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A CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL COMMENTARY
ON
THE PASTORAL EPISTLES
(I & II TIMOTHY AND TITUS)
BY
THE REV. WALTER LOCK, D.D.
LADY MARGARET PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD AND CANON OF CHRIST CHURCH
T. & T. CLARK LTD., EDINBURGH
ISBN 0 567 05033 5
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of T. & T. Clark Ltd.
JOANNI CHRYSOSTOMO
HERMANNO VON SODEN
MARTINO DIBELIO
harum epistolarum interpretibus locupletissimis
hoc volumen
quod iis multum acceptum refert
gratus dedico
PREFACE
————
The preparation of this volume was promised some years ago, but has been delayed by the many and multiform duties of practical life which have come to the author. If there are still occasional marks of the want of that concentration on one task which is so necessary for a Commentary, there is this compensating advantage: coming back again and again to these Epistles my mind has seemed to feel a truer sense of the proportion of the various parts to each other: I feel more able to “make the salient points salient,” to put the first things first.
The first purpose of the writer was, I am sure, ethical: he wanted to build up a high level of character in the Christian communities, such as would attract the outside world to Christ. “You have” (he says to his Churches) “to take your share in the life of the world around you and to attract it to Christ; you have to be good citizens, good neighbours; for this you must embody the natural virtues which the heathen world around you rates most highly, and must add to them the graces of faith, hope, and love: and this you can do, for you have the power of the Incarnate and Risen Christ to help you.” To emphasize the true features of that character and the spiritual dynamic which would make it possible was his first aim, and should be the first aim of his commentator.
Quite subordinate to this, though important for its efficiency, is the ecclesiastical organization. Very little is said about the duties of any grade in it; little about the method of ordination to any of them or about the relation of each grade to the rest; even the problem of the relation of the ἐίκπςto the πεβτρςonly admits of a probable solution. Taking the references at their face value and assuming an early and Pauline date for the composition, it is practically certain that they are two different names for one and the same grade of ministry; but assuming a late date, say in the 2nd century, near the time of Ignatius, when the distinction between the two was clearly marked, no reader would then have any doubt that they represented distinct grades, any more than a modern reader would have.
Subordinate also to this is the problem of the authorship on which so much careful and meticulous scholarship has quite rightly been spent hitherto. I have tried to show (p. xxxi) how truly Pauline in spirit these letters are, whoever was the amanuensis who took them down and whoever the person who dictated them; but, apart from the special reasons which apply to these Epistles, I cannot but think that by this time in the history of Christianity the question of authorship of almost any book of the Bible has become of only secondary importance. Every century which has borne its witness to the intrinsic value of a book has so far diminished the apologetic importance of knowing its author, and a long line of witnesses, from Ignatius in his letter to Polycarp, through the many Church Orders, through Chrysostom and Gregory, through Calvin and George Herbert, down to the latest treatises on pastoral or missionary work1 or the last addresses to candidates for Holy Orders, bears witness that, as long as the Church endures, these Epistles will have an abiding value, and the careful study of them will repay the student with fresh insight into their meaning and fresh guidance for building up his own character, be he layman or be he an official minister of the Church.2
In conclusion, I have to express my warmest thanks to the Rev. Henry Austin Wilson, Fellow of St. Mary Magdalen College, Oxford, who corrected the proofs of the first half, and to the Rev. Edward Charles Everard Owen, formerly Fellow of New College, Oxford, who continued the work when Mr. Wilson was prevented by illness. To both I owe useful suggestions as well as most careful correction of the proofs.
Nor must I end without a special word of thanks to the patience and good nature of my publishers, and to the carefulness and suggestive thoughtfulness of their compositors.
WALTER LOCK.
Christ Church, January 1924.
CONTENTS
————
ABBREVIATIONS
INTRODUCTION
Name
The Christian Character
The Apostolic Teaching
Organization and Ministry
Theology
Date and Authorship
Integrity
Text
Later Influence
Commentaries
COMMENTARY
Additional Notes—
πσι
κλς ἀαό
πρθκ
ἐκαή, σφω
INDEXES
Greek Words
Subjects and Names
ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE COMMENTARY
(Cf. also PP. xli-xliv).
————
A.V. Authorized Version of the English Bible.
Æ K. O. See Egypt. C.O.
Ambst. Ambrosiaster.
Apost. Ch. Ord. Apostolical Church Order, in Texte und Untersuchungen, ii. 5.
Apost. K.O. Apostolische Kirchen-Ordnung, in Texte und Untersuchungen, ii. 5.
B. G. U. (Berlin) Griechische Urkunden, 1895—
Bibl. Antiq. (Philo) The Biblical Antiquities (of Philo), ed. M. R. James, S.P.C.K., 1917.
Blass, N. T. Gr. Grammar of New Testament Greek, English translation, 1898.
Brightman, L.E.W. Liturgies Eastern and Western, Oxford, 1896.
Canones Apost. Canones Apostolorum (from the Apostolical Constitutions, viii. 47), ed. F. Lauchert, 1896.
Canones Hipp. Die Canones Hippolyti, ed. Achelis, in Texte und Untersuchungen, vi. 4.
