The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is studying Paul's pastoral Epistles (Letters) to his proteges, Timothy and Titus.
Introduction
1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus are often called pastoral Epistles because they contain Paul’s counsel to pastors or leaders in the Church. In 1 Timothy, Paul counseled Timothy, a Church leader in Ephesus, to ensure that sound doctrine was taught and not to allow popular untruths to distract from Christ’s teachings. He taught Timothy about the offices of bishop and deacon and discussed the qualifications of those who serve in these offices. Though this counsel pertains to specific offices in the early Church, much of it is applicable to all men and women who serve in the Church today.
The first letter to Timothy and the one to Titus were written during the period of travel and missionary work between Paul's two Roman imprisonments probably somewhere between a.d. 61 and 63.
The Wycliffe Bible Commentary
Timothy was the son of a Gentile father and a Jewish mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois,
2 Timothy 1:5 (NKJV) when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.
They and Timothy probably became Christians when Paul first went to the town called Lystra.
Acts 16:1 (NKJV) Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek.
Since children of Jewish mothers are reckoned as Jews, Timothy could have been a full Jew. His mother raised him to know the Jewish Scriptures
2 Timothy 3:15 (NKJV) and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
But Timothy’s father was a Greek, and because of him Timothy had never been circumcised because he had never been circumcised the Jews considered him a Gentile.
Acts 16:1-3 (NKJV) Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek.2 He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium.3 Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.
Now we know that Paul didn’t think that circumcision was a requirement for believers, he didn’t think it was either good or bad
Galatians 5:2-6 NIV Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
So why did he take Timothy to be circumcised?
He may have thought that Timothy would be more effective as an evangelist as a full Jew so he did what he thought was most expedient for the gospel. It was kind of the same thing that he told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians let’s go to:
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (NKJV)19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more;20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law;21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law;22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.23 Now this I do for the gospel's sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.
In 1 Timothy Paul is writing to Timothy, who is in Ephesus, to encourage him in the task of leading that church. He gives Timothy a lot of advice both for the Christians in the church and for Timothy himself.
There were some problems with some of the teaching and teachers there and Paul wants Timothy to sort out this problem.
1 Timothy 1:3 (NKJV) As I urged you when I went into Macedonia--remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
Timothy needs to deal with those in error.
In 1 Timothy, Paul gave Timothy quite a list of subjects to teach, including: exposure of false doctrines, myths and genealogies; law; sound doctrine; the glorious Gospel; mercy; truth; dedication; prayer; harmony; women's dress and appearance; marriage and dietary practices; qualifications for leaders; conduct; sayings, truths of the faith; the practice of religion; relationships with fellow Christians; treatment of widows; ways to select elders; contentment; righteousness; faith; love; endurance; hope in God; and doing good, that's a lot and we are going to talk about all of it.
Paul was concerned about Timothy communicating sound doctrine, mercy, commitment, conduct, and truth plus a whole new way of life. A new way of life in which shaped beliefs, attitudes, values, and behavior
Paul evidently had a lot of confidence in Timothy because Ephesus was a very important city in the Roman empire and consequently in the Gentile world.
Ephesus was in what is now Turkey. The city flourished after it came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BC. According to estimates Ephesus had a population of 33,600 to 56,000 people in the Roman period, making it the third largest city and the most strategic city in Roman Asia Minor.
The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Because the temple of Artemis was in Ephesus Paul had big problems there. In Acts 19 there is an account of a majormriot because the merchants selling the the trinkets and stuff for Artemis at the temple saw their sales drop because of the new converts to Christianity.
Acts 19:23-27 NIV About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”
Acts 20:1 NIV When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia.
Paul had turned over the leadership of the church in Ephesus, the most strategic in Asia Minor, to Timothy, a bright, sensitive associate. Timothy was about forty years old at that time, which was considered young for such leadership.
“All Religion Is Not Alike”
With that as background let’s get into today’s study of 1 Timothy Chapter 1.
Let me give you an example from today that describes what was going on in and around the church in Ephesus.
There was a poster with the headline Christ Consciousness—Mystical Teachings in the Bible," "The mystical core of Christ's teaching has been obscured by centuries of dogma," . The poster was inviting Christians to come to lectures by a young lady who follows a Hindu sect. Some Christian leaders, dismayed by a low level of commitment, seek to create high-intensity groups with special teachings on top of the gospel and add extra rules that regulate the social lives of their members.
Those were the kinds of thing that were rampant in the church at Ephesus. It was these trends that Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus to deal with.
Read 1 Timothy 1:3-6 (HCSB) to describe Timothy’s job in Ephesus As I urged you when I went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach different doctrine or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies. These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan, which operates by faith. Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Some have deviated from these and turned aside to fruitless discussion.
Timothy’s job was to provide sound teaching to combat the false teachings of some in the church. The myths and genealogies were probably Gnostic or Gnostic teachings.
