Timothy to Hebrews - The Preterist Archive

18 INTRODUCTION.
h. It is objected that, according to the professed design of the epistle,
iii. 15, we are led to expect a treasury of seasonable and weighty
directions and counsels as to the administration of a church ; but
we do not find this. We reply, that the sense of iii. 15 must be
determined by the preceding context, and the question can then
only be, whether ch. iii. like ch. ii. corresponds to its design, namely,
to give Timothy the necessary guidance in these particular points.
This question we unhesitatingly answer in the affirmative ; comp.
the Commentary, c. We might well suppose, it is alleged, that
Paul even in an official letter to Timothy would, over and above
what pertained to the business in hand, have much to say to Timothy
himself, by way of instructing and quickening him ; but all
that is to be found in the epistle of this nature, either places on too
low a level one who was the apostle's assistant (i. 18, seq., iv. 7,
seq., 12, seq., vi, 11, seq.), or else is too general and of little use
even for ordinary Christians (iv. 7, seq., 12, seq. ; v. 23, vi. 11). To
this we reply, that the passages here adduced contain an admonition
to Timothy faithfully to fulfil his calling, or to maintain a holy
conversation, such as becomes a Christian ; or as v, 23, vi. 11, they
refer to special things. Moreover, these admonitions have a special
ground in opposition to the pursuits and character of the false
teachers. Suppose that those pursuits, with the secret wisdom
about which they were conversant, and their harmless appearance,
might have attractions even for Timothy, and that he, as we learn
chiefly from the second epistle, was not quite free from a leaning
towards what was earthly—and this certainly is possible—then these
admonitions become very intelligible. It will be a much more difficult
task for those critics who suppose that the epistle was written
at a later period to explain, how a pseudo apostle should address
exhortations to Timothy so " unworthy" of him, especially if the
writer had in his eye the Gnostic heresies of a later period, and
thought it necessary to warn Timothy against participating in them,
—B. As what is said with respect to Timothy is alleged not to correspond
to the position and character of a helper of the apostle, and
to bear out the close relation that subsisted between him and the
apostle, expressed in i. 2, 18, iv. 6, v. 23, still less than in the second
epistle (here it is not taken into consideration that the epistle is a
business communication, the aim of which is concisely to state what
is necessary), so it is further said, that it entirely fails in allusions
to the church which stood in so interesting a relation to the apostle,
comp. Acts XX, 18, seq. But in this objection it is forgotten, that
the epistle was not addressed to the church (comp. on this the Introduction
to the Epistle to Titus). In so far as Timothy was concerned,
there was no occasion for such allusions in an epistle of this
character, as also no passage in the epistle can be specified where it