Clarom. Codex Claromontanus.
Clem. Hom. Clementis Romani Homiliæ ed. Dressel, 1853.
Const. Apost. Constitutiones Apostolorum, ed. P. A. de Lagarde, 1862.
Cov. Coverdale’s New Testament.
Deissmann, B. St. Biblical Studies, by A. Deissmann, Eng. translation, 1901.
Deissmann, L.A.E. Light from the Ancient East, by A. Deissmann, Eng. transln., 1910.
Dict. Chr. Ant. Smith and Cheetham, The Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, 1875-1880.
Dittenberger, Syll. Sylloge Inscriptionum Grœ ed. W. Dittenberger, 1888.
Egypt. C.O. Egyptian Church Order, ed. Connolly, in Texts and Studies, viii.
Encycl. Brit. Encyclopœ Britannica, 1899-1903.
Fuld. Codex Fuldensis.
Geneva The Geneva New Testament, 1557.
H.K. Hand Commentar zum N.T., vol. iii.,
Hand C. Freiburg, 1891.
H.D.B. Dictionary of the Bible, ed. J. Hastings, 1898-1904.
I.C.C. International Critical Commentary.
I.G. Inscriptiones Grœœ Berlin, 1873—
Ill. Bible Dictn. Murray’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ed. W. C. Piercy, 1908.
Inscr., Cagnat Inscriptiones Grœœ ad res Romanas pertinentes, ed. R. Cagnat, Paris, 1911—
J. Th. St. The Journal of Theological Studies, London, 1910—
K.O. Kirchen-Ordnung. See Apostol K.O.
M. M. The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, by J. H. Moulton and G. Milligan, 1914—
McGiffert, A.A. History of Christianity in the Apostolic Age, by A. C. McGiffert, 1897.
Moffatt, L.N.T. Introduction to the Literature of the N.T., by J. Moffatt, 1911.
Moulton, Gr. N.T. A Grammar of N.T. Greek, by J. H. Moulton, 1906—
N.T. in Apost. Fathers The New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers, Oxford, 1905.
Nä Das Wortschatz des Apostel’s Paulus, von T. Nä 1905.
O.G.I.S. Orientis Grœ Inscriptiones Selectœ ed. W. Dittenberger, 1903-1905.
O.L. Old Latin Version.
Orelli, Inscr. Inscriptiones LatinœSelectœ I. II., ed. J. E. Orelli, 1828.
Orelli, Henz. Inscriptiones Latinæ Selectæ III., ed. W. Henzen, 1856.
P.B. Die Pastoral Briefe.
Pap. Eleph. Elephantine Papyri, ed. C. Rubensohn, Berlin, 1907.
Pap. Oxyr. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, ed. Grenfell and Hunt, vols. i.-xv., London, 1898—
Pap. Paris Paris Papyri, ed. Brunet de Presle, Paris, 1865.
Pap. Tebt. The Tebtunis Papyri, ed. Grenfell, Hunt, and Smyly, London, 1902-1907.
Pirke Aboth. The Sayings of the Jewish Fathers, ed. C. Taylor, 1911.
Pss.-Sol The Psalms of Solomon, ed. Ryle and James, 1891.
R.V Revised Version of the English Bible.
S.-H. The Epistle to the Romans, by Sanday and Headlam, in the I.C.C.
Schü H.J.P. A History of the Jewish People in the time of Jesus Christ, Eng. tr. 1890.
si v.l. si vera lectio.
Souter Novum Testamentum Grœ Textui a Retractoribus Anglicis adhibito brevem adnotationem criticam subjecit, A. Souter, Oxford, 1910.
T. und U. Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der Altchristlichen Literatur, von Gebhart und Harnack, Leipzig, 1882-1895.
T. und U.N.F. Texte und Untersuchungen Neue Folge, 1896—
Test Dom. Nostri The Testament of Our Lord, ed. Cooper and Maclean, 1902.
Test. XII Patrum The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (Greek Version), ed. Charles, 1908.
Texts and Studies Ed. J. Armitage Robinson, Cambridge, 1891—
Tischdf. Novum Testamentum Grœ ed. C. Tischendorf and C. R. Gregory, ed. octava, 1894.
Trench, Syn. Synonyms of the New Testament, by Archbishop Trench, 8th edition, 1876.
Tynd. Tyndale’s New Testament, 1534.
W.-H. The New Testament in Greek, with Introduction and Appendix, by Westcott and Hort, Cambridge, 1881.
Zahn, Einl. Einleitung in das Neue Testament, von Theodor Zahn, 1897-99.
