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in the flesh he had not then seen. It appears, from his letter to Philemon, that he hoped,
upon his release from Rome, to pay a visit to Colosse, saying:--
"But withal prepare me also a lodging for I trust through your prayers I shall be given
to you" (verse 22).
If Paul could send for the elders of Ephesus to meet him at Miletus when he had a
message of so great importance to give them, he could also send for Timothy to meet him
at Colosse. Paul had also expressed a desire to revisit Philippi after his release, and
writing to Titus he tells of his intention to winter at Nicopolis. These further items help
us to understand that the apostle might well feel justified in omitting any further visit to
Ephesus.
3.
The Bishops and Deacons.
The fact that there were elders in the church when Paul met them at Miletus is no
serious objection to the later date of I Timothy, for surely as the years passed and the
church increased, fresh elders would be needed, and the rapid increase of false teachers
would demand just that supervision that is indicated in the epistle.
(To be continued).
#3.
pp. 30, 31
The reader has already remarked the way in which the epistles group themselves by
reason of verbal peculiarities. Thus a comparison of Galatians with Romans would
indicate that these two epistles belonged to the same dispensation. The parallel between
Ephesians and Colossians is pronounced and needs no emphasis from our pen.
When we come to consider the verbal peculiarities of the epistles to Timothy and
Titus, we find that these three epistles are thereby manifested to be one group. Now the
fact that II Timothy was written in view of the apostle's own death places it beyond the
close of the Acts, and the verbal links with I Tim. and Titus necessarily place those
epistles beyond Acts 28: also. Let us look at some of the words that are peculiar to
these epistles.
Anosios (I Tim. 1: 9 and II Tim. 3: 2, and nowhere else in the N.T.).--The A.V.
translates it "profane" and "unholy". The word links the strong warnings of I Tim. with
the prophetic forecast of the great apostasy at the end of the dispensation.
Astocheo (I Tim. 1: 6; 6: 21; II Tim. 2: 18, and nowhere else in the N.T.).--The
A.V. translates "to turn aside", "to err". The first epistle connects this turning aside
with "vain jangling" and "vain babblings", the second with the "vain babblings" of those
who taught erroneous views concerning the resurrection. In I Tim. the swerving is