        
- CLARKE'S COMMENTARY -
Chapter 6
- Of the duty of servants, 1,2.
- Of false teachers,
who suppose gain to be godliness, 3-5.
- Of true
godliness, and contentment, 6-8.
- Of those, and their
dangerous state, who determine to be rich; and of the
love of money, 9,10.
- Timothy is exhorted to fight the
good fight of faith, and to keep the charge delivered
to him, 11-14.
- A sublime description of the majesty of
God, 15,16.
- How the rich should behave themselves; and
the use they should make of their property, 17-19.
- Timothy is once more exhorted to keep what was committed to
his trust; and to avoid profane babblings, through
which some have erred from the faith, 20,21.
Verse 1.
Let as many servants as are
under the yoke
The word here means
slaves converted to the Christian faith; and the
yoke, is the state of slavery; and by
masters, despots, we are to understand the heathen
masters of those Christianized slaves. Even these, in such
circumstances, and under such domination, are commanded to
treat their masters with all honour and respect, that the name
of God, by which they were called, and the doctrine of God,
Christianity, which they had professed, might not be
blasphemed-might not be evilly spoken of in consequence of
their improper conduct. Civil rights are never abolished by
any communications from God's Spirit. The civil state in which
a man was before his conversion is not altered by that
conversion; nor does the grace of God absolve him from any
claims, which either the state or his neighbour may have on
him. All these outward things continue unaltered. See Clarke
on Ephesians
6:5. and "1 Corinthians 7:21",
Verse 2. \
And they that have
believing masters
Who have been lately
converted as well as themselves.
Let them not despise
them
Supposing themselves to be their equals,
because they are their brethren in Christ; and grounding their
opinion on this, that in him there is neither male nor
female, bond nor free; for, although all are equal as
to their spiritual privileges and state, yet there
still continues in the order of God's providence a great
disparity of their station: the master must ever
be in this sense superior to the servant.
But rather do them
service
Obey them the more cheerfully,
because they are faithful and beloved; faithful
to God's grace, beloved by him and his true followers.
Partakers of the
benefit. 
doctrine is expressed, 1 Timothy
4:7,8, as also in the 6th verse of this chapter. 1 Timothy
6:6
• CLARKE Top
Verse 3. If any man teach
otherwise
It appears that there were
teachers of a different kind in the Church, a sort of
religious levellers, who preached that the converted
servant had as much right to the master's service as the
master had to his. Teachers of this kind have been in vogue
long since the days of Paul and Timothy.
And consent not to wholesome
words
 Healing
doctrines-doctrines which give nourishment and
health to the soul, which is the true character of all
the doctrines taught by our Lord Jesus Christ; doctrines which
are according to godliness-securing as amply the
honour and glory of God, as they do the peace, happiness, and
final salvation of man.
All this may refer to the general tenor of the Gospel; and
not to any thing said, or supposed to have been said, by
our Lord, relative to the condition of slaves. With
political questions, or questions relative to private
rights, our Lord scarcely ever meddled; he taught all
men to love one another; to respect each other's
rights; to submit to each other; to show all fidelity; to be
obedient, humble, and meek; and to know that his kingdom was
not of this world.
Verse 4. He is proud
He is blown up, or inflated with
a vain opinion of his own knowledge; whereas his knowledge is
foolishness, for he knows nothing.
Doting about
questions
He is sick, distempered,
about these questions relative to the Mosaic law and the
traditions of the elders; for it is most evident that the
apostle has the Judaizing teachers in view, who
were ever, in questions of theology, straining out a gnat, and
swallowing a camel.
Strifes of words
Logomachies; verbal contentions;
splitting hairs; producing Hillel against
Shammai, and Shammai against Hillel,
relative to the particular mode in which the punctilios of
some rites should be performed. In this sort of sublime
nonsense the works of the Jewish rabbins abound.
Whereof cometh envy, strife,
How little good have religious disputes
ever done to mankind, or to the cause of truth! Most
controversialists have succeeded in getting their own tempers
soured, and in irritating their opponents.
Indeed, truth seems rarely to be the object of their pursuit;
they labour to accredit their own party by abusing and
defaming others; from generals they often descend to
particulars; and then personal abuse is the
order of the day. Is it not strange that Christians either
cannot or will not see this? Cannot any man support his own
opinions, and give his own views of the religion of Christ,
without abusing and calumniating his neighbour? I know not
whether such controversialists should not be deemed
disturbers of the public peace, and come under
the notice of the civil magistrate. Should not all Christians
know that the wrath of man worketh not the
righteousness of the Lord?
