1 Timothy 1:1-7

1 Timothy 1:1–2 (ESV) — 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.


• Compare the greeting to a personal letter, like Philemon. What do you observe?
• Philemon 1–3 (ESV) — 1 Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
• The letter is not quite as personal. Paul establishes his authority, why?
• Because the letter would be read aloud by others
• Because it is an instructional letter
• Compare the greeting to a letter to a church
• Colossians 1:1–2 (ESV) — 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
• Philippians 1:1–2 (ESV) — 1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Ephesians 1:1–2 (ESV) — 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Romans 1:1–7 (ESV) — 1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
• For the most part, Paul emphasizes his authority
• When he does not know the church, he emphasizes it even more
• What is the point of saying "an apostle," "by command of God," or " by the will of God."
• The point is that when you read the letter, this is not an opinion but carries the authority of God's chosen servant
• Why is Timothy called "my child in the faith?"
• He uses the term quite a bit
• It is not clear if Paul led him to the Lord or if it was his mother and grandmother
• 2 Timothy 1:5 (ESV) — 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.
• 2 Timothy 3:15 (ESV) — 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
• In any case, Paul clearly discipled him
• 2 Timothy 2:2 (ESV) — 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
• Lastly, we see in the greeting, "grace, mercy, and hope." I don't know if you remember the other greetings, but what is different?
• Mercy is added (also in 2 Timothy)
• What does mercy remind us?
• God does not always give us what we deserve, especially in terms of chastisement
• It is not easy being a Pastor or an elder (a spiritual leader) or a teacher. We will make mistakes
• Also, Paul was (somewhat recently) released by Caesar, and so he was familiar with mercy
• Sometimes, we are punished for the things we did not do, and we also need mercy


1 Timothy 1:3–7 (ESV) — 3 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, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.


• What is the first thing we observe about Paul's charge?
• Paul gave specific instructions to Timothy in regards to why he wanted him to remain in Ephesus
• Notice he puts a verbal instruction in "black and white," why?
• In case, others are objecting to Timothy's authority, this makes it very clear that Paul trusted Timothy to decide on these matters
• The term "different doctrines" suggests that they are deviating from truth. Reminder of three rules of hermeneutics
1. When the plain sense of scripture makes sense, seek no other sense ("common sense" rule or literal interpretation using natural rules of language)
2. Scripture interprets scripture
3. Scripture does not contradict scripture
• So part of the issue here is Gnosticism. What is that?
• It is secret things or teachings
• It is taking things beyond the clear teaching of scripture
• BUT
• Context is important
• Cultural context can be important (that is the Jewish aspect of scripture) -- interpreting scripture from a completely western point of view would not be correct
• Why the concern on myths and endless genealogies?
• There was a practice of taking the genealogies of the bible and expanding them into illustrative stories of certain people. Apparently the apocrypha Book of Jubilees is an example
• Myths are stories that have ear-tickling entertainment
• One of these was that when Jesus was a child he formed a bird out of clay, blew on it, it came to life and flew away. (this myth is found in the Koran written many centuries after Jesus' life)
• What is the problem with a focus on these things?
• They generate questions without real answers
• John Bunyan reportedly said "Some love the meat; some love to pick the bones"
• The goal is spiritual growth and these things do not cause spiritual growth
• Similarly today, a focus on typology, numerology, too much detail of exegesis, or spiritualizing passages are the heart of the problem
• What is the good in the end?
• What do you do with it?
• What does Paul say is the goal?
• Love issuing from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith
• Why would this not be the goal of these false teachers?
• They wanted to flatter themselves
• They want the attention
• Their faith is not a faith in God, but a faith in themselves
• What is the failure of these teachers, besides "love?"
• They are teaching something that they don't understand
• I've heard one teacher argue that birth defects are the result of not following OT laws on birth control -- these ideas tickle the ear but they are not based on sound exegesis
• APPLICATION: If you truly love another person and want to see them grow in Christ, how should you teach the scriptures?
• You give them specific example of how to apply the word
• Application requires specificity, measurable steps, actionable steps, a timetable, and accountability
• James 1:22–25 (ESV) — 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
• See it; do it; remember it
• SPECK (more application oriented)
• Sin(s) to confess
• Promise(s) to claim
• Example(s) to follow or avoid
• Command(s) to obey
• Knowledge about God to incorporate