1 Timothy 2:6

Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) Who gave himself a ransom for all.—The declaration (of 1Timothy 2:5) that there was one God for fallen man would have been scarcely a joyful proclamation had it not been immediately followed by the announcement that between that one God and sinning man there was a mediator, Now (in 1Timothy 2:6) we have in a few words the inspired description of the manner in which the Mediator performed His office and work; of His own free sovereign will; He yielded up Himself to death as the price of the redemption of all mankind—His life in exchange for their forfeited lives.

St. Paul’s teaching here is very definite, and is utterly irreconcilable with much of the popular (so-called) theology of the day, which rejects this great Christian doctrine, so clearly taught here by St. Paul, of a “satisfactio vicaria.” This teaching asserts, that without pleading the death of Christ, we may, if we please, approach and find access to the Father, and such teaching as this passage shows is irreconcilable with gospel truth.

To be testified in due time.—Better rendered, “witness of which was to be borne in its own times. The meaning of the words is,” Jesus Christ in the eternal counsels, gave Himself to death as the price of the redemption of fallen man; at the appointed and fitting season He endured this death—this death was the witness to the truth of the tremendous offering made in the counsels of the eternal and ever-blessed Trinity. So St. Chrysostom, who asserts that “the witness to be borne” was given in the death and suffering of the Lord.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

2:1-7 The disciples of Christ must be praying people; all, without distinction of nation, sect, rank, or party. Our duty as Christians, is summed up in two words; godliness, that is, the right worshipping of God; and honesty, that is, good conduct toward all men. These must go together: we are not truly honest, if we are not godly, and do not render to God his due; and we are not truly godly, if not honest. What is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, we should abound in. There is one Mediator, and that Mediator gave himself a ransom for all. And this appointment has been made for the benefit of the Jews and the Gentiles of every nation; that all who are willing may come in this way, to the mercy-seat of a pardoning God, to seek reconciliation with him. Sin had made a quarrel between us and God; Jesus Christ is the Mediator who makes peace. He is a ransom that was to be known in due time. In the Old Testament times, his sufferings, and the glory that should follow, were spoken of as things to be revealed in the last times. Those who are saved must come to the knowledge of the truth, for that is God's appointed way to save sinners: if we do not know the truth, we cannot be ruled by it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Who gave himself a ransom for all - This also is stated as a reason why prayer should be offered for all, and a proof that God desires the salvation of all. The argument is, that as Christ died for all, it is proper to pray for all, and that the fact that he died for all is proof that God desired the salvation of all. Whatever proof of his desire for their salvation can be derived from this in relation to any of the race, is proof in relation to all. On the meaning of the phrase "he gave himself a ransom," see the Matthew 20:28 note; Romans 3:25 note; on the fact that it was for "all," see the notes on 2 Corinthians 5:14.

See also the Supp. note on the same passage.

To be testified in due time - Margin, "a testimony." The Greek is, "the testimony in its own times," or in proper times - τὸ μαρτύριον καιροῖς ἰδίοις to marturion kairois idiois. There have been very different explanations of this phrase. The common interpretation, and that which seems to me to be correct, is, that "the testimony of this will be furnished in the proper time; that is, in the proper time it shall be made known through all the world;" see Rosenmuller. Paul affirms it as a great and important truth that Christ gave himself a ransom for all mankind - for Jews and Gentiles; for all classes and conditions of people alike. This truth had not always been understood. The Jews had supposed that salvation was designed exclusively for their nation, and denied that it could be extended to others, unless they became Jews. According to them, salvation was not provided for, or offered to pagans as such, but only on condition that they became Jews. In opposition to this, Paul says that it was a doctrine of revelation that redemption was to be provided for all people, and that it was intended that the testimony to this should be afforded at the proper time. It was not fully made known under the ancient dispensation, but now the period had come when it should be communicated to all; compare Romans 5:6 note, and Galatians 4:4 note.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

6. gave himself—(Tit 2:14). Not only the Father gave Him for us (Joh 3:16); but the Son gave Himself (Php 2:5-8).

