1 Timothy

Paul wrote this letter. It is one of three letters that have a similar purpose. And Bible students have a name for them. It is the ‘Pastoral Epistles’. [Note: These words mean Pastor's Letters. A pastor is a church leader]. They are 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus.

Paul sailed to the land of Greece. But he made Timothy leader of the church at Ephesus first. It was a difficult task. Timothy was a young man (4:12). And he was full of fear (2 Timothy 1:4, 7). But he really cared for the people. (Read Philippians 2:19-21.) However, he was often sick (5:23.)

Paul was a strong leader. And when he left Ephesus, false teachers began to work hard. They were probably Gnostics. [Note: This comes from a Greek word that means ‘knowledge’]. This group of people had their own ideas about many things. And moral behaviour was one of them. They said that this was not important for believers.

Paul began with a greeting to his ‘true son’. Then:

Paul Warned (Chapter 1:3-11)

He spoke about the false teaching.

• It did not make sense to the mind (1:4).
• It had no spiritual profit (1:5-6).
• It damaged moral behaviour (1:5-11. The teachers were probably ‘antinomians’.
• They spoke against the law).
• It was against God's word. It was completely opposite to the gospel (1:11).
• It caused arguments.
• It turned people away from true service. True service comes from faith (1:4).
• It spoiled the human conscience.
• It damaged Christian love.
• It led to useless talk (1:6).
• It encouraged lack of knowledge (1:7).

God's law is important. And Paul insisted on this.

[Note: The Law usually referred to the first five books of our Bible. Moses wrote them.]

The Law showed what sin really is (1:8-10). People have their own ideas about it. They often say that sin is not so bad. They might make excuses for it. They might even pretend that it is not there. But God intended that the Law should have authority about moral behaviour. And these teachers were reducing its effect.

They probably did this about the Ten Commandments. (Read Exodus 20:1-17.) Perhaps they said that this event was a story. They could learn lessons from it. But God did not mean them to obey the exact commands. Maybe they suggested that things were different now. Christians were living in the time of God's grace. So they did not have to obey the Law.

However, this was not so. The gospel does not remove the need for the Law.

The Law shows:

• that God is holy
• his pity and his care for people. (Notice the sins against other people.)
• ways in which we are refusing God's authority
• that we cannot live for God without the gospel
• the basic rules for behaviour. These things are essential for the success of any society. They would help it to be a morally good and safe society. People would care for each other. Those who ignore the law soon do not care about grace.

Paul was Grateful (Chapter 1:12-17)

Paul was a Pharisee. He knew the moral law. And it had great value to him.

Note: The Pharisees were a small, but powerful, group of Jews. These men followed many traditions. All religious duties were very important to them. They tried to please God by obeying rules.]

But he was in desperate need of the gospel. It was the gospel that changed him. He was someone who had hated Christ. He had refused to accept him. But he became one who worshipped Christ. And he gave Christ great honour. Paul had caused cruel persecution. But he became a preacher who loved people (1:12-14). And this was a miracle of grace. Paul was completely different.

It happened for Paul's own salvation. But salvation was for other people too. Paul had a name for himself. It was ‘the worst of all sinners’ (1:16). So nobody else could say that they were worse. God could change everybody. Nobody was too bad. Nobody was too far away for God to reach him or her. And it is the same today.

This passage is almost like a poem. Paul was so grateful to God. He spoke about:

• how wonderful it is to serve God (1:12)
• God's generous mercy (1:13)
• God's plentiful grace (1:14)
• God's truth that everyone can trust completely (1:15)
• God's patience that has no limits (1:16)
• God's eternal rule (1:17).

Paul Taught (Chapters 1:17-6:10)

Paul now taught Timothy. Paul called him his ‘son in the faith’. There were some essential truths. (Read 1:18; 3:14; 5:21 and 6:3.) Christ trusted Paul to tell these truths to Timothy. Then Timothy must teach them to other people. This was of the greatest importance. (Read 2 Timothy 2:2.) Paul taught vital things on five (5) main subjects. They were about the church's:

Worship (2:1-15). Prayer for everyone came first (2:1). This included prayers for rulers of the first century. They did not believe in God. And they often caused persecution for Christians. But Paul still told them to pray for these rulers (2:2). God's salvation is for everybody (2:6; 4:10). Christ died for all (2:3-5).

The Gnostic group taught something different. They did speak about salvation. But they said that it was only for a few people. And they claimed to be special. They knew some secret truths. But Paul said ‘God wants all people to know the truth’ (2:4).

First, Paul spoke to men (2:8). Worshippers who prayed should also offer holy lives like a sacrifice. ‘They must not be men who become angry and have arguments’ (2:8b). Holy lives should be part of their worship. Then Paul spoke to women. He talked about the way that they dressed. He talked about things that they did to make themselves beautiful (2:9). ‘They should make themselves beautiful by doing good things’ (2:10a). This, too, was part of their worship (2:10b).

Leaders (3:1-16). They should have:

• good lives. Nobody should be able to accuse them of doing wrong things. And this should be so in all parts of their lives. In: • personal qualities; • financial affairs; • home life; • spiritual strength; • social behaviour.
• loyal teaching. Maybe 3:16 is an early Christian hymn (song):
• ‘God appeared in a human body. The Lord Jesus went back to heaven. The Spirit proved that he was right’.

Enemies (4:1-16). The Spirit also warned believers. He warned that some people would not believe the truth any more. There would be evil spirits who told lies. And these people would believe them. They would follow what demons taught (4:1-2. Demons are evil spirits that come from the devil).

There were some Gnostic teachers. They insisted that all physical matter was evil. So they would not allow marriage or certain foods. But ‘everything that God made is good’. And Paul said that believers should not refuse anything that God has made. They should accept it with a prayer of thanks (4:4). The word of God and prayer make it holy (4:5).

Timothy must defeat false beliefs. And Paul told him how to do this. He could do it by:

• good teaching (4:6,11,13-14,16)
• spiritual discipline (4:7-8)
• confident hope (4:9)
• being an example in his speech (4:12)
• public Bible reading and Bible teaching (4:13).

Members (5:1−6:2). Here Paul gave Timothy some advice. He talked about old and young church members (5:1-2). He also spoke about widows, about leaders and about slaves. Then he told Timothy to take care of himself too. It is easy for busy workers to neglect themselves (5:21-25).

Money (6:3-10). There were false teachers. They believed in some dangerous things. And they used these things to make money (6:3-5). A Christian should be content (6:6-8). ‘If we have food and clothes that should be enough’ (6:8). Some people want to be rich. They ruin and destroy other people. And they hurt themselves (6:9). ‘The love of money causes all kinds of evil’. It even destroys faith (6:10).

Paul Advised (Chapter 6:11-21)

This passage had instructions for young Timothy. He should:

• aim to live in the right way (6:11).
• keep the faith. This was like running a race. And he should try hard to win that race (6:12).
• obey orders (6:13-16). And two things would help him to do this. First, he should remember Christ's courage. Then he should remember that Christ would return to earth.
• warn and advise rich people (6:17-19).
• guard the gospel (6:20-21).