• CLARKE Top
Verse 5. Perverse disputings of men
of corrupt minds
Disputations that cannot
be settled, because their partisans will not listen to the
truth; and they will not listen to the truth because their
minds are corrupt. Both under the law and
under the Gospel the true religion was: Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind,
and strength; and thy neighbour as thyself. Where,
therefore, the love of God and man does not prevail,
there there is no religion. Such corrupt disputers are
as destitute of the truth as they are of love to God
and man.
Supposing that gain is
godliness
Professing religion only for the
sake of secular profit; defending their own cause for the
emoluments it produced; and having no respect to another
world.
From such withdraw
thyself
Have no religions fellowship with
such people. But this clause is wanting in AD*FG, some others,
the Coptic, Sahidic, AEthiopic, Vulgate, and
Itala, one copy excepted. It is probably spurious.
• CLARKE Top
Verse 6. But godliness with
contentment is great gain.
The word
godliness,  here, and in several other places
of this epistle, signifies the true religion,
Christianity; and the word contentment,
signifies a competency, a
sufficiency; that measure or portion of secular things
which is necessary for the support of life, while the great
work of regeneration is carrying on in the soul. Not what this
or the other person may deem a competency, but what is
necessary for the mere purposes of life in reference to
another world; food, raiment, and
lodging. See 1 Timothy
6:7. So, if a man have the life of God in his soul, and
just a sufficiency of food and raiment to preserve and not
burden life, he has what God calls great gain, an
abundant portion.
It requires but little of this world's goods to satisfy a
man who feels himself to be a citizen of another country, and
knows that this is not his rest.
Verse 7. We brought nothing into
this world
There are some sayings in
Seneca which are almost verbatim with this of St. Paul:
Nemo nascitur dives; quisquis exit in lucem jussus est
lacte et panno esse contentus; Epist. xx, "No man is
born rich; every one that comes into the world is commanded to
be content with food and raiment." Excutit natura
redeuntem, sicut intrantem; non licet plus auferre,
quam intuleris; Epist., cap. ii. "Nature, in returning,
shakes off all incumbrances as in entering; thou canst not
carry back more than thou broughtest in." Seneca and St. Paul
were contemporary; but all the Greek and Latin poets, and
especially the stoic philosophers, are full of such
sentiments. It is a self-evident truth; relative to it there
can be no controversy.
Verse 8. Having food and raiment,
let us be therewith content.
Let us consider this a competency. And it is evident
that the apostle considers this a competency, and by these
words explains what he said 1 Timothy
6:6.
The word  which we translate raiment,
signifies covering in general; and here means
house or lodging, as well as clothing.
• CLARKE Top
Verse 9. But they that will be
rich
The words are
emphatic, and refer to persons who are
determined to get riches; who make this their
object and aim in life; who live to get money;
who get all they can, save all they can, and keep all they
get; and yet are apprehensive of no danger, because they seek
to be rich by honest means; for it is likely that the
apostle does not refer to those who wish to get riches by
robbery, plunder, extortion,
By the term rich it is very likely that the apostle
refers to what he had said above: Having food and raiment,
let us be therewith content. He that has more than
these is rich in the sense in which the apostle uses
the term.
Fall into temptation and a
snare
Of the devil, is
added by D*FG, Vulgate, Itala, and many of the
fathers. It is in consequence of the temptation of
the devil that they have determined to be rich; this
temptation once received, others quickly succeed: and when
they have swallowed down the temptation to the thing,
then they drink in a thousand temptations to the means;
and all these lead them into an unforeseen and
concealed trap. It signifies a net, trap, gin, snare,
springe, or pit dug in the ground filled with sharp stakes,
and slightly covered over; so that when a man, or any animal,
steps upon it, he tumbles in, and is taken or destroyed. Such
a snare is that into which those who will be rich must
necessarily fall. But who will believe this? See Clarke on 1 Timothy
6:10.
