The Pastoral Epistles: A Verse-by-Verse Commentary

By W. E. Vine

The Pastoral Epistles are the three letters that Paul wrote to Timothy, who had pastoral oversight of the church at Ephesus, and Titus, who had pastoral oversight of a new church on the island of Crete. In these letters, Paul discusses issues church overseers should know – matters of Christian living, doctrine, and church leadership. Paul shows how various members of the Church – bishops, deacons, men, and women – should behave.
W.E. Vine's commentary on these letters is particularly rich. First is because of his own warm pastoral heart. Writing of another of Paul's letters, Vine says, "Here is the truth of God working itself out through love. Truth that saves is truth warm from the heart of God, glowing with the love that proved itself at the Cross, the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Second is because of Vine's concern for missionaries. He says, "these letters are the oldest missionary correspondence of the Christian era. They were written by one of the earliest missionaries. . . . It was, moreover, in the propagation of Christianity that its doctrines were formulated. The Faith was beaten out on the anvil of paganism by the missionaries of the cross."
W.E. Vine's commentaries excel in the rich tradition of careful, exegetical word studies and expository insight. These two commentaries use a word study approach that takes into consideration every reference to a particular word in the Bible as well as its use in contemporary and classic Greek. Pastors, scholars, or serious students of the Word will enjoy these in-depth commentaries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781912149490

Book preview

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Contents

Publisher’s Preface

List of Abbreviations

1 Timothy

Introduction

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

The Gospel of the Glory

2 Timothy

Introduction

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Titus

Introduction

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

W. E. Vine: The Theologian By F. F. Bruce

Other Books By W.E. Vine

Copyright

Publisher’s Preface

‘‘Qualified in Many Fields, Narrow in None"

Undoubtedly William Edwy Vine was qualified in many fields. As well as being a theologian and a man of outstanding academic intellect, he had a heart for all humanity that made him a master of communication.

Born in 1873, at the time when C. H. Spurgeon, D. L. Moody, and F. B. Meyer were enjoying popularity on both sides of the Atlantic, Vine was brought up in a boarding school owned by and governed by his father, who was its headmaster. This was a major contribution to his interest in teaching. At the age of 17 he was a teacher at his father’s school while attending the University College of Wales in preparation for his London University M.A. in classics.

At the age of twenty-six he spent an Easter vacation at the home of a godly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Baxendale, where he met their daughter Phoebe; a few years later, they married. It was a marriage made in heaven. They had five children: Helen, Christine, Edward (O.B.E.), Winifred, and Jeanette. During the time of their engagement, Vine’s reputation as a clear Bible expositor was growing, and before long he accepted the joint headmastership of the school with his father. In 1904, after his father died, his brother Theodore became joint headmaster with him.

It was during this time, in conjunction with Mr. C. F. Hogg, that he produced three classic works: commentaries on 1 and 2 Thessalonians, followed by Galatians. These display the full scope of Vine’s scholarship.

While Vine was teaching in the school, preparing for his M.A. and writing in-depth commentaries, he also developed a lifetime habit of teaching classes in New Testament Greek grammar. This laid the foundation for his classic work, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, and later, An Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words. More than three million copies were sold worldwide, and they are available today in Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, published by Thomas Nelson Publishers. His scholarship and clarity of expression is as relevant today as when first published.

A Bridge Builder between Missionaries Overseas and Local Churches at Home

When Vine was in his early thirties he felt God calling him to accept an invitation to share in the responsibility of a missionary work called Echoes of Service, a project that is still strong today as Echoes International. At the time of Vine’s appointment, Echoes of Service linked 600 missionaries overseas with independent churches known as The Open Brethren. He continued this work for forty years.

