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I Tim. 1: 3-20.
A | a | 1: 3, 4. The charge.
b | 1: 5. Faith and good conscience.
c | 1: 6-10. Some swerved.
B | 1: 11. The blessed God.
C | 1: 12-16. Paul, persecutor and pattern.
B | 1: 17. The only wise God.
A | a | 1: 18. The charge.
b | 1: 19-. Faith and good conscience.
c | 1: 19, 20. Some put away.
It will be seen that verse 18 is a resumption of the charge temporarily set aside at
verse 10. The apostle, possibly to give encouragement to Timothy, tells him that he has
no hesitation in committing this charge to him, for he had been pointed out beforehand by
those that had the gift of prophecy as one who in due time should take a prominent place
in the church. Added to this in 4: 14 the apostle says:--
"Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying
on of the hands of the presbytery."
Yet again in a closely parallel context the apostle says:--
"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" (II Tim. 1: 6).
Timothy's ordination took place during the period when gifts were in general use in
the church, and is therefore not to be taken as an example for the present time. He
himself was warned to lay hands suddenly on no man, and in place of any special
prophecy going before pointing out who should be given the work of the bishop or
deacon, a list of necessary qualifications is provided in chapter 3: Those who do
possess a gift may be exhorted to "stir it up", but we fear that in the present day it is
mostly stir and no gift, while the scriptural qualifications of chapter 3: are either
ignored or unknown.
The special calling and qualifications of Timothy were mentioned by the apostle to
strengthen him in his difficult task. Here we have "The good warfare" (he kale strateia).
In II Tim. 2: we have "The good soldier" (kalos strateotes). This warfare cannot be
successfully waged without a clear conscience. To know one's stewardship is half the
battle. To be able to say "nevertheless I am not ashamed", when ruin and failure seem to
be the only visible result for a life's service, necessitates unflinching, unswerving faith.
"Holding faith and a good conscience."--Some had not held these as they should,
and the result was shipwreck. It is not enough to have a knowledge of truth. It must be
held in faith and a good conscience. These will steer the vessel clear of rock and reef.
To meddle with a good conscience is like interfering with a mariner's compass. Let all
who feel the call to service remember that it is a warfare, a fight, and that they will need
to endure hardness if they would be good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Save us from the man