A Solemn Charge to Timothy to be Conscientiously Impartial in These Cases
1 Timothy 5:21
I charge you before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels…


I. THE SOLEMNITY OF THE CHARGE. "I solemnly charge thee before God, and Jesus Christ, and the elect angels."

1. Timothy, who is exhorted to faithfulness in judgment, is himself brought face to face with his Lord and Judge, who will appear along with the elect angels as assessors or executors of the Divine commands.

(1) God is omniscient and he is righteous, for with him is no respect of persons, and Timothy was a minister in the house of God, answerable for his discharge of all ecclesiastical duty.

(2) Christ is likewise omniscient as well as righteous, Head of the Church and Judge of the quick and the dead, before whose judgment-seat all must stand.

(3) "The elect angels."

(a) These, who left not their first estate, but have been preserved in their integrity by Christ, who is the Head both of angels and of men, are the ministers and attendants of God.

(b) There is nothing here to warrant the worship of angels, because they are not here regarded as judges, but as witnesses; neither are they sworn by nor appealed to by the apostle. The heavens and the earth are often summoned as witnesses in the same sense.

2. This high appeal was designed to elevate the mind of Timothy above all sinister motives, and secure him against the dangers of a timid compliance with evil.

II. THE SUBSTANCE OF THE CHARGE. "That thou keep these things without prejudging, doing nothing by partiality." He refers to the judicial inquiries respecting eiders and members of the Church.

1. There was to be an absence of prejudice. There must be no prejudging a case before it is heard, under the influence of party feeling. Timothy must calmly hearken to the case presented by both sides, and weigh the evidence without haste or favor to either side.

2. There was to be an absence of all partiality. "Doing nothing by partiality." There must be no leaning to one side more than another. The scales of justice must be held evenly in Church affairs. Eiders and members were alike to be judged with all fairness. - T.C.



Parallel Verses
KJV: I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.

WEB: I command you in the sight of God, and Christ Jesus, and the chosen angels, that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing by partiality.




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