ransom—properly of a captive slave. Man was the captive slave of Satan, sold under sin. He was unable to ransom himself, because absolute obedience is due to God, and therefore no act of ours can satisfy for the least offense. Le 25:48 allowed one sold captive to be redeemed by one of his brethren. The Son of God, therefore, became man in order that, being made like unto us in all things, sin only excepted, as our elder brother He should redeem us (Mt 20:28; Eph 1:7; 1Pe 1:18, 19). The Greek implies not merely ransom, but a substituted or equivalent ransom: the Greek preposition, "anti," implying reciprocity and vicarious substitution.

for all—Greek, "in behalf of all": not merely for a privileged few; compare 1Ti 2:1: the argument for praying in behalf of all is given here.

to be testified—Greek, "the testimony (that which was to be testified of, 1Jo 5:8-11) in its own due times," or seasons, that is, in the times appointed by God for its being testified of (1Ti 6:15; Tit 1:3). The oneness of the Mediator, involving the universality of redemption (which faith, however, alone appropriates), was the great subject of Christian testimony [Alford] (1Co 1:6; 2:1; 2Th 1:10).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

’ Antilutron, the word here translated ransom, is very emphatical; it signifies the exchanging of condition with another, the laying down of one’s life to save another’s. This our Saviour has done for us. The Scripture discovers to us, that by nature we are the children of wrath, and guilty of many rebellious sins, and devoted to eternal death: being in this deplorable state, the Son of God, moved by his Divine love, undertook our restoring to the favour of God; and voluntarily endured the punishment due to our sins, and gave his most precious blood and life the price of our redemption, Matthew 20:28. If it be objected: How is it consistent with Christ giving

himself a ransom for all, that so many perish in their sins? The answer is clear: We must distinguish between the sufficiency of his ransom and the efficacy of it; he paid a ransom worthy to obtain the salvation of all men, and has done whatever was requisite to reconcile God, and make men capable of salvation; but only those who by a lively faith depend upon him, and obey him, are actual partakers of salvation: that is, no person but may be saved in believing; and if men perish, it is not from a defect of righteousness in the Mediator, but from the love of their lusts, and their obstinate rejecting their own mercies. And it is unjust that the glory of his Divine compassion and love should be obscured or lessened for their ungrateful neglect of it.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Who gave himself a ransom for all,.... What the Mediator gave as a ransom for men is "himself", his body and his soul, which were both made an offering for sin; and his life, which is the result of union between soul and body; his whole human nature as in union with his divine person, and so might be truly said to be himself: this he gave into the hands of men, of justice and of death; and that voluntarily, which shows his great love to his people; and also as a "ransom", or a ransom price for them, in their room and stead; to ransom them from the slavery of sin, and damnation by it, from the captivity of Satan, and the bondage of the law, and from the grave, death, hell, ruin, and destruction: and this ransom was given for "all"; not for every individual of mankind, for then all would be delivered, freed, and saved, whereas they are not; or else the ransom price is paid in vain, or God is unjust to receive a sufficient ransom price from Christ, and yet not free the captive, but punish the person for whom he has received satisfaction; neither of which can be said. But the meaning is, either that he gave himself a ransom for many, as in Matthew 20:28 for the Hebrew word to which this answers, signifies sometimes many, a multitude, and sometimes only a part of a multitude, as Kimchi observes (y): or rather it intends that Christ gave himself a ransom for all sorts of men, for men of every rank and quality, of every state and condition, of every age and sex, and for all sorts of sinners, and for some out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation, for both Jews and Gentiles; which latter may more especially be designed by all, as they are sometimes by the world, and the whole world; and so contains another argument why all sorts of men are to be prayed for, since the same ransom price is given for them; as that for the children of Israel was the same, for the rich as for the poor. We (z) read, that when the people of Israel comforted the high priest upon the death of his wife, or any relation, they used to say to him, , "we are thy atonement", expiation, or ransom; that is, as the commentators (a) explain it, by us thou shalt be atoned, for we will be in thy room and stead, with respect to all things that shall come upon thee; but here the High priest and Mediator is the atonement and ransom for the people:

to be testified in due time; or "a testimony in his own times"; that is, the sum and substance of what is before said is the Gospel, which is a testimony concerning the person, office, and grace of Christ, exhibited in the times of the Messiah, or the Gospel dispensation. Some copies read, "the mystery", which is another word often used for the Gospel; for that that is intended, appears by what follows.

