Survey
of the Letters of Paul: 1 Timothy
1:3
1 Timothy 1:3
As I besought thee to
abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia,
that thou mightest charge some that they teach no
other doctrine,
As I besought thee to abide still at
Ephesus - It is clear from this, that Paul and
Timothy had been laboring together at Ephesus, and
the language accords with the supposition that Paul
had been compelled to leave before he had completed
what he had designed to do there. ~Barnes Notes
When I went into Macedonia - Having been driven away
by the excitement caused by Demetrius and his
fellow-craftsmen; Acts 20:1. ~Barnes Notes
Acts 20:1 reads...
And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto
him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed
for to go into Macedonia.
The next commentary is the Adam Clarke:
I besought
thee - The apostle had seen that a bad seed had been
sown in the Church; and, as he was obliged to go
then into Macedonia, he wished Timothy, on whose
prudence, piety, and soundness in the faith he could
depend, to stay behind and prevent the spreading of
a doctrine that would have been pernicious [causing
great harm; deadly] to the people’s souls. I
have already supposed that this epistle was written
after Paul had been delivered from his first
imprisonment at Rome, about the end of the year 64,
or the beginning of 65. When, therefore, the apostle
came from Rome into Asia, he no doubt visited
Ephesus, where, ten years before, he had planted a
Christian Church, and, as he had not time to tarry
then, he left Timothy to correct abuses. ~ Adam
Clarke Commentary
That thou mightest charge some - The word charge
here - παραγγειλης parangeilēs - seems to mean more
than is commonly implied by the word as used by us.
If it had been a single direction or command, it
might have been given by Paul himself before he
left, but it seems rather to refer to that
continuous instruction which would convince these
various errorists and lead them to inculcate only
the true doctrine. As they may have been numerous -
as they may have embraced various forms of error,
and as they might have had plausible grounds for
their belief, this was evidently a work requiring
time, and hence Timothy was left to effect this at
leisure. It would seem that the wrath which had been
excited against Paul had not affected Timothy, but
that he was permitted to remain and labor without
molestation. It is not certainly known who these
teachers were, but they appear to have been of
Jewish origin, and to have inculcated the special
sentiments of the Jews respecting the law.
~Barnes Notes
Now the Adam Clarke...
That thou mightest charge some - He does not name
any persons; the Judaizing teachers are generally
supposed to be those intended; and the term τισι,
some, certain persons, which he uses, is expressive
of high disapprobation [moral disapproval;
condemnation], and at the same time of delicacy:
they were not apostles, nor apostolic men; but they
were undoubtedly members of the Church at Ephesus,
and might yet be reclaimed.
That they teach no other doctrine - That is, no
other doctrine than that taught by the apostles. The
Greek word here used is not found in the classic
writers, and does not elsewhere occur in the New
Testament, except in 1Timothy 6:3 of this Epistle,
where it is rendered “teach otherwise.” We may learn
here what was the design for which Timothy was left
at Ephesus.
1 Timothy 6:3 reads...
If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to
wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to
godliness;
It was for a temporary purpose, and not as a
permanent arrangement. It was to correct certain
errors prevailing there which Paul would have been
able himself soon to correct if he had been suffered
to remain. Paul expected soon to return to him
again, and then they would proceed unitedly with
their work; 1Timothy 4:13; 1Timothy 3:15. ~Barnes
Notes
1 Timothy 4:13 reads...
Till I come, give attendance to reading, to
exhortation, to doctrine.
1 Timothy 3:15 reads...
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest
know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the
house of God, which is the church of the living God,
the pillar and ground of the truth.
Now from the John Gill commentary...
that thou mightest charge some, that they teach no
other doctrine- than the doctrine of Christ
and his apostles; than what had been preached by the
apostle at Ephesus, and the saints there had
received; than what was agreeably to the Scriptures
of truth, and was according to godliness; for all
other doctrines must be divers and strange ones: nor
would he have them teach in another way, in new
words, but hold fast the form of sound words; for
new words often produce new doctrines: the apostle
perhaps by other doctrine chiefly respects the
doctrine of justification by the works of the law.
It seems as if there were some teachers in this
place the apostle was suspicious of, or he had heard
that they began to innovate in the doctrine of
faith; wherefore he desires Timothy to continue a
while, in order to be a check on these persons, and
to charge them not to introduce any new doctrine;
for it was only "some", and not all that taught
there, he was so to charge. Some refer this to
hearers; and render, the words, "that they follow no
other doctrine"; but it seems best to understand it
of teachers; the Syriac and Arabic versions render
the words as we do. ~ John Gil