6. Christian faith and life. — There is already a 'common faith' (noiv'i] vlaTi^) (Tit P), the substance of which is set forth in Tit 2""" 3*"'. (iod is ' the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords' (1 Ti 6'"), but also the Saviour (1 Ti2^- * 4'", 2 Ti P, Tit y) of all men, from whose goodness and ' philanthropy 't proceeds saving grace (Tit 2" 3'') in fullilment of an eternal purpose (2 Ti 1', Tit 1'-). Between God and men there is only one Mediator, the man Christ .lesus (I Ti 2°), who from a pic-incarnate life came into this world (1 Ti 1", 2 Ti 1'"). This manifestation, 'the mystery of godliness,' and the essential truth held forth by the Church (1 Ti 3'°-"), is expressed in a hymn, evidently a common confession of faith, though it does not contain a complete Pauline view of the ' mystery '(Ro IG'-'"'^), omitting as it does the Death, and laying stress on the Ascension rather than the Resurrection. Jesus Christ, de- scended from David (2 Ti 2*), came into the world to save sinners (1 Ti 1"). He annihilated death and brought life and incorruption to light (2 Ti 1'"). By the gift of Himself on our behalf He ransomed the new Israel from sin, and made it pure (1 Ti 2", Tit2'<). Jesus Christ is the living strength (ITil'-) and hope of the Christian (1 Ti 1', Tit 2'^), who lives his holy life in Him (2 Ti 3'-) ; and the Holy Spirit, who is seldom mentioned, is given througli Christ (2 Ti 1", Tit .3«). The appearing of Christ, who will come to judge, is not far distant, and is longed for by the believer { 1 Ti G", 2 Ti 4'- «, Tit i'^). Then will be the final salvation unto eternal life (2 Ti 4", Tit 3').
The Church, buUt upon this solid foundation of Christian teaching, holds aloft the truth which shines forth in the lives of believers as a light in the darkness, and against such a beacon the waves of error will break in vain.
In 1 Tim. the Churcli, the house in which God dwells, takes a place of great importance as the organized body which guarantees the Truth. This Truth is healthy doctrine, but in 1 Ti 3'* it is also equivalent to ' the mystery of godliness,' and is set forth in a hymn which contains the salient features of the historic manifestation of Jesus Christ, what we might term an outline 'gospel.' The hymn seems most simply interpreted as re- ferring to the Incarnation ; the recognition of Divine sonsliip in the Baptism, Temjitation, Trans- figuration ; the revelation of the historic Jesus to the heavenly world, as e.g. to the celestial choir
• Zahn ttncia traces o( a fixed baptismal creed in t Ti 61^'" and 2 Ti 2-8 41, thouuli I■^ A. Loots, wliilo admitting that ij koAtj o/ioAoyta and the reference to the ^apTupiof Xpiarou 'iTjaov cttI noi'Tiou IletAaTOu (1 Ti G'^O may lie an allusion to a baptismal confession (which he ttiinks had its orijrin in Asia Minor, where also ho places the home of the Pastorals at the end of the Ist cent.), does not believe that it was the orif^inal of the Koman B\ mbol (Si/mbotik oder chrUtliche KoT\/eS8W)i3kunde, Tubingen, 1'.1I12, p. 28).
t ' There was hardly any virtue bo often commended in the Hellenistic sovereign as itt^aiBpuijrCa ' OVendland, op. cit., p. 407, note 4).
590 TIMOTHY AND TITUS, EPISTLES TIMOTHY AND TITUS, EPISTLES
at His birth, the Translif;m'ation, Gethsemane (Lk 2-2^), tlie Kesmrection (Lk 24'- ' ; cf., for same idea, .In P') ; the preaching to the Gentiles ; tlie founding of the Cluiich in tlie world ; and the culmination of His triumph in the Ascension.* This survey tits into the scheme and purpose of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. Ac- cording to 1 Ti 3", this tradition of the historic Jesus, this mystery vhicli is the Truth, is preserved in the Church of the living God, which must, therefore, be regulated by Timothy with a due sense of his responsibility. It is true that in the earlier Pauline Epistles we find the conception of the Church and the necessity of its organization (1 Co 12=8 i5»_ Qui ps)^ but there is no such em- phasis on it as here. These verses remove us from the Pauline atmosphere of the gospel of the Risen and Living Christ, who Himself is the source of truth, the Person in whom through His Spirit the body of believers is held together. Instead of the Spirit, we find organization and order.
When the gospel is preached and is received in a pure heart, a good conscience, and with faith un- feigned, the moral life will manifest itself in the pursuit of righteousness, piety, love, patience under sutt'ering, endurance never embittered what- ever evil may befall, peace and hope in the living God who giOes life eternal (1 Ti P 4'»-i2 6", 2 Ti 022 3io)_ This is similar to the righteousness of the Kingdom as it is set forth in the Gospels. Good though the soil may be, it must be tilled with care ; vigorous etlbrt is required of the Christian, in co-operation witli the saving grace of God in Christ : true godliness must manifest itself in good works (1 Ti 2'" 6"-i', 2 Ti 3ie-", Tit 2"-''- 38. U) 'phig gi,^g of the Christian life is emphasized in these Epistles both by the words employed to describe the elibrt and by the moral quality of the result. The word ' discipline ' {iraideia, TraiSeiSu) occurs four times in the Pastorals, and only three times in the other Pauline letters, but seven times in Hebrews and twice in Acts, where it is employed for the education of the child. A similar idea lies in the word ' exercise ' (yv/j.vd^ei.t', 1 Ti 4'). As might be expected, teaching plays a large part in the discipline of a Cliristian character. The word ' teaching' (diSacrKaXla) occurs fifteen times in these Epistles, being often qualified by the attributes ' good ' (KaXv) and ' healthy' {iiyiaii'ovaa), and only six times in the rest of the NT. Occasionally it is almost equivalent to the concept of ' faith' as the objective belief of the Christians (1 Ti 6'-*, Tit 2'"). In the early Epistles of Paul the gospel, which is a Divine mystery hidden from the wise and prudent, is revealed unto the saved by the Spirit as the power of God (1 Co I'**-); but in these Epistles healthy doctrine may be taught to and understood by reasonable and moral men. It is one of the neces- sary qualifications of the bishop that he be ' apt to teach ' ( 1 Ti 3-), and Paul himself is a ' teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth' (1 Ti 2', 2 Ti 1").