And that it may be so, I now write to thee as a monitor or remembrancer, that thou consider the honourable calling which was conferred upon thee by my laying hands upon thee and making thee bishop, (in which some others joined with me, (see note [f] For sure that God that gave us this commission and gifts, hath not given thee or me so poor a cowardly spirit, as that we should be afraid of the dangers and threats of men against the preaching of the gospel; but courageous hearts, to encounter any difficulty; a love of God, which will actuate this valour, and cast out all fear of danger; and withal a tranquillity of mind, and a full contentedness, in whatsoever state. Whatever therefore the danger be of preaching Christ, be not discouraged; or whatever the example of my sufferings, do thou resolve to do and suffer the like cheerfully and courageously, and to be a fellow-sufferer with the gospel of Christ, to bear whatsoever falls upon that by that strength which God gives thee, Who hath rescued us out of the evil world, and called us to sanctity, not because we had deserved that mercy of his, but of his own free mercy and goodness long ago designed us in Christ; And now hath revealed it to us, and made us partakers of it by Christ's coming into the world and preaching the gospel to us, who hath thereby voided the power of death over us, and made a clear revelation of that life and immortality which was not before so certainly revealed, that if we will obey him we may certainly be made partakers of it. And for the preaching and teaching of this, especially to the Gentiles, God hath given me the authority and commission of an apostle. And that (viz. my preaching to the Gentiles) hath exasperated the Jews, and brought persecutions upon me; but I am not discouraged with them, (see Rom. v. 5,) because Christ, on whom I have depended, I am sure will never fail me; and in his hands I can with all cheerfulness repose my life, as knowing him [a] the house of Onesiphorus] What οἶκος Ὀντισφόρου, the house of Onesiphorus, here signifies, is thought fit to be examined by some in order to the doctrine of praying for the dead. For because the prayer is here for the household, and not for the master of it, Onesiphorus himself, it is by some presently concluded that Onesiphorus was dead at that time. And then that being supposed, it appears, ver. 18, that St. Paul prays for him, that he may find mercy in that day. How far it x 2 Do thou therefore, my beloved son, take all care to strengthen thyself in the gospel: (see note [a] Heb. xiii.) THOU therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Who have lately fallen into a fresh but most dangerous error, and by allegorical expressions of scripture have persuaded themselves and others that there is no further resurrection, nor consequently future state to be expected, (see 1 Cor. xv. 12,) but that all the places that sound that way are otherwise (after the Gnostic cabalistical manner) to be interpreted, and have been so successful as to persuade some thus to believe them, have gained some followers in this impious doctrine. And the articles of faith and good life which I have taught thee from Christ, agreed on and consented in by the testimony of all the other apostles, do thou And arm thyself against all difficulties, as one that hast undertaken Christ's colours to serve under him. And therefore, as the soldiers, according to the Roman rules of their militia, are forbidden to meddle with the employments of tutors or guardians of men's persons or estates, or proctors of their causes, to undertake husbandry or merchandise, &c., because every of these is so distant from, that it is incompatible with the waiting on their colours; so, whatsoever employments of the world are not compatible with the discharge of thy office, as thou art a minister of Christ, (as while the empire and state of the world remains heathen, and not Christian, most secular employments are far distant from the Christian, and thy interposing in them will tend to no advantage of the society of the church,) it is not fit for thee to meddle in them, but to apply thyself to such cares as may most conduce to the service of thy General, who hath put thee into this calling, and expects it from thee. Thus if any man be desirous to get the prize, and to that end enter the lists in any of the exercises of the Olympic games, he is not crowned unless he conquer, nor will he be adjudged conqueror unless he have observed all the rules of the games, and then be victorious by those rules: (see note [f] 1 Cor. ix.) And so in husbandry, and all other things, there is required a great deal of pains and care and patience, and so at length he receives the fruits and the hoped reward in harvest; and such is the gaining and converting of souls, and the far richer reward that attends that in another world. Lay this to heart, and God