How women are to be saved A. M. cir. 4069. A. D. 64 or 65. CHAP. II. b through child-bearing. deceived, was in the trans-be saved in child-bearing, if 15 a Notwithstanding she shall rity and holiness with sobriety. a Gen. iii. 16. Luke i. 42. Exod. i. 19. Verse 15. She shall be saved in child-bearing] Zwoŋoetai de dia tns TeKvOyovias She shall be saved through child-bearing-she shall be saved by means, or through the instrumentality, of child-bearing or of bringing forth a child. Amidst the different opinions given of the meaning of this very singular text, that of Dr. Macknight appears to me the most probable, which I shall give in his paraphrase and note. A. M. cir. 4069. A. D. 64 or 65. A. U. C. 818. An. Imp. Neronis Cæs. Aug. 12. b Gen. iv. 1, 25. Ezek. xviii. 3. Acts xiv. 22. them and the whole human race; and that, whether they die or live, though their own child-bearing can contribute nothing to their salvation, yet he who was born of a woman has purchased them and the whole human race by his blood. If they continue] Eav μeivwoiv is rightly translated, if they live; for so it signifies in other passages, particularly Phil. i. 25. The change in the number of However, though Eve was first in the transgres- the verb from the singular to the plural, which is sion, and brought death on herself, her husband, and introduced here, was designed by the apostle to show all her posterity, the female sex shall be saved (equally that he does not speak of Eve, nor of any particular with the male) through child-bearing-through bring-woman, but of the whole sex. See Macknight. ing forth the Saviour, if they live in faith, and love and chastity, with that sobriety which I have been recommending. Without faith it is impossible to please God, or to be saved; and without love it will be impossible to obey. FAITH and LOVE are essentially necessary to "The word owOnGerai, saved, in this verse refers to holiness and sobriety; and unless both men and i yvvn, the woman, in the foregoing verse, which is women live in these, they cannot, scripturally, expect certainly Eve. But the apostle did not mean to say to dwell with God for ever. Some foolish women that she alone was to be saved through child-bearing, have supposed, from this verse, that the very act of but that all her posterity, whether male or female, bringing forth children shall entitle them to salvation; are to be saved through the child-bearing of a and that all who die in child-bed infallibly go to woman; as is evident from his adding, If they live glory! Nothing can be more unfounded than this; in faith and love and holiness, with sobriety. For faith, love, holiness, and sobriety, are as absolutely safety in child-bearing does not depend on that con- requisite for the salvation of every daughter of Eve, dition at all; since many pious women die in child- as they are for the salvation of every son of Adam. bearing, while others of a contrary character are pre-Pain and suffering neither purify nor make atoneserved. The salvation of the human race, through ment. On the mercy of God, in Christ, dispensing child-bearing, was intimated in the sentence passed remission of sins and holiness, both men and women on the serpent, Gen. iii. 15: I will put enmity between may confidently rely for salvation; but on nothing thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her else. Let her that readeth understand. ed. It shall bruise thy head. Accordingly, the Saviour being conceived in the womb of his mother by the power of the Holy Ghost, he is truly the seed of the woman who was to bruise the head of the serpent; and a woman, by bringing him forth, has been the occasion of our salvation." This is the most consistent sense, for in the way in which it is commonly understood it does not apply. There are innumerable instances of women dying in child-bed who have lived in faith and charity and holiness, with sobriety; and equally numerous instances of worth-fine clothes. less women, slaves to different kinds of vices, who have not only been saved in child-bearing, but have passed through their travail with comparatively little pain: hence that is not the sense in which we should understand the apostle. Yet it must be a matter of great consolation and support, to all pious women labouring of child, to consider that, by the Holy Virgin's child-bearing, salvation is provided for On the subject of dress I will conclude in the words of a late writer: "What harm does it do to adorn ourselves with gold, or pearls, or costly array, suppose we can afford it? The first harm it does is, it engenders pride; and, where it is already, increases it. Nothing is more natural than to think ourselves better because we are dressed in better clothes. One of the old heathens was so well apprised of this, that, when he had a spite to a poor man, and had a mind to turn his head, he made him a present of a suit of Eutrapelus cuicunque nocere volebat, He could not then but imagine himself to be as much Rev. J. Wesley's Sermons. Concerning bishops, I. TIMOTHY. and