This section has six verses:
1 Timothy 6:11-16
11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and
follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love,
patience, meekness.
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on
eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and
hast professed a good profession before many
witnesses.
13 I give thee charge in the sight of God, who
quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who
before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;
14 That thou keep this commandment without spot,
unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus
Christ:
15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the
blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and
Lord of lords;
16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light
which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath
seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power
everlasting. Amen.
We will begin with the Barclay commentary.
CHALLENGE TO TIMOTHY
1 Timothy 6:11–16
First the paraphrase of the verses:
But you, O man of God, flee from these things.
Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love,
endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of
faith; lay hold on eternal life, to which you are
called, now that you have witnessed a noble
profession of your faith in the presence of many
witnesses. I charge you in the sight of God, who
makes all things alive, and in the sight of Christ
Jesus, who, in the days of Pontius Pilate, witnessed
his noble confession, that you keep the commandment,
that you should be without spot and without blame,
until the day when our Lord Jesus Christ appears,
that appearance which in his own good times the
blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and
the Lord of lords, will show, he who alone possesses
immortality, he who dwells in the light that no man
can approach, he whom no man has seen or ever can
see, to whom be honour and everlasting power. Amen.
THE letter comes to an end with a tremendous
challenge to Timothy, a challenge all the greater
because of the deliberate sonorous [high-flown;
grandiloquent or lofty style] nobility of
the words in which it is clothed.
Right at the outset, Timothy is challenged to excel.
He is addressed as man of God. That is one of the
great Old Testament titles. It is a title given to
Moses. Deuteronomy 33:1 speaks of ‘Moses, the man of
God.’ The title of Psalm 90 is ‘A Prayer of Moses,
the man of God.’ It is a title of the prophets and
the messengers of God. God’s messenger to Eli is a
man of God (1 Samuel 2:27). Samuel is described as a
man of God (1 Samuel 9:6). Shemaiah, God’s messenger
to Rehoboam, is a man of God (1 Kings 12:22). John
Bunyan in The Pilgrim’s Progress calls Great-Grace
‘God’s Champion’.
Here is a tide of honour. When the challenge is
presented to Timothy, he is not reminded of his own
weakness and sin, which might well have reduced him
to pessimistic despair; rather, he is challenged by
the honour given to him, of being God’s man. It is
the Christian way, not to depress people by branding
them as lost and helpless sinners, but rather to
uplift them by summoning them to be what they have
it in them to be. The Christian way is not to fling
a humiliating past in someone’s face, but to set
before that person the splendour of the potential
future. The very fact that Timothy was addressed as
‘man of God’ would make him stand up straight and
throw his head back as one who has received his
commission from the King.
The virtues and noble qualities set before Timothy
are not just heaped haphazardly together. There is
an order in them. First, there comes righteousness,
dikaiosune¯. This is defined as ‘giving both to
other people and to God their due’. It is the most
comprehensive of the virtues; the righteous are
those who do their duty to God and to their
neighbours.
Second, there comes a group of three virtues which
look towards God. Godliness, eusebeia, is the
reverence of the person who never ceases to be aware
that all life is lived in the presence of God.
Faith, pistis, here means fidelity, and is the
virtue of the person who, through all the chances [opportunities]
and the changes of life, down even to the gates of
death, is loyal to God. Love, agape, is the virtue
possessed by those who, even if they tried, could
not forget what God has done for them nor the love
of God to all people.
Third, there comes the virtue which looks to the
conduct of life. It is hupomone¯. The Authorized
Version translates this as patience; but hupomone¯
never means the spirit which sits quietly and simply
puts up with things, letting the experiences of life
flow like a tide over it. It is victorious
endurance. ‘It is unswerving constancy to faith and
piety in spite of adversity and suffering.’ It is
the virtue which does not so much accept the
experiences of life as conquer them.
Fourth, there comes the virtue which considers
others. The Greek word is paupatheia. It is
translated as gentleness, but is really
untranslatable. It describes the spirit which never
blazes into anger for its own wrongs but can be
devastatingly angry about wrongs done to other
people. It describes the spirit which knows how to
forgive and yet knows how to wage the battle of
righteousness. It describes the spirit which walks
in humility and yet also in pride of its high
calling from God. It describes the virtue which
enables people to keep a true balance between
concern and respect for others and self-esteem.