What is Gnostic or proto-Gnostic teaching? We talked about that in an earlier Bible Study but to review;
A Gnostic was a member of any of certain sects among the early Christians who claimed to have superior knowledge of spiritual matters, and explained the world as created by powers or agencies arising as emanations from the Godhead. An emanation is an abstract but perceptible thing that issues or originates from a source.
Gnostics believed that matter, whether it be the physical universe or the human body, is evil. They believed that God is far removed from his creation. He did not create the material universe because it was instead created by an evil or lesser god. He is too perfect and pure to have much to do with the evilness of the material universe.
Gnostics believed that human beings were of the very same spiritual substance (or essence) that God is but somehow, we became trapped in our physical bodies from which we need to escape.
"As long as spirits are trapped in physical bodies and materiality, they will be subject to sin, which is caused by ignorance of their true nature and home."
Gnostics believed that "salvation is to escape from the bondage of the material existence and travel back to the home from which souls/spirits have fallen.
Gnostics considered themselves Christians and saw Jesus as a heavenly messenger. However, they rejected the idea of God becoming a man, dying and rising bodily. "These beliefs were considered unspiritual and against true wisdom because they entangled spirit with matter." Most Gnostics believe that whoever entered Jesus at his baptism left him before he died on the cross.
Gnostics saw all things in terms of two contrasting principles. On the one side was good, which was associated with the spiritual and the immaterial. On the other side was evil, which was associated with the material universe. God Himself was perfectly good, spiritual, and totally disassociated from the material. He would not pollute Himself by any such contact! The material universe was an accident or, at worst, the error of the last of a long series of supernatural beings—intermediaries—ranked between God and matter. To God, the pure Spirit, the world was alien and despicable.
God would never take on human flesh so Christ must be a lower intermediary or an "appearance"—a shadow of God cast on a screen. But God in human flesh? Gnostics this was Unthinkable!
This heresy considered the body, and all matter, to be evil and, therefore, denied Christ's humanity.
What materials were the false teachers using ?
The material they used was Old Testament genealogies and other myths and writings about the Old Testament. The Old Testament is referred to here as "the law."
Here is what Paul said about the law.
1 Timothy 1:8-11 (HCSB)8 But we know that the law is good, provided one uses it legitimately.9 We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers,10 for the sexually immoral and homosexuals, for kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching11 based on the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was entrusted to me.
Paul reminds Timothy that the law is not laid down for good men but for people involved in the activities listed, it would seem the false teachers were using it with the wrong group. They were pushing some kind of legalism on believers who were basically obedient already.
Paul’s testimony that he used to be just like the folk he just talked about as wanting to be teachers of the law but not really understanding what they were talking about.
1 Timothy 1:12-17 (HCSB)12 I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry—13 one who was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief.14 And the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.15 This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them.16 But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst ⌊of them⌋, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Much like the false teachers, Paul, prior to his conversion, misused the law. He lacked grace, faith and love. But God had mercy on him, and he became a new man. Paul is showing, in this context, that God redeems false teachers. In the process, he describes what a relationship with God is really based on: the mercy, grace, faith and love "that are in Christ Jesus"
1 Timothy 1:12-14 HCSB I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry — one who was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Paul is looking back to his experience on the road to Damascus. He was on his way to attack the Christians there. Up to that time, Paul denied that Jesus could be either Messiah or the *Lord. But the Lord Jesus Christ met him and so Paul believed in him. From that time, the Lord Jesus trusted Paul and sent him to declare the gospel. Paul was astonished at this, and he was so grateful to the Lord for it.
Before his encounter with Jesus on the way to Damascus, Paul was sincere. He believed that he served God by persecuting Christians. He did not know that what he was doing was wrong. He thought that it was his duty to oppose Jesus. He did not believe that Jesus was the Lord and the Christ. But when Jesus met him, Paul was convinced. Then the Lord Jesus Christ showed mercy to him. And he forgave Paul for all that he had done.
It was more than mercy that Paul received from God. He received faith to believe and trust in the Lord Jesus. He received the love of God into his life, so he was able to love the Lord as well. He once hated the Christians but now he loved them.
Paul felt that of all sinners he was the worst. Because he had attacked the Christians with such cruelty. The Lord forgave Paul for all his sins. But Paul still says that he is a sinner. He is a sinner whom God, in his grace, has saved. God has saved him because of his trust in Christ.
Paul was not the first to believe in Christ but his was the most astonishing change. All who believe in Christ have a new kind of life. They changed as Paul did. Paul’s life was now a powerful example of the grace of God. He sees his own experience as the pattern of what Christ can do. He does it in the lives of all who believe in him. They will be what God wants them to be. As Paul thinks about what he has written, he praises the *Lord.
Bible Study Audio
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