Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Argument
Paul, driven from Ephesus by the craftsmen of Diana, went into Macedonia and Greece (Acts 20:1), leaving however Timothy at Ephesus, as is clear here in chapter 1, verse 3, namely that he might foster and promote the seeds of evangelical preaching cast by him. Hence Timothy, on account of his outstanding gifts of soul, while still a youth was made by Paul the first Bishop of Ephesus (says Eusebius, Book III of the History, ch. 4) — indeed Archbishop; for the Apostle commands him to establish and ordain Bishops in other cities, which is the office of an Archbishop. For Timothy, although born of a Greek and Gentile father, was nevertheless brought up in the faith of Christ by his Jewish and Christian mother (whose name was Eunice), and therefore was of upright character and from boyhood instructed in the sacred Scriptures, zealous for the faith, for which he also fell as a martyr at Ephesus. He was also a virgin throughout his entire life: hence St. Ignatius, in his epistle to the Philadelphians, numbers Timothy among the virgins and most holy men: "Would that, I might enjoy your holiness, like that of Elijah, of Joshua son of Nun, of Melchizedek, of Elisha, of Jeremiah, of John the Baptist, of that beloved disciple, like that of Timothy, Titus, Evodius, Clement, who departed from life in chastity!" For this reason therefore Paul made him the first Bishop of Ephesus; and since Ephesus was the metropolis of all the Churches of Asia Minor, it follows that Timothy was their Primate.
And for this cause, in Apocalypse 2, Christ first of all addresses the angel (that is, the Bishop) of Ephesus before the others; that this same one was Timothy — although some with Ribera in that same place deny it — is nevertheless more probably asserted by Lyranus (who says this is the common opinion), Aureolus, Pererius, Viegas in that same place, Magallianus here, Baronius and others. And this is clear from the fact that Timothy at this time was the first to be made Bishop of Ephesus, and that he sat and lived after the writing of the Apocalypse, as the ancients commonly teach, and as St. Dionysius sufficiently shows, who wrote after St. John and inscribed most of his books to this same Timothy. Indeed Baronius holds that Timothy sat at Ephesus and lived after St. John until the year of Christ 109, and that, then having undergone martyrdom, he had as successor Onesimus, whose Ephesian Episcopate, just then beginning, St. Ignatius mentions when writing in this same year of Christ 109 to the Ephesians, where he also mentions this Timothy, and calls him most faithful.
Thus then Christ praises the angel, that is the Bishop, of Ephesus, namely this Timothy, Apocalypse 2:2: "I know your works, and your labor, and your patience, and how you cannot bear those that are evil; and you have tried them which say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and have patience, and for My name's sake have labored, and have not fainted; nevertheless I have somewhat against you, because you have left your first charity." For doubtless even Saints gradually contract blemishes both in themselves and in their Church, by which the fervor of first conversion grows tepid, especially over so many years, amid such great labors and difficulties: for already when John wrote these things, Timothy had easily presided over Ephesus as Bishop for 40 years. For this epistle of Paul to Timothy, Bishop of Ephesus, was written in the year of Christ 57. But John writes the Apocalypse, and consequently those things in chapter 2 to the angel of Ephesus, that is, to Timothy, in the year of Christ 98, near the end of the reign of Domitian: for that the Apocalypse was written at that time is taught by Irenaeus, Book V, and after him Baronius. But Timothy, warned by the words of the Apocalypse, corrected this lukewarmness. Hence as the reward of his fervor and his ardent preaching and rebuking of the worshippers of Diana, he received martyrdom, as the Menologia have on January 24.
This young Bishop, indeed Archbishop, made by himself, Paul therefore in this epistle instructs and admonishes:
First, concerning the Episcopal office, that, having rejected genealogies and Jewish fables, he should teach those things which arouse faith and charity.
Second, in chapter 2, he commands prayers to be offered for princes, even though heathen, that under them they may lead a tranquil and quiet life. Then in the same chapter he teaches what befits men, what befits women, especially in Church.
Third, in chapter 3, he reviews the virtues required in a Bishop, and teaches what kind of, how outstanding and well-tested ministers — namely Bishops, Pastors, and Deacons — the Church ought to choose and ordain.
Fourth, in chapter 4, he commands that the superstitious selection of foods of the Encratites and Marcionites, and their disparagement of marriage, and other such fables be avoided. Then he warns that he should win authority for his youth by holiness of conduct, by zeal, and by doctrine, and be an example to others.
Fifth, in chapter 5, he prescribes how the elderly, the young men, the old women, and young women are to be admonished, and treats of the older widows of the Church and of the presbyters who preside over the Church, who must be supported, and warns that the younger widows are to be handled cautiously.
Sixth, in chapter 6, he teaches what servants owe to their masters. Then that true riches are placed not in gold and silver, but in piety and virtues; and that the rich ought by no means to trust in the vanity of riches. Finally he repeats and impresses upon him that he should avoid new dogmas, and preserve the faith and doctrine handed over and entrusted to him as a deposit.
Quite often in this epistle he stings and rebukes the heresies of Simon then arising. Whence this epistle is in part written against the Simonians, as is also the epistle to the Ephesians, whose Bishop Timothy was.
Baronius, with Athanasius in his Synopsis, and Theodoret, Preface to the Epistles of St. Paul, holds this epistle to have been written from Macedonia after the first to the Corinthians, in the year of Christ 57, which was the first of Nero's reign, and this from the fact that in chapter 1, verse 3, Paul says: "I requested you to remain at Ephesus when I was going into Macedonia." But these words do not press the point, nor signify that this epistle was written in Macedonia. Hence the Greek and Syriac at the end of the Epistle have it that it was written at Laodicea, which is the metropolis of Phrygia Pacatiana; and this is the more common opinion, even of Theodoret at the end of this epistle, where he changes his earlier opinion already stated. Recently Ludovicus Soto Major has written on this epistle and the two following, and our Magallianus copiously and elegantly, as also lately John Hessels, doctor of Louvain.