Chapter 1

Theophylact of Ohrid, Exposition of the First Epistle of Paul to Timothy — Chapter One

¹ Argument of the First Epistle to Timothy. Timothy was among the disciples of Paul, and so distinguished was he, and so devoted to Paul, that he even chose to be circumcised by him as a matter of pastoral accommodation — and this even though Paul elsewhere preached against circumcision and had opposed even Peter himself on the matter. Paul too bears witness in many places to this man’s great virtue. To him he now writes concerning many necessary matters. One might ask: Why does he write to neither Silas, nor Clement, nor Luke, nor any other of his many companions, but only to Timothy and Titus? The answer is that he kept the others traveling with him, whereas to these two he had entrusted Churches. These, therefore, he needed to exhort through letters and to instruct in what was to be done. And if you should ask: Why did he not first bring them to perfection in all divine wisdom before appointing them to teach, but rather, after entrusting the teaching to them, writes again and still continues to form them? — learn first that no one is perfect, even if he has been appointed a teacher, but that even such a man stands in need of guidance from those more advanced in many things. Moreover, since the Church had only recently been established, it was not easy for the bishop himself to form everyone by his own word alone. Next, observe throughout the whole letter that the instruction here directed to Timothy is not the sort addressed to learners, but the sort that befits teachers.

² Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the commandment of God our Savior. Since he is about to lay down laws for Timothy, he proclaims himself an apostle in order to render his word worthy of trust. For it is not my own words, he says, that I shall utter, but those of the One who sent me — so take care not to disregard Him. And since the dignity of an apostle is a great thing, lest he should seem to be boasting, he added: according to the commandment of God. For it was not I myself, he says, who seized this office; rather, it is an inescapable debt I owe, and I am fulfilling a commandment of the Master. For the phrase “according to the commandment” is more forceful than “called.” Now, nowhere does the Father appear to have given him this command; it is Christ who did so: For He said, I will send you far away; and again: You must stand before Caesar; and the Spirit said: Set apart for me Paul. Yet nevertheless he attributes what belongs to the Son and to the Spirit to the Father as well. For consider also what follows.

³ And of the Lord Jesus, our hope. Do you see how the command is shared? Observe also how David says of the Father: The hope of all the ends of the earth; and this same Paul elsewhere says: We have set our hope on the living God. Yet here the Son is called our hope. Thus all things are common to the Father and the Son. And he has fittingly placed these two titles — Savior, and our hope — because the teacher wrestles with many difficulties, for the full weight of the battle is brought to bear upon him, on the reasoning that if he falls, those beneath him will fall the more readily as well, according to the word: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. Do not therefore despair, he says; for we have a Savior who is not a man but God Himself and the Father, who will quickly deliver us from dangers. And even if we are not quickly saved from them, we must at least hope for better things. For our hope, which cannot put us to shame, is Christ. By these two means we bear our dangers: either by being swiftly delivered from them, or by being nourished by good hopes.

⁴ To Timothy, my true child in the faith. That is, to one born to me through faith. For the preposition “in” here means “through,” just as he also says elsewhere: Through the Gospel I begot you. And praising him, he says: You are not merely a child, but a true child. He calls him true because Timothy preserved his likeness to Paul beyond all the rest, and because Paul himself loved him truly. He placed “in the faith” with great wisdom, so as to anoint Timothy the more for it. For if in the beginning he showed such faith as to become through it both a son of Paul and a true one, all the more now must he be armed with that same faith and not sink down or be thrown into confusion. For this is what faith means — to be bold regarding the things to come.

⁵ Grace, mercy, peace. Nowhere in the other Epistles did he add “mercy,” but here alone, praying with great tenderness for more blessings upon his child, as one who feared and trembled on his behalf — as indeed he also instructed him concerning his stomach — and at the same time because teachers stand in greater need of the blessing of mercy.

⁶ From God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Here again is consolation. For if God is our Father, He cares for us as children; and therefore He will have mercy and will grant grace, so that we may be acceptable to all and may live in peace from our enemies.

