The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Timothy — Section 66

or indeed anywhere. The verb 11,Ao-y,iv and out personal holiness is little worth. Holdin~ lhe noun 11,M-yla are found in Xenophon e.nd "the truth in unrighteousness" ;• severe!}' Diodorus Sioulus, but in a differr,nl sense condemned by St. Pan! (Rom. i. 18). Hf -" to repee.t," "repetition." Here 6/Ao-yor is says of himself(Acts xxiii. I)," I have lived ased in the sense of lll-yM,,1111os (Prov. xi. 13; in e.11 good conscience before God until this Ecclue. xxviii. 18), "a sle.nderer," "e. fe.lee- de.y" (comp. Acts xxiv. 16; 2 Cor. i. 12: tongued me.n," who, e.e Theophyle.ct (e.p. eh. i. 5, 19, etc.). It is much to be observed Schleusner) well exple.ins it, thinks one thing how St. Pe.ul, the great teRcber of the e.nd se.ys e.nother, and says different things doctrine of gre.ce, lays constant stress upon to different people. The ce.ution here gi veo the functions of the conscience, and the is of incalculable importance to youog ne<"essity of having a pure conscie11ce. curates. They mnet not e.llow themselves Ver. 10.-Serve as deac<YTlll for us, thP, to be either receptacles or vehicles of scandal office nf a dea=, A.V.; if they be for being e.nd detraction. Their speech to rich and found, A.V. And let these also, etc. There poor alike most be perfectly sincere and is an ambiguity in the Englisl1 here. It is ingenuous. Not given to much wine. The not" these also" -these in addition to others, effect of the best sermon me.y be undone, and i.e. the bishops before named-but " these be inore the.n undone, if the pree.cher sinks into also first proved." Their general che.racter, lhe pot-compe.nion of his hee.rers. He e.t as describeJ in vere. 8, 9, must not be taken 3nce cee.ees to be 11,µvos, to inspire respect upon loose hee.rse.y, but must be put to the (comp. Titus ii. 8 where the e.dditional idea., test by examination, hy specie.I testimony, 111oet true, of the slavery of drunke.rdR, is in- by inquiry, and then, if they are J.,e-y1<A1J-ro,, lroduced). Greedy of filthy lucre (al11xpo- not e.ccused, not open to just blame, blame- up5,is): only here e.nd in ver. 3 (T.R.) and less, let them be admitted to serve e.s deacons TitUB i. 7. The adverb al11xpo1«pllii,s occurs (see ver. 13, note). The Church of England in 1 Pet. v. 2, e.nd is one of many points of scrupulously e.cts up to these directions by resemble.nee between the pa.store.I Epistles requiring written testimoniat., by personal e.nd 1 Peter. Be.le.e.m, Gehe.zi, and Judas inquiries made by the bishop, by the Si qui,, Iscariot a.re the three prominent examples of by the appeal to the congregation in the professed serve.nts of God being lovers of Orcline.tion Service, " Brethren, 1f there be filthy lncre. Ache.n (Josh. vii. 21) is e.nother any of you who knoweth e.ny impediment, or (eee eh. vi. 10). When lucre is the price notable crime, in e.ny of these persons pre- • for doing wrong, it is "filthy." When lucre sented to be ordained deacons, for the which is sought on occasions where none is due, it he ought not to be admitted to that uffien. is ''filthy:" and when the desire of even let him come forth in the name of God, :in,! just gaiUB ie excessive, it ceases to be clee.n. show whe.t the crime or impediment is;" e..s Ver. 9.-Xolding the mystery of the faith well as by the careful ex,uuinatiou of the in a pure conscience. Mucr-rfip,ov, e. mystery, candidates. Ble.meless (comp. Titus i. 6, ie the.t which, he.ving been long hidden, ie e.t 7); a.ve-y1<A71-ros, rendereJ in the Vulgate length disclosed, either to men genera.Hy or nullum crimen habentes (which seems to to elect disciples. It is derived from µv,,.,, explain the " note.hie crime " of tbe Ordina- to initie.te, of which the passive µv,oµa,, to tion Service), e.nd in Col. i. 22 ·• unreprov- he instructed or initie.ted, is found in Phil. able" both in tbe A.V. and the B.V. The iv. 12, e.nd ie common in olessical Greek, whole passage, from ver. 2 to ver. 13, shows beinr itself derived from µI,,.,, "to close the the supreme iwporte.nce or e. holy antl lips e.s in pronouncing the syllable µv," blamelesa conversation in the clergy. whence also mutus. The idea. ie of some- Ver. 11.-Women in like manner must for thing secret, which might not be spoken of. eoon so must their wives, A. V. ; temperate for In the New 'l'estament we hRve "the sober, A.V. Women. Whllt is rueant by mysterie9 of the kingdom of hee.ven" (Me.tt. these "women"? Cert11inly not women iu xiii. 11; Lnke viii. 10; Me.rk '.v. 11): and general, which would be quite out of he.rmony St. Pe.nl brings out the full force of the word with the context. The ehoico lies betweeu when he speulcs (Rom. xvi. 25) of ·•the (1) the wives of the dee.cons,as in the A.V.: mystery which wns kept secret (<1e1T1"Y71µevov) (2) the wives of the episeopi and ,lee.cons: since the world begcm ... but is now made (3) deaconesses. This inst, ou the whole, is known to e.11 ne.tions for the obed i~noe of the most probable. Tbe male deacous had fait.h" (see too Eph. iii. 3-6; Col. ii. 26, just been spoken of, and so the e.postle goes etc.). •• The faith" is equivalent to "the on to speak of the feme.le Je1Woue ( ai gospel," or "the kingdom of heaven," or 6,li,covo,, Rom. xvi. 1). He conceives of the the "godliness" of ver. 16 (where see note); deacon's office e.s consisting of two branches and "the mystery of the fe.ith" might be -(l) the dee.cons, (2) tho ,le11conesses; and pa.mphre.sed by "the revealed truth of gives appropriate directiuns for each. I I Christie.nitr,," What is added," in e. pure must be remembered that the office of the oonaoience, ' teaches 1111 thut. orthodosy with- early deuoon WllB iu a great wee.sure secular  54 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. LOB. Ill. 1-Hi.