Advice To Timothy

INTRO

Today, we begin our study of the first of Paul’s letters to his “beloved son Timothy.”¹ MacArthur documents that the meaning of Timothy’s name is “one who honors God.” Timothy was brought up in the faith by his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice, both of whom were devout Jews who became followers of Christ (2 Timothy 1:5). His father was a Greek and was probably not a believer. Timothy was from the city of Lystra (Acts 16:1), which was a Roman city in Galatia, now Turkey. Paul traveled through Lystra on his first missionary journey, met Timothy there, and probably led Timothy to Christ, becoming his “beloved son” (Acts 14:6–23). On his second journey, Paul visited Lystra again, and chose to take Timothy with him on the rest of his journey (Acts 16:1–3). Timothy was a young man, possibly in his late teens or early twenties (1 Timothy 4:12). Acts 16:2 states Timothy also had a reputation of godliness. MacArthur outlines the relationship of Paul and Timothy, stating, “Timothy was to be Paul’s disciple, friend, and co-laborer for the rest of the apostle’s life, ministering with him in Berea, Athens, Corinth, and accompanying him on his trip to Jerusalem.”² During Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome, Timothy was with him and stayed with him until Paul was released. Timothy then went to Philippi. Timothy also served as Paul’s representative, visiting many of the churches Paul had started. At the time of Paul’s first letter, Timothy was serving as pastor to the Ephesian church (1 Timothy 1:3).³

Paul’s relationship with Timothy was as a mentor in discipleship. Every believer needs a mentor to help prepare them for taking on the role that God calls them to. Paul not only poured into Timothy, he trusted Timothy to carry on the work of ministry, even sending Timothy out in his own place. What an awesome example of how discipleship should work, and it mirrors what Jesus did in His own ministry. Our phrase of how Jesus is presented in 1 Timothy is Our Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5–6). He is the constant reminder of discipleship. Hebrews 13:23 states that, at some point, Timothy was put in jail and later released.⁴

Paul claimed authorship in verse 1, and the early church agreed. Some modern scholars, however, question if Paul actually wrote 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. These scholars offer five arguments:

1. The historical information given in the Pastoral Epistles do not agree with Acts’ presentation on Paul’s life. However, there’s nothing in Acts that mentions the Prison Epistles. For some scholars, this is missing historical support. Acts ends before Paul’s last days in prison or his execution; none of his last letters would have been mentioned.
2. The false teachers Paul referred to was the form of gnosticism present in the second century.
3. The way the church was organized in the Prison Epistles reflects the church of the second century. However, the church structure was the same as what Paul established in Acts 14 and Philippians.
4. The major themes of Paul’s other letters are not mentioned in the Prison Epistles. Paul still talked about the importance of God’s Word, of salvation, of election, and of what the church is meant to be. Paul’s voice can be clearly heard in 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus.
5. The Greek words used in the Prison Epistles are not found in any other writings of Paul’s or anywhere else in the New Testament.⁵

I share this because it is important to know that there are always critical viewpoints and different interpretations of any passage in the Bible. Part of studying Scripture is to know that people read it differently, and it can be healthy to be aware of different viewpoints. Just so you know, I agree with MacArthur that Paul wrote all three of these books between AD 62–64—1 Timothy and Titus shortly after he was released from prison the first time, and 2 Timothy while imprisoned the second time, not long before he was executed.⁶ After Paul was released from prison the first time, he revisited many of the churches he had started, including the church in Ephesus. Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus earlier to deal with four problems: “false doctrine, disorder in worship, the need for qualified leaders, and materialism.”⁷ He followed up with Timothy from Macedonia with this letter about how to handle each of these issues.

TEACHING

1 Timothy 1:1-11: Wiersbe explains Paul first emphasized that Timothy should teach sound doctrine.⁸ Paul told Timothy not to listen to anything that included empty speculations about God (vv. 1–4, 6–7), but to teach sincere faith with a pure heart (v. 5). Paul went on to say that the law was not meant for the righteous, but for the unrighteous, which he then lists 14 examples: lawless, rebellious, ungodly, sinful, unholy, irreverent, those that kill their parents, murderers, sexually immoral, homosexuals, kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and “whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching” (vv. 8–10). Paul emphasized that all this was based on the gospel which had come from God (v. 11).

1 Timothy 1:12–17: Paul then instructed Timothy to preach the gospel.⁹ Paul shared his personal testimony in verses 12–17, which was impossible for him to do without sharing the gospel of Christ and what that had meant to his life. Paul described who he had been before he met Jesus (v. 13) and what he had experienced in Christ (v. 14). Paul described himself as the worst sinner of all time (v. 15). Yet, Paul acknowledged the mercy and grace he had received through Christ Jesus, and to whom he gave all glory (vv. 16–17).

1 Timothy 1:18–20: Paul instructed Timothy to defend the faith.¹⁰ Paul reminded Timothy of the prophetic words that had been spoken over him, so Timothy could hold on to that knowledge and find strength in it to engage in battle, in faith, and in conscience (vv. 18-19a). Wiersbe points out Paul went from an army image in verse 18 to a naval image in verse 19, describing professed Christians who ‘make shipwreck’ of their faith by rejecting their good consciences in order to defend ungodly lives.¹¹ Paul went on to mention two of these who were shipwrecked—Hymenaeus and Alexander—and said he had turned them over to Satan (v. 20).

CLOSING

Here’s the takeaway from these verses for the church today, a spiritual inventory to examine what we are doing:

Are we teaching sound doctrine in the church?

Are we proclaiming the gospel?

Are we defending the faith?

Paul knew that if Timothy practiced these things, there would be a true movement of faith in the church in Ephesus. As Christ is Our Mediator, the same is true for the church today.