For some are already turned aside after Satan.
ηδη γαρ τινες εξετραπησαν οπισω του σατανα
10 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Therefore he rejects such widows, not because he does not want them to be young, but because he does not want them to commit adultery. He does not want them to be idle, inquisitive without need, or to speak what they ought not. He does not want the devil to find in them an occasion for condemnation. Thus, if this were not present, he would not reject them.
"Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, and manage the house."
Chiefly, he says, I would have desired that they not break their vows. Since they themselves desire marriage, I also, condescending to them, desire this.
For it is better for them to manage a household, that is, to care for their own home and bear its labors and concerns, than to go from house to house, chatter, and spend time in idleness.
By saying, "bear children," the Apostle showed that one should enter marriage for the begetting of children, in order to bring many to God.
"And give no occasion to the adversary for reproach; for some have already turned aside after Satan."
Since he said, "that they manage the house," he added, "give no occasion for reproach." He did this so it would not seem that he gives them freedom to surrender to worldly pleasures.
Thus, he says, care for the house so that you do not harm the soul. Moreover, here the Apostle shows with complete clarity why he makes this concession to young widows.
He does it so as not to give the devil occasion to mock them. For after becoming brides of Christ, they may later fall into impure deeds through the instability proper to youth.
For this reason I bring them under the yoke of marriage. Having neither time nor leisure, they will have no opportunity to commit the many evil deeds shown above.
Later, after completing the discourse on marriage and virginity, we again compared monogamy with second marriage. As we placed marriage below virginity, so we placed monogamy below second marriage.
We did all this so that, as we said, "by carefully following the ordinances of Scripture, we might walk the straight road between them. We wished not to turn either right or left, and to fulfill the saying: 'Be not righteous overmuch'" (Eccl 7:17).
Have we not shown clearly what right and left mean in Holy Scripture, and what "be not righteous overmuch" means?
The left consists in following the passions of Jews and Gentiles and constantly thirsting for intercourse. The right consists in following the error of the Manichaeans, and, under outward chastity, being entangled in the nets of debauchery.
The straight road is to seek virginity in such a measure that one does not condemn marriage. Therefore, which judge of my writings will be so unjust as to say that I condemn first marriage, if he has read what I say about second marriage?
The Apostle permits second marriages, but he permits them to those who desire them, and to those who cannot contain themselves: "For when they grow wanton against Christ, they desire to marry, having condemnation, because they have rejected the first faith."
He permits this also because "some have turned aside after Satan" (1 Tim 5:11-12, 15). Yet it would have been better for them if they had remained unmarried. In this the Apostle points to his apostolic authority: "according to my counsel."
Some widows have turned away from their order and gone after Satan. That is, they followed the devil, who drew them into entering a second marriage, as was already said above.
It happens that one person calls a man, saying, “Come after me.” But another says to him, calling him back to himself, “Come after me.” Thus Christ the Lord says to every Christian, “Come after Me,” as was said above.
But Satan, the enemy of the human race, whispers in a man’s ears and calls him back to himself, saying, “Come after me.” A man hears his evil whisperings as often as he feels evil and God-opposing thoughts rising in his heart.
All this is his abominable whispering. O man, whom is it better for you to listen to? Christ, your Lord, who has shown such wondrous providence for you, wishes to save you, and bring you into His eternal Kingdom, as you have seen above?
Or the evil whisperer, the devil, who wishes to lead you away from Christ your Savior and cast you into eternal perdition?
Christ is Light. The devil is darkness. Christ is Life. The devil is death. Christ is Truth. The devil is a lie and the father of lies. Christ has loved you. The devil is your enemy.
Christ is your benefactor. The devil does evil to you. Christ is the true and highest Good. The devil is extreme evil. Christ is your Savior. The devil is your destroyer.
Christ wishes to save you forever and came into the world for your sake. The devil wishes to destroy you forever. Christ wishes to give you eternal life. The devil wishes to put you to death forever.