(y) Sepher Shorash. rad. (z) Misna Sanhedrin, c. 2. sect. 1.((a) Jarchi & Bartenona in ib.

Geneva Study Bible

Who gave himself a ransom for all, {5} to be testified in due time.

(5) A confirmation, because even to the Gentiles is the secret of salvation now revealed and made manifest, the apostle himself being appointed for this office, which he faithfully and sincerely executes.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

1 Timothy 2:6. Ὁ δοὺς ἑαυτὸν ἀντίλυτρον ὑπὲρ πάντων] The word ἀντίλυτρον, which occurs only here, is synonymous with ἀντάλλαγμα in Matthew 16:26; it is distinguished from the simple λύτρον, as Matthies rightly remarks, only in this, that the preposition makes the idea of exchange still more emphatic. According to the usage of the N. T., there can be no doubt that the apostle here alludes to Christ’s reconciling death; comp., besides Titus 2:14, Matthew 20:28, etc., especially 1 Peter 1:18-19, where the τίμιον αἷμα is mentioned as the means by which we are redeemed. The expression δοὺς ἑαυτόν has here—where ἀντίλυτρον is added by way of apposition to ἑαυτόν (as in Matthew 20:28, λύτρον is in apposition to τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ)—the emphatic meaning of self-surrender to death, as in Titus 2:14, Galatians 1:4 (comp. also in John 6:51, ἣν [τὴν σάρκα μου] δώσω, which, indeed, is uncertain critically), where δοὺς ἑαυτόν has the same meaning as παραδοὺς ἑαυτόν in Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 5:25 (comp., too, Romans 8:32). He gave Himself as a ransom by giving Himself up to death. The thought on which it is based is this: men were held ἐν τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ τοῦ σκότους (Colossians 1:13); from this they could not free themselves (τί δώσει ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς ψυχῆς αὑτοῦ, Matthew 16:26); Christ therefore gave the ἀντίλυτρον necessary to free them; this ransom is Himself (δοὺς ἑαυτόν), i.e. His life: τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ, Matthew 20:28; so that by this, σωτηρία is purchased for them. This, however, was done for the benefit not of some, but of all. Hence Paul adds expressly ὑπὲρ (equivalent to: in commodum[92]) ΠΆΝΤΩΝ, which is emphatic, and with which he returns to the beginning of 1 Timothy 2:4. In this, as at 1 Timothy 1:15, the apostle revealed the substance of the ὙΓΙΑΊΝΟΥΣΑ ΔΙΔΑΣΚΑΛΊΑ, only that here he defines his former expression more precisely.

In order, however, that this act of love on the Lord’s part may bring forth its fruit, it must be proclaimed to the world; this is indicated in the words that follow.

ΤῸ ΜΑΡΤΎΡΙΟΝ ΚΑΙΡΟῖς ἸΔΊΟΙς] ΤῸ ΜΑΡΤΎΡΙΟΝ is not to be taken as in apposition to ἈΝΤΊΛΥΤΡΟΝ, and explained of the death of Christ (Chrysostom: ΜΑΡΤΎΡΙΟΝ ΤῸ ΠΆΘΟς); it is to be regarded as in apposition to the thought contained in the previous words of this verse (not “to the whole of what was previously said,” Hofmann). This does not mean, however, that τὸ μαρτύριον denotes Christ’s gift of Himself as a ransom (or “Christ’s sacrifice”), to be “the witness of salvation set forth at the appointed time, the historical fact that the divine purpose of salvation is realized” (Matthies);[93] for ΜΑΡΤΎΡΙΟΝ is not the deed itself, but the attestation, the proclamation of the deed; comp. 1 Corinthians 1:6; 1 Corinthians 2:1. Nor does it mean that by ΜΑΡΤΎΡΙΟΝ we are to understand the testimonium, quod Deus per Christi vitam, doctrinam et mortem protulit, vera esse ea omnia et rata, quae V. T. prophetae fore divinaverant (Heinrichs), for there is nothing to indicate an allusion to O. T. prophecy. The act of Christ already mentioned is called ΤῸ ΜΑΡΤΎΡΙΟΝ, in so far as this was its meaning and purpose. Bengel: ΤῸ ΜΑΡΤΎΡΙΟΝ acc. absol. ut ἜΝΔΕΙΓΜΑ, 2 Thessalonians 1:5, innuitur testimonium redemtionis universalis.[94] The reason why the preaching of the gospel is called ΜΑΡΤΎΡΙΟΝ, is that its subject is an historical fact, the importance of which becomes known only by individual experience.