Zeitschr. N.T. Wissenschaft Zeitschrift fü die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, Giessen, 1900—
INTRODUCTION
————
Name. —These Epistles were from the first separated from the letters to the churches as part of a group of private letters to friends, written “pro affectu et dilectione”: as such they are, in the Muratorian Canon and in all MSS., classed with Philemon. But they were soon separated from it, as having a bearing on church life (Canon Mur. “in honore tamen ecclesiæcatholicæin ordinationem ecclesiasticædisciplinæsanctificatæsunt.” Tert. adv. Marc. v. 21 “ad Timotheum duas et unam ad Titum de ecclesiastico statu compositas”); and Marcion, while accepting Philemon, rejected them. The earliest reference to a common name for them is found in the 17th century, “quæPontificiae vocari solent” (Cosmas Magalianus, Lugduni, 1609); and from the 18th century the title “Pastoral,” suggested first by P. Anton in 1726, soon became a recognized title in Germany; cf. Michaelis, Einleitung, 1777, “die so-genannten Pastoral-briefe” (cf. Wohlenberg, p. 68; Zahn, Einleitung, i. 444; Harrison, pp. 13-16), and has since gained universal currency.
Unity of purpose. —This title well describes them, though in rather different degrees: 1 Ti is entirely pastoral, and perhaps intended to be of universal application; Titus is mainly pastoral, but also a letter of commendation and a letter of recall; 2 Ti is mainly personal, a letter of recall, and only incidentally pastoral; yet all may be for many purposes treated as a unity. For the main purpose of them all is the same; it may be summed up in the words of I 3:15, πςδῖἐ οκ θο ἀατέεθι to build up a high standard of Christian character and intercourse in the Church as the family of God, or in those of Tit_2:11-13 (of the purpose of the Incarnation and Atonement), to enable men to live σφόω κὶδκίςκὶεσβς and the two instruments which are to achieve this aim are the same in all—a high standard of character and loyalty to the Apostolic teaching.
The Christian Character. —The secret of the character is a personal relation to Christ as one who had lived a human life, and is now a Risen and Ascended Lord (I 3:16), a constant remembrance of Him as a Risen Lord able to help (II 2:8): a constant expectation, nay, a whole-hearted desire (ἀάη for His Returning Presence (Tit_2:13, II 4:8, I 6:14): for He is the mediator between man and a God of life (I 4:10), a God who has made all creation good (I 4:4), and who wishes all men to be saved (I 2:4); who of His grace saves the worst sinners from sin (I 1:15), and brings them back to share His own glory (I 1:11). Man’s attitude towards God is expressed in the Pauline triad, faith (I 1:4, 14, 2:15, 4:12, Tit_3:15), love (I 1:5, 14), and hope (I 1:1, 4:10, 5:5, 6:17, II 4:8, Tit_1:2, Tit_3:7). His ideal is to live a quiet and peaceable life in a religious and serious spirit (I 2:2, cf. II 2:22): his essential characteristics are sincerity, a good conscience, a pure heart; he models himself on the Divine qualities of goodness and loving-kindness (Tit_3:4); he receives power from Christ: hence he holds himself well in hand (ἐκάη): he has his passions under control (σφω): he is content with little (I 6:7, 8): he is sober-minded (νφλο: cf. νφι, II 4:5; ἀαήεν II 2:26): his virtues are kept healthy, free from any feverish excitement (ὑιίεν Tit_2:2; cf. I 6:4): he avoids profitless discussion and speculations (I 1:4, 6:3). Hence he is prepared for every good work, ready to be used by his Master at a moment’s notice (εχητς he lives a life useful to his fellow-men (ὠέιο, I 4:8, Tit_3:8; cf. Tit_3:14 note): he is generous, if he has wealth (I 6:17-19): he is careful of justice to others (δκισν), gentle and forbearing in the face of opposition: he is not content with merely good works, he aims at excellence (κλ ἔγ: cf. special note, p. 22). Hence there is an orderly beauty about all his actions (κσις they adorn the teaching he has received (Tit_2:10): nay, there is a religious dignity (σμόη) that marks him out: he moves through life as though it were a great religious service (cf. ἱρπεες Tit_2:3) conducted in the sight of God and of Christ (I 5:21, 6:13, II 2:15, 4:1), with the hope that his life may attract outsiders to share the joy of the procession. This type of character is to be exhibited in family life (for the family is the type of the Church, I 3:5, 5:1): in a high conception of marriage (I 2:15, 4:3, 5:14), in fidelity of husband to wife and wife to husband, in the control of and provision for children by parents, and in the obedience of children to parents, in the training of the young by the old, in the care for widowed relations, in the kindness of master to slave and faithfulness of slave to master, in a more willing service to Christian masters: it is to be exhibited in civic life, for the Christian is to pray for his rulers (I 2:2), to be obedient to authority (Tit_3:1), to join in any good civic work, to be occupied in any trade that is respectable, and not to incur the charge of being a useless citizen (Tit_3:1, Tit_3:8, Tit_3:14 notes). It is to be exhibited in Church life: for the character of the ministers is to be the model for all, and their life is to be under supervision and discipline, their work duly rewarded, their sins duly punished. The whole life is being disciplined, educated in righteousness, under the grace of God (πιεοσ, Tit_2:12; cf. II 2:25, 3:16).
