Paul To Timothy

I Timothy 1: 1-11

Paul met Timothy at Lystra on his second missionary journey. He was the son of a Jewish Christian mother and grandmother and a Greek father (Acts 16: 1-3).

Paul wrote this first letter to Timothy to encourage him in dealing with certain false teachers who had planted themselves in the church at Ephesus.

(1) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,

Paul always began his letters with his name, in keeping with the custom of that day. Born a Roman citizen (Acts 22: 27-28), he had been given the Latin name "Paulus" in addition to his Jewish name Saul. I read somewhere that the name "Saul" means "Great One," and the name "Paul" means "Small One." At any rate, Saul of Tarsis began to use his Roman name Paul when he began to reach out to Gentiles, as we find in all of his letters.

He calls himself an apostle of Christ Jesus, a title first given to the original 12 chosen students of the Lord. The word in the Greek, apostolos, literally means "one sent on a mission." Christ had commissioned and sent him as a missionary, not by his own choice, but "by the command of God and of Christ Jesus."

Paul had evidently expected to be a Jewish rabbi, but God had other plans for his life, and this firm assurance no doubt carried him through all of his hardships.

(2) To Timothy, my true child in the faith:

This could have a double meaning: that he was a true believer and he was a genuine convert under Paul's ministry. Apparently Timothy could have become a Christian under Paul's preaching at Lystra during his first missionary journey (about 47 A.D.), and had grown so much in the Lord that two years later (49 A.D.) he was ready to become his apprentice.

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Here is the greeting. Grace is "gracefulness" and "graciousness," the divine favor that God bestows freely on all who will believe. Mercy is added to Paul's usual greeting, possibly because of the difficulties Timothy was facing there, and also in reference to Timothy's frail health (see 5: 23). Peace has always been the typical greeting of the East and Middle-East.

(3) As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus

When Paul went to Macedonia from Ephesus must have been after he had been released from his two-year imprisonment as recorded at the conclusion of Acts, and made another trip, including Ephesus and Macedonia. Having discovered some conditions that needed extended attention, he left Timothy there at Ephesus to pastor this important church.

so that you may instruct certain men

The church has always had false teachers who try to pervert the pure teachings of Scripture for their own purposes. Paul trusts Timothy to confront the impostors who have lodged themselves there.

not to teach strange doctrines,

(4) nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies,

These strange doctrines and myths and endless genealogies could refer to a Gnosticism that was being spread in that day, and/or Jewish teachers who were caught up in a mythological treatment of Old Testament genealogies.

which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.

Paul says that these cerebral teachings only promote controversies rather than God's work, which is by faith. We stand by believing what Scripture says, not by weaving webs of whimsical fantasies.

(5) But the goal of our instruction is love

God is Love, and we are to love Him back and love one another, which is the foundation and basis of all the Law (Matthew 22: 37-40) and our relationships. This love is agape the love with which God loves us. It is our unselfish love of full loyalty to God and boundless goodwill to our fellowmen.

from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

This can only come from a heart that is cleansed from selfcenteredness, then we must maintain a good conscience for love to function properly, all based on faith that is unhypocritical.

(6) For some men, straying from these things,

These have missed the mark, astochesantes (astocheo, "miss the mark, deviate from the truth, err, swerve").

have turned aside to fruitless discussion,

They have gone backward and their words are "vain jangling," not knowing what they are talking about; they are what Philo called, "syllable-squabblers."

(7) wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.

They want to have authority as teachers, but they don't even know what they're talking about, or asserting with apparent confidence.

(8) But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

The Law is the Mosaic Law, and it must be applied lawfully.

(9) realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious,

Laws are not needed for law abiding people, but are only needed to curb those who are lawless and rebellious to limit the damage they do to society.

Then he names some of these kinds of people. Lawless are those who ignore the law. Rebels are insubordinate, not subject to rule.

for the ungodly and sinners,

The ungodly and sinners are deliberately guilty of irreverence.

for the unholy and profane,

Unholy and profane are irreligious, having no sense of the sacred.

for those who kill their fathers or mothers,

The words here mean to "smite" fathers or mothers, the central meaning here is dishonoring parents, an extreme and outrageous violation of the fifth commandment, that was punishable by death.

for murderers

And murderers are mentioned next.

(10) and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers,

Immoral men are adulterers, and arsenokoitais are "male homosexuals," which has been categorically condemned in both the Old and New Testaments, and is the peculiar sin for which God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. It is widely recognized as one of the causes of the downfall of the Roman Empire.

Kidnappers are slave-traders who steal the people they enslave.

Liars and perjurers deal in deception, against the truth.

and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,

Paul doesn't want to miss any important item, so he throws this in to cover anything else that might apply.

"Sound doctrine" is both healthful and wholesome, as E. F. Scott writes:

"The gospel is healthy. . . . Law is a sort of medicine, only to be applied where the moral nature is diseased; Christian teaching is a healthy food for healthy people, a means of joy, freedom, larger activity" (Scott, E.F. The Pastoral Epistles. New York: Harper and Brothers, n.d. (1936) p. 10)

(11) according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.

The "gospel of the glory of the blessed God" shows the moral character and perfections of God in the person and work of Christ.

Paul is still amazed that this "has been entrusted to me!" That God would place such trust in him, after having opposed the gospel and persecuted the church.

This introduces the next section.

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!