1 Timothy 1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions. Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
Paul begins this first letter to Timothy by acknowledging both the sender and the recipient. Remember, the Pastoral Epistles were written to specific people and not necessarily a large group of people, such as the majority of Paul's other letters. This letter was sent to Timothy to aid Timothy in some problems that were arising in the church at Ephesus. And Paul starts off right away by getting to one of the major problems in Ephesus.
After his common greeting, Paul jumps into his discussion about false teachers and false doctrines that were arising. This is a common topic through all three letters. He urges Timothy to remain in Ephesus so that he can fight against these heresies. He wanted somebody in Ephesus to stand up for the Christian faith, and he knew that Timothy was capable of doing this task. So he encouraged Timothy to overcome his timidity and work hard at standing up for the truth.
Paul then describes what Christians should be like: pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith. Not only is he passing on his teachings to Timothy, but he also wants Timothy to pass these teachings on to those at Ephesus. In the same manner, Timothy needs to encourage the church to live in this manner. When a person neglects to live this way, they drift from the truth, and it can eventually lead to some form of a false teacher. That is what Paul believed had happened to some of the people in Ephesus. Furthermore, these "teachers" never fully understood the law of God. And from their misunderstanding, they developed heresies. Knowledge of God has to be accompanied with moral living. If either is absent in a person's life, they will falter and drift further away from God. And if they are like some of these men, they may even take others with them.
Near the end of the chapter, Paul gives an account of his personal testimony. He shows how he was once a man who was ignorant to his sins. According to Paul he was the worst sinner alive, knowing that he had blasphemed God and persecuted Christians. But he was amazed at how God still saved him despite his faults. He understood the power of God and the power of the Gospel. Through this personal testimony, Paul was encouraging Timothy to let others know that they too can experience this great salvation. God loves saving sinners, bringing more and more glory to Himself. Paul ends his testimony by praising God for all that He had done.
Paul ends the chapter much like he began it. And this reminded me of a term I learned this past semester. I did not know what the Greek text showed, but it appeared to be an "inclusio" in this chapter. That means that some of the same words were used at the beginning and end of a section to mark it off as a section (because they did not have chapter and verse breaks when this text was written). The reason I suspected this was because of Paul's command to Timothy again, his mention of faith and good conscience again, and his warning of those who have drifted. I was pleased to find that someone agreed. One of the commentaries I was reading made a comment about this literary device, and since he has probably studied the Greek text, I take stock in what he said. Not only does this show repetition in the passage (some points that Paul is trying to stress), but it also brackets off this passage as a passage specifically dealing with the dangers of false doctrine and an encouragement to preach against it. It shows how the Christian should live. And this chapter paves the way for the remainder of the book.
Matt
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