Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Timothy 4:14

"Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery." — 1 Timothy 4:14 (ASV)

Neglect not the gift that is in you, which was given you by prophecy.—Here the Apostle reminds his representative in the Ephesian congregation of his special gift of teaching and exhortation. This divine gift had been conferred on Timothy at his solemn ordination long ago, when the young son of Eunice was designated for the post that John Mark had once held with the Apostle. The office Timothy held with St. Paul was, in many respects, similar to that which Elisha had held with Elijah in former days; and, just as in the case of the Hebrew prophet of the old covenant, so here, St. Paul's choice had been divinely guided.

The very titles of the old covenant seem to have been revived in this instance of the divine selection of Timothy. For in 1 Timothy 6:11, the older Apostle addresses his representative at Ephesus with the old prophetic title when he writes: You, O man of God, flee these things. Now he solemnly calls attention to that strange, miraculous “grace” which some inspired prophet, at Timothy’s ordination, declared was to be conferred on him. The “gift” was said to be conferred, regarding its certainty in the divine plans, by such prophecy: the Holy Spirit, speaking through one or more of His prophets, declared His will and intention to confer this special grace on the young companion of St. Paul.

With the laying on of the hands.—This was a symbolic action—the outward sign of an inward communication of the Holy Spirit for a spiritual office or undertaking—and was derived from the solemn old Hebrew custom (see Numbers 8:10 in the case of the consecration of the Levites, and Numbers 27:18, Deuteronomy 34:9 in the ceremony of the dedication of Joshua).

Of the presbytery.—The brotherhood of presbyters connected with the place where Timothy's ordination took place is alluded to here. It appears there was such a body of elders in each particular city or district. The presbytery in this instance, in all probability, belonged to the district of Lystra, Timothy’s native city; however, an old ecclesiastical tradition speaks of Ephesus as the place of this ordination.