CHAPTER 1
Greeting.*
II. Exhortations to Timothy
The Gifts Timothy Has Received.
* [1:1–2] For the formula of address and greeting, see note on Rom 1:1–7.
* [1:1] The promise of life in Christ Jesus: that God grants through union with Christ in faith and love; cf. Col 3:4; 1 Tm 4:8.
* [1:3] As my ancestors did: this emphasizes the continuity of Judaism and Christianity; for a similar view, see Rom 9:3–5; Phil 3:4–6.
* [1:4–5] Purportedly written from prison in Rome (2 Tm 1:8, 17; 4:6–8) shortly before the writer’s death, the letter recalls the earlier sorrowful parting from Timothy, commending him for his faith and expressing the longing to see him again.
* [1:6] The gift of God: the grace resulting from the conferral of an ecclesiastical office. The imposition of my hands: see note on 1 Tm 4:14.
* [1:8] Do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord: i.e., of preaching and suffering for the sake of the gospel.
* [1:9–10] Redemption from sin and the call to holiness of life are not won by personal deeds but are freely and graciously bestowed according to God’s eternal plan; cf. Eph 1:4.
* [1:11] Teacher: the overwhelming majority of manuscripts and Fathers read “teacher of the nations,” undoubtedly a harmonization with 1 Tm 2:7.
* [1:12] He is able to guard…until that day: the intervening words can also be translated “what I have entrusted to him” (i.e., the fruit of his ministry) as well as “what has been entrusted to me” (i.e., the faith). The same difficult term occurs in 2 Tm 1:14, where it is modified by the adjective “rich” and used without a possessive.
* [1:15] Keen disappointment is expressed, here and later (2 Tm 4:16), that the Christians of the province of Asia, especially Phygelus and Hermogenes, should have abandoned the writer and done nothing to defend his case in court.
* [1:16–18] The family of Onesiphorus because he…of my chains: Onesiphorus seems to have died before this letter was written. His family is mentioned twice (here and in 2 Tm 4:19), though it was Onesiphorus himself who was helpful to Paul in prison and rendered much service to the community of Ephesus. Because the apostle complains of abandonment by all in Asia during his second imprisonment and trial, the assistance of Onesiphorus seems to have been given to Paul during his first Roman imprisonment (A.D. 61–63).
* [1:18] Lord…Lord: the first “Lord” here seems to refer to Christ, the second “Lord” to the Father.
c. [1:5] 1 Tm 1:5 / Acts 16:1.
d. [1:6] 1 Tm 4:14; 5:22 / Acts 6:6; 8:17.
e. [1:7] Rom 5:5; 8:15; 1 Cor 2:4.
g. [1:9] Eph 2:8–9; Ti 3:5 / Eph 1:4; Ti 1:2.
h. [1:10] Rom 16:26; 1 Pt 1:20 / 1 Tm 6:14 / Phil 3:20; Ti 1:4; 2:13; 2 Pt 1:11 / 1 Cor 15:54–55; Heb 2:14 / 1 Cor 15:53–54.
j. [1:12] 1 Pt 4:16 / 1 Tm 1:10–11.
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