1 Timothy–Moving the Tassel
(February 7, 2017 version)
How do you do you instruct others in the truth? You might preach to a regular non-Christian one way, and correct and rebuke a heretic in a different way. You might encourage a brand new Christian in one way, and teach a Christian looking for deeper truth in a different way. Paul is doing none of the above here. Paul already had ample opportunity to preach to, instruct, and direct his long-time co-laborer Timothy. Rather, Paul is cutting Timothy loose! As a doctoral candidate “moves the tassel” on his graduation cap to graduate to become a professor himself, Paul is giving this young man last-minute instructions to keep in mind before sending him away to where God calls him to. Paul is probably not telling Timothy much that he has not heard before already, but Paul is reminding Timothy of what to focus on as he leaves Paul and leads by himself.
The six brief chapters in the book of 1 Timothy can be read on three completely different levels.
Conduct:Every chapter shows this can be primarily a book on how Christians should act, both individually and together, under Christ.
Leadership:Five chapters specifically teach on the primary points of church leadership, and how to teach the flock to live Christ-like.
Christ’s example:Five chapters go out of their way to focus on what Christ did, and thus what we should be and do in light of that.
But whichever theme you think is the primary thread, 1 Timothy is like a rope with three strands that is not quickly broken.
By your teaching and example to younger people, will you hold the rope to the future? The great missionary William Carey said he would only travel to India if the church back home was “holding the rope” supporting him in prayers and finances. But younger people might not only go locations will not go, but to a place we cannot go on earth; far in the future. The body of Christ and its leaders together needs to support, train, and guard younger believers as they make their journey to the future, going where we cannot go. So let’s study these three strands of 1 Timothy, and how they should intertwine, in our discipleship of others.
Dating of 1 Timothy:Paul was executed by Nero, who committed suicide in June of 68 A.D., and 1 Timothy was most probably written between 62 and 66 A.D.
Pre-Nicene writers who quote or allude to 1 Timothy
Ignatius (110-117 A.D.) / Novatian (250-257 A.D.)To Diognetus(c.130 A.D.) (allusion) / Cyprian of Carthage (c.246-258A.D.)
Epistle of Barnabas (100-150 A.D.) (allusion) / Pontius (after 258 A.D.)
Polycarp (c.150 A.D.) / Letter of Hymenaeus (c.268 A.D.)
Theophilus of Antioch (c168-181/188 A.D.) / Malchion (270 A.D.) (allusion)
Irenaeus(182-188 A.D.) / Archelaus (262-278 A.D.)
The Muratorian Canon (170-210 A.D.) / Adamantius (c.300 A.D.)
Clement of Alexandria (193-202 A.D.) / Victorinus of Petau (martyred 304 A.D.)
Tertullian (198-220 A.D.) / Peter of Alexandria (306,285-311 A.D.)
Hippolytus (222-235/236 A.D.) / Methodius (270-311/312 A.D.)
Origen (225-254 A.D.) / Alexander of Alexandria (313-326 A.D.)
Pre-Nicene manuscripts of 1 Timothy
Sinaiticus (Si) 340-350 A.D.)Bohairic Coptic (3rd-4th century)
Sahidic Coptic (3rd-4th century)
Alexandrinus (=A) c.450 A.D.)
Italic (4th-5th century)
Vulgate (4th-5th century)
An Outline of 1 Timothy
1 False leaders vs. true leadership
2 Worshipping God
3 Leaders in God’s Church
4 Leadership: Defending God’s Church
5 Leadership: Being with believers
6 Leadership: Challenging believers
Similarities between 1 Timothy and the rest of Paul’s Letters
1 Timothy / Other letters / Other books1 Tim 1:1 apostle by the command of God / 1 Cor 1:1; 2 Cor 1:1; Eph 1:1; Col 1:1; 2 Tim 1:1 apostle by the will of God / -
“Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord”1 Tim 1:2 / Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Php 1:2; 2 Thess 1:2; Phm 3; 2 Tim 1:2; Tt 1:4 / 2 Jn 3 “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Son of the Father…”
Paul commanding heretics or others 1 Tim 1:3; 4:11; 6:17,18 / 2 Thess 3:4,6,12 / John mentions commands of God
Don’t focus on genealogies 1 Tim 1:4 / Tt 3:9
