But thou, O man of God, fly these things: and pursue justice, godliness, faith, charity, patience, mildness.

“Immortality, then, is not the consequence of nature, but the reward and recompense of virtue. Lastly, man does not immediately upon his birth walk upright, but at first on all fours, because the nature of his body and of this present life is common to us with the dumb animals; afterwards, when his strength is confirmed, he raises himself, and his tongue is loosened so that he speaks plainly, and he ceases to be a dumb animal. And this argument teaches that man is born mortal; but that he afterwards becomes immortal, when he begins to live in conformity with the will of God, that is, to follow righteousness, which is comprised in the worship of God, since God raised man to a view of the heaven and of Himself. And this takes place when man, purified in the heavenly laver, lays aside his infancy together with all the pollution of his past life, and having received an increase of divine vigour, becomes a perfect and complete man. Therefore, because God has set forth virtue before man, although the soul and the body are connected together, yet they are contrary, and oppose one another. The things which are good for the soul are evil to the body, that is, the avoiding of riches, the prohibiting of pleasures, the contempt of pain and death. In like manner, the things which are good for the body are evil to the soul, that is, desire and lust, by which riches are desired, and the enjoyments of various pleasures, by which the soul is weakened and destroyed.”

“He in whomsoever the Spirit of God is, is in accord with the will of the Spirit of God; and, because he is in accord with the Spirit of God, therefore does he mortify the deeds of the body and live unto God, "treading down and subjugating the body and keeping it under; so that, while preaching to others," he may be a beautiful example and pattern to believers, and may spend his life in works which are worthy of the Holy Spirit, so that he may "not be cast away," [1 Corinthians 9:27] but may be approved before God and before men. For in "the man who is of God," [1 Timothy 6:11] with him I say there is nothing of the mind of the flesh; and especially in virgins of either sex; but the fruits of all of them are "the fruits of the Spirit" [Galatians 5:22] and of life, and they are truly the city of God, and the houses and temples in which God abides and dwells, and among which He walks, as in the holy city of heaven.”

“"But thou, O man of God." This is a title of great dignity. For we are all men of God, but the righteous peculiarly so, not by right of creation only, but by that of appropriation. If then thou art a "man of God," seek not superfluous things, which lead thee not to God, but "Flee these things, and follow after righteousness." Both expressions are emphatic; he does not say turn from one, and approach the other, but "flee these things, pursue righteousness," so as not to be covetous. "Godliness," that is, soundness in doctrines. "Faith," which is opposed to questionings. "Love," patience, meekness.”

“"As for you, man of God, flee from these things." You see, he didn't just say, "Leave and forsake," but "Flee from," as from an enemy. You were trying to flee with gold; flee from gold instead. Let your heart flee from it, and your use of it need have no worries. Do without greed; don't do without concern for others. There's something you can do with gold, if you're its master, not its slave. If you're the master of gold, you can do good with it; if you're its slave, it can do evil with you.”

