1 Timothy 6 Footnotes

6:1 Paul did not call for slavery’s abolition—a futile endeavor in the ancient Roman world that would have confirmed pagan suspicions that Christianity destroys the fabric of society. Paul urged slaves to embrace freedom if the opportunity arose (1Co 7:20). He also called for slavery reform within the church, urging fair treatment of slaves and generous financial support (Col 4:1). These reforms amounted to a virtual abolition of slavery by Christian masters. They were to view Christian slaves as brothers (1Tm 6:2), thus as equals. And Paul described the slaves’ service (lit “kind deeds”) as voluntary rather than coerced, see note on Ti 2:9.

6:14 Some claim Paul mistakenly expected the second coming to occur within Timothy’s lifetime. However, Paul’s words merely expressed the hope of Christ’s soon return. Paul was convinced that he was living in the last days (4:1; 2Tm 3:1; 4:1), a period beginning with Jesus’s resurrection. This conviction is balanced by: (1) the insistence that the time for Christ’s return was in God’s hands (1Tm 6:15 implies that God alone knew that time) and (2) Paul’s stated expectation of his own death (2Tm 4:6-8). He described the suddenness and possible imminence of Christ’s return (1Co 7:29-31; 1Th 5:2) while expecting delay since events that would precede the return had not occurred (2Th 2:3-8).

6:16 On divine invisibility, see note on 1:17. God’s sole immortality does not contradict the believer’s immortality through resurrection. The word here translated “immortal” means “not capable of dying”—inappropriate for believers, who may die physically before the resurrection—and carries connotations of eternal self-existence, which non-divine beings do not possess.