Two things may be noted about this type of character: (a) it denotes a second stage in the Christian life; that life has passed through the excitement of conversion; there is none of the restlessness which St. Paul had to rebuke in the Corinthian Church; none of the upsettal of ordinary duties and family life which resulted from the expectation of a speedy coming of the Returning Lord; there are only slight hints of the controversy between law and grace (I 1:8, Tit_3:5): the true purpose of law is seen in due proportion, and the “sound teaching” of the Christian Church is felt to incorporate, while it transcends, the commands of the decalogue (I 1:8-11 notes). Another cause operated to effect the same result. The sense of the speedy Parousia of the Lord had passed away: we have no longer a “crisis-ethic”; the more abiding relation of the Church to this world is being defined. In a sense Christian Teachers are necessarily falling back on the Rabbinic effort to regulate exactly the duties of daily life, but the teaching is quite free from meticulous scrupulousness; the central religious motives are kept central. The ideal is the same as that described in Clement of Rome (c. 1) and Justin, as that which Tertullian pointed to as realized in his time as marked by “gravitas honesta,” and Eusebius as τ σμὸ κὶελκιὲ κὶἐεθρο τ τ σφο κὶκθρντςἐθο πλτίς Hence missionaries have turned to these Epistles for guidance in dealing with a second generation of converted heathen.2 (b) While it stands in striking contrast to the past heathen life of the converts and to the general standard around them (Tit_3:1-5), yet it shows how close the Christian character cones to the best ideal found in Greek and especially in Stoic Ethics. St. Paul had bidden the Philippians note well, wherever they might be found, all things ἀηῆ σμά δκι, ἁν (Php_4:8), and all these words are embodied in these Epistles: the writer gives a warning against falling short of a heathen standard (I 5:8): σφουήand ἐκαεαare as central in Plato and Epictetus as here: εσβί (I 2:2 note) and θοεεα(I 2:10) are common terms in Greek religion: ατρεαis a special note of Stoicism: many of the qualities required for Christian men and women are found already on Pagan Inscriptions; the illustrations quoted in the notes of Wetstein and Dibelius are illuminating in this respect; the qualities required for a ruler in the Church have many points of contact with those of the Stoic wise man or those of a Greek general (I 3:2 note); the ideal of Marcus Aurelius is very similar: for him man acts as priest and servant of the gods (3:4), his conduct is serious and dignified (σμό, 1:9, 2:5): with him goodness is beautiful (2:1): man—even an emperor—should be ατρή and need little for happiness (1:16, 2:5, 3:4, 6:30, ὀίοςἀκύεο, οο οκσι σρμῇ ἐθτ, τοῇ ὑηεί): hence he is ἐκάη (1:15), sober-minded (νφνἐ πσ, 1:16, 4:26, 6:31); sound in judgment (ὑίς 4:51, 10:35), of ordered beauty (κσις 3:7); he is an athlete in the noblest contest (3:4); he has the same dislike for profitless speculations (1:7). The lists of moral virtues found in him correspond very much with those of these Epistles (3:6, δκισν, ἀηεα σφούη ἀδεα v. 5, τ σμό . . . τ ἀιήοο . . . τ ὀιοες τ εμνς τ ἀλαο: cf. v. 12, 7:68).
The writer wishes to say to his churches: You are settling down to join in the life of the Empire, to hold your own with your Pagan neighbours; therefore you must not fall short of their moral standard: your life must incorporate the highest virtues on which their teachers lay stress; nay more, it must aim at a standard of excellence which shall adorn the doctrine of your Saviour, because the Christian life is one of the chief means which will attract Pagans to Christ (I 6:1, Tit_2:5, Tit_2:8, Tit_2:10, and cf. 1 P 2:12, 3:12, 2).
“The true ecclesiastical life and the true Christian life and the true human life are all one and the same;”1 but there lies behind the two former a motive in the relation to a personal Saviour from sin, which enabled Christianity to win its way to all classes of men to a degree which Stoic Ethics never touched.2
The Apostolic Teaching. —One means for securing this high level of character is loyalty to the Apostolic teaching. This is based upon “the words of the Lord Jesus Christ” (I 6:3, cf. 5:18), on the Gospel of St. Paul (I 2:7, II 1:13, 2:8, 3:10), on the inspired Scriptures of the O.T. (I 5:18, II 3:16). It is expressed in stereotyped phrases: it is ἡδδσαί (I 6:1): ἡκλ δδ (I 4:6): ἡὑιίοσ (I 1:10, II 4:3, Tit_1:9, Tit_2:1): ἡκτ εσβίν(I 6:3, Tit_1:l): ἡτῦστρς(Tit_2:10): ὁλγςτῦθο (II 2:9, Tit_2:5): τςἀηεα (II 2:15): ἡἀήεα(I 3:15, 4:3, II 2:18, 3:8, 4:4, Tit_1:14): cf. ἐίνσςἀηεα (I 2:4, II 2:25, 3:7): ἡπσι (I 1:19 (?) 3:9 (?) 4:1, 6, 6:10, 21, II 3:8, Tit_1:13, Tit_2:2 (?)): τ εαγλο τςδξςτῦμκρο θο (I 1:11). ἡπργεί (I 1:5). It is already embodied in hymns (I 3:16), in faithful sayings (I 1:15, 3:1, 4:9, II 2:11, Tit_3:8), and the germs of a creed seem to be implied in I 6:13, II 4:1.