their qualifications. CHAPTER III. Concerning bishops, their qualifications and work, 1-7. Of deacons, and how they should be proved, 8-10. Of their wives and children, and how they should be governed, 11-13. How Timothy should behave himself in the church, 14, 15. The great mystery of godliness, 16. A. M. cir. 4069. A. D. 64 or 65. A. U. C. 818. An. Imp. Neronis d THIS b a HIS is a true saying, If a A. D. 64 or 65. A. U. C. 818. husband of one wife, vigilant, A. M. cir. 4069. g 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the NOTES ON CHAP. III. Verse 1. This is a true saying] Пiтos & λoyos This is a true doctrine. These words are joined to the last verse of the preceding chapter by several of the Greek Fathers, and by them referred to the doctrine there stated. Let us consider the qualifications of a Christian bishop, and then we shall soon discover who is fit for the office. the word by which they translate the TP pakid of the Hebrew text, which signifies a visitor, one that personally inspects the people or business over which, he presides. It is given by St. Paul to the elders at Ephesus, who had the oversight of Christ's flock, Acts xx. 28; and to such like persons in other places, The office of a bishop] ЕTIOкоns The episcopacy, | Phil. i. 1; 1 Tim. iii. 2, the place in question; and overseership, or superintendency. The word opɛyɛraɩ, | Tit. i. 7. which we translate desire, signifies earnest, eager, passionate desire; and επiovμe, which we translate desire, also signifies earnestly to desire or covet. It is strange that the episcopacy, in those times, should First. This Christian bishop must be blameless ; have been an object of intense desire to any man; | aveπiληπтov, a person against whom no evil can be when it was a place of danger, and exposure to severe labour, want, persecution, and death, without any secular emolument whatsoever. On this ground I am led to think that the Spirit of God designed these words more for the ages that were to come, than for those which were then; and in reference to after ages the whole of what follows is chiefly to be proved; one who is every where invulnerable; for the word is a metaphor, taken from the case of an expert and skilful pugilist, who so defends every part of his body that it is impossible for his antagonist to give one hit. So this Christian bishop is one that has so conducted himself, as to put it out of the reach of any person to prove that he is either unsound in a single article of the Christian faith, or deficient in the must be irreprehensible; for how can he reprove that in others which they can reprove in him? understood. A good work.] A work it then was; heavy, inces-fulfilment of any duty incumbent on a Christian. He sant, and painful. There were no unpreaching prelates in those days, and should be none now. Episcopacy in the church of God is of divine appointment, and should be maintained and respected. Under God, there should be supreme governors in the church as well as in the state. The state has its monarch, the church has its bishop; one should govern according to the laws of the land, the other according to the word of God. What a constitutional king should be, the principles of the constitution declare; what a bishop should be, the following verses particularly show. Verse 2. A bishop then must be blameless] Our term bishop comes from the Anglo-Saxon birceop, which is a mere corruption of the Greek ToкоTоç, and the Latin episcopus; the former, being compounded of ε, over, and σKETтoμai, to look or inspect, signifies one who has the inspection or oversight of a place, persons, or business; what we commonly term a superintendent. The New Testament writers have borrowed the term from the Septuagint, it being Second. He must be the husband of one wife. He should be a married man, but he should be no polygamist; and have only one wife, i. e. one at a time. It does not mean that, if he has been married, and his wife die, he should never marry another. Some have most foolishly spiritualized this, and say that by one wife the church is intended! This silly quibbling needs no refutation. The apostle's meaning appears to be this: that he should not be a man who has divorced his wife and married another; nor one that has two wives at a time. It does not appear to have been any part of the apostle's design to prohibit second marriages, of which some have made such a serious business. But it is natural for some men to tithe mint and cummin in religion, while they neglect the weightier matters of the law. Third He must be vigilant; vnpadɛov, from vn, not, and to drink. Watchful; for one who drinks is apt to sleep, so he who abstains from it is πιω, Concerning bishops, A. M. cir. 4069. A. D. 64 or 65. greedy of filthy lucre; but pa- | own house, having his children tient, not a brawler, not covet-in subjection with all gravity; ous; 5 (For if a man know not 4 One that ruleth well his how to rule his own house, a 2 Tim. ii. 24. more likely to keep awake, and attend to his work and charge. A bishop has to