Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Timothy 1:9

"as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and unruly, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers," — 1 Timothy 1:9 (ASV)

Knowing this.—The teacher of the Law, being aware of this great truth now to be detailed, namely:

That the law is not made for a righteous man.—The stern Mosaic Law was enacted centuries before the Messiah Jesus had given His new Law to people. The Law of Moses was not, then, enacted for a “righteous man”—that is, for a Christian in the true sense of the word, who has sought and found justification by faith in Jesus, and who, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, is living a new life.

In other words, the “teacher,” Paul says, must teach the flock of Ephesus:

1. The true use of the prohibitions of the Law, namely, that they served to convince a person of their hopeless condition. These prohibitions showed them they were slaves to sin; the Law, which made them bitterly conscious of this wretched bondage, offered no assistance to free themselves from it.

2. The “teacher” was to emphasize to the people that the Law, good though it was if used as a means to open people’s eyes to see their true condition, was not made for them if they were reckoned among the righteous—that is, if they had found acceptance in the Redeemer.

In the case of these justified and sanctified ones, the moral law was written in their hearts and was embodied in their lives.

But for the lawless.—Now the Law was not made for those who are holy and humble of heart. St. Paul trusted that such individuals formed the main body of the congregation of believers in Ephesus, and in every city where people called on the name of the Lord Jesus and struggled to follow their dear Master’s footsteps.

It was made centuries before Jesus of Nazareth walked on earth, as a great protest against the everyday vices that dishonored Israel in common with the rest of humankind.

The terrible enumeration of sins and sinners in verses 9 and 10, while following the order of the ancient Tables of Sinai, seems to allude pointedly to the vices especially prevalent at that time in the great centers of the Roman Empire.

And disobedient.—More accurately rendered, unruly, or insubordinate.

For the ungodly and for sinners.—These four terms with which the Apostle opens his sad list of those for whom the Law was enacted generally denote those who care nothing for human law and who despise all obedience. They combine a careless neglect for all constituted authorities with irreligion and contempt for all sacred things.

For unholy and profane.—The persons designated by these terms are those lacking inner purity—those who scoff at holiness of life and character in its deepest sense.

These six classes (i.e., lawless, disobedient, ungodly, sinners, unholy, profane) may be assumed in general terms to include the prohibitions of the first four Commandments (the First Table, as it is termed), where sins against God are especially addressed. The sins against others, which are the subject of the prohibitions of the Second Table (Commandments Five to Ten), are included in the following enumeration of wrongdoers.

For murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers.—The original Greek expressions here require the milder rendering, smiters of fathers and smiters of mothers, and refer to persons of various ages who refuse all reverence, even all kindly treatment, to their parents. The words of the Fifth Commandment exactly explain this unnatural conduct.