John Calvin 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 charge you The great vehemence of this solemn appeal, which Paul employs, is a proof of how rare and difficult a virtue it is to persevere properly in the ministry until the end. For, although he exhorts others by addressing Timothy, he also addresses Timothy himself.

Before God, who quickens all things What He affirms concerning Christ and God is directly related to the present subject. For when Paul ascribes to God that He quickens all things, he wishes to meet the offense of the cross, which presents to us only the appearance of death. He therefore means that we should shut our eyes when ungodly men present death and threaten it; or rather, that we should fix our eyes on God alone, because it is He who restores the dead to life.

The sum of it all is that, turning our gaze away from the world, we should learn to look to God alone.

And Christ Jesus, who testified a good confession before Pontius Pilate. What Paul now adds about Christ contains a remarkable confirmation. For we are taught that we are not in the school of Plato, to learn philosophy from him and to hear him discoursing in the shade about idle disputes; rather, the doctrine that Timothy professes was ratified by the death of the Son of God.

Christ made His confession before Pilate, not with many words, but in reality—that is, by undergoing a voluntary death. For although Christ chose to be silent before Pilate, rather than speak in His own defense, because He had come there—already destined for certain condemnation—yet in His silence there was a defense of His doctrine no less magnificent than if He had defended Himself with a loud voice. He ratified it by His blood and by the sacrifice of His death, better than He could have ratified it by His voice.

The Apostle calls this confession good. For Socrates also died, and yet his death was not a satisfactory proof of the doctrine which he held. But when we hear that the blood of the Son of God was shed, that is an authentic seal which removes all our doubt. Accordingly, whenever our hearts waver, let us remember that we should always go to the death of Christ for confirmation. What cowardice would there be in deserting such a leader going before us to show us the way!