SSL 1 - 1 Tim. 1:1-17
INTRODUCTION: 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus all belong to a category of books called the Pastoral Epistles because they deal with the issues of church leadership. All three books are thought to have been written between 64 and 67 A.D. Timothy was a native of Lystra in Asia Minor who was the son of a Jewish mother and a Gentile father. Timothy is first mentioned as a "disciple" in Acts 16:1ff, which implies that he converted to Christianity during Paul's first missionary visit to Lystra reported in Acts 14:6-23. Timothy subsequently became Paul's companion and co-worker in 62 A.D. when he joined Paul and Silas on their journey to Macedonia. Later, when Paul left for Athens, Timothy remained behind and spent time in Berea and Thessalonica before joining Paul at Corinth. He is identified as a co-author of 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, and Philemon, and was clearly one of Paul's most trusted co-workers.
CONTEXT OF 1 TIMOTHY: In vv. 1-2, the Apostle Paul is identified as the author and Timothy as the recipient. In 64 A.D. Paul left Timothy at Ephesus as pastor of the church with instructions to deal with some false teachers who were causing trouble; then fter leaving Ephesus, Paul wrote back to him with further instructions in the form of this first letter. Although the false teachers are the primary occasion for this letter, the underlying theme of it is positive-that the Gospel leads to practical, visible change in the lives of those who believe in it. While the letter contains much on the topics of church order and offices, it is really simply a piece of the larger premise that the True Gospel, in contrast to false teaching, will always lead to godly living in those who firmly hold fast to it.
Read 1 Tim. 1:1-2 - SALUTATION
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope, 2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
v. 1: "an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope" - Here we see Paul not only reassert his authority as an apostle, which was customary, but that his apostleship came by the commandment of God. To his readers (which includes us), it tells us that, in effect, he's been appointed to speak on behalf of God Himself, which places huge significance on his words and for this reason, we must study them carefully. When he says "Christ Jesus, who is our hope," he's expressing the great feeling of anticipation of the salvation which is yet to be revealed.
v. 2: "Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord" - Paul characterizes himself not as Timothy's biological but "spiritual" father." Paul mentored him, discipled him, and instructed him as his apprentice in ministry, and in return, Timothy behaves as a dutiful son toward Paul. In the second clause of the verse, he prays that God give Timothy "grace, mercy, and peace." This reminds us that we, like Paul, should repeatedly pray that God will grant the same grace, mercy, and peace to our own children, both real and spiritual.
Read 1 Tim. 1:3-7 - WARNING AGAINST FALSE TEACHERS
3 As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, 4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. 5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, 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.
v. 3: "remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines" - First, let's define what "doctrine" means: In our context, it is a system of beliefs, either spoken, written, or inspired by God through the Holy Spirit. Today we are fortunate to have a complete, all-inclusive Bible that that provides one-source containing everything we need to know about God's person and character and His plans for redeeming a lost world. As NT Christians, our doctrine is wholly defined according to "Apostolic Teaching and Interpretation." This is something Paul refers to as "sound doctrine" throughout all his writings and what modern theologians refer to as "orthodox" (not be confused with the Greek and other eastern churches that incorporate that term into their name). Finally, Rev. 23:18-19 makes it crystal clear that our Bible is complete as is, and nothing may be added to it or subtracted from it. Although Paul doesn't specify what he means by "strange doctrines" in v. 3, it was obviously something that diverged from apostolic teaching.
v. 4: "nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation" - By "myths," Paul means ideas or principals that contradict approved biblical teaching. "Endless genealogies" might refer to teachings from Mosaic Law or discussions about OT characters that had absolutely no bearing on the Christian principles their students needed to understand. Teaching should never be based on "speculation" (i.e., human opinions), and if a teacher can't answer a question based on established interpretation of Scripture, he/she should say so (i.e., "I don't know).
v. 5: "the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" - The "love" that Paul underscores here as the primary objective of instruction is agapē love-love that's not sensual or selfish but motivated by a desire to benefit others. A "pure heart" is the opposite of one filled with sinful desires, a "good conscience" is the opposite of one filled with guilt, and "sincere faith" is the opposite of pretense and hypocrisy.
vv. 6-7: "some men, straying... have turned aside to fruitless discussion. 7 wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand..." - "Fruitless discussions" refers to random and typically irrelevant talk that adds nothing to the topic being taught-a waste of time. Scholars suggest those who wanted to be "teachers of the Law" were either Jews or Gentile converted to Judaism who desired to teach the Torah like a Rabbi. From what Paul says, we can gather that (1) their understanding of the Law was misinformed and (2) they were prone to be arrogant and self-righteous when they should have been listening. Have you ever seen people like that?
TRUTH 1: As NT Christians, our "doctrine" is wholly defined according to Apostolic Teaching and Interpretation." For Christians today, this means that the Bible, both OT and NT, and any doctrines derived from it, are to be defined and interpreted according to aspostolic teaching. In Paul's day, the NT had not been completed and consisted mainly of the apostles' oral testimony.
TRUTH 2: According to Paul, the chief goal of Christian instruction is love from a pure heart (v. 5). Paul used the Greek word agapē for love, which describes a sacrificial type of love that's motivated by a desire to benefit others, like that demonstrated by Christ when He willingly gave up His life for us on the cross. And a "pure heart" is the opposite of one filled with sinful desires, a "good conscience" is the opposite of one filled with guilt, and "sincere faith" is the opposite of pretense and hypocrisy.