⁷ As I urged you to remain in Ephesus when I was going to Macedonia. See his gentleness: he uses not the voice of a teacher but of a suppliant. He did not say, I commanded, but I urged. For toward our own disciples one must behave in this way; toward the corrupt and those who are not genuine, differently. And he urges him to remain in Ephesus. For the letter that Paul sent to them was not sufficient, since people tend to be more dismissive of written messages. Perhaps also this took place before the letter. It is a matter of inquiry whether he has now established Timothy there, and it seems so, for he goes on to say:

⁸ That you may charge certain persons not to teach a different doctrine. He did not say, that you may urge, but that you may charge, which is more severe. He did not name these persons explicitly, lest he make them more shameless by exposing them. To teach a different doctrine means to bring in teachings of another kind. For there were many false apostles from among the Jews who were dragging people back toward the law, out of love of glory and the desire to be called teachers.

⁹ Nor to devote themselves to myths. By “myths” he does not mean the law itself, but its minute observances and its distorted doctrines.

¹⁰ And endless genealogies. For they would enumerate grandfathers and great-grandfathers, so as to have the appearance of historical learning. “Endless” refers either to genealogies ascending into the remote past, or to those that have no useful or intelligible end, but are hard to grasp and multifarious. It is likely also that he is hinting here at the Greeks, for these myths and genealogies belong to them, who catalogue their gods by lineage.

¹¹ Which promote speculations rather than the stewardship of God which is in faith. That is: God has arranged for all things to be received by faith; but these men, by introducing speculations, dissolve the stewardship of God. Or: God wished to give us great things and displayed toward us an inexpressible stewardship. This stewardship of His goodness faith receives and accepts, but genealogies do not at all. For they introduced speculations: How did this come to be? How can we believe concerning the things to come? Speculation therefore banishes faith. How then did the Lord say, Seek, and you will find? and again, Search the Scriptures? “Seek” there speaks of asking and ardent longing; “search” means: so as to learn their precise meaning and come to know them — and then to cease from asking, that is, from questioning.

¹² Now the aim of our charge is love from a pure heart. If you charge them not to teach a different doctrine, he says, you will achieve this — love. And if you plant love, every corrupted doctrine will vanish. For previously, when love was absent, there was envy; from envy came the love of power; from the love of power, the desire to teach; and from that, the heresies. But now it is not so. The love he demands is sincere love — not limited to words but from the heart, and from a heart that is pure and not veiled by hypocrisy, but constituted from disposition and from shared suffering.

¹³ And a good conscience and sincere faith. For robbers too love robbers, but this does not come from a good conscience, but from a bad one, nor is it from sincere faith. For he who believes in God with a genuine heart cannot ever depart from true love, for that love embraces all. But the robber is a murderer of those he meets. From this you may also reason that one who does not even possess love is not faithful either.

¹⁴ Certain persons, by swerving from these things, have wandered into vain discussion. The word “swerving” is used of those who shoot with an unskilled hand. Here also, then, he says, skill was required — to shoot straight and not miss the mark. But certain persons swerved away from both love and faith, and therefore wandered into vain discussion. And he goes on to explain how:

¹⁵ Desiring to be teachers of the law. That is, being sick with love of power and craving for glory. They would not have been such had they possessed love and faith.

¹⁶ Without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions. Here he accuses them of not knowing the aim of the law, nor for how long a time it held authority. Do they then go without condemnation since they acted from ignorance? By no means, for the ignorance comes from love of power and from failing to hold fast to love. For they want, he says, to be lawgivers and teachers of the law, and so they are ignorant. Thus they are themselves the cause of their own ignorance. Concerning what things do they make confident assertions? Probably concerning purifications and other bodily observances.

¹⁷ Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully. That is, if one does not merely expound it in words but also fulfils it through deeds. For he who teaches the things of the law but does not do them is using the law unlawfully. Or else, in another sense: one uses the law lawfully who through it is led to Christ. For the law, being unable to guide — that is, to justify — hands one over to Christ, and this is its purpose. So he uses the law lawfully — that is, as the law itself prescribes — who through it is led to Christ, whom the law itself honors above itself.