give thee a right use of it, and judgment to do all that belongs to thee. And to fortify thee in suffering whatever comes, there is nothing fitter than that thou remember and consider our Saviour, what befell him, that he was put to death, and then by God raised from death (and so was herein like David, of whose progeny he was to be, who suffered such sad persecutions from Saul And for preaching of which I am imprisoned now at Rome, as if I were a malefactor. But this hath not restrained me in mine office, but the gospel hath been freely preached for all that, and my imprisonment hath been a means of divulging the gospel in this city. And on these grounds I am very well content to suffer any thing for the good of the true Christians, that they being confirmed by my example may be partakers of all the benefits of the gospel, and attain to eternal glory. There is not a more certain truth, nor any that deserves more to be considered and depended on by all Christians, than this, that our suffering as Christ suffered, in testimony and defence of the truth, (for that is the meaning of suffering with him, Rom. viii. 17, suffering as he suffered,) shall certainly be rewarded with participation of his glory. And as certain on the other side, that if, for fear of temporal evils, we fall off from the constancy of our profession, we shall be rejected by Christ. When thou wert with me, I gave thee a short summary of the chief things that were to be believed by all, in opposition to all growing heresies; and do thou take care not to depart from it in any part of it, but keep constant to it in the outward confession and constant adherence to Christ, and in preaching and teaching others. For Christ's part of the promise, it is certain that will never fail; we may through the wickedness of our own hearts prove false to him, in which case we lose all title to his promises; but let us adhere to him, and he can never fail us. Hold thee constantly to the doctrine of the gospel, or summary of it agreed on by the apostles to be taught in all churches; and whenever thou art tempted to the contrary, remember that this stands by the direction of the Spirit of God that abides among us, and make use of that Spirit to confirm thyself in it. Put all those that are committed to thy charge in mind of those things, that they be not tempted by the Gnostics on occasion of the present persecutions to forsake the Christian course. And among other things charge them strictly, as they will answer it to God, that they fall not into those idle disputes, mentioned 1 Tim. vi. 5, which as they tend to no possible good, so they infuse uncharitableness and factions into men's minds, and draw men into the Gnostic heresy. Thou hearest, I presume, that the Asian Christians that were at Rome, save only Onesiphorus, ver. 16, fell off from me in time of my distress. 16, 17. I pray God reward the family of Onesiphorus, which is at Ephesus with thee, for the great kindness I received from him, who lately came to me at Rome, and (as oft before at Ephesus, ver. 18, so) now hath he in especial manner sought and found me out, and relieved me, and owned me without fear or shame in this time of my imprisonment. In this and all other things approve thy courage and constancy to the truth, truly and faithfully telling every one his duty, and by thy example and doctrine directing them the way wherein to go. [a] rightly dividing] That ὀρθοτομεῖν, to divide aright, should refer to the custom in sacrifices, which were to be cut after a certain prescribed manner, and of them some parts given to the priests, &c., may probably be imagined: but another notion of the phrase here, as it is joined with the word of truth, may seem more probable. For in the Old Testament the Greek translators' use of the word belongs to a way or path to go in, which was wont to be cut out, that it might be fitter for use; thence the Latin phrase viam secare, "to cut a waly," that is, to go before, and direct any in their journey. And with the word ὀρθός, right, joined with it, it is to go before one, and direct him the straight way to such a place. Thus ὀρθοτομεῖν ὁδόν, Prov. iii. 6, and xi. 5, is the rendering of νῦν, which signifies to set right, or rectify: and so to cut a way right, is to put one and keep one in the right way. We render it direct thy paths and way, in those places of the Proverbs; and then the gospel of Christ, the word of truth, being most fitly resembled to a way (much better than to a sacrifice) ὀρθοτομεῖν λόγον ἀληθείας, "rightly to cut the word of truth, is to go uprightly and according to the truth before others in Christianity. And that was Timothy's part, as a But suffer not thyself or thy flock to be enticed [b] shun] The Hebrew הרב circumdedit signifies also divertit, turning away or back, as well as going round, and is by the Septuagint or Greek translator of the Old Testament