ACC ~ 1 Timothy 4 v6 - 16

OVERVIEW:

Christians are called to use what is seasonable (CHRYSOSTOM) and reject what is superficial in Jewish legal and apocryphal traditions (ORIGEN, THEODORE, THEODORET). The school of righteousness attempts to bring us to maturity by first teaching easy, elementary lessons (ATHANASIUS, BASIL). That which is truly useful has eternity as its frame of reference (AMBROSE, AUGUSTINE, JOHN CASSIAN). The ways of life and death are entirely different (APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS). All humanity stands in need of the saving work of the triune God (GREGORY OF NYSSA, AUGUSTINE). The goal of Christian formation is the training and purification of the soul. This training is to be exemplified in the life of the teacher (CHRYSOSTOM). It is by the exercise of spiritual disciplines that the Christian teacher remains wise and faithful in ministry (THEODORE). Praiseworthy living on the part of the Christian teacher is the key to effectiveness (THEODORET). What praise pastor-teachers accept must not be for themselves (AUGUSTINE). They are is to be examples of the good life (ATHANASIUS, AUGUSTINE) and must give no excuse for those under their guidance to think the Lord’s commands impossible (BASIL). The pastor brings forth from the inexhaustible Scriptures treasures old and new (ORIGEN, CHRYSOSTOM), preserving right doctrine and sound living, as did Paul (CAESARIUS). In this way the soul is fed by virtue (ATHANASIUS). Good teaching occurs best in a highly particular context, not abstractly (CHRYSOSTOM). There remain differences of opinion among the Fathers as to whether presbyters and bishops are distinguishable (CHRYSOSTOM, JEROME, THEODORE).

4:6 | Nourished on the Words of the Faith

FED BY VIRTUE. ATHANASIUS: Virtues and vices are the food of the soul, which can feed on either one, turning to whichever one it wants to. If it is bent toward moral excellence, it will be fed by virtue—by righteousness, temperance, meekness, endurance. In other words, it’s just as St. Paul says, “being nourished by the word of truth.” That’s the way it was with our Lord, who said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me.” FESTAL LETTERS 1.5.

4:7a | Godless and Silly Myths

PROVIDE HONORABLE INTERPRETATIONS. ORIGEN: Let the church of God, therefore, in this spiritual way understand the births, in this way receive the procreations, in this way uphold the deeds of the fathers with a fitting and honorable interpretation and in this way not disgrace the words of the Holy Spirit with foolish rabbinic fables but reckon them to be full of honor, full of virtue and usefulness. HOMILIES ON GENESIS 6.3.

USING WHAT IS SEASONABLE. CHRYSOSTOM: By these are meant Jewish traditions, and he calls them “fables,” either because of their falsehood or their unseasonableness. For what is seasonable is useful, but what is unseasonable is not only useless but injurious. HOMILIES ON 1 TIMOTHY 12.

FALSELY READING THE LAW. THEODORET OF CYR: “Godless wives tales” are Jewish speculations in the form of false interpretations of the law and its proper observance. INTERPRETATION OF THE FIRST LETTER TO TIMOTHY.

CHRISTIAN APOCRYPHA. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Paul is here rejecting apocryphal books that profess to contain his teaching or that of other apostles but that are really misrepresentations of that teaching. COMMENTARY ON 1 TIMOTHY.

4:7b | Train Yourself in Godliness

EXERCISE YOURSELF IN GODLINESS. ATHANASIUS: Therefore St. Paul urges us to exercise our faith in the face of troubles. Having already come through them victoriously, he said, “Therefore I take pleasure in persecutions and weaknesses.” In another place he said, “Exercise yourself in godliness.” He knew that those who choose to live godly lives are going to be persecuted, so he wanted his disciples to be aware of the difficulties they would face. Then when the trials and afflictions did come, they would have built up enough strength to handle them easily. You yourself know that when you’ve been looking forward to something, even if it’s hard, you experience a secret joy when it actually comes. FESTAL LETTERS 10.3.

A GRADUAL PROCESS. BASIL THE GREAT: Surely only an infantile mind, like a baby who can only drink milk, is ignorant of the great mystery of our salvation. Education progresses gradually. The school of righteousness attempts to bring us to maturity by first teaching us easy, elementary lessons suited for our limited intelligence. Then God, who provides us with every good thing, leads us to the truth, by gradually accustoming our darkened eyes to its great light. In the deep reaches of his wisdom and the unsearchable judgments of his intelligence, he spares our weakness and prescribes a gentle treatment. He knows our eyes are accustomed to dim shadows, so he uses these at first. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 14.33.