¹⁸ Knowing this, that the law is not laid down for the just. Because the just man does not need to learn what is to be done from it, for he knows this already and does not even fear punishment. By “just” he here understands one who has perfected virtue — a man who hates wickedness and embraces virtue not out of fear of the law but for the sake of the good itself, who achieves more than the law requires and thinks it unworthy to have it as his disciplinarian threatening him with stripes. He thinks nobly and goes beyond the level of a child — just as the physician is prepared for one who has wounds and is sick, not for one who is in good health; and the bridle is for the unruly horse, not for the one that is docile.

¹⁹ But for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who murder their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers. He runs through the sins one by one so as to persuade them to be ashamed of being under the supervision of the law. All of these things the Jews were. For those who continually bowed down to idols, who sacrificed their children to demons, who stoned the prophets, whose hands were full of blood — were they not ungodly and murderers? And all the rest you will find them to have been as well, if you read the histories. For this reason the law was given to them — to restrain these vices. As he also says elsewhere: The law was added because of transgressions. For the just, however, who are not inclined to transgressions, the law is unnecessary.

²⁰ And whatever else is contrary to sound teaching. Although the things already named were sufficient, he added a comprehensive summary: and whatever else. This shows that such passions find their entry through corrupted doctrines, for all these things are contrary to sound teaching.

²¹ According to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God. Connect this as follows: the sound teaching that accords with the gospel. He calls it “of glory” on account of those who are ashamed of the persecutions and of the suffering of Christ, showing that even the suffering of Christ and the persecutions are glory (of Christ), or also because they bestow the glory that is to come. For even if the present things, he says, carry shame, the things to come carry glory. And this the gospel announces to us, for every gospel concerns things that are to come, not things that are present. Or he means the worship of God which the gospel has taught us.

²² With which I was entrusted. I — not the false apostles; for their gospel is one of shame, not of glory.

²³ I give thanks to Him who has empowered me, Christ Jesus our Lord. Since he had said, with which I was entrusted, lest he seem to be boasting, he refers everything to God and says: thanks be to Him who gave me strength to be able at all to take up such a burden. For to stand firm against daily deaths was not within human power. This is true humility; what we practice is lowly speech, not humility of soul.

²⁴ Because He judged me faithful, appointing me to His service. Lest any of the unbelievers should say: If everything belongs to God and nothing is contributed by us, why did He make Paul such a one and not Judas? — he removes this objection and says: He did not simply empower me thus, nor without discernment, but because I was found faithful. And he does not even say it in this way, but: He judged me faithful, again shrouding his own achievement in shadow. I do not say, he means, that I was faithful, but that He considered me such. How is this clear? From the fact that He appointed me to His service. For how could He have appointed me had He not seen fitness in me? Even so in households, stewards give thanks to their masters for being entrusted with the stewardship, and they take this as a sign that they are regarded as more faithful than the rest. And God Himself says of him: He is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name. He was therefore fit to bear it, and he received strength from God in order to accomplish the work as well. For one who is about to bear the great name of Christ — to implant it in souls through preaching — has need of great power. And he bears it who in all his thoughts, words, and deeds is worthy of it; but he who is not such does not bear it — for how could he, since he does not have Christ within him at all? Paul was therefore faithful in all other respects as well, and in this respect: that he appropriated nothing belonging to the Master but rather referred even what was his own to the Master. I labored, he says, more abundantly than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God — and many other such things.

²⁵ Though formerly I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man. See how he extols the mercy of God by recounting his former life. And while in speaking of the Jews — who are deserving of every condemnation — he lays no such charge upon them, concerning himself he pronounces these things. Not only, he says, was I myself a blasphemer, nor did I keep my wickedness confined to myself; I even persecuted those who wished to live godly lives — and not merely so, but in an outrageously insolent manner.

