to Christ, to those who can use the word which Paul 
 adds when for the third time he refers to “Christ Jesus” 
 and calls him his “Lord.” If Christ Jesus is our Lord, if 
 we truly belong to him, then he imparts to us the life 
 which is life indeed. 
 
 Much of the blessedness of this life is summed up in the 
 prayer which Paul offers for Timothy, and which forms 
 the real substance of this salutation: “Grace, mercy, 
 peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” 
 Only in his letters to Timothy does Paul unite these three 
 luminous terms. Elsewhere he speaks of “grace” and 
 “peace,” but here he adds “mercy,” and these three to¬ 
 gether appear to include all that Paul could wish for 
 Timothy in this world and the next; and yet, the enjoy¬ 
 ment of all that they signify is for everyone whose hope 
 and trust are in “God the Father and Christ Jesus our 
 Lord.” 
 
 B. THANKSGIVING. Ch. 1:3-5 
 
 3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers in a pure 
 conscience, how unceasing is my remembrance of thee in my 
 supplications, night and day 4 longing to see thee, remember¬ 
 ing thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; 5 having been 
 reminded of the unfeigned faith that is in thee; which dwelt 
 first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and, I 
 am persuaded, in thee also. 
 
 As is usual in beginning his letters, Paul follows the 
 opening salutation with a thanksgiving and a prayer. 
 Here the thanksgiving is for the faith of Timothy, and 
 the petition is that Timothy may be restored to Paul. 
 The thanksgiving and the prayer, as in other letters, are 
 closely entwined, and they are expressed in a sentence 
 
II Tim. 1: Z-5 
 
 THANKSGIVING 
 
 89 
 
 which is somewhat difficult to understand because the 
 phrases are so condensed and because their exact relation 
 is not easy to discover. The meaning is in substance as 
 follows: “I thank the God of my fathers, whom I also 
 worship with a pure conscience, that I unceasingly re¬ 
 member you in my prayers. When I remember the tears 
 you shed at our parting, night and day I long to see you 
 again, that I may be filled with joy. I am grateful at re¬ 
 ceiving a reminder of your sincere faith, a faith which 
 dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, and in your mother 
 Eunice, as it dwells, I know, in you.” 
 
 In these words Paul indicates the preciousness of Chris¬ 
 tian faith and the pricelessness of Christian friendship. 
 He feels that this faith is the same as that which animated 
 his fathers before him, the same which dwelt in the heart 
 of Timothy and had inspired his grandmother and his 
 mother. Christianity and Judaism in the mind of Paul 
 were not distinct religions; the former was an outgrowth 
 of the latter. It was its fulfillment, its culmination, its 
 glory. The faith of their Jewish parents, Paul regarded as 
 not different in kind from that which was exercised by 
 Timothy and by himself. Faith is submission to God and 
 dependence upon him and love for him. Faith accepts 
 what God reveals and the revelation through the prophets 
 finds its climax and its completeness in Jesus Christ. 
 
 However, when Paul uses the words, “from my fore¬ 
 fathers,” in connection with his worship and religious serv¬ 
 ice, he means not only that he worships the God of his 
 ancestors and worships as they worshiped, but also that it 
 is to them that he owes his religious faith. He is intimating 
 the same in reference to Timothy. He intimates that 
 Timothy’s faith is due to the influence of Lois and Eunice, 
 his grandmother and his mother. He is thus reminding us 
 that faith can be communicated, that family religion is a 
 matter of supreme importance, and that an inheritance of 
 godly traditions and religious instincts is a blessed pos¬ 
 session. Paul tells us both of the responsibilities and of the 
 privileges of parents. He points us also to the grounds for 
 gratitude in the hearts of children. He intimates that our 
 faith is usually a gift which we owe to others. Most of all, 
 
90 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY 
 
 II Tim. 1:3-5 
 
 he emphasizes the value of this gift. It was because of the 
 faith of Timothy that Paul was thankful to remember him, 
 was thankful that he remembered him unceasingly. It 
 was because of the faith of Timothy that Paul so longed 
 to see him. It was the manifestation of this faith that had 
 made Timothy so dear to the apostle and that made Paul 
 certain that the presence of his friend would bring cheer 
 and comfort even in the dreary dungeon at Rome. 
 
 It is thus the picture of a Christian friendship which is 
 presented to us in these touching words, as the epistle 
 opens. The aged apostle intimates that even those who 
 differ far in age, in attainment, and in disposition, can be 
 closely knit together in the indissoluble bonds of true love. 
 It was this affection that made Paul long, night and day, 
 for the presence of his young friend. He knew that his 
 love was returned; he remembered how Timothy had 
 wept when they had been torn apart, possibly on the occa¬ 
 sion of Paul’s arrest; and now that the shadows of death 
 are deepening around him, Paul sends this tender message 
 to express his devotion, to cheer Timothy in his difficulties, 
 but supremely, to summon Timothy to his side. It was a 
 Christian friendship which gave to the world this match¬ 
 less letter of farewell. 
 
II Tim. 1: 6-12 
 
 ZEAL AND COURAGE 
 
 91 
 
 11. Exhortations to Steadfastness in Service. 
 
 Chs. 1 : 6 to 2 ; 13 
 
 A. TO ZEAL AND COURAGE: THE EXAMPLE 
 OF PAUL. Ch. 1:6-12 
 
 6 For which cause I put thee in remembrance that thou stir 
 up the gift of God, which is in thee through the laying on 
 of my hands. 7 For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; 
 but of power and love and discipline. 8 Be not ashamed there¬ 
 fore of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but 
 suffer hardship with the gospel according to the power of 
 God; 9 who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not 
 according to our works, but according to his own purpose and 
 grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before times 
 eternal, 10 but hath now been manifested by the appearing 
 of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought 
 life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 whereunto 
 I was appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher. 
 12 For which cause I suffer also these things: yet I am not 
 ashamed; for I know him whom I have believed, and I am 
 persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have com¬ 
 mitted unto him against that day. 
 
 The immediate purpose of Paul in writing this epistle is 
 to summon Timothy to Rome; however, his larger design 
 is to prepare Timothy for the approaching death of his 
 beloved leader and to encourage Timothy to be faithful 
 to his task as pastor of the great church at Ephesus. 
 
 Accordingly, when he has expressed his gratitude for the 
 sincerity and devotion of Timothy and his own longing to 
 see him, Paul opens his message with a comprehensive 
 charge, urging Timothy to zeal in his pastoral work and 
 to the fullest use of that spiritual equipment which has 
 been given him for public service, or as Paul expresses it, 
 "Stir up the gift of God, which is in thee.” 
 
 He bases this appeal on the double ground of the faith 
 Timothy has shown and of the gift he has received. The 
 reality and purity of that faith Paul never doubts or ques¬ 
 tions. He knows that it has been transmitted to his young 
 
92 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY II Tim. 1: 6-12 
 
 friend from a godly mother and grandmother, and that 
 this faith has only grown more firm and clear since it has 
 centered upon Christ as a Saviour and Lord. 
 
 The usefulness of Timothy is not endangered by doubt; 
 his peril lies in timidity and self-consciousness and fear. 
 This has always been his temptation^ and now it will be¬ 
 come the more serious when death has robbed him of his 
 inspiring leader, when opposition to the Christian sect has 
 grown more bitter, when false teachers within the Church 
 have become more bold. 
 
 For this reason Paul reminds Timothy not only of the 
 faith which has never failed him but also of the special 
 grace for service that God has given him. The reception 
 of this gift Paul connects with the time when Timothy 
 was ordained to the ministry. From the references here 
 and in the former epistle, it would seem that in view of the 
 high qualifications possessed by Timothy and of his pre¬ 
 dicted usefulness, Paul had united with the members of 
 the presbytery in laying hands upon Timothy and in thus 
 appointing him to his sacred office. It seems, further, that 
 as Timothy yielded himself to the service of Christ, the 
 Spirit of the Master imparted to him special equipment 
 for his task. The result of this divine influence, as Paul 
 here declares, was not a spirit of timidity, but of strength 
 and of love which casts out fear, and of the self-discipline 
 which overcomes weakness and gives confidence in action. 
 
 Therefore, in face of new difficulties, being reminded of 
 the experiences of his ordination hour, Timothy is encour¬ 
 aged to draw upon those stores of grace which by the 
 power of the Holy Spirit ever were at his command. 
 
 Timothy was not the last Christian minister by whom 
 this exhortation has been needed. Many of his successors 
 to-day should heed the exhortation to “stir up,” or to 
 rekindle, or to fan into a flame, the gifts that are in them. 
 Lack of zeal in the Christian ministry may be due to dis¬ 
 couragement, to doubt, to the dull monotony of toil, or to 
 timidity and fear. However, such zeal may be aroused by 
 appealing to the same fact which Paul here mentions. 
 Every public servant of Christ may be reminded helpfully 
 of the faith which he has inherited from a godly ancestry. 
 
II Tim. 1: 6-12 
 
 ZEAL AND COURAGE 
 
 93 
 
 and which has to the present dwelt in his soul. He may 
 also remember the ordination by which he was set aside 
 for his sacred work. 
 
 For we regard this service both as a recognition of in¬ 
 herent gifts, and also as appointment to an office; but 
 further, we believe that in this solemn hour, as a candidate 
 yields himself anew to the service of Christ, he is granted 
 by the Holy Spirit a special equipment for his high calling. 
 The gift is not magical, not miraculous, not mystical, but 
 it is none the less real, and in many future hours of diffi¬ 
 culty he can gain new heart as he remembers that the 
 Spirit who is ever with him will grant him all needed grace. 
 
 However, this message as to the need of using the gifts 
 which God grants is for all the followers of Christ, whatever 
 their special task or sphere in life. There is always a danger 
 of neglecting opportunities, of burying talents, and of al¬ 
 lowing spiritual fervor to be quenched. Much more would 
 be accomplished for Christ and for those about us if we 
 were not held back by fear of failure, by timidity and 
 dread of criticism; but our hearts can ever be strengthened 
 as we remember that Christ who summons us to his service 
 is ever ready to grant us by his Spirit the wisdom and the 
 strength which we need. 
 
 In view of the spiritual equipment which God has gi\'en 
 him, Timothy is urged not to be ashamed either of his 
 testimony for Christ or of Paul who has been imprisoned 
 for his loyalty to Christ; but rather to endure bravely the 
 hardships which may be involved in preaching the gospel. 
 
 For such endurance Timothy can rely upon the power 
 of God who has revealed his grace in the great salvation 
 which he has provided through Christ Jesus. He has se¬ 
 cured deliverance from the guilt and power of sin and has 
 brought us into a holy life, not in view of any merit of our 
 own, but because of his gracious purpose formed in eternity 
 and manifested in time '‘by the appearing of our Saviour 
 Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and 
 immortality to light through the gospel.” 
 
 This, then, was the assurance given to Timothy that if 
 God, in absolute grace, has called us to a new life of conse¬ 
 cration, and has promised us a future life of glory, he cer- 
 
94 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY II Tim. 1: 6-12 
 
 tainly will give us power and protection in our present 
 acts of service. 
 
 The declaration that Christ Jesus has “abolished 
 death” means not only that he overcame death and made 
 it of no effect in his own resurrection, but also that for his 
 followers he has taken from death its “sting,” its “fear,” 
 and its “power.” The sting of death consisted in the 
 consciousness that it was the consequence of sin. The 
 Christian knows, however, that he is not under condemna¬ 
 tion and that for him death is not the penalty for personal 
 guilt. The fear of death had kept all the human race in a 
 bondage of dread; but for the Christian the king of terrors 
 has become a slave; he is clad indeed in a livery of black, 
 but he is sent to draw back the curtains ot mystery and to 
 lead the follower of Christ into the spacious chambers of 
 the Father’s house. 
 
 Death once had the power of hopeless destruction; now 
 it is known that death some day must relinquish all that 
 for a time he is allowed to claim, and that even the grave 
 is to lose its temporary victory. 
 
 As Paul adds, “life” in all its fullness, life for time and 
 eternity, and an “immortality” of deathless “incorrup¬ 
 tion ” have been brought to light through the gospel. Paul 
 does not mean that such “life” and “immortality” were 
 unknown before; they had been vaguely discerned; but 
 upon them the gospel has thrown a flood of light. Before, 
 they were dim hopes, but now the gospel of Christ has 
 made them stand out in all the splendor of bright realities. 
 
 Surely no one needs to be ashamed of such a gospel, and 
 thus Paul further encourages Timothy by declaring how 
 gladly he himself is suffering as a bearer of such good news, 
 and with fearlessness is now looking into the face of death. 
 
 “For which cause,” that is, because of my loyalty to 
 the gospel, “I suffer also these things”—these chains, this 
 dungeon, this darkness, this desertion, this loneliness, this 
 hatred: “yet I am not ashamed; for I know him whom I 
 have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard 
 that which I have committed unto him against that day.” 
 
 The sacred “deposit ” to which Paul refers is taken some- 
 
II Tim. 1: 6-12 
 
 ZEAL AND COURAGE 
 
 95 
 
 times as a reference to the gospel which God has entrusted 
 to him and which Paul believes will be divinely guarded 
 until Christ himself returns. Such is the meaning of the 
 same Greek word in the next verse but one, and also in 
 the next to the last verse in the preceding letter; and such 
 an interpretation is full of significance. 
 
 More commonly, however, this ‘Meposit” is taken as 
 indicating the soul of Paul, his life, all that he has and is. 
 In the light which the gospel throws upon life and immor¬ 
 tality, even as he stands under the very shadow of ap¬ 
 proaching death, Paul has no fear; he knows that he will 
 be safely guarded even unto the day of the glorious ap¬ 
 pearing of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Such a blessed assurance belongs to all the followers of 
 Christ; they share it with Paul, and because of this con¬ 
 fidence, they too rejoice in the gospel and are inclined to 
 steadfast service, and are triumphant over fear, and live 
 in the light of deathless hope. 
 
96 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY II Tim. 1: 13-18 
 
 B. TO FIDELITY AND LOYALTY: THE EXAMPLE OF 
 ONESIPHORUS. Ch. 1: 13-18 
 
 13 Hold tile pattern of sound words which thou hast heard 
 from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 14 That 
 good thing which was committed unto thee guard through the 
 Holy Spirit which dwelleth in us. 
 
 15 This thou knowest, that all that are in Asia turned away 
 from me; of whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 The 
 Lord grant mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus: for he oft 
 refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; 17 but, when 
 he was in Rome, he sought me diligently, and found me 18 
 (the Lord grant unto him to find mercy of the Lord in that 
 day); and in how many things he ministered at Ephesus, thou 
 knowest very well. 
 
 In opening this letter, Paul has already warned Timothy 
 against being ashamed either of the gospel he is preaching 
 or of his friend who for the sake of the gospel is now a 
 prisoner at Rome. This warning forms the substance of 
 the two paragraphs with which this first chapter closes. 
 The first of them, vs. 13, 14, urges Timothy faithfully to 
 preserve the truth of the gospel, and the second, vs. 15-18, 
 encourages him to be loyal in his friendship for Paul. 
 
 The former of these is in substance a double exhortation. 
 It consists of two parallel commands. In the first, it is 
 insisted that Timothy must hold carefully, as a pattern or 
 outline of the Christian faith, the sound teaching which 
 he has received from Paul. In the second, he is told to 
 guard the sacred treasure of the truth which has been 
 committed to his trust. In the first case, this fidelity is 
 declared to be possible by maintaining the “faith and love 
 which is in Christ Jesus.” In the second case, the deposit 
 is to be guarded in the power of “the Holy Spirit which 
 dwelleth in us.” 
 
 As Paul uses the phrase, “pattern of sound words,” he 
 implies that his own teaching has been merely an outline, 
 or brief summary, of the truths which the gospel contains, 
 but that this outline is free from error and must be faith- 
 
II Tim. 1; 13-18 FIDELITY AND LOYALTY 
 
 97 
 
 fully held and proclaimed. He further indicates that such 
 an outline may be expanded and that other statements of 
 the truth will be helpful, but they must be in accordance 
 with the beliefs which Paul himself has set forth in the 
 gospel message committed to Timothy. Still further he 
 indicates that this revealed truth must be held “in faith 
 and love.” That is, it must be accepted with the heart and 
 expressed in life and conduct; and, further, must be pro¬ 
 claimed and defended with the charity and gentleness 
 which become a follower of Christ. 
 
