1Timothy, chapter one, comments

 

Who was Timothy? He was a protégé of Paul’s first mentioned in Acts 16:1 as Timotheus, the proper long version of his name, which is shortened to Timothy or for someone in our modern culture, Tim.

Acts 16:1  Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: 2  Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. 3  Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.

 

He is referred to as Timothy in 2Corinthians 1:1.

2Corinthians 1:1  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

We will learn a great deal about his work in Ephesus here as Paul gives his advice although we will see that Timothy travels for Paul as well. Paul’s words should be absorbed by us all because they are as relevant today as they were in Timothy and Paul’s time.

1Timothy, chapter 1

1Timothy 1:1 ¶  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; 2  Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. 3  As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4  Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.

Paul reinforces in the first verse his claim that Christ appointed him to be an apostle in addition to those who were present during Christ’s physical walk on earth.

Romans 1:1  Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

Romans 11:13  For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

He declares that Christ is the hope of Christians. He has declared it elsewhere.

Titus 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Colossians 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

2Thessalonians 2:16 ¶  Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,

The hope that can be found only in Christ is one of Paul’s themes throughout his letters.

He calls Timothy his son in the faith.

1Corinthians 4:17 ¶  For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.

Paul will use the same term of affection for Titus, which we will eventually see.

Paul wants Timothy to straighten out people on doctrine and to avoid fables and endless genealogies which run people into the weeds and are not beneficial to Godliness. The Gentiles, Greeks, Romans, and others had Theogony, the genealogies of the gods while the Jews had mystical genealogies from their occultic practices. There were genealogies of the Gnostics, etc. etc. Students of the Bible and the Scriptures might place all too much emphasis on genealogies and lists of families to justify authority. We see this all through history in lists of kings and aristocrats.

Fables could include Jewish fables as suggested in Titus 1:14 in regard to the tradition of the Pharisees. If you read John Gill’s commentary he references many Jewish so-called authorities who have all sorts of fanciful interpretations and there are traditions regarding everything from Adam’s other wife, Lilith, and the later (after Christ) Talmud is said to have a giant deer and a giant lion living in a mystical forest.

See the reference to the supposed old wives fables referenced in chapter 4. This is interesting because popular American Christianity in the last two hundred years is filled with such things.

Imagine the non-scripture “scripture” verses like, “cleanliness is next to godliness,” and “the lord helps those who help themselves.”  Think of the Christian myths like that Noah’s son, Ham, was black and all of his descendants were cursed to be slaves ignoring the text of the Bible. Or consider the popular notion that if you are a good Christian that God won’t let anything bad happen to you or your family, totally disregarding the book of Job or the lives of Christ and the Apostles.

Paul is going to lay out what godly edifying is.

1Timothy 1:5 ¶  Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: 6  From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; 7  Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. 8  But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; 9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10  For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; 11  According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

The end result and most important facet of the commandment, the commands given to Christians, is charity, or love of the brethren, out of a pure heart. A good conscience is required which would require us to be truthful and honest and filled with the Holy Spirit, with our faith being real and genuine and not fake or pretended.

We know that Paul has already defined the importance of charity, the love of the brethren, in 1Corinthians, chapter 13.

1Corinthians 13:1 ¶  Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor (shows that this charity is not how we moderns define charity), and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

    4 ¶  Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5  Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6  Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7  Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

    8 ¶  Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11  When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13  And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

The Judaizers, which were a constant worry for Paul, kept trying to put Christians back under the Law, a Law he declares that they don’t even understand. The Law condemns mankind in all of his and her criminal debauchery. But Paul has shown elsewhere that we do not stand condemned. First, we are not under the Law given to Moses for our salvation.

Galatians 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Secondly, we are legally justified by Christ, not by our slavish obedience to the Law. Read Romans, chapter 3, but pay close attention to these verses;

Romans 3:20  Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin…24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:..28  Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

The Law condemns the guilty. But Christ has pardoned we guilty sinners by His righteousness, His death, His burial, and His resurrection.

I don’t need to go into an explanation of all of the wicked things that Paul has listed in this passage with everything from homosexuals to people who engage in kidnapping persons for slavery (menstealers). I think we understand most, if not all, and this is not meant to be an exhaustive list of sins so don’t think that since you haven’t committed any of these that you are without sin. It is virtually impossible to live a life without sinning against a Holy God. We need Christ’s sacrifice and triumph over death or we have no chance.

The teachers of the Law should use the Law to show us how badly we need Christ, not to force us into a constant fear that we might be thinking a bad thought or doing something wrong. That’s where all their rules came from, their tradition as Christ calls it. Yes, the Law is God’s standard of righteousness but Christ was perfect and did no sin and He is that righteousness, a sufficient propitiation to God’s righteous wrath if we trust Him. This is the essence of the gospel that was committed to God’s trust.

1Timothy 1:12 ¶  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 13  Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14  And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 17  Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Paul mentions his past in persecuting Christians in verse 13.

Acts 8:3  As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

Acts 9:1 ¶  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

Acts 22:4  And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.

Then, he had his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus.

Acts 9:1 ¶  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2  And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 7  And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 8  And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 9  And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

But he did it out of ignorance. As Jesus said from the Cross.

Luke 23:34  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

Paul was saved by the grace of God and received mercy from Christ. He believed that one reason for His salvation was that Christ would use him as an example to those who would come after him and that Paul would be a minister of Christ to the Gentiles. If the worst of sinners, a persecutor of the redeemed, could be saved then it was open to anyone.

Since God is as high above any sinner as He is any saint, being a God of infinite power, it is easily within His power to forgive the most egregious sinner. No one can say they are too far gone to be saved. Paul was grateful as am I. Eternal, immortal, and invisible are powerful descriptions of the God who created us.

1Timothy 1:18 ¶  This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; 19  Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck; 20  Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

2Corinthians 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Biblical Christianity is not a political threat to any government or political party no matter how authoritarian or perverse in their ideologies. It is a spiritual threat to those great evils that men and women will have a change of heart and turn from their evil designs and turn to Christ. It only becomes a political threat as Christians have the right to vote and run for office.

Paul makes mention of two men who he has delivered unto Satan. The early Christian community was close-knit. It was not a consumer church where you just went down the street to another church. It was surrounded by pagan religion that was linked to the political life of the people of the Roman Empire and your life was always in danger. To have Paul or a church body turn their back on someone who was being difficult was a greater tragedy than we know today in America. Paul’s intention is that these guys are on their own as far as he is concerned and he is hopeful they’ll see the error of their ways and repent of what they have done out of bad faith and a bad conscience. We don’t know what it was they did but Paul considered it blasphemy. Possibly they were introducing Gnosticism or Greek philosophy into the church body, perhaps questioning or disputing correct doctrine. I don’t know.