In contrast to this there are false teachers and false teaching, but the allusions to their exact doctrines are not clear. They are teachers within the Church (cf. Act_20:30, Rev_2:2, which both show the existence of false teachers at Ephesus), some of whom have already been handed over to Satan (I 1:19, 20, II 2:17, cf. Tit_3:10); they lay great stress on the importance of their teaching (I 1:7, δαεαονα), and make great efforts to attract followers (II 3:6, Tit_1:11). Some of them are Jews, others are not (Tit_1:10): there is no reason for supposing all the allusions to be to one set; there were many varieties of false teaching in Ephesus (Act_19:1-4, Act_19:9, Act_19:13 and 20:29, 30), and there seem two distinct tendencies.
(i) Jewish. —This is clearly marked in Titus (1:10 ο ἐ τςπρτμς 1:14 Ἰυακῖ μθι, 3:9 μχςνμκς the references to“myths and genealogies” in I 1:4-7 (where the teachers claim to be νμδδσαο) 4:7, II 4:4 would most naturally be explained by the passages in Titus and probably do refer to Jewish Haggada, though they certainly are capable of adaptation to the Gnostic æ and genealogies and the Gnostic stress on knowledge as the method of salvation (vid. notes ad loc.). The falsely-called knowledge (I 6:20) will in this case refer to Rabbinical pride in knowledge of the law.
(ii) Gnostic. —Springing out of a belief in the evil of matter: this is the probable reference of I 4:1-5, where the reference to the prohibition of marriage and ascription of the source of the teaching to “devils” make it almost impossible to trace that source to Judaism. With this may be classed the denial of the literal Resurrection (II 2:17) and the possible allusion to magic (I 3:8, 13). These are forms which 2nd century Gnosticism took (vid. notes ad loc.); but similar tendencies were in existence in the 1st century (cf. 1Co_15:12, Col_2:8, Rom_14, Heb_13:4).
Of our Epistles, 2 Ti is the least determinate and gives little guidance as to the nature of the teaching: Titus is markedly anti-Jewish; 1 Ti. has the most definite statements, yet they are ambiguous and are capable of reference either to Jewish or Gnostic teaching; if it was written after Titus and was intended as a general direction to all the Pauline churches, it may have intentionally widened the allusions in Titus, so as to make the warning applicable in different directions. But the main reason of this ambiguity is that the writer is not so much concerned with the doctrines as with the moral tendency of the rival teachings. On the one hand, the Apostolic teaching tends to produce excellence of character (κλ): it is sound and healthy (ὑιίοσ), it is adapted to a religious standard (κτ εσβίν its one aim is “love out of a pure heart” (I 1:5), the Lord has placed His own stamp upon it (II 2:19). To remain loyal to it appeals to the deep instinct which regards the care of a deposit as a solemn trust (cf. note on πρθκ, II 1:12). On the other hand, the false teaching is aimless (I 1:6), empty of real substance (I 6:20), useless (Tit_3:9), ruinous to character (II 2:14); it springs out of failure to keep a good conscience (I 1:19), and leads to quibbling argumentation, to discord and ill-will (I 1:4, 6:4). The writer’s feeling is closely akin to that of Socrates towards the Sophists, of St. Paul towards the Corinthians who placed knowledge before love (1Co_8, Col_2), Of Marcus Aurelius, who was grateful to Rusticus that he had first learnt from him the need of moral correction and amendment, and renounced sophistic ambitions (1:7).
Church Organization and Ministry. —The Church addressed is one organized community, an ecclesia of a God of life, God’s family (I 3:5, 15); its members are of ο ἀεφί(4:6), ο πσο (4:12, cf. 5:16, 6:2), ἅιι(5:10), ο ἡέεο (Tit_3:14).
There are meetings for worship both evening and morning (I 5:5 τῖ ποεχῖ νκὸ κὶἡέα); at them prayers and thanksgiving are combined (I 2:1); there is reading of Scripture, exhortation, teaching (I 4:13); men and women worship together and the desire of women to teach is checked by the writer: it is not clear whether any man present might lead the prayers, or whether this was confined to a minister (I 2:8 note).
Baptism is the method of salvation and new birth (Tit_3:5), and an allusion to a baptismal profession of faith in God and in Christ Jesus is probable in I 6:12.
There are also meetings for discipline (ἐώινπνω, I 5:20), though it is not clear whether these would be meetings of the whole Church or only of the presbyters.
Ministry. —(a) The Apostle. —The Apostle, as receiving his commission from Jesus Christ, and as in the service of God (Tit_1:1, I 1:1, II 1:l), has the supreme authority. He lays stress on his own Gospel (I 1:11, 2:7, II 1:10-13, 3:14, Tit_1:3), solemnly entrusts it to his delegates (I 1:18), hands over false teachers to Satan (I 1:20), and, though contemplating a speedy return, sends to his delegate exact instructions and wishes about his teaching, the details of common worship, the choice of and discipline over the ministers.
(b) The Prophets are referred to as having in the past pointed out Timothy to St. Paul for his work I 1:18, 4:14, but there is no reference to any present action by them.