4:8 | Godliness Is of Value in Every Way

TRUE USEFULNESS. AMBROSE: Some indeed put it thus, “Incline my heart unto Thy testimonies and not to what is useful.” The reference is to that kind of usefulness which is always on the watch for making gains in business and has been bent and diverted by the habits of men to the pursuit of money. For as a rule most people call that only useful which is profitable, but we are speaking of that kind of usefulness which is sought in earthly loss “that we may gain Christ,” whose gain is “godliness with contentment.” Great, too, is the gain whereby we attain to godliness, which is rich with God, not indeed in fleeting wealth but in eternal gifts, and in which rests no uncertain trial but grace constant and unending. There is therefore a usefulness connected with the body, and also one that has to do with godliness, according to the apostle’s division, “Bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things.” DUTIES OF THE CLERGY 2.6.26-27.

TROUBLE IS DEFLECTED. AUGUSTINE: “Godliness,” then, “which is the true worship of God, is profitable to all things,” since it deflects or blunts the troubles of this life and leads to that other life, our salvation, where we shall suffer no evil and enjoy the supreme and everlasting good. I exhort you as I do myself to pursue this happiness more earnestly and to hold to it with strong constancy. LETTERS 155.2.17.

A FUTURE REWARD. JOHN CASSIAN: St. Paul is plainly referring to this when he says, “bodily exercise is profitable for a little, but godliness” (by which he surely means charity) “is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of the life to come.” What is said to be profitable for a little cannot be profitable forever and cannot (of itself) bring a man to the perfect life. The phrase “for a little” might mean one of two things. It might mean “for a short time,” since these bodily exercises are not going to last as long as the man who practices them. Or it might mean “only of little profit.” Corporal austerity brings the first beginnings of progress, but it does not beget that perfect charity which has the promise of this life and the life to come. CONFERENCES 1.10.

4:10 | The Savior of All, Especially of Those Who Believe

GOD’S CARE FOR ALL. ORIGEN: Our reply to this is that he attributes to us statements which we do not make. For we both read and know that God “loves everything that exists and hates nothing that he has made; for he would never have made anything if he had hated it.” … He is also called “Savior of all men, especially of those who believe,” and his Christ is “a propitiation for our sins, but not for ours only, but also for the whole world.” … But now, according to our preaching, Jesus who is called the Christ of God by a certain traditional usage in the Bible has come on behalf of sinners in all places, that they may forsake their sin and entrust themselves to God. AGAINST CELSUS 4.28.

THE TWO WAYS. ANONYMOUS: We also, following our teacher Christ, “who is the Savior of all men, especially of those that believe.” are obliged to say that there are two ways. One is the way of life, the other of death. These have no comparison one with another, for they are very different, or rather entirely separate. The way of life is that of nature, but that of death was afterwards introduced—it not being according to the mind of God but from the snares of the adversary. CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 7.1.

ALL HAVE NEED. AUGUSTINE: But in the Lord’s own very humility (in consenting to be baptized by John) there is a marvelous medicine; one was baptizing, the other healing. You see, if Christ is the Savior of all, especially of the faithful—it is the apostle’s judgment, and a true one, that Christ is the Savior of all—then nobody may say, “I have no need of a savior.” If you say this, you are not bowing humbly to the doctor’s orders but perishing in your disease. SERMONS 292.4.

NOT THREE SAVIORS BUT THREE IN ONE. GREGORY OF NYSSA: The Savior of all, especially of believers, is spoken of by the apostle as one. Yet no one argues from this expression that the Son does not save believers or that those who share in salvation receive it apart from the Spirit. But God who is over all is the Savior of all, while the Son brings salvation to effect by the grace of the Spirit. Yet on this account Scripture does not call them three Saviors, although salvation is recognized to come from the holy Trinity. AN ANSWER TO ABLABIUS: THAT WE SHOULD NOT THINK OF SAYING THERE ARE THREE GODS.