MEMORIES WHICH INSPIRE
As Timothy is challenged to the task of the future,
he is inspired with the memories of the past.
(1) He is to remember his baptism and the vows he
took there. In the circumstances of the early
Church, baptism was inevitably adult baptism, for
men and women were coming straight from the old
religions to Christ. It was confession of faith and
witness to all that the baptized person had taken
Jesus Christ as Saviour, Master and Lord. The
earliest of all Christian confessions was the simple
creed: ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’ (Romans 10:9;
Philippians 2:11). But it has been suggested that
behind these words to Timothy lies a confession of
faith which said: ‘I believe in God the Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth, and in Christ Jesus who
suffered under Pontius Pilate and will return to
judge; I believe in the resurrection from the dead
and in the [eternal life].’ It may well have been a
creed like that to which Timothy gave his
allegiance. So, first of all, he is reminded that he
is a man who has given his promise. Christians are
first and foremost men and women who have pledged
themselves to Jesus Christ.
(2) He is to remember that he has made the same
confession of his faith as Jesus did. When Jesus
stood before Pilate, Pilate said: ‘Are you the king
of the Jews?’ and Jesus answered: ‘You say so’ (Luke
23:3). Jesus had witnessed that he was a king, and
Timothy had always witnessed to the lordship of
Christ. When Christians confess their faith, they do
what their Master has already done; when they suffer
for their faith, they undergo what their Master has
already undergone. When we are engaged on some great
enterprise, we can say: ‘We are treading where the
saints have trod’, but when we confess our faith
before others, we are able to say even more; we can
say: ‘I stand with Christ’; and surely this must
lift up our hearts and inspire our lives.
(3) He is to remember that Christ comes again. He is
to remember that his life and work must be made fit
for him to see. Christians are not working to
satisfy other people; they are working to satisfy
Christ. The question a Christian must always ask is
not: ‘Is this good enough to pass the judgment of
others?’ but: ‘Is it good enough to win the approval
of Christ?’
(4) Above all, he is to remember God. And what a
memory that is! He is to remember the one who is
King of every king and Lord of every lord; the one
who possesses the gift of life eternal to give to
men and women; the one whose holiness and majesty
are such that no one can ever dare to look upon
them. Christians must always remember God and say:
‘If God is for us, who is against us?’ (Romans
8:31). ~Barclay Commentary
Now to the other commentaries. We will begin with
the Matthew Henry.
Again, our verse lesson for tonight is:
1 Timothy 6:14
That thou keep this commandment without spot,
unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus
Christ:
He reminds him of Christ's second coming: “Keep this
commandment - until the appearing of our Lord Jesus
Christ; keep it as long as thou live, till Christ
come at death to give thee a discharge. Keep it with
an eye to his second coming, when we must all give
an account of the talents we have been entrusted
with,” Luke 16:2. Observe, The Lord Jesus Christ
will appear, and it will be a glorious appearing,
not like his first appearing in the days of his
humiliation. Ministers should have an eye to this
appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ in all their
ministrations, and, till his appearing, they are to
keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable.
Mentioning the appearing of Christ, as one that
loved it, Paul loves to speak of it, and loves to
speak of him who shall then appear. The appearing of
Christ is certain (he shall
show it), but it is not for us to know
the time and season of it, which the Father has kept
in his own power: let this suffice us,
that in time he will show it, in the time that he
thinks fit for it. ~Matthew
Henry Main
Quoted verse:
Luke 16:2
And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that
I hear this of thee? give an account of thy
stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
Now to the specific commentaries.
Reading verse 14, we see it is divided into three
parts. However, as you are about to see, each
commentary divides it in different ways. We will use
these three as our base of reference.
1] That thou keep this commandment without spot
2] Unrebukeable. At least one commentary combines
"without spot" and "unrebukeable."