(c) The Apostle’s delegates, Timothy and Titus. —No official title is given to them: Timothy is called an “Evangelist” (II 4:5), a man of God (I 6:11), the Lord’s servant (II 2:24); his task is one of ministry (δαοίν II 4:5). No title is given to Titus. They both have power given them to teach themselves, to hand on the Apostle’s Gospel, to control the teaching of others (I 1:3, II 2:14); to ordain ministers, to exercise discipline over them “with all authority” (I 5:17-25, II 4:2, Tit_2:15, Tit_3:10), both for reward and for punishment; to remit penalties once inflicted (?) (I 5:22); to regulate the roll of widows (I 5:9). Each is to be a model of character as well as of teaching (I 4:12, Tit_2:7).
But it is not clear whether they received special consecration for this task. No allusion is made to this in the case of Titus: in the case of Timothy it is probably implied in I 1:18, 4:14, II 1:6: he has had hands laid upon him by the Apostle and by presbyters at some time, but all these allusions may refer to some earlier event in his life. Nor is it clear what was their exact status. They may have been only temporary delegates sent to deal with temporary emergencies, as they had been sent before to the Church at Corinth, and 1Ti_1:3, 1Ti_1:3:14, 1Ti_1:15, 1Ti_1:4:13, Tit_1:5, Tit_3:12 point this way (cf. II 4:10 where Titus is sent to Dalmatia): or they may have received some permanent commission and consecration to act as the Apostle’s delegate at any place to which from time to time he might send them: and II 4:12, Tit_3:12 may imply that, when they were recalled, someone else was put in their places; or, lastly, it is possible that they had received permanent commission with permanent localization at Ephesus and Crete, their recall being only temporary. II 4:5, 6 seems to imply that Timothy would remain at his task after the Apostle’s death, though not necessarily at Ephesus. 1 Timothy and Titus favour the first of these views, 2 Timothy the last, and a change may have been made in Timothy’s position when Paul returned to Ephesus; but in any case they are “the instruments of an absent rather than the wielders of an inherent authority” (Moberly), and it is ordination at some point in their lives which gives them grace and power, to the fact of which the Apostle can appeal. They are Vicars Apostolic rather than monarchical bishops, but they form the transition to the monarchical Episcopate of the 2nd century.
(d) Local ministry. —There are grades in the ministry: the ἐικπ is already an object of desire: the deacon, if he serves well, may pass to a higher grade (I 3:1, 13). But it is not clear whether there are two or three grades. Three titles are given, ἐίκπς πεβτρς δάοο, but the first two may be different titles for one office. This is probable, as the duties assigned to each, and the requisite character of each, are almost identical; cf. I 3:2-7 with Tit_1:6-9; and this is confirmed by the absence of any reference to πεβτριin I 3:2-13, and to ἐίκπιin I 5:17-21. On the other hand, it is noticeable that the bishop is always referred to in the singular with the definite article prefixed (τνἐίκπν I 3:2, Tit_1:7).
The Bishop’s relation to the Church is like that of a father to a family: his duty is ποσαθι ἐιεεσα, I 3:4, 5, to preside at meetings, to keep discipline, to take forethought for the whole, to teach (δδκιό), to exhort, to rebuke (Tit_1:9): he represents the Church to the outside world (I 3:7), and has to welcome Christians coming from elsewhere (φλξνν His is a task, and a noble task (κλῦἔγυ I 3:1).
The Presbyters are a group of elders in each city (Tit_1:5, Tit_1:2 Ti 2:2, cf. τ πεβτρο, I 4:14): they are formally appointed (Tit_1:5, 1Ti_5:22 (?)) and tested before appointment (1Ti_3:10 κὶοτι their duty is to “preside” and to teach (1Ti_5:17): they receive some honorarium, which is increased if their work is well done: they are liable to censure and formal judgment before the whole body (ib. 19-22). They also take their part in laying hands on other ministers (1Ti_4:14).
It is then quite possible that these are two different titles for one status; and if so, “presbyters” would be the title, springing out of the analogy of the Jewish synagogue, a small group of leading men chosen by the founder of each church to manage its affairs after he had gone: and “bishops” would be a description of their function as taking oversight. This is strongly supported by Act_20:17 and 28; cf. Php_1:l. But it would be frequently necessary for the church to be represented by some one officer, whether to manage the finances and exercise hospitality to strangers, or to preside at a meeting for exercising discipline, or more frequently still for presiding at the Eucharist (cf. ὁποσώ, Justin M. Apol. i. 67), and the title “the overseer” would naturally be applied to the presbyter so acting, without implying any difference of grade or permanent status. This would explain the constant use of the singular.
Deacons. —The existence of the office at Ephesus is assumed, and their duties are not defined. Stress is laid upon their character, both as fitting them for their own work of assisting in church service and administration of charity, and as preparing them for the higher office of the presbyterate to which they may aspire. Their character, perhaps also their soundness in the faith, has to be formally tested before they can enter upon their office. They are not mentioned at all in the churches of Crete.
(e) Ministry of women. —(i) The ministry of deaconesses is almost certainly referred to in 1Ti_3:11, but no definition of their duties or of the method of their appointment is given.
