1 Timothychapter 1
20 verses · Paul, by tradition · AD 63 to 65 · Paul's letters
This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.
Introduction
Paul, by tradition, Paul's letters, 1 Timothy Overview.
Paul wrote this letter to a younger colleague he had left in charge of the church at Ephesus. He was travelling, he hoped to return, and he wanted the church to hear his orders read aloud in Timothy's defence. The opening chapter names the trouble at once and then does something unexpected. The apostle who gives the orders offers his own past as the clearest case of mercy he knows. Listen for the word charge, which frames the chapter at both ends. Listen also for the contrast between talk that goes nowhere and teaching that produces love. Read it as a commission handed to a man under pressure.
Context
- Who
- A younger man holding a large, mixed, argumentative church for an absent apostle
- What
- The opening of Paul's first letter to Timothy, which gives Timothy his charge against false teaching and sets Paul's own conversion before him as the pattern of mercy.
- Where
- The church at Ephesus, a port city in the Roman province of Asia, most likely written from Macedonia.
- When
- About AD 62 to 64, after Paul's release from his first imprisonment in Rome.
- Why
- To stop teachers at Ephesus who spun speculation out of the law, and to give Timothy the authority and the example he needed to correct them.
Historical context
Ephesus was one of the largest cities of the empire, with a harbor, a huge theater, and the temple of Artemis, counted among the seven wonders of the world. The temple also served as a bank, holding deposits for the whole region, so religion and money were physically the same building.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The city had a long-established Jewish community as well, and the mix produced exactly the trouble the chapter names: endless genealogies and speculative stories. Jewish teachers of that era did spin elaborate legends out of the family lists in Genesis, and a teacher who could do it drew an audience and gifts.
Handing a man over to Satan, as Paul does with two named teachers, meant putting him outside the protection of the congregation and back into the world he had chosen. It was the sharpest discipline a church had, and it was aimed at recovery, not destruction.
Some scholars argue this letter was written under Paul's name by a later admirer, mainly because its vocabulary and church structure differ from Romans or Galatians. The traditional view answers that a private letter to a colleague about running a church naturally sounds different from a public argument about justification, and that the early church received it as Paul's from the start.
Significance
Timothy was young, and the men he had to correct were older and better connected. The chapter arms him with a direct commission from Paul, spoken publicly in a letter the church would hear read.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
The personal testimony in the middle does real work: the man handing out this charge introduces himself as the worst case he knows. That kept the correction from becoming a matter of superior people managing inferior ones.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Stop the Myths: The Law Is Good If Used Lawfully
1 Timothy 1:1-2
an apostle of Christ Jesus: Paul writes as an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior. The letter gives the title Savior to God at its first line.
1 Timothy 1:1
“His credentials were unquestionable. He had not only a commission, but a commandment, not only from God our Saviour, but from Jesus Christ: he was a preacher of the gospel of Christ, and a minister of the kingdom of Christ. Observe, God is our Saviour.-- Jesus Christ, who is our hope.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
1 Timothy 1:1
“These things [I address to you], my beloved, not that I know any of you to be in such a state; but, as less than any of you, I desire to guard you beforehand, that ye fall not upon the hooks of vain doctrine, but that ye attain to full assurance in regard to the birth, and passion, and resurrection which took place in the time of the government of Pontius Pilate, being truly and certainly accomplished by Jesus Christ, who is our hope, from which may no one of you ever be turned aside.”
Ignatius of Antioch · written before 108 · Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesianspatristic
1 Timothy 1:1
“According to the commandment of God - The authoritative appointment of God the Father. Our saviour - So styled in many other places likewise, as being the grand orderer of the whole scheme of our salvation. And Christ our hope - That is, the author, object, and ground, of all our hope.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
my true child in the faith: Paul calls Timothy his true child in the faith, a son by conversion and training rather than by birth. Clarke cites a Jewish saying that whoever teaches his neighbour's son the law is counted as his father.