And into many foolish and
hurtful lusts
The whole conduct of such a
person is a tissue of folly; scraping, gathering, and
heaping up riches, and scarcely affording to take the
necessaries of life out of them for himself. These lusts or
desires are not only foolish, but they are
hurtful; the mind is debased and narrowed by them;
benevolent and generous feelings become extinct; charity
perishes; and selfishness, the last and lowest
principle in mental degradation, absorbs the soul; for these
foolish and hurtful lusts drown men in destruction
and perdition-the soul is destroyed by them
here, and brought through them into a state of
perdition hereafter. The apostle considers these
persons like mariners in a storm; by the concurrence of winds,
waves, and tide, they are violently driven among the rocks,
the vessel is dashed to pieces, and in a moment they are all
ingulfed in the great deep! Such is the lot and unavoidable
catastrophe of them that will be rich, even though they
should strive to accomplish their desires by means the most
rigidly honest.
In this place I beg leave to refer the reader to a
sermon on this text by the late Rev. JOHN WESLEY, in
which the whole of this subject is treated by the hand of a
master; and, for usefulness, the sermon is superior to every
thing of the kind ever published. It is entitled, The
Danger of Riches; and is found in his WORKS, Vol. 2, page
248, American edit.
Verse 10. The love of money is the
root of all evil
evils enumerated above; for it cannot be true that
the love of money is the root of all evil, it certainly
was not the root whence the transgression of Adam sprang, but
it is the root whence all the evils mentioned in the preceding
verse spring. This text has been often very incautiously
quoted; for how often do we hear," The Scripture says,
Money is the root of all evil!" No, the
Scripture says no such thing. Money is the root of
no evil, nor is it an evil of any kind; but the
love of it is the root of all the evils mentioned here.
While some coveted
after
Have erred from the
faith
Have totally
erred-have made a most fatal and ruinous departure from
the religion of Christ.
And pierced themselves through
with many sorrows.
The word 
signifies to be transfixed in every part; and is an
allusion to one of those snares,  mentioned 1 Timothy
6:9, where a hole is dug in the earth, and filled full of
sharp stakes, and, being slightly covered over with turf, is
not perceived; and whatever steps on it falls in, and is
pierced through and through with these sharp
stakes, the  the many
torments, mentioned by the apostle. See Clarke on 1 Timothy
6:9.
• CLARKE Top
Verse 11. But thou, O man of
God
Thou, who hast taken God for thy
portion, and art seeking a city that hath foundations, whose
builder is the living God, flee these things. Escape
for thy life. Even thou art not out of the reach of the
love of money. How many of the ministers of
religion have been ruined by this! And how much has religion
itself suffered by their love of money!
Follow after
righteousness
Justice and uprightness in
all thy dealings with men. Godliness-a thorough
conformity to the image of God and mind of Christ.
Faith in Jesus, and in all that he has spoken; and
fidelity to the talents thou hast received, and the
office with which thou art intrusted.
Love
To God and
all mankind. Patience in all trials and afflictions.
Meekness.
Bearing up with an even mind under all adversities
and contradictions.
Verse 12. Fight the good fight of
faith
"Agonize the good agony." Thou hast a
contest to sustain in which thy honour, thy life, thy
soul, are at stake. Live the Gospel, and defend the cause of
God. Unmask hypocrites, expel the profligate, purge and build
up the Church, live in the spirit of thy religion, and give
thyself wholly to this work.
Lay hold on eternal
life
All this is in allusion to the
exercises in the public Grecian games: Fight, conquer, and
seize upon the prize; carry off the crown of eternal life!
Whereunto thou art also
called
The allusion to the public games is
still carried on: Thou hast been called into this
palaestra; thou hast been accepted as one proper to
enter the lists with any antagonists that may offer; in the
presence of many witnesses thou hast taken the
necessary engagements upon thee, and submitted to be
governed by the laws of the stadium; many eyes are upon
thee, to see whether thou wilt fight manfully, and be
faithful. Timothy's faith was undoubtedly tried by severe
persecution. In Hebrews
13:23, it is said: Know ye that our brother Timothy is
set at liberty. Hence it appears that he was
imprisoned for the testimony of Christ, and perhaps it
was then, more than at his ordination, that he
made the good confession here mentioned. He risked his
life and conquered. If not a martyr, he was a
confessor.
Verse 13. I give thee
charge
This is similar to that in 1 Timothy
5:21of the preceding chapter, where see the note.
