The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Timothy — Section 68

Ill. 12, where it is ea.id of him thl!.t over- objective sense of 11 1rltrTlf 11 either neoeeeary oometh, "I will me.lie him I!. pillar (<1T6>..011) or by far the most natural: Acts iii. 7: xiii. in the houee cl' my God." And so, in !I ; xiv. 22; xvi. !'i; Gl!.I. i. 23; Eph. iv. 5; Venantiue Fortunntus, St. Paul is cl!.lled Phil. i. 27; Col. i. 23; ii. 7; eh. i. 19; v. " stilus ille.'' But the metaphors of "e. 8; vi.10,21; 2Tim.iv.7; Titusi.13; Jas. pillar" e.nd "e. foundation " do not e.11 ii. 1; Jude R. Having thus eulted the suit the verb &.110.<1Tp<<p<<180.1; e.nd it is well "mystery of godliness," St. Paul goes on to argued that the absence of the pronoun IT< expound it. He who (3r). This is generally ie unfavourable to the applice.tion of "the adopted now I as the true rea~ng, instea,I pillar and ground of the truth" to the eub- of 0.&s (o,i, instead of 0:,J). Bish1>p ject of the first clause. It is therefore better Ellicott satisfied himself, by most careful to understand this clause as descriptive of pers0nal examination, that the original the Church· of God. The Church is the reading of the Cod. Alex. was o,i, and that pillnr of the truth. It supports it; holds it it had been altered by a later hand to 0l. together-binds together its different parts. The Cod. Sine.it. certainly has 3,, and to And it is the ground of the truth. By it the this all the older versions agree. The Vu I• truth is made fe.st, firm, e.nd fixed. The gate has q=d, agreeing with sucramenturn gro11J1d (iBpo.l.,µo.). This word only _ocoure and repreeen ting the Greek d. Accepting here at all· apaios, common both ID the this, then, ae the true reading, we proceed to New Teete.~ent, the LXX., e.nd in claesice.l explain it. •os, who, is a relative, and must, Greek, means ":fixed," "firm," or" fast." In therefore, have an antecedent. But there is the A.V. of 1 Cor. vii. 37 e.nd xv. 58, "etead- no expressed antecedent of the masculine fe.et;" Col. i. 23 (where i~ is coupled 'With gender for it to ~gree with. The antecedent, TEB,µ,>..,.,µ,110.), "settled." Thence ,3pa,&w, therefore, must be understood, and gathered in late Greek, " to m_ake firm or fe.st," and from the preceding words, TO µvtrT-l,p,011 T;j, ,3pa{.,µa., the "establishment" or "ground- ,va•fJ•lo.s. It can only be Christ. The ing" of the truth; that in and by whi~h the mystery of the whole Old Testament, tha.l truth is placed on a IIU?e e.nd fixed basis. which Wl!.B wrapped in types and hidden Ver. 16.-He who for God, A.V. and 'f.R.; under veils, was Christ (Col. i. 27). Moses manifuted for manifest, ~-V,; amon/1 the epake of him, the Psalms speak of him, the nations for unto the Gentiles, A. V. ; in for prophets speak of him; but all of them into, A.V. Without oontroversy (bµo>..o-yov· epake darkly. Bnt in the gospel "the µ,11.,s); only here in the Ne~ Testam~nt, mystery of Christ" (Col. iv._ 3~ is_ reveale_rl. but used in the same sense ID the LXX. Christ is the Mystery of Christ1amty. It 1s, e.nd in classical Greek, "confessedly," by therefore, no difficult step to pass from "the common confession. Great is the mystery of mystery" to " Christ," and to supply the godliness. This is said to enhance the glory word "Christ" e.e the antecedent to" who." of the Church just spoken of, to whom this Was manifested (<c/>0,11<pw811); a word fre- mystery has been entrust~d, e.nd so s~ill quently applied to Christ (Joh?, i. :' I ; I further to impress upon Tunothy th~ vital John i. 2; iii. 5, 8, etc.). The idea 1s the necessity of a wise and holy walk ID the same in John i. H. JUBtified in the spirit. Church. The mystery of godliness is all Thie ie rather an obscure expression. But that truth which •• in other ages was not it seems to describe our Lord's spotless made known unto the sons of men, as it is righteousness, perhaps with special reference now revealed unto his holy apostles and to the dee laration of it at his baptism. prophets by the Spirit." Godliness ( rijs "This is my beloved Son, in whom 1 am well ,btr,tlElo.r); i.e." the Christian faith;" what pleased." We have the same contra&t in eh. vi. 3 is called "The words of our Lord bt:tv;een the flesh and the Spirit of Christ in Jesus Christ, and the doctrine which ie I Pet. iii. 18. And between the fle~h and according to godliness ( Tfi KaT' ,vtr•fl•lav the spirit of a Christian man in Rom. viii. 10, B,BatrKa>..la)," and in 2 Tim. i. I, "The truth "The body is dead because of sin, but tbe which is oocording to godliness." In ver. 9 spirit ie life because of righteousuees." To it ie" the mystery of the faith," where ii 1rl<1T1S this clause apparently the remark of Chry- ie equivo.lent to 11 ,1,,,,fJ,la.. Bishop Ellicott, eoetom applies, " Go,l became mon, and man however, does not admit this objective sense became God." "The spirit" seems to mean of 11 1rlcrT1s or 11 ,vtr•/3•la, bu~ explai~~ th~ the moral nature-the inner man. Seen of genitive ae "a pure possessive genitive, angols. Perhaps the multitu,le of the the mystery appertaining to, ~r the proper~y heo.venly host who welcomed tbe birth of of, eubjeclive fllith and godlmeeJ!; but th)• Christ were permitted to see the new-born ie a use nr,t borne out by any passage m Bo.be 11e he seems to have doue who de.,rib~d which the word "mystery" occurs. It ie him to the shepherds ae "wrapped in awad- always mysteries (or mystery) of !Lo king- dom of God, of Ghrist, of G~d, of lho goepi,1, - ,-Biehop- Wordew~~th~ Alford, - Biiiliop 1111d the like. In the followlllK f<BhllO.ges the Ellicott, and Tischendorf, Laohmann. etc.  66 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. [ OD, III, 1-16,