1 ทิโมธี 1:19 วิจารณ์

After the inscription (Ti1 1:1, Ti1 1:2) we have, I. The charge given to Timothy (Ti1 1:3, Ti1 1:4). II. The true end of the law (Ti1 1:5-11), where he shows that it is entirely agreeable to the gospel. III. He mentions his own call to be an apostle, for which he expresses his thankfulness (Ti1 1:12-16) IV. His doxology (Ti1 1:17). V. A renewal of the charge to Timothy (Ti1 1:18). And of Hymenaeus and Alexander (Ti1 1:19, Ti1 1:20).

In this chapter, after the inscription and salutation, the apostle having entreated Timothy to abide at Ephesus, observes, that his end was, that he might check the false teachers there, whom he describes; and then he gives an account of his apostleship, and also of his conversion, to the encouragement of sinners, and to the glory of the grace of God; and closes with an exhortation to Timothy to constancy and perseverance in his Christian warfare. The inscription and salutation are in Ti1 1:1 and much in the common form; and whereas, when he went into Macedonia, he desired Timothy to continue at Ephesus, his end was, to restrain the false teachers from preaching the doctrine they did, which was contrary to the Gospel, fabulous, useless, and unedifying, Ti1 1:3 for though these men set up for teachers of the law, they went off, and strayed from its general end, which was love with faith, through their ignorance of it, Ti1 1:5 not but that the law itself was good, as Gospel ministers full well knew; which is said to prevent an objection against them, as laying it aside as useless; but the abuse of it is what is complained of, it being made for some persons, and not for others who are mentioned, between which, and the sound doctrine of the Gospel, there is an agreement, Ti1 1:8 which leads on the apostle to observe his call to the office of a preacher of it by Christ, his qualification for it, and investiture with it, for which he gives thanks, Ti1 1:12 And in order to illustrate the grace of God in converting him first, and then making him a minister of the word, he takes notice of his state and condition before conversion, what a vile sinner he had been, and of the abundant grace God bestowed on him in it, Ti1 1:13 And that this case of his might not seem strange and incredible, he observes, that this is the sum of the Gospel, that Christ came into the world to save the chief of sinners, such an one as he was, Ti1 1:15. And besides, the end of the Lord in his conversion was, by the pattern of longsuffering he showed in him, that others might be encouraged to believe in Christ also, Ti1 1:16 and then for all this grace bestowed on him, he ascribes honour and glory to God, Ti1 1:17 and renews his charge to Timothy to fight manfully against the false teachers, to which he should be the more induced by the consideration of the prophecies that went before of him, Ti1 1:18 and to hold faith and good conscience, which had been dropped by some professors; of which instances are given in Hymenaeus and Philetus, Ti1 1:19.

Holding faith, and a good conscience..... By "faith" is meant, not the grace of faith, but the doctrine of faith, a sense in which it is often used in this epistle; see Ti1 3:9 and the "holding" of it does not intend a mere profession of it, and a retaining of that without wavering, which is to be done by all believers; but a holding it forth in the ministry of the word, in opposition to a concealing or dropping it, or any part of it; and a holding it fast, without wavering, and in opposition to a departure from it or any cowardice about it and against all posers: to which must be added, a good conscience; the conscience is not naturally good, but is defiled by sin; and that is only good, which is sprinkled by the blood of Christ, and thereby purged from dead works; the effect of which is an holy, upright, and becoming conversation; and which seems to be chiefly intended here, and particularly the upright conduct and behaviour of the ministers of the Gospel, in the faithful discharge of their work and office: see Co2 1:12. Which some having put away; that is, a good conscience; and which does not suppose that they once had one, since that may be put away which was never had: the Jews, who blasphemed and contradicted, and never received the word of God, are said to put it from them, Act 13:46 where the same word is used as here; and signifies to refuse or reject anything with detestation and contempt: these men always had an abhorrence to a good conscience among men, and to a good life and conversation, the evidence of it; and at length threw off the mask, and dropped the faith they professed, as being contrary to their evil conscience: though admitting it does suppose they once had a good conscience, it must be understood not of a conscience cleansed by the blood of Christ, but of a good conscience in external show only, or in comparison of what they afterwards appeared to have: and, besides, some men, destitute of the grace of God, may have a good conscience in some sense, or with respect to some particular facts, or to their general conduct and behaviour among men, as the Apostle Paul had while unregenerate, Act 23:1 and which being acted against, or lost, is no instance of falling from the true grace of God, which this passage is sometimes produced in proof of: concerning faith have made shipwreck; which designs not the grace, but the doctrine of faith, as before observed, which men may profess, and fall off from, and entirely drop and lose. Though supposing faith as a grace is meant, the phrase, "have made shipwreck of it", is not strong enough to prove the total and final falling away of true believers, could such be thought to be here meant; since persons may be shipwrecked, and not lost, the Apostle Paul was thrice shipwrecked, and each time saved; besides, as there is a true and unfeigned, so there is a feigned and counterfeit faith, which may be in persons who have no true grace, and may be shipwrecked, so as to be lost.