“Above the Apostle showed what gain is expedient for Christians, namely piety with sufficiency; here he shows that those who seek a superfluous gain of riches incur many losses. And first he shows the evils that follow from an inordinate appetite for riches; second he assigns the reason, at the place "for the root..." But the evils that follow are twofold: for some arise from an outward enemy, but some from inward concupiscence, at the place "desires..." He says therefore: let us be content with food, etc.; because those who wish to become rich, not for necessity, but for abundance of riches, fall, etc. Ecclesiasticus 10:10: "Nothing is more wicked than to love money." Ecclesiastes 5:9: "He who loves riches shall not take fruit from them." And he sets down two things, namely temptations, and a snare, because first they tempt, inasmuch as riches allure, and lead to certain sins. 1 Thessalonians 3:5: "lest perhaps he who tempts should have tempted you, etc." 1 Corinthians 10:13: "Let no temptation take hold of you but such as is human." And they entangle with a snare, because riches are, to those who do not have them, unto temptation, and to those who have them, unto a snare, because they do not willingly give back what they take away. Proverbs 21:6: "He who gathers treasures with a lying tongue is vain and foolish." On the interior side he sets down three evils. First, that he falls into many desires. For the perfection of man is that his heart be gathered into one, because the more something is one, the more like it is to God, who is truly one. Psalm 26:4: "One thing I have asked of the Lord, etc." But he who seeks riches suffers against this, because his heart is drawn to diverse things. Hosea 10:2: "Their heart is divided, now they shall perish." And this is so, because Matthew 6:21: "where your treasure is, etc." Likewise, desires of this kind are useless in many ways. First, because they are useless spiritually, since riches do not lead to beatitude. Wisdom 5:8: "What has pride profited us? Or what has the boasting of riches conferred on us? etc." Ecclesiastes 5:9: "He who loves riches shall not take fruit from them." Likewise temporally, because they do not give what they promise. Ecclesiastes 6:1 and following: "There is another evil, which I have seen under the sun, and indeed frequent among men: a man to whom God has given riches, and substance, and honor, and nothing is lacking to his soul of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a stranger will devour it, etc." Third, they are harmful. Ecclesiastes 5:12: "Riches kept to the hurt of their owner." And he shows how they are harmful, because they plunge into destruction, namely in the present. On account of riches many have perished. Likewise in the future; hence he says "and perdition." Acts 8:20: "May your money be with you unto perdition." Or both are referred to spiritual damage. "Destruction," that is, eternal death. Romans 9:22: "He endured with much patience vessels of wrath fit for destruction, etc." And "perdition," that is, eternal punishment, which is called perdition on account of the punishment of loss, because they are as it were lost, the damned, since they cannot return to their home, namely of eternity. Job 21:30: "The wicked man is kept unto the day of destruction, and he shall be led to the day of wrath." Then when he says "root," etc., the reason for this is shown, and this from two things, namely from the nature of cupidity, and from experience, at the place "which some," etc. He says therefore: "they fall into temptation, etc." Why? Because "the root of all evils is cupidity." Here it is to be noted that according to some, cupidity is taken in three ways. Sometimes for avarice, insofar as it is a special sin, namely an inordinate love of having riches. Sometimes as it is a genus of all sins, insofar as it implies an inordinate appetite for a temporal thing, and this is included in every sin, because sin is a turning toward a changeable good. But in this sense it is not a root, but a genus of all. In a third way, insofar as it is a certain disorder of the mind toward desiring temporal goods inordinately, and this is only a habitual sin, and not in act, but it is a certain root of all sins. And cupidity is called "root," and pride "beginning." Ecclesiasticus 10:15: "The beginning of all sin is pride," because pride denotes a corruption of the mind toward withdrawing from God. But a tree has nourishment from the root, and thus sin takes its nourishment from cupidity on the part of the turning toward a changeable good. But I believe that he is speaking of cupidity insofar as it is a special sin, hence he says: "those who wish to become rich, etc." And this is the inordinate love of money. And therefore I say that avarice is the root of all. For all sins consist in appetite, and therefore the origin of sins is according to the origin of the things appetible. For the origin of appetible things proceeds from the end. And therefore the more a sin has an end that is more desirable, the worse it is. But the end of some sin is desirable on account of two things: namely, on account of itself, and this is excellence, because for this reason man wills that good, that he may excel. And this is pride, and therefore pride is the beginning of all sins. Likewise on account of something else, and this is that which avails for all things, and riches are of this kind, because through this men believe themselves to have all things. From this side, avarice is "the root of all evils." Then when he says "which some," he shows the same through experience. And he says "desiring," because the more riches are had, the more they are desired. Ecclesiasticus 5:9: "The greedy man shall not be filled with money." And they fall first into spiritual harm. Hence he says "they have erred from the faith." The reason for this is that through sound doctrine of the faith many illicit gains are prohibited, from which they are unwilling to desist, and they find for themselves another doctrine, where there might be hope of salvation for them. And this usurers do especially. Second, because "they have entangled themselves in many sorrows," even in the present, because there is anxiety in acquiring, fear in possessing, sorrow in losing. Job 20:22: "When he shall be satisfied with riches, he shall be straitened, he shall burn, and every sorrow shall rush upon him." And much more shall they grieve in the future. Then when he says "but you," he admonishes to follow sound doctrine, and to avoid the bad. And first he sets forth the way that he should follow; second he binds him by the introduction of a precept, at the place "I charge." Likewise, first he exhorts him to avoid the aforesaid sins; second he shows what he should do, at the place "but pursue." And because a servant ought to imitate his lord, since, as it is said in Ecclesiasticus 10:2: "As the judge of the people is, so also are his ministers," therefore he says: "O man of God"; as if he were to say: you are given over to the service of God. Psalm 115:6: "I am your servant." 1 John 2:6: "He who says he abides in him ought himself also to walk just as he walked." If therefore you are a man of God, you ought to do as Christ did, who, as is found in John 6:15, fled when they wished to make him king. Hebrews 12:2: "who, joy being set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame." Therefore you also "flee these things." Psalm 54:7: "I have gone far off flying away, and I remained in the wilderness." What then shall he do? He exhorts to two things: first, namely, to pursuing spiritual arms; second, to fighting in them, at the place "fight the good." But spiritual arms are either for doing good, or for enduring evil. The first, however, is either in relation to the neighbor, to whom we are ordered through two things, namely through justice and piety or mercy, because the first without the second is severity; the second without the first is remission. As to the first he says "pursue justice," which befits prelates. Wisdom 1:1: "Love justice, you who judge the earth." Likewise as to the second he says "piety," that is, mercy. Proverbs 20:28: "Mercy and justice preserve the king, and his throne is strengthened by clemency." But in relation to God, the first is that which perfects the intellect, namely faith. Hebrews 11:6: "Without faith it is impossible to please God, etc." The second, which perfects the affection, is charity. 1 John 4:16: "He who abides in charity abides in God, and God in him." For enduring evils there are two virtues, namely patience and meekness, because man in evil incurs two inordinate passions, namely inordinate sorrow, and anger which arises from it. And therefore patience is against immoderate sorrow. Luke 21:19: "In your patience you shall possess your souls." And meekness is against anger. Then he leads him to the due combat. And first he shows how he should fight; second he introduces the reason. He says therefore "fight the good fight," namely by the example of soldiers, who fight in two ways: namely, sometimes to defend what they have, sometimes to acquire what they do not have; and this is imminent for the saints. The first, that they may guard what they have, namely faith and the virtues; and therefore he says "of the faith," that is, for guarding the faith. Ecclesiasticus 4:33: "Fight even unto death for justice, etc." Or "of the faith," that through faith you may avoid sins. 1 John, last chapter: "This is the victory which overcomes the world, our faith." Or "of the faith," that is, that you may convert others to it. And he says "good," that is, a lawful fight. 1 Corinthians 9:25: "Everyone who strives in the contest abstains from all things." It is good then when one abstains from all hindrances. 2 Timothy 4:7: "I have fought the good fight." Second, they fight to acquire what they do not have. And this is eternal life, which is acquired through combat. Matthew 11:12: "The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away." And therefore he says "lay hold of eternal life," namely, as one holding it, that by your combat you may conquer. Or, that you may fight the fight of faith. And with what reward? That you may lay hold of eternal life. 1 Corinthians 9:25: "But we an incorruptible, etc." Then when he says "unto which you are called," he sets down the reason for this saying, namely "lay hold," etc. And first he responds to an objection, as if he were to say: you say that I ought to lay hold; I would indeed wish to, but I cannot. Nay, you can, because it is owed to you by right, since you have been called to it by God, and by the King of that kingdom. And therefore you ought most of all to strive. 1 Peter 2:9: "He has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." Second, he sets forth the obligation; as if he were to say: "fight the good fight," because you have given an oath of doing this, and therefore it is not lawful for you to resist. Hence he says "and confessed a good confession before many witnesses," that is, at your consecration you professed the good fight, when you were ordained bishop. 1 Corinthians 9:16: "For if I do not preach the gospel, etc.," up to "a dispensation has been entrusted to me." Or "a good confession," namely by preaching the faith, that you may keep it. Then when he says "I charge," he binds him to the aforesaid things by a precept, which he first sets down, and second manifests certain sayings, at the place "which in its own." But in the precept, first he introduces witnesses, second he commends the precept, third he shows how long he should keep the precept. He introduces as witnesses God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. He says therefore: I have admonished you, but lest you believe that it is lawful to do otherwise, "I charge you," just as you ought to charge your subjects, "before God." He had introduced two things, namely "lay hold of life," and "you have confessed," etc., and therefore he introduces the author of life, "who gives life to all things." But he says "God," who is the whole Trinity, who is the author of life. Likewise he also introduces the man Christ, who confessed himself to be the Son of God, which is the good confession of our faith. Likewise he commends the commandment, because it is in itself just, and right, and irreproachable by others. Job 6:30: "You shall not find iniquity in my tongue." And for how long is it to be kept? "Until the coming of the Lord." The term "until" denotes the end of the intention, that is, that through observance of this commandment you order yourself toward the coming. Or until your death, because as you shall be at that time, such shall you be found then. Matthew 24:13: "He who shall persevere unto the end, etc."”

