1 Tim. 1:5. And of a good conscience and of unfeigned faith.
When robbers love robbers, this comes not from a good conscience but from an evil one, and not from unfeigned faith. Whoever sincerely believes in God will never allow himself to depart from true love, for it embraces all. But a robber kills those passing by. From this you can conclude that whoever does not have love does not have faith either.
1 Tim. 1:6. From which having missed the mark (ἀστοχήσαντες), some have turned aside to vain talk.
The word ἀστοχήσαντες is used of those who shoot poorly. Therefore here too, he says, skill is needed in order to throw straight and not miss the target. But some have departed from love and faith, and as a result have turned aside to vain talk. And how this happens, he adds the following.
1 Tim. 1:7. Desiring to be teachers of the law.
That is, suffering from love of power and passion for glory. They would not have been such, if they had love and faith.
1 Tim. 1:7. But understanding neither what they are saying, nor what they are affirming.
Here he accuses them of knowing neither the purpose of the law nor the time until which it was destined to hold sway. But perhaps they sinned out of ignorance, and therefore do not deserve condemnation? No! Their ignorance arose from love of power and from the fact that they had no love. For, he says, desiring to be lawmakers and teachers of the law, they pay no attention to the truth, so that they themselves are to blame for their ignorance. What then do they affirm? Perhaps about purifications and various other bodily practices observed according to the law.
1 Tim. 1:8. But we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully.
That is, if someone not only explains it in words but also fulfills it in deed. For whoever studies the ordinances of the law but does not fulfill them uses the law unlawfully. Or alternatively, the one who is led by it to Christ uses the law lawfully. The law, not having the power to guide or justify, directs the one seeking righteousness to Christ — and this is its purpose: so that the one who prefers Christ to the law uses the law lawfully, that is, as the law itself commands.
1 Tim. 1:9–10. Knowing that the law is not made for a righteous man.
Because he does not wait for the law to teach him what must be done. This he knows, and he does not fear punishment. By the righteous man here understand one who has attained perfection in virtue: one who not out of fear before the law, but for the sake of the good itself hates evil, who becomes wholly virtue and does more than the law requires, considering it unworthy to be guided by that which threatens him with punishment; but living courageously in virtue, rises above everything characteristic of children; just as a physician is useful for one who has wounds and who is sick, but not for one who is healthy, or a bridle is necessary for a restless horse, but not for a calm one.
1 Tim. 1:9. But for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for fornicators, sodomites, kidnappers (slanderers, those who defile themselves with beasts), liars, perjurers.
The Apostle enumerates sins by categories in order to make those guilty of exclusively following the law feel ashamed. And such precisely were the Jews. They constantly bowed down to idols, sacrificed their children to gods, attempted to stone Moses, their hands were stained with blood — were they not impious and murderers? You will find in them all the remaining vices as well, if you trace their history. This is precisely why the law was given to them, so that it would restrain these vices. About this he also speaks in another place: the law "was added because of transgressions" (Gal. 3:19). But for the righteous, as those no longer inclined to transgressions, the law is not necessary.
1 Tim. 1:10. And for everything that is contrary to sound doctrine.
Although what had been said was sufficient, nevertheless for the sake of completeness the apostle also added in general: "and for everything." From this it becomes clear that such passions gain access from distorted dogmas, for they are all contrary to sound teaching.
1 Tim. 1:11. According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God.
So connect this passage with the words: "contrary to sound doctrine" (1 Tim. 1:10), which is "according to the gospel." And he calls it the gospel of glory for the sake of those who are ashamed of persecutions and the sufferings of Christ, showing that both the sufferings of Christ and persecutions constitute the glory of Christ. Or else the apostle calls the Gospel the gospel of glory because he hints at the future glory. For if, he says, our present state is full of shame, the future one is glorious. And this glory the Gospel proclaims to us, for the entire gospel relates to the future, not to the present time. Or else the apostle speaks here of the service to God, which the Gospel teaches us.
1 Tim. 1:11. Which has been entrusted to me.
Me, and not the false apostles: their gospel is a gospel of dishonor, and not of glory.
1 Tim. 1:12. I thank Him who gave me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord.
Since he said: "which was committed to my trust" (1 Tim. 1:11), then, lest it seem that he is boasting, he refers everything to God, and says: one must thank Him Who gave me the strength to be able to take upon myself such a burden. Indeed, it was not proper to human strength — to stand against daily dangers threatening death. Such is true humility: but our humility is in words, and not in the depths of the soul.
1 Tim. 1:12. That He counted me faithful, appointing me to ministry.
Lest any of the unbelievers should say: if everything belongs to God and nothing is contributed by us, then why did He make Paul such but not Judas? — the apostle, removing this objection, says: God did not simply strengthen me, nor without consideration, but because I proved faithful. He did not even say it that way, but: "He counted me faithful," again concealing his own merits. I do not claim, he says, that I was faithful, but that He counted me as such. How is this evident? From the fact that He appointed me to the ministry. For how would He have appointed me if He had not seen capability in me? This is like how in households stewards give thanks to their masters for the management entrusted to them, which they present as a sign that their masters consider them more worthy of trust than others. And God says of him: "he is My chosen vessel, to proclaim My name" (Acts 9:15). Thus, he was fit not only for preaching, but also to accomplish in deed that for which he was deemed fit — for this he received power from God. For whoever intends to preach the name of Christ, the great name, so as to impress it upon the souls of believers through preaching, has need of no small power. This is accomplished by the one who in all things worthily both thinks, and speaks, and acts regarding it; whoever is not such does not accomplish it. For how can one preach Christ who does not have Christ wholly within himself? Thus, in all things Paul was faithful, and he attributed nothing to himself of what belonged to the Lord; on the contrary, even his own he called God's. "I labored," he says, "more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God" (1 Cor. 15:10), and much else of the same kind.
1 Tim. 1:13. Me, who was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insolent man.