This responsibility inevitably meant writing tens of thousands of letters between local churches and the missionaries overseas. Many of the letters—beside being of a practical nature—involved answering theological questions. Because of the vastness of the work, the monthly magazine called Echoes of Service was one of the many means of linking overseas missionaries with the Christians and churches at home. This magazine gave news that would stimulate prayer and support for the missionaries as well as Bible teachings. At the time of W.E. Vine’s death the magazine’s circulation had nearly doubled. He also wrote regular articles for other magazines, and many of his written works grew out of these articles, including his famous Dictionaries.

Vine also did much traveling, especially to annual missionary conferences. He was well-suited to public teaching and stimulating missionary enterprises.

A Bridge Builder between Theologians and Pastors and Bible Teachers

Spurgeon, Moody, and Meyer were devotional preachers and teachers who appealed to the heart and conscience, but at the time the Bible was under attack by a new wave of critics. There were qualified theologians who were able to combat this criticism; however, many did not have Vine’s common touch. He was a theologian who understood the current academic issues but could communicate in a popular way without wasting words. Many writers in the early twentieth century were known for the number of words they used and the weight of the books they produced. To have a writer who could be simple, direct, theologically sound, and yet practical, was most welcome.

A Bridge Builder between Traditional Bible Translations and New Ones

Professor F. F. Bruce’s article introducing Vine as a theologian underscores that W.E. Vine was as familiar with the Greek manuscripts that formed the basis of the King James Version as he was with the manuscripts that were used in translating the American Revised Version and, later, the New International Version. This means that no matter which translation you use for personal study, you will find Vine’s scholarship applicable.

Expository Commentaries. Vine applies a microscopic approach to expository teaching—a word approach that takes into consideration every reference to that word in the Bible as well as its use in contemporary and classic Greek. Vine’s verse-by-verse exposition reveals a depth of understanding that commentaries many times their size fail to give. He explains the meaning of the key words in each verse and links them with the complete passage.

Analytical Outlines. The high standard of Vine’s analytical outlines are skeletons to which you can add your own Bible studies, or you can use them to form the base for group studies or sermons.

Prophetic Exposition. While many will agree with Vine’s insight into the value and meaning of prophecy, we have to realize that prophecy is a subject with varied interpretations. However, even if your own beliefs are different from Vine’s, you will appreciate his openness to God’s truth and his sense of excitement in seeing God’s prophetic will revealed. He is not an extremist, but he conveys a genuine love for the prophetic teaching of Scripture.

A Bridge Builder between Mind and Heart

Concerning the man himself, I have come to know more of him through knowing two of his daughters as well as from the local church that he and his wife attended for so many years. Many of the members still remember the Vines and their hospitality, humor, hard work, and commitment to the Word of God and missionary enterprise. The writings of W. E. Vine come from the finest intellect in combination with a devoted missionary heart, truly a rare combination.

As F.F. Bruce said, The Scriptures’ chief function is to bear witness of Christ, and the chief end of their study and exegesis is to increase our inward knowledge of Him, under the illumination of the Spirit of God. Mr. Vine, in all his study and writing, would not be content with any lower aim than this, for himself and for his readers alike.

Robert F. Hicks

Bath, England

W.E. Vine (left) and Phoebe (second from right)

and four of their five children.

List of Abbreviations

1 Timothy

A Verse-by-Verse Commentary

Introduction

The first epistle to Timothy was written during the apostle Paul’s later journeys between his two imprisonments at Rome (probably early in

a.d.

66), as was also the epistle to Titus. There is a time indication regarding the former in 1 Timothy 1-3, and to the latter in Titus 1-3. He exhorts Timothy to stay at Ephesus, as he had been doing before the occasion mentioned in that verse. The fact that he exhorted him to tarry at Ephesus, when the apostle himself was going into Macedonia, may suggest that Paul was then with him at Ephesus. But that is not necessarily the case. They may have met somewhere else, e.g., at Miletus.

In view of the condition of the assembly in Ephesus, the apostle gave instructions to his fellow worker as to his service there, and probably promised to write later. In that case, this first Epistle would be the fulfillment of his promise.

