ti Tim. vii 11. κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς δόξης τοῦ “μακαρίου Θεοῦ, ὃ " ém-
15
0 Ror jit στεύθην ἐγώ. 12. |" Χάριν ”
2, 1 Cor. ar ae i
ix.17,Gal. Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ὅτι "πιστόν µε ii, στ Thess. ii.
4, Tit. i. 8" vii Phil. iv. 13, 2 Tim. ii. 1, 2 Tim. iv. 17. 2 Thess. iii. 15.
v Luke xvii. 9, 2 Tim. i. 3, Heb. xii. 28.
ἔχω τῷ ” ἐνδυναμώσαντί 5 µε Χριστῷ
ἡ ἡγήσατο, θέμενος «iS
w Acts ix. 22, Rom. iv. 20, Eph. vi. 10,
x Heb. xi. 11, ef. Acts xxvi. 2, Phil. ii. 3, 1 Thess. v. 13,
1Ins. καὶ DKL, ἆ, go., syrr.; om. καὶ ΜΑΕΘΡ, 17, 31, 67**, 80, 238, five others,
f, g, vg., boh., arm.
2 ἐνδυναμοῦντι SQ, 2, 17, three others, Thphyl.
ὑγιαίνοντες λόγοι (1 Tim. vi. 3; 2 Tim. i. 13), λόγος ὑγιής (Tit. 11. 8), and ὑγιαίνειν (ἐν) τῇ πίστει (Tit. 1. 13, ii. 2).
The image is peculiar to the Pastoral Epistles; but it is not therefore un- Pauline, unless on the assumption that a writer never enlarges his vocabulary or ideas. Healthy, wholesome admirably describes Christian teaching, as St. Paul conceived it, in its complete freedom from casuistry or quibbles in its theory, and from arbitrary or unnatural restric- tions in its practice. The terms νοσῶν as applied to false teaching (1 Tim. vi. 4), and possibly γάγγραινα (2 Tim. ii. 17) were suggested by contrast. See Dean Bernard’s note on this verse.
Ver. Il. κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, κ.τ.λ., refers to the whole preceding sentence and is not to be connected with διδασ- καλίᾳ only, which would necessitate τῇ κατὰ, κ.τ.λ. This reading is actually found in D,* d, f, g, Vg., Arm., quae est secundum, etc. Von Soden connects with δικαίῳ νόμος ov κεῖται.
Inasmuch as unsound teaching had claimed to be a εὐαγγέλιον (Gal. i. 6), St. Paul finds it necessary to recharge the word with its old force by distinguish- ing epithets. εὐαγγέλιον had become impoverished by heterodox associations. The gospel with which St. Paul had been entrusted was the gospel of the glory of the blessed God. Cf. “the gospel of the glory of Christ,” 2 Cor. iv. 4. The gospel concerning the glory, etc., which reveals the glory. Andthis glory, although primarily an attribute of God, is here and elsewhere treated as a blessed state to which those who obey the gos- pel may attain, and which it is possible to miss (Rom. ili. 23, v. 2, xv. 7. See Sanday and Headlam on Rom. iii. 23). The phrase is not, as in A.V., an expan- sion of '' The gospel of God,’’ Mark i. 14, etc., ‘‘the gospel of which God is the author,” τῆς δόξης being a genitive of quality=glorious. (Compare Rom. viii. 21, 2 Cor. iv. 6; Eph. i. 6, 18; Col. i. 11, Ὁ ΠΠ, πο.
μακαρίου: Blessed as an epithet of God is only found here and in vi. 15, where see note. Grimm compares the μάκαρες θεοί of Homer and Hesiod. But the notion here is much loftier. We may call God blessed, but not happy ; since happiness is only predicated of those whom it is possible to conceive of as unhappy.
ὃ ἐπιστεύθην ἐγώ: This phrase occurs again Tit. i. 3. Cf. Rom. iii. 2, 1 Cor. κ. απ Gal. Ἡ, 7, a) (Thess, ai. μα toe Paul does not here allude to his particu- lar presentation of the gospel, as in Gal. ii. 7; nor is he thinking specially of God’s goodness to him in making him a minister, as in Rom. xv. 16, Eph. iii. 8, Col. i. 25; he is merely asserting his consistency, and repudiating the charge of antinomianism which had been brought against him.
Vv. 12-14. I cannot mention my part in the furtherance of the gospel without expressing my gratitude to our Lord for His forgiveness of my errors and His confidence in my natural trustworthi- ness, and His grace which gave me strength to serve Him.