ΚΑΙΡΟῖς ἸΔΊΟΙς] “is to be connected with ΤῸ ΜΑΡΤΎΡΙΟΝ, just as if it were connected with ΤῸ ΜΑΡΤΥΡΟΎΜΕΝΟΝ” (Hofmann); the same expression is found in 1 Timothy 6:15; Titus 1:3; also Galatians 6:9 (Acts 17:26 : ΚΑΙΡΟῚ ΠΡΟΤΕΤΑΓΜΈΝΟΙ); Chrysostom: ΤΟῖς ΠΡΟΣΉΚΟΥΣΙ ΚΑΙΡΟῖς.

[92] Van Oosterzee asserts, without reason, that ὑπέρ here is to be taken in the sense of substitution.

[93] Leo’s explanation is substantially the same as this: Quae Christus, inquit apostolus, ad homines servandos fecit, ea sunt ipsius Dei testimonium. Quid vero testatus est Deus eo, quod Jesum Christum mori passus est? Quid aliud, quam amorem suum in genus humanum plane incomparabilem?

[94] Van Oosterzee believes that μαρτύριον here must be taken as in apposition to ἀντίλυτρον, the apostle calling the Lord’s surrender of Himself the great μαρτύριον, with special reference to the truth mentioned in ver. 4. But against this it is to be remarked, that this explanation does not give a right definition of the relation of apposition, nor of the meaning and purpose of the μαρτύριον.

Expositor's Greek Testament

1 Timothy 2:6. ὁ δοὺς ἑαυτόν: The Evangelists record our Lord’s own declarations that His death was a spontaneous and voluntary sacrifice on His part, Matthew 20:28 = Mark 10:45, δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν. Cf. John 10:18; and St. Paul affirms it, Galatians 1:4, τοῦ δόντος έαυτὸν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν; Titus 2:14, ὃς ἔδωκεν ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν κ.τ.λ. (παραδίδωμι is used in Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 5:2; Ephesians 5:25). We may note that this statement necessarily implies not only the pre-existence of our Lord, but also His co-operation in the eternal counsels and purpose of the Father as regards the salvation of man.

Alford is probably right in saying that δοῦναι ἑαυτόν, as St. Paul expresses it, suggests more than δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ. The latter might naturally be limited to the sacrifice of His death; the former connotes the sacrifice of His lifetime, the whole of the humiliation and self-emptying of the Incarnation. The soundness of this exegesis is not impaired by the probability that τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ may be nothing more than a Semitic periphrasis for ἑαυτόν. See J. H. Moulton, Grammar, vol. i. p. 87, who compares Mark 8:36, ζημιωθῆναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ, with Luke 9:25, ἑαυτὸν δὲ ἀπολέσας ἢ ζημιωθείς.

ἀντίλυτρον ὑπὲρ πάντων: If we are to see any special force in the ἀντί, we may say that it expresses that the λύτρον is equivalent in value to the thing procured by means of it. But perhaps St. Paul’s use of the word, if he did not coin it, is due to his desire to reaffirm our Lord’s well-known declaration in the most emphatic way possible. λύτρον ἀντὶ merely implies an exchange; ἀντίλυτρον ὑπέρ implies that the exchange is decidedly a benefit to those on whose behalf it is made. As far as the suggestion of vicariousness is concerned, there does not seem to be much difference between the two phrases.

