These things Concerning the character of persons fit to be intrusted with the office of bishops or deacons; I write, hoping to come to thee shortly It seems evident from hence, that Paul intended to have come back to Timothy at Ephesus in a little time, but was providentially called another way; but, as Doddridge observes, it can by no means be concluded from hence that Paul wrote this epistle to Timothy after his imprisonment at Rome. But if I tarry long If I am hindered from coming, I give thee these instructions in the mean time; that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself That is, how to discharge thy office properly; (which is the scope of the whole epistle;) in the house of God In which thou hast the honour to bear so high an office, even in that house, or family, which is the church of the living God Where he is worshipped in spirit and in truth by his believing people, manifests his special presence, and bestows peculiar blessings. The tabernacle first, and afterward the temple, obtained the name of the house or habitation of God, because there the symbol of the divine presence resided, 1 Samuel 1:7; Matthew 21:13; Matthew 23:38. But under the gospel dispensation no material building or temple is called the house of God. That appellation is given only to the church of God, or to those societies of men who profess to believe in Christ, and join together in worshipping God according to the gospel form. The pillar and ground Or support, as εδραιωμα signifies; of the truth That is, of the whole system of gospel truth. “Some commentators think Timothy is called, in this passage, the pillar and support of the truth, for the same reason that Peter, James, and John are called pillars, (Galatians 2:9,) and that the particle ως, as, should be supplied before these words, and the clause translated thus: That thou mayest know how thou ought to behave thyself, as the pillar and support of the truth in the church, of the living God. But, not to insist on the harshness and irregularity of this construction, it must be observed, that seeing the interpretation of the passage hath been much contested, a word, which entirely changes the apostle's meaning, should by no means be inserted in the text on mere conjecture, because in that manner the Scriptures may be made to speak any thing which bold critics please.” Macknight. According to the common reading, the church of God is evidently here called the pillar and support of truth. And since the apostle must be understood as speaking, not of any particular falsely pretended, fallen, or corrupt church, but of the true, genuine, catholic church, or, as he expresses himself, the church of the living God, consisting of all the true churches of Christ throughout the world, and comprehending all true believers and lovers of God, all who hold the mystery of faith in a pure conscience; (1 Timothy 3:9;) this church, so constituted, may with perfect propriety be termed the pillar and support of the truth, as preserving, from age to age, the Holy Scriptures, which attest the truth, and as always believing and maintaining the great fundamental articles of the Christian faith. Bengelius, however, and many others, adopt a different reading, so far as to end the sentence with the church of the living God, and to begin the next with the words following, thus: The mystery of godliness is the pillar and ground of truth, and confessedly a great thing. And this reading is approved by Witsius, Whitby, Doddridge, Wesley, and many other eminent commentators. According to this interpretation, by the mystery of godliness we are to understand that wonderful and sublime doctrine which is revealed in the gospel, and immediately specified in six articles, which sum up the whole economy of Christ upon earth.
God was manifest in the flesh Namely, the Word that was in the beginning with God, and was God, was incarnated, (John 1:14,) in the human nature of Jesus, conceived by a miracle in the womb of the virgin, and born of her, to whom, therefore, the divine names of God, Lord, and Jehovah, are repeatedly given in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments; as also the divine titles of the true God, 1 John 5:20; God over all blessed for ever, Romans 9:5; Jehovah of hosts, Isaiah 8:13-14; Hosea 12:5; the Lord of glory, 1 Corinthians 2:8; the Holy One and Just, and the Prince of life, Acts 3:14-15; the first and last, Revelation 1:17. To him divine attributes are ascribed; omnipresence, Matthew 18:20; omnipotence, Philippians 3:21; omniscience, Revelation 2:23. And divine works, namely, those of creation, John 1:3; preservation, Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3; redemption and salvation, passim, and judging all mankind at the last day, Matthew 25:31-32, &c. And to him, as we have very often seen in the course of these notes, divine worship was frequently paid by those divinely-inspired persons, who could not be mistaken, particularly in a matter so momentous. He was manifested in the form of a servant, in the fashion of a man, for thirty-three years, his divine glory frequently breaking forth through the veil of his humanity, especially in the wisdom of his discourses, in the power of his miracles, in the holiness of his spotless life, and in his unspeakable and never-ceasing benevolence, beneficence, and other divine virtues, and in a peculiar manner when he was transfigured on the holy mount, 2 Peter 1:16-17. Justified in the Spirit The Lord Jesus appeared on earth in all the infirmity and frailty of mortal flesh, poor, despised, persecuted, and at last put to death as a blasphemer; yet he professed and maintained a high claim, the highest possible, even that of being the Messiah, the Son of God in a peculiar sense, and one with his Father, John 8:58; John 10:30; John 10:36. Now how could he be justified in making this claim? He was justified in, or by, the Spirit Namely, the Holy Ghost; 1st, That Spirit had moved holy men of old, (2 Peter 1:21,) to utter many predictions concerning him, and these were all exactly fulfilled in him. 2d, The Spirit descended upon him in a visible form at his baptism, and pointed him out as the person, whom the voice from heaven declared to be God's beloved Son; and this Spirit he possessed without measure in its gifts and graces, as his doctrine, life, and miracles showed. 3d, By this Spirit he was raised from the dead, (1 Peter 3:18,) and thereby powerfully demonstrated to be the Son of God, Romans 1:4. 4th, He baptized his disciples with this Spirit, particularly on the day of pentecost, according to the prediction of the Baptist, (Matthew 3:11,) and his own often-repeated promise, and thereby convinced of sin those that did not believe in him, whether Jews or Gentiles, and showed them to be inexcusable in resisting such evidence; giving full proof, at the same time, that he himself was righteous, John 16:7-10.