The main purpose of the epistle is stated in 3:14, 15: These things write I unto thee—that thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the House of God

(r.v.).

The apostle was not simply instructing Timothy how to behave himself (as in the

a.v.

, which is not really a right translation of the original). Nor indeed, is there any word for men. Literally the sentence is How it is necessary to behave in the House of God. The contents of the epistle as a whole make clear that the intention was to give instructions as to the conduct requisite for all members of the assembly as constituting the local church of God, the bishops and deacons, the men and the women, whether elder or younger, fathers and their households, masters and servants, those who were rich, and so on. For the local church is the pillar and ground of the truth, a testimony in the world as to the revealed will of God.

The way in which this purpose is stated marks the informal character of the epistle, as in the apostle’s other letters. At the same time, it does not consist of a miscellaneous list of instructions. There is an orderly progression of detail, with the interweaving of foundation truths concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, the whole bearing the impress of the Holy Spirit in every word and phrase. There is a deep significance in the fact that while writing upon the main subject of the epistle, the person of the Lord is revealed throughout the testimony. It contains no mention of the relationship of believers as children of God. The subject throughout is their witness in the world, individual and collective, as a local church.

Chapter One

1 Timothy 1:1-4

This chapter has four parts as follows:

1.Introductory greetings and exhortation (vv. 1-4).

2.Instruction as to the necessity for a sound gospel, as opposed to false teachings (vv. 5-16).

3.Paul’s apostolic calling (vv. 12-17).

4.A special charge to Timothy (vv. 18-20).

1:1 Paul, an apostle—The word apostle, taken direct from the Greek apostolos, signifies one who is sent. Though not among those who companied with the Lord Jesus during His earthly ministry, Paul’s commission was received direct from the ascended Lord, see 2:7; Acts 26:17; Romans 11:13; Galatians 2:7-8. The term apostle expresses his relation to Christ, in respect of the object for which he was sent. It is used of the Lord Jesus in Hebrews 3:1, and similarly describes His relation to God.

of Christ Jesus—The order of the titles is significant. The

r.v.

always gives the accurate order according to the original. The order Jesus Christ directs us from the days when He was on earth, to His exaltation. It describes Him as the One who was rejected of men, but afterwards glorified by the Father. It is thus a testimony to His resurrection, Philippians 2:11. The order Christ Jesus, points to Him as the One who had been in the glory with the Father, but who emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and endured the sufferings and death of the Cross. This order testifies to His preexistence, Philippians 2:5.

according to the commandment of God our Savior,—This expresses his call to the service of his apostleship as being given him with divine authority. It also intimates the obedience of his response. In the epistles to the Corinthians, Ephesians and Colossians, he uses the phrase through the will of God, indicating the divine source and power from whence his call was derived.

The title God our Savior appears for the first time in the pastoral epistles. The title Savior is indeed characteristic of these closing epistles, whether it is applied to God the Father, or to the Lord Jesus Christ. Its application to both marks the divine unity of all that is involved in the title. The apostle had by this time enjoyed a long experience of the delivering and preserving power of the Lord. The title Savior, then, points not only to the Lord’s redemptive work, but to the fact of His gracious care of His servants.

and Christ Jesus our hope;—The repeated order Christ Jesus, as in the

r.v.,

is in accordance with the most authoritative and ancient texts. The apostle stresses the decision and authority of Christ as Lord at the end of v. 2. As our Hope, Christ is presented as the object of the assured expectation of believers; cp. Acts 28:20; and see Colossians 1:27. The uncertainty and possible disappointment which characterize the hope of the unregenerate, are conspicuous by their absence from the hope of the Christian. This must be so, as Christ Himself is the personal embodiment of his hope. Hope has to do with that which is not yet seen, Romans 8:24, 25. Though we see not the Lord Jesus except by faith’s vision, yet believing we rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory, 1 Peter 1:8. In Him is centered our expectation of coming deliverance and glory (see 1 Thess. 1:10,

r.v.

