Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Timothy 6:13

"I charge thee in the sight of God, who giveth life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed the good confession;" — 1 Timothy 6:13 (ASV)

I give you charge in the sight of God.—Better rendered, I charge you in the sight of God. If possible, with increased earnestness and a yet deeper solemnity as the letter draws to an end, St. Paul charges that young disciple—from whom he hoped so much, and yet for whom he feared so anxiously—to keep spotless the commandment and doctrine of his Master; and, as much as was in his power, to preserve that doctrine unchanged and unalloyed until the coming again of the blessed Master. So he charges him as in the tremendous presence of God.

Who gives life to all things.—The older authorities adopt a reading here which implies, who keeps alive, or preserves all things. The Preserver rather than the Creator is brought into prominence here. Timothy is exhorted to fight his good fight, ever mindful that he is in the presence of that great Being who could and would—even if Timothy’s faithfulness should lead him to danger and to death—still preserve him, on earth or in Paradise.

And before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession.—Better rendered, who before Pontius Pilate bore witness to the good confession. The good confession that Timothy confessed before many witnesses (1 Timothy 6:12), Jesus Christ, in the presence of Pilate, had already borne witness to. In other words, Jesus Christ, before Pontius Pilate, bore witness by His own solemn words that He was the Messiah—the long-looked-for King of Israel. If the preposition that we, with the majority of expositors, have construed “before” (Pontius Pilate) has its local meaning here, the “witness” must be limited to the scene in the Judgment Hall—to the interview between the prisoner Jesus and the Roman governor.

Although this meaning here seems the most accurate, it is possible to understand this preposition in a temporal, not a local, signification—under (that is, in the days of) Pontius Pilate—then the “witness” was borne by the Redeemer to the fact of His being “Messiah”: first, by His own solemn words; secondly, by His voluntary death. The confession was that “He, Jesus, was a King, though not of this world” (John 18:36–37, where the noble confession is detailed). He bore His witness with a terrible death awaiting Him. It was, in some respects, a model confession for all martyrs, insofar as it was a bold confession of the truth with the sentence of death before His eyes.

But ye, brethren.—The last verse was addressed to all those whose consciences would prick them on hearing it read at the Eucharist. Now the writer turns to the orderly brethren, as quite a distinct class. The rhetorical effect of this quick apostrophe would be the same as in the well-known story of Napoleon addressing the rioters, and requesting the gentlemen to separate themselves from the canaille. The distinction is so invidious that every one would hasten to join the ranks of the respectable.

Be not weary in well doing.—This is an exhortation to “the patience of Christ,” for which the Apostle had prayed. The phrase takes for granted that they had been until now engaged in “well doing”—i.e., in acting honourably, walking honestly towards them that are without (1 Thessalonians 4:12); and St. Paul is anxious to preserve them from “fainting” (as the word is translated in Galatians 6:9), and so slipping into similar idleness and bringing scandal upon the Church.

But we are bound.—This may be called a recurrence to the subject dropped at 2 Thessalonians 1:3. The pronoun is somewhat emphatic. It might have seemed more natural to have sharpened the contrast between the Thessalonian Christians and the unhappy people just mentioned by beginning “But you.” It is, however, part of St. Paul's delicacy of sympathy to describe rather the effect upon himself and his two companions of observing that contrast. He sets himself to work the contrast out.

Beloved of the Lord.—Precisely the same phrase as in 1 Thessalonians 1:4, except for the substitution of “the Lord” for “God,” which shows the concurrence of the Eternal Son in His Father’s predestinations. As in the former passage, the tense (“who have been loved”) makes the reader think of the everlasting duration of that love (Jeremiah 31:3), and is again connected with the mystery of election.

“O love, who before life’s earliest dawn
On me your choice have gently laid.”

Hath . . . chosen.—The Greek tense should be rendered by chose, referring to the definite moment (so to speak) in the divine counsels when the choice was fixed. This moment is defined as “from the beginning,” i.e., from the eternity preceding the origin of time, called by the same name in Genesis 1:1, John 1:1, and 1 John 1:1. It does not simply mean “from the outset,” i.e., from the moment of first thinking at all about you.

The identical phrase is said not to occur again in St. Paul. It may be noticed that there is a striking variant reading in some of the manuscripts, involving the change of only one letter, which would give us (instead of “chose you from the beginning”) “chose you as firstfruits.” Compare to James 1:18; but the reading in the text is better supported.

To salvation.—This “salvation” is in contrast with the “destruction” (2 Thessalonians 1:9), “perdition” (2 Thessalonians 2:3), or “perishing” (2 Thessalonians 2:10), all of which represent the same word in the Greek. Out of the wreck of a world, God had from eternity chosen these Thessalonians to come off safely.

Through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.—This again teaches us the apostolic idea of election. It is not an absolute irreversible predestination to a particular state of happiness on which the elect is to enter after death. The “salvation” is present, begun in this life (Ephesians 2:5; Ephesians 2:8), and carried on along fixed lines, namely, “in sanctification of spirit and belief of truth” (such is the literal rendering).

The preposition “in” has here the same force as in 1 Thessalonians 4:4 and 1 Thessalonians 4:7, namely, "by way of," and "by a course of."

If, therefore, God chose the Thessalonian Christians to salvation by a course of sanctification and belief, one thing, at any rate, is clear: that if any of them should leave that course, and fall into the errors and sins denounced in the foregoing verses, then, in the Apostle's mind, they would have forfeited their salvation, in spite of God’s choice of them.

Consequently, we are forced to one of two theories: either that the man has no free will at all, the moral character of his actions depending as entirely upon God as his final destiny; or else, that the man is free, and that God singles him out to enjoy special opportunities of sanctification and of correct belief, which the man may accept or reject as he pleases.

The first of these theories lies open to the question, why, if God is responsible for the moral character of the actions of His elect and for their belief, He does not sanctify them at once and completely, and make each one infallible in doctrine; but, in any case, lax morality or creed is as incompatible with the hope of a Calvinist as with that of an orthodox Christian.

“Sanctification of spirit” seems to mean “spiritual sanctification:” an inward process, not merely outward change of conduct.

This is, of course, brought about by the action of the Holy Spirit upon our spirits; but the omission of the definite article in the Greek is difficult to explain if the “spirit” mentioned is other than the spirit acted upon.

“Belief of truth” is opposed to “believing the lie,” of 2 Thessalonians 2:11: acceptance of facts as they are, especially the deep facts of revelation, is always the great means of sanctification in Holy Scripture (John 17:17).