1 Timothy 1:2
“God extends His grace to men as they are guilty; His "mercy" to them as they are miserable [TRENCH]. Jesus Christ--The oldest manuscripts read the order, "Christ Jesus." In the Pastoral Epistles "Christ" is often put before "Jesus," to give prominence to the fact that the Messianic promises of the Old Testament, well known to Timothy (2Ti 3:15), were fulfilled in Jesus.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
1 Timothy 1:2
“Grace, mercy, peace - St. Paul wishes grace and peace in his epistles to the churches. To Timotheus he adds mercy, the most tender grace towards those who stand in need of it.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Timothy 1:2
“My own son in the faith - Brought to salvation through Christ by my ministry alone. Probably the apostle speaks here according to this Jewish maxim: כל המלמר בן תכירו תורה מעלה עליו הכתוב כאלו ילרו He who teaches the law to his neighbour’s son is considered by the Scripture as if he had begotten him; Sanhedrin, fol. xix.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
to instruct certain men not to teach false doctrines: Paul leaves Timothy at Ephesus to instruct certain men not to teach false doctrines. The phrase renders one Greek verb, heterodidaskalein, which Paul coins for the occasion.
1 Timothy 1:4
"Vain jangling" (1Ti 1:6, 7) of would-be "teachers of the law." godly edifying--The oldest manuscripts read, "the dispensation of God," the Gospel dispensation of God towards man (1Co 9:17), "which is (has its element) in faith." CONYBEARE translates, "The exercising of the stewardship of God" (1Co 9:17).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
1 Timothy 1:4
“Neither give heed to fables - Idle fancies; things of no moment; doctrines and opinions unauthenticated; silly legends, of which no people ever possessed a greater stock than the Jews. Their Talmud abounds with them; and the English reader may find them in abundance in Stehlin’s Jewish Traditions, 2 vols. 8vo. Endless genealogies - I suppose the apostle to mean those genealogies which were uncertain - that never could be made out, either in the ascending or descending line; and, principally, such as referred to the great promise of the Messiah, and to the priesthood.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Timothy 1:5-6
The goal of our instruction is the love: Against speculation Paul sets the aim of all teaching: the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith. The false teachers have strayed from these ways, a verb used of an archer missing the mark. They turned aside to empty talk, which settles nothing.
1 Timothy 1:5
“None of these things is hid from you, if ye perfectly possess that faith and love towards Christ Jesus which are the beginning and the end of life. For the beginning is faith, and the end is love. Now these two, being inseparably connected together, are of God, while all other things which are requisite for a holy life follow after them. No man [truly] making a profession of faith sinneth; nor does he that possesses love hate any one.”
Ignatius of Antioch · written before 108 · Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesianspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
1 Timothy 1:5
“Whereas the end of the commandment - of the whole Christian institution. Is love - And this was particularly the end of the commandment which Timotheus was to enforce at Ephesus, ver. 3, 18. The foundation is faith; the end, love.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
empty talk: Clarke and Theophylact note that the verb for strayed is used of an archer who misses the mark. The mark is the love of verse 5, with its three sources in the heart, the conscience and faith.
1 Timothy 1:6
“From which some having swerved - From which some, though they have pretended to aim at the τελος, scope, or mark, have missed that mark. This is the import of the original word αστοχησαντες. Turned aside unto vain jangling - The original term, ματαιολογιαν, signifies empty or vain talking; discourses that turn to no profit; a great many words and little sense; and that sense not worth the pains of hearing. Such, indeed, is all preaching where Jesus Christ is not held forth.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Timothy 1:6
“From which - Love and a good conscience. Some are turned aside - An affectation of high and extensive knowledge sets a man at the greatest distance from faith, and all sense of divine things. To vain jangling - And of all vanities, none are more vain than dry, empty disputes on the things of God.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
They want to be teachers of the law: The false teachers want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they so confidently assert. Their confidence outran their grasp of the subject they claimed.
1 Timothy 1:7
“Desiring to be teachers of the law - That is, to have the credit and reputation of being well versed in the law of Moses, and qualified to explain it to others. This was a high honor among the Jews, and these teachers laid claim to the same distinction. Understanding neither what they say - That is, they do not understand the true nature and design of that law which they attempt to explain to others. This was true of the Jewish teachers, and equally so of those in the church at Ephesus, who attempted to explain it.”