Who quickeneth all
things
God, who is the fountain of life,
and who is the resurrection; and who will raise thee up at the
last day to a life of ineffable glory, if thou be faithful
unto death. And should thy life fall a sacrifice to the
performance of thy duty, all will be safe; for thy life is hid
with Christ in God, and when he who is thy life shall appear,
then shalt thou also appear with him in glory! Thy kingdom is
not of this world; remember that this good confession was made
by thy Master before Pilate. Keep disentangled from all
earthly things, live to and for God, and all will be well.
A good confession
The confession made by Christ before Pontius Pilate is,
that he was Messiah the King; but that his
kingdom was not of this world; and that hereafter he
should be seen coming in the clouds of heaven to judge
the quick and dead. See John
18:36,37; and ; Mark
14:61,62.
Verse 14. That thou keep this
commandment without spot
Two
things are mentioned here: 1. That the commandment
itself-the whole doctrine of Christ, should be kept
entire. 2. That his life should be agreeable to
that doctrine. Keep it without spot-let there be
no blot on the sacred book; add nothing to it;
take nothing from it; change nothing in
it. Deliver down to thy successors the truth as thou hast had
it from God himself.
Unrebukable
Let
there be nothing in thy conduct or spirit
contrary to this truth. Keep the truth, and the truth will
keep thee.
Until the appearing of our
Lord
Hand it down pure, and let thy conduct
be a comment on it, that it may continue in the world and in
the Church till the coming of Christ.
• CLARKE Top
Verse 15. Which in his times he
shall show
Jesus will appear in the most
proper time; the time which the infinite God in his wisdom
has appointed for the second coming of his Son.
The blessed and only
Potentate
"O King of kings! most Blessed of the blessed! most Perfect
of the perfect!"
Verse 16. Who only hath
immortality
All beings that are not
eternal must be mutable; but there can be only
one eternal Being, that is God; and he only can have
immortality.
Dwelling in the light which no man
can approach unto
All this is said by the
apostle in three words  inhabiting
unapproachable light. Such is the excessive glory of God,
that neither angel nor man can approach it. It is indeed
equally unapproachable to all created beings.
Whom no man hath seen, nor can
see
Moses himself could only see the symbol
of the Divine presence; but the face of God no man
could ever see. Because he is infinite and eternal, therefore
he is incomprehensible; and if incomprehensible to the
mind, consequently invisible to the eye.
To whom
As the
author of being, and the dispenser of all good, be ascribed
honour and power-the sole authority of all-pervading,
all-superintending, all-preserving, and everlasting might.
The words of St. Paul are inimitably sublime. It is a doubt
whether human language can be carried much higher, even under
the influence of inspiration, in a description of the supreme
Being. It is well known that St. Paul had read the Greek
poets. He quotes Aratus, Epimenides, and
Menander; this is allowed on all hands. But does he not
quote, or refer to, AEschylus and Sophocles too?
Scarcely any person suspects this; and yet there is such a
complete similarity between the following quotations from the
above poets and the apostle's words, that we are almost
persuaded he had them in his eye. But if so, he extends the
thought infinitely higher, by language incomparably more
exalted. I shall introduce and compare with the text the
passages I refer to. Ver. 16.
In the Antigone of SOPHOCLES there is a sublime address to
Jove, of which the following is an extract:
 Brunk.
"But thou, an ever-during Potentate, dost inhabit the
refulgent splendour of Olympus!"
This passage is grand and noble; but how insignificant does
it appear when contrasted with the superior sublimity of the
inspired writer! The deity of Sophocles dwells in the dazzling
splendour of heaven; but the God of Paul inhabits light so
dazzling and so resplendent that it is perfectly
unapproachable!
Synesius, in his third hymn, has a fine idea on the mode of
God's existence, which very probably he borrowed from St.
Paul:-
All these are excellent, but they are stars of the
twelfth magnitude before the apostolic SUN.
See a quotation from Euripides, 2 Timothy
4:8.
• CLARKE Top
Verse 17. Charge them that are
rich
He had before, in 1 Timothy
6:9,10, given them a very awful lesson concerning their
obtaining riches; and now he gives them one equally so
concerning their use of them.
That they be not
high-minded
That they do not value
themselves on account of their wealth, for this adds nothing
to mind or moral worth.