“But thou, O man of God,.... Not only by creation, as every man is; nor merely by special grace, as everyone is, that is chosen of God, redeemed by Christ, and regenerated and sanctified by the Spirit; but by his peculiar office, as an evangelist and minister of the word, being qualified for, and devoted to, and employed in the service of God. The phrase is taken out of the Old Testament, where the prophets, Elijah and Elisha, are so called, Kg2 1:9, flee these things; the Arabic version reads "these abominations"; namely, all questions and strifes of words, from whence so many evils follow, Ti1 6:4 and all worldly gain, selfish interest, and mercenary views in religion; a wicked resolution to be rich, at any rate, and an immoderate love of the things of the world, and an eager pursuit after them, which expose to great danger, and even utter ruin; things very unbecoming any professor of religion, but much more a minister of the Gospel. And follow after righteousness; not for justification before God, that he had followed after, and attained unto, which is the righteousness of Christ, and not of the law; but for the honour of religion before men; and intends the doing of justice between man and man, giving everyone their own, which in undue affection for the world sometimes leads men from: godliness; spiritual religion, holiness of heart, and conversation, which has the promise of this life, as well as of the other, and with contentment is great gain; wherefore to pursue this is much better than greedily to run after the riches of this world, or with the false teachers to suppose that godliness lies in worldly gain, or in securing to a man his worldly interest: faith; the grace of faith, which looks not to things seen, which are temporal, but to things not seen, which are eternal; and leads off the mind from sublunary enjoyments to God, and Christ, and the glories of another world; and is the leading grace to all others, and the foundation of good works, without which there is no pleasing in acts of moral righteousness, or in any acts of religious worship, which may be called godliness: love; to God, which is inconsistent with serving mammon, or with an immoderate love of money; and to Christ, which will put a man on seeking, not his own things, but the things of Christ; and to the saints, which will direct him to serve them by acts of beneficence and liberality: patience; in bearing reproaches and indignities; in suffering injuries, loss of goods, imprisonment, and every sort of persecution, for the sake of the Gospel; which a covetous disposition will not admit of: last of all, meekness; or humility, not seeking great things, but being content with a lower station of life; for generally it is pride that puts men upon a determination to be rich at any rate: it may also design meekness in instructing the ignorant, in refuting error, and in reproving offenders.”