watch over the church, and watch for it; and this will require all his care and circumspection. Instead of vnpaλɛov, many MSS. read vnpalov this may be the better orthography, but makes no alteration in the sense. Fourth. He must be sober; owopova, prudent, or, according to the etymology of the word, from cwc, sound, and opŋv, mind, a man of a sound mind; having a good understanding, and the complete government of all his passions. A bishop should be a man of learning, of an extensive and well cultivated mind, dispassionate, prudent, and sedate. Fifth. He must be of good behaviour; kooμov, orderly, decent, grave, and correct in the whole of his appearance, carriage, and conduct. The preceding term, owppova, refers to the mind; this latter, kooμov, to the external manners. A clownish, rude, or boorish man should never have the rule of the church of God; the sour, the sullen, and the boisterous should never be invested with a dignity which they would most infallibly disgrace. Sixth. He must be given to hospitality; piλoževov, literally, a lover of strangers; one who is ready to receive into his house and relieve every necessitous stranger. Hospitality, in those primitive times, was a great and necessary virtue; then there were few inns, or places of public entertainment; to those who were noted for benevolence the necessitous stranger had recourse. A Christian bishop, professing love to God and all mankind, preaching a religion, one half of the morality of which was included in, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, would naturally be sought to by those who were in distress and destitute of friends. To enable them to entertain such, the church over which they presided must have furnished them with the means. Such a bishop as St. Paul, who was often obliged to labour with his hands for his own support, could have little to give away. But there is a considerable difference between an apostolical bishop and an ecclesiastical bishop: the one was generally itinerant, the other comparatively local; the former had neither house nor home, the latter had both; the apostolical bishop had charge of the church of Christ universally, the ecclesiastical bishop of the churches in a particular district. Such should be addicted to hospitality, or works of charity; especially in these modern times, in which, besides the spiritualities, they possess the temporalities, of the church. Seventh. He should be apt to teach; didaktikov, one capable of teaching; not only wise himself, but ready to communicate his wisdom to others. One b Tit. i. 6. 1 Sam. ii. 22, &c. A. M. eir. 4069, A. D. 64 or 65. A. U. C. 818. An. Imp. Neronis Cæs. Aug. 12. whose delight is, to instruct the ignorant and those who are out of the way. He must be a preacher; an able, zealous, fervent, and assiduous preacher. He is no bishop who has health and strength, and yet seldom or never preaches; i. e. if he can preach -if he have the necessary gifts for the office. In former times bishops wrote much and preached much; and their labours were greatly owned of God. No church since the apostle's days has been more honoured in this way than the British church. And although bishops are here, as elsewhere, appointed by the state, yet we cannot help adoring the good providence of God, that, taken as a body, they have been an honour to their function; and that, since the reformation of religion in these lands, the bishops have in general been men of great learning and probity, and the ablest advocates of the Christian system, both as to its authenticity, and the purity and excellence of its doctrines and morality. CHAUCER'S character of the Clerke of Oxenford is a good paraphrase on St. Paul's character of a primitive bishop: Of studie tookin he moste cure and hede, Nought oo word spak he more than ther was nede, This must not be given to wine; un raporov. Verse 3. An eighth article in his character is, he tached to wine, a winebibber or tippler, but also one word not only signifies one who is inordinately atwho is imperious, abusive, insolent, whether through wine or otherwise. Kypke contends for this latter acceptation here. See his proofs and examples. Ninth. He must be no striker; μŋ λŋKTNY, not quarrelsome; not ready to strike a person who differ from him; not prone, as one wittily said, may displease him; no persecutor of those who may "To prove his doctrine orthodox It is said of Bishop Bonner, of infamous memory, that, when examining the poor Protestants whom he termed heretics, when worsted by them in argument he was used to smite them with his fists, and sometimes scourge and whip them. But though he was a most ignorant and consummate savage, yet from such a scripture as this he might have seen the necessity of surrendering his mitre. Tenth. He must not be greedy of filthy lucre ; μn aiσxpoкepon, not desirous of base gain; not using base and unjustifiable methods to raise and increase his revenues; not trading or trafficking; for what Concerning bishops, A. M. cir. 4069. A. D. 64 or 65. 