(ii) Widows. —There is already in existence an order of Church Widows whose names are kept on a regular list. The writer’s aim is to limit this list. It is possible that those on the list were used for deeds of kindness to others, but this is not clearly stated. The main purpose of the order was eleemosynary. No one is to be placed on it who is under sixty years of age, or who can be supported by her own relations: only excellence of character qualifies for admission.
For fuller details cf. the notes on each passage. The following books should be consulted: Bp. Lightfoot, The Christian Ministry; Hort, The Christian Ecclesia, cc. xi, xii.; Hatch, The Bampton Lectures, 1880; Lindsay, The Church and the Ministry in the Early Centuries, 1903; Lowrie, The Church and its Organisation (based on Sohm’s Kirchenrecht), 1904; Harnack, Constitution and Law of the Church, Eng. tr., 1910; Swete, The Early History of the Church and Ministry, Essay II., 1918; Gore, The Church and the Ministry, c. v., 1919; Headlam, The Bampton Lectures, c. ., 1920.
For the previous use of the words ἐίκπςand πεβτριin connexion with religious officials, cf. Deissmann, B.S. s.vv., MM. s.vv.; Gore, ubi sup., Exo_2, Note K.
Theology—(i) The conception of God is mainly that of the O.T., with the sense of His Fatherhood deepened by the revelation of Christ, and with more abstract qualities emphasized, perhaps through the influence of Greek philosophy upon Jewish thought. In essence He is One only (I 2:5, 6:15): a God of life (I 3:15, 4:10): the Happy God (I 1:11): immortal, invisible (I 6:15, 16). In manifestation He is creator of all things (I 4:4), holding them in life (I 6:13), giving them bountifully for man’s enjoyment (I 6:17). He is father of men, willing all to be saved (I 2:4): true to His promises (Tit_1:2): the King of all the ages (I 1:17, 6:16): revealing Himself at His own times (ἰίι κιος Tit_1:3): Christians are His elect (II 2:10, Tit_1:1): He is their saviour in the fullest sense (I 4:10): the Church is His family (I 3:5, 15, II 2:15, 19): its ministers are His slaves (II 2:24), His stewards (Tit_1:7, I 1:4), His “men” (I 6:11, II 3:17?): He issues His commands to them (κτ ἐιαή, I 1:1, Tit_1:3): He gives them His gifts (II 1:6, 7): He is the source of grace, mercy, and peace (I 1:2, II 1:2, Tit_1:4): the giver of repentance to those who have gone astray (II 2:25): the object of hope (I 5:5): the future judge (cf. I 5:21).
(ii) The conception of Christ is primarily that of the Jewish Messiah—ΧιτςἸσῦ almost always, Ἰσῦ Χιτςrarely, never Ἰσῦ alone or Χιτςalone (cf. Harrison, p. 57)—but the Messiah as one with God in His universal love and work; perhaps also modified by an intentional contrast with the deified Roman Emperor (Tit_2:13 note). He is thought of as existing before all time (II 1:9): His earthly life was a manifestation (I 3:16), a coming into the world (I 1:15); yet He was truly man, able to represent all mankind before God (I 2:5). His teaching is perhaps referred to (I 6:3): His true confession before Pontius Pilate (I 6:13): His self-sacrifice (I 2:6): His atoning death (Tit_2:14). But He is mainly thought of as the Risen Lord; the mediator between God and man (I 2:5); the saviour, the source with the Father of grace, mercy, and peace: the giver of wisdom (II 2:7): the source of life itself (II 1:10): the inspirer of courage (II 2:8): the object of our faith (I 1:16) and of our hope (I 1:1): for whose final appearing Christians long (II 4:8), because He guards safely our deposit (II 1:12), and with the Father will be the righteous Judge, giving the crown of righteousness to the righteous and rewarding the wicked according to their deeds (II 1:18, 4:8, 14). He is called “the glory of our great God and Saviour,” or perhaps “our great God and Saviour” (Tit_2:13 note).
(iii) To the Holy Spirit there is little allusion; He may be referred to in I 3:16 as the inspirer of Christ’s perfect life. He is the source of the inspiration of Christian prophets (I 4:1): to all Christians He is the source of the renewal given in Baptism (Tit_3:5), and the indwelling power which enables them to be loyal to their trust (II 1:14).
Date—On the assumption of the Pauline authorship the date must be subsequent to St. Paul’s imprisonment at Rome and before his death, and will fall between a.d. 60 and 64. But deferring this problem, the evidence is very uncertain. Any date between 60 and 115 is possible; between 60 and 90 probable.
External evidence—The surest starting-point is the rejection of their Pauline authorship by Marcion. This implies their existence and their attribution to St. Paul by others before a.d. 140. About the same date they were included in Syriac and Latin versions. Further, there are striking coincidences with their language to be found in the Epistles of Ignatius and Polycarp, which make it probable that they were well known before a.d. 115. There are again possible reminiscences of their language and a real sympathy of tone between them and the Epistle of Clement, a.d. 95. (For reference, cf. von Soden, Hdc., p. 151; The New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers, p. 137; Harrison, pp. 177, 178; Von der Goltz, T. und U. xii. iii., pp. 107-18, 186-94.)
