1 Timothy 6:5

6:1-5 Christians were not to suppose that religious knowledge, or Christian privileges, gave them any right to despise heathen masters, or to disobey lawful commands, or to expose their faults to others. And such as enjoyed the privilege of living with believing masters, were not to withhold due respect and reverence, because they were equal in respect to religious privileges, but were to serve with double diligence and cheerfulness, because of their faith in Christ, and as partakers of his free salvation. We are not to consent to any words as wholesome, except the words of our Lord Jesus Christ; to these we must give unfeigned consent. Commonly those are most proud who know least; for they do not know themselves. Hence come envy, strife, railings, evil-surmisings, disputes that are all subtlety, and of no solidity, between men of corrupt and carnal minds, ignorant of the truth and its sanctifying power, and seeking their worldly advantage.

Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth; paradiatribai, mutual tearings, and gallings of or interferings with one another. The word is applied to horses knocking one foot against another. The word without the preposition para signifies school conflicts by disputations; the preposition added makes it to signify, in an evil sense, disputations of sophisters, not candid for the finding out of truth, but perverse and litigious merely for masteries; which he saith proceeds from men corrupted as to their understanding and judgment. Supposing that gain is godliness; all whose religion is gain of riches or reputation. From such withdraw thyself; with such men have nothing to do, avoid them in thy private converse, and cast them out of the church if their faults be public scandals, and they be contumacious.

1 Timothy 6:5 . Διαπαρατριβαὶ ) διατριβὴ , a scholastic disputation or treatise . The insertion of παρὰ renders it significant of something perverse, as κατατομὴ for περιτομὴ , Php 3:2 . It is opposed to accede ( consent ), 1 Timothy 6:3 .— διαπαρατριβαὶ διεφθαρμένων ἀνθρώπων ) perverse disputings , which only become men of corrupt minds , 2 Timothy 3:8 : men corrupted in mind .— νομιζόντων , thinking ) i.e. inasmuch as they think, for there is no and put before it; comp. Romans 2:18 ; Romans 2:20 ; 2 Timothy 2:21 ; Hebrews 6:6 , where the use of the participles is the same.— πορισμὸν ) a gain [48] (means of making gain), a thing given for the sake of procuring property. [48] The article before εὐσέβειαν , and not before πορισμὸν , show the construction to be, “that godliness is a gain,” a way to advance one’s worldly interest not as Engl. Vers., “that gain is godliness.”—ED.

Perverse disputings (διαπαρατριβαὶ) N.T.o. olxx, oClass. Παρατριβή, is a rubbing against. Διὰ signifies continuance. The meaning therefore is continued friction. Hence wearing discussion; protracted wrangling. Of corrupt minds (διεφθαρμένων τὸν νοῦν) More correctly, corrupted in mind. The verb not common in N.T. In Paul only 2 Corinthians 4:16. Only here in Pastorals. Διαφθορά corruption only in Acts. Comp. κατεφθαρμένοι τὸν νοῦν corrupted in mind, 2 Timothy 3:8. Destitute of the truth (ἀπεστερημένων τῆς ἀληθείας) Rev. bereft of the truth. In N.T. commonly of defrauding, Mark 10:19; 1 Corinthians 6:7, 1 Corinthians 6:8; 1 Corinthians 7:5. The implication is that they once possessed the truth. They put it away from themselves (1 Timothy 1:19; Titus 1:14). Here it is represented as taken away from them. Comp. Romans 1:8. Gain is godliness (πορισμὸν εἶναι τὴν εὐσέβειαν) Wrong. Rend. that godliness is a way (or source) of gain. Πορισμὸς, only here and 1 Timothy 6:6, is a gain-making business. See Wisd. 13:19; 14:2. They make religion a means of livelihood. Comp. Titus 1:11.

5. Perverse disputings—useless disputings. The oldest manuscripts read, "lasting contests" [Wiesinger]; "incessant collisions" [Alford]. "Strifes of words" had already been mentioned so that he would not be likely to repeat the same idea (as in the English Version reading) again. corrupt minds—Greek, "of men corrupted (depraved) in mind." The inmost source of the evil is in the perverted mind (1Ti 6:4; 2Ti 3:8; Tit 1:15). destitute of the truth—(Tit 1:14). They had had the truth, but through want of moral integrity and of love of the truth, they were misled by a pretended deeper gnosis (knowledge) and higher ascetical holiness, of which they made a trade [Wiesinger]. supposing, &c.—The Greek requires, "supposing (regarding the matter in this point of view) that piety (so translated for 'godliness') is a means of gain (that is, a way of advancing one's worldly interests: a different Greek form, poriswa, expresses the thing gained, gain)"; not "that gain is godliness," as English Version. from such withdraw thyself—omitted in the oldest manuscripts. The connection with 1Ti 6:6 favors the omission of these words, which interrupt the connection.

