1 Timothy
How to behave in the house of God: order, leadership, and sound doctrine in the local church.
First Timothy is a letter from an aged apostle to his son in the faith. Paul had left Timothy at Ephesus to charge certain men “that they teach no other doctrine” (1:3). The church needed its errors confronted, its worship ordered, its leaders qualified, and its members instructed. Paul wrote so that, if he tarried long, Timothy might “know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (3:15).
The letter covers a wide range of practical subjects: false teachers obsessed with fables and genealogies, prayer for kings and all in authority, the conduct of men and women in public worship, the qualifications of bishops and deacons, doctrines of devils in the latter times, the care of widows, the honor due to elders, servants and masters, and the dangers of the love of money.
At the center stands one of the great confessions of the New Testament: “God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (3:16). Right behavior in the church rests on right belief about Christ.
Writer: Paul
Written: After Paul’s first Roman imprisonment; AD 63–66
Name: Timothy means honoring God.
Title and authorship
The first epistle to Timothy. Timotheos means “honoring God” or “worshiper of God.” Timothy is mentioned by name more than twenty times in the New Testament.
Paul wrote the letter (1:1). It is the first of the three “pastoral epistles,” with 2 Timothy and Titus.
Historical background
Written after Paul’s release from his first Roman imprisonment (Acts 28), probably from Macedonia (1:3), about AD 63–65. Timothy was serving at Ephesus.
Timothy, a young pastor at Ephesus, and through him the local church.
Timothy
Timothy was from Lystra, the son of a Jewish mother, Eunice, and a Greek father. His mother and grandmother Lois taught him the Scriptures from a child. Paul circumcised him to avoid offense to Jews and took him on the second journey (Acts 16:1–3). He became Paul’s most trusted co-worker: willing, brave, obedient, hardworking, faithful, and like-minded (Philippians 2:19–22).
Paul after Acts
The pastoral epistles describe travels not recorded in Acts: to Ephesus and Macedonia (1:3), Crete (Titus 1:5), and Nicopolis (Titus 3:12). This fits a release from the first Roman imprisonment, a period of further ministry, and a second arrest leading to Paul’s death under Nero.
Ephesian false teachers
The errors at Ephesus involved fables, endless genealogies, a misuse of the Law (1:4–7), forbidding to marry, and abstaining from meats (4:3)—a mixture of Jewish speculation and ascetic teaching. Hymenaeus and Alexander had made shipwreck of the faith (1:19–20).
Key passages
1 Timothy 3:15
The purpose of the letter: how to behave in the house of God, the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
1 Timothy 3:16
The mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.
1 Timothy 4:12
Let no man despise thy youth; be an example of the believers.
1 Timothy 3:14–15
Paul states his purpose: proper behavior in the house of God.
1 Timothy 4:12–16
Personal example, Scripture, teaching, and continued growth shape effective service.
Outline
1 · The preservation of sound doctrine
The charge to Timothy confronts error and preserves faith and a good conscience.
2–3 · Prayer, conduct, and leadership
Prayer, conduct, and leadership qualifications establish public order.
4 · The character of a faithful minister
Timothy must resist error and give attention to his life and teaching.
5–6 · Church care and godly contentment
Age, widowhood, leadership, work, and wealth require godly judgment.
Original language
ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos, G1985) — “bishop”
An overseer. In the New Testament bishop, elder, and pastor describe the same office (Titus 1:5–7; Acts 20:17, 28). The qualifications stress character more than ability.
εὐσέβεια (eusebeia, G2150) — “godliness”
Reverent devotion to God shown in life. The word appears eight times in 1 Timothy, more than in any other book. “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (6:6).
θεὸς ἐφανερώθη ἐν σαρκί (Theos ephanerothe en sarki, G2316) — “God was manifest in the flesh”
The received text reads Theos, “God,” with the great majority of manuscripts. Some modern versions read “He who,” weakening one of the clearest statements of Christ’s deity.
φιλαργυρία (philarguria, G5365) — “the love of money”
Literally “love of silver.” Not money but the love of it “is the root of all evil” (6:10).
παρακαταθήκη (parakatatheke, G3872) — “that which is committed to thy trust”
A deposit entrusted for safekeeping. “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust” (6:20)—the body of truth given to the Church.
Doctrinal study
One mediator
“There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all” (2:5–6). No priest, saint, or church stands between the believer and God. Christ’s ransom was for all, and God “will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (2:4).
The mystery of godliness
First Timothy 3:16 is an early hymn or creed: God manifest in the flesh (incarnation), justified in the Spirit (resurrection), seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory (ascension). The whole life of Christ is summed up as the mystery of godliness, in contrast to the mystery of iniquity (2 Thessalonians 2:7).
Doctrines of devils
The Spirit speaks expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats (4:1–3). Religious systems that impose celibacy and dietary rules as spirituality fit the description.
Commentary notes
Charges to Timothy
Maintain sound doctrine (1:3–20); pray for all men (2:1–8); order the conduct of women (2:9–15); appoint qualified leaders (3:1–13); behave properly in God’s house (3:14–16); beware of satanic doctrines (4:1–11); grow personally (4:12–16); treat older and younger, widows, and elders properly (5); order relations between servants and masters (6:1–5); and pursue godliness with contentment (6:6–21).
Widows indeed
Before a church supports a widow, her family must first provide (5:4, 8); she must be at least sixty, faithful to her husband, well reported for good works, a good mother, hospitable, humble in serving the saints, and diligent in every good work (5:9–10).
Some to all
In 1 Timothy “some” have turned aside (1:6), made shipwreck (1:19), turned after Satan (5:15), and erred concerning the faith (6:21). By 2 Timothy “all they which are in Asia be turned away” (1:15). Apostasy spreads.
Christ in the book
- Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1:15)
- The one mediator, the man Christ Jesus (2:5)
- God manifest in the flesh (3:16)
- The blessed and only Potentate, King of kings and Lord of lords (6:15)
Applications
Historical
- Paul writes to Timothy, a young pastor, to set out the order and conduct of the local church.
- Timothy’s long partnership with Paul explains the personal tone of the letter and its combination of encouragement with command.
- Ephesus had received substantial apostolic ministry and remained exposed to teachers who threatened the church from within.
Doctrinal
- God teaches by clear revelation the importance and order of local churches throughout the Church age, and warns that “in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (4:1).
- The local church has a defined responsibility to uphold truth and conduct itself according to God’s instructions.
- The qualifications of church leaders emphasize proven character, household responsibility, and sound teaching. These virtues also instruct the congregation as a whole.
Devotional
- God instructs us on the kind of people we should be as church members to ensure the success of the ministry. The character qualities listed for leaders are goals for every believer.
- A teacher’s example in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity should develop alongside the ability to instruct others.
- Practice godliness with contentment. Money is a stewardship, and love of money can turn a person from faithfulness.
- Care for widows with both compassion and responsibility, recognizing the family’s first duty of support.
Answering the critics
The pastoral epistles are attacked more than any other Pauline letters. Critics call them second-century forgeries, citing differences in vocabulary, a supposedly advanced church organization, and travels not recorded in Acts.
The letters claim to be from Paul, with personal details no forger would invent, and the early church received them as his. The church organization is simple—elders and deacons, as in Acts 14:23 and Philippians 1:1—and the travels fit a release from the first imprisonment. The real question is not who wrote it but whether we believe what the Bible says.