Nor trust in uncertain
riches
 The uncertainty of
riches; things which are never at a stay, are ever
changing, and seldom continue long with one proprietor;
therefore, as well as on many other accounts, they are not to
be trusted in: they cannot give happiness, because they are
not fixed and permanent; neither can they meet
the wishes of an immortal spirit; but in the living
God, who is the unchangeable fountain of perfection.
Who giveth us richly all things to
enjoy
Who not only has all good, but
dispenses it liberally for the supply of the wants of all his
creatures; and he does not give merely what is
necessary, but he gives what tends to render life
comfortable. The comforts of life come from God,
as well as the necessaries. He not only gives us a bare
subsistence, but he gives us enjoyments. Were it
not for the oppression and rapine of wicked men, every
situation and state in life would be comparatively
comfortable. God gives liberally; man divides it badly.
Verse 18. That they do
good
That they relieve the wants of their
fellow creatures, according to the abundance which God has
given them. The highest luxury a human being can enjoy on this
side of the grave.
Rich in good works
That their good works may be as abundant as their riches.
Ready to distribute
 That they give nothing through
partiality or favour, but be guided in their distribution by
the necessities of the objects presented to them; and that
they confine not their charity at home, but scatter it abroad.
Willing to
communicate
 Bringing every
poor person into a state of fellowship with themselves.
Verse 19. Laying up in store for
themselves a good foundation
St. Paul seems
to have borrowed this form of speech from Tobit. See chap. iv.
8,9: 
The sentiment is the same
in both writers; the words nearly so; and the meaning is
simply this, as it is judiciously paraphrased by Mr. J. Wesley
in his note on this passage: "Treasuring up for themselves
a good foundation, of an abundant reward by the
free mercy of God, that they may lay hold on eternal
life. This cannot be done by almsdeeds; yet, they come
up for a memorial before God; Acts
10:4. And the lack even of this may be the cause
why God will withhold grace and salvation from us." Christ has
said: Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain
mercy. They who have not been merciful according to their
power, shall not obtain mercy; they that have, shall obtain
mercy: and yet the eternal life which they obtain they look
for from the mercy of God through Jesus Christ.
• CLARKE Top
Verse 20. O Timothy, keep that which
is committed to thy trust
This is
another repetition of the apostolic charge. (See 1 Timothy
1:5,18,19; ; 4:6,7,14-16;
; 5:21;;
6:13.)
Carefully preserve that doctrine which I have delivered to
thee. Nothing can be more solemn and affectionate than this
charge.
Avoiding profane and vain
babblings
See Clarke on 1 Timothy
1:4. and "1 Timothy 4:7".
And oppositions of science falsely
so called
 And oppositions of knowledge falsely
so named. Dr. Macknight's note here is worthy of
much attention: "In the enumeration of the different kinds of
inspiration bestowed on the first preachers of the Gospel, 1 Corinthians
12:8, we find the word of knowledge mentioned; by
which is meant that kind of inspiration which gave to the
apostles and superior Christian prophets the knowledge of
the true meaning of the Jewish Scriptures.
This inspiration the false teachers pretending to
possess, dignified their misinterpretations of the ancient
Scriptures with the name of knowledge, that is,
inspired knowledge; for the word signifies, 1 Corinthians
14:6. And as by these interpretations they endeavoured to
establish the efficacy of the Levitical atonements, the
apostle very properly termed these interpretations
oppositions of knowledge, because they were framed to
establish doctrines opposite to, and subversive of, the
Gospel. To destroy the credit of these teachers, he affirmed
that the knowledge from which they proceeded was
falsely called inspired knowledge; for they were
not inspired with the knowledge of the meaning of the
Scriptures, but only pretended to it." Others think that the
apostle has the Gnostics in view. But it is not clear
that these heretics, or whatever they were, had any proper
existence at this time. On the whole, Dr. Macknight's
interpretation seems to be the best.
Verse 21. Which some
professing
Which inspired knowledge
some pretending to, have set up Levitical rites in
opposition to the great Christian sacrifice, and
consequently have erred concerning the
faith-have completely mistaken the whole design of the
Gospel. See 1 Timothy
1:6,7.
Grace be with
thee.
May the favour and influence of God
be with thee, and preserve thee from these and all other
errors!
Amen.
This
word, as in former cases, is wanting in the most ancient MSS.
