Reading God's Word at the Capital
02 May '14 05:542 editsOriginally posted by RBHILL1 Timothy 4:12-14a A Good Minister of Jesus Christ: 12. "Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. 13. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. 14a. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you..." New American Standard
1Tim. 4:13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.
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13. "Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching."
Strong's Concordance: ◄ 320. anagnósis & #9658;
anagnósis: recognition, reading
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: anagnósis
Phonetic Spelling: (an-ag'-no-sis)
Short Definition: reading
Definition: recognition, reading; public reading (of the law and prophets in synagogue or church). http://biblehub.com/greek/320.htm
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Expository (English Bible) Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1 Timothy 4:13 "Till I come, give attendance to reading.—The words evidently imply a hope, perhaps even an expectation, on the part of St. Paul, that he would one day be enabled once more to visit the Church of Ephesus; but so long as that absence lasted, Timothy was to attend carefully to three special points in the public ministry in which he was, in the Apostle’s absence, the chief officer.
The “reading” was that public reading of Scripture in the congregation—a practice borrowed from the synagogue service, when publicly the Law and the Prophets were read to the people assembled. (See Luke 4:16; Acts 13:15.) In these early Christian assemblies, about the year 66-67, the question arises, Were any Scriptures read in public besides the books of the Old Testament? No certain reply can be given: it is, however, probable, even at this very early date, that one at least of the older Gospels (probably St. Mark) was already known and used in the Christian churches, and read along with the Scriptures of the old covenant. That the reading of the “Gospels” very soon became a part of the regular service in the congregations of Christians is evident from the words of Justin Martyr, Apologia, i. 67, written in the first half of the first century.
To exhortation, to doctrine.—These both most probably refer to the public ministry in the congregation. The first, “exhortation,” particularly applies to the feelings*. The reading of the Scriptures must be followed by an earnest practical application of their teaching to the affairs of that life in the midst of which the Christian listener was living. The word “doctrine” suggests a public teaching directed rather to the understanding of the hearers. The idea of exposition, or even of dogmatic teaching, seems here included.
*"feelings": Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary: exhortation—addressed to the feelings and will with a view to the regulation of the conduct." http://biblehub.com/commentaries/1_timothy/4-13.htm
Note: RB, from this commentary and several others I just read online, Paul's exhortation to Timothy [as a young pastor] is twofold: 1) To become well versed in the New Testament Books through diligent private study as preparation; 2) and then an exhortation for him to provide teaching by public exegesis to his congregation in Ephesus (not public evangelism per se).
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