1 Timothy 1:8-11
the law is good, if one uses it legitimately: Paul keeps the law as good, if one uses it legitimately, to name sin. Its list of lawbreakers runs in the Decalogue's order. Killers of father or mother stand at the fifth commandment, the sexually immoral and homosexuals at the seventh, slave traders at the eighth.
law is not enacted for the righteous: Paul means that the law's threat and restraint are aimed at the lawbreaker, while the righteous already love what it commands. Irenaeus notes that the righteous fathers before Moses had the sense of the Ten Commandments written on their hearts.
1 Timothy 1:9
“Why, then, did the Lord not form the covenant for the fathers? Because "the law was not established for righteous men." But the righteous fathers had the meaning of the Decalogue written in their hearts and souls, that is, they loved the God who made them, and did no injury to their neighbour. There was therefore no occasion that they should be cautioned by prohibitory mandates (correptoriis literis), because they had the righteousness of the law in themselves.”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies Book IVpatristic
1 more voice on this verse
1 Timothy 1:9
“But against the lawless and disobedient - They who despise the authority of the lawgiver violate the first commandment, which is the foundation of the law, and the ground of all obedience. Against the ungodly and sinners - Who break the second commandment, worshipping idols, or not worshipping the true God.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
slave traders: The list moves on through the commandments about neighbours, and slave traders stand where theft stands. Barnes notes that the word occurs only here in the New Testament and means one who seizes people to sell them.
1 Timothy 1:10
“Gospel grace is the only true means of sanctification as well as of justification. sound--healthy, spiritually wholesome (1Ti 6:3; 2:2), as opposed to sickly, morbid (as the Greek of "doting" means, 1Ti 6:4), and "canker" (2Ti 2:17).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
1 Timothy 1:10
“Manstealers - The worst of all thieves, in comparison of whom, highwaymen and housebreakers are innocent. What then are most traders in negroes, procurers of servants for America, and all who list soldiers by lies, tricks, or enticements?”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Timothy 1:10
“For whoremongers - Πορνοις· Adulterers, fornicators, and prostitutes of all sorts. Them that defile themselves with mankind - Αρσενοκοιταις· From αρσην, a male, and κοιτη, a bed; a word too bad to be explained. A sodomite.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
glorious gospel of the blessed God: Spurgeon draws a test from the list before it: true doctrine opposes every form of sin. Matthew Henry notes that the ministry is a trust, since the gospel was committed to Paul as a steward. Paul received it and did not invent it.
1 Timothy 1:11
According to the glorious gospel - Which, far from "making void," does effectually "establish, the law."
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Timothy 1:11
“THIS verse occurs just after a long list of sins which the Apostle declares to be contrary to sound doctrine, from which we gather that one test of sound doctrine is its opposition to every form of sin. That doctrine which in any way palliates sin may be popular, but is not sound doctrine. Those who talk much of their soundness but yet, by their lives, betray the rottenness of their hearts, need far rather to be ashamed of their hypocrisy than to be proud of their orthodoxy.”
Chief of Sinners, Made a Pattern of Mercy
1 Timothy 1:12-14
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord: Paul was once a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man, yet Christ Jesus considered him faithful and appointed him to service. Where the sin was greatest, the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
1 Timothy 1:12
“I thank Christ - I feel myself under infinite obligation to Christ who hath strengthened me, ενδυναμωσαντι, who hath endued me with various miraculous gifts of his Holy Spirit, and put me into the ministry, διακονιαν, the deaconship, the service of mankind, by preaching the Gospel, for that he counted me - he knew that I would be, faithful to the charge that was delivered to me.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Timothy 1:12
“Paul's thanking God for this shows that the merit of his faithfulness was due solely to God's grace, not to his own natural strength (1Co 7:25). Faithfulness is the quality required in a steward (1Co 4:2). putting me into--rather as in 1Th 5:9, "appointing me (in His sovereign purposes of grace) unto the ministry" (Ac 20:24).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
I was shown mercy: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown see three wrongs here, against God, against his people and against others by violence. Wesley notes that ignorance did not remove Paul's guilt. It left him open to mercy, which he would hardly have been had he sinned against his own conviction.
