Noa a a , > b , DA) bes b α Ὦ2 - καὶ “πολλὴν " παρρησίαν ἐν " πίστει " τῇ " ἐν " Χριστῷ " ᾿Ιησοῦ. Ταῦτά σοι γράφω, ἐλπίζων ἐλθεῖν πρὸς σὲ ἁβραδύνω, ἵνα εἰδῇς πῶς Set? ἐν οἴκῳ Θεοῦ “ ἀναστρέφεσθαι, ἥτις
Ετη.
14. a 2 Cor. iii. 12, Vii. 4, Philem. 8
b 2 Tim. iii 15, Cf. 2 Tim. i. 13
Ν υ 1 ¢éy "τάχει, 15. ἐὰν δὲ
A lol Ν , a ἐστὶν ‘ ἐκκλησία *Ocod ζῶντος, στύλος καὶ ὅ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας. ο Rom. xvi
Eph. ii. 3, Heb. x. 33, xiii. 18, 1 Pet. i. 17, 2 Pet. ii. 18.
cf. 1 Cor. vii. 37, xv. 58, Col. i. 23.
20, Luke
xviii. 8, e 2 Cor. i. 12 g Here only, not LXX
d2 Pet. iii. 9 only, N.T. f See ver. 5.
1Οπι. πρὸς σὲ FgrGer, 67**, two others, arm ; Β σ ins. after cito. 3ἐν τάχει ACD*P, 17, two others; τάχιον RDcFGKL.
2Ins. σε D*, d, f, vg., arm.
confident public expression of the faith, such as would belong to an experienced Christian who had gained a _ good standing, and had, in consequence, no temptation to be 8{Aoyos. Von Soden connects ἐν πίστει with περιποιοῦνται, Ὁ ΤΠ. 1: 15.
Vv. 14-16. These general directions will serve you as a guide in the adminis- tration of the Church until you see me. Your charge is one of transcendent im- portance. The Church is no human in- stitution : it is the household of God, and also the means whereby the power of the Incarnation is available for man’s use.
Ver. 14. This verse makes it clear that Timothy’s position was a temporary one ; he was acting as St. Paul’s representative at Ephesus to ‘‘ put them in remembrance of his ways which be in Christ’’ (1 Cor. iv. 17).
ταῦτα has a primary reference to the preceding directions regarding public prayers and Church officers; but it na- turally includes the following supple- mentary remarks. For this use of γράφω, in place of the epistolary aorist, see es- pecially 2 Cor. xili. το, also 1 Cor. xiv. ἘΣ ΘΟ ντα [168]. ἢ 20;
ἐλπίζων... βραδύνω is parenthetical ; and expresses at once an excuse for the brevity and incompleteness, from one point of view, of the directions, and also an expectation that they are sufficient to serve their temporary purpose.
ἐν τάχει: τάχιον, which is read by Tisch., is, according to Blass (Grammar, ΡΡ. 33, 141, 142), an instance of the in- tensive or elative use of the comparative: cf. βέλτιον 2 Tim. i. 18. This view is rejected by Winer-Moulton (Grammar, p- 304) and Ellicott; but their explana- tions are far-fetched: ‘‘ More quickly, sooner, than thou wilt need these in- structions,” ‘sooner than I anticipate”’. See also J. H. Moulton, Grammar, vol. i. pp- 78, 79, 236.
Ver. 15. ἵνα εἰδῇς... ἀναστρέφεσθαι: It is a matter of indifference whether we render how men ought to behave them- selves (R.V.), or how thou oughtest to behave thyself (A.V.; R.V. m.). It was Timothy’s duty to carry out the apostle’s directions, directions relating to the life, ἀναστροφή, of the Church. His ἀναστροφή would necessarily react on that of the Church. See the Western in- terpolation in apparat. crit.
οἴκῳ θεοῦ: the household, perhaps, rather than the house, of God. In view of the prevailing paucity of articles in these Epistles, one cannot lay stress on the absence of τῷ before οἴκῳ, so as to render, a house of God such as is the Church, etc. οἶκος τοῦ θεοῦ is al- ways found elsewhere. The Church is God’s οἶκος, Heb. iii. 6; God’s κατοι- κητήριον, Eph. ii. 22; a ναὸς ἅγιος, Eph. ii. 21; ναὸς θεοῦ, 1 Cor. iii. 16, 2 Cor. vi. 16; a μεγάλη οἰκία, of which God is the δεσπότης, 2 Tim. ii. 20; an οἶκος πνευματικός, I Pet. ii. 5.
The body of the Church, τὸ σῶμα ὑμῶν, isa ναὸς ἁγίου πνεύματος (τ Cor. vi. 10); and the human body of Jesus was a ναός (John ii, 21); but it is not in accordance with Scriptural language so to describe the body of any individual Christian.