²⁶ But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief. He shows himself to be deserving of punishment, for mercy is shown to people such as this. But why were the rest of the Jews not shown mercy? Because they sinned not in ignorance, but with full knowledge. For many of the Pharisees believed, he says, but did not confess, for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God. And Christ says: How can you believe, who receive glory from men? And the Jews themselves said: See, you are gaining nothing; behold, the world has gone after Him. The passion of love of power everywhere troubled them. And again they themselves said: No one can forgive sins but God alone — and immediately Jesus did the very thing which they had said was a sign of God. How then did they not believe? Surely these acts were not ones of ignorance? Someone might ask: Where then was Paul at that time? At the feet of Gamaliel, not mingling with the crowds, for Gamaliel was a man who kept to himself. How then did Paul afterwards imprison people? Because he saw the preaching increasing and then became zealous for the law — but that was for the sake of ambition. But how, being so exact in the matters of the law, did Paul not know Christ through the Scriptures? For this reason he reproaches himself for being sick with that ignorance which unbelief had produced — and therefore he says he received mercy.

²⁷ And the grace of our God overflowed exceedingly with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Having said great things about the love of Christ for mankind — that He showed mercy to one who was deserving of the extreme punishment — he now says: not only this, but He also made him worthy of adoption, and made him a brother, a son, a friend, and a fellow heir. So greatly did the grace of His love for mankind overflow. But lest anyone should say that since grace is everywhere operative our own free will is thereby abolished, he adds: with faith and love. For faith, he says, I contributed myself — believing that He is able to save me; and love, which also I myself acquired in Christ Jesus, for the author of my love toward God is Christ, not the law. And he shows that faith must be brought in together with love. For from love comes the keeping of the commandments, as the Lord said: If you love Me, keep My commandments.

²⁸ This is a faithful saying and worthy of full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Since he had said, I who was a persecutor received mercy, he continues: Do not marvel, nor disbelieve on account of the greatness of the gift. For it was for this very purpose that He came into the world — to save all sinners. The saying is therefore faithful and worthy of acceptance. For it is not because the gifts are great that one ought to disbelieve; on the contrary, because the goodness of the Giver is boundless, for that very reason it is right to believe and to receive. This also points toward the Jews who clung to the law, in order to show them that without faith it is not possible to be saved.

²⁹ Of whom I am the foremost. How is it that elsewhere, having said: As touching righteousness which is in the law, having become blameless, he now ranks himself first among sinners? Because in comparison to the righteousness in Christ, the righteousness in the law is sin, since it no longer has its proper time. For as long as it held its time, it was righteousness — just as the moon and a lamp shine in the night, but when Christ appeared as the sun, He eclipsed it; and henceforth he who uses a lamp when the sun is shining both sins and is foolish. He also says this elsewhere: For what was once glorified has come to have no glory.

³⁰ But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display His perfect longsuffering as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life. See his humility. For this reason, he says, I received mercy — that no one among those who have sinned should henceforth despair, but should remain hopeful, since Paul, the chief of all sinners, was saved. And he shows through this that he was not even worthy of forgiveness, but received the love of God for the sake of the salvation of others. He did not say: that He might display in me longsuffering, but: His perfect longsuffering — as if saying: I had sinned beyond measure and stood in need of every mercy and of all His love for mankind, not of a partial one, as with those who are sinners only in part. As an example, he says — that is, as a pattern, as a consolation, as an encouragement to all who desire to believe.

³¹ To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Since he had spoken great things about the Son — that He saves even those who have been given up for lost — he now ascribes glory to the Father as well, lest anyone suppose the Father is being robbed. And all these things are common to the Son also. For He too is King of the ages. If He is Creator of the ages, how is He not also King, immortal, invisible in His divinity, and the only wise? For He Himself is the Wisdom of the Father. And these things apply to the Spirit as well — for he said the only wise not to the exclusion of the Son and the Spirit: God forbid. But since both angels and men possess wisdom, he shows that God alone is wise in the proper sense, as the Fountain and Cause of wisdom; while all other beings that possess wisdom hold it by participation. Honor and glory are to be rendered not through words alone, but through deeds as well. The former shows us to be merely grateful; the latter makes us also His imitators, which is greater. For the glory rendered through words He requires so that we may love Him, attend to Him, and obey Him — and thereby we ourselves benefit, just as one who admires the glory of the sun’s light benefits himself, since he rejoices in the light and uses it for his works; whereas one who ignores the glory of the light has harmed himself by not using it in his labor.

