1 Timothy
1 Timothy 4
1But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, 2through the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron, 3forbidding marriage and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving. 5For it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer.
6If you instruct the brothers of these things, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished in the words of the faith, and of the good doctrine which you have followed. 7But refuse profane and old wives’ fables. Exercise yourself toward godliness. 8For bodily exercise has some value, but godliness has value in all things, having the promise of the life which is now, and of that which is to come. 9This saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance. 10For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we have set our trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. 11Command and teach these things.
12Let no man despise your youth; but be an example to those who believe, in word, in your way of life, in love, in spirit, in faith, and in purity. 13Until I come, pay attention to reading, to exhortation, and to teaching. 14Don’t neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the elders. 15Be diligent in these things. Give yourself wholly to them, that your progress may be revealed to all. 16Pay attention to yourself and to your teaching. Continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
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4 commentators · 49 notes on this chapter
Matthew Henry2
Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.
Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.
We have here a prophecy of the apostasy of the latter times, which he had spoken of as a thing expected and taken for granted among Christians, 2 Th. 2. I. In the close of the foregoing chapter, we had the mystery of godliness summed up; and therefore very…
The apostle would have Timothy to instil into the minds of Christians such sentiments as might prevent their being seduced by the judaizing teachers. Observe, Those are good ministers of Jesus Christ who are diligent in their work; not that study to advance…
John Gill16
The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.
Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly,.... The prophecy hereafter mentioned was not an human conjecture, but, as all true prophecy, it came from the Spirit of God, who spoke or delivered it; either in the prophets of the Old Testament, who, as they spoke of the…
Speaking lies in hypocrisy,.... Or "through the hypocrisy of those that speak lies"; for the apostle is still speaking of the means by which the apostasy should rise, and get ground; and it should be by the means of persons that should deliver lying or false…
Forbidding to marry,.... Which points out not the Encratites, Montanists, and Manichees, who spoke against marriage; but the Papists, who forbid it to their priests under a pretence of purity and holiness, and at the same time allow them to live in all manner…
Adam Clarke16
The linguist of this set. Expect Hebrew and Greek word study, oriental custom, and geography — and an Arminian reading of grace and free will where Gill or Henry would read election. Note one real divergence: Clarke denied the eternal sonship of Christ, a position most of the tradition rejects, so read him closely on the person of Christ.
Why this voice is here: Where you want to know what a word actually says, Clarke is the one who will tell you — with the caveat above on Christ’s sonship.
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly - Ῥητως· Manifestly, openly. It is very likely that the apostle refers here to a prophecy then furnished by the Holy Ghost, and probably immediately after he had written the words in the preceding verses; and as this…
Speaking lies in hypocrisy - Persons pretending, not only to Divine inspiration, but also to extraordinary degrees of holiness, self-denial, mortification, etc., in order to accredit the lies and false doctrines which they taught. Multitudes of lies were…
Forbidding to marry - These hypocritical priests pretending that a single life was much more favorable to devotion, and to the perfection of the Christian life. This sentiment was held by the Essenes, a religious sect among the Jews; and we know that it is a…
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown15
The concise option. Three authors split the canon, so the voice shifts between sections. Expect brief, sober, conservative notes that resolve difficulties rather than dwelling on them — useful for orientation, thinner than Gill or Clarke where a passage is genuinely contested.
Why this voice is here: The quickest way to see what the mainstream Reformed reading of a passage is. Start here, then go to Gill or Clarke when it matters.
Rather translate, "Through (literally, 'in'; the element in which the apostasy has place) the hypocrisy of lying speakers"; this expresses the means through which "some shall (be led to) depart from the faith," namely, the reigned sanctity of the seducers…
Sensuality leads to false spiritualism. Their own inward impurity is reflected in their eyes in the world without them, and hence their asceticism (Tit 1:14-15) [WIESINGER]. By a spurious spiritualism (Ti2 2:18), which made moral perfection consist in…
Translate as Greek, "Because" (expressing a reason resting on an objective fact; or, as here, a Scripture quotation)--"For" (a reason resting on something subjective in the writer's mind). every creature . . . good-- (Gen 1:31; Rom 14:14, Rom 14:20). A…
World English Bible — Public domain