“But thou, O man of God - Thou, who hast taken God for thy portion, and art seeking a city that hath foundations, whose builder is the living God, flee these things. Escape for thy life. Even thou art not out of the reach of the love of money. How many of the ministers of religion have been ruined by this! And how much has religion itself suffered by their love of money! Follow after righteousness - Justice and uprightness in all thy dealings with men. Godliness - a thorough conformity to the image of God and mind of Christ. Faith in Jesus, and in all that he has spoken; and fidelity to the talents thou hast received, and the office with which thou art intrusted. Love - To God and all mankind. Patience in all trials and afflictions. Meekness - Bearing up with an even mind under all adversities and contradictions.”

“But thou--in contrast to the "some" (Ti1 6:10). man of God--who hast God as thy true riches (Gen 15:1; Psa 16:5; Lam 3:24). Applying primarily to Timothy as a minister (compare Pe2 1:21), just as the term was used of Moses (Deu 33:1), Samuel (Sa1 9:6), Elijah, and Elisha; but, as the exhortation is as to duties incumbent also on all Christians, the term applies secondarily to him (so Ti2 3:17) as a Christian man born of God (Jam 1:18; Jo1 5:1), no longer a man of the world raised above earthly things; therefore, God's property, not his own, bought with a price, and so having parted with all right in himself: Christ's work is to be his great work: he is to be Christ's living representative. flee these things--namely, "the love of money" with its evil results (Ti1 6:9-10). follow after righteousness-- (Ti2 2:22). godliness--"piety." Righteousness is more in relation to our fellow man; piety ("godliness") to God"; faith is the root of both (see on Tit 2:12). love--by which "faith worketh." patience--enduring perseverance amidst trials. meekness--The oldest manuscripts read, "meek-spiritedness," namely, towards the opponents of the Gospel.”