³² This charge I entrust to you, child Timothy. Since he had used the word “charge,” and a charge is issued in a more authoritative manner, he added: child Timothy. For I say these things, he means, not with authority but as to a child. He also used the word “entrust,” to make clear the exactness of the keeping required and that what we hold is not our own but God’s. What He has given, therefore, we are bound to guard.

³³ In accordance with the prophecies that were made beforehand about you. The dignity of teaching and of the priesthood is great, and requires the vote of God, that the worthy man may receive it. In antiquity, priests were appointed by prophecy — that is, by the Holy Spirit, for prophecy also speaks of present things. Thus Timothy also was chosen for the priesthood. And since he speaks of prophecies in the plural, perhaps when he was first taken on as a disciple, and when he was circumcised, and when he was ordained by laying on of hands — all these occurred with prophecy. He says then: I charge you in accordance with the prophecies made beforehand about you — that is, looking toward those prophecies, and as it were instructed by them as to what you must do, I urge you to walk worthily of them and not to put them to shame.

³⁴ That you may wage the good warfare in them. What I charge you is this: wage the good warfare in them — that is, do not transgress their laws, but just as they chose you and for what purpose they chose you, wage the good warfare. For there is also an evil warfare, when one offers one’s members as weapons to sin and impurity. He used the term “warfare” to show that there is a fierce battle for all, and most of all for the teacher. Therefore one must be sober and display no slackness.

³⁵ Holding faith and a good conscience. Do not suppose, he says, that it is enough for you to have been ordained with prophecy; you must also hold faith, so as to rightly divide the word, and a good conscience — that is, to have acquired a life free from reproach. From this comes the good conscience, so that you may also be able to preside over others. For just as the general must first be a good soldier himself, so the teacher must himself possess the things he demands of his disciples. And from this let us learn that even if we are teachers, we should not think it beneath us to receive the requests and admonitions of those who are above us.

³⁶ By rejecting this, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith. “This” plainly refers to the good conscience. And rightly so, for when one’s life is impure, corrupted doctrines are also born from it. For in order not to be tormented by the fear of things to come, those who live impurely persuade themselves that everything in our teaching is false. And he who has rejected the faith and committed everything to reasonings makes shipwreck of the faith. For faith is a harbor free from storm, setting the mind in calm; but speculations are waves that carry the mind about hither and thither as if into a pitiful shipwreck, dashing it against rocks, or drowning it altogether.

³⁷ Among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander. Do you see how from ancient times there were those who taught falsely, who kept away from the faith and followed reasonings and speculations? Therefore even now, do not be discouraged when you see people like this, but stand your ground.

³⁸ Whom I have delivered to Satan that they may be taught not to blaspheme. How is Satan, who chastises others, not chastised himself? He did not say, that he may chastise, but that they may be taught. For it is not Satan who accomplishes this; rather, it results from the outcome. Just as executioners, filled with ten thousand evils, become a cause of sobriety for others, so it is with the devil. Why did Paul not punish these men by his own power, as he did with Elymas Bar-Jesus, or as Peter did with Ananias? So that together with the severity of the punishment there might also be the greater humiliation, and to show that he commands even Satan, making him thereby more formidable. Rather, I should say that those who were unbelievers he punished himself, so that they might learn that they cannot escape notice — for Ananias too was an unbeliever, still in a state of testing. But those who had already learned this and then turned away he handed over to Satan, showing them that they had been held in check not by their own power but by that of the apostles themselves. Or again: those whom they wished to correct they did not punish themselves, but those who were beyond correction they punished themselves. But how was someone handed over to Satan? He was expelled from the Church, cast out from the flock, and handed over naked to the wolf. For just as of old the cloud encompassed the tabernacle, so the Spirit encompasses the Church of Christ. If one is outside the Church, he is also outside the Spirit, and is henceforth wretched and easily seized — such is the penalty of excommunication. And God Himself, by handing sinners over to diseases and afflictions, chastises them by these means. For when we are judged, he says, we are chastised by the Lord. Note also that seeking to probe divine things by human reasonings is blasphemy. For it is an insult to divine things to suppose that they can be grasped by human reasonings.