Christ wishes to bring you into His eternal Kingdom. The devil wishes to bring you after himself into eternal torment. Christ wishes to enrich you forever. The devil wishes to make you poor forever.
Christ wishes to glorify you forever. The devil wishes to put you to shame. Christ wishes to honor you eternally. The devil wishes to dishonor you eternally.
You see what Christ is, and what the devil is. You see why he whispers to you and calls you away from Christ, your Lord, to follow himself. He wishes to destroy you forever, as he himself is in perdition.
This is his cunning. This is his evil design against us.
Renounce, renounce, beloved, that evil whisperer, and spit upon him, as you did in holy Baptism. Turn away from this deceiver, turn to Christ your Lord, and follow Him in faith and righteousness, as you promised Him in Baptism.
He is your God, your Lord, who loved you. He is your benefactor, your eternal life, your everlasting light, your true and eternal blessedness. Without Him we cannot be blessed either in this age or in the age to come.
Cleave to the Lord your God: “It is good for me to draw near to God” (Ps 72:28).
Yet although the devil is a destroyer, many listen to him and follow him in great crowds. Fornicators, adulterers, and all lovers of impurity follow. The rancorous, man-haters, murderers, and those who shed human blood follow.
Those who oppose their parents, revile them, and do not honor them follow. Thieves, plunderers, robbers, bribe-taking judges, those who withhold the wages of hired workers, and those who seize another’s good by every unrighteousness and flattery follow.
Slanderers, revilers, and all who strike and wound their neighbor with the tongue as with a sword follow. Drunkards and lovers of pleasure follow. The crafty, the wicked, deceivers, and all who deceive their neighbor follow.
Every kind of lawless person follows, those who by their corrupt life oppose the word of God. Finally, those who have loved this age follow, those who think of earthly things and not the things above, loving to live in the pride and splendor of this world.
In a word, all who do not care for the word of God and for God, who join their heart to earthly things, and who do not care for their eternal salvation acquired by the Blood of Christ, all such follow Satan.
To all such the apostolic word applies: “Some have already turned aside after Satan” (1 Tim 5:15).
All such are ashamed of the words of Christ and of Christ Himself. They recoil from Him humbled, mocked, and dishonored, and withdraw from Him. Yet they wish to be with Him when He is glorified.
They do not wish to be with Him and follow Him here in this world, yet they wish to be partakers of His Kingdom. This is impossible. With whom a man is in this world, with him he will also be in the age to come.
O man, who bears the name of Christ but has followed Satan, remember what renunciations and vows you made at Baptism. Remember how you renounced Satan and all his works and all his pride.
Remember how you spat upon him, how you departed from him, how you cleaved to Christ. Remember how you promised and swore to serve Him in faith and righteousness, and to follow Him in humility and love, as a bride follows the bridegroom.
Where now are those renunciations of yours? Where are the vows, where the oath, where the service to Christ, where the following of Him?
You lied to God, not to man. You left God, not man. You left the light and loved darkness. You left life and loved death. Remember this, and turn to Christ your Savior.
Flee from that deceiver, as Israel fled from Pharaoh. And though he will pursue after you, since he has lost his prey, be bold. From the depth of your heart, sigh to almighty Jesus, that He may not remember your iniquities and may help you.
He who died for you awaits you with joy. With merciful embraces, like the prodigal son, He will embrace you (Lk 15:20).
And when you are freed from that tormentor’s heavy slavery, then with joy you will sing the song of victory to your Helper: “The Lord is my helper and protector; He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will glorify Him; my father’s God, and I will exalt Him” (Ex 15:2).
The angels in heaven will also rejoice over you. “There is joy among the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Lk 15:10).
“For some have already turned aside after Satan,” that is, according to Saint John Chrysostom, they have fallen into fornication.
"For when they grow wanton against Christ," that is, "when they fall into luxury in opposition to Christ," "they desire to marry, having condemnation, because they have rejected the first faith" (1 Tim 5:11-12).
Is it a sin for widows to marry? By no means. The Apostle himself says below, in verse 14: "I desire that younger widows marry and bear children."
