3:14-16 The church is the house of God; he dwells there. The church holds forth the Scripture and the doctrine of Christ, as a pillar holds forth a proclamation. When a church ceases to be the pillar and ground of truth, we may and ought to forsake her; for our regard to truth should be first and greatest. The mystery of godliness is Christ. He is God, who was made flesh, and was manifest in the flesh. God was pleased to manifest himself to man, by his own Son taking the nature of man. Though reproached as a sinner, and put to death as a malefactor, Christ was raised again by the Spirit, and so was justified from all the false charges with which he was loaded. Angels ministered to him, for he is the Lord of angels. The Gentiles welcomed the gospel which the Jews rejected. Let us remember that God was manifest in the flesh, to take away our sins, to redeem us from all iniquity, and to purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These doctrines must be shown forth by the fruits of the Spirit in our lives.

14. write I … hoping—that is, "though I hope to come unto thee shortly" (1Ti 4:13). As his hope was not very confident (1Ti 3:15), he provides for Timothy's lengthened superintendence by giving him the preceding rules to guide him. He now proceeds to give more general instructions to him as an evangelist, having a "gift" committed to him (1Ti 4:14).

shortly—Greek, "sooner," namely, than is presupposed in the preceding directions given to him. See my [2473]Introduction on this verse. This verse best suits the theory that this First Epistle was not written after Paul's visit and departure from Ephesus (Ac 19:1-20:38) when he had resolved to winter at Corinth after passing the summer in Macedonia (1Co 16:6), but after his first imprisonment at Rome (Ac 28:17-31); probably at Corinth, where he might have some thoughts of going on to Epirus before returning to Ephesus [Birks].