Timothy to Hebrews - The Preterist Archive

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38 FiEST Timothy I. 14, 15.
These words are not intended as a palliation of his conduct, but
only to show that there was that in him upon which mercy might
take hold, how it was possible for mercy to be shown to him. Mack
well observes, that " the words of Christ, Matth. xii. 31, seq., were
confirmed in the apostle, that every sin and blasj)hemy, even that
against the Son, may be forgiven, so long as there is no blasphemy
against the Spirit." / obtained mercy; this expression points to
the fact denoted by, was committed to my trust, ver. 11, and counted
me faithftd, putting, etc. By this the apostle is assured that he
has obtained mercy. The expression refers to the condition described
in ver. 13, from which compassionating grace has rescued
him. When the apostle says, T obtained mercy because I did it
ignorantly in unbelief, he does not mean that he had a claim to such
mercy, as if on introduced a sufficient reason for the bestowal of
mercy ; he only explains how it was possible that such a sinner
could obtain mercy, Acts, iii. 17. The positive ground of mercy
being shown to him, lies solely in the compassion of God, Tit. iii. 5.
The ground of the ignorance lies in the unbelief, which implies that
this ignorance is by no means ynaccompanied with guilt. But there
is still a great difference between the conduct which the apostle
here describes, to which he was led by an honest zeal for the law,
and that of which we read in Luke xi. 52 ; Matth. xii. 32, which
from an indelible enmity against whatever is of Grod, and
a wilful striving against the spirit of Grod. In this case grace could
save only by compelling power.
Ver. 14.— " And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant
with faith and love in Christ Jesus." The apostle here places in
opposition to the state just described, ver. 13, the new state, namely,
that of grace, which magnifies itself in his life and labours, and
which has adorned these with faith and love in Christ Jesus, i. e.,
love which has its root in him. Faith and love are the result of
grace ; when grace magnifies itself in a man, it brings faith and
love along with it. The love luliich is in Christ Jesus, Olshausen
remarks, is not the love which Christ has and exercises, but that
which he gives to men. Its being joined with faith necessitates
this interpretation. Faith and love form the antithesis to unbelief,
ver. 13, comp. with ver. 6. The expression vnepTrXsovd^co^orAj here
= was exceeding abundant, not to be taken in a comparative sense;
compare passages such as Rom. v. 20, vi. 1 ; 2 Cor. iv. 15, where
nXeovd^eiv occurs, with passages such as 2 Cor. vii. 4 ; 2 Thess. i. 3,
where similar compounds occur. That the humility as well as the
greatness of the apostle is here expressed, as also elsewhere, has
been observed by Mack, who refers to Phil. i. 21, ii. 1 ; 2 Cor. x. 5,
13-19 ; Gal. iv. 19.
Ver. 15.—The apostle has just described how the power of saving