Seen of angels However regardless men might be of this astonishing mystery, this manifestation of God in the flesh, the angels viewed it with deep and constant attention and great interest, as a most astonishing and instructive spectacle, more mysterious than any work of creation, or dispensation of providence, and giving them such views of their Maker's justice and grace, and especially of his love, as they had not had before, 1 Peter 1:12. Accordingly they worshipped him at his entrance into the world, Hebrews 1:6; celebrated his birth, Luke 2:9-13; ministered to him in the desert, Matthew 4:11; and in his agonies, Luke 2:43; were present at his resurrection and ascension, Luke 24:4; Acts 1:10.
Preached to the Gentiles This also is termed a mystery Ephesians 3:4-6; Colossians 1:25; where see the notes. And if we consider how the Gentile world was sunk in idolatry and vice of every kind, and that whoever preached the gospel to them must testify against their abominable practices in strong terms, and therefore had every reason to expect the most violent opposition and ill usage, even to imprisonment, torture, and martyrdom, we must allow both that God manifested astonishing grace in sending his apostles to preach the gospel to them, and that these his messengers displayed amazing fortitude in going so willingly to preach it. Believed on in the world This was a still greater mystery; 1st, That a poor, mean, and persecuted man, crucified as the vilest malefactor, should be believed on as the Messiah expected by the Jews and all nations the Son of God the Saviour of the world. 2d, That his gospel, so simple and unpromising in appearance, preached without wisdom of words, and by men who had not the advantage of wealth, power, or learning to recommend them, and whose doctrine condemned the reigning idolatry, should be believed in as a revelation from God: especially as, 3d, It could not prevail but it must evidently overthrow the heathen idolatry, established and revered for ages, and bring all the esteemed doctrines of the philosophers into discredit, and therefore would certainly be opposed and persecuted by the three classes of people of the greatest power, the priesthood, the philosophers, and the Roman emperor, with all subordinate kings and magistrates. 4th, Whoever believed it were under an indispensable obligation to confess it; and whoever did so was in danger of suffering the loss of all things, imprisonment, torture, and death. But notwithstanding all these obstacles in the way, Jesus and his gospel were believed on in the world. “This undeniable fact, of which the evidence remains at this day, is mentioned as a part of the mystery of godliness, because it is a strong proof of the truth of Christ's resurrection, and of the spiritual gifts and miraculous powers by which the apostles and their assistants are said, in the Christian records, to have spread the gospel through the world. For, to believe that the multitudes, not only among the barbarous nations, but among the learned Greeks and Romans, who forsook their native religion and embraced the gospel, were persuaded to do so merely by the force of words, without the aid of miracles and spiritual gifts, is to believe a greater miracle than any recorded in the gospel history.” Macknight.
Received up into glory When his ministry on earth was completed; when he had fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies, and answered the ancient types; taught the whole truth belonging to his new dispensation, and confirmed it by miracles; had set his followers a perfect example; expiated sin by dying, broke the power of death by his resurrection; giving his disciples clear proof thereof by frequently appearing to them, as well as by showing them that the ancient prophets had foretold these things; and had given them their commission and all needful instruction; He, who had so long tabernacled in our frail nature in a state of poverty, reproach, and suffering, was received up into glory: that is, as the eternal Son of God, he resumed the glory he had with his Father before the world was; (John 17:5;) his human nature was transformed and glorified, and in his complete person, as God and man, he was placed at the head of the whole creation for the good of his church, (Ephesians 1:20-22,) invested with all authority and power in heaven and on earth, and constituted the final Judge of men and angels.