1 Timothy 6:21

Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(21) Which some professing have erred concerning the faith.—In this most probably wild and visionary “knowledge” the false teachers and their hearers sought salvation and a rule of life, and miserably failed in their efforts. The result with them was, that they lost all hold on the great doctrine of Faith in a crucified Saviour.

Grace be with thee.—The ancient authorities are almost equally divided between “with thee” and “with you,” the congregation. The public nature of so many of the directions and instructions contained in this Epistle account for the absence of those private greetings which we find in the Second Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

6:17-21 Being rich in this world is wholly different from being rich towards God. Nothing is more uncertain than worldly wealth. Those who are rich, must see that God gives them their riches; and he only can give to enjoy them richly; for many have riches, but enjoy them poorly, not having a heart to use them. What is the best estate worth, more than as it gives opportunity of doing the more good? Showing faith in Christ by fruits of love, let us lay hold on eternal life, when the self-indulgent, covetous, and ungodly around, lift up their eyes in torment. That learning which opposes the truth of the gospel, is not true science, or real knowledge, or it would approve the gospel, and consent to it. Those who advance reason above faith, are in danger of leaving faith. Grace includes all that is good, and grace is an earnest, a beginning of glory; wherever God gives grace, he will give glory.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Which some professing - Evidently some who professed to be true Christians. They were attracted by false philosophy, and soon, as a consequence, were led to deny the doctrines of Christianity. This result has not been uncommon in the world.

Have erred concerning the faith - see notes on 1 Timothy 1:6-7; 1 Timothy 6:10.

Grace be with thee - see the notes, Romans 1:7.

On the subscription at the close of this Epistle, see Intro., Section 2. It is, like the other subscriptions at the close of the epistles, of no authority.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

21. Which some professing—namely, professing these oppositions of science falsely so called.

erred—(See on [2487]1Ti 1:6; [2488]1Ti 2:11)—literally, "missed the mark" (2Ti 3:7, 8). True sagacity is inseparable from faith.

Grace—Greek, "the grace," namely, of God, for which we Christians look, and in which we stand [Alford].

be with thee—He restricts the salutation to Timothy, as the Epistle was not to be read in public [Bengel]. But the oldest manuscripts read, "be with you"; and the "thee" may be a transcriber's alteration to harmonize with 2Ti 4:22; Tit 3:15.

Amen—omitted in the oldest manuscripts.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Which some professing have erred concerning the faith; which kind of science, some pretending and boasting of, studying to show themselves learned and subtle men, they have been led into errors in Christianity, apostatizing from the doctrine of faith.

Grace be with thee; viz. the grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord, mentioned 2 Timothy 1:2.

(The first to Timothy was written from Laodicea, which is the chiefest city of Phrygia Pacatiana.)

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Which some professing,.... Pretending to be masters of the above science, boasting and making great show of it, and valuing themselves upon it:

have erred concerning the faith: have wandered from the way of truth, and gone into the path of error; have fallen from the doctrine of faith, and made shipwreck of it, and become entire apostates: from the danger attending vain jangling, the use of new words, the profession of a false science, and making objections from it against the truth, does the apostle dissuade Timothy from them, since they generally issue in apostasy.

Grace be with thee. Amen. This the apostle wishes to him, that he might be enabled to discharge every branch of his duty he had pointed to him in this epistle, and to keep him from all evil, and every false way, and preserve him safe to the kingdom and glory of God. And which he doubted not but would be his case, and therefore puts his "Amen" to it. The Alexandrian copy and Arabic version read, "grace be with you. Amen".

The first to Timothy was written from Laodicea, which is the chiefest city of Phrygia Pacatiana. This last clause is left out in the Alexandrian copy and Syriac version; and indeed, in the apostle's time, Phrygia was not known by such an appellation as "Pacatiana", which was given it some years after by the Romans; and which shows, that the subscriptions to the epistles are not only of human authority, but of later date, at least some of them. The Arabic version calls it the metropolis of Phrygia, and leaves out "Pacatiana"; and one of Beza's manuscripts, instead of "Laodicea", reads "Macedonia", from whence, as from Philippi, or some other city there, he thinks it was written; and several learned men have been of opinion that it was written from Philippi.

Geneva Study Bible

Which some {i} professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen. <<The first to Timothy was written from Laodicea, which is the chiefest city of Phrygia Pacatiana.>>

(i) Not only in word, but also in appearance and gesture: to be short, while their behaviour was such that even when they held their peace they would make men believe, their heads were occupied about nothing but high and lofty matters, and therefore they erred concerning the faith.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

1 Timothy 6:21. The benediction, as in the other Pauline Epistles. If ὑμῶν is the right reading, we can only infer from it that Paul intends the benediction for the whole church, not that he addresses the epistle to the whole church along with Timothy.

Expositor's Greek Testament

1 Timothy 6:21. τινες: See note on 1 Timothy 1:3.

ἐπαγγελλόμενοι: See note on 1 Timothy 2:10.