1. TIMOTHY. a and their qualifications. how shall he take care of the | into the condemnation of the church of God?) 6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall с * Acts xx. 28.——b Or, one newly come to the faith. would be honourable in a secular character, would be base and dishonourable in a bishop. Though such a trait should never appear in the character of a Christian prelate, yet there is much reason to suspect that the words above are not authentic; they are omitted by ADFG, many others, the Syriac, all the Arabic, Coptic (and Sahidic), Ethiopic, Armenian, later Syriac (but it appears in the margin), the Vulgate and Itala, and by most of the Greek Fathers. Gries- | bach has left it out of the text, in which it does not appear that it ever had a legitimate place. The word covetous, which we have below, expresses all the meaning of this; and it is not likely that the apostle would insert in the same sentence two words of the same meaning, because they were different in sound. It appears to have been borrowed from verse 8. Eleventh. He must be patient; ETɩɩη, meek, gentle; the opposite to λnтηy, a quarrelsome person, which it immediately follows when the spurious word aιoxpokepon is removed. Where meekness and patience do not reign, gravity cannot exist, and the love of God cannot dwell. Twelfth. He must not be a brawler; aμaxov, not contentious or litigious, but quiet and peaceable. Thirteenth. He must not be covetous; apıλapyv will poy, not a lover of money; not desiring the office for the sake of its emoluments. He who loves money stick at nothing in order to get it. Fair and foul methods are to him alike, provided they may be equally productive. For the sake of reputation he may wish to get all honourably; but if that cannot be, he will not scruple to adopt other methods. A brother heathen gives him this counsel: "Get money if thou canst by fair means; if not, get it by hook and by crook." Verse 4. The fourteenth qualification of a Christian bishop is, that he ruleth well his own house; Tov idiov οικου καλως προϊσταμενον, one who properly presides over and governs his own family. One who has the command of his own house, not by sternness, severity, and tyranny, but with all gravity; governing his household by rule, every one knowing his own place, and each doing his own work, and each work having the proper time assigned for its beginning and end. This is a maxim of common sense; no family can be prosperous that is not under subjection, and no person can govern a family but the head of it, the husband, who is, both by nature and the appointment of God, the head or governor of his own house. See the note on Eph. v. 22. Verse 5. For if a man know not] Method is a matter of great importance in all the affairs of life. It is a true saying, He that does little with his head devil. A. M. cir. 4069. A. D. 64 or 65. A. U. C. 818. An. Imp. Neronis Cæs. Aug. 12. d Acts xxii. 12. 1 Cor. v. 12. 1 Thess. iv. 12. must do much with his hands; and even then the business is not half done for want of method. Now, he who has a proper method of doing business will show it in every affair of life, even the least. He who has a disorderly family has no government of that family; he probably has none because he has no method, no plan, of presiding. It was natural for the apostle to say, If a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God? Look at a man's domestic arrangements; if they be not good, he should not be trusted with any branch of government, whether ecclesiastical or civil. Verse 6. Fifteenth.-It is required that he be not a novice] Neopurov Not a young plant, not recently ingrafted, that is, one not newly converted to the faith (Old MS. Bible); one who has been of considerable standing in the Christian church, if he have the preceding qualifications, may be safely trusted with the government of that church. It is impossible that one who is not long and deeply experienced in the ways of God can guide others in the way of life. Hence presbyters or elders were generally appointed to have the oversight of the rest, and hence presbyter and bishop seem to have been two names for the same office; yet all presbyters or elders certainly were not bishops, because all presbyters had not the qualifications marked above. But the apostle gives another reason: Lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. It is natural for man to when they are intrusted to his government. The think himself of more importance than his fellows apostle's term Tupwbtis, puffed up, inflated, is a metaphor taken from a bladder when filled with air or wind. It is a substance, has a certain size, is light, can be the sport of the wind, but has nothing in it but air. Such is the classical coxcomb; a mere puffball, a disgrace to his function, and despised by every intelligent man. Should we not say to those whom it may concern, "From such apostles, O ye mitred heads, Preserve the church; and lay not careless hands On skulls that cannot teach, and will not learn." From these words of the apostle we are led