τὸ μαρτύριον, as Ellicott says, “is an accusative in apposition to the preceding sentence,” or rather clause, ὁ δοὺς … πάντων. So R.V. Bengel compares ἔνδειγμα, 2 Thessalonians 1:5; cf. also Romans 12:1. The great act of self-sacrifice is timeless; but as historically apprehended by us, the testimony concerning it must be made during a particular and suitable period of history, i.e., from the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostolic company (Acts 1:8) until the Second Coming (2 Thessalonians 1:10). The temporal mission of the Son of God took place “when the fulness of the time came” (Galatians 4:4); it was an οἰκονομία τοῦ πληρώματος τῶν καιρῶν (Ephesians 1:10). The testimony is of course borne by God (1 John 5:9-11), but He uses human agency, the preachers of the Gospel.

καιροῖς ἰδίοις: See reff. The analogy of Galatians 6:9, καιρῷ γὰρ ἰδίῳ θερίσομεν, suggests that we should render it always in due season. The plural expresses the fact that the bearing of testimony extends over many seasons; but each man reaps his own harvest only once. In any case, the seasons relate both to the Witness and that whereof He is a witness: “his own times” and “its own times” (R.V.).

The dative is that “of the time wherein the action takes place,” Ell., who compares Romans 16:25, χρόνοις αἰωνίοις σεσιγημένου.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

6. a ransom] The word is a compound naturally formed, as time passed, to represent Christ’s own teaching, antilutron thus recalling the lutron anti of Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45. On this last verse Maclear distinguishes, from Trench’s Syn., p. 276, the three great circles of images in Scripture used to represent the purport of Christ’s death:

(a) sin offering or propitiation, 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10.

(b) atonement, i.e. at-one-ment, reconciliation with an offended friend, Romans 5:11; Romans 11:15; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19.

(c) ransom, or the price paid for the redemption of a captive from slavery, Romans 3:24; Ephesians 1:7.

This third image, which is St Paul’s latest love, occurs again, Titus 2:14, ‘that he might redeem us from all iniquity,’ and is chosen by St Peter, 1 Peter 1:18, and the writer to the Hebrews, Hebrews 9:12.

Our Article II. like this creed, and unlike the Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, adds a statement of the purport of Christ’s death to its statement of the fact; but takes the first and second of these images to express it; “who truly suffered, was crucified, dead and buried, to reconcile His Father to us, and to be a sacrifice not only for original guilt but also for all actual sins of men.” Cf. Art. XV.: ‘He came to be the Lamb without spot, who by sacrifice of Himself once made should take away the sins of the world.’

to be testified in due time] R.V. the testimony to be borne in its proper seasons; the neuter substantive having its proper sense, ‘that which was to be testified of.’ The word may well have come into this creed from the familiarity of the Jewish Christians with its use (as Wordsworth suggests) in the Pentateuch, where it occurs 30 times in connexion with the Holy of Holies, the Tables of the law, the Tabernacle and the Ark. Cf. Acts 7:44, ‘Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness.’ ‘The redemption made by the Blood of Christ was the True Testimony which was reserved for its full revelation in its own appointed season,’ Ephesians 1:10, ‘a dispensation of the fulness of the seasons to sum up all things in Christ.’

The reading is not doubtful, though from the apparent abruptness (sufficiently accounted for if part of a brief creed) the scribes in the mss. seem to have stumbled at the clause, each giving some variety for smoothness. See note on 1 Timothy 2:5 for the connexion; which makes the force and relevance of the familiar phrases strong and clear.