περὶ τὴν πίστιν ἠστόχησαν: See notes on 1 Timothy 1:6; 1 Timothy 1:19, and reff.

μεθʼ ὑμῶν: An argument in support of the μετὰ σοῦ of the Received Text is that μεθʼ ὑμῶν is indisputably the right reading in the corresponding place in 2 Tim. and Tit., and might have crept in here by assimilation. Ell. has reason on his side when he maintains that the plural here is not sufficient to prove that the epistle as a whole was intended for the Church. “The study of papyri letters will show that the singular and the plural alternated in the same document with apparently no distinction of meaning” (Moulton, Expositor, vi., vii. 107). The colophon in the T.R., “The First to Timothy was written from Laodicea, which is the chiefest city of Phrygia Pacatiana,” has a double interest: as an echo of the notion that this is the Epistle from Laodicea (Colossians 4:16), a notion sanctioned by Theophyl.; and the mention of Phrygia Pacatiana proves that the author of the note lived after the fourth century, towards the close of which that name for Phrygia Prima came into use.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

21. which some professing] ‘Which,’ this misnamed Gnosis. ‘Professing’ has occurred in this sense 1 Timothy 2:10.

have erred] Lit., ‘missed the mark,’ as 1 Timothy 1:6 and 2 Timothy 2:18; aorist as 1 Timothy 6:10.

the faith] As above, 1 Timothy 6:10.

Grace be with thee] ms. authority gives the plural with you, as at the end of 2 Tim. and Titus; the Apostolic benediction being sent through the delegate episcopus to his Church.

There is, of course, no sufficient authority for the Subscription, which (like the Subscriptions to the other epistles of St Paul) is ascribed to Bp Euthalius (5th cent.) and is therefore later than the best mss. The Alexandrian and Sinaitic mss. read only First Epistle to Timothy. Its statement that the letter was written from Laodicea is supposed to be drawn from Colossians 4:16. See the paraphrase of Erasmus: ‘vicissim vos legatis epistolam quae Timotheo scripta fuit ex Laodicensium urbe.’ But Bp Lightfoot, Coloss. p. 343, gives strong reasons against this identification; (1) that St Paul had not ever been at Laodicea, indeed had been long a prisoner either at Cæsarea or Rome, when he wrote to the Colossians; (2) that Timothy bears many proofs of having been written elsewhere than at Laodicea, and of being separated by an interval of some years at least from the Colossian letter.

Bengel's Gnomen

1 Timothy 6:21. Περὶ τὴν πίστιν ἠστόχησαν, they have erred concerning the faith) Although they attempt to appropriate to themselves ἐπισήμην, science, and γνῶσιν, knowledge, 1 Timothy 6:4; 1 Timothy 6:20, and its εὐστοχίαν, accurate reasoning [hitting the mark, opposed to ἀστοχέω, I miss the mark, err] and sagacity, yet they have lost the true sagacity, which is connected with faith, not comprehending what is to be believed, and what it is to believe; comp. 2 Timothy 3:7-8.—ἡ χάρις, grace) not unknown to thee. He briefly indicates it.—μετὰ σοῦ, with thee) No salutations to others are here added, for the epistle was not to be read in public.[56]

[56] Bengel, J. A. (1860). Vol. 4: Gnomon of the New Testament (M. E. Bengel & J. C. F. Steudel, Ed.) (J. Bryce, Trans.) (239–288). Edinburgh: T&T Clark.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 21. - You for thee, A.V. and T.R. The R.T. omits Amen. Professing (ἐπαγγελλομένοι) see 1 Timothy 2:10, note. Have erred (ἠστόχησαν); 1 Timothy 1:6, note. Grace be with you. The authorities for σοῦ and ὑμῶν respectively are somewhat evenly balanced. The T.R. σοῦ seems in itself preferable, as throughout St. Paul addresses Timothy personally, and as there are no salutations here, as in 2 Timothy and Titus (see 1 Timothy 1:18; 1 Timothy 3:14; 1 Timothy 4:6, etc.; 1 Timothy 6:11, 20). This shorter form, ἡ χάρις, is used in the pastoral Epistles (2 Timothy 4:22; Titus 3:15)for the fuller and more usual form, Ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Ξριστοῦ (Romans 16:20; 1 Corinthians 16:23; 2 Thessalonians 3:18, and elsewhere). The short form also occurs in Hebrews 13:25. The words are a gracious, peaceful ending to the Epistle.



1 Timothy 6:21

Vincent's Word Studies

Professing

See on 1 Timothy 2:10.

Erred (ἠστόχησαν)

See on 1 Timothy 1:6, and comp. 2 Timothy 2:18.

Grace be with thee

The correct reading is μεθ' ὑμῶν with you. Although addressed to an individual, he is included in the church. This brief benediction occurs in Paul only in Colossians.