to infer that pride or self-conceit was the cause of the devil's downfal. In Ecclus. x. there are some excellent have a good report of them which are without] That he should be one who had not been previously a profligate, or scandalous in his life. Such a person, when converted, may be a worthy private member of religious society; but I believe God rarely calls such to the work of the ministry, and never to the episcopate. Them that are without are the Jews, Gentiles, and the unconverted of all kinds. For the meaning of this term see the note on Col. iv. 5. Lest he fall into reproach] For his former scandalous life. And the snare of the devil.] Snares and temptations, such as he fell in and fell by before. This is called the snare of the devil; for, as he well knows the constitution of such persons, and what is most likely to prevail, he infers that what was effectual before to their transgressing may be so still; therefore on all suitable occasions he tempts them to their old sins. Backsliders in general fall by those sins to which they were addicted previously to their conversion. Former inveterate habits will revive in him who does not continue to deny himself, and watch unto prayer. The snare of the devil.-Some would translate zayida rov diaßolov, the snare of the accuser; and they give the same meaning to the word in verse 6, because it is evident that diaßolous has that meaning, verse 11, and our translators render it slanderers. Now, though diaßoλos signifies an accuser, yet I do not see that it can, with any propriety, be restrained to this meaning in the texts in question, and especially as the word is emphatically applied to Satan himself; for he who, in Rev. xii. 10, is called the accuser of the brethren, is, in verse 9, called the great dragon, the old serpent, the DEVIL, diaßoλos, and Satan. Verse 8. Likewise must the deacons] The term deacon, diaxovog, simply signifies a regular or stated servant; from dia, through or emphatic, and Kovew, to minister or serve. See it explained in the note on Matt. xx. 26. As nearly the same qualifications were required in the deacons as in the bishops, the reader may consult what is said on the preceding verses. Grave] Of a sedate and dignified carriage and conduct. Not double tongued] Speaking one thing to one person, and another thing to another, on the same subject. This is hypocrisy and deceit. This word might also be translated liars. Ces. Aug. 12. 11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. 12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. Lev. x. 9. Ezek. xliv. 21.- d Ch. i. 19.- -e Tit. ii. 3. Not given to much wine] Neither a drunkard, tippler, nor what is called a jovial companion. All this would be inconsistent with gravity. Not greedy of filthy lucre] See on verse 3. Verse 9. Holding the mystery of the faith] Instead of TηS TOTES, the faith, one MS. (the readings of which are found in the margin of a copy of Mill's Greek text in the Bodleian Library, and which is marked 61 in Griesbach) reads avaoTaoεws, of the resurrection. This reading, like many others in this MS., is found no where else; and is worthy of little regard, but as expressing what appeared to the writer to be the apostle's meaning. One of the greatest mysteries of the faith was undoubtedly the resurrection of the dead; and this was held in a pure conscience when the person so exercised himself as to have a conscience void of offence towards God and towards men. Acts xxiv. 16. What has been since called Antinomianism, that is, making void the moral law by a pretended faith in the righteousness of Christ, is that which the apostle has here particularly in view. See Verse 10. Let these-be proved] Let them not be young converts, or persons lately brought to the knowledge of the truth. This is the same in spirit with what is required of the bishops, verse 6. Let no man be put into an office in the church till he has given full proof of his sincerity and steadiness, by having been for a considerable time a consistent private member of the church. Being found blameless.] AvεykλŋTOL OVτes Being irreproachable; persons against whom no evil can be proved. The same as in verse 2, though a different word is used. See the note there. Verse 11. Even so must their wives be grave] I believe the apostle does not mean here the wives either of the bishops or deacons in particular, but the Christian women in general. The original is simply: Fvvaikaç moavтws oɛμvas Let the women likewise be grave. Whatever is spoken here becomes women in general; but if the apostle had those termed deaconesses in his eye, which is quite possible, the words are peculiarly suitable to them. That there was such an order in the apostolic and primitive church, and that they were appointed to their office by the imposition of hands, has already been noticed on Rom. xvi. 1. Possibly, therefore, the apostle may have had this order of deaconesses in view, to whom it was as necessary to give counsels and cautions as to the deacons themselves; and to prescribe their qualifi |