Survey of the Letters of Paul:  1 Timothy 4:14

1 Timothy 4:14
Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

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.

THE DUTIES OF THE CHRISTIAN LEADER WITHIN THE CHURCH

CERTAIN duties are laid upon Timothy, the young leader designate of the Church. He is to devote himself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and to teaching. Here we have the pattern of the Christian church service. In the pattern of any Christian service, there should be four things.

(1) There should be the reading and exposition of Scripture. People ultimately do not gather together to hear the opinions of a preacher; they gather together to hear the word of God. The Christian service is Bible-centered.

(2) There should be teaching. The Bible is a difficult book, and therefore it has to be explained. Christian doctrine is not easy to understand, but Christians must be able to give a reason for the hope that is in them. There is little use in exhorting people to be Christians if they do not know what being a Christian is. Christian preachers have given many years of their lives to gain the necessary equipment to explain the faith to others. They have been released from the ordinary duties of life in order to think, to study and to pray so that they may better expound the word of God. There can be no lasting Christian faith in any church without a teaching ministry.

(3) There should be exhortation. The Christian message must always end in Christian action. Someone has said that every sermon should end with the challenge: ‘What about it, then?’ It is not enough to present the Christian message as something to be studied and understood; it has to be presented as something to be done. Christianity is truth, but it is truth in action.

(4) There should be prayer. The gathering meets in the presence of God; it thinks in the Spirit of God; it goes out in the strength of God. Neither the preaching nor the listening during the service, nor the consequent action in the world, is possible without the help of the Spirit of God. It would do us no harm sometimes to test our modern services against the pattern of the first services of the Christian Church. ~Barclay Commentary

And now to the commentaries...

This verse 14 has three phrases:

1] Neglect not the gift that is in thee.
2] ...which was given thee by prophecy
3] ...with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

We will begin with the first.

Neglect not the gift that is in thee - The word here must refer to the gifts and graces of the Divine Spirit, which Timothy received when set apart to the work of an evangelist by the imposition of St. Paul’s hands, 2 Timothy 1:6, and by that of the presbytery or eldership; for it most evidently appears, from this verse and that above quoted, that he received this double imposition, not probably at different times, but on one and the same occasion. These very gifts and graces might be improved; and we have reason to believe, if not improved, would be withdrawn by the great Head of the Church. ~Adam Clarke

Quoted verse:
2 Timothy 1:6
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

Now the same phrase from the John Gill:

Neglect not the gift that is in thee - What qualifies men for the work of the ministry is a gift from God: it is not of nature, nor is it mere natural abilities and capacity; nor is it any thing acquired, it is not human learning, or the knowledge of languages, arts, and sciences; nor is it special saving grace; for a man may have all these, and yet not be apt to teach, or fit for the ministry; but it is a peculiar and distinct gift, it is a gift of interpreting the Scriptures, and of dispensing the mysteries of grace to the edification of others; which, when it meets in a man with all the rest before mentioned, makes him very considerable: and this gift is in a man; it is a treasure put into earthen vessels, a good treasure in the heart, out of which a good minister of Christ brings forth many good things, things new and old, both for the delight and profit of men: and this gift is by no means to be neglected; this talent should not be hid in the earth, or wrapped up in a napkin; it should not lie dormant and useless, but should be stirred up, cultivated, and improved, as it may by reading, meditation, and prayer. And in order to enforce this exhortation on Timothy, the apostle adds. ~John Gill

Let us look at what the Jamieson Fausset Brown says:

Neglect not the gift — by letting it lie unused. In 2 Timothy 1:6 the gift is represented as a spark of the Spirit lying within him, and sure to smolder by neglect, the stirring up or keeping in lively exercise of which depends on the will of him on whom it is bestowed (Matthew 25:18, Matthew 25:25, Matthew 25:27, Matthew 25:28). The spiritual gift, is that of the Spirit which qualified him for “the work of an evangelist” (Ephesians 4:11; 2 Timothy 4:5), or perhaps the gift of discerning spirits, specially needed in his function of ordaining, as overseer.
~Jamieson Fausset Brown

Quoted verses:
2 Timothy 1:6 ..."a spark of the Spirit lying within him."
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

Matthew 25:18 ...speaking to the exercise of the Holy Spirit -parable of the talents
But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.

Matthew 25:27-28 ...speaking to the exercise of the Holy Spirit
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

Ephesians 4:11 ...being qualified to work of evangelist
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

2 Timothy 4:5 ...being qualified to work of evangelist
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

Now from the Wesley:

Neglect not - They neglect it who do not exercise it to the full. The gift - Of feeding the flock, of power, and love, and sobriety. Which was given thee by prophecy - By immediate direction from God. By the laying on of my hands - 2 Timothy 1:6; while the elders joined also in the solemnity. This presbytery probably consisted of some others, together with Paul and Silas. ~Wesley Explanatory Notes

Now from Vincent's Word Studies

Neglect - Rare in N.T. Only Matthew 22:5; Hebrews 2:3; Hebrews 8:9.