If we think over the rest of faults, tracing them from their generations, let us begin with covetousness, "a root of all evils," wherewith, indeed, some having been ensnared, "have suffered shipwreck about faith." Albeit covetousness is by the same apostle called idolatry.

Moreover, if the crime of Hymenaeus and Alexander-blasphemy, to wit-is irremissible in this and in the future age, of course the apostle would not, in opposition to the determinate decision of the Lord, have given to Satan, under a hope of pardon, men already sunken from the faith into blasphemy; whence, too, he pronounced them "shipwrecked with regard to faith," having no longer the solace of the ship, the Church.

But the sectarians, who have fallen away from the teaching of the church and made shipwreck concerning the faith, wrongly think that evil has some sort of eternal existence. They arbitrarily imagine another god besides the true One, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. They fantasize that he is the unmade producer of evil and the head of wickedness, who is also artificer of creation. These men one can easily refute, not only from the divine Scriptures but also from the human understanding itself, the very source of these insane imaginations.

What storm at sea was ever so fierce and wild as this tempest within the churches? In it every landmark of the Fathers has been moved. Every foundation, every bulwark of opinion has been shaken. Everything buoyed up on the unsound is dashed about and shaken down. We attack one another. We are overthrown by one another. If our enemy is not the first to strike us, we are wounded by the comrade at our side. If an enemy soldier is stricken and falls, his fellow soldier tramples him down. There is at least this bond of union between us that we hate our common foes, but no sooner has the enemy gone by than we find enemies in one another. And who could make a complete list of all the wrecks? Some have gone to the bottom on the attack of the enemy, some through the unsuspected treachery of their allies, some from the blundering of their own officers. We see, as it were, whole churches, crews and all, dashed and shattered upon the sunken reefs of deceitful teaching, while others of the enemies of the Spirit of salvation have seized the helm and made shipwreck of the faith.

The truth of the Lord encompasses him, so that he is not afraid of the terror of the night or of the thing that walks about in darkness. Therefore, “Zabulon shall dwell by the sea.” Thus he may look upon the shipwrecks of others while himself free from danger. He may behold others driven here and there on the sea of this world, those who are borne about by every wind of doctrine, while himself persevering on the ground of an immovable faith.

In all circumstances, beloved, we need faith—faith, the mother of virtues, the medicine of salvation—without it we cannot grasp any teaching on sublime matters. But those who are without faith are like people trying to cross the sea without a ship. They are able to swim for a while by using hands and feet, but when they have gone farther out they are soon swamped by the waves. So, also, those who have recourse to their own reasoning before accepting any knowledge are inviting shipwreck, even as Paul speaks of those “who have made shipwreck of the faith.”