4:11 | Command and Teach These Things

DISTINGUISHING COMMANDING FROM TEACHING. CHRYSOSTOM: In some cases it is necessary to command, in others to teach. If you command in cases where teaching is required, you will become ridiculous. Again, if you teach where you ought to command, you are exposed to the same reproach. … Not to profess Judaism should be a simple command, but teaching is required when you would lead people persuasively to part with their possessions, to live chastely, or when you would discourse on faith. … But where the salvation of others is concerned, command and interpose with authority. This is not a case for moderation but for authority, lest the common good suffer. HOMILIES ON 1 TIMOTHY 13.

4:12a | Let No One Despise Your Youth

AGE NO IMPEDIMENT. CHRYSOSTOM: For what reason then does he write only to Titus and Timothy? It is because he had already committed the care of churches to them, and certain specified places had been assigned to them, but the others were listening in to what he said to them. For so preeminent in virtue was Timothy that his youth was no impediment to his promotion; therefore he writes, “Let no man despise your youth.” … For where there is virtue, all other things are superfluous, and there can be no impediment. HOMILIES ON 1 TIMOTHY, ARGUMENT 2.

4:12b | Become an Example

FOR THE BENEFIT OF UNBELIEVERS. ATHANASIUS: But the wise servants of the Lord, who have really put on the new nature created in the likeness of God, listen to what he says. They apply to themselves the commandment given to Timothy, “Set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” They keep the Easter feast so properly that even unbelievers, seeing their orderliness, must say, “God is truly with them.” FESTAL LETTERS 2.4.

TO AVOID DAMAGE TO BELIEVERS. AUGUSTINE: In what way is it said that bad shepherds kill the sheep? By leading bad lives, by setting a bad example. Was it for nothing that a servant of God was told, one prominent among the members of the supreme shepherd, “Offering yourself in all company as an example of good works”; and “Be a model to the faithful”. You see, even a strong sheep often enough, when he notices his pastor leading a bad life, if his eyes wander from the rules of the Lord and are attracted by human considerations, begins to say to himself, “If my pastor lives like that, who am I not to behave as he does?” He has killed a strong sheep. So if he has killed a strong sheep, what must he be doing for the others, seeing that by his bad life he has slaughtered what he hadn’t fattened himself, but has found fat and sturdy? SERMONS 46.9.

THE POWER OF PRACTICE. AUGUSTINE: However, the life of the speaker has greater weight in determining whether he is obediently heard than any grandness of eloquence. For he who speaks wisely and eloquently but lives wickedly may benefit many students, even though, as it is written, he “may be unprofitable to his own soul.” … And thus they benefit many by preaching what they do not practice; but many more would be benefitted if they were to do what they say. For there are many who seek a defense of their evil lives in those of their superiors and teachers, responding in their hearts or, if it breaks forth so far, with their lips, and saying, “Why do you not do what you preach that I do?” Thus it happens that they do not obediently hear one who does not hear himself, and they condemn the word of God which is preached to them along with the preacher himself. Hence, when the apostle, writing to Timothy, said, “Let no man despise thy youth,” he added the reason why he was not to be despised and said, “but be an example of the faithful in word, in conduct, in charity, in faith, in chastity.” ON CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 4.27.59-60.

TO ANIMATE THOSE WEAKER THAN THEMSELVES. BASIL THE GREAT: So, then, the superior guide is to be mindful of the apostle’s precept, “Be an example to the faithful.” He should make his life a shining model for the observance of every commandment of the Lord, so that there may be no excuse for those under his guidance to think the Lord’s commands impossible or readily to be set aside. He should consider first, then, that which is first in importance. He should be, by the love of Christ, so confirmed in humility that, even if he is silent, the example of his actions may afford more effective instruction than any words. If, indeed, the goal of Christianity is the imitation of Christ according to the measure of his incarnation, insofar as is conformable with the vocation of each individual, they who are entrusted with the guidance of many others are obliged to animate those still weaker than themselves, by their assistance, to the imitation of Christ. THE LONG RULES, Q.43.R.

THE SKILLFUL MANAGEMENT OF WORLDLY HONOR. AUGUSTINE: There is no way of resisting the temptation to pride except by instilling the fear and love of God, through frequent pondering of the sacred books. But he who does this must show himself a model of patience and humility by attributing to himself less honor than is offered, neither swallowing all nor refusing all from those who honor him. What praise and honor he accepts he must not receive for himself—for he should refer all to God and despise human things—but for the sake of those whom he could not help if he were to lose dignity by too great self-depreciation. Applicable to this is the saying, “let no man despise your youth,” recalling that he who said that said in another place, “If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” LETTERS 22.2.7.