Verse 5. - Wranglings for perverse disputings , A.V. and T.R.; corrupted in mind for of corrupt minds , A.V.; bereft for destitute , A.V.; godliness is a way of gain for gain is godliness , A.V. Wranglings ( διαπαρατριβαί , R . T .; παραδιατριβαί , T.R.). The R.T. has far the largest weight of authority in its favor (Ellicott). The substantive παρατριβή in Polybius means "provocation," "collision," "friction," and the like. Hence διαπαρατριβή (which is only found here) means "continued wranglings." The substantive διατριβή (English diatribe ) means, among other things, a "discussion" or "argument." The addition of πάρα gives the sense of a "perverse discussion," or " disputing ." Bereft ( ἀπεστερημένων ). The difference between the A.V. "destitute" and the R.V. " bereft" is that the latter implies that they once had possession of the truth, but had lost it by their own fault. They had fallen away from the truth, and were twice dead. Godliness is a way of gain. The A.V., that gain is godliness , is clearly wrong, utterly confusing the subject with the predicate, and so destroying the connection between the clause and ver. 6. A way of gain ( πορισμός ); only here and in ver. 6 in the New Testament. but found in Wisd. 13:19 Wisd. 14:2; Polybius, etc. It signifies "a source of gain," " a means of malting money," or, in one word, "a trade." The same charge is brought against the heretical teachers ( Titus 1:11 ).

5 . perverse disputings ] The best attested reading of the Greek word transposes the order of the preposition, and should give us for its meaning ‘continual collisions.’ This seems the reason for the rendering of R.V. wranglings . Compare a similar compound in LXX. 2 Samuel 3:30 , and Jos. Ant . x. 7. 5. of corrupt minds ] Lit. corrupted in mind . See note on ‘mind’ Titus 1:15 , and on ‘uncorruptness’ Titus 2:7 . destitute of the truth ] Our ‘destitute’ has almost ceased to have its original proper force ‘deprived’ of what was once possessed; hence R.V. has rightly substituted, as corresponding with the perf. pass, participle of the Greek, bereft . gain is godliness ] A well-known violation by A.V. of the law which places the article with the subject . The ending of the Greek noun for ‘gain’ implies rather a ‘trading,’ a ‘means of profit,’ like ‘the reaping time’ for ‘summer.’ Hence the twofold correction of R.V. godliness is a way of gain . But we lose the emphasis of the subject kept back to the end. Point is gained however in this respect by the omission (required on the authority of the best mss.) of the next clause, From such withdraw thyself . See Appendix, K.

1 Timothy 6:5 . διαπαρατριβαί : The force of the διά is expressed in the R.V., wranglings , which denotes protracted quarrellings, perconfricationes ([294]), conflictationes ([295], Vulg.). Field ( in loc .) comparing διαμάχεσθαι , διαφιλοτιμεῖσθαι , etc., prefers the sense of reciprocity, mutual irritations, gallings one of another (A.V. m.), “as infected sheep by contact communicate disease to the sound” (Chrys.). παραδιατριβαί (T.R.), perverse disputings , is given a milder sense by Winer-Moulton, Gram . p. 126, “misplaced diligence or useless disputing”. [294] Cod. Frisingensis [295] The Latin text of Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852. διεφθαρμένων τὸν νοῦν : cf. κατεφθαρμένοι τὸν νοῦν , 2 Timothy 3:8 , the acc. being that of the remoter object. Cf. , for the notion, τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν φθειρόμενον κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ἀπάτης , Ephesians 4:22 , also 1 Corinthians 15:33 , 2 Corinthians 11:3 , Judges 1:10 . ἀπεστερημένων : privati . ἀποστερέω conveys the notion of a person being deprived of a thing to which he has a right. See reff. This is expressed in R.V., bereft of . The truth was once theirs; they have disinherited themselves. The A.V., destitute of , does not assume that they ever had it. νομιζόντων , κ . τ . λ .: since they suppose . For this use of the participle Bengel compares Romans 2:18 ; Romans 2:20 , 2 Timothy 2:21 , Hebrews 6:6 . πορισμόν : a means of gain, quaestus .

The commentators quote Plutarch, Cato Major , § 25, δυσὶ κεχρῆσθαι μόνοις πορισμοῖς , γεωργίᾳ καὶ φειδοῖ . τὴν εὐσέβειαν : not godliness in general, pietatem (Vulg.), but the profession of Christianity, culturam Dei ([296]50). See 1 Timothy 2:2 . Allusions elsewhere to those who supposed that the gospel was a means of making money have usually reference to self-interested and grasping teachers ( 2 Corinthians 11:12 ; 2 Corinthians 12:17-18 ; Titus 1:11 ; 2 Peter 2:3 ). Here the significance of the clause may be that the false teachers demoralised slaves, suggesting to slaves who were converts, or possible converts, that the profession of Christianity involved an improvement in social position and worldly prospects. The article before εὐσεβ . shews that the A.V. is wrong, supposing that gain is godliness . [296] Speculum

(5) Perverse disputings. —The older authorities read here a word which should be rendered “lasting or obstinate conflicts.” These words close the long catalogue of the fruits of the teaching of the false masters of the new faith, and point out that the disputes engendered by these useless and unhappy controversies would be no mere temporary difficulties, but would indefinitely prolong their weary story. Of men of corrupt minds.—More accurately Tendered, corrupted in their mind. From their mind, over which corruption had spread, arose those mists which (1Timothy 6:4) had clouded their sight with pride. The language used seems to imply that for these unhappy men a time had existed when corruption had not done its fatal work. Destitute of the truth.—More literally, deprived of the truth. The truth was taken away from them: this was the immediate consequence of the corruption which had spread over their minds. Supposing that gain is godliness.—Here the translation of the Greek words must run thus, supposing that godliness is a source of gain. The article before the word signifying godliness requires this rendering of the sentence. (See Titus 1:11.) St. Paul, here adding his command to Timothy to have no dealings with these men, dismisses the subject with these few scathing words of scorn and contempt. One can imagine with what feelings of holy anger one like the noble chivalrous St.