Sound doctrine 1 Tim 1:11; Sound instruction 1 Tim 6:3 / Sound doctrine 2 Tim 4:3; Tt 1:9, sound in the faith Tt 1:14; Sound teaching 2 Tim 1:13 / -
Trustworthy saying: 1 Tim 1:15; 3:1; 4:9 / 2 Tim 2:11; Tt 3:8 / -
Their longing for Paul 1 Tim 3:6 / 1 Thess 3:6; 2 Cor 7:7 / -
“continues day and night to pray” 1 Tim 5:5 / 1 Thess 2:9; 3:10; 2 Thess 3:8; 2 Tim 1:3 / Day and night Rev 4:8; 7:15; 12:10; 14:11; 20:10; Acts 26:7 (day and night, Paul is speaking); Acts 20:31 (night and day, Paul is speaking)
“The Spirit says”1 Tim 4:1 / “Spirit Himself testifies” Rom 8:16 “Spirit of God says” 1 Cor 12:3 “Spirit who calls out” Gal 4:6 “Spirit clearly says” 1 Thess 4:1 / “The Spirit said” Acts 10:19; 13:2; 21:11; “Holy Spirit says” Heb 3:7 “Holy Spirit also testifies” Heb 10:15, “”the Spirit who testifies” 1 Jn 5:6 “Spirit and the bride say Come” Rev 22:17
1 Tim 5:18 don’t muzzle an ox while treading grain / 1 Cor 9:7-9,14 / Dt 25:4
Charge to Timothy 1 Tim 5:21; 6:13 / 2 Tim 4:1 / -
1 Timothy 1 – False Leaders vs. True Leadership
1. In 1 Tim 1:3, at what point in time was Timothy staying at Ephesus, and Paul was hoping to come to Timothy shortly in 1 Tim 3:14?
2. In 1 Tim 1:3, what is the point of commanding heretics?
3. In 1 Tim 1:4, what myths is Paul talking about?
4. In 1 Tim 1:4 and Tt 3:9, can we ignore what the Bible says about genealogies?
5. In 1 Tim 1:7, why are some religious teachers so over-confident?
6. In 1 Tim 1:8-10, what purpose does the law serve for these people?
7. In 1 Tim 1:11 and 1 Tim 6:15 what is unusual about this word “blessed”?
8. In 1 Tim 1:13, does God only forgive people for bad things they did in ignorance?
9. In 1 Tim 1:14 (NIV) does the Greek say “faith and love which are in Christ Jesus?
10. In 1 Tim 1:16, how was Paul “first” in God’s grace?
11. In 1 Tim 1:17, is there is only one “wise” God, are there other gods that are not very intelligent?
12. In 1 Tim 1:18, how do you know who you should invest your time in?
13. In 1 Tim 1:18, why should Timothy obey Paul, since Christians are supposed to obey God?
14. In 1 Tim 1:19, how do some people shipwreck their faith?
15. In 1 Tim 1:20, how are people such as Hymenaeus and Alexander delivered to Satan?
1 Timothy 2 – Worshipping God
1. In 1 Tim 2:1, why do we pray for all people, since God already knows who is going to Heaven?
2. In 1 Tim 2:2, should we pray for all political leaders, even evil ones? Should we pray for their good?
3. In 1 Tim 2:4-6, if Jesus died for all, why are all not saved, as the heresy of universalism teaches?
4. In 1 Tim 2:9, why do Christian women sometimes have hairdos and costly jewelry?
5. In 1 Tim 2:11-14 and 1 Tim 3:1-7, why did the Bible teach that women then (and probably now too) could not teach or have authority?
6. How do 1 Tim 2:11-14 and 1 Tim 3:1-7 compare with Islam?
7. Does 1 Tim 2:12 mean women were not supposed to teach at all, or that they were not supposed to teach men?
8. Does 1 Tim 2:13-14 teach that women have inferior judgment, as an atheist asserts?
9. In 1 Tim 2:15, I have a question on the Catholic doctrine of Mary and the Saints being a ‘mediator’ for us. A Catholic argument to support this theory is that Moses has done this to protect the people of Israel from God’s wrath when the people didn’t believe in God. Moses asked God to forgive the Israelites, and God accepted (Numbers 14: 1-20). Catholics can use this to support their theory that we can use others such as Mary or certain Saints to intercede or mediate through God for us. But In 1 Timothy 2:5, Paul clearly states that there is ‘One’ mediator, which is Jesus. So my confusion is that both these passages can support both theories, so how can we choose one over the other?
10. In 1 Tim 2:15, since women shall be “saved in child-bearing”, what about godly but childless women?
11. In 1 Tim 2:15, what does “she will be saved in child-bearing”, mean?
1 Timothy 3 – Leaders in God’s Church
1. In 1 Tim 3:1, why should men desire to be “bishops”, since bishops teach, and James 3:1 says not many should desire to be teachers?
2. In 1 Tim 3:2,12 and Tt 1:6, should elders and deacons be the husband of at least one, one, or no more than one wife (counting or not counting previous marriages)?