3] Until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1] That thou keep this commandment
without spot
That thou keep this commandment
- Referring
particularly to the solemn injunction which he had
just given him, to “fight the good fight of faith,”
but perhaps also including all that he had enjoined
on him. ~Barnes Notes
Without spot - It seems
harsh, and is unusual, to apply the epithet,
“without spot” - ἄσπιλος aspilos - to a command or
doctrine, and the passage may be so construed that
this may be understood as referring to Timothy
himself - “That thou keep the commandment so that
thou mayest be without spot and unrebukable.” The
word here rendered “without spot,” occurs in the New
Testament only here and in James 1:27; 1 Peter 1:19;
2 Peter 3:14. It means without any “stain” or
“blemish; pure.” If applied here to Timothy, it
means that he should so keep the command that there
would be no stain on his moral character; if to the
doctrine, that that should be kept pure.
~Barnes Notes
Quoted verses:
James 1:27
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the
Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows
in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted
from the world.
Notice the commentary for the last phrase, "And to
keep himself unspotted from the world."
And to keep
himself unspotted from the world. -
That is, religion will keep us from the
maxims, vices, and corruptions which prevail
in the world, and make us holy. These two
things may, in fact, be said to constitute
religion. If a man is truly benevolent, he
bears the image of that God who is the
fountain of benevolence; if he is pure and
uncontaminated in his walk and deportment,
he also resembles his Maker, for he is holy.
If he has not these things, he cannot have
any well-founded evidence that he is a
Christian; for it is always the nature and
tendency of religion to produce these
things. It is, therefore, an easy matter for
a man to determine whether he has any
religion; and equally easy to see that
religion is eminently desirable. Who can
doubt that that is good which leads to
compassion for the poor and the helpless,
and which makes the heart and the life pure?
~Barnes Notes
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1 Peter 1:19
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot:
2 Peter 3:14
Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such
things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in
peace, without spot, and blameless.
The commentary for 2 Peter 3:14 and the phrase,
"without spot, and blameless."
It should be an object of earnest effort
with us to have the last stain of sin and
pollution removed from our souls. A deep
feeling that we are soon to stand in the
presence of a holy God, our final Judge,
cannot but have a happy influence in making
us pure. ~Barnes
Notes
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That thou keep this
commandment without spot - Two things are
mentioned here:
1. That the commandment itself - the whole doctrine
of Christ, should be kept entire.
2. That his life should be agreeable to that
doctrine. Keep it without spot - let there be no
blot on the sacred book; add nothing to it; take
nothing from it; change nothing in it. Deliver down
to thy successors the truth as thou hast had it from
God himself. ~Adam Clarke
That thou keep this
commandment - Meaning either what he had now
last of all enjoined him, to fight the good fight of
faith; or the whole of the orders he had given him
throughout the epistle, relating both to the
doctrine and discipline of the house of God; or
rather the work and office of preaching the Gospel,
which was committed to him by [God through] the Holy
[Spirit], and enjoined him by the commandment of the
everlasting God: and this the apostle, before God
and Christ, charges him to observe and keep, in the
following manner. ~John
Gill
Keep this commandment —
Greek, “the commandment,” that is, the Gospel rule
of life. ~Jamieson,
Fausset, Brown
Keep this commandment —
Usually of a single commandment or injunction, but
sometimes for the whole body of the moral precepts
of Christianity. The reference may be explained by
ἡ παραγγελία the commandment, meaning the gospel
as the divine standard of conduct and faith.
~Vincent's Word Studies
Keep this commandment —
Not one only, but the will of Christ.
~People's New Testament
2] Unrebukeable. At least one
commentary combines "without spot" and
"unrebukeable."
Unrebukable - So that
there be no occasion for reproach or reproof.
~Barnes Notes
Unrebukable - Let there
be nothing in thy conduct or spirit contrary to this
truth. Keep the truth, and the truth will keep thee.
~Adam Clarke
Without spot, and
unrebukeable. - the sense is, that he would
discharge his ministerial function with all
faithfulness and purity; that he would sincerely,
and without any adulteration, preach the pure Gospel
of Christ; and that he would so behave in his life
and conversation, that his ministry might not be
justly blamed by men, or he be rebuked by the church
here, or by Christ hereafter: and this he would have
him do. ~John Gill
3] Until the appearing of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Until the appearing of our
Lord - Hand it down pure, and let thy conduct
be a comment on it, that it may continue in the
world and in the Church till the coming of Christ.