rendered not only κυκλῶ often, to encompass, and περίστημι once. Josh. vi. 3, but also ἐκκλίνω, declino, to decline or avoid, 1 Kings xviii 11, and twenty times ἀποστρέφω, averto, to put from us, or fly from. From hence it is that one of these interpretations being set for the other (according to the frequent manner of these writers) or else by the power of the passive or mean, differing from the active, περίστημι here, and Tit. iii. 9, signifies to avert, decline, avoid, fly from, the same with παραιτοῦ, avoid, ver. 23, for which, and in the same matter, the word περιτρεπόμενος, avoiding, is used, 1 Tim. vi. 20. Thus doth Origen use the word against Celsus, speaking of "Christ's going aside" when the Pharisees consulted to kill him, Matt. xii. 5. οὐκ ἔστι δὲ ἀγενεῖς τὸ μετ' οἰκονομίας περιστάμενον τοὺς κινδύνους μὴ ὁμόσε αὐτοῖς χωρεῖν. "It is no degenerous or cowardly thing to fly from dangers providently, and not to mix with them:" where it signifies declining, and so avoiding of dangers. And so Hesychius renders Περίστασο, not only κύκλευσον, (it should be κύκλωσον) περίελθε, encompassing, but also περίφευγε, ἀνάτρεπε, avoid, fly from, and σκόπησον look to, which is so to look to, to consider, as to avoid, Rom. xvi. 17, if there be danger in it. So Josephus of Moses, περίστατο, μὴ πολλοὶ τῆς τῶν λόγων ἀσελγείας αὐτοῦ μιμητοὶ γένωνται, "he avoided, or took heed, lest many should imitate the impurity of his speeches:" and l. 2. De Bell. Jud. c. 12, τὸ ὀμνύειν αὐτοῖς περισταται, swearing is avoided by them, in a passive sense. Who they are which are here to be avoided and taken heed of, is not obscurely set down in the following words, viz. the Gnostics, that colluvies of heretics, consisting of divers branches, differing one from the other, but all agreeing in opposing the truth of the Gospel, and pretending to great perfection of knowledge by the mystical interpretations of Scripture. That these are they may appear first by the βέβηλοι κενοφωνίαι, profane dotages, or vanities, or empty sounds, which are imputed to the ψευδώνυμος γνῶσις, science falsely so called, that is, the Gnostics, 1 Tim. vi. 20. Secondly, by the character set upon them, that they are a growing, spreading heresy, their words spread as a gangrene doth when it is gotten into any part of the body, for that is the meaning of νομήν ἔξει. So in St. Chrysostom, t. iii. p. 631, l. 13, ἐδεδοίκει γὰρ μὴ ἐπιπλέον νεμεθῇ τὸ κακὸν, καὶ ὁδῷ βαδίζον ὅλην καταλάβῃ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, "he feared lest the mischief would spread farther, and going along should seize on the whole church." The word is used of sheep, &c., feeding, and by little and little going over a whole pasture; whence among the ancients the Νομάδες a wandering people, which had no certain habitation; vagi et incertis sedibus errantes, saith Sallust of the Numidæ, and so Seneca calls the Scythians and Getes vagos, wanderers, that is, νομάδας. And it is used of fire also, spreading and devouring as it goes. So in St. Chrysostom, t. iii. p. 712, l. 30, ἀλόκληρον τῶν Γολατῶν ἔθνος ταύτης τῆς πλάνης ἐπενέμετο ἡ πυρὰ, "the flame of this error spread over all the Galatians." And so of many other things, —Ἐπέων δὲ πολὺς νόμος ἵνθα καὶ ἵνθα, And where they are once admitted, their heresy corrupts and debaucheth very many, infects and poisons the members of the church, in the same manner as the other parts of the body are infected when there is a gangrene in any; for that doth not use to stop, but draws that which is next it unto the same condition, and then creeps further, until it have infected the whole body, and that mortally: and such are the Gnostic teachers now among you, by name Hymenæus and Philetus; I pray God this mercy of his to me may be repaid him when it will most stand him in stead; for, besides what he hath now done, thou knowest also better than I can tell thee how many liberalities he hath shewed at Ephesus to those that have stood in need of him, and in how many things he relieved me when I was at Ephesus, and thou with me. But let not these and the like false, impious, heretical teachers move any, for God will certainly perform his promise to us; his bill of contract with Christians in Christ, his decree and purpose toward his faithful servants, remains unchangeable, being under seal: and the seal of this contract hath two impresses; on one side this, That God is sure to all those that are faithful to him, to reward them both in body and soul to all eternity; which is sufficiently destructive of their doctrine, ver. 18, that there is no future state, and so no bliss for them who are persecuted here: another on the other, That every Christian obliges himself to a strict life (quite contrary to the vicious practices of these men) by undertaking the faith of Christ. But it is to be expected in the church, as in any great family, that all should not