 In his parallel command, Paul describes the gospel as a 
 “deposit,” a treasure which has been committed to 
 Timothy as a sacred trust. It is neither to be lost nor 
 destroyed, nor is its beauty to be marred by hostile hands. 
 In the presence of false teachers and in view of the preva¬ 
 lence of unsound doctrine, Timothy is assured that to 
 safeguard the gospel he needs divine aid. He must depend 
 upon the grace and strength which will be afforded him 
 by the indwelling Spirit of Christ. 
 
 The need of such commands has never ceased. In all 
 ages of thfe Church the gospel has been endangered both 
 by false friends and by open enemies. The form of its 
 statement may sometimes differ, but its every proclama¬ 
 tion should conform to “the pattern” given to the Church 
 by the apostle. At times it must be stoutly defended; and 
 this can best be done by those whose faith is accompanied 
 by love; and surely these virtues are gifts of “the Holy 
 Spirit which dwelleth in us”; only by his power and wis¬ 
 dom shall we be able to guard “that good thing” which 
 has been committed to us by Christ Jesus. To-day he is 
 calling not only his ordained ministers but also all of his 
 followers to guard the sacred treasure of revealed truth 
 “in faith and love.” 
 
 In order that Timothy may be strengthened in his loy¬ 
 alty, Paul gives two examples, one of warning and the 
 other of encouragement. The first is that of the false 
 friends who have deserted him; the second is of One- 
 siphorus, whose devotion Timothy well knows. There is 
 something pathetic in the words of the lonely apostle, “all 
 that are in Asia turned away from me.” Just who these 
 
98 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY II Tim. 1: 13-18 
 
 were, it is impossible to learn. There is something of 
 pardonable exaggeration in the term, “all ... in Asia.” 
 Paul is referring to former friends in Roman Asia, in the 
 small province which occupied only a fraction of what is 
 now known as Asia Minor; but even there Paul still has 
 loyal friends; for it was in Ephesus, the capital city, that 
 Timothy, to whom this letter is written, is presiding over 
 his important church. It is evident, however, that many 
 of these professed Christians have proved false to Paul in 
 the hour of his need. Some have thought that this deser¬ 
 tion was at the time when Paul was arrested; others have 
 felt that the apostle must have written from Rome asking 
 in vain for sympathy and help from these former followers. 
 The circumstances are obscure, but the fact is clear, that 
 the heart of the aged apostle was saddened by the con¬ 
 sciousness that those upon whom he had relied proved 
 faithless when their friendship was most needed. Among 
 these Paul mentions two, Phygelus and Hermogenes. 
 They are not named elsewhere in the New Testament, 
 but they have attained an immortality of disgrace by 
 their defection from the great apostle of Christ. 
 
 In striking contrast Paul names Onesiphorus, evidently 
 another member of the Ephesian church, a man who, 
 while Paul was still in that city, rendered to him repeated 
 services of love, and who later, when Paul had been im¬ 
 prisoned in Rome, made a diligent search until he dis¬ 
 covered the apostle in his dungeon; and then, instead of 
 being ashamed of the deserted and despised leader, fre¬ 
 quently “refreshed” him, both in relieving his necessities 
 and by comforting him with his companionship and love. 
 As Paul reminds Timothy of this devotion and loyalty, he 
 utters the hope that the Lord will grant mercy to the 
 family of this faithful friend, and that to the friend him¬ 
 self mercy would be shown in the day of the Lord’s return. 
 This latter hope as expressed by Paul has been taken by a 
 large portion of the Christian Church as a warrant for the 
 practice of offering “prayers for the dead.” The latter is 
 a subject which must be approached with caution and with 
 reverence; yet it would seem that the custom has no firm 
 support here, nor elsewhere in Scripture. In the first place, 
 
II Tim. 1: 13-18 FIDELITY AND LOYALTY 
 
 99 
 
 it is by no means certain that Onesiphorus was dead. He 
 was separated from his family; he had recently been in 
 Rome, but quite probably he was at this time on his 
 homeward journey to Ephesus. Then, in the second place, 
 the hope or desire expressed by Paul, even if regarded as a 
 prayer, was by no means of the character of those petitions 
 which are commonly offered for the dead. It did not re¬ 
 gard the present condition of his friend, nor his experience 
 in the mysteries of the life which lies beyond our human 
 vision. It concerned only the time of the return of Christ, 
 and expressed the hope that the loyal friend of the apostle 
 would then be fully rewarded for his fidelity and his care. 
 We are certain that our loved ones depart to be with Christ, 
 and in the perfect blessedness of his glorious presence they 
 can hardly be in need of our petitions; and, further, if to 
 pray for the departed were our task, or even our privilege, 
 it seems probable that Scripture would contain some more 
 definite encouragement, some more clear command. 
 
 While this paragraph may not encourage prayers for 
 the dead, it surely must have warned Timothy against the 
 false friendship which endures only in times of prosperity 
 and popularity, and then withers before the first breath of 
 hardship or suffering or disgrace. It further reminds us of 
 the value of true friendships as we see how dependent 
 upon the ministry and sympathy of those who were dear 
 to his heart even the great apostle felt himself to be. 
 
100 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY II Tim. 2: 1-13 
 
 C. TO TRANSMIT THE TRUTH. AND TO ENDURE HARDSHIP 
 
 FOR ITS SAKE. Ch. 2: 1-13 
 
 1 Thou therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace 
 that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things which thou hast heard 
 from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to 
 faithful men, who shall he able to teach others also. 3 Suffer 
 hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No 
 soldier on service entangleth himself in the affairs of this life; 
 that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier. 5 And 
 if also a man contend in the games, he is not crowned, except 
 he have contended lawfully. 6 The husbandman that laboreth 
 must be the first to partake of the fruits. 7 Consider what I 
 say; for the Lord shall give thee understanding in all things. 
 8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of 
 David, according to my gospel: 9 wherein I suffer hardship 
 unto bonds, as a malefactor; but the word of God is not bound. 
 10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sake, that 
 they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus 
 with eternal glory. 11 Faithful is the saying: For if we died 
 with him, we shall also live with him: 12 if we endure, we 
 shall also reign with him: if we shall deny him, he also will 
 deny us: 13 if we are faithless, he abideth faithful; for he 
 cannot deny himself. 
 
 Paul is still encouraging Timothy to steadfastness in his 
 Christian service, as here in the first and second verses of 
 this chapter he gives a comprehensive exhortation and 
 also a specific command. 
 
 This exhortation is based upon the motives to which 
 Paul has been appealing in the first chapter of the epistle. 
 In view of the faith of Timothy, and of his gift for service, 
 and of the glory of the gospel, and of the encouraging ex¬ 
 ample of Paul, and of the heroic devotion of Onesiphorus, 
 Timothy is urged to be strong, to be brave, to be steadfast: 
 “Thou therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace 
 that is in Christ Jesus.” Thus Timothy is turned to Christ 
 and directed to seek from him the divine help which he is 
 ready to bestow. If Timothy will depend upon Christ, he 
 
II Tim. 2: M3 TO TRANSMIT THE TRUTH 
 
 101 
 
 will gain all needed grace, a gift unmerited but also un¬ 
 limited. Thus for all the followers of Christ, both those 
 who bear the responsibility of public service and those 
 whose spheres of labor may be most obscure, there is 
 offered an exhaustless supply of grace. By it they can be 
 strengthened, not merely as passive recipients, but as they 
 eagerly seek divine help and earnestly appropriate it to 
 meet their needs. 
 
 This exhortation is followed by a specific command to 
 commit the gospel as a sacred trust to reliable teachers, 
 who in turn will hand it on to others, and thus secure its 
 preservation and its proclamation for succeeding genera¬ 
 tions. In describing this sacred trust which he is to hand 
 on to others, Paul reminds Timothy that he himself had 
 received this trust from the apostle in the presence of 
 * “many witnesses.” The reference seems to be to the time 
 when Timothy was ordained to the ministry. Then, in the 
 presence of the presbyters and others who may have been 
 present, this treasure had been committed, in a solemn 
 service, to the care of the young messenger. Paul is now 
 reminding him that it is his duty to select faithful men, 
 who under the direction of Timothy will likewise be 
 ordained to the gospel ministry. 
 
 The “faithful men” to whom the truth is to be thus 
 entrusted are evidently the “bishops” or “elders” or 
 “presbyters” whom Paul has described in the previous 
 epistle as the permanent officers of the church. This 
 definite reference to Church organization is in accordance 
 with the other Pastoral Letters. In First Timothy and 
 also in Titus, as in this letter, three great themes occupy the 
 thought cf the writer. These are Church government, sound 
 doctrine, and consistent living. The connection in which the 
 first of these themes is ijientioned here, intimates the view 
 of Church government continually emphasized by Paul. He 
 regards it as a matter of great importance, but it is never 
 an end in itself. It is designed to secure the safeguarding 
 of the sacred deposit of truth with which the Church is 
 entrusted. It is for this reason that he commands Timothy 
 to select men who are not only trustworthy, but well- 
 qualified “ to teach others also.” This solemn responsibility 
 
102 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY II Tim. 2; M3 
 
 of maintaining a strong organization which will ordain 
 faithful men to the ministry rests upon all the officers of , 
 the Christian Church, but it concerns the members as well. 
 
 It is necessary that all should insist that only those men 
 who accept the inspired teachings of the apostle and are 
 qualified for the sacred ministry should be selected as 
 expounders of divine truth. 
 
 As Paul continues to urge upon Timothy faithfulness in 
 the ministerial office, he declares that hardship will be in¬ 
 evitable, but that reward is certain. These are the thoughts 
 that form the substance of the verses which follow, from 
 the third to the thirteenth. Paul indicates that every 
 gallant achievement demands fortitude. Therefore Tim¬ 
 othy is urged to suffer hardship “as a good soldier of Christ 
 Jesus.” He is reminded that one who is of real service to • 
 his commanding officer must be willing to disregard all 
 ties of home or of business and to do and to dare whatever 
 military service may demand. Paul further illustrates the 
 necessity of self-denial and of earnest effort from the case 
 of the athlete, who cannot win the prize unless he submits 
 to the training, and the discipline, and the strain, which the 
 contest involves. So, too, with the laborer who toils in the 
 field; as a reward for his patient service, he may rightfully 
 expect the first share in the harvest. 
 
 These three illustrations bear a message for every fol¬ 
 lower of Christ, but they have a special meaning for the 
 Christian minister. Much is said to-day of “the strenuous 
 life,” but we do not always realize that this phrase is a 
 fair description of a true religious experience. Some seem 
 to forget that to follow Christ involves ceaseless effort, 
 and struggle, and sacrifice. It is also true, however, that 
 the compensations are incomparable and the rewards are 
 eternal. 
 
 Most of all, is it true of the Christian minister that he 
 is called to a life which is well pictured here in the striking 
 parables of the apostle. He must be a soldier who is ever 
 eager to please the Captain of his salvation, and who with 
 this in view keeps first things first and makes no entangling 
 alliances which may distract his thought and demand his 
 
II Tim. 2: 1-13 TO TRANSMIT THE TRUTH 
 
 103 
 
 strength, who regards himself as having enlisted for life 
 and as engaged in a glorious but absorbing campaign. He 
 must regard himself as an athlete, ready to subject himself 
 to sacrifice and discipline and to endure an agony of effort, 
 but he may be encouraged as he remembers that he is 
 striving not for a fading wreath of olive or of pine, but for 
 a crown of glory and of life “ that fadeth not away.” Then, 
 too, he is like a farmer who is engaged in monotonous toil. 
 Unlike that of the soldier or the athlete, it has no glamour 
 of peril or applause; and yet, no matter how obscure the 
 task and how dreary the time, even though he “goes forth 
 with weeping,” he is certain at last to know the joy of 
 harvest. He cannot fail of his reward. 
 
 The principle illustrated by the soldier, the athlete, and 
 the farmer is one which Timothy will be sure to under¬ 
 stand and which, as he thinks upon this message, will be 
 made increasingly plain to him by the Lord, namely, that 
 without a cross there can be no crown. Of this principle 
 the Master himself is set forth as the supreme Exemplar, 
 for we see in his case, as in no other, how truly suffering is 
 succeeded by glory: “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from 
 the dead, of the seed of David.” Here Paul refers to the 
 resurrection, not as a point of doctrine, but as an experi¬ 
 ence in the life of One who, though as a man, “ of the seed of 
 David,” he suffered a shameful death, was raised in triumph 
 and crowned with glory and honor. 
 
 This experience of Christ was a familiar feature of the 
 gospel Paul proclaimed, and of the great principle of suf¬ 
 fering issuing in blessing. 
 
 Of this same principle Paul mentions himself as a further 
 example. His suffering has been due to his faithful preach¬ 
 ing, and his recompense consists in the result of this min¬ 
 istry. “I suffer hardship unto bonds,” writes the apostle; 
 he is confined as a criminal; “but the word of God is not 
 bound”; no opposition of man can limit the range or the 
 glorious results of this gospel. It is the knowledge of these 
 results which constitutes his reward. Paul is willing to 
 endure the hardship and the shame, because thereby, in 
 the providence of God, believers are being saved by faith 
 in the Christ whom Paul proclaims, and, having been 
 
104 SECOND TIMOTHY II Tim. 2: 1-13 
 
 chosen of God in time past, are being made heirs of eternal 
 glory. 
 
 Thus countless followers of the great apostle have felt; 
 they, too, have been willing to suffer and to weep and to 
 die, because they have had “souls for their hire.” 
 
 Paul brings to its climax his argument as to the sure 
 reward of steadfast service by quoting a “saying” which, 
 because of its rhythmic and balanced arrangement, seems 
 to be a portion of an ancient hymn: 
 
 “If we died with him, we shall also live with him: 
 
 If we endure, we shall also reign with him: 
 
 If we shall deny him, he also will deny us: 
 
 If we are faithless, he abideth faithful; 
 
 For he cannot deny himself.” 
 
 The first two lines place in striking contrast death and 
 life, submission and sovereignty. Those who have suffered 
 and died for Christ have shared his sufferings and death 
 in all reality, and they will surely share his heavenly life 
 and his glorious reign. The death to which Paul refers is 
 not merely the act of self-dedication which unites us with 
 Christ when we accept him as Lord and Master and seal 
 our vows by baptism; rather, here the reference is to 
 Christian martyrdom; for the whole passage is an encour¬ 
 agement not only to a spiritual experience, but to courage 
 and endurance even to suffering and death in the service 
 of Christ. 
 
 The third line contains a warning which is phrased in 
 the very words of the Master. We are reminded of what 
 he said to his disciples: “Every one therefore who shall 
 confess me before men, him will I also confess before my 
 Father who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me 
 before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is 
 in heaven.” Thus, this hymn declares, if we disown him in 
 the face of peril or of scorn, he also will disown us in the 
 presence of his Father on the day of his glorious return. 
 
 The fourth line breathes a note of hope; even though our 
 faith may waver, and we may distrust the power and care 
 of our Lord, he ever abides faithful; he cannot be untrue 
 
II Tim. 2:1-13 TO TRANSMIT THE TRUTH 
 
 105 
 
 to himself. Of course, if we abandon the faith, we face 
 darkness and doom, but not every act of unfaithfulness is 
 willful apostasy. The courage of Peter failed, but he was 
 restored; even in advance his loving Master had prayed 
 for him. Some honest doubts trouble even those who are 
 devoted to Christ. He continues faithful, and while he is 
 certain to disown those who finally are faithless, yet “he 
 is faithful and righteous to forgive”; he is true to his 
 promises and is certain to pardon, to strengthen and to 
 reward. Thus across the long ages and the vast silences 
 float the cadences of this sweet Christian song, calling us 
 to be earnest, to be zealous, to be brave, and encouraging 
 us to believe that without the cross there is no crown, and 
 that “the way of the cross is the way of light.” 
 
