Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Timothy 6:14

"that thou keep the commandment, without spot, without reproach, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:" — 1 Timothy 6:14 (ASV)

That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable.—Here St. Paul specifies the charge he was commending with such earnest, solemn language to his disciple and representative at Ephesus. It was that he should keep the commandment without spot, unrebukeable.

The commandment was the teaching of Jesus Christ, the gospel message, that was to be proclaimed in all its fullness; and so that this might be done effectively, it was necessary that the life of its preacher should be without flaw—blameless. In other words, it was absolutely essential that the chief pastor in Ephesus should live the life he preached. There were those (the false teachers of whom he had been speaking, well known to Timothy) whose lives had dishonored the glorious commandment they professed to love and teach.

Until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.—The speedy return of the Lord in glory was, no doubt, looked for in the Church of the early days. The expressions of 1 Thessalonians 4:15–18 evidently were written at a time when the second advent of Messiah was regarded as probably near.

By slow degrees—as one great teacher of the early days after another fell asleep in Jesus, the first generation of believers was rapidly passing away, and no new sign of the coming in glory was manifested—the strong expressions used in the initial fervor that followed Pentecost morning began to be qualified. This is seen in this Epistle (written late in St. Paul’s life) through words that seemed to say to Timothy: “Keep the Master’s commandment pure and blameless until the hour of that glorious Epiphany which you will possibly behold.”

Whereunto.—From the neuter gender of the relative in the Greek, we see that the antecedent in St. Paul’s mind is not precisely “belief of truth,” nor precisely “sanctification of spirit,” nor even precisely “salvation.” Instead, it is the general state of life composed of these three ideas—“to which thing He called you.” The election or choice takes place in eternity (2 Thessalonians 2:13); the call occurs at that point in time when individuals first hear the gospel .

By our gospel—that is, of course, “by our bringing you the happy message”—the historical delivery of the message is emphasized rather than its contents.

To the obtaining of the glory of our Lord.—Almost all the ancient commentators render it as “for obtaining glory for our Lord.” St. Chrysostom says, beautifully: “This is no small thing either, if Christ considers our salvation His glory. It is, indeed, a glory to the lover of humankind that the number of those who are being saved should be large.” However, this interpretation is not as grammatically straightforward as our own, nor does it fit the context as well.

St. Paul is encouraging his readers with the same thought of their destiny that he put forward in 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12—the identity of the joy of the Redeemer and the redeemed (Matthew 25:23). It should be noted that God did not call them directly to the glory of our Lord, but to the obtaining of it. This obtaining does not mean a passive receiving of glory on the last day, but a laborious course of earning or purchasing it during this life. The word is the same as that used in 1 Thessalonians 5:9 (see the note on that verse).

And if any man,—An appeal to the right-minded, not only to persevere themselves, but to join with the overseers of their Church in enforcing discipline, as in 1 Thessalonians 5:12–15.

By this epistle.—Rightly rendered. The marginal version, “by an Epistle,” is impossible, for in the Greek the definite article appears. It might, if the context suited, be attached to the following clause, instead of the preceding, and translated, “by means of the Epistle signify that man,” meaning “in your answer.”

But there is nothing to show that St. Paul was expecting any answer; and, for another thing, he has given them full directions for dealing with the case themselves, so that it would be superfluous to send the particulars to St. Paul. For several other weighty reasons it is best to attach the words to the hypothetical clause; and the sense will be, “There can be no excuse now. It was possible to forget or misinterpret our verbal tradition, painstaking and definite though it was; possible also to ignore the example which we set; but now you have it in black and white, and the man who does not submit to our directions in this form must be visited severely.”

There are at least three places besides this in St. Paul’s writings where “the Epistle” stands absolutely for “the present Epistle,” namely, Romans 16:22; Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27. Possibly a fourth might be added, 1 Corinthians 5:9. Only once, in a very clear context, does it refer to a former Letter (2 Corinthians 7:8).

Note that man.—The reflexive voice of the verb implies mutual warning against him: “Agree to set a mark upon him, to make a marked man of him.” The notion is that of making him easily recognisable, so that no Christian should “have company” with him unawares. (Compare to Genesis 4:15.) The word and the thought in Romans 16:17 are slightly different. The best text goes on abruptly, without conjunction: “Note that man; have no company with him.” This social extrusion from good men’s conversation, not to speak of the Sacraments, would, to a Christian in a heathen city, be indeed a delivering to Satan, a thrusting into outer darkness.

That he may be ashamed—that is, put to shame. Compare to 1 Corinthians 6:5; 1 Corinthians 15:34; Titus 2:8; and (for the end to be served by this shame) the first clause of the Commination of Sinners.