3. In 1 Tim 3:3, what does it mean to be a lover of money?
4. In 1 Tim 3:4, must a man have children before becoming an overseer?
5. In 1 Tim 3:4-5,12b, what does it mean that an overseer must manage his own family and children well?
6. In 1 Tim 3:6, what is “the same judgment as the devil”?
7. In 1 Tim 3:7, what is the “trap” talked about here?
8. In 1 Tim 3:8 and Titus 2:1, how should we be “grave” or “serious”?
9. In 1 Tim 3:11, what are some ways that a woman or man might not be trustworthy?
10. In 1 Tim 3:12-13, can women be deacons?
11. What does 1 Tim 3:14-15 teach us?
12. In 1 Tim 3:16, does Jesus being “manifested in the flesh and justified in the spirit” mean He was not raised physically from the dead?
1 Timothy 4 – Leadership: Defending God’s Church
1. In 1 Tim 4:1-2, does this prove that true Christianity was lost from the earth, as some cults claim?
2. In 1 Tim 4:3, since Christians should not forbid marriage, why does Paul advocate singleness in 1 Cor 7:1,25-28?
3. In 1 Tim 4:7, what are some godless myths and old wives tales that should be dismissed back then? What are some we should dismiss today?
4. 1 Tim 4:8 says “bodily exercise profits little”, so should we neglect physical exercise?
5. In 1 Tim 4:10, since Jesus is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe, why do not all believe and go to Heaven, as universalism teaches?
6. In 1 Tim 4:11, how does God let people depart from the faith?
7. In 1 Tim 4:15, since Timothy learned from Paul, and Timothy is faithfully serving now, why does Timothy need to be diligent in these matters?
8. Since 1 Tim 4:15 and many Psalms say to “meditate”, should Christians practice meditations, such as transcendental meditation?
9. In 1 Tim 4:16, how can Timothy save others?
1 Timothy 5 – Leadership: Being with Believers
1. In 1 Tim 5:1, who are the elders here: church leaders, or older people?
2. In 1 Tim 5:1-2, since Jesus said to call no man father in Mt 23:9, why does Paul say to treat older men as fathers?
3. In 1 Tim 5:3, Ex 22:22, and James 1:27, how should we especially help widows?
4. In 1 Tim 5:8, why is not helping our own family acting worse than an unbeliever?
5. In 1 Tim 5:10 and Jn 13:1-8, is it important today to wash each other’s feet today?
6. In 1 Tim 5:9-13, what does it mean to enroll widows “into the rolls?”
7. In 1 Tim 5:14 and 1 Cor 7:8-9,39, is remarriage OK after a spouse has died?
8. In 1 Timothy 5:17 Paul says elders who rule are to be considered worthy of double honor. In this context what does “double honor” mean?
9. In 1 Tim 5:17, should our church overseers “rule us”?
10. In 1 Tim 5:18, what is unusual about Paul’s statement here?
11. In 1 Tim 5:22, since each is judged for his own sins as Ezek 18:4,20 and Dt 24:16 show, how can someone be a partaker of another man’s sins?
12. In 1 Tim 5:23, is drinking alcohol OK?
13. In 1 Tim 5:23, why did Paul tell Timothy to drink a little wine to cure his stomach ailment instead of just healing him?
14. In 1 Tim 5:23, why doesn’t God just heal everyone?
1 Timothy 6 – Leadership: Challenging Believers
1. In 1 Tim 6:1-2, why does the Bible allow slavery?
2. In 1 Tim 6:5, how can someone be “robbed of the truth” (NIV) or “destitute of the truth” (KJV, NKJV), “bereft of the truth” (NRSV) or “disinherited themselves of the truth” (Wuest)?
3. In 1 Tim 6:7, why do some Christians have expensive burials and memorials?
4. In 1 Tim 6:8 what environmental or cultural things drive us to be discontent when with have enough food and clothing?
5. In 1 Tim 6:9 and Jms 5:1-6, should Christians [not be adverse to / want / crave] getting rich?
6. In 1 Tim 6:10, how can the love of money be a/the root of all evil?
7. In 1 Tim 6:10, how did the early Christians interpret this verse?
8. In 1 Tim 6:11, why are we to flee greed (and other temptations), since we are to resist the devil in James 4:7 and stand against evil in Eph 6:13-14? Even 1 Tim 6:12 says we are to fight, which implies not fleeing.