106 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY II Tim. 2: 14-26 
 
 III. Exhortations to Sound Doctrine. Ch. 2:14 to 4:8 
 
 A. THE EVIL INFLUENCE OF FALSE TEACHING. 
 
 Ch. 2: 14-26 
 
 14 Of these things put them in remembrance, charging 
 them in the sight of the Lord, that they strive not about words, 
 to no profit, to the subverting of them that hear. 15 Give dili¬ 
 gence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that 
 needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth. 
 16 But shun profane babblings: for toey will proceed further in 
 ungodliness, 17 and their word will eat as doth a gangrene: 
 of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18 men who concerning 
 the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past 
 already, and overthrow the faith of some. 19 Howbeit the 
 firm foundation of God standeth, having this seal, The Lord 
 knoweth them that] are his: and, Let every one that nameth 
 the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness. 20 Now in 
 a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, 
 but also of wood and of earth; and some unto honor, and 
 some unto dishonor. 21 If a man therefore purge himself from 
 these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, meet for the 
 master’s use, prepared unto every good work. 22 But flee 
 youthful lusts, and follow after righteousness, faith, love, 
 peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 
 23 But foolish and ignorant questionings refuse, knowing that 
 they gender strifes. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not 
 strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, forbearing, 25 
 in meekness correcting them that oppose themselves; if 
 peradventure God may give them repentance unto the knowl¬ 
 edge of the truth, 26 and they may recover themselves out of 
 the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him imto 
 his will. 
 
 In the first half of this epistle, as commonly divided, 
 Paul dwells more particularly upon the need of steadfast¬ 
 ness in Christian service; in the second half, which begins 
 with the fourteenth verse of the second chapter, his empha¬ 
 sis is more continually upon the need of sound doctrine. 
 There is, however, a third theme in all three Pastoral 
 Epistles. It is that of Church organization, and as in the 
 
II Tim. 2: 14-26 FALSE TEACHING 
 
 107 
 
 opening of this chapter, Paul has urged Timothy to ap¬ 
 point well-qualified and faithful men who may serve as the 
 official teachers of the gospel, so here he exhorts him to 
 put these officers in remembrance of the hardship involved 
 in ministerial service, but also of its rich and abiding re¬ 
 ward. Timothy further is most solemnly to charge these 
 teachers "that they strive not about words, to no profit, 
 to the subverting of them that hear.” This is an injunction 
 full of meaning to the Christians of all ages. There are 
 many religious discussions which are profitless, in fact, 
 injurious. Paul does not mean that words are of no value 
 or significance. Sometimes a religious term is precious 
 and must be guarded as a sacred trust, even as a casket 
 containing a precious jewel of truth; but too frequently 
 these discussions are for forms of words, for which men 
 are contending in pride, in stubbornness, and in self- 
 conceit. Too frequently these disputes result in loss of 
 temper and even in the weakening of faith. 
 
 Timothy is urged to enforce his teachings by his own 
 example; he is incited to eager effort that he may be ap¬ 
 proved of God as "a workman that needeth not to be 
 ashamed,” that is, as one whose work will stand the test 
 of divine judgment and be approved even when inspected 
 by his Lord. The particular work in which Timothy is 
 engaged is described as "handling aright the word of 
 truth.” The exact meaning of the original is a little difficult 
 to determine. "Handling aright” is sometimes translated 
 as "rightly dividing,” and is supposed by some to refer to 
 the act of a priest in dividing the flesh of a sacrifice, or to 
 the work of cutting straight paths, or even to making a 
 straight furrow; but whatever the original meaning of the 
 term, when the word is connected with "the word of truth,” 
 it means the task of the teacher, who with loyalty and de¬ 
 votion is setting forth the true gospel of Christ. This is 
 the task of Timothy. It is to be the supreme work of 
 those officers whom he is to appoint to serve the Christian 
 Church. 
 
 On the contrary, Paul indicates that there are already in 
 the Church false teachers whom Timothy is to avoid. Their 
 teachings are described as "profane babblings”; that is, 
 
108 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY II Tim. 2: 14-26 
 
 they are not merely worthless and empty; they are in¬ 
 jurious and irreligious. The evil influence of these teachers, 
 Paul declares, will become more powerful and more danger¬ 
 ous: “Their word will eat as doth a gangrene.” This is a 
 striking figure of speech which Paul employs. It suggests 
 how the influence of false teaching eats its way into a life 
 and character like a deadly cancer. The thought of this 
 evil influence forms the very center of the paragraph which 
 Paul is here writing. Two of the teachers whom he men¬ 
 tions as examples are Hymenseus and Philetus. The first 
 has been named in his previous letter; of the latter nothing 
 further is known other than the mention here, which gives 
 him an immortality of shame, as he is listed among those 
 who, while professing to follow Christ and boasting them¬ 
 selves to be teachers of his truth, are really so far cor¬ 
 rupting his doctrine as to be sources of spiritual disease 
 and death. 
 
 The particular truth in reference to which these men 
 “have erred” is that of the resurrection. The exact nature 
 of their false teaching is defined only as “saying that the 
 resurrection is past already.” It is probably parallel to 
 the theories of those who, in modern days, regard resur¬ 
 rection as a mere figure of speech, denoting only the ex¬ 
 perience of those who “on stepping-stones” of their “dead 
 selves” have risen to “higher things”; or of those who 
 deny any future, bodily resurrection and consummation 
 of glory at the return of Christ, and insist that, at the time 
 of death, the souls of believers are clothed with “spiritual,” 
 “astral,” or “immortal” bodies. 
 
 The serious influence of these errors may not be realized 
 until one reads the fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians, 
 in which Paul shows that a belief in a future resurrection 
 of believers is inseparable from a belief in the resurrection 
 of Christ, which Paul declares to be the very foundation 
 stone of the Christian faith; and in this chapter he shows 
 further the perilous results of abandoning these beliefs. 
 
 Thus Paul here declares that the effect of “saying that 
 the resurrection is past already,” is to “overthrow the 
 faith of some.” 
 
 Nevertheless, in spite of false teachers and of defections 
 
II Tim. 2: 14-26 FALSE TEACHING 
 
 109 
 
 from the faith, Paul tells Timothy not to be dismayed. 
 The faith of some may be overthrown, but the Church 
 cannot be overthrown. Paul describes the Church as a 
 great house, the foundation of which is firm; in fact, he 
 designates the Church by the very phrase, “the firm 
 foundation of God,” describing the whole by a part; and 
 he declares that it is unshaken. 
 
 Upon this “firm foundation” Paul imagines two inscrip¬ 
 tions, one written from the divine side and one from the 
 human: “The Lord knoweth them that are his,” and “Let 
 every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from 
 unrighteousness. ’ ’ 
 
 The first tells us that we need not be too much dis¬ 
 tressed by false teachers; we must not fear that they can 
 destroy the Church; the Lord distinguishes between the 
 false and the true; he will discover, he will punish and 
 reward: “the Lord knoweth them that are his.” 
 
 On the other hand, if we profess to be Christians, we 
 must separate ourselves from all that is wrong and sinful 
 either in belief or in practice. We must “depart from 
 unrighteousness.” 
 
 It is evident, then, that in the Church there are always 
 false teachers as well as true. Paul pictures these two 
 classes by comparing them with the different vessels or 
 utensils which are found in a great house; some are put to 
 distasteful and unpleasant uses, and others are vessels of 
 honor, which are associated with dignity and delight. 
 Thus some men in a professing church can be used only as 
 warnings and as examples of the perils of apostasy; but, 
 on the other hand, a man who will keep himself uncon¬ 
 taminated by false teachers and by error, will be like a 
 vessel of gold or silver, “a vessel unto honor, sanctified, 
 meet for the master’s use, prepared unto every good work.” 
 Nothing in the world is so pitiful and dishonorable as to 
 be a teacher of error; and no person can be of such noble 
 and continuous service in the Master’s cause as one who 
 is an intelligent and loyal exponent of his truth. 
 
 However, even the conscious possession of truth in the 
 face of abounding error has its temptations, particularly 
 
110 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY II Tim. 2: 14-26 
 
 for a young man who has enjoyed such peculiar oppor¬ 
 tunities for learning as had Timothy under the tuition of 
 Paul. Therefore, when the apostle here urges Ti'mothy to 
 “flee youthful lusts,” we may conclude from what precedes 
 and what follows that he refers not so much to bodily 
 appetites as to the temptations of a young pastor to pride, 
 to conceit, to dogmatism, to contentiousness, and to the 
 display of his own wisdom, either in exploiting false the¬ 
 ories or in defending the faith. Therefore Timothy is ad¬ 
 monished to “follow after righteousness, faith, love, 
 peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” 
 
 Furthermore, Timothy is warned against “foolish and 
 ignorant questionings.” There are many such. A mind 
 which is well instructed and disciplined realizes that there 
 are limitations to human knowledge and to divine revela¬ 
 tion, and that it is foolish to argue about subjects which 
 are merely matters of speculation, and also that the bitter 
 discussion of less obscure themes can result only in stirring 
 up strife. 
 
 “The Lord’s servant must not strive,” writes Paul. 
 This is true of all Christians, but especially of the Christian 
 minister. No man more rightfully may be expected to win 
 confidence by his sweet reasonableness, or to disarm oppo¬ 
 sition by his gracious courtesy. He must be “gentle 
 towards all, apt to teach, forbearing.” Even when unbe¬ 
 lieving and exasperating men oppose him, he must seek 
 with all meekness to lead them back to the truth. 
 
 It is significant that Paul does not say that the men who 
 oppose the truth are merely to be answered or to be con¬ 
 vinced; they are to be brought to “repentance.” Paul 
 indicates, as did Christ, that there is a moral element in 
 faith and unbelief. When the gospel has been clearly pre¬ 
 sented, when its message has been fully stated, then to 
 turn from divine Love and Holiness and Light, is to con¬ 
 vict oneself of having something evil in the heart or in 
 the life. 
 
 So Paul here declares that the false teachers who have 
 erred from the truth have really fallen under the power of 
 the Enemy of their souls. They have been ensnared by the 
 Evil One; they have been “taken captive by him unto his 
 
II Tim. 2: 14-26 FALSE TEACHING 
 
 111 
 
 will.” It even is implied, further, that their unbelief itself 
 has resulted in wrong living and that by an acceptance of 
 the truth “they may recover themselves out of the snare 
 of the devil.” This deliverance, however, can be only by 
 divine power. It is for the Christian messenger to present 
 the truth clearly and kindly; but it is God who “may give 
 them repentance”; he will honor his own truth, and he 
 will give his faithful servant the joy of seeing souls de¬ 
 livered from powers of darkness and of deaths 
 
112 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY 
 
 II Tim., ch. 3 
 
 B. THE DIFFICULT DAYS AHEAD. Ch. 3 
 
 1 But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall 
 come. 2 For men shall he lovers of self, lovers of money, 
 boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, 
 unholy, 3 without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, 
 without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, 4 traitors, head¬ 
 strong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; 
 5 holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power 
 thereof: from these also turn away. 6 For of these are they 
 that creep into houses, and take captive silly women laden 
 with sins, led away by divers lusts, 7 ever learning, and 
 never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 And even 
 as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also 
 withstand the truth; men corrupted in mind, reprobate con¬ 
 cerning the faith. 9 But they shall proceed no further: for 
 their folly shall be evident unto all men, as theirs also came to 
 be. 10 But thou didst follow my teaching, conduct, purpose, 
 faith, longsuffering, love, patience, 11 persecutions, sufferings; 
 what things befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what 
 persecutions I endured: and out of them all the Lord delivered 
 me. 12 Yea, and all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall 
 suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and impostors shall wax 
 worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But 
 abide thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been 
 assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 and 
 that from a babe thou hast known the sacred writings which 
 are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which 
 is in Christ Jesus. 16 Every scripture inspired of God is also 
 profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruc¬ 
 tion which is in righteousness: 17 that the man of God may be 
 complete, furnished completely unto every good work. 
 
 In urging Timothy to maintain sound doctrine, Paul 
 has pointed out the evil influence of false teaching, and 
 he now warns Timothy that opposition to the truth will 
 continue and will grow even more intense; but Timothy is 
 neither to be surprised nor dismayed. He is not to be sur¬ 
 prised, because Christ and his apostles have made it clear 
 that we live in an age of continual conflict between evil 
 and good; he is not to be dismayed, because truth will 
 
II Tim., ch. 3 DIFFICULT DAYS AHEAD 
 
 113 
 
 ultimately triumph and its enemies will be put to shame. 
 
 Here Paul seems to refer more especially to the close of 
 the era in which we now live, “the last days” of the age 
 between the ascension of Christ and his return. This re¬ 
 turn, contrary to the opinion of many, Paul does not re¬ 
 gard as immediate or imminent; for in these Pastoral 
 Epistles, Paul is making definite provision for the per¬ 
 manent organization and the continuing ministry of the 
 Church. He does affirm, however, that in the period be¬ 
 tween the departure and the return of his Lord, “grievous 
 times” must be expected. These times are to be grievous 
 because of conditions not only in the world at large, but 
 even in the Church. It is of the latter that he here is 
 speaking. These times are to be difficult for those who 
 would be faithful to Christ; they will be seasons of trial, in 
 which the path of duty will not always be plain, nor the 
 demands of duty easy to perform. In describing the men 
 who are to make these “last days” so full of peril, Paul 
 declares that the teachers of the present time are similar 
 to them in character and conduct, and it is against such 
 impostors that he is here warning Timothy. In short, the 
 entire chapter might be summed up in two exhortations: 
 the first, to “turn away” from such teachers as are here 
 described; and the second, to abide in the truth which 
 Timothy has been taught. 
 
 As he characterizes the men of the “last days,” Paul 
 employs a long series of striking terms. In these it may 
 be difficult to find any special arrangement or division. 
 However, they begin with two Greek words which are 
 closely associated, “lovers of self” and “lovers of money,” 
 and they dost with two words which are strikingly con¬ 
 trasted, “lovers of pleasure” and “loversof God.” Between 
 these four words are five groups of three terms each, com¬ 
 prising an appalling list of evil characteristics. 
 
 The first group includes the term “boastful,” that is, 
 glorying in self and endeavoring to pass for a man of 
 greater consequence than one really is; “haughty,” that is, 
 contemptuous of others; “railers,” which denotes those 
 who actually abuse and revile their fellow men. So these 
 terms indicate sins against both truth and love. 
 
114 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY 
 
 II Tim., ch. 3 
 
 In the second group of vices, “unfilial,” “unthankful,” 
 “unholy,” are terms which denote a wrong relation to 
 parents, to benefactors, and to God himself. 
 
 The third group, “without natural affection, implacable, 
 slanderers,” stands in striking rebuke to the words of our 
 l.ord, “Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you; 
 bless them that curse you.” 
 
 The fourth group, “without self-control, fierce, no lovers 
 of good,” describes the libertine, the churl, the worldling. 
 
 The last group, “traitors, headstrong, puffed up,” de¬ 
 scribes those who are treacherous to their fellow men, 
 reckless, and marked by self-conceit. The most distressing 
 feature of all is found in the closing phrase of these de¬ 
 scriptive terms, “holding a form of godliness, but having 
 denied the power thereof,” which indicates that the men 
 described belong to the professing Church. They affect 
 piety, but they repudiate the power of Christian faith, 
 keeping up a pretense of religion, but manifesting charac¬ 
 ters which show that they are utterly ignorant of that 
 salvation which finds its essence in full surrender to a risen 
 and glorified Christ. 
 
 As we read this direful description at the present time, 
 we become painfully conscious that the apostle made no 
 mistake in predicting that such men would be found during 
 future days, even among the followers of Christ. Un¬ 
 happily none of these men are strangers to us; we have 
 met them all. Their forms are so familiar that they cause 
 us no surprise. Most distressing of all, they are found in 
 the Christian Church and their influence is such that we 
 surely do well to be on our guard against them, and to 
 heed the word of the apostle, “ From these also turn away.” 
 
 Paul indicates that the false teachers of his day were like 
 in nature to the men he has just pictured; and he further 
 characterizes them as those “that creep into houses, and 
 take captive silly women laden with sins, led away by 
 divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the 
 knowledge of the truth.” 
 
 Exponents of religious error always find their easiest 
 victims among a certain class of neurotic and sentimental 
 
II Tim., ch. 3 DIFFICULT DAYS AHEAD 
 
 115 
 
 women, who love secret instruction and occult solutions of 
 the problems of sin and of sorrow, especially such as are 
 disturbed by guilt of conscience, such as allow their emo¬ 
 tions to control their reason and to determine their morals, 
 and such as are so flattered by being offered “new thought” 
 that they are blind to revealed truth. 
 
 Paul finally compares the teachers of error, against whom 
 Timothy was warned, with Jannes and Jambres, the Egyp¬ 
 tian magicians who withstood Moses when he was attempt¬ 
 ing to convince Pharaoh of the power of God, and to incline 
 him to yield to the will of God. “So do these also with¬ 
 stand the truth,” declares Paul, and he further describes 
 them as “men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning 
 the faith,” that is, men who are morally depraved and 
 devoid of all real knowledge of the gospel. However, their 
 defeat is certain, for as Moses discomfited those ancient 
 impostors, so of these modern enemies of God Paul de¬ 
 clares, “They shall proceed no further: for their folly shall 
 be evident unto all men.” 
 