Internal evidence—(a) Church organization.—A regular ministry of at least two grades is already in existence: the presbyters are salaried: they are liable to discipline: they form a higher grade to which deacons may be advanced: the position of ἐίκπςis already an object of desire; only those who are not newly-converted may be appointed to office. There are many widows, some of more than sixty years of age; some have already been untrue to their profession. This implies a Church of some years’ standing, but is possibly consistent with a period of twelve years, which may have elapsed between the first foundation of the Ephesian Church by St. Paul and his imprisonment at Rome. On the other hand, the uncertainty of the exact position held by Timothy and Titus, and the uncertainty of the relation of the ἐίκπςto the πεβτρι and the need of regulating the worship of men and women, are quite different from the situation implied in the letters of Ignatius, and point to a date not later than the 1st century. The need of the enforcement of prayer for the Empire points to a time before Clement’s letter.
(b) Relation to the outside world. —The chief danger of false teaching comes from Judaism; there are also traces of Gnosticism, but in an incipient form, not nearly so developed as in Marcion. The Church is settling down to play an active part in the world: it prays for the Empire; its members are encouraged to loyalty and active service as citizens; the characteristic of Christian life embodies all the virtues of Stoicism: “The writer is a type of the time when the ethical voice of a noble Hellenism and the Roman instinct for organization are uniting themselves with the Christianity which had sprung as religion out of Judaism” (von Soden): the notes of the Christian character already found in the Corinthian Church in the time of Clement of Rome (c. 1) recall those of these Epistles. Some of the best illustrations of the writer’s meaning are to be found in Ignatius or Tertullian or Cyprian (cf. notes on I 2:15, 5:22, Tit_3:8): but there is no indication that those imply customs which had arisen in the 2nd century. Tertullian often adds cautions to guard against dangers which might arise from the language of the Epistles; cf. Tert. de Idol. c. 8: “cavere debemus ne quid scientibus nobis ab aliquibus de manibus nostris in rem idolorum postuletur.” Ib. 12: “ut non usque ad idololatriæaffinitates necessitatibus largiamur.” Ib. 15: “subditos magistratibus …sed intra limites disciplinæ quousque ab idololatria separamur.” In the same way a comparison of the advice to slaves in I 6:1, 2 as compared with that in Ignatius and Polycarp points to an earlier date.
(c) Literary dependence.—
(a) The Gospels. —There is no reference to the existence of written Gospels: in I 5:18 a saying recorded in St. Luke’s Gospel is quoted; possibly as Scripture, though probably not (vid. note): I 6:3 possibly implies a collection of the Lord’s discourses, and Q may have been known to the writer; but the coincidences with the Gospel sayings are quite explicable as due to oral tradition. The more striking are I 2:6 ( = Mar_10:45), 4:8 ( = Luk_18:30), 5:5 ( = Luk_2:37), 5:18 ( = Luk_10:7; Lk agrees verbally, Mt differs), 6:17-19 ( = Luk_12:20, Luk_12:21), II 2:19 ( = Mat_7:23), II 4:18 ( = Mat_6:13), Tit_1:15 ( = Mar_7:19, Luk_11:41), 3:5 ( = Joh_3:5). The Johannine phrases ἦθνεςτνκσο, I 1:15: ἐαρθ ἐ σρί I 3:16, are found in quotations from “faithful sayings” or “hymns.”
(b) The Epistles. —There are many coincidences of thought and language with St. Paul’s Epistles, especially with Ro., 1 Co., Eph., Phil. Nearly all the reminiscences of the O.T. are of passages quoted by St. Paul: I 2:13, cf. 1Co_11:8: I 2:14, cf. 2Co_11:3: I 5:19, cf. 2Co_13:1: I 6:1, cf. Rom_2:24. II 2:20, cf. Rom_9:21: Tit_1:14, cf. Col_2:22: Tit_2:5, cf. Rom_2:24. Frequent coincidences occur with St. Paul’s own language:
with Ro.: I 1:1, 17 = Rom_16:26: 1:5 = Rom_13:10: 1:8 = Rom_7:16: 2:5 = Rom_3:30: 2:7 = Rom_9:1.
II 1:3 = Rom_1:8: 1:7 = Rom_8:15: 1:8, Rom_1:16: 1:9 = Rom_16:26: 1:14 = Rom_8:11-13 = Rom_6:8, Rom_8:17.
Tit_1:1-4 = Rom_16:26: 1:15 = Rom_14:20: 3:1 = Rom_13:1.
with 1 Co.: I 1:12, 13 = 1Co_7:25, 1Co_7:15:10 : 2:11, 1Co_7:12 = 1Co_14:34 : 4:4 = 1Co_10:30 : 5:18 = 1Co_9:9: 5:17 = 1Co_9:14.
II 2:4-6 = 1Co_9:7: Tit_3:3 = 1Co_6:9-11.
with 2 Co.: I 1:11 = 2Co_4:4,
with Eph.: II 1:8 = Eph_4:1: II 1:9 = Eph_1:4, Eph_2:8 : Tit_3:3 = Eph_2:3: Tit_3:5 = Eph_2:8,