[23] It is worth while pointing out that the peculiar construction =ho episteuthên egô= occurs in the New Testament, only in the Pastoral Epistles and in other Pauline Epistles, the genuineness of which is now scarcely disputed--1 Thess. ii. 4; 1 Cor. ix. 17; Rom. iii. 2; Gal. ii. 7.
[24] 1 Cor. xv. 8, 10; Gal. i. 13, 23; Phil. iii. 6; comp. Acts xxii. 4, 5, 19.
[25] St. John xiii. 23, xix. 26, xxi. 7.
[26] Rom. x. 2.
[27] Comp. Acts xxii. 14 and 2 Cor. viii. 19; also Mark iii. 14 and Acts xiv. 23. See on Tit. i. 5-7.
_THE PROPHECIES ON TIMOTHY.--THE PROPHETS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, AN EXCEPTIONAL INSTRUMENT OF EDIFICATION._
"This charge I commit unto thee, my own child Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that by them thou mayest war the good warfare; holding faith and a good conscience; which some having thrust from them made shipwreck concerning the faith: of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered unto Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme."--1 TIM. i. 18-20.
In this section St. Paul returns from the subject of the false teachers against whom Timothy has to contend (vv. 3-11), and the contrast to their teaching exhibited by the Gospel in the Apostle's own case (vv. 12-17), to the main purpose of the letter, viz., the instructions to be given to Timothy for the due performance of his difficult duties as overseer of the Church of Ephesus. The section contains two subjects of special interest, each of which requires consideration;--the prophecies respecting Timothy and the punishment of Hymenaeus and Alexander.
1. "This charge I commit unto thee, my child Timothy, _according to the prophecies which went before on thee_." As the margin of the R.V. points out, this last phrase might also be read "according to the prophecies which _led the way to thee_," for the Greek may mean either. The question is, whether St. Paul is referring to certain prophecies which "led the way to" Timothy, _i.e._, which designated him as specially suited for the ministry, and led to his ordination by St. Paul and the presbyters; or whether he is referring to certain prophecies which were uttered _over_ Timothy (=epi se=) either at the time of his conversion or of his admission to the ministry. Both the A.V. and the R.V. give the preference to the latter rendering, which (without excluding such a view) does not commit us to the opinion that St. Paul was in any sense led to Timothy by these prophecies, a thought which is not clearly intimated in the original. All that we are certain of is, that long before the writing of this letter prophecies of which Timothy was the object were uttered over him, and that they were of such a nature as to be an incentive and support to him in his ministry.
But if we look on to the fourteenth verse of the fourth chapter in this Epistle and to the sixth of the first chapter in the Second, we shall not have much doubt when these prophecies were uttered. There we read, "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee _by prophecy_, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery!" and "For which cause I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee through the laying on of my hands." Must we not believe that these two passages and the passage before us all refer to the same occasion--the same crisis in Timothy's life? In all three of them St. Paul appeals to the spiritual gift that was bestowed upon his disciple "_by means of_ prophecy" and "_by means of_ the laying on of hands." The same preposition and case (=dia= with the genitive) is used in each case. Clearly, then, we are to understand that the prophesying and the laying on of hands accompanied one another. Here only the prophesying is mentioned. In chapter iv. the prophesying, accompanied by the imposition of the presbyters' hands, is the means by which the grace is conferred. In the Second Epistle only the laying on of the Apostle's hands is mentioned, and it is spoken of as the means by which the grace is conferred. Therefore, although the present passage by itself leaves the question open, yet when we take the other two into consideration along with it, we may safely neglect the possibility of prophecies which _led the way_ to the ordination of Timothy, and understand the Apostle as referring to those sacred utterances which were a marked element in his disciple's ordination and formed a prelude and earnest of his ministry. These sacred utterances indicated a Divine commission and Divine approbation publicly expressed respecting the choice of Timothy for this special work. They were also a means of grace; for by means of them a spiritual blessing was bestowed upon the young minister. In alluding to them here, therefore, St. Paul reminds him _Who_ it was by whom he was really chosen and ordained. It is as if he said, "We laid our hands upon you; but it was no ordinary election made by human votes. It was God who elected you; God who gave you your commission, and with it the power to fulfil it. Beware, therefore, of disgracing His appointment and of neglecting or abusing His gift."[28]