 In absolute contrast with these false teachers, Timothy 
 is given the inspiring example of Paul, and i§ reminded 
 that he has, in the sacred Scriptures, a safeguard against 
 all the influences of unsound doctrine. 
 
 The opposition of unscrupulous heretics is never easy to 
 endure, but Timothy is reminded of Paul’s sufferings and 
 deliverance with which he has long been acquainted: 
 “Thou didst follow my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, 
 longsuffering, love, patience, persecutions, sufferings”; he 
 is able to recall how the faithful apostle had been driven 
 out of Antioch and Iconium, and how he had been stoned 
 at Lystra and left as dead; but also how the Lord had 
 rescued him and had preserved him amidst all these 
 perils. 
 
 Timothy is warned that he must expect similar experi¬ 
 ences if he is to be loyal to the truth; suffering is the com¬ 
 mon experience of all faithful ministers of the gospel; 
 Paul even adds, “Yea, and all that would live godly in 
 Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” 
 
116 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY 
 
 II Tim., ch. 3 
 
 Timothy need not expect times less difficult than those 
 in which Paul has lived: “Evil men and impostors shall 
 wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 
 However, Timothy need not be swerved from the truth. 
 He is exhorted to remain steadfast to the great religious 
 verities which he has been taught, and he is encouraged to 
 such fidelity by the remembrance of the mother and grand¬ 
 mother, by whom, during his childhood, he had been in¬ 
 structed in the sacred writings. He has further been taught 
 the gospel message by his beloved teacher, Paul. The 
 memory of those who have led him into the full knowledge 
 of the truth should make it seem to him more and more 
 sacred. Thus Paul reminds Timothy that “from a babe” 
 he has known “the sacred writings” which pointed him 
 to Christ, through faith in whom Timothy is saved. In 
 the face of all false doctrine and in spite of the influence of 
 false teachers of religion, Timothy need have no fear, for he 
 is in possession of the sacred Scriptures which are designed 
 to equip him for life and service. These Scriptures, Paul de¬ 
 clares, are “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correc¬ 
 tion, for instruction which is in righteousness.” They are 
 designed, indeed, fully to equip the man of God for every 
 good work*. 
 
 In these last verses many readers prefer the translation 
 of the Authorized Version for the phrase, “All scripture is 
 given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for . . . 
 instruction,” instead of the rendering of the Revision, 
 “Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for 
 teaching,” and they fear that the latter translation im¬ 
 pairs the evidence for the inspiration of the Bible. How¬ 
 ever, while according to the former translation, inspiration 
 is affirmed, according to the latter, it is assumed. Here 
 Paul is discussing the value and the use of the sacred 
 writings. Their inspiration is not called in question. He 
 has been saying that Timothy, from childhood, has known 
 these sacred writings which can make him “wise unto 
 salvation.” He then adds that every one of these writings, 
 by which he means every part of these inspired Scriptures, 
 is also profitable for such moral and spiritual discipline as 
 will make the minister of the gospel completely furnished 
 
II Tim., ch. 3 DIFFICULT DAYS AHEAD 
 
 117 
 
 for his difficult task. Parallel to the word “writings” is 
 the word “scripture,” and corresponding to the word 
 “sacred” is the phravSe “inspired of God”; and as in the 
 former sentence, the sacred writings are said to be able to 
 make one “wise unto salvation,” so here they are declared 
 to be profitable for “teaching, for reproof, for correction, 
 for instruction which is in righteousness.” 
 
 The message is primarily for the “man of God,” the 
 Christian minister, but the Scriptures are likewise profit¬ 
 able for all the followers of Christ; and if Paul could make 
 such statements in reference to the influence of the Old 
 Testament, how much more gladly should we regard the 
 possible influence of the sacred Scriptures which have 
 come to us, not only from the ancient prophets but also 
 from the apostles of our Lord. 
 
118 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY 
 
 II Tim. 4: 1-8 
 
 C. PAUL’S APPROACHING DEATH. Ch. 4: 1-8 
 
 1 I charge thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, 
 who shall judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing 
 and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be urgent in season, out 
 of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and 
 teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure 
 the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to 
 themselves teachers after their own lusts; 4 and will turn 
 away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables. 
 5 But be thou sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work 
 of an evangelist, fulfil thy ministry. 6 For I am already being 
 offered, and the time of my departure is come. 7 I have 
 fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept 
 the faith: 8 henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of 
 righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give 
 to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that 
 have loved his appearing. 
 
 Probably no passage in all the epistles of Paul contains 
 so stirring an appeal as does this final charge to Timothy, 
 his friend. It has all the seriousness of a last farewell, and 
 it is made e^’en more solemn by the phrases with which it 
 is introduced, as the apostle charges Timothy “in the sight 
 of God,” and also “of Christ Jesus,” of whose unseen pres¬ 
 ence both Paul and Timothy are conscious, to whom both 
 must give account in the great day when he comes to 
 “judge the living and the dead.” At the time of that com¬ 
 ing Timothy possibly may be living, but Paul realizes that 
 he himself will then be among “ the dead.” By that glorious 
 “appearing,” and by the perfected “kingdom” which will 
 follow, Paul adjures Timothy to heed this last command. 
 
 It is a twofold charge with which Paul completes this let¬ 
 ter, and each part of it is enforced by the consideration of 
 events which are to come. The first group of commands 
 is found in the second verse of the chapter; it is summed 
 up largely in the clause, “Preach the word,” and it is re¬ 
 lated to the difficult times predicted in the chapter which 
 precedes. 
 
II Tim. 4: 1-8 PAUL’S APPROACHING DEATH 119 
 
 The second part of this final charge is found in the fifth 
 verse. It reaches its climax in the command, “Fulfil thy 
 ministry,” and it is strengthened by definite mention of the 
 approaching death of the apostle. 
 
 The first group of commands is especially related to the 
 last half of the epistle, in which Paul has been urging Tim¬ 
 othy to teach sound doctrine. Thus he here continues, 
 “Preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season; re¬ 
 prove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” 
 
 These five imperatives ring out with the directness of 
 military commands. Their injunctions must be obeyed by 
 every loyal minister of Christ in every age and land. The 
 tense in which these words appear in their Greek original 
 implies that these activities are to continue jight up to the 
 coming of the Lord. 
 
 “ Preach the word,” that is, “the word of God,” the gos¬ 
 pel of grace, the good news of his redeeming love, the truth 
 recorded for us in the sacred Scriptures; this, and not hu¬ 
 man speculations, is the great message which every herald 
 of the cross is commissioned to proclaim. 
 
 “Ee urgent in season, out of season”; Paul does not 
 mean that the messenger, in the urgency of his appeal, is 
 to be inconsiderate and tactless, but he is not to consult 
 merely his own convenience, not to preach at set times 
 only, not to await occasions that are obviously opportune. 
 At every possible season he must be eager to present the 
 Word of life. 
 
 His purpose must be to “reprove, rebuke, exhort,” but 
 his spirit must be that of great forebearance and “long- 
 suffering,” and his method must be that of “teaching,” 
 which means that he will give grounds for correct belief 
 and principles for right action. 
 
 t 
 
 Such teaching in accordance with “the word” is urged 
 in view of the difficult days concerning which Paul previ¬ 
 ously has spoken, and to which he here again refers: “For 
 the time will come when they will not endure the sound 
 doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves 
 teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their 
 ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables.” 
 
120 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY 
 
 II Tim. 4; 1-8 
 
 Thus the reasons why sound doctrine will not be toler¬ 
 able are, that it will not satisfy the craving for novelty on the 
 part of the hearers, or flatter their ^’anity, or condone their 
 faults; therefore, they will welcome a host of teachers who 
 will offer to meet their religious needs without insisting upon 
 morality; consequently, they will refuse to listen to the 
 presentation of truth, and will turn aside to fantastic 
 fables. Those who willingly reject the realities of revealed 
 religion, are always most apt to become the dupes of im¬ 
 postors and the victims of frauds. 
 
 In view of such coming days of peril, Timothy is urged 
 to be alert and watchful; he must be ready to suffer hard¬ 
 ship for the sake of the gospel, as Paul in the earlier part of 
 the letter has warned him. First, he is to do “the work of 
 an evangelist”; from the story of Philip who alone in the 
 New Testament is called “the evangelist” we may con- 
 clpde that the term did not imply a special order of the 
 ministry, but a definite kind of work, particularly preach¬ 
 ing to the unconverted; so that this exhortation is much 
 * like saying that Timothy and his fellow ministers are not 
 to be satisfied with mere pastoral duties among members 
 of their own flocks, but should continually be seeking for 
 the salvation of other souls. 
 
 Last of all, Paul urges Timothy to “fulfil” his “minis¬ 
 try,” that is, to accomplish completely his sacred task, to 
 perform all its functions, to accept all its duties, to realize 
 all its possibilities, to be faithful to all its demands. 
 
 Such is the last charge of the apostle and it is enforced 
 by the solemn announcement of his approaching death. 
 “This,” says the apostle in effect, “is the special reason 
 for your being faithful, namely, that I am laying down the 
 work; I am leaving it to you, by whom it must be carried on 
 and upon whose fidelity its success must depend.” 
 
 “For I am already being offered,” writes Paul, indicat¬ 
 ing that his blood is about to be poured out as a libation. 
 
 “The time of my departure is come;” here one is 
 tempted to dwell upon the picture which the word “depar¬ 
 ture” often is supposed to paint: either the “loosing” of the 
 
II Tim. 4: 1-8 PAUL’S APPROACHING DEATH 
 
 121 
 
 cords as a tent is taken down, or the “loosing” of a ship 
 from her moorings as she sails homeward over the sea; but 
 in the time of Paul, this word seems to have been used with 
 the mere meaning of a “going away.” However, this is 
 significant enough as we remember what this “departure” 
 signified to Paul when he wrote to the Philippians of his 
 “desire to depart and be with Christ; for it is very far 
 better.” 
 
 To Paul death did not mean the cessation of conscious¬ 
 ness, nor the sleep of the soul, but “to be absent from the 
 body” was to be “at home with the Lord.” 
 
 In familiar and vivid phrases Paul further impresses the 
 fact that his earthly career is ended; and he refers to that 
 career, not merely to express his rightful satisfaction, but 
 to encourage Timothy to follow his worthy example. “I 
 have fought the good fight”; here the figure of speech is 
 drawn from the Greek games. Paul is saying,“I have 
 fought through the glorious contest; my life has been a 
 brave struggle, but I have never been daunted by oppo¬ 
 sition.” 
 
 Or, if the meaning is somewhat more general, he is say¬ 
 ing, “I have striven in the noble contest,” and his next 
 allusion is specifically to one stirring event in the games, 
 namely, the foot race, as he declares, “ I have finished the 
 course.” Paul surely had known what it was to “lay aside 
 every weight” and “ to run with patience the race” that 
 was set before him. During all his long life of effort there 
 had been no flagging because of weariness or faintness of 
 heart. 
 
 “I have kept the faith”; he is here stating that he had 
 received the gospel as a sacred deposit, he had guarded it 
 with ceaseless care, and now he is entrusting it to Timo- 
 othy who is thus encouraged not only to fight manfully and 
 to run eagerly, but also, as the figure of speech changes to 
 one which Paul had used earlier in the letter, to guard 
 “that good thing which was committed” to him. 
 
 Then as Paul turns from the past to the future, he does 
 so with the confidence of a conscious victor and with the 
 assurance of one who knows he has merited a reward: 
 
122 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY 
 
 II Tim. 4: 1-8 
 
 “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of right¬ 
 eousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give 
 to me at that day.” He had alluded to the Greek games in 
 which the athletes contested for crowns of laurel or of pine. 
 They were wont to strive for these corruptible crowns, but 
 Paul was assured of one which would never fade away. It 
 was a “crown of righteousness” by which many under¬ 
 stand “a crown for being righteous,” a crown as a reward 
 for zeal and for fidelity. 
 
 It may mean, however, a crown vdiich will consist of 
 that perfect “righteousness” which Paul so earnestly had 
 been striving to attain. This meaning would be in accord 
 with the common New Testament usage, the “crown of 
 thorns,” the “crown of life,” the “crown of rejoicing,” the 
 “crown of glory;” and the first meaning would leave this 
 “ crown ” alone without any description as to its character. 
 
 It might be possible to combine these two ideas as is done 
 by a quaint old commentator when he says, “ It is called a 
 crown of righteousness, because it will be a recompense of 
 our services which God is not unrighteous to forget; and 
 because our holiness and righteousness will then be per¬ 
 fected, and that will be our crown.” 
 
 Paul mentions this crown, however, not in the spirit of 
 selfish exultation; like all the preceding statements, this, 
 too, contains encouragement for Timothy to live as Paul has 
 lived, to serve as he has served, and to regard death as he re¬ 
 gards it; for the apostle adds that this crown is not for him¬ 
 self alone, not only for great saints and apostles and martyrs, 
 but also for “all them that have loved his appearing.” 
 This last phrase does not describe any one class of Christ¬ 
 ians or any single group who hold special views as to the 
 return of Christ. Rather Paul indicates that to love the 
 thought of the glorious appearing of our Lord is a natural 
 characteristic of all Christians. His spiritual presence is to 
 them a blessed reality, but his visible appearance in glory 
 is their constant hope. Paul has reached a time when he 
 knows that he must pass through the darkness of death; 
 but he encourages his friends to believe that they might live 
 until the Lord returns. 
 
II Tim. 4: 9-18 PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 123 
 
 IV. Conclusion. Ch. 4: 9-18 
 
 A. PERSONAL MATTERS. Ch. 4:9-18 
 
 9 Give diligence to come shortly unto me: 10 for Demas 
 forsook me, having loved this present world, and went to 
 Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 
 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee; 
 for he is useful to me for ministering. 12 But Tychicus I sent 
 to Ephesus. 13 The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, 
 bring when thou comest, and the books, especially the parch¬ 
 ments. 14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the 
 Lord will render to him according to his works: 15 of whom do 
 thou also beware; for he greatly withstood our words. 16 At 
 my first defence no one took my part, but all forsook me: may 
 it not be laid to their account. 17 But the Lord stood by me, 
 and strengthened me; that through me the message might be 
 fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I 
 was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. 18 The Lord will 
 deliver me from every evil work, and will save me unto his 
 heavenly kingdom: to whom be the glory for ever and ever. 
 Amen. 
 
 These closing sentences paint a picture in view of which 
 the meaning and pathos and power of the whole epistle 
 stand out in clearer light. They disclose the dank, dark, 
 cheerless dungeon in which the letter has been composed. 
 They reveal the great apostle, despised, deserted, yet un¬ 
 daunted even by the shadow of approaching death, and 
 still sustained by his unconquerable faith. 
 
 They introduce characters whose familiar forms are so 
 associated with heroic missionary efforts that their ap¬ 
 pearance enforces the great exhortations of the epistle to 
 be steadfast in service and to be loyal to the truth. The 
 names of the heroes who were among the closest compan¬ 
 ions of Paul and the mention of Thessalonica, Galatia, 
 Ephesus, Troas, Corinth, and Miletus, places where much 
 of his most notable work was done, open up great vistas of 
 memory and make these closing words of his last letter 
 almost a compendium of his life. 
 
124 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY II Tim. 4; 9-18 
 
 Then, further, these personal references a’-e so definite 
 and significant as to demonstrate beyond reasv^nable doubt 
 that these Pastoral Epistles are authentic letters of the 
 Apostle Paul. 
 
 First of all, he states the immediate occasion of this 
 letter: it is his desire for the presence of Timothy: “Give 
 diligence to come shortly unto me”; or, as he says a little 
 later, “give diligence to come before winter.” Paul was 
 lonely. In the darkness of his dungeon he longed for com¬ 
 panionship. No doubt he desired the help of Timothy, in 
 his care for the churches and in the furtherance of the work 
 which neither bonds nor imprisonment ever stopped; yet 
 there need be no question that the tender heart of the 
 great apostle yearned for sympathy and Christian fellow¬ 
 ship. If some men can be happy without friends, surely 
 Paul was not one of these. He was not merely a man of 
 mighty intellect, but a man of deep affection and of tender 
 emotions, and in the light of these closing sentences we 
 realize that this last letter is a monument of his love. 
 