In a majority of cases it appears to have been added by
different transcribers nearly in the same way in which we add
the word FINIS, simply to indicate the end of the work.
The subscriptions as usual are various. The
following are the most remarkable afforded by the MSS.:-
The first to Timothy is completed; the second to Timothy
begins.-DE. The First Epistle to Timothy is completed; the
second to him begins.-G. The first to Timothy, written from
Laodicea.-A. The first to Timothy, written from
Ladikia.-CLAROMONT. Written from Laodicea, which is the
metropolis of Phrygia.-The first to Timothy, written from
Laodicea, which is the metropolis of Phrygia of
Pacatiana.-Common GREEK TEXT, and several MSS. Instead
of Pacatiana, some have Pancatiana, Capatiana,
and Paracatiana.
The VERSIONS are not less discordant:-
The First Epistle to Timothy, which, was written from
Laodicea.-SYR.
The VULGATE has no subscription.
The end of the epistle. It was written from Laodicea, which
is the metropolis of the cities of Phrygia.-ARAB.
To the man Timothy.-AETHIOPIC.
The First Epistle to Timothy, written from Athens.-ARABIC
of Erpenius.
Written from Athens, and sent by Titus, his
disciple.-COPTIC.
Written from Macedonia.-AUCTOR SYNOPS.
The First Epistle to Timothy is ended. It was written from
Laodicea, the metropolis of Phrygia of Pacatiana.-PHILOXENIAN
SYRIAC.
There is one authority in Griesbach, Mt. c., for its
being written from NICOPOLIS. This is the opinion also of Dr.
Macknight.
That the epistle was not written from Laodicea nor
Athens, but from Macedonia, has been rendered probable
by the arguments produced in the preface, to which the reader
is referred for this and the date of the epistle itself.
IN reviewing the whole of this epistle, I cannot help
considering it of the first consequence to the Church of God.
In it we see more clearly than elsewhere what the
ministers of the Gospel should be, and what is the
character of the true Church. Bishops,
presbyters, and deacons are particularly described;
and their qualifications so circumstantially detailed, that it
is impossible to be ignorant on this head. What the
Church should be is also particularly stated; it is the
house of the living God; the place where he lives, works, and
manifests himself. The doctrines and discipline
of the Church are not less specifically noted. All these
subjects are considered at large in the notes, and here
nothing need be added.
Should it be said, the apostle, in giving the
qualifications of a bishop, "nowhere insists on human
learning," it may be answered in general, that no
ignorant person in those times could have possibly got
admittance into the Church as a teacher of Christianity. Every
person, acknowledged as a teacher, was himself well taught in
the word of God, and well taught by the Spirit of God; and
much teaching of the Divine Spirit was then necessary, as the
New Testament Scriptures were not then completed; and, if we
were to allow the earlier date of this epistle,
scarcely any part of the New Testament had then been written.
The gospels had not come as yet into general
circulation; and only a few of St. Paul's epistles, viz. those
to the Thessalonians, and that to the Galatians, and the first
to the Corinthians, had been written before the year 56. At
such times much must have been done by immediate revelations,
and a frequent communication of miraculous powers.
It is natural for men to run into extremes; and there is no
subject on which they have run into wider extremes than that
of the necessity of human learning; for in order to a proper
understanding of the sacred Scriptures, on one hand, all
learning has been cried down, and the necessity of the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as the sole interpreter,
strongly and vehemently argued. On the other, all
inspiration has been set aside, the possibility
of it questioned, and all pretensions to it ridiculed in a way
savouring little of Christian charity or reverence for God.
That there is a middle way from which these extremes are
equally distant, every candid man who believes the Bible must
allow. That there is an inspiration of the Spirit which every
conscientious Christian may claim, and without which no man
can be a Christian, is sufficiently established by innumerable
scriptures, and by the uninterrupted and universal testimony
of the Church of God; this has been frequently proved in the
preceding notes. If any one, professing to be a preacher of
the Gospel of Jesus, denies, speaks, or writes against this,
he only gives awful proof to the Christian Church how utterly
unqualified he is for his sacred function. He is not
sent by God, and therefore he shall not profit the people at
all. With such, human learning is all in all; it is to be a
substitute for the unction of Christ, and the grace and
influences of the Holy Spirit.