Quoted verses:
Matthew 22:5 ...parable of the wedding
But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:

Hebrews 2:3
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

Hebrews 8:9
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

The gift that is in thee - Gift is a distinctively Pauline word, being found only three times outside of Paul's Epistles. The meaning is the special inward endowment which qualified Timothy for exhortation and teaching, and which was directly imparted by the Holy Spirit. ~Vincent's Word Studies

We will now go to the second phrase of the verse, "Which was given thee by prophecy."

All of these commentaries reference 1 Timothy 1:18 which we will read now:

1 Timothy 1:18
This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare.

Which was given thee by prophecy - That is, the prophetic declarations and the hopes of pious friends in regard to your future usefulness, have been among the means by which you have been introduced to the ministry, and should be a reason why you should cultivate your powers, and perform faithfully the duties of your office; see the notes on 1 Timothy 1:18. ~Barnes Notes

Given thee by prophecy - It has already been conjectured that there had been some remarkable prediction relative to the future destiny and usefulness of Timothy. And probably it was in consequence of this that he was set apart to the office of evangelist and bishop in the Church at Ephesus. When apostles laid their hands on men, they ordinarily received the Holy Spirit with this imposition. This may be what the apostle calls to the remembrance of Timothy, and tells him not to neglect what he had received, nor the purpose for which he had
received it. ~Adam Clarke

Which was given thee by prophecy - that is, it was prophesied of before hand, by some of the prophets in the church, that a very extraordinary gift should be bestowed upon this young man, which would make him a very useful person in the church of God; see 1 Timothy 1:18 and since it was now given, he ought not therefore to neglect it: or it was given him, as some read it, with prophecy, that he should use it, and it should be of great advantage to many souls; or, together with this gift of preaching, he had also a gift of foretelling things to come; or it may be, the words may be better rendered, "for prophecy": that is, for preaching, for prophesying is frequently used for preaching; see 1 Corinthians 13:2 and then the sense is, that this gift was given him to qualify him for the interpreting of the Scriptures, the explaining of the prophecies of the Old Testament, and for the preaching of the Gospel; and therefore he should not neglect it, but use it for this purpose: and he adds, that it was given him. ~ John Gill

Quoted verse:
1 Corinthians 13:2
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

Vincent's Word Studies says:

Which was given thee by prophecy - The meaning is by the medium of prophecy. The reference is to prophetic intimation given to Paul concerning the selection of Timothy for the ministerial office. These prophecies were given by the Holy Spirit who bestowed the “gift”, so that the gift itself and the prophecy concurred in attesting the candidate for ordination. ~Vincent's Word Studies

Notice this from the People's New Testament:

By prophecy - As the Spirit at Antioch said to the prophets, "Separate for me Paul and Barnabas" I suppose a revelation was given that Timothy was to be set apart, and that he would be spiritually endowed for his work. ~People's New Testament

Now to the third phrase of our verse today, "with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery."

With the laying on of the hands of the presbytery - it was common to lay on the hands in imparting a blessing, or in setting apart to any office. The reference here is undoubtedly to the act by which Timothy was set apart to the office of the ministry. The word rendered “presbytery” - presbuterion - occurs only in two other places in the New Testament - Luke 22:66, where it is rendered “elders;” and Acts 22:5, where it is rendered “estate of the elders.” It properly means an “assembly of aged men; council of elders.” In Luke 22:66, and Acts 22:5, it refers to the Jewish “sanhedrin;." In the passage before us, it cannot refer to that body - for they did not ordain men to the Christian ministry - but to some association, or council, or body of elders of the Christian church. It is clear from the passage:

(1) that there was more than “one person” engaged in this service, and taking part in it when Timothy was ordained, and therefore it could not have been by a “prelate” or “bishop” alone.

(2) that the power conferred, whatever it was, was conferred by the whole body constituting the presbytery - since the apostle says that the “gift” was imparted, not in virtue of any particular power or eminence in anyone individual, but by the “laying on of the hands of the presbytery.” ~Barnes Notes

From the People's New Testament:

With the laying on of the hands - He was ordained in the usual way, and at the ordination the Spirit conferred upon him new gifts. It must be borne in mind that the ancient evangelists had no New Testament to guide them, and hence needed special qualifications. ~People's New Testament.

From the Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge

1 Timothy 5:22
Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure.

Acts 6:6
Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.

Acts 8:17
Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

Acts 13:3
And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

Acts 19:6
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

2 Timothy 1:6
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

The foremost phrase of the three is the first one. Neglect not the gift that is in thee. Notice some quotes:

“I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

Ben Franklin said, “A little neglect may breed great mischief.”

“If you neglect your work, you will dislike it; if you do it well, you will enjoy it”

Rose Kennedy said, “More business is lost every year through neglect than through any other cause.”

“It will generally be found that men who are constantly lamenting their ill luck are only reaping the consequences of their own neglect, mismanagement, and improvidence, or want of application.”
                                                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                                                           

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