 He explains his loneliness and the urgency of his sum¬ 
 mons by telling Timothy of the dispersion of that circle of 
 friends who for a time had cheered the darkness of his dun¬ 
 geon. One has deserted him; two have left him for reasons 
 which he does not name; one has been sent by him to 
 Ephesus. “Give diligence to come shortly unto me: for 
 Demas forsook me, having loved this present world, and 
 went to Thessalonica.” Only once before in the life of Paul 
 has Demas appeared. Then he was sharing an earlier im¬ 
 prisonment and he was described as a loyal fellow worker; 
 in two epistles, then written, his name was honorably 
 linked with that of “Luke, the beloved physician.” 
 
 That Demas had become an apostate from the Christian 
 faith, is by no means certain, although tradition so indicates. 
 Probably he had become discouraged by hardships and had 
 fled from Rome at a time when the persecution under Nero 
 was becoming more perilous. It is enough of disgrace that he 
 deserted Paul in the hour of direst need. 
 
 Paul next mentions the departure of “ Crescens to Galatia” 
 and of “Titus to Dalmatia.” Whether they had been dis- 
 
II Tim. 4: 9-18 PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 125 
 
 patched upon honorable missions, or had decided that it 
 would be wise for them to labor in fields where their lives 
 would be safer than in Rome, Paul does not state. It is not to 
 be supposed, however, that he means to rank them with 
 Demas as deserters. Of Crescens nothing else is known; but 
 Titus is remembered as the faithful delegate who accom¬ 
 plished for Paul most delicate tasks in Corinth and in Crete. 
 
 “Only Luke is with me.” It might be difficult to de¬ 
 termine whether this phrase depicts more vividly the lone¬ 
 liness of Paul or the heroism of Luke. The apostle did have 
 other friends in Rome whom later he mentions; but no one 
 else was willing to share the rigor and peril of his imprison¬ 
 ment. However, there was no one whom Paul would have 
 preferred to Luke. Probably no lovelier character lived 
 in those days of early Christianity than this “beloved 
 physician” whose gospel is regarded as “the most beautiful 
 book in the world,” whovse book of The Acts constitutes the 
 most fascinating and important portion of Church history, 
 whose care for the great apostle seems to have made pos¬ 
 sible the continuance of Paul’s incomparable work as they 
 shared the perils of travel, the gloom of dungeons, and the 
 glory of composing masterpieces of literary art. In this 
 last scene of Paul’s life nothing could be more fitting than 
 this sketch of Luke, amid the deepening shadows, standing 
 steadfast by his side. 
 
 To the name of Luke, Paul now adds that of another 
 Evangelist: “Take Mark, and bring him with thee; for he 
 is useful to me for ministering.” This name has become an 
 inspiration to those of us who have known the bitterness of 
 failure in the service of Christ. Here is a man whose early 
 life had been marred by a grievous fault, whose companion¬ 
 ship Paul consequently had spurned as that of a coward 
 and a deserter, but a man who had so redeemed his reputa¬ 
 tion and so convinced the apostle of his sincerity, his de¬ 
 votion, and his worth, that he is now summoned to aid Paul 
 in an hour of supreme danger, and in circumstances from 
 which other friends were ready to flee. 
 
 One other member of the broken circle of fellow prison¬ 
 ers is mentioned: “Tychicus I sent to Ephesus.” Tychicus 
 
126 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY II Tim. 4: 9-18 
 
 belonged to the province of Asia in which Ephesus was lo¬ 
 cated; he had accompanied Paul on his last journey to 
 Jerusalem; he had shared his earlier imprisonment in Rome, 
 and from thence had carried the Epistles to the Ephesians 
 and the Colossians. It is not impossible to conclude that 
 he was to bear this letter, traveling by routes which had 
 become familiar to him in the service of his famous friend. 
 
 The request of the apostle which follows, namely, that 
 when coming, Timothy should bring with him the heavy 
 “cloak” which had been left at Troas, and also the papy¬ 
 rus “ books ” and the leather “ parchments, ” sounds a note 
 of reality, for no forger would have inserted here such a re¬ 
 quest; it adds a tender touch of human interest and enables 
 us to see the aged sufferer in the damp prison cell, shivering 
 in the chill of an approaching winter; but it flashes a fur¬ 
 ther light upon that indomitable spirit who, in circum¬ 
 stances of deepest distress, was eager to continue work 
 with his manuscripts and books. 
 
 Whom Paul had in mind as he turned to warn Timothy 
 against “Alexander the coppersmith,” it is impossible to 
 learn; nor can we conjecture the particular character of the 
 offense which is denounced. Evidently this Alexander 
 was an enemy of the gospel, and yet seemingly one who was 
 disguised, for Timothy is put upon his guard against him. 
 Of his ultim.ate defeat Paul has no doubt: “The Lord will 
 render to him according to his works.” The great apostle 
 never entertained any doubts as to the sovereignty of the 
 Lord, and of his final adjustment of penalties and rewards. 
 
 The apostle next describes for Timothy the experiences 
 of his first public trial. He had defended himself before, 
 in the presence of august courts and powerful rulers, but 
 here at Rome he has been arraigned before an imperial 
 tribunal at the very capital of the world, and at this time 
 of peril and need he has been made to stand absolutely 
 alone. Those upon whose support and aid he naturally 
 might have relied, have forsaken him and fled. At that 
 time even Luke may not have been in Rome. Why his 
 
II Tim. 4: 9-18 PERSONAL MATTERS 
 
 127 
 
 friends in the city furnished him no help we cannot con¬ 
 jecture. However, in this supreme crisis of his life, in his 
 hour of greatest need, the apostle finds himself unbe¬ 
 friended, deserted, with no comrade or helper to sympa¬ 
 thize, to comfort, or to sustain. 
 
 Yet he was not alone. By his side, unseen by the throng 
 of curious spectators, unperceived by his malignant foes, 
 unimagined by his imperial judges, there stood One as real 
 to Paul as his very self: “The Lord stood by me.” Nor 
 was this Presence a mere inactive spirit; he manifested his 
 power in two ways. First, he so strengthened Paul that the 
 apostle gave a full and moving proclamation of the gospel 
 of Christ, a message delivered before so representative an 
 audience, and in the heart of the imperial city, that Paul 
 could say truthfully, he had been strengthened so that 
 “the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the 
 Gentiles might hear.” Instead of being intimidated and 
 silenced as he stood before the judgment seat of Nero, 
 Paul was enabled to give a message to the whole world. 
 
 There was a second result: “I was delivered out of the 
 mouth of the lion.” No special enemy is here denoted. Paul 
 means merely that he was delivered out of his imminent 
 peril; he was neither acquitted nor condemned, but death 
 was for the present averted. 
 
 Such past deliverance gave him hope for the future, a 
 hope expressed in words of far-reaching import: “The Lord 
 will deliver me from every evil work, and will save me unto 
 his heavenly kingdom.” Paul does not believe that no 
 physical ill can befall him, but he is confident that his ene¬ 
 mies can inflict no abiding harm. His description of de¬ 
 liverance widens out to the statement of a sublime Chris¬ 
 tian confidence. Nothing can permanently injure one who 
 belongs to Christ; even death will only deliver him from 
 suffering and bring him into eternal bliss. No wonder that 
 in the presence of such a Lord, Paul adds this doxology: 
 “To whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 
 
128 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY II Tim. 4: 19-22 
 
 B. SALUTATION AND BENEDICTION. Ch. 4: 19-22 
 
 19 Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the house of Onesiphorus. 
 20 Erastus remained at Corinth: but Trophimus I left at 
 Miletus sick. 21 Give diligence to come before winter. 
 Eubulus saluteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, 
 and all the brethren. 
 
 22 The Lord be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. 
 
 Paul sends a closing salutation to Prisca (or Priscilla) and 
 Aquila, and to, “the house of Onesiphorus.” The latter 
 Christian household has been mentioned by Paul with deep 
 affection in an earlier part of his epistle; it is only natural 
 that in dispatching the letter to Ephesus he should include 
 this loving farewell. 
 
 As for Prisca and Aquila, they had been his fast friends 
 since those days he lived with them iji Corinth, days of 
 discouragement and ultimate triumph when he was found¬ 
 ing the Christian Church in that great commercial capital. 
 It may have been then, under his influence, they first ac¬ 
 cepted Christ. They were Jews by birth and came from 
 Pontus. More than once they had resided in Rome, where, 
 as at Ephesus, they had been of great help to Paul. As at 
 this time they again were in Ephesus, Paul gladly accepts 
 the opportunity of sending them an affectionate remem¬ 
 brance. 
 
 From two other companions of the apostle, Timothy 
 might have expected salutations, and therefore Paul ex¬ 
 plains: “Erastus remained at Corinth: but Trophimus I 
 left at Miletus sick.” It cannot be determined whether 
 this Erastus is to be identified either with the treasurer of 
 Corinth, Rom. 16: 23, or with the messenger sent by Paul 
 to Macedonia, Acts 19:22. 
 
 Trophimus was probably the Ephesian who had traveled 
 with Paul on his third missionary journey. That Paul was 
 compelled to leave him “at Miletus sick” would seem to 
 indicate that even Christians cannot always claim by 
 
II Tim. 4: 19-22 
 
 BENEDICTION 
 
 129 
 
 faith deliverance from disease, and that even the chief 
 apostle could not cure a suffering friend. In sickness and 
 in health our prayer must be, ‘'The will of the Lord be 
 done.” 
 
 After these personal greetings Paul again states the 
 prime purpose of his epistle, which is to summon Timothy 
 to Rome: ‘‘Give diligence to come before winter,” that is, 
 ‘‘before you may be prevented by storms, before I may be 
 in greater need of the cloak you are to bring, before my 
 next summons to stand before the judgment seat of Nero.” 
 It is a pathetic appeal, but its chief interest lies in the 
 question which it naturally raises, namely, did Timothy 
 reach Rome, in reply to this appeal, before Paul was con¬ 
 demned and executed? So it would seem; for otherwise 
 Timothy might not have suffered the experience of im¬ 
 prisonment to which reference is made in the Epistle to the 
 Hebrews, Heb. 13: 23. His visit to Paul may have been 
 the occasion of his arrest. He probably shared with the 
 apostle that captivity from which other friends shrank. 
 Thus we may believe that during his last days Paul was 
 solaced by the sympathetic presence of the two men he 
 most truly loved, Luke and Timothy, and also by the 
 faithful and efficient service of Mark. 
 
 There were other friends, too, who on occasion found 
 access to his dungeon, residents of Rome and representa¬ 
 tives of that large circle of Christians who held Paul in 
 reverent regard. From them he sends greetings through 
 Timothy: ‘‘Eubulus saluteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, 
 and Claudia, and all the brethren.” Of the persons here 
 named nothing further is known, unless this Linus is he 
 who, according to tradition, was appointed as bishop of 
 Rome in the days of the early simplicity of that sacred 
 office. The mention of his name and those of his associ¬ 
 ates gives another proof of historic reality to this letter; and 
 the absence of all mention of the official position of Linus 
 indicates that these words must have been written at the 
 early date commonly assigned to this epistle. We are, 
 therefore, still further assured that we are reading here the 
 last authentic words of the Apostle Paul. 
 
130 
 
 SECOND TIMOTHY II Tim. 4: 19-22 
 
 The closing benediction, “The Lord be with thy spirit. 
 Grace be with you,” is an example of the wealth of meaning 
 hidden from such readers of the English Bible as fail to 
 understand its careful use of pronouns; for as “thy” is of 
 course singular and denotes only one person, “you” is 
 always plural, and here indicates the whole Christian con¬ 
 gregation at Ephesus. Thus we are reminded again that 
 these Pastoral Epistles were not mere personal letters to in¬ 
 dividuals but conveyed messages through representative 
 ministers, to the Christians under their care. 
 
 For Timothy, Paul invokes the blessings of his ever¬ 
 present Lord, and prays that divine grace may be granted 
 to sustain and keep the whole congregation of believers. 
 This grace supported Paul, as a little later he was led forth 
 to die, and it surely will suffice for all who serve and trust 
 his Master and his Lord. 
 
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO 
 TITUS 
 
 Titus and Timothy were closely associated as compan¬ 
 ions and helpers of Paul. Both were trusted and loved by 
 him and both proved worthy of his confidence and esteem. 
 They seem, however, to have been men of strikingly con¬ 
 trasted character. Timothy was sensitive, affectionate, 
 sympathetic, and gentle. Titus revealed more of energy, 
 of vigor, of discretion, and of decision. 
 
 The life of Titus is not sketched for us by the historian - 
 Luke. In fact the name does not appear in The Acts. Yet 
 the brief references made to Titus by Paul in his epistles 
 are so significant that his personality and his career stand 
 vividly before us; he was true to his great leader and ren¬ 
 dered him valiant service, and in return he received 
 through the pen of the apostle an immortality of fame. 
 
 He first appears, in the sacred story, at Antioch. He is 
 described as a Gentile, a Greek, who had been converted 
 to faith in Christ by the personal influence of Paul. Cer¬ 
 tain Jewish Christians were endeavoring to make him 
 observe the law of Moses, and were insisting that such 
 observance was necessary to salvation. It was in order to 
 decide this very question which had arisen in reference to 
 all Gentile converts that Paul, in company with Titus and 
 other representatives of the church at Antioch, went to 
 Jerusalem, as a delegate to the great council. Here, for a 
 time, the battle raged about Titus; but the decision was 
 finally reached which granted to Christians for all time 
 freedom from the law as a ground of salvation. Thus the 
 name of Titus is inseparably connected with the "Magna 
 Charta” of Christian liberty; and it is further a reminder 
 of the strange contrasts which the ages have produced, 
 that while Jewish converts once questioned the possibility 
 of salvation for Gentiles, now many Gentile Christians 
 seem to question the possibility or the need of securing 
 converts from among the Jews 
 
 131 
 
132 
 
 THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TITUS 
 
 While Paul was on his Third Missionary Journey, during 
 his long stay at Ephesus, Titus was his trusted lieutenant 
 and messenger and served as his representative in dealing 
 with a number of difficult matters, notably those in con¬ 
 nection with the church at Corinth. 
 
 If the nature of tasks assigned is ever a compliment to 
 the capacity of a worker, it was certainly such in the case 
 of the missions which Titus was asked to accomplish for 
 Paul. 
 
 The Corinthian Christians were divided by a spirit of 
 faction; they were countenancing gross immorality; they 
 were allowing irreverence in their public services; they 
 were perplexed by false teaching. To correct such irregu¬ 
 larities and, in addition, to collect a fund for the relief of 
 the ‘‘saints” in Jerusalem, Titus was dispatched to Cor¬ 
 inth by Paul on at least two occasions. 
 
 That he succeeded on such delicate and intricate mis¬ 
 sions is the highest possible tribute to his tact and courage 
 and strength. The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corin¬ 
 thians is full of expressions indicating the regard in which 
 Titus was held by those Christians, his own sympathy and 
 enthusiasm for them, as well as the gratitude and affection 
 of Paul for Titus. The next and greatest tribute to the 
 fidelity of Titus is this epistle which bears his name, and 
 which he received from the great apostle while serving as 
 his delegate and representative in the island of Crete. 
 
 This island, which occupied a favorable position in the 
 center of the Mediterranean, had attained, in days of re¬ 
 mote antiquity, a brilliant and glorious civilization; but, 
 for some reason, this civilization had declined, and, in the 
 time of Augustus, the inhabitants of Crete were crude and 
 barbarous, and were regarded with aversion and con¬ 
 tempt. 
 
 When Paul was on his way to Rome as a prisoner, the 
 ill-fated ship on which he was sailing touched at a Cretan 
 port, but later was driven from the island by a severe 
 storm and subsequently wrecked. The voyagers were res¬ 
 cued, Paul was brought to Rome, but after an imprison¬ 
 ment of some two years, it seems that he was released, and 
 resumed his missionary journeys. 
 
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TITUS 
 
 133 
 
 He recognized the character of the Cretans, but believed 
 that they should receive the gospel quite as well as the 
 cultured residents of Athens and Rome. Taking Titus as 
 his companion, he visited Crete. Quite possibly Christian¬ 
 ity had been established on the island already, for Cretans 
 were among the multitudes who had received the gospel 
 from the lips of Peter on the day of Pentecost. Under the 
 influence of Paul the Christian movement, if not actually 
 begun, was fostered and strengthened. However, before 
 the work of organization was complete, Paul was called to 
 Greece and Macedonia. He therefore left behind him in 
 Crete his trusted friend, Titus, to carry forward the work 
 and to appoint oflicers in the churches throughout the 
 island. Some time after his departure, Paul wrote back 
 this letter to Titus, specifying the proper character of such 
 church officials, urging Titus to rebuke false teachers, to 
 exhort believers of all classes to lives of holiness consistent 
 with their Christian profession, and to act firmly toward all 
 who held and fostered heresies. 
 