Read 1 Tim. 1:8-11 - THE LAW IS GOOD IF USED "LAWFULLY"
8 But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers 10 and im- moral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.
v. 8: " But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully" - By "lawfully," Paul means that the law is good when it's used for what it was originally intended for-to set moral standards for godly living, like the Ten Commandments. At the same the Mosaic Law only has relevance to Christian living to the extent is consistent with NT teaching-i.e. apostolic interpretation of the OT. For example, the Judaizers Paul criticized in Galatians claimed that a person had to keep the Mosaic Law in order to be saved, but apostolic teaching clearly states that says salvation is by grace alone by faith alone.
vv. 9-10: "law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious... ungodly and sinners...unholy and profane...murderers... 10 and immoral men and homosexuals... kidnappers... liars...perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching," - Notice first that Paul associates a "righteous" person with moral behavior, not only his/her spiritual position before God (i.e., justified by faith). In other words, being saved isn't a license to sin as Paul made very clear earlier in 1 Cor. 6-9-11. Instead, he asserts that the true purpose of the law is to show people what sin is. It's easy to see that the list of sins Paul illustrates in these two verses mirror the pattern of the Ten Commandments.
v. 11: "according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted." - Paul concludes his point by affirming that the law, as applied to the NT context, is intended to convict such people of sin (as specified in vv. 9-10) as a means of explaining and offering them gospel of Jesus Christ as a pattern for living and in turn, becomes incorporated as part of "sound doctrine," and, therefore, not "contrary to sound teaching." Finally, as Paul had been "entrusted" with this gospel, he considered himself to pass it on and "entrust" Timothy with it as well. Like Paul, we should consider entrustment with the gospel as a very serious commitment-because to a lost world it spells the difference between life and death.
TRUTH 3: According to Paul, the true purpose of OT Law is to show people what sin is (v. 11). In the the NT context, OT Law is intended to convict people of their sin as a way of explaining and offering them gospel of Jesus Christ as a pattern for living. This is part of what Paul calls "sound doctrine" and why, as modern Christians, it's important for us to study and understand the OT.
Read 1 Tim. 1:12-17 - CHRIST CAME TO SAVE SINNERS
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, put- ting me into service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; 14 and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. 15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. 16 Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
vv.12-13a: "I thank Christ Jesus... because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor" - This is Paul's testimony: He fully accepted Christ's teaching that "apart from Me you can do nothing" (Jn. 15:5) and fully realized this his power in ministry came from Christ, not his own human ability, and this likewise applies to me and you when we share the gospel. He confesses the sin that character-ized his former life because it's important to show that he doesn't see himself as better than those-i.e., the false teachers-he's criticizing.
vv. 13b: "Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; " - Paul's life changed because of the "mercy" of God. The Greek word for mercy (ēleēthēna) literally translates to "received mercy," which means that Paul didn't acquire or deserve mercy, but God provided it with no contribution on Paul's part. The point he makes is that his salvation was undeserved, and his ignorance did not excuse his sin or any way merit God's mercy towards him. And that's true for every single one of us who claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior-we did absolutely nothing to earn it.
v. 14: "and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. " Despite the gross sins Paul had committed against the early church, he was "cured by God's mercy, and the grace God gave him was more than enough to bring salvation by faith alone in Christ alone. The "faith and love" he mentions comes from Jesus-something we are to live out as Jesus' followers.
v. 15: "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all" - Continuing his testimony, Paul uses a phrase unique to the Pastoral Epistles-"It is a trustworthy statement"-which emphasizes a particular point or quote he wants Timothy (and later, Titus) to remember. In this verse, he wanted show them a man who was once a proud and self-righteous Pharisee of Pharisees, transitioned from a new believer to a mature believer who now sees himself in complete need of God's grace, and like David, sees himself as sinful from his mother's womb (see Ps. 51:5). What does that say to you and me?
v. 16: "Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demon- strate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life" - Remember that instead of striking down Saul (Paul) for persecuting Christians, Christ exercised amazing restraint by appearing personally to him on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1-19) to effect his conversion, then appointing him to be an apostle (Acts 22:17-21), and Christ used this action to demonstrate the incredible reach of his "perfect" patience and perseverance. Christ used him as a clear example to show that he could do this for somebody like Paul---give him eternal life-just think of what he can do for you and me!
v. 17: "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen - Paul opened this passage in v. 12 with thanksgiving to "Christ Jesus our Lord" and now concludes with a doxology as an expression of praise to God, Who is: (1) the "King Eternal," meaning He is infinite, having no beginning or end but eternal; (2) "Immortal," which means incorruptible or never changing; (3) "invisible," too glorious to be seen by humans (Ex. 33:20); however, Jesus, is seen by us as the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). Based on His divine attributes, we owe all honor and glory to God, and because He is timeless, we owe Him timeless praise forever and ever. Finally, Amen-that is, we agree that it is as it should be.
TRUTH 4: Paul's testimony clearly reveals that his salvation was underserved. Paul's ignorance didn't excuse his sin or in any way merit God's mercy toward him. And this holds true for every one of us who claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior-we did absolutely nothing to earn it.
