The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Timothy — Section 22

,•i:&. hy it• hring <lone for the eye of Go<'!. "their wor,l.". Hymen119n1; probably the H11ndling &right the Word of truth ( op8oTo• ~llme p~reo11 llB 18 m_entioned as a bll\ephemer ,.,,~,•Ta Tiw ,._&yov rij, «,._'10,/a,). The verb rn I T,m. 1. 20. Philetu. Nothing ie known or8oTO/ai,, O('('UT8 only herf' in th,· New Tee- of him. lRment. In thf' LXX., in Prov. iii. 6, it Ver. 18.-Men ,~ho for u,ho, A.V. Have st11nde for " h<> sh1tll diroot [or, • make erred _('1n-TOX'1.,.av); see-~ Tim. i. 6 (note) •tre.ight '] thy paths:" &nd 80 in Prov. xi. and v,. 21. In Matt. xxn. 29 and in M11rk 5. The i<lea is the ,;ame e.s that in Heh. xii. xii. 24 our Lord'~ wor,l for "erring" ie wAa· 13, "ltliike 8traight po.the for your feet ( Tpo• vii<T6,. It ie reme.rk&ble that It was the xuh op8a., .-o,-/i<Tan)." But this doee not at subject. of the resurreotion which w11s ao all suit the oontext. We must look, tht>re- misunderstood in both oe.sea. The heretics fore, at the etymology of the word. 'Op8o- to whom St. Paul here alludes probably es• Toµ,o, must mean "to cut etre.ight," e.nd, e.8 plained e.waythe resurreotion,e.s the Guostics the e.poetle i8 8pee.kiug of e. goo,! workme.n, in the time of lrenmus and Tertullie.n did he muet be thi11J..ing of some work in which (Hnther), by spiritualizing it in the sense the workme.n'8 eJ..ill consists in cutting of Rom. vi. 4 ; Eph. ii. l ; Col. ii. 12; iii. l, stre.ight: why not his own tre.de, in which etc. It is the usual way with heresy to it we.s e.Jl-i111porte.ntto out the pieces stre.igbt corrupt and destroy the gospel, under pre- the.t were e.fterwe.rde to be joined to ee.ch tence of improving it. And there are always nther (see op8oTO/U)f and op8oToµCa)? Hence, some weak brethren ready to be deceived b~• e.n easy metaphor, "divide rightly," or and mmled. Overthrow (avaTp,1rou,r,); else- "he.ndle rightly, the Word of truth," pre- where in the New Testament only in 'fitus serving the true measure of the different i. 11 ; but common in LXX. and in cle.sijice.1 portions of Divine truth. Greek. Ver. 16.-Projane for profane and t1ain, Ver. 19.-Hou,beit for nevertheless, A.V.; A.V.; proceed further in ungodlines,, for in- firm foundation of God standet11 for founda- ereaae u,ito more ttngodline•s, A.V. Shun tion of God standeth sure, A.V.; this for the (..-,p,t<TTcura, e.s in Titus iii. 9); litere.lly, step (1611 copy), A.V.; the Lord for Christ, A. V. ouJ of the way of, or stand away from-e.n end T.R.; unrighteousness for iniquity, A.V. unueue.l uee of the word, found also in The firm foundation of God standeth ; i.e., Josephus, • Ant. Jud.,' iv. vi. 12. Profane though the faith of some is thrown down be.bbliilgs (see 1 Tim. iv. 7; vi. 20). They like a we.II built with untempered mortar, will proceed (..-po,roij,oucrw); see note on ..-po- the foundation which God has le.id fa8t and Ko..--/i in l Tim. iv. 15. Further in ungodli- firm ste.nds unmoved and unmovable. This llllllll (<-n-l ..-A,iov a.n/3,111,); surely better is equally trne of individual souls (the a.I rendered in the A.V. f,o more ungodliness. trnp,al ij,uxaC of Chrysostom), and of the It may be q nestioned whether "they " refers Church, age.inst which the gates of hell she.II tu the be.bblings or to the fe.lse teachers. not prevail. Compare onr Lord's saying, It makes very good sense to say, " A void when the Pharisees were offended at him, these profane be.bblin~s, for they won't stop "Every plant which my heavenly Fo.ther tbere-thev will grow into open impiety and he.th not planted shall be rooted up" (Matt. blasphemy:" But ver. 17, as Alf~rd o~serves, xv. 13); and those in John x. 28, 29; and is in favour of the ·• teachers bemg the l John iL 19. 81µIA1os in classical Greek subject of "will proceed;" but it is not is always an adjective agreeing with Al9os conclusive. If e. full stop be put after ·• un- expressed or understood. In the New Tes- ~odliness," e.s in the A. V., ver. 17 comes in tament it is used only e.s a substantive (Luke quite nature.Uy with the further statement vi. 48; l Cor. iii. 10; I Tim. vi. 19, etc.). tl.te.t "their word will eat &8 doth a gan- Here the word seems to be employed, not so grent." much to denote e. fowide.tion on which a Ver.17.-Gangreneforcanker,A.V. Their houee was to be built, as to denote strnngth word ; as opposed to " the Word of truth " and solidity. The elect of God are like in ver. 15. Will eat (voµ.';i, ,{.,); i.e. found .. tion-stonee, which may not be moved. spread, like e. gangrene, which gradually Raving this seal. In Rev. xii. 14 the twelve enlarges iU3 area, corrupting the flesh that foundation-stones of the new Jerusalem were was sound before. So these heretical each inscribed with the name of an apostle. opinion.s spread in the body of the Church In like manner there are inscriptions, of the which is e.1ft:cte<l by them. Noµ.-f, is literally nature of see.ls, on God'• strong foundations, "pasture" (Jol,n x. 9), ·• grazing of ftocks," showing their immutable condition. One and hence is applit>d to fire (Polybius), is, "THE LoRD IUIOWETH THE)! THAT AB■ which u it were feeds upon all e.roun<l it, HIS,~ taken t1erbaiim from the LXX. of and, in medical language (Hippocrates), Numb. xvi. 5 : the other is, "LET EVERY ON■ t.o sores and gangrenes, which grow larger THAT l!IAMETH THE NAME 011' THE LOBD DE· liud depaaitue the flesh. Of whom; of the PA.BT 1"80)1 Ul!IBIGHTEOU8)11188." This is n~ ~um\:,t,r ol tLOlle iioiut.ed at ill the phrase, where to be found in the Old Testament. mr.n. 1-28.) THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 23