Bengel's Gnomen

1 Timothy 2:6. Τὸ μαρτύριον, the testimony) The accusative absolute, as ἔνδειγμα, 2 Thessalonians 1:5. A word suited to the character which Paul and Timothy sustained; for they were witnesses. The testimony of universal redemption is intended.—καιροῖς ἰδίοις, in its own due times, or His own due times) ch. 1 Timothy 6:15, note.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 6. - The testimony to be borne in its own times for to be testified in due time, A.V. Τὸ μαρτύριον καιροῖς ἰδιοις. This phrase is somewhat obscure, and is differently explained. But the most literal rendering and the best sense seems to be: " The testimony, at its proper time, to which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle," meaning that the mediation and redemption of Jesus Christ was the subject-matter of that testimony which he Paul was appointed to bear at the proper time. Τὸ μαρτύριον εἰς ο{ must be taken together, without any intervening stop. This accounts for the article τό. The exactly parallel place is Titus 1:1, 2, as a close comparison of the two passages will show. A further proof of the identity of thought in the two passage's is the recurrence in both of the phrase, ἐπιγνωσις ἀληθείας. A ransom (ἀντίλυτρον); here only in the New Testament, but it is used perhaps by Symmachus in Psalm 48:9 (Psalms 49:9, A.V.), where the LXX, have Γὴν τιμὴν τῆς λυτρώσεως τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ, following the reading יְקַר, instead of יֵקַר as in the Hebrew text. "What means a ransom? They were about to perish, but in their stead he gave his Son, and sent us as heralds to proclaim the cross" (Chrysostom). The equivalent word in the Gospels is ἀντάλλαγμα (Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:87). Ἀντίλυτρον does at seem to differ materially in me, ulna from λύτρον, the common classical word for "ransom" (i.e. redemption money), and used by our Lord of his own life given as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45). It is the price given as an equivalent for setting free the prisoner, or sparing the forfeited life; λυτρόω (Luke 24:21, etc.), λύτρωσις (Luke 1:68, etc.), λυτρωτής (Acts 7:35), ἀπολύτρωσις (Luke 21:28; Romans 3:24, and passim), have all the sense of "redeem," "redemption," and the like. In its own times. The notion of a time specially appointed for Christ's coming into the world is frequently dwelt upon in Scripture; e.g., Galatians 4:4; Ephesians 1:10; Hebrews 1:2 (camp. Acts 17:30, 31; 2 Corinthians 6:2). (See the same phrase, 1 Timothy 6:15.) 1 Timothy 2:6

Vincent's Word Studies

Who gave himself (ὁ δοὺς ἐαυτὸν)

The phrase with the simple verb only here, Galatians 1:4, and Titus 2:14. Paul uses the compound verb παραδιδόναι, Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 5:2, Ephesians 5:25. Comp. Romans 8:32.

Ransom (ἀντίλυτρον)

N.T.o. olxx. oClass. Λύτρον ransom, Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45, applied to Christ's life given for many. But neither this nor any of its kindred words is used by Paul. He uses ἀπολύτρωσις, but that means the act not the means of redemption.

For all (ὑπὲρ)

Ὑπὲρ does not mean instead of (ἀντὶ). See on Romans 5:6. Any idea of exchange or substitution which may be implied, resides in ἀντίλυτρον; but it is pressing that unique word too far to find in it the announcement of a substitutional atonement.

To be testified in due time (τὸ μαρτύριον καιροῖς ἰδίοις)

Lit. (gave himself a ransom) the testimony in its own times. That is, the gift of Christ as a ransom was to be the substance or import of the testimony which was to be set forth in its proper seasons. Thus μαρτύριον testimony is in apposition with the whole preceding sentence, and not with ransom only. Μαρτύριον is used sometimes simply as witness or testimony (Matthew 8:4; Mark 6:11): sometimes specially of the proclamation of the gospel, as Matthew 24:14; Acts 4:33; 1 Thessalonians 1:10. The apostles are said, μαρτυρεῖν to bear witness, as eye or ear witnesses of the sayings, deeds, and sufferings of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:15). In 1 Corinthians 1:6, μαρτύριον τοῦ Χριστοῦ is practically equals the gospel. In 2 Thessalonians 1:10, τὸ μαρτύριον ἡμῶν ἐφ' ὑμᾶς our testimony among you is our public attestation of the truth of the gospel. The idea of witness is a favorite one with John. See John 1:7. The exact phrase καιροῖς ἰδίοις in its own times, only in the Pastorals, here, 1 Timothy 6:15; Titus 1:3. In Galatians 6:9 καιρῷ ἰδίῳ in due time. Comp. Galatians 4:4.