).

1:2 unto Timothy, my true child in faith:—The word gnēsios, rendered true in the

r.v.

, signifies genuine, the opposite to that which is spurious. The apostle uses the same word in addressing Titus (1:4). In 2 Corinthians 8:8, it is translated sincerity, the adjective there being used as a noun. In Philippians 4:3, the only other place where it is found in the New Testament, both the

a.v.

and the

r.v.

translate it true. As the word is connected with that for birth, it might here be rendered true-born. Timothy became a child of God by faith, Galatians 3:26; Paul was the human instrument in his conversion, probably on his first visit to Lystra, as recorded in Acts 14.

The phrase by which he addresses him here is indicative of the tender care and affection he had shown him from the first. There is no article before faith in the original, and probably the en, translated in, signifies by.

grace, mercy, peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.—Grace is God’s free, unmerited favor toward man, despite his sin and its effects. Mercy is not added to grace in any salutation to an assembly. It is added in both the epistles to Timothy and the one to Titus, and by the apostle John in his second epistle. Jude uses the order Mercy, peace and love. Cp. 6:16.

Mercy implies need on the part of the one to whom it is shown, and especially need resulting from sin and its character. Mercy is the manifest expression of pity. The Scripture declares that God is rich in mercy, Ephesians 2:4, and consequently has provided salvation for all men. Believers are exhorted to draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that they may receive mercy, Hebrews 4:16, and consistently with that they pray for mercy for their fellow believers, as the apostle does here. They are likewise to show mercy to one another, Matthew 9:13; Luke 10:33; Jude 23,

r.v.

They are moreover to show it cheerfully, Romans 12:8.

Mercy and peace are found together always in that order in the New Testament, except in Galatians 6:16; see 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4; 2 John 3; Jude 2. In the Old Testament, truth is most frequently coupled with mercy, e.g., 2 Samuel 15:20; Psalms 85:10; 86:15; 89:14; 115:1; Proverbs 3:3; 14:22; 16:6; 20:28. Notice the opposite order in Hosea 4:1.

The

r.v.

of Psalms 25:10; 61:7, and 98:3, had lovingkindness and truth. In 101:1, judgment is associated with mercy; in Zechariah 7:9, mercy and compassion are associated.

When grace and mercy are realized in the soul, peace is sure to abound. The title God the Father is mentioned in relation only to those who through faith in Christ, have been born anew, Galatians 3:26, and see 1 John 3:1; 5:1. The phrases God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, are not found in Holy Scripture. Indeed, they are unscriptural, for they carry the suggestion that there are two other gods besides God the Father. In speaking of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, it is advisable always to adhere to the language of Scripture. Regarding the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures speak of the Son of God, and the Spirit of God. The essential and eternal deity of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and therefore the Trinity of the three in the one Godhead, are clearly taught in the word of God. That the bestowment of grace, mercy and peace is by both God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, is a testimony to the deity of Christ.

For the order of title Christ Jesus, and for the stress on the title Lord, see notes on verse 1 above. The title Lord, in its full significance, as applied to Christ, is based upon the fact of His Resurrection, Psalm 110:1; Acts 2:36; Romans 10:9; 14:9. Confession of Jesus as Lord is the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of believers, 1 Corinthians 12:3. Hereafter, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

1:3 As I exhorted thee to tarry at Ephesus, when I was going into Macedonia,—This would probably be some time after Paul’s first imprisonment at Rome, and after what is recorded in the Acts. It is to be noticed that in such a circumstance, he did not command his younger fellow missionary, he exhorted him (a better meaning than the

a.v.

, besought).

that thou mightest charge certain men not to teach a different doctrine,—Timothy had the task of checking the spread of evil doctrine. What Paul had foretold in Acts 20:29, 30, was now coming to pass. The verb heterodidaskaleō, to teach something different, is used only here and at 6:3, in the Greek Bible. Cp. the word different (heteros) in Galatians 1:6, followed by allos, another of the same sort, in verse 7; see also 2 Corinthians 11:4.

