1 Timothy 1:1-2
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
2 To Timothy my true son in the faith:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Epesians: written around 61AD
1 Timothy: written around 62AD
2 Timothy: written around 64AD
Paul so wanted the Ephesians to succeed, that he sent his #1 disciple, Timothy, and then he sent 2 different letters explaining to Timothy how to whip the church back into shape.I think these books are much more personal than that. He wrote these letters to equip and encourage his friend in what God has called him to do.
Timothy Charged to Oppose False Teachers
1 Timothy 1:3-11
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
Paul jumps right in and calls out false teachers in Ephesus. This is the first of 4 different times in 2 pretty short letters that he does this; each time for a different reason.
- Teaching the wrong things about God
- Abandoning faith in Jesus all together
- Loving money more than God
- Getting caught up in things that don’t matter
So what does he mean by myths and endless genealogies? There are a few different schools of thought:
1. Some think that people might be standing up for Jesus,
and trying to convince people that he IS the messiah
through looking at the genealogies in Matthew and Luke
… getting caught up in that and not actually sharing the LOVE of Jesus.
2. Some think that King Herod destroyed the genealogies
of the Jewish people,
so they were scrambling to prove their Judaism
… not living out the gospel, just caring about their family.
3. Some think that this is the start to a huge debate about Gnosticism, or
trying to prove that Jesus is not who he said he is
and bringing goddess worship into the picture of the Bible, ruining the basis of the gospel itself.
People were focusing on the wrong things and teaching things that weren’t Biblical.
1 Timothy 1:8-11
8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
Paul is saying, that the law is good, but only if it is carried out lawfully. He then calls out the specific ways that people in Ephesus are not following those laws even though they claim Jewish law.
The Lord's Grace to Paul
1 Timothy 1:12-17
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
He goes from telling Timothy to oppose all of the people who are teaching false doctrine to pointing out his own sin, and ultimately pointing to the grace of God.
Paul is not only showing Timothy how he can live out a changed life, he is equipping timothy as a leader, and as a discipler of the people in Ephesus to show them a better way too.
The Charge to Timothy Renewed
1 Timothy 1:18-20
18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
Paul calls out BY NAME 2 of the men. who are causing issues and being false teachers. That is a big leap from talking in general terms, and a good lesson for us that we can’t just act however we want and expect to fly under the radar and not be called out.
But, more importantly, zooming out, we get to see Paul’s fatherly heart towards Timothy. Paul spends a lot of time hitting on some pretty intense stuff and he has a lot of very challenging words for Timothy, but ultimately, his heart is to equip and encourage his spiritual son.