But while we flee from such sentiments, as from the
influence of a pestilential vapour, shall we join with those
who decry learning and science, absolutely denying them to be
of any service in the work of the ministry, and often going so
far as to assert that they are dangerous and subversive of the
truly Christian temper and spirit, engendering little besides
pride, self-sufficiency, and intolerance?
That there have been pretenders to learning, proud
and intolerant, we have too many proofs of the fact to doubt
it; and that there have been pretenders to Divine
inspiration, not less so, we have also many facts to
prove. But such are only pretenders; for a truly
learned man is ever humble and complacent, and one who is
under the influence of the Divine Spirit is ever meek, gentle,
and easy to be entreated. The proud and the insolent are
neither Christians nor scholars. Both religion and learning
disclaim them, as being a disgrace to both.
But what is that learning which may be a useful handmaid to
religion in the ministry of the Gospel? Perhaps we may find an
answer to this important question in one of the qualifications
which the apostle requires in a Christian minister, 1 Timothy
3:2: He should be apt to teach-capable of teaching
others. See the note. Now, if he be capable of teaching
others, he must be well instructed himself; and in order to
this he will need all the learning that, in the course of the
Divine providence, he is able to acquire. But it is not the
ability merely to interpret a few Greek and
Latin authors that can constitute a man a
scholar, or qualify him to teach the Gospel. Thousands
have this knowledge who are neither wise unto salvation
themselves, nor capable of leading those who are astray into
the path of life. Learning is a word of extensive
import; it signifies knowledge and experience;
the knowledge of God and of nature in general, and of man in
particular; of man in all his relations and connections; his
history in all the periods of his being, and in all the
places of his existence; the means used by Divine
providence for his support; the manner in which he has been
led to employ the powers and faculties assigned to him by his
Maker; and the various dispensations of grace and mercy by
which he has been favoured. To acquire this knowledge,
an acquaintance with some languages, which have long ceased to
be vernacular, is often not only highly expedient, but in some
cases indispensably necessary. But how few of those who
pretend most to learning, and who have spent both much time
and much money in seats of literature in order to obtain it,
have got this knowledge! All that many of them have
gained is merely the means of acquiring it; with this
they become satisfied, and most ignorantly call it
learning. These resemble persons who carry large
unlighted tapers in their hand, and boast how well qualified
they are to give light to them who sit in darkness, while they
neither emit light nor heat, and are incapable of kindling the
taper they hold. Learning, in one proper sense of the word, is
the means of acquiring knowledge; but multitudes who have the
means seem utterly unacquainted with their use,
and live and die in a learned ignorance. Human
learning, properly applied and sanctified by the Divine
Spirit, is of inconceivable benefit to a Christian minister in
teaching and defending the truth of God. No man possessed more
of it in his day than St. Paul, and no man better knew its
use. In this, as well as in many other excellences, he is a
most worthy pattern to all the preachers of the Gospel. By
learning a man may acquire knowledge; by knowledge reduced to
practice, experience; and from knowledge and experience
wisdom is derived. The learning that is got from books
or the study of languages is of little use to any man, and is
of no estimation, unless practically applied to the purposes
of life. He whose learning and knowledge have enabled him to
do good among men, and who lives to promote the glory of God
and the welfare of his fellow creatures, can alone, of all the
literati, expect to hear in the great day: Well done, good and
faithful servant! Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.
How necessary learning is at present to interpret the
sacred writings, any man may see who reads with attention; but
none can be so fully convinced of this as he who undertakes to
write a comment on the Bible. Those who despise helps of this
kind are to be pitied. Without them they may, it is true,
understand enough for the mere salvation of their souls; and
yet even much of this they owe, under God, to the teaching of
experienced men. After all, it is not a knowledge of
Latin and Greek merely that can enable any man
to understand the Scriptures, or interpret them to others; if
the Spirit of God take not away the veil of ignorance from the
heart, and enlighten and quicken the soul with his
all-pervading energy, all the learning under heaven will not
make a man wise unto salvation.
Finished correcting for a new edition, Dec. 22d,
1831.-A.C.
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Copyright Statement
The Adam Clarke Commentary is a derivative of an
electronic edition prepared by GodRules.net.
Bibliography
Information
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary
on 1 Timothy 6". "The Adam Clarke Commentary".
<http://www.studylight.org/com/acc/view.cgi?book=1ti&chapter=006>.
1832.
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