~Adam Clarke
Until the appearing of our
Lord Jesus Christ. - to judge the quick and
dead at the last day, and which will be very
illustrious and glorious. Now Christ is hid from the
eyes of men, but to them that look for him he will
appear a second time in great glory; in the glory of
his Father, and of his own, and of the holy angels;
and when his saints will appear with him in glory:
and this the apostle the rather mentions, since
every man's work and ministry will then be made
manifest; this bright day of Christ's appearing will
declare it, and everyone must give an account of
himself, and his talents, unto him: and this shows
that the apostle did not design this charge, and
these instructions, for Timothy only, but for all
other ministers of the Gospel, till the second
coming of Christ; though this was then, as now, so
much unknown, when it would be, that it could not be
said but Timothy might live unto it.
~John Gill
Until the appearing of our
Lord Jesus Christ. - His coming in person.
Believers then used in their practice to set before
themselves the day of Christ as near at hand; we,
the hour of death. The fact has in all ages of the
Church been certain, the time as uncertain to Paul,
as it is to us; hence, he says, “in HIS times”: the
Church’s true attitude is that of continual
expectation of her Lord’s return.
~Jamieson, Fausset, Brown
Until the appearing of our
Lord Jesus Christ. - The language seems to
imply a feeling that Christ would come in Timothy's
time; at any rate Timothy is to keep that in view.
~People's New Testament
Let us finish with the Treasury of
Scriptural Knowledge:
1] That thou keep this commandment
1 Timothy 6:20
O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy
trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and
oppositions of science falsely so called:
1 Timothy 4:11-16
11 These things command and teach.
12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an
example of the believers, in word, in conversation,
in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to
exhortation, to doctrine.
14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was
given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the
hands of the presbytery.
15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly
to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine;
continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both
save thyself, and them that hear thee.
1 Chronicles 28:9-10
9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy
father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with
a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts,
and understandeth all the imaginations of the
thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of
thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off
for ever.
10 Take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee to
build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do
it.
1 Chronicles 28:20
And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of
good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed:
for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he
will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou
hast finished all the work for the service of the
house of the LORD.
2] Without spot
Ephesians 5:27
That he might present it to himself a glorious
church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing; but that it should be holy and without
blemish.
Hebrews 9:14
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to
God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve
the living God?
1 Peter 1:18-19
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed
with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from
your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a
lamb without blemish and without spot:
2 Peter 3:14
Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such
things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in
peace, without spot, and blameless.
3] Unrebukeable.
Philippians 2:15
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of
God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and
perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in
the world;
Colossians 1:22
In the body of his flesh through death, to present
you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his
sight:
Jude 1:24
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling,
and to present you faultless before the presence of
his glory with exceeding joy,
4] Until the appearing of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:8
Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may
be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this very thing, that he which
hath begun a good work in you will perform it until
the day of Jesus Christ:
Philippians 1:10
That ye may approve things that are excellent; that
ye may be sincere and without offence till the day
of Christ;
1 Thessalonians 3:13
To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable
in holiness before God, even our Father, at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
1 Thessalonians 5:23
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I
pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be
preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Titus 2:13
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ;
1 Peter 1:7
That the trial of your faith, being much more
precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be
tried with fire, might be found unto praise and
honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
1 John 3:2
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not
yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when
he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall
see him as he is.
Revelation 1:7
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall
see him, and they also which pierced him: and all
kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.
Even so, Amen.
Now a recap:
1. Serve God with a perfect heart and a willing
mind.
2. Be strong and of good courage. God is with
you.
3. Be you Holy.
4. Purge your conscience from dead works.
5. Be diligent that you be found without spot.
6. Christ makes you unrebukeable. Be
unrebukeable [Jude 1:24]
7. Be confident of the fact that God will work with
you to the end, meaning the appearing of Jesus
Christ and your salvation.
8. You are a son of God.
9. God is stablishing your heart.
10. Focus on the appearing of Christ in the sky [another
way of saying, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.]. |