be equally good, some furniture of gold, &c. others of wood and earth or shells; some for more creditable, and some for less [c] if God peradventure] The notion of μήποτε here is not rightly expressed by if so be without any negation in it; for that is the notion of εἴποτε, the direct contrary to this. The best understanding of it will be by observing the force of it, Luke iii. 15, προσδοκούντος τοῦ λαοῦ, καὶ διαλογιζομένων πάντων περὶ τοῦ Ἰωάννου, μήποτε αὐτὸς εἴη ὁ Χριστὸς, the people being in an expectation, and all disputing in their hearts of John, not if he were, but whether he were not the Christ. Where, in a matter of expectation or dispute about a thing, which they looked on as possible, but knew it not, the word μήποτε is used, not as if it were to them a matter of fear that it should be so, but plainly the contrary, of hope and joy that it might. And so here the bishop is to proceed in the mildest, and most winning, and not exasperating way, as considering hopefully whether it be not possible that God may at length be pleased to give them repentance, that is, to bless the bishop's instructions, that they may be a means or instrument to work upon them. As for the phrase δῷ μετάνοιαν, give repentance, the grounds of explaining that have been elsewhere laid, by observing the force of some verbs, both active and passive, in these books, to denote the effect or reception of the virtue in the patient, and not only the operation of the agent. Thus, Isa. liii. 1, God's arm is said to be revealed, when the revelation of it is assented to and obeyed by men, and so it is all one with believing their report, in the former part of the verse. And to omit many more, thus is God's giving them an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, Deut. xxix. 3, which signifieth their receiving this gift of God, making use of the miracles and signs and wonders, ver. 3, being effectually wrought on, having their hearts affected by them, which they that had not there, it is said of them, that God had not given them hearts to perceive, that is, that thus it was in the event or effect, they did not really perceive. x Διδασκ. γ. But you are to take notice of the prediction of Christ, Matt. xxiv. 9, 12, that in these times preceding that famous coming of Christ to punish the cru- ¹⁶ Or, sheil: see note [b] 2 Cor. iv. ¹⁷ for, els. ¹⁸ for, els. ¹⁹ useful, εὐχρηστον. ²⁰ made ready, ἡτοιμασμένον. ²¹ bearing with evil, ἀνεξίκανον. ²² whe- ther God at length may not. ²³ Or, to come to the ackn.: for the King's MS. adds ἐλθεῖν. ²⁴ and they awake, or, recover, καὶ ἀνανῆψωσιν. ²⁵ (having been caught by him,) to the will of him, ἐζωγρημένοι ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, εἰς τὸ ἐκείνον θέλημα. ¹ hard, χαλεποί. [a] Jannes and Jambres] These names of Jannes and Jambres are not to be met with in the story of the Old Testament, but are here taken out of other records of the Jews (as divers other things mentioned in the New Testament; for example, Moses's being brought up Thou hast another pattern to follow, quite Yea, and at such times as these, when Christianity is so violently opposed by the unconverted Jews, it is to be expected by all that resolve on a true constant Christian course, that it shall infallibly bring persecution upon them. But such impious godless sorcerers (see ver. 7.) and deceivers as these shall grow every day worse and worse, and more pernicious than other, deceiving others, and themselves at last most sadly deceived and mistaken of any, when all their arts of securing shall but destroy themselves, or being delivered up to be deceived themselves, as a just judgment for their deceiving of others. But do thou hold fast that form of sound doctrine which was taught thee to teach others; and remembering from whom thou hadst it, thou wilt have no reason to doubt or suspect the truth of it. And having been instructed in the understanding of the holy scriptures of the Old Testament ever since thou wert a child, thou wilt certainly, by the help of the Christian doctrine which thou hast received, be able to discern and understand the truth, and distinguish it from their false doctrines. For all those writings which, either by God's spirit of prophecy, or by any other afflation or incitation from God, have at any time been written by the prophets, &c. and, as such, received into the canon of the Jewish church, may by us be profitably made use of, to teach us many things that Christ hath taught us, to convince us of the grossness of many sins which are confidently practised among men, to reduce those that fall through error or ignorance, to build up those that have begun and set out in the way of righteousness: That the teacher or preacher of the gospel, sent and authorized by God, may by the study of the scripture be furnished for all turns, enabled to discharge his whole duty toward the souls of others.