 The letter served as a message of commendation for 
 Zenas and Apollos by whom, possibly, it was conveyed to 
 Titus. Its special message, however, was to the effect that 
 on the arrival of Artemas or Tychicus, Titus should leave 
 Crete and should join Paul at Nicopolis. Apparently, this 
 reunion was enjoyed, for when, a little later, Paul was a 
 second time imprisoned, he wrote to Timothy of the de¬ 
 parture of “Titus to Dalmatia.” We should not suppose 
 that this was a desertion of Paul by Titus, but rather that 
 he had gone to another mission field, and a field again of pe¬ 
 culiar peril and difficulty. This, at least, is the last mention 
 of that comrade who was so dear to the great apostle as to be 
 called his “partner” and “fellow-worker,” his “brother,” 
 his “true child.” 
 
 This particular letter, written by Paul to Titus in Crete, 
 is therefore a pastoral epistle, inasmuch as it is not merely 
 a personal communication; it is an official note 'addressed 
 to a representative of the apostle, and intended to convey 
 through him a message to the whole church. 
 
 Like the other Pastoral Epistles, it has three great 
 
134 
 
 THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TITUS 
 
 themes: Church organization, sound doctrine, holy living. 
 These three always have a definite logical relation, and they 
 are here discussed in practically this order. The very pur¬ 
 pose of Paul when leaving Titus in Crete was to complete 
 the work of organization and to “appoint elders in every 
 city.” Elders are the only officers mentioned. They were 
 evidently the spiritual rulers and leaders and teachers of 
 the local congregatipns. Their chief task was “to exhort 
 in the sound doctrine, and to convict the gainsayers.” 
 Thus, here, as ever, Paul indicates that the supreme aim of 
 Church government is the preservation of revealed truth. 
 
 This truth is here designated by a number of striking 
 phrases, as “the message,” the “faithful word,” “the faith 
 of God’s elect,” “the truth”; but the characteristic des¬ 
 ignation is that of “sound doctrine,” or “healthful teach¬ 
 ing.” This word “sound” is really a medical term, and 
 indicates doctrine which is free from all taint and disease. 
 Evidently the Cretan church was already imperiled by 
 unsound doctrine, by false teaching. This was due to the 
 influence of certain errorists, particularly of Jewish origin, 
 whom Paul designates as “gainsayers,” “unruly men, vain 
 talkers and deceivers,” “factious” men who concerned 
 themselves about “foolish questionings, and genealogies, 
 and strifes, and fightings about the law.” The influence of 
 such men must be opposed by “sound” teaching, and at 
 least five times in this brief letter Paul employs this signifi¬ 
 cant term. 
 
 Furthermore, Paul gives to Titus, if quite incidentally, 
 statements of the essential content of the truths which con¬ 
 stitute “sound teaching.” Twice in the course of the epis¬ 
 tle, Paul introduces such summaries of the Christian faith. 
 
 One is in the second chapter: “ For the grace of God hath 
 appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us, to 
 the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we 
 should live soberly and righteously and godly in this pres¬ 
 ent world; looking for the blessed hope and appearing of 
 the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” 
 Ch. 2. 11-13. 
 
 Another such summary of truth, likewise hardly sur¬ 
 passed for beauty and completeness, is found in the third 
 
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TITUS 
 
 135 
 
 chapter: But when the kindness of God our Saviour, and 
 his love toward man, appeared, not by works done in 
 righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to 
 his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration 
 and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he poured out upon 
 us richly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that, being 
 justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to 
 the hope of eternal life. Faithful is the saying, and con¬ 
 cerning these things I desire that thou affirm confidently, 
 to the end that they who have believed God may be care¬ 
 ful to maintain good works. These things are good and 
 profitable unto men.” 
 
 Paul speaks with no uncertain sound. To him the sub¬ 
 stance of the Christian revelation is definite, clear, un¬ 
 questioned. The very fact that these statements are not 
 part of a formal argument but spring from the general 
 train of thought, in an epistle of practical instruction, 
 makes them even more impressive as an expression of what 
 to the mind of Paul constituted “sound doctrine.” 
 
 However, “sound doctrine” is never regarded by the 
 apostle as an end in itself. Truth, according to Paul, is 
 always intended to determine life and to promote godliness. 
 Therefore the supreme purpose of the epistle is to secure 
 holy living. 
 
 If the organization is designated largely by the appoint¬ 
 ment of “elders,” and if the truth is expressed in the phrase 
 “sound teaching,” the life to be developed is described 
 quite as definitely by two phrases, “good works” and 
 “sober-mindedness.” The latter word, in several forms, 
 appears likewise five times in the course of the letter. It is 
 an extremely beautiful term. It denotes not sadness or 
 gloominess of disposition but self-restraint, temperance, 
 discretion, and general excellence of character as revealed 
 in practical conduct. That believers of all ages and classes 
 may be thus sober-minded, and that they may be “ zealous 
 of good works,” is the supreme purpose of Paul in sending 
 this letter to Titus. 
 
 The order of thought is not studied and formal, but its 
 general course may be indicated by the following outline: 
 
136 
 
 THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO TITUS 
 
 I. Salutation. Titus 1: 1-4. 
 
 II. Discussion. Chs. 1: 5 to 3 :11. 
 
 A. Qualifications of Elders—In View of the Conditions 
 in Crete. Ch. 1:5-16 
 
 B. Conduct Among Christians—In View of the Saving 
 Purpose of God. Ch. 2. 
 
 C. Conduct Toward Unbelievers—In View of the Sav¬ 
 ing Mercy of God. Ch. 3: 1-11 
 
 III. Conclusion. Ch. 3 : 12-15. 
 
Titus 1: 1-4 
 
 SALUTATION 
 
 137 
 
 I. Salutation. Titus 1:1-4 
 
 1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, 
 according to the faith of God’s elect, and the knowledge of the 
 truth which is according to godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, 
 which God, who cannot lie, promised before times eternal; 
 3 but in his own seasons manifested his word in the message, 
 wherewith I was intrusted according to the commandment of 
 God our Saviour; 4 to Titus, my true child after a common 
 faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus 
 our Saviour. 
 
 In reference to the Pastoral Epistles of Paul it has been 
 said truly that “these letters supply the practical test of 
 inspiration, namely, their field of matter for thought is 
 never exhausted by study.” This is evident when examin¬ 
 ing even the brief clauses which constitute the personal 
 salutations which open these epistles. They are found to 
 be not mere empty formulas; they contain statements of 
 important facts worthy of most careful consideration. 
 
 Each of these salutations differsfrom the others,and com¬ 
 monly contains phrases carefully chosen in reference to the 
 occasion and purpose of the particular letter, so that the 
 opening greeting constitutes an appropriate introduction 
 to the epistle. 
 
 Paul does not explain his personal circumstances, nor 
 those of the readers he addresses. It appears from further 
 statements in the letter that he is on a missionary journey 
 which has included a stay on the great island of Crete, and 
 which has since taken him to Greece and Macedonia. As 
 there is no place for such a journey in the story of his life 
 as recorded by Luke in The Acts, it appears that he must 
 have been released from the imprisonment with which The 
 Acts closes and have enjoyed a season of active ministry 
 before the confinement at Rome where he wrote his last 
 letter to Timothy. The place of this letter, in order of 
 time, therefore, is between the First and the Second Epis¬ 
 tles to Timothy. 
 
'138 
 
 TITUS 
 
 Titus 1:1-4 
 
 Paul designates himself as “a servant of God,” literally, 
 a “bondservant,” or “slave.” This exact expression Paul 
 uses in no other place. He usually says that he is a “serv¬ 
 ant of Jesus Christ.” It is only a slight change, but cer¬ 
 tainly a change which no forger would have made, had he 
 desired to write^ a letter in the name of the great apostle. 
 It is one of the many proofs that we have here a genuine 
 letter of which Paul was the author, and it sounds out this 
 assurance in the first sentence of the epistle. 
 
 Paul further declares himself to be “an apostle of Jesus 
 Christ”; for his service of God is being rendered in the 
 sphere of his Christian apostleship. This apostleship is 
 said to be “according to the faith of God’s elect,” that is, 
 with a view to the establishment and confirmation of the 
 faith of the people whom God has chosen, by which latter 
 term Paul commonly defines the Church. 
 
 This apostleship, further, is declared to be for the pur¬ 
 pose of extending and enforcing “the truth which is ac¬ 
 cording to godliness.” This “truth” is none other than 
 the Christian gospel which has as its aim the promotion 
 of godliness, and which is sought and accepted by those 
 who truly love and serv^e God. 
 
 This apostleship is exercised and this faith and knowl¬ 
 edge are experienced “in hope of eternal life, which God, 
 who cannot lie, promised before times eternal.” Christian 
 faith and knowledge have therefore a superb accompani¬ 
 ment of hope, which reaches back to the eternal promise of a 
 God who cannot be false to his own word,|and forward to the 
 enjoyment of the eternal life which he has provided through 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 This gracious purpose and promise God has manifested 
 “in his own seasons,” in the gospel, “his word,” even in 
 the “message,” or “proclamation,” intrusted to Paul, 
 “according to the commandment of God.” 
 
 After thus defining his apostleship, Paul expresses his 
 greeting to Titus, whom he calls “my true child after a 
 common faith.” The expression may mean that Titus had 
 been led to accept the Christian faith by the influence of 
 Paul; it may further indicate the comparative youth of 
 
Titus 1: 1-4 
 
 SALUTATION 
 
 139 
 
 Titus; but it is surely an expression of tender affection, of 
 close spiritual relationship, and of deep sympathy. For 
 Titus, Paul invokes, “Grace and peace from God the 
 Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.” Just previously 
 Paul has used the beautiful phrase, “God our Saviour,” 
 so that “Christ Jesus our Saviour” is united with the 
 Father in the oneness of divine being as well as of saving 
 grace. 
 
 It will be noted, then, that in at least two particulars 
 this “salutation” to Titus forms a fitting introduction to 
 this particular epistle. First, it emphasizes the authority 
 of Paul, as one who is a “servant of God,” “an apostle of 
 Christ,” and entrusted with a divine message “according 
 to the commandment of God.” This emphasis indicates 
 that Paul is not merely writing a personal letter to his 
 friend Titus, but also is sending an official communication 
 to him as one in charge of the congregation in Crete, so 
 that this is in the truest sense one of the Pastoral Epistles. 
 This emphasis is even stronger than in the introduction 
 to First or Second Timothy, possibly because Paul was 
 less well known to the Christians of Crete than to those of 
 Ephesus. In any event, his words, which reached them 
 through Titus, would be received with the respect and con¬ 
 sideration due to a divinely appointed apostle of Christ. 
 
 In the second place, such a greeting is an appropriate 
 introduction to the epistle because it describes the gospel 
 message in terms fitting the situation in Crete. The 
 truth is declared to be “according to godliness”; it was 
 unlike the heresies of the false teachers which were purely 
 speculative and without practical aim or moral purpose. 
 Further, in contrast to the deceitfulness of the Cretans 
 and the faithlessness of those who were advocating error, 
 the hope of eternal life was promised by “God, who cannot 
 lie.” 
 
 Thus, as through the entire letter, official authority in 
 the church is declared to have as its purpose the preserva¬ 
 tion and proclamation of the revealed truth contained in 
 the gospel, and, further, “sound doctrine” is ever in¬ 
 tended to secure holy living; its supreme purpose is the 
 promotion of godliness. 
 
140 
 
 TITUS 
 
 Titus 1:5-16 
 
 II. Discussion. Chs. 1 :5 to3 : 11 
 
 A. QUALIFICATIONS OF ELDERS—IN VIEW OF THE 
 CONDITIONS IN CRETE. Ch. 1:5-16 
 
 5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set 
 in ordei the things that were wanting, and appoint elders in 
 every city, as I gave thee charge; 6 if any man is blameless, 
 the husband of one wife, having children that believe, who are 
 not accused of riot or unruly. 7 For the bishop must be 
 blameless, as God’s steward; not self-willed, not soon angry, 
 no brawler, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; 8 but given to 
 hospitality, a lover of good, sober-minded, just, holy, self- 
 controlled ; 9 holding to the faithful word which is according 
 to the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in the 
 sound doctrine, and to convict the gainsayers. 
 
 10 For there are many unruly men, vain talkers and de¬ 
 ceivers, specially they of the circumcision, 11 whose mouths 
 must be stopped; men who overthrow whole houses, teaching 
 things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. 12 One of 
 themselves, a prophet of their own, said, 
 
 Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons. 
 
 13 This testimony is true. For which cause reprove them 
 sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not giving 
 heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men who turn 
 away from the truth. 15 To the pure all things are pure: but to 
 them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but both 
 their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 They profess 
 that they know God; but by their works they deny him, being 
 abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work 
 reprobate. 
 
 Such a passage impresses the most casual reader with 
 the fact that Church organization is a matter of vital im¬ 
 portance. There may be wide differences of opinion as to 
 its exact form or as to the details in its system of govern¬ 
 ment, but it is obviously quite in accordance with the di¬ 
 vine will that properly qualified men should be selected for 
 the spiritual oversight of the congregations of believers and 
 for their instruction in revealed truth. 
 
 Thus when Paul had secured a large number of converts 
 
Titus 1:5-16 QUALIFICATIONS OF ELDERS 
 
 141 
 
 in all the cities of Crete, but had been called away before 
 the task of consolidating his work was complete, he left 
 behind him his trusted companion Titus, to gather the 
 believers into churches and to effect an organization by 
 securing for each of these congregations a board of “eld¬ 
 ers,” or “presbyters,” as Paul declares in this letter which 
 he writes back to Titus: “For this cause left I thee in 
 Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that were 
 wanting, and appoint elders in every city, as I gave thee 
 charge.” 
 
 With great care Paul then prescribes the exact quali¬ 
 fications which these officers must possess. We may take 
 for granted that those who were to be selected for such 
 important positions would be men of some manifest abili¬ 
 ties and talents, and men who had some inclination as well 
 as capacity for the work. It will be remembered also that 
 in the third chapter of First Timothy rather similar quali¬ 
 fications are detailed for the “bishop,” a word which Paul 
 here uses, v. 7, as equivalent to “elder” and as defining the 
 same office. 
 
 The functions of the office seem to have been those of 
 ruling and teaching, and evidently the qualifications for 
 the office are those which may rightly be expected in the 
 case of the modern “pastor” or “minister.” 
 
 He must be “blameless,” not merely of good reputation 
 in general, but having no habit or characteristic upon which 
 one could lay hold to bring him into disrepute. He must be 
 “above reproach.” 
 
 He must be “the husband of one wife,” literally, “a 
 man of one woman,” by which Paul probably means a 
 “faithful husband.” Several other interpretations have 
 been placed upon these words, particularly that of having 
 been “only once married”; but as Paul allowed and en¬ 
 couraged second marriages, it is improbable that he should 
 regard this as disqualifying one from serving as an “elder.” 
 It is possible that the term excluded one who had married 
 while a divorced wife was still living. The requirement 
 seems to be that the elder should be absolutely above sus¬ 
 picion in his marriage relations. 
 
142 
 
 TITUS 
 
 Titus 1; 5-16 
 
 His family life should also be commendable; he should 
 have ‘‘children that believe, who are not accused of riot or 
 unruly.” If an officer should have unbelieving children, it 
 might indicate that he was either careless as a Christian, 
 or a recent convert; and if his children were insubordinate, 
 it might indicate that the “elder” lacked the ability to 
 rule the “household of God,” the congregation of believers. 
 