1 Timothy 1:13
“A reviler - Of his doctrine and people. But I obtained mercy - He does not say, because I was unconditionally elected; but because I did it in ignorance. Not that his ignorance took away his sin; but it left him capable of mercy; which he would hardly have been, had he acted thus contrary to his own conviction.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Timothy 1:13
“For, when affirming that Christ came for this end, that He might save sinners, of whom himself had been the "first," what does he add? "And I obtained mercy, because I did (so) ignorantly in unbelief." Thus that clemency of God, preferring the repentance of a sinner to his death, looks at such as are ignorant still, and still unbelieving, for the sake of whose liberation Christ came; not (at such) as already know God, and have learnt the sacrament of the faith.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · On Modestypatristic
overflowed to me: Clarke notes that the verb means grace superabounded, running past the measure of the sin. Wesley sets each gift against the old life of verse 13. Faith replaced unbelief, and love replaced the blasphemy and violence of the persecutor.
1 Timothy 1:14
“And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant,.... That is, the love of Jehovah the Father; so the Ethiopic version reads, "the grace of God"; of God the Father, since he is distinguished in the text from Jesus Christ.”
2 more voices on this verse
1 Timothy 1:14
“The grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant - The original is very emphatic, that grace of our Lord, ὑπερεπλεονασε, hath superabounded - it manifested itself in a way of extraordinary mercy. With faith and love - Not only pardoning such offenses, but leading me to the full experimental knowledge of Christianity; of that faith and love which are essential to it; and giving me authority to proclaim it to mankind.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Timothy 1:14
“And the grace - Whereby I obtained mercy. Was exceeding abundant with faith - Opposite to my preceding unbelief. And love - Opposite to my blasphemy, persecution, and oppression.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners: The first of the letter's trustworthy sayings states the gospel: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. The Greek word behind the worst is protos, first, read by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown and by Wesley as foremost rather than first in time.
1 Timothy 1:15
“This is a faithful saying - A most solemn preface. And worthy of all acceptation - Well deserving to be accepted, received, embraced, with all the faculties of our whole soul. Came into the world to save sinners - All sinners, without exception.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
4 more voices on this verse
1 Timothy 1:15
What the apostles received, they passed on without change, so that the doctrine of the mysteries (the sacraments) and Christ would remain correct. The divine Word—the Son of God—wants us to be their (the apostles') disciples. It is appropriate for them to be our teachers, and it is necessary for us to submit to their teaching alone. Only from them and from those who have faithfully taught their doctrine do we get, as Paul writes, "faithful words, worthy of complete acceptance."
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · Letter 2, Section 7patristic
1 Timothy 1:15
“This is a faithful saying - Greek, “Faithful is the word,” or doctrine - ὁ λογος ho logos. This verse has somewhat the character of a parenthesis, and seems to have been thrown into the midst of the narrative because the mind of the apostle was full of the subject. He had said that he, a great sinner, had obtained mercy.”
1 Timothy 1:15
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation,.... This is said, lest it should be thought strange, or scarcely credible, that so great a sinner should be saved; as well as to give a summary of the glorious Gospel the apostle was intrusted with; and in opposition to fables, endless genealogies, and vain jangling, and contentions about the law.”
1 Timothy 1:15
“It is good news, worthy of all acceptation; and yet not too good to be true, for it is a faithful saying. It is a faithful saying, and therefore worthy to be embraced in the arms of faith: it is worthy of all acceptation, and therefore to be received with holy love, which refers to the foregoing verse , where the grace of Christ is said to abound in faith and love.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Timothy 1:16
“It was an instance of the long-suffering of Christ that he would bear so much with one who had been so very provoking; and it was designed for a pattern to all others, that the greatest sinners might not despair of mercy with God. Note here, First, Our apostle was one of the first great sinners converted to Christianity.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 more voices on this verse
1 Timothy 1:16
“The Greek for "pattern" is sometimes used for a "sketch" or outline--the filling up to take place in each man's own case. believe on him--Belief rests ON Him as the only foundation on which faith relies. to life everlasting--the ultimate aim which faith always keeps in view (Tit 1:2).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Timothy 1:16
“IT is a vulgar error that the conversion of the Apostle Paul was an uncommon and exceptional event and that we cannot expect men to be saved now-a-days after the same fashion. It is said that the incident was an exception to all rules, a wonder altogether by itself.”
Charles Spurgeon · written before 1892 · The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3367: “Paul As a Pattern Convert” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
the King eternal, immortal, and invisible: The doxology rises out of Paul's own testimony, to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God. Eternal is literally of the ages, immortal names freedom from decay, and invisible names what is beyond sight.
1 Timothy 1:17
“Now unto the King eternal,.... This doxology, or ascription of glory to God, on account of the grace bestowed upon the apostle, may be considered, either as referring to all the three divine Persons, Father, Son, and Spirit, who are the one and only God; and to whom all the attributes of wisdom, power, eternity, immortality, or incorruptibleness, and invisibility, belong; and who are jointly concerned in the grace bestowed upon any of the sons of men.”
3 more voices on this verse
1 Timothy 1:17
“Now unto the king eternal - This ascription of praise is offered to God in view of the mercy which he had shown to so great a sinner. It is the outbreak of that grateful emotion which swelled his bosom, and which would not be denied expression, when Paul recalled his former life and the mercy of God to his soul. It somewhat interrupts indeed the train of his remarks, but the heart was so full that it demanded utterance.”
1 Timothy 1:17
“But if you think that God is seen by those who are pure in heart in this world, why did Moses, who had previously said, "I have seen the Lord face to face, and my life is preserved," afterwards plead that he might see him distinctly? And because he said that he had seen God, the Lord told him, "You cannot not see my face. For no one shall see my face and live." For this reason also the apostle calls him the only invisible God, who dwells in light unapproachable, whom no man has seen nor can see.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Against the Pelagians 3.12patristic
1 Timothy 1:17
"The only Potentate" (1Ti 6:15; Joh 5:44). for ever, &c.--See note, above. The thought of eternity (terrible as it is to unbelievers) is delightful to those assured of grace (1Ti 1:16) [BENGEL].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Fight the Good Fight; Some Have Made Shipwreck
1 Timothy 1:18-19
I entrust you with this command: The charge that opened the letter returns by name: Timothy, my child, I entrust you with this command. The verb belongs to the family of the deposit he must guard at 6:20.
1 Timothy 1:18
“What is this deposit? Is it so secret as to be supposed to characterize a new doctrine? or is it a part of that charge of which he says, "This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy? " and also of that precept of which he says, "I charge thee in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Jesus Christ who witnessed a good confession under Pontius Pilate, that thou keep this commandment? " Now, what is (this) commandment and what is (this) charge?”
Tertullian · written before 220 · The Prescription Against Hereticspatristic
3 more voices on this verse
1 Timothy 1:18
“This charge - See the note on 1Ti 1:5. It was a charge that the Judaizing teachers should not teach differently from that doctrine which the apostle had delivered to him. See 1Ti 1:3. According to the prophecies - This may refer to some predictions by inspired men, relative to what Timothy should be: and he wishes him to act in all things conformably to those predictions.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Timothy 1:18
“This charge I commit to thee - That thou mayest deliver it to the church. According to the prophecies concerning thee - Uttered when thou wast received as an evangelist, chap. iv, 14; probably by many persons, chap. vi, 12; that, being encouraged by them, thou mightest war the good warfare.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Timothy 1:18
“This charge--namely, "that thou in them (so the Greek) mightest war," that is, fulfil thy high calling, not only as a Christian, but as a minister officially, one function of which is, to "charge some that they teach no other doctrine" (1Ti 1:3).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
shipwrecked their faith: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that what some rejected was the good conscience, and the loss of faith followed from it. Faith and conscience sink together. Matthew Henry draws the lesson that a clean conscience keeps a believer sound in the faith, as 3:9 also teaches.