The Apostle calls sin the widows' betrayal of their vow, the vow of unmarried widowhood. By faith he means this very vow of celibacy.
"For when they accept the resolve to remain widows for Christ, they enter into a covenant with Christ, that they are betrothed to Him forever. But when they incline toward marriage with a man, they break this covenant. For this they are subject to condemnation" (Oecumenius, Theophylact).
The Apostle portrays young widows in unfavorable traits. Without occupying themselves with work, they wander into other people's houses, spread every sort of rumor, search them out, give themselves to chatter, and seek husbands.
They are ready to abandon the faith, as has already happened with some. By this they have given themselves over to Satan and have given believers and unbelievers occasion for condemnation.
To prevent all these improprieties, the Apostle commands Timothy not to include such young widows among the church widows. Instead, he is to help them enter marriage.
Then, in bearing and raising children, they will find the work common to all women. Thus they will avoid every occasion for reproach, especially from the opponents of the faith: Jews, Gentiles, and heretics.
These heretics preached harmful celibacy, partly from error and partly with vile aims. They easily achieved those aims among young widows.
"The young widows themselves gave occasion for this ordinance concerning them," says Theophylact. "They did not endure widowhood. In accepting such a resolve, to remain widows for Christ, they enter into a covenant with Him. By it they are betrothed to Him forever.
But when they incline toward marriage, they break this covenant and are subject to condemnation. Being conquered by desires for pleasures and having grown cold toward widowhood, they only pretend to keep away from marriage. In reality they desire it.
As a result, with coarse arrogance and insensibility, they grow wanton and turn their eyes away from Christ as Bridegroom."
"It is clear that they chose widowhood lightly, without careful thought," says John Chrysostom.
"It would of course have been better if they had not turned away from Christ and had not broken their vow. But since some slip into this, let them rather not enter into a covenant with Christ. Let them not vow to dedicate themselves to Him, but marry again" (Oecumenius).
"For in this case God is not rejected, and they themselves do not learn to be idle. But lest you think that the Apostle gives them license to live as they please, he added: 'to give no occasion to the adversary for reproach.'
He rejects these widows because he does not want them to commit adultery. He does not want them to be idle, inquisitive without need, or to say what they ought not. He does not want the devil to find in them an occasion for condemnation.
If this were not the case, he would not have rejected them."
Then Timothy must use caution in choosing deaconesses. They had to assist presbyters at the baptism of women and perform various works of Christian love for women and children. This was not entirely suitable for deacons.
The widow chosen for this difficult office must be at least sixty years old. Only of such a woman can one be assured that she will not marry again, but will devote herself to her work with all her heart.
The reason why the Apostle requires that a deaconess be a woman married only once was certainly the same as the reason priests and deacons must be husbands of one wife.
Young widows seeking the office of deaconess should be refused. Under the influence of passions awakened again, they forget their promise to remain unmarried and to serve Christ.
By this they bring condemnation upon themselves as having betrayed the trust they formerly enjoyed from the Church, "because they have rejected the first faith."
To guard the Church from unworthy deaconesses, such as already existed even in the Apostle's time among certain young widows tempted by the devil, the Apostle finally commands care for widows.
This care is to be given not only by close relatives, but by their acquaintances in general. Then, such is the Apostle's thought, young widows will have no need to seek means of livelihood in the diaconate.
"They have turned aside," εξετραπησαν, means they have gone off, deviated, and strayed from the straight path indicated to them by the vow of widowhood. They have gone after Satan, that is, toward the bad conduct described above.
"A law is established on the basis of experience" (Theodoret).
"By this the Apostle answers the question: Why do you make such a warning concerning young widows, as though you care more for them than for virgins?
He says: because they themselves gave occasion for it by turning aside after Satan. I make such an ordinance concerning them not because I desire that there be no young women at all among widows who vow widowhood. Rather, I fear that after making the vow they may later abandon Christ" (Oecumenius).
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 7 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS