Neglect not the gift that is in thee
What qualifies men for the work of the ministry is a gift from
God: it is not of nature, nor is it mere natural abilities and
capacity; nor is it any thing acquired, it is not human learning,
or the knowledge of languages, arts, and sciences; nor is it
special saving grace; for a man may have all these, and yet not
be apt to teach, or fit for the ministry; but it is a peculiar
and distinct gift, it is a gift of interpreting the Scriptures,
and of dispensing the mysteries of grace to the edification of
others; which, when it meets in a man with all the rest before
mentioned, makes him very considerable: and this gift is in a
man; it is a treasure put into earthen vessels, a good treasure
in the heart, out of which a good minister of Christ brings forth
many good things, things new and old, both for the delight and
profit of men: and this gift is by no means to be neglected; this
talent should not be hid in the earth, or wrapped up in a napkin;
it should not lie dormant and useless, but should be stirred up,
cultivated, and improved, as it may by reading, meditation, and
prayer. And in order to enforce this exhortation on Timothy, the
apostle adds, which was given thee by prophecy;
that is, it was prophesied of before hand, by some of the
prophets in the church, that a very extraordinary gift should be
bestowed upon this young man, which would make him a very useful
person in the church of God; see ( 1 Timothy
1:18 ) and since it was now given, he ought not therefore to
neglect it: or it was given him, as some read it, with prophecy,
that he should use it, and it should be of great advantage to
many souls; or, together with this gift of preaching, he had also
a gift of foretelling things to come; or it may be, the words may
be better rendered, "for prophecy": that is, for preaching, for
prophesying is frequently used for preaching; see ( 1
Corinthians 13:2 ) ( 1
Corinthians 14:1 1
Corinthians 14:3 1
Corinthians 14:31 ) and then the sense is, that this gift was
given him to qualify him for the interpreting of the Scriptures,
the explaining of the prophecies of the Old Testament, and for
the preaching of the Gospel; and therefore he should not neglect
it, but use it for this purpose: and he adds, that it was given
him with the laying on of the hands of the
presbytery;
or "of the eldership", or elders. So (gerousia) , "eldership", is used by the Septuagint on
( Exodus
3:16 Exodus 3:18 ) for the
elders of Israel. Now of these elders Paul was one, ( 2 Timothy
1:6 ) nor is it unusual to call the apostles elders; see (
1 Peter 5:1 )
( 2 John
1:1 ) ( 3 John 1:1 ) . Who
joined with the apostle, in the imposition of hands on Timothy,
is not certain; I should think only apostles, since here was a
gift of the Holy Ghost came along with it; and it was only
through the laying on of the hands of the apostles that the Holy
Ghost was given. Philip, an evangelist, laid not hands on the
believing Samaritans; but Peter and John, apostles, were sent
down from Jerusalem to Samaria to do it, whereby many received
the gifts of the Holy Ghost, fitting them to take the care of
those new converts, and to spread the Gospel further in those
parts, ( Acts 8:5
Acts 8:12
Acts 8:14
Acts 8:17
Acts 8:18 ) .
And since gifts have ceased being conveyed this way, the rite of
laying on of hands in ordinations seems useless, and of no avail.
The apostle in calling those that joined with him, in putting
hands on Timothy, the "presbytery or eldership", may have some
reference to (hdeh ynqz) ,
"the elders of the congregation", which laid hands on the bullock
for a sin offering, ( Leviticus
4:15 ) by whom some understand the great sanhedrim
F13; others F14, not
all the elders, but some particular persons, in number three; and
so the ordination of a Rabbi was by three F15; hence
we read of (Mynyqzb hkymo)
, "imposition of hands by the elders" F16.