RSV ~ 1 Timothy 6 Notes
1 Tim 6:1 | ISB Notes
slavery: The conversion of slaves and their masters in the early Church raised questions of how these relationships should be handled by believers (Col 3:22-4:1). Paul insists that slaves must honor their masters and that masters must respect their slaves, lest Christians acquire a reputation for being either insubordinate or inhumane. Without approving the institution of slavery as such, he is stressing that every station in life provides opportunities to serve the Lord. See note on Eph 6:5.
1 Tim 6:3-10 | ISB Notes
Paul resumes his criticism of false teachers wreaking havoc in Ephesus (1:3-11). He contends that the driving force behind their novelties is pride, an infatuation with controversy, and a distorted view of leadership. Not only that, but they exact a price for their preaching in order to accumulate wealth for themselves (6:10; Tit 1:11).
1 Tim 6:7 | ISB Notes
nothing into the world: Recalls similar statements in Job 1:21 and Eccles 5:15.
1 Tim 6:10 | ISB Notes
the love of money: Paul reproves, not the wealthy, but lovers of wealth. So dangerous is the allurement of riches that he warns in the strongest possible terms against piling it up for ourselves. Unless we become âpoor in spiritâ (Mt 5:3), the downward pull of money and material possessions will eventually lead to destruction (Lk 12:15-21).
⢠What evils are caused by wealth! There are frauds, robberies, miseries, enmities, contentions, battles. Take away the love of money, and you put an end to war, conflict, enmity, strife, and contention (St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on 1 Timothy 17).
1 Tim 6:12 | ISB Notes
the good confession: Probably Timothyâs profession of faith enunciated at his Baptism. Paul is urging him to live out his baptismal promises to the full (CCC 2145).
1 Tim 6:13 | ISB Notes
before Pontius Pilate: Refers to Jesusâ testimony to the truth at his trial before the governor (Mk 15:1-2; Jn 18:3337).
1 Tim 6:14 | ISB Notes
the appearing: The visible manifestation of Christ at his Second Coming (1 Thess 4:16; Tit 2:13).
1 Tim 6:15 | ISB Notes
King of kings ⌠Lord of lords: A reference to Godâs superiority over every earthly ruler (Ps 136:2-3; Dan 2:47; 2 Mac 13:4). These titles are applied directly to Christ in Rev 17:14 and 19:16.
1 Tim 6:20 | ISB Notes
O Timothy, guard: The faith that Timothy holds and teaches is a sacred trust given to him for safekeeping (2 Tim 1:14; 2:2; Jude 3). The duty to preserve it intact is all the more important in places such as Ephesus, where counterfeit doctrines are vying for the hearts and minds of local believers (1 Tim 1:3-7) (CCC 84).
⢠What is entrusted to you is not what you have discovered. It is what you have received, not what you have thought up for yourself. It is a matter, not of ingenuity, but of doctrine; not of personal opinion, but of public tradition. You are not the author, but the guardian. So preserve inviolate and undamaged the trust of the Catholic faith (St. Vincent of LĂŠrins, The Commonitory 22).
falsely called knowledge: The perverted teachings of the Ephesian troublemakers. Interpreters have often taken this to mean that the false teachers are Gnostics, i.e., proponents of a second-century religious system that viewed the possession of âsecret knowledgeâ as a pathway to salvation. This verse alone cannot support the conclusion, but see note on 1 Tim 4:3.
1 Tim 6:21 | ISB Notes
Grace be with you: Since the best Greek manuscripts have âyouâ in the plural, many have reasoned that the letter, while primarily sent to Timothy, was also intended to be read before the Ephesian congregation.