 Thus an “elder,” as an overseer of the church, or as Paul 
 here describes him, a “bishop,” must be “blameless” as a 
 “steward” in the house of God; not “self-willed,” self- 
 satisfied, or arrogant; “not soon angry,” irascible, of 
 passionate temper; “no brawler,” or one “given over to 
 wine”; “no striker,” a prohibition more necessary in that 
 earlier age, but men in every age have been tempted to be 
 violent, and one of such a disposition should not be chosen 
 as an “elder”; “not greedy of filthy lucre,” which forbids 
 not merely avarice, but any tendency to gain wealth by 
 disgraceful means. On the other hand, an “elder” must be 
 “given to hospitality,” a grace even more needed in the 
 early Church, or in mission lands, than in the present day 
 or in Christian countries. He must be a “lover of good ”— 
 not merely of “good men” but of “good” in its widest 
 sense, even of “goodness” itself; “sober-minded,” or 
 characterized by complete self-mastery; “just,” or right¬ 
 eous in his dealings toward men; “holy,” or “saintly,” in 
 his relations toward God; “self-controlled,” or able to re¬ 
 frain from all that may be unlawful. 
 
 The true “elder” must also be a guardian of the faith. 
 He must hold fast the sacred tradition, according to the 
 gospel as taught by the apostles, and he must be thus 
 qualified because of his twofold duty as a teacher, first, to 
 encourage and instruct believers, “to exhort in the sound 
 doctrine,” and, second, “to convict the gainsayers,” that 
 is, to withstand unbelieving opponents, to reply to them 
 successfully, to “convict” them of fault. 
 
 Such a firm grasp of revealed truth was a necessary re¬ 
 quirement for one who was to meet the caviling heretics 
 in Crete, and it is equally necessary to-day for those who 
 would encourage believers and defend the gospel which it 
 is the privilege of the Church to guard. 
 
Titus 1:5-16 QUALIFICATIONS OF ELDERS 
 
 143 
 
 That “elders” of such high moral attainments and such 
 firm grasp of the faith were particularly needed in view of 
 the conditions in Crete, Paul proceeds to demonstrate 
 by a description both of the general character of the Cre¬ 
 tans and of the special nature of the false teachers. 
 
 As to the latter, he declares that they are “many” in 
 number, that they are “unruly,” or insubordinate, as mem¬ 
 bers of the professing Church, “vain talkers,” devoted to 
 fanciful and foolish conceits, and this particularly in the 
 case of those who came from among the Jews and were 
 mistaken champions of the law. 
 
 These rebellious babblers must be put to silence, not 
 only by answering their heresies, but also by open rebuke, 
 inasmuch as they “overthrow whole houses,” that is, they 
 destroy the faith of entire families, by “teaching things 
 which they ought not.” While professing a zeal for the 
 ceremonial law and for holiness, the real motive of these 
 Judaizers was their desire for dishonest and disgraceful 
 gain; their false teaching was really “ for filthy lucre’s sake.” 
 
 The peril was the greater because of the character of 
 Cretans in general. Paul has had them in mind before, for 
 when he mentioned the Jewish teachers, he specified them 
 as only the most troublesome of the heretics. Cretans at 
 large were of the very character already indicated. To prove 
 his charge, Paul quotes from one of their own number, 
 Epimenides, a reputed prophet who flourished about six 
 hundred years before Christ: “Cretans are always liars, evil 
 beasts, idle gluttons.” 
 
 This quotation brings to mind the famous syllogistic 
 puzzle: Epimenides said that the Cretans were liars; but 
 Epimenides was a Cretan; therefore Epimenides was a liar; 
 therefore the Cretans were not liars.” The fact is, however, 
 that on this one occasion, at least, Epimenides told the 
 truth, when he accused his countrymen of being false, fierce, 
 and sensual. So notorious was their insincerity that “to 
 play the Cretan” was understood to mean “to lie”or “to 
 deceive.” Then as to their ferocity, the poet is said to have 
 stated sarcastically that “the absence of wild beasts from 
 Crete was supplied by its human inhabitants.” 
 
 As to gluttony, the words in the English translation 
 
144 
 
 TITUS 
 
 Titus 1; 5-16 
 
 hardly convey the meaning of the original Greek, which 
 pictures persons so intemperate in their gratification of 
 appetite as to bear in their persons evidence of their shame. 
 
 To this severe indictment of Cretan character, Paul gives 
 his assent: “This testimony is true’’—a serious statement 
 to make in a letter which was to be read by Cretans and to 
 be given a place among the books of the Bible. Such a con¬ 
 firmation from the pen of the apostle indicates that in his 
 day there could have been little question as to the debased 
 moral character of the inhabitants of Crete. 
 
 It is to the glory of Christianity that in soil so unprom¬ 
 ising it produced the flower and fruit of faith and holiness. 
 However, it is not surprising that even within a church 
 composed of Cretan converts and surrounded by an atmos¬ 
 phere of such moral laxity, there appeared teachers, par¬ 
 ticularly from among the Jewish element, who taught a 
 false asceticism, who insisted that the essence of religion 
 consisted in refraining from certain kinds of food, in per¬ 
 forming certain prescribed rites and ceremonies, and who 
 thereby made shipwreck of real faith and ended in moral 
 disaster. 
 
 Because the peril of Cretan Christians was so great, Paul 
 insisted that these false teachers should be dealt with the 
 more severely. “For which cause reprove them sharply,’’ 
 writes the apostle, meaning not merely that their ar¬ 
 guments are to be answered and their fallacies corrected, 
 but that the teachers are to be rebuked as deceivers and as. 
 self-deceived. Nevertheless, the rebuke, however severe, 
 is to be administered like all church discipline, with a 
 view to the reform of the offender, “that they may be 
 sound in the faith,” At least, Titus is to make it plain 
 that the false teachers are corrupting the truths of the 
 gospel and are “giving heed to Jewish fables, and com¬ 
 mandments of men.” These “fables” are the idle, fool¬ 
 ish, speculations, which Paul previously, in these Pastoral 
 Letters, has rebuked severely; and the “commandments” 
 are evidently the rules of ascetic living, the arbitrary pro¬ 
 hibitions, upon which the false teachers are insisting; 
 and they are condemned, not merely because they are of 
 
Titus 1:5-16 QUALIFICATIONS OF ELDERS 
 
 145 
 
 human origin and without divine sanction, but because 
 those by whom they are being enforced are “ men who turn 
 away from the truth”; they are not real believers. 
 
 As to these ceremonial forms and requirements, Paul 
 declares that “to the pure all things are pure.” He is 
 probably quoting a maxim which the corrupt teachers 
 perverted to mean that one who was ceremonially clean, 
 and who observed the ritual which to his mind consti¬ 
 tuted religion, need not be troubled about “insignificant” 
 matters of common morality. 
 
 Paul uses the phrase in a very different sense. He re¬ 
 peats the teaching of our Master, that if the heart is pure 
 then one cannot be made unclean by contact with food or 
 other objects which men arbitrarily have declared to be 
 “unclean.” Mere rites and ceremonies, aside from faith 
 and purity, are meaningless. 
 
 On the other hand, it is true, as Paul continues to re¬ 
 mark, that “to them that are defiled and unbelieving 
 nothing is pure,” that is to say, those whose hearts are im¬ 
 pure defile everything with which they come into contact, 
 and even lawful things become, in their case, “unclean.” 
 Thus the principle here stated is not merely that found in 
 Rom. 14:14, namely, that a thing is wrong for him who so 
 regards it; nor does it mean “Evil be to him who evil 
 thinks” (not Iloni soil qui mal y pense," “Shamed be he 
 who thinks evil of it”). The statement here is even more 
 serious. It does not teach that a mistaken judgment makes 
 a thing wrong, but that in the case of those who are 
 inwardly “defiled,” and who are “unbelieving,” and there¬ 
 fore are refusing the truth which alone can cleanse the 
 heart, all their deeds and even the natural uses of food and 
 drink are tainted with evil because of the polluting foun¬ 
 tain within, because, as Paul further intimates, “both 
 their mind and their conscience are defiled.” Their mental 
 processes are perverted by impure associations, and their 
 conscience, for the same cause, has no power to discern 
 between right and wrong. 
 
 However, when Paul states that “their mind and their 
 conscience are defiled,” he does not formally give it as a 
 
146 
 
 TITUS 
 
 Titus 1: 5-16 
 
 reason why, to them, external things are impure; rather, 
 he adds this phrase to describe further the false teachers, 
 by stating that their corruption extends to both their 
 mental and moral powers, so as to taint with evil both their 
 judgments and their deeds. 
 
 The description ends with an indictment which applies 
 with greater force to the false teachers who were Jewish: 
 “They profess that they know God; but by their works 
 they deny him.” They were proud of their religious privi¬ 
 lege; their great boast was that they knew the one, true 
 God; their very ceremonies and ritual they traced to his 
 original commands; however, by their conduct they actu¬ 
 ally belied any such knowledge of God; they were “abom¬ 
 inable,” detestable, and “disobedient,” and so far as the 
 accomplishment of any good thing was concerned, they 
 were utterly unfit, useless, “reprobate,” that is, of “no 
 account,” of no possible use. 
 
 The exact forms of false teaching and of consequent 
 moral laxity which threatened the church in Crete may not 
 exist to-day; but formalism is not dead, and when men 
 imagine that the essence of religion consists in external 
 rites or is promoted by “vain” discussions of subtle the¬ 
 ories, then morality is alv/ays in peril and there is an even 
 more insistent need for securing, as “elders,” or “pres¬ 
 byters,” or “bishops,” or pastors, men who will proclaim 
 and defend the “sound doctrine” of the Christian gospel. 
 It was for this very purpose that Paul had left Titus in 
 Crete. 
 
Titus, ch. 2 CONDUCT AMONG CHRISTIANS 
 
 147 
 
 B. CONDUCT AMONG CHRISTIANS—IN VIEW OF 
 THE SAVING PURPOSE OF GOD. Ch. 2 
 
 1 But speak thou the things which befit the sound doctrine: 
 2 that aged men be temperate, grave, sober-minded, sound in 
 faith, in love, in patience: 3 that aged women likewise be 
 reverent in demeanor, not slanderers nor enslaved to much 
 wine, teachers of that which is good; 4 that they may train 
 the young women to love their husbands, to love their chil¬ 
 dren, 5 to be sober-minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, 
 being in subjection to their own husbands, that the word of 
 God be not blasphemed: 6 the younger men likewise exhort 
 to be sober-minded: 7 in all things showing thyself an en- 
 sample of good works; in thy doctrine showing uncorruptness, 
 gravity, 8 sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he 
 that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil 
 thing to say of us. 9 Exhort servants to be in subjection to their 
 own masters, and to be well-pleasing to them in all things; 
 not gainsaying; 10 not purloining, but showing all good fi¬ 
 delity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in 
 all things. 11 For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing 
 salvation to all men, 12 instructing us, to the intent that, 
 denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly 
 and righteously and godly in this present world; 13 looking for 
 the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God 
 and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 who gave himself for us, that 
 he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto him¬ 
 self a people for his own possession, zealous of good works. 
 
 15 These things speak and exhort and reprove with all 
 authority. Let no man despise thee. 
 
 The Epistle to Titus brings the Pastoral Epistles to their 
 logical climax; for, while all treat of Church government, 
 of sound doctrine, and of consistent living, in Titus the 
 greatest proportionate stress is laid upon the last of these 
 three; and is it not true that Church government is de¬ 
 signed to safeguard doctrine, and that doctrine finds its 
 fruitage in deeds? Therefore, in this epistle, when Paul 
 has instructed Titus to complete the organization of the 
 church by appointing elders in every city, and when he has 
 
148 
 
 TITUS 
 
 Titus, ch. 2 
 
 insisted that this is in order to put to silence the teachers 
 of false doctrines whose influence is defiling the life of the 
 believers, he urges Titus not only to teach sound doctrine, 
 but also to bring it to bear upon all classes of Christians and 
 upon every condition of life: “But speak thou the things 
 which befit the sound doctrine,” that is, in contrast with the 
 false teachers, who concerned themselves with “vain” dis¬ 
 cussions of foolish fables and questions as to things clean 
 and unclean. Titus is to give practical instruction as to 
 moral conduct which is consistent with the gospel and in¬ 
 deed is inspired by its truths. 
 
 This conduct is to be enjoined upon old and young, upon 
 men and women, upon slaves as well as free men. He is to 
 teach “ that aged men be temperate, grave, sober-minded.” 
 The last of these three qualities is one which is again and 
 again enjoined by Paul. According to Plato it was one of 
 the four cardinal virtues. It denoted control of the bodily 
 appetites, but as used in the New Testament, it implies 
 complete self-mastery, a control of mind and of thought as 
 well as of the body. It is enjoined upon old and young, 
 upon “elders” and upon young women as well, and it is so 
 often repeated in this chapter as to form almost a keynote 
 to its moral precepts. 
 
 Aged men are to be also “sound in faith, in love, in pa¬ 
 tience.” These virtues should be possessed by all Chris¬ 
 tians, but in an eminent degree they should be manifested 
 by men of advancing years. The exercise of faith and love 
 and patience should for such men be natural and normal 
 and habitual, as Paul seems to indicate by his use of the 
 term “sound” or healthy. 
 
 It is expected also “that aged women likewise be rever¬ 
 ent in demeanor, not slanderers nor enslaved to much wine, 
 teachers of that which is good.” The teaching here men¬ 
 tioned is not in the nature of public, but of private, in¬ 
 struction. It was to be given more particularly to the 
 young married women. They were to be trained “to love 
 their husbands, to love their children, to be sober-minded, 
 chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their 
 own husbands.” There can be no doubt that Paul believed 
 that the husband is and ought to be “ the head of the wife ”; 
 
Titus, ch. 2 CONDUCT AMONG CHRISTIANS 
 
 '149 
 
 but he showed that the relation must be that of perfect 
 love, recognizing a complete spiritual equality. It is these 
 very teachings of the apostle which have resulted in the in¬ 
 creasing emancipation of women. However, he sanctioned 
 no violent revolution in social and domestic life, lest the 
 very principles which he advocated might be misunderstood, 
 “ that the word of God ” the gospel, be not “blasphemed.” 
 
 It is significant that Paul relegates to the “aged women,” 
 and not to Titus, the task of instructing the young matrons 
 of the Church. The comparative youth of Titus made this 
 expedient, but was, on the other hand, the very reason why 
 he was specially qualified to teach “the younger men ... to 
 be sober-minded”; for he by his own conduct could in¬ 
 fluence them aright. Therefore Paul urges upon Titus, as 
 upon every Christian minister, to show himself “an en- 
 sample of good works,” especially in his teaching, showing 
 such sincerity, gravity, soundness of speech, that the op¬ 
 ponents of Christianity might be discomfited by being able 
 to find no evil to report. 
 
 Even slaves were so to live as to reflect credit upon their 
 Christian profession. Their condition under existing Ro¬ 
 man laws and customs was degraded and distressful be- 
 beyond all conception. The teachings of Paul and his 
 fellow believers, as received from their Master, were to 
 abolish, in time, the very institution of slavery; but the 
 apostle advocates no violent revolution; he neither forbids 
 slaves nor encourages slaves to demand freedom. On the 
 contrary, slaves are advised “to be in subjection to their 
 own masters, and to be well-pleasing to them in all things; 
 not gainsaying [contradicting]; not purloining [pilfering, 
 appropriating goods to their own use], but showing all 
 good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our 
 Saviour in all things.” 
 
 That slaves, in the age of Augustus, might be an orna¬ 
 ment to a system of divine truth, must have been a start¬ 
 ling statement, but it was the very glory of the gospel that 
 it could transform such degraded beings into obedient, hon¬ 
 est, chaste, sober men and women. It was possible for 
 slaves so to live that they would reflect honor upon “the 
 doctrine of God” who provided so wonderful a salvation. 
 
150 
 
 TITUS 
 
 Titus, ch. 2 
 
 It was to the gospel, indeed, that such transformations 
 of life and character were to be attributed; it was also upon 
 its truths that such moral instructions were founded. 
 Truth is in order to goodness, but goodness is not inde¬ 
 pendent of truth; creed affects character, but character 
 cannot be produced without belief; doctrine is not more 
 important than conduct, but conduct is conditioned upon 
 faith. It is for this reason that Paul bases all the exhorta¬ 
 tions of the chapter upon a summary of gospel truth which 
 for beauty and depth and significance is possibly unsur¬ 
 passed. 
 
 This summary includes the two great focal points of the 
 faith, namely, the First and the Second Coming of Christ. 
 In his First Coming, as the Redeemer of mankind, that is 
 in his incarnation and atonement, Paul declares, “The 
 grace of God” has “appeared bringing salvation to all 
 men,” Because this salvation has been provided for all, 
 therefore all who have accepted this gracious gift, whether 
 young or old, bond or free, should live the lives of holiness 
 and godliness which Paul has described. 
 