4:13 | Public Reading of Scripture, Preaching, Teaching

OUT OF HIS TREASURY THINGS NEW AND OLD. ORIGEN: Now “every scribe who has been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is like a man that is a householder who brings forth out of his treasury things new and old.” Therefore, it clearly follows by “conversion of the proposition,” as it is called, that every one who does not bring forth out of his treasury things new and old is not a scribe who has been made a disciple for the kingdom of heaven. We must endeavor, therefore, in every way to gather in our heart, “by giving heed to reading, to exhortation, to teaching” and by “meditating in the law of the Lord day and night.” We must observe not only the new oracles of the Gospels and of the apostles and their revelation but also the old things in the law “which has the shadow of the good things to come” and in the prophets who prophesied in accordance with them. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 10.15.

TO PRESERVE RIGHT DOCTRINE. CAESARIUS OF ARLES: In addition, if grief and trouble, even perils and reproaches from an unlearned people are stirred up as the result of a spirit of animosity, bear them with courage and constancy. Look rather to our Lord and Savior, the true shepherd who condescended to suffer, not only tribulation but even death, for the sake of the sheep. It is necessary for you to bear many adversities, if you want to preserve right doctrine and continuously to preach the word of God as it is expedient to do. The precepts of justice are always bitter to those who lead a wicked life. For this reason I exhort you today in the sight of God and his angels, and I declare with the voice of the apostle, “Devote yourself to the reading of Scripture, to preaching and teaching.” SERMONS 230.4.

PAUL’S OWN WORK THE EXAMPLE. CHRYSOSTOM: In what did St. Paul surpass the rest of the apostles? … Is it not because of the excellence of his epistles? By this he has helped and will help and, as long as the human race remains, will never stop helping the faithful, not only of his own time but from that day to this and those who shall believe until the coming of Christ. For his writings fortify the churches all over the world like a wall of steel. … His writings are not only useful to us for the refutation of false doctrine and the establishment of the true, but they help us very greatly, too, in living a good life. … These facts are enough to show that he took great pains over this part of his work. But listen also to what he says to his disciple in a letter, “Give heed to reading, to exhortation, to teaching.” ON THE PRIESTHOOD 4.7.

SCRIPTURE AN INFINITE RESOURCE. CHRYSOSTOM: It is not possible, I say, not possible, ever to exhaust the mind of the Scriptures. It is a well which has no bottom. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 19.5.

4:14a | The Gift You Have

THE GIFT IS TEACHING. CHRYSOSTOM: Here he calls teaching “prophecy.” HOMILIES ON 1 TIMOTHY 13.

DO NOT NEGLECT THIS GIFT. CHRYSOSTOM: If you are willing, you will have more success with each other than we can have. For you both are with one another for a longer time, and you know more than we of each other’s affairs. Further, you are not ignorant of each other’s failings, and you have more freedom of speech, and love and intimacy. These are no small advantages for teaching but great and opportune moments for it. You will be more able than we both to reprove and exhort. And not this only, but because I am but one, whereas you are many; and you will be able, however many, to be teachers. Therefore I entreat you, do not “neglect this gift.” HOMILIES ON HEBREWS 30.1.

4:14b | The Council of Elders

PRESBYTERS AND BISHOPS DIFFERENT. CHRYSOSTOM: He speaks here not of presbyters but of bishops. For presbyters cannot be supposed to have ordained a bishop. HOMILIES ON 1 TIMOTHY 13.

PRESBYTERS AND BISHOPS THE SAME. JEROME: The apostle clearly teaches that presbyters are the same as bishops. … Writing to Titus the apostle says, “For this cause I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are wanting, and appoint presbyters in every city, as I had instructed. If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having believing children not accused of wantonness or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless as the steward of God.” And to Timothy he says, “Neglect not the gift of prophecy that is in you, which was given you through the laying on of hands of the presbytery.” LETTERS 146.1.

A MEDIATING POSITION. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Those whom he calls presbyters in this passage are not those whom we now call by that name—Paul does not usually allow to presbyters as such the power of ordination by the laying on of hands. Rather he says that the gathering of the apostles was present with him when he laid hands in his ordination. He calls this the “council of presbyters” as a designation of honor. It is in accordance with this custom that at the ordination of a bishop not one, but the multitude of bishops present, implement the ordination. COMMENTARY ON 1 TIMOTHY.