9. In 1 Tim 6:12a, how do we today fight the good fight of the faith?
10. In 1 Tim 6:16 and Rom 2:7, since only God is immortal, how can we be immortal?
11. In 1 Tim 6:16, does God dwell in unapproachable light, or does He dwell in darkness as 1 Ki 8:12 says?
12. In 1 Tim 6:17-18, is it OK for Christians to make (and keep) lots of money?
13. In 1 Tim 6:20 how was Timothy supposed to guard what was entrusted to his care, and how are we?
1 Timothy 1–False Leaders vs. True Leadership - some brief answers
1. In 1 Tim 1:3, at what point in time was Timothy staying at Ephesus, and Paul was hoping to come to Timothy shortly in 1 Tim 3:14?
A: The two letters to Timothy and the letter to Titus are commonly called Paul’s “pastoral epistles”. The pastoral epistles were written after the events of Acts. This means that they were either written after Paul’s house arrest in Rome or else possibly during his house arrest in Rome. Paul was very likely not executed immediately at the end of his house arrest in Rome, or else Luke, who was Paul’s traveling companion, would have mentioned it.
2. In 1 Tim 1:3, what is the point of commanding heretics?
A: Even if they will not obey, at least the hearers of heretics and those in the church will see that you stand against them. In addition, when you formally warn them, maybe they will repent. But if they don’t repent, then by your words God may judge them.
3. In 1 Tim 1:4, what myths is Paul talking about?
A: This verse applies in myths in general. These probably included Jewish fables Paul instructed Titus to avoid having people pay attention to in Titus 1:14. Also, even in Paul’s time there were false religions, including some very fanciful Greek mystery myths, and perhaps Paul also had those in mind.
4. In 1 Tim 1:4 and Tt 3:9, can we ignore what the Bible says about genealogies?
A: It does not say not to read or to ignore genealogies, but do not devote your time to them. Concentrate on putting into practice what the Bible says about living in worship of God, serving Him and helping others.
5. In 1 Tim 1:7, why are some religious teachers so over-confident?
A: One reason could be when they feel they have no accountability. They feel they are in a position where they can never be questioned. If some organizations the top leader is accountable only to God, and they usually will not see God holding them accountable for anything, - until the judgment. They fail to consider that God will hold them accountable, because they no longer have any awe of God.
A second reason is that many people follow Jesus because Jesus’ teaching fits what they want. For example, Jesus preached a new kingdom, and revolutionaries who wanted to overthrow the Romans really like that. But when Jesus was not going to start a rebellion, people became disillusioned and some turned against Him. Today some people follow Jesus because of what they like; and they will stop following if they see something they don’t like. This is not obedience. But a leader might think that as long as they can present the popular things that people will like, then their position as a leader is secure.
6. In 1 Tim 1:8-10, what purpose does the law serve for these people?
A: The law serves to point out how far they, and we, are from meeting all of God’s requirements on our own. The law drives us to God’s grace.
7. In 1 Tim 1:11 and 1 Tim 6:15 what is unusual about this word “blessed”?
A: In the New Testament God is frequently called blessed with a Greek word that includes being worshipped. People are frequently called “blessed” with this Greek word, makarios, which simply means happy. Only in 1 Timothy 1:11 and 6:15 is God called makarios. God is praised and worshipped yes, but apart from that, in and of Himself, God is a happy being. See Everyman’s Bible Commentary First Timothy p.38 for more info.
8. In 1 Tim 1:13, does God only forgive people for bad things they did in ignorance?
A: No. Paul received mercy for what he did in ignorance, but people who received mercy for intentional sins include David and Peter.
9. In 1 Tim 1:14 (NIV) does the Greek say “faith and love which are in Christ Jesus?
A: To be picky, not exactly. Both in 1 Timothy 1:14 and 2 Timothy 1:13 Paul says “faith and love which is in Christ Jesus”, where the verb is singular. The Expositor’s Greek New Testament p.97 says that perhaps this is a common grammatical mistake Paul makes. Alternately, Paul is not thinking of faith and love as two separate things, but simply two aspects of godly character.
10. In 1 Tim 1:16, how was Paul “first” in God’s grace?
A: The Greek word protos can mean chief, foremost, or former as well as first. The Greek word protostates means ringleader.
11. In 1 Tim 1:17, is there is only one “wise” God, are there other gods that are not very intelligent?
A: -Of course. In 1 Corinthians 8:1-7, Paul talks about the many unintelligent, and lifeless idols. (Story of a Mormon)
12. In 1 Tim 1:18, how do you know who you should invest your time in?
A: Those who do not want to know the truth, but only want to persecute you, or learn from you other people to persecute, you should stay away from obviously. If you have time for everyone that is great, but often that is not the case. When you cannot invest in everyone focus not just on the people who want to learn, but the people who want to learn, change, and grow. Second, what people, in your judgment, would you be most effective with. But more importantly, your judgment might be flawed, and pray to God for good judgment in who He would want you to invest your time in.