"Holding faith, and a good conscience." For he that would be a Teacher must first teach himself. For as he who has not first been a good soldier, will never be a general, so it is with the Teacher; wherefore he says elsewhere, "Lest when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast-away." "Holding faith," he says, "and a good conscience," that so thou mayest preside over others. When we hear this, let us not disdain the exhortations of our superiors, though we be Teachers. For if Timothy, to whom all of us together are not worthy to be compared, receives commands and is instructed, and that being himself in the Teacher's office, much more should we. "Which some having put away, have made shipwreck concerning the faith." And this follows naturally. For when the life is corrupt, it engenders a doctrine congenial to it, and from this circumstance many are seen to fall into a gulf of evil, and to turn aside into Heathenism. For that they may not be tormented with the fear of futurity, they endeavor to persuade their souls, that what we preach is false. And some turn aside from the faith, who seek out everything by reasoning; for reasoning produces shipwreck, while faith is as a safe ship.

Innumerable are the examples we must omit, since we wish to be brief. But all of them make it sufficiently clear that the customary method of most heresies consists in rejoicing in “profane novelties,” in loathing traditional knowledge, which some rejecting have made shipwreck concerning the faith. Conversely, it is proper for Catholics to guard the “deposit,” handed down by the holy fathers, to condemn profane novelties, and, as the apostle said, “before and now I say again,” let him be anathema “if any one preach to you a gospel besides that which you have received.”

holding faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, have suffered shipwreck concerning the faith; among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may be taught not to blaspheme. holding faith. For one must be a teacher of oneself before being a teacher to others. And faith, he says, is about doctrines, while conscience is about conduct. which some having rejected. Of these, Paul says, conscience is about living rightly. For when someone lives without consideration it also shipwrecks their faith. In order not to be tormented by the fear of what is to come, they strive to persuade their own soul that all things concerning us, both about resurrection and judgment, are false. whom I have handed over to Satan that they may be taught. Since Satan does not instruct himself, how can he bring good teaching to others? And we say, just as executioners, full of countless evils, train others to be prudent, so also does Satan. For when a person is handed over to Satan, it is by the exclusion from communion. Then the demon, having taken the person stripped of God's help, disciplines him. And this is done for his correction. But why do they hand over to Satan, and he himself does not discipline? So that it may be shown that even Satan is able to coerce, and so that, along with punishment, they are also insulted, with Satan being the avenger. For the apostles punished the unbelievers for their own sake, as Paul himself did to Bar-Jesus and Elymas (Acts 13), and Peter to Ananias (Acts 5); to show that they were able. But those who learned from these things, yet turned away, they handed over to Satan. not to blaspheme. For these, by subjecting faith to human reasoning, have gone astray and blaspheme, as now the Nestorians suffer, and the other heresies. On prayer, that it is above all, that it is everywhere, without wickedness, without disturbance, reverently.

Do not think, he says, to be content only with the fact that you have been appointed to the priesthood according to the prophecies, but you must have faith, so as to rightly proclaim the word of truth, and a good conscience, or a blameless life, from which comes a good conscience, so that you may also preside over others beneficially. For just as a general must first be a good soldier, so too a teacher himself must possess that which he requires of his students. Therefore, even though we are teachers, let us learn not to disregard the counsels and instructions of those who are greater than us. By the word "which," he obviously means a good conscience. And rightly so. For if one's life is impure, then from this proceed also perverse doctrines. In order not to be tormented by fear of the future, those living impiously convince themselves that everything we hold is false. And he who has deviated from the faith and reasons about everything suffers shipwreck, despite the nearness of faith. For faith is a calm harbor; it keeps the mind at rest, while investigations are waves that here and there, as in a shipwreck, quickly seize the mind and dash it against the rocks, or even drown it.

Here is mentioned: first, the way to wage the war; second, the necessity of a good conscience, at which some rejecting. He says, therefore: that you war in them a good warfare. As if to say: you can wage a good war: first of all, having faith: this is the victory which overcomes the world, our faith (1 John 5:4); second, through a good conscience, because men quickly flee from things that are bothering them; hence, remorse of conscience is like a goad pricking a man with a bad conscience. That is why he is quick to flee from sin by obtaining a good conscience and true faith: I have conversed with all good conscience before God until this present day (Acts 23:1); our glory is this, the testimony of our conscience (2 Cor 1:12). Then he shows why there is need of a good conscience, when he says, which some rejecting, have made shipwreck concerning the faith: first, he mentions the sin; second, the punishment; third, the fruit of punishment. He mentions the sin when he says, which, namely, a good conscience, some rejecting, have made shipwreck concerning the faith; for one who errs against the faith loses all he has: without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6); and he dies, because the just man shall live in his faith (Hab 2:4).

