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Paul's 1st Letter to Timothy

    

 

 

 

BOOK : 1 Timothy

Description : A letter from the apostle Paul to his young protégé, Timothy, encouraging and instructing on countering false teachers, administering the church and caring for the vulnerable.

Author: The apostle Paul

Date written : Probably somewhere between AD63 and AD65

Chapters:  6

Brief Synopsis:

•  Having left Timothy in Ephesus (1:3), and been unable to return (3:14,15)
•  Paul encourages Timothy be a good leader by:

•  Refuting false teaching and

•  Teaching on prayer, worship, and leadership/serving ministries (corporate life)

•  Teaching and caring for the elderly, widows, slaves & the affluent, i.e. those having special needs (individual lives)

•  As well as attending to his own needs as well.

     

  

Outline:

 

1:1-20 Paul & Timothy

1:1-2 Salutation

1:3-7 Paul's instruction for Timothy to refute false teachers

1:8-11 The right use of the Law

1:12-17 The Lord's Grace to Paul

1:18-20 The Purpose of Paul's Instructions to Timothy

Ch.2 & 3 Administration of the Church

2:1-15 Public Worship

2:1-8 Prayer in public worship

2:9-15 Women in public worship

3:1-13 Qualifications for Church Officers

3:1-7 Overseers

3:8-13 Deacons

3:14-16 Purpose of These Instructions

Ch.4 Countering False Teaching

4:1-5 False Teaching Described

4:6-16 Methods of Dealing with It Explained

5:1-6:2 Caring for Different Groups in the Church

5:1-2 The Older and Younger

5:3-16 Widows

5:17-25 Elders

6:1-2 Slaves

6:2c-21 Additional Directions for Timothy

6:3-5 Beware False Teaching

6:6-10 Aim for godly contentment

6:11-16 Look to yourself

6:17-19 Instruct the affluent

6:20-21 Care for what God has given you

      

    

Some Key Verses:
   
Paul's initial instruction to Timothy (referred to in 1:18 at the end of the section – see following)
1:3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia , stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer
1:18 Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you,
    
Paul's second area of instruction to Timothy - teach prayer & orderly worship administration
2:1,2 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
    
Paul's third (implied) area of instruction to Timothy – check out elders and deacons

3:1 Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.

    

Paul's fourth area of instruction to Timothy – continue to refute false teaching and maintain good teaching
4:6 If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.
     
Paul's fifth area of instruction to Timothy – teach & preach & press on
4:11-16 Command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers
 
Paul's sixth area of instruction to Timothy – teach/care for elderly, widows, slaves and the affluent (on into Ch.6)
5:1,2 Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.
  
  
Call to Refute False Teaching
     
In a number of verses Paul expressly prompted Timothy to refute false teaching. Note in what follows:

•  the nature of the error and

•  the effects of the error coming against the church

     

Error: false doctrines, focus on unbiblical myths, focus on genealogies, meaningless talk that does nothing to build the church, focusing back in the Laws
1:3-7 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia , stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies . These promote controversies rather than God's work--which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk . They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
    
Unbiblical asceticism from mistaken belief that material world was evil – part of Gnostic heresy
4:1-8 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods , which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
   
See first quote. Man-made arguing. Not revelation of God
6:3-5 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversie s and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
   
‘Special knowledge' was another aspect of Gnosticism
6:20,21 from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith.
   
 
Note ‘Sayings' used in teaching in the early church
     
There appear to have been a number of doctrinal ‘sayings' used by the early church to teach new converts. Some of those appear in this letter. We also include the 2 from 2 Tim and Titus.

     

1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.
  
3:1 Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.
  
3:16 Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.
   
4:8-10 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come . This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.
(NB. It is unclear whether Paul refers to the verse before or after. Both could be such sayings. We tend to feel it is more likely to be the words after.)

  

2 Tim 2:11-13 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself .

 

Titus 3:5-8 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying.

(Again it is unclear where this ‘saying' starts.)

   
Concluding Comments
 
As a series of instructions to a church leader, this is a fascinating letter because it reveals

•  the problems of the spiritual warfare of the day (false teaching)

•  the needs of direction in worship, prayer, leadership etc. for a new church

•  the needs of the vulnerable (including the rich) in the church, and

•  the personal needs of the leader himself.

    
  
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