1 Timothy 1:19
“The loss of good conscience entails the shipwreck of faith. Consciousness of sin (unrepented of and forgiven) kills the germ of faith in man [WIESINGER]. which--Greek singular, namely, "good conscience," not "faith" also; however, the result of putting away good conscience is, one loses faith also. put away--a wilful act.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verse
1 Timothy 1:19
“Which - Namely, a good conscience. Some having thrust away - It goes away unwillingly it always says, "Do not hurt me." And they who retain this do not make shipwreck of their faith. Indeed, none can make shipwreck of faith who never had it.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Timothy 1:19
“Holding faith - Fidelity to the cause in which you are enlisted - as a good soldier should do. This does not mean, as it seems to me, that Timothy should hold to the system of doctrines revealed in the gospel, but that he should have that fidelity which a good soldier should have. He should not betray his trust. He should adhere to the cause of his master with unwavering steadfastness. This would include, of course, a belief of the truth, but this is not the leading idea in the phrase.”
1 Timothy 1:19
“Let us live up to the directions of a renewed enlightened conscience, and keep conscience void of offence ( Acts xxiv. 16 ), a conscience not debauched by any vice or sin, and this will be a means of preserving us sound in the faith; we must look to the one as well a the other, for the mystery of the faith must be held in a pure conscience, ch. iii.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
handed over to Satan: Hymenaeus and Alexander are men Paul has handed over to Satan, the act he orders for the Corinthian offender at 1 Corinthians 5:5. The purpose is remedial, that they be taught not to blaspheme.
1 Timothy 1:20
“When one knows properly these timely points, his understanding of the faith is right and healthy. But if he mistakes any such points, he quickly falls into heresy. Thus Hymenaeus and Alexander and their fellows were untimely when they said that the resurrection had already been. The Galatians were untimely in the other direction in making much of circumcision now.”
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · Discourses Against the Arians 1.54.2patristic
1 more voice on this verse
1 Timothy 1:20
“Of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander - Who had the faith but thrust it away; who had a good conscience through believing, but made shipwreck of it. Hence we find that all this was not only possible, but did actually take place, though some have endeavored to maintain the contrary; who, confounding eternity with a state of probation, have supposed that if a man once enter into the grace of God in this life, he must necessarily continue in it to all eternity. Thousands of texts and thousands of facts refute this doctrine.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
How this psalm is built
The form: An apostle's charge to his delegate, framed by the word charge at verses 3 and 18, with Paul's own conversion set between as the proof of the gospel he guards, as 19 classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| The charge at both ends | Paul gives Timothy his charge at verse 3 and names it again at verse 18, so the chapter's teaching on the law and the account of his conversion stand inside the frame. The site's published exposition of verses 18 and 19 reads the second mention as the frame returning by name.This site's published exposition of 1 Timothy 1:18 to 19, The exposition_notes row on 1 Timothy 1:18 to 19, citing John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament, and Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament. | 1 Timothy 1:3, 1 Timothy 1:18 |
| The first trustworthy saying | Verse 15 introduces a saying with the words this is a trustworthy saying. The same formula returns at 3:1 and 4:9, so the letter carries three such sayings. The site's published exposition of verses 15 and 16 counts this as the first.This site's published exposition of 1 Timothy 1:15 to 16, The exposition_notes row on 1 Timothy 1:15 to 16, citing Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament. | 1 Timothy 1:15, 1 Timothy 3:1, 1 Timothy 4:9 |
How this chapter is built
1 more paragraph on the patterns
The chapter opens with a greeting and then gives Timothy his charge at verse 3, to stop teachers who were spreading speculation. Verses 5 to 11 set the aim of all teaching, which is love, and state what the law is for. Verses 12 to 17 turn to Paul's own story, the first of the letter's three trustworthy sayings, and a burst of praise to God. At verse 18 the charge returns by name and closes the frame, with two teachers named as a warning.
Keep studying
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, The Pastoral Epistles.
The form and classifications
This site's published exposition of 1 Timothy 1:18 to 19, The exposition_notes row on 1 Timothy 1:18 to 19, citing John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament, and Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 758: “The Glorious Gospel of the Blessed God” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Irenaeus, Against Heresies Book IV; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on 1 Timothy; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Timothy 1; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Timothy.