 Indeed, the very purpose of God in manifesting this 
 grace was that we believers might be trained, or schooled, 
 or instructed, “ to the intent that, denying ungodliness and 
 worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and 
 godly in this present world.” Thus the saving purpose of 
 God is stated negatively and positively; negatively, that 
 we should renounce or repudiate “ungodliness” or ir- 
 reiigion, and “worldly lusts,” i. e., the sinful desires which 
 have no relation to a higher realm and belong to a world 
 estranged from God; and, positively, that “we should 
 live soberly,” exercising complete mastery over ourselves; 
 “righteously,” in our relations toward our fellow men; 
 “and godly,” i. e., with true reverence and love toward 
 him who has granted us so great a salvation. We are to 
 live so “in this present world,” that is, in an “age” the 
 spirit of which is not sober or righteous or godly, because, 
 as a result of our Christian “teaching,” we are “looking” 
 also for a visible manifestation, “ for the . . . appearing of 
 the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” 
 This “appearing” is to be realized in the return of Christ, 
 
Titus, ch. 2 CONDUCT AMONG CHRISTIANS 
 
 151 
 
 as he himself declared that when he came again it would 
 be, not in humiliation, but in the glory of his Father, as 
 well as in his own heavenly glory. 
 
 Thus, we are constrained to such a life of penitence, of 
 virtue, and of hope, by the redeeming purpose of Christ 
 “who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from 
 all iniquity, and purify unto himself a people for his own 
 possession, zealous of good works.” That is, the very pur¬ 
 pose of Christ in dying for us was to purchase our freedom 
 from the slavery of sin and “ purify unto himself a people,” 
 that is, to purify and so make them fit to be his people, his 
 own people, “a people for his own possession.” This last 
 phrase recalls the equivalent words of the promise made to 
 Israel on condition of their obedience to God: “Ye shall be 
 mine own possession,” Ex. 19: 5. Further, it was the re¬ 
 deeming purpose of Christ not only to deliver from law¬ 
 lessness, but also to have as his own a people “zealous of 
 good works”; for Christian experience is not a mere nega¬ 
 tive deliverance from evil; it is a positive and active and 
 willing and eager performance of good. Redemption se¬ 
 cures sanctification, and results in service. 
 
 These great truths of the Christian faith Paul exhorts 
 Titus to teach; they form the essence of “sound doctrine,” 
 and their solemn sanction and high inspiration is to be 
 brought to bear upon all the duties and experiences of life. 
 
 “These things speak,” writes the apostle, but he adds, 
 “ and exhort”—for the truths were to be made to bear upon 
 the conscience and to result in right conduct; “and re¬ 
 prove”— for in cases of waywardness and fault, Titus 
 must admonish and rebuke the offenders. 
 
 Lastly, these exhortations and reproofs were to be char¬ 
 acterized by a tone of authority, so that none might re¬ 
 gard lightly the ambassador of Christ. He must speak with 
 the authority which comes from a knowledge of the divine 
 will and of the saving purpose of God. 
 
152 
 
 TITUS 
 
 Titus 3:1-11 
 
 C. CONDUCT TOWARD UNBELIEVERS—IN VIEW OF 
 • THE SAVING MERCIES OF GOD. Ch. 3: 1-11 
 
 1 Put them in mind to be in subjection to rulers, to au¬ 
 thorities, to be obedient, to be ready unto every good work, 
 2 to speak evil of no man, not to be contentious, to be gentle, 
 showing all meekness toward all men. 3 For we also once 
 were foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and 
 pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one 
 another. 4 But when the kindness of God our Saviour, and his 
 love toward man, appeared, 5 not by works done in right¬ 
 eousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy 
 he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renew¬ 
 ing of tiie Holy Spirit, 6 which he poured out upon us richly, 
 through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 that, being justified by 
 his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of 
 eternal life. 8 Faithful is the saying, and concerning ^ese 
 things I desire that thou affirm confidently, to the end that they 
 who have believed God may be careful to maintain good works. 
 These things are good and profitable .unto men: 9 but shun 
 foolish questionings, and genealogies, and strifes, and fight¬ 
 ings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. 10 A 
 factious man after a first and second admonition refuse; 
 11 knowing that such a one is perverted, and sinneth, being 
 self-condemned. 
 
 Paul here reminds Titus that it is his duty, and the duty 
 of the Christian pastors in Crete, as they apply truth to 
 life, to insist upon right conduct toward those outside the 
 Church—first toward their Roman rulers, but then, more 
 widely, to maintain friendly relations with all who are not 
 Christians. “Put them in mind to be in subjection to 
 rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready unto every 
 good work.” It has been suggested that the Cretans were 
 naturally turbulent and troublesome and insubordinate, 
 and that, as such, those among them who professed faith 
 in Christ were specially in need of such admonitions. Is 
 it too much to say, however, that the need is not confined 
 to natives of that island or to men of that day? We seem 
 
Titus 3: 1-11 CONDUCT TOWARD UNBELIEVERS 153 
 
 to live in an age peculiarly marked by lawlessness and a 
 disregard of authority. It is at such a time the duty and 
 the privilege of Christians, by their obedience to civil mag¬ 
 istrates and their loyalty to established government, to 
 commend to the world the gospel they profess. Of course, 
 there are limits to such obedience. When authorities de¬ 
 mand that which is morally wrong, it is necessary to “obey 
 God rather than men.” As a rule, however, the purpose of 
 civil officers is to restrain evil and to encourage good. 
 
 Possibly this thought furnishes the transition to the 
 wider reach of the exhortation for Christians to maintain 
 right relations with unbelieving neighbors: “To speak evil 
 of no man, not to be contentious, to be gentle,” or sweetly 
 reasonable, “showing all meekness toward all men.” 
 
 To manifest such conduct toward unbelievers is the less 
 difficult when we remember that we were once like them in 
 character and would be like them to-day were it not for the 
 unmerited mercy of God. “For we also once were foolish,” 
 that is, without the understanding of spiritual things, 
 “disobedient, deceived” or deluded, “serving divers lusts 
 and pleasures,” i.e., slaves to all manner of passions and 
 indulgences, “living in malice and envy, hateful, hating 
 one another.” 
 
 This is indeed a dark and pitiful picture of the Christ- 
 less world, but those of us who know the depths of our own 
 hearts can say, “But for the grace of God such, too, were 
 we.” 
 
 In reminding Titus of this divine grace, Paul gives 
 another supremely beautiful summary of Christian truth. 
 He begins by describing this grace as “the kindness of God 
 our Saviour, and his love toward man,” at once indicating 
 that we should therefore be inclined to show such kindness 
 and love to our fellow men, v. 2, and at the same time sharply 
 contrasting this goodness of God with human malice and 
 hatred, v. 3. 
 
 This grace “appeared,” as shown in the previous chapter, 
 in the coming and the redeeming work of Christ, by which 
 salvation was made possible. Of that salvation which was 
 
154 
 
 TITUS 
 
 Titus 3: 1-11 
 
 thus brought to all men, we have been made recipients 
 “not by works done in righteousness, which we did our¬ 
 selves,” not by any merits of our own, “but according to 
 his mercy he saved us.” Nothing is said here of the faith 
 and obedience on our part, which are necessary to salvation; 
 these are assumed, as taught in other parts of Scripture. 
 The design of the apostle here is to fix the thought upon the 
 unmerited favor of God to which our salvation must ul¬ 
 timately be attributed. 
 
 As to the means by which this salvation is communi¬ 
 cated, Paul states that it is “through the washing of re¬ 
 generation and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” If, as usually 
 believed, Paul refers to baptism as “the bath of the new 
 birth,” he does so with the understanding that it was no 
 mere external rite, but a real sacrament in which inward 
 faith and grace properly accompanied outward form. It is, 
 however, not upon subjective conditions, but upon the 
 works of God that Paul centers our thought, and he adds 
 that the * ‘ washing ’ ’ secures not only a ‘ ‘ new birth ” but also 
 a moral “renewal” by the power of the Holy Spirit which 
 God “poured out upon us richly, through Jesus Christ our 
 Saviour.” The pouring out of the Holy Spirit is uniformly 
 attributed in the New Testament to Jesus Christ, and in 
 virtue of his redeeming work and his exaltation. Thus in 
 imparting to us salvation, all the Persons of the divine God¬ 
 head are concerned, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 
 
 This saving grace of God has been granted us “that, 
 being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs ac¬ 
 cording to the hope of eternal life,” for it was the purpose 
 of God not only to deliver us from the bondage of sin and 
 to grant us spiritual renewal but also to make us partakers 
 of his eternal glory, so that now we are not only justified by 
 his grace but are also heirs of God and certain to realize 
 the hope of life eternal. 
 
 As to this majestic summary of revealed truth, Paul re¬ 
 marks, “Faithful is the saying,” using a phrase which is 
 employed four other times in these Pastoral Epistles to 
 describe what are commonly regarded as formulas of 
 Christian faith, I Tim. 1: 15; 3: 1; 4: 9; H Tim. 2: 11. 
 
Titus 3: 1-11 CONDUCT TOWARD UNBELIEVERS 155 
 
 The statements of the great essentials of belief which he 
 has been making are thus declared to be absolutely trust¬ 
 worthy, so that Titus can affirm them “confidently,” and 
 with the purpose of showing that real faith in God is not 
 a matter of theory or speculation but of practice. True 
 belief will manifest itself in life, and to that end the proc¬ 
 lamation of Christian truth should ever be directed. Thus 
 Titus is urged to proclaim these great verities of saving 
 grace “to the end that they who have believed God may be 
 careful to maintain good works.” 
 
 Such an enforcement of practical religion is “good and 
 profitable unto men.” On the other hand, the “foolish 
 questionings” with which the false teachers in Crete con¬ 
 cern themselves, their allegories based upon “genealogies,” 
 their “strifes” and their “fightings” about the law, are 
 “unprofitable and vain;” Titus, therefore, is not even to 
 investigate them, but is to “shun” them utterly as useless, 
 and as utterly powerless in the matter of producing higher 
 life, nobler character, and purer conduct. 
 
 Any person who, because of his concern in these vain 
 conceits, causes division in the Church, any such “fac¬ 
 tious man,” Paul continues, “after a first and second ad¬ 
 monition,” calling attention to the injury and folly of such 
 separations between Christians, “refuse,” avoid, have 
 nothing more to do with him, since you may rest assured 
 that he is “perverted,” and when a man has “a mental 
 twist” and is unwilling to be taught, it is a waste of time and 
 strength to argue with him; such a man, who is bent on 
 fomenting discord, is acting contrary to reason and con¬ 
 science; he “sinneth,” and in dividing the Church because 
 of his boasted new knowledge, and in repudiating his for¬ 
 mer beliefs, he is following a course by which he is “self- 
 condemned.” 
 
 The last phrase may possibly mean “conscious of guilt;” 
 but in either case, the sentence calls to mind one of the 
 most serious problems which confront the Christian pas¬ 
 tor of the present day, namely, as to how to deal with a 
 “factious” man, one who causes trouble in the church be¬ 
 cause of his peculiar beliefs. On the one hand, he is not to 
 be accused lightly of insincerity, nor to be hastily excom- 
 
156 
 
 TITUS 
 
 Titus 3: 1-11 
 
 municated; on the other hand, he is not to be treated with 
 such apparent approval as to strengthen his position. He 
 should be solemnly warned and admonished, but the time 
 may come when further argument is useless and fellowship 
 impossible. Differences of belief, in the body of profess¬ 
 ing Christians, create situations which require the exercise 
 of both charity and courage. Undoubtedly the Church 
 must administer such discipline as is necessary to guard 
 against corrupt teaching, yet every act must be inspired 
 by love. All suspicion and misinterpretation and intoler¬ 
 ance and bigotry must be avoided, and only such a course 
 pursued as seems certain to reflect credit and honor upon 
 the name of Christ. 
 
Titus 3: 12-15 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 157 
 
 III. Conclusion. Ch. 3: 12-15 
 
 12 When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, give 
 diligence to come unto me to Nicopolis; for there I have de¬ 
 termined to winter. 13 Set forward Zenas the lawyer and 
 Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting 
 unto them. 14 And let our people also learn to maintain good 
 works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful. 
 
 15 All that are with me salute thee. Salute them that love 
 us in faith. 
 
 Grace be with you all. 
 
 The concluding verses of the epistle are brief and per¬ 
 sonal. First of all is the summons to Titus to make all 
 possible haste to meet Paul at Nicopolis. Which city of 
 that name is meant, it is not possible to affirm, but prob¬ 
 ably it was the place of that name in Epirus. There Paul 
 had “determined to winter,” and he desired the help and 
 companionship of his faithful friend, Titus. The latter, 
 however, was not to leave until either Artemas or Tychicus 
 arrived to continue the work in Crete, where Titus was not 
 acting as a bishop or permanent officer of the church, but 
 evidently in a temporary capacity as a delegate of the 
 apostle. 
 
 As to Artemas, we have no further knowledge; but as 
 Tychicus was sent a little later to Ephesus, II Tim. 4:12, 
 it is possible that the former was finally chosen to act for 
 the time as chief pastor in Crete. 
 
 In the second place, Paul commends two traveling mis¬ 
 sionaries who are on their way to Crete and who possibly 
 were the bearers of this letter to Titus. These were “Zenas 
 the lawyer and Apollos.” As to the former we know 
 nothing more, not even whether he was an expert in Roman 
 law or a “scribe” instructed in the law of Moses. 
 
 With Apollos we are rather familiar from the reference 
 in First Corinthians and The Acts. He was the eloquent 
 and learned Alexandrian whom Priscilla and Aquila in- 
 
158 
 
 TITUS 
 
 Titus 3: 12-15 
 
 structed when in Ephesus, and whom a special party of 
 Christians later claimed as their leader in the church at 
 Corinth. These two friends Titus is urged to “set forward 
 .. .on their journey diligently,” which would seem to mean 
 not only that they were to be greeted cordially and to be 
 shown generous hospitality, but also that they were to be 
 provided possibly with companions and even with funds, 
 for “nothing” was to be “wanting unto them.” By simi¬ 
 lar kindness, at least similar in its generous provision, the 
 messengers of Christ should be “set forward” to-day 
 “that nothing be wanting unto them.” 
 
 In the third place, Titus is to urge the Christians in 
 Crete, whom Paul calls “our people,” to “learn to main¬ 
 tain good works for necessary uses.” Possibly this is in 
 connection with the help of Zenas and Apollos. The self¬ 
 ish Cretans might plead too great poverty to have a part 
 in aiding missionaries. They are to be trained, therefore, 
 to engage in honest occupations, both for their own sup¬ 
 port and in order that they may be able to have a sub¬ 
 stantial part in Christian enterprises and thus to be “not 
 unfruitful.” 
 
 The mention of these names, some so familiar in the 
 writings of Paul and some so new, indicate that we have 
 here the work of no forger but an authentic letter from the 
 hand of the great apostle. 
 
 The instruction to the Christians of Crete, together with 
 the plural form of the benediction which follows the closing 
 salutations, indicates that the message of this letter was 
 intended not merely for Titus, but also for all pastors, and 
 indeed through them for all the flock of Christ in all ages 
 and lands. For them, too, is the benediction and the 
 prayer: “Grace be with you all.” 
 

 % 
 
 J" 
 
 - * 
 
 
 • '5.' O -;. 
 

 
 . 
 
 • V 
 
 , ."^•v:;^ >i» - 
 i.‘ 
 
 ^*6- ?’' ■. ^■‘ 
 
 
 ^ •''‘■i’ '■ ii'.ii 
 
 '?■ V ^aW'i>s 
 
 9» 
 
 -S'" 
 
 ’, -'^•H.'*^1'''■ 
 
Date Due 
 
 B 22 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 ,, 5^ ’3J^ 
 
 **8*ii8MSi»K#i8^l|Sl^ 
 
 »i 
 
 1 
 
 ! 4 ’»0 
 
 
 , « 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 ly i ^ ’42 
 
 ..iUtjMs#*ST 
 
 
 
 
 ^ ... 
 
 
 
 V- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 : ’49 ., 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 ».' ■ HWBBiWJUiWIluii 
 
 
 
 » ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 'MR 4 ’53 
 
 
 
 
 1, 
 
 
 
 
 f^E le ss 
 
 
 
 
 MAK - ^ 
 
 
 
 
 ^ e *&! 
 
 
 
 
 : ■‘’ oL ^ :. ‘ V • 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
*. ^.