This chapter includes direction regarding the conduct of Christian
slaves, renewed commentary on those who teach
false doctrine, and the closing comments of the letter.[5]
And those who have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather serve them because those who are benefited are believers and beloved.
In Codex Sinaiticus, the words ὅτι ἀδελφοί εἰσιν (hoti adelphoi eisin, "because they are brethren") are omitted, possible through a scribal oversight.[5]
False teaching (6:3–10)
Verse 7
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.[7]
"And it is certain": is apparently rendered from the Greek conjunction ὅτι which usually means "because", but here has the sense "so that".[9] This unusual sense may cause the existence of textual variation when scribes might attempt to correct the presumptive error:[9]
ἀληθὲς ὅτι ("it is true that"): supported by manuscripts
D*, some versional and patristic witnesses.[9]
δῆλον ὅτι ("it is clear that"): supported by
א2,
D1,
Ψ,
1175, 1241, 1505, and all other manuscripts.[9]
Verse 9
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.[10]
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.[13]
"Love of money" (Greek: φιλαργυρία, philargyria):[14] or "avarice, miserliness" (
4 Maccabees 1:26); as a 'dictum' linked to evil was widely used by ancient philosophers with various expressions (for example,
Diogenes Laërtius[a] etc.[b]); written as adjective (philargyros; "fond of money") in
1 Timothy 3:3 and
Luke 16:14.[15]
Final exhortation to Timothy (6:11–16)
Verse 15
[Lord Jesus Christ's appearing] which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,[16]
who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.[17]
"Who alone has
immortality":
John Gill comments that "the soul of men, the angels and the body of men after resurrection are immortal, but none of these have immortality of themselves, because they have it from God, who alone originally and essentially has it".[18]
"Dwelling in unapproachable light" (KJV: "that light which no man can approach unto"): in this current mortal and frail state of men, that even the angels cannot bear, but have to cover their faces with their wings, because God is light itself and fountain of lights to all his creatures.[18]
"Whom no man has seen or can see": none but in Christ, at least spiritually, and that but very imperfectly in the current state: frailty, sin and mortality of human nature must be removed away, to inherit the kingdom of God, and enjoy the beatific vision of him, which no man now does, or can see.[18]
"To whom be honor and everlasting power": which may be regarded either as a wish, that such honor, power, and glory might be ascribed to him, or as an assertion that it is given to him, by the angels as well as the saints in heaven and in earth.[18]
Exhortation for the wealthy (6:17–19)
This part can be seen as an interlude in the exhortation to Timothy (6:11–16; 6:20–21) or alternatively the previous exhortation (6:11–16) can be seen as an 'interruption' in Paul's discourse on wealth (6:3–10; 6:17–19), but in either case, the topic of wealth here seems to be a continuation of the theme of 6:3–10.[19] In this short pericope, the 'sound of riches' is repeated (a literary device called paronomasia, "repetition of the same sound") four times, could be heard by those listening to the reading of the epistle: plousiois ... ploutou ... plousiōs ... ploutein ("the rich ... riches ... richly [generously] ... to be rich"), which are, respectively, a personal noun, an objective noun, an adverb, and a verb.[19]
Verse 17
Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.[20]
"Command" (Greek: παραγγέλλω; paraggelló): This is the fifth of the five times in this epistle Paul uses the forms of the verb parangellō ("I charge you"; the others see 1:3; 4:11; 5:7; 6:13) for Timothy to "charge, command or instruct" the people, in this verse: to 'those who are rich'.[21]
Epistolary closing (6:20–21)
Verses 20–21
20O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge— 21by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith.
^David E. Aune, ed., The Blackwell Companion to The New Testament (Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010), 9: "While seven of the letters attributed to Paul are almost universally accepted as authentic (Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon), four are just as widely judged to be pseudepigraphical, i.e. written by unknown authors under Paul's name: Ephesians and the Pastorals (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus)."
^Stephen L. Harris, The New Testament: A Student's Introduction, 4th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001), 366.