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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comVincent Word Studies - 1 Timothy 3:2 - 3:2
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Blameless (ἀνεπίλημπτον)
Or without reproach: one who cannot be laid hold of (λαμβάνειν): who gives no ground for accusation. oP. Only in 1st Timothy.
The husband of one wife (μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα)
Comp. 1Ti 3:12; Tit 1:6. Is the injunction aimed (a) at immoralities respecting marriage - concubinage, etc., or (b) at polygamy, or (c) at remarriage after death or divorce? The last is probably meant. Much of the difficulty arises from the assumption that the Pastorals were written by Paul. In that case his views seem to conflict. See Rom 7:2, Rom 7:3; 1Co 7:39; 1Co 8:8, 1Co 8:9, where Paul declares that widows are free to marry again, and puts widows and virgins on the same level; and comp. 1Ti 5:9, according to which a widow is to be enrolled only on the condition of having been the wife of but one man. The Pauline view is modified in detail by the writer of the Pastorals. Paul, while asserting that marriage is right and honorable, regards celibacy as the higher state (1Co 7:1, 1Co 7:7, 1Co 7:26, 1Co 7:34, 1Co 7:37, 1Co 7:38). In this the Pastoral writer does not follow him (see 1Ti 2:15; 1Ti 3:4, 1Ti 3:12; 1Ti 4:3; 1Ti 5:10, 1Ti 5:14). The motive for marriage, namely, protection against incontinency, which is adduced by Paul in 1Co 7:2, 1Co 7:9, is given in 1Ti 5:11-14. As in Paul, the married state is honorable, for Bishops, Deacons, and Presbyters are married (1Ti 3:2, 1Ti 3:12; Tit 1:6), and the honor of childbearing conferred upon the mother of our Lord is reflected in the Christian woman of later times (1Ti 2:15). While Paul advises against second marriages (1Co 7:8, 1Co 7:9, 1Co 7:27, 1Co 7:39, 1Co 7:40), in the Pastorals emphasis is laid only on the remarriage of church-officers and church-widows. In the Pastorals we see a reflection of the conditions of the earlier post-apostolic age, when a non-Pauline asceticism was showing itself (see 1Ti 4:3, 1Ti 4:4, 1Ti 4:8; Tit 1:15). The opposition to second marriage became very strong in the latter part of the second century. It was elevated into an article of faith by the Montanists, and was emphasized by Tertullian, and by Athenagoras, who called second marriage “a specious adultery” (εὐπρεπής μοιχεία)
Vigilant (νηφάλιον)
Only in the Pastorals. See 1Ti 3:11, and Tit 2:2. olxx. The kindred verb νήφειν means to be sober with reference to drink, and, in a metaphorical sense, to be sober and wary; cool and unimpassioned. Thus Epicharmus, νᾶφε καὶ μέμνας ἀπιστεῖν be wary and remember not to be credulous. See on 1Th 5:6. In N.T. the meaning of the verb is always metaphorical, to be calm, dispassionate, and circumspect. The A.V. vigilant is too limited. Wise caution may be included; but it is better to render sober, as A.V. in 1Ti 3:11 and Tit 2:2, in the metaphorical sense as opposed to youthful levity.
Of good behavior (κόσμιον)
oP. Only here and 1Ti 2:9, see note. Rend. orderly.
Given to hospitality (φιλόξενον)
oP. Comp. Tit 1:8; 1Pe 4:9. See note on pursuing hospitality, Rom 12:13.
Apt to teach (διδακτικόν)
oP. Only here and 2Ti 2:24. olxx, oClass. In the Pastorals the function of teaching pertains to both Bishops and Elders (see 1Ti 5:17; Tit 1:9). It is at this point that the tendency to confound and identify the two reveals itself. Bishops and Presbyters are not identical. Earlier, the teaching function does not seem to have attached to the position of ἐπίσκοπος. The office acquired a different character when it assumed that function, which is not assigned to it in Clement's Epistle to the Corinthians. In the Didache or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (about 100 a.d.) the ministry of teaching is to be assumed by the Bishops only in the absence of the Prophets and Teachers (xiii., xv).