Paul's salutation to Timothy, Ti1 1:1, Ti1 1:2. For what purpose he had left him at Ephesus, Ti1 1:3. What the false apostles taught in opposition to the truth, Ti1 1:4-7. The true use of the law, Ti1 1:8-11. He thanks God for his own conversion, and describes his former state, Ti1 1:12-17. Exhorts Timothy to hold fast faith and a good conscience, and speaks of Hymeneus and Alexander who had made shipwreck of their faith, Ti1 1:18-20.

Holding faith - All the truths of the Christian religion, firmly believing them, and fervently proclaiming them to others. And a good conscience - So holding the truth as to live according to its dictates, that a good conscience may be ever preserved. As the apostle had just spoken of the Christian's warfare, so he here refers to the Christian armor, especially to the shield and breastplate; the shield of faith, and the breastplate of righteousness. See on Eph 6:13, etc., (note), and Th1 5:8 (note). Which some having put away - Απωσαμενοι· Having thrust away; as a fool-hardy soldier might his shield and his breastplate, or a mad sailor his pilot, helm, and compass. Concerning faith - The great truths of the Christian religion. Have made shipwreck - Being without the faith, that only infallible system of truth; and a good conscience, that skillful pilot, that steady and commanding helm, that faithful and invariable loadstone; have been driven to and fro by every wind of doctrine, and, getting among shoals, quicksands, and rocks, have been shipwrecked and ingulfed.

ADDRESS: PAUL'S DESIGN IN HAVING LEFT TIMOTHY AT EPHESUS, NAMELY, TO CHECK FALSE TEACHERS; TRUE USE OF THE LAW; HARMONIZING WITH THE GOSPEL; GOD'S GRACE IN CALLING PAUL, ONCE A BLASPHEMER, TO EXPERIENCE AND TO PREACH IT; CHARGES TO TIMOTHY. (1Ti. 1:1-20) by the commandment of God--the authoritative injunction, as well as the commission, of God. In the earlier Epistles the phrase is, "by the will of God." Here it is expressed in a manner implying that a necessity was laid on him to act as an apostle, not that it was merely at his option. The same expression occurs in the doxology, probably written long after the Epistle itself [ALFORD] (Rom 16:26). God our Saviour--The Father (Ti1 2:3; Ti1 4:10; Luk 1:47; Ti2 1:9; Tit 1:3; Tit 2:10; Tit 3:4; Jde 1:25). It was a Jewish expression in devotion, drawn from the Old Testament (compare Psa 106:21). our hope-- (Col 1:27; Tit 1:2; Tit 2:13).

Holding--Keeping hold of "faith" and "good conscience" (Ti1 1:5); not "putting the latter away" as "some." Faith is like a very precious liquor; a good conscience is the clean, pure glass that contains it [BENGEL]. The loss of good conscience entails the shipwreck of faith. Consciousness of sin (unrepented of and forgiven) kills the germ of faith in man [WIESINGER]. which--Greek singular, namely, "good conscience," not "faith" also; however, the result of putting away good conscience is, one loses faith also. put away--a wilful act. They thrust it from them as a troublesome monitor. It reluctantly withdraws, extruded by force, when its owner is tired of its importunity, and is resolved to retain his sin at the cost of losing it. One cannot be on friendly terms with it and with sin at one and the same time. made shipwreck--"with respect to THE faith." Faith is the vessel in which they had professedly embarked, of which "good conscience" is the anchor. The ancient Church often used this image, comparing the course of faith to navigation. The Greek does not imply that one having once had faith makes shipwreck of it, but that they who put away good conscience "make shipwreck with respect to THE faith."