1Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ [Christ Jesus] by [according to] the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ,which is our hope; 2Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ [Christ Jesus] our Lord.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1Ti_1:1. Paul. See, in reference to his person, the statements of the Acts of the Apostles, and the preceding Pauline Epistles.—By the commandment,
êáô
’
ἐðåôáãÞí
. The Apostle begins his work thus, because he would enforce his apostolic authority against heretical teachers. The same expression occurs in Tit_1:3, and refers to the Divine commission of the Apostle, the foundation of which was
èÝëçìá èåïῦ
, to which he alludes in other places, as 2Ti_1:1 (comp. Gal_1:1). We do not, however, discover in this an undesigned expression of his confidence in the Divine origin and character of his apostleship (Matthies). We believe, rather, that the Apostle uses this word designedly, in order to give to his admonitions their due authority.—God our Saviour,
óùôῆñïò ἡìῶí
(comp. Jude 25; Luk_1:47). The representation of God the Father as Saviour is peculiar to the Pastoral Epistles; while in the other Pauline Epistles, the name is usually given to Christ. It is obvious that this name is applied to the Father, in view of that which He has done, through Christ, for the salvation of mankind.—Our hope. One of those rich expressions which lose their power and beauty in any paraphrase (comp. Joh_11:25; Col_1:27; Eph_2:14, and similar passages). The conception is as little exhausted, whether we consider Christ exclusively as the foundation, or exclusively as the object of hope; rather, both conceptions are to be so blended, that we shall see in Christ the living centre of the Christian hope. “In eo solo residet tota salutis nostræ materia;” Calvin. It is Christ, in and through whom alone our hope in the Divine
óùôçñßá
is realized.
1Ti_1:2. Own son in the faith,
ãíçóßῳ ôÝêíῳ
, not
êáôὰ óÜñêá
, but
ἐí ðßóôåé
; which last word must not be joined with
ãíçóßῳ
, but with
ôÝêíῳ
, and denotes the sphere in which the relationship has grown between Paul and Timothy (comp. 1Co_4:14-17; Gal_4:19). Titus, in 1Ti_1:4, is greeted with the same name of honor,
êáôὰ êïéíὴí ðßóôéí
. The Apostle feels inwardly moved to give such prominence to the bond which unites him in Timothy; and from this spring of inner love now bursts his noble intercessory prayer. [The English Version reads, “in the faith;” but it is better “in faith.” So Conybeare, and others. Alford and Wordsworth, however, retain the former reading.—W.]—Grace, mercy, and peace. A new characteristic of the Pastoral Epistles, that mercy is named in the salutation, while elsewhere St. Paul is wont to entreat only grace and peace for his readers (compare, however, Gal_6:16; Judges 2). It is not possible that a writer of fiction would have allowed such slight deviations; he would rather have been careful to copy, as literally as possible, the Apostle’s usual form of salutation. This difference gives us an internal proof, in its degree, of the genuineness of the Epistle. The chief motive by which the Apostle felt himself compelled, from the fulness of his heart, to join this third word to the other two, was doubtless his own personal feeling. As his life drew nearer its close, and he felt more deeply his weakness, his coming end, the
ἔëåïò
was the foundation of his hope; and for Timothy, too, with grace and peace, it was the one thing needful. “Misericordia dicit gratiam quasi teneriorem erga miserabiles, et hujus misericordiæ divinæ experientia affert habilitatem ad ministerium, evangelicum,” 1Ti_1:13; 1Ti_1:16; Bengel. We may call grace the highest good for the guilty, mercy for the suffering, and peace for the struggling disciple of the Lord. In its harmony, this ravishing threefold chord expresses all the spiritual gifts which the Christian should ask for himself and his brethren.—Christ Jesus. Here, as very frequently in the Epistles to Timothy, the official name, The Christ, in which the Messianic promises are fulfilled, is placed before the name of the historic person, Jesus.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. As it was not necessary for Timothy to be assured of the apostolic authority of Paul, since he had not the least doubt of it, it becomes more evident here that the Apostle attaches to it a high significance, when it is named even in the beginning of this letter. We often hear the superficial notion advanced, that the Apostles, as the first witnesses of the personal appearing of Christ, had some advantage over later teachers, but that there is, after all, no essential inequality. If this were true, the Pastoral Epistles, would have, in many respects, an entirely different character. We hear in them not merely an elder teacher addressing his younger brethren in office, not merely a spiritual father addressing his son, but an Apostle giving exhortations to his youthful fellow-laborers, in a tone which admits no contradiction, and expects nothing but obedience for Christ’s sake in all he prescribes and ordains (comp. 2Co_7:15-16). If we once admit that the spirit of truth was given to each one (
ðñὸò ôὸ óõìöÝñïí
, 1Co_12:7), it lies in the very nature of the case, that with the munus apostolicum quâ tale, charismata were joined, which other teachers of the church could not enjoy, or, at least, to the same degree. The Lord, who has appointed some apostles, and some evangelists (Eph_4:11-12), has by no means made the latter equal to the former. This misconception of the principle of authority begets the most unchecked wilfulness and private opinion, and brings us not to the feet of the Apostle, but under the sceptre of every writer who may place himself and his word above that of St. Paul The recognition of the apostolic authority is the best palladium against the threefold enemy which assails the evangelical church in our day—Mysticism, Rationalism, and Romanism; comp. P. Jalaguyer, Inspiration du Nouveau Testam., Paris, 1851; especially p. 51–89.
2. The recognition of Jesus Christ as our hope involves, if it have any significance whatever, the recognition of His real divinity. If the Lord be nothing more than a mere man, as many modern theologians represent, then we are not free to call Him our hope, without narrowing greatly our conception of its meaning. The Scriptures pronounce a fearful judgment upon all who trust in an arm of flesh; comp. Jer_17:5-6; Psa_118:8-9; Psa_146:3.
3. The apostolic benediction, “Grace, mercy, and peace,” illustrates the character of the gospel, as essentially different not only from the law, but from every merely human and philosophic system of religion. All grace, mercy, and peace which God can bestow, come to us only through and in communion with His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ; comp. Joh_14:6.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
The significance of Paul’s title, the Apostle of the Lord.—Paul the Apostle, for all ages and centuries.—The calling of Paul to the apostolic office a good to all Christendom.—The nature, foundation, and value of the apostolic authority.—God the Saviour of all men, but especially of those that believe (1Ti_4:10).—Christ the Lord of the Church.—Christ our hope: (1) What does this name involve? (2) What does it demand?—Christ (1) can be our hope, for He is the true God; (2) will be our hope, for He is the Mediator between God and man; (3) must be our hope, for there is salvation in no other.—The communion of saints.—The strong tie that unites together spiritual fathers and their children.—The high value of the gospel blessings.—The grace, the mercy, and the peace of God, in their relation to the faith, the love, and the hope of the Christian.—Jesus Christ the source whence all spiritual blessings flow to us.—What must the Christian ask first and chiefly for his brethren?
Osiander: If Paul be a messenger of God, we ought to regard his writings as nothing else than the infallible word of God (Luk_10:16).—No man ought to preach without a due calling in the church (Heb_5:4).—Anton: The majesty of God can only be constantly and lovingly manifest in the face of Jesus Christ. If Christ be our hope, then we certainly must not rest our hope on the saints, or on our own merit, but recognize Christ as the only Redeemer.—The office and work of the preacher are means by which spiritual sons and daughters are born to God (Phm_1:10).—Lange’s Opus bibl.: Every believing reader of this benediction should put himself in the place of Timothy, and make it his own, since he knows and honors God as his Father, and Christ as his Lord.