1:4 neither to give heed—The verb prosechō sometimes signifies to be attentive to, as in Acts 6:14; 8:6, more strongly, to apply oneself to, to attach oneself to, to cleave to a person or thing; this is the meaning here, as also in 4:1, and Titus 1:14. In 1 Timothy 3:8, the meaning is to be addicted to and in 4:13, to devote thought and effort to.

The danger mentioned in this verse was not merely that of giving attention to fables, etc., but rather of following such teachings by attaching oneself to the propagandists.

to fables and endless genealogies,—The two words depict the general character of the false teachings. The former, muthos, our word myth. The special application would seem to be the imaginative teaching of the rabbis, in relation to Jewish history and doctrine. The pagan Greek historian Polybius uses both these words with reference to the legends surrounding the origin of the founders of states. In the same way, the false teachers in Ephesus were representing the value of legendary stories relating to the ancestors of the Jewish people. There are genealogies in the Old Testament which have their own value, being divinely provided, a value, indeed, greater than what is generally realized. But to these were added a number of fabricated lists and speculative genealogical traditions and allegories, the extensive nature of which is indicated by the word endless.

the which minister questionings,—The word parechō, which primarily means to offer, has here the fuller significance of providing and so occasioning, a thing. The word zētēsis, from the verb zēteō, to seek, signifies not simply questions

(a.v.)

but questionings which provoke controversy and disputations.

Similar dangers exist today from fanciful interpretations and imaginative applications of the historical facts recorded in Scripture, and unfounded deductions from its truths.

rather than a dispensation of God—The word dispensation is frequently used as if it meant an age or period, characterized by some particular feature or event; but that is not the meaning of the word. A dispensation is something that is dispensed, and a dispensation of God is that which is ministered by God, and which consists of teaching relative to God’s dealings with the world and with His people; such a dispensation involves a stewardship on the part of one who handles these truths.

which is in faith;—This defines the character of the dispensation in its application to those who receive the truth and pass it on. Both the reception and the teaching were to be matters of faith in God, faith which takes God at His word, in contrast to an effort to be wise above that which is written. The handling of the Scriptures is ever to be a matter of simple dependence upon God, in the humble spirit that receives the teaching from Him and realizes the solemn responsibility of ministering the word of truth for the instruction of others.

so do I now.—For this, see the beginning of verse 3.

The Need of a Sound Gospel

1 Timothy 1:5-11

1:5 But the end of the charge—The word telos, which most frequently denotes a termination, has here its other significance of a purpose or aim, and thus stands in relation to what has preceded in verse 4.

The word parangelia, a charge, signifies a command given by a superior, to be transmitted to others by the recipient. The charge here spoken of does not seem to be simply that conveyed by the corresponding verb in verse 3, it rather embraces all the Christian doctrine, which Timothy was to maintain and pass on to others. Cp. Acts 5:28; 16:24; 1 Thessalonians 4:2, where it is used in the plural.

is love—That is, love to fellow believers, and to all to whom the truth is ministered. The ministry of one who handles the truth is to be dominated and characterized by love. Since God’s love has been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, Romans 5:5, it is designed to find its refection in the life and conduct of the believer. The ministry of the Scriptures is never to be a matter of cold theology. The heart must be aglow with the impulse of divine love. Its source and character, in the human channel of its exercise, is described in what follows in this verse.

Agapē, love, and the corresponding verb agapaō, to love, are to be distinguished from philia and the verb phileō. The first noun and verb lay stress upon the practical side of love; the last stress more the emotional side. Both verbs are used in the Septuagint of Genesis 37, agapaō in verse 3, phileō in verse 4. The two are used together in Proverbs 8:17. Even in these passages, the distinction may be observed. It is very marked in John 21:15, 17, where the Lord stresses the practical side of love in using the