In chapter 1 Paul charged Timothy to remain faithful to the task with which Paul had entrusted him in Ephesus. He began by reminding Timothy what that task was and how he should carry out his chief duty. Then he exhorted Timothy to be faithful. He reminded his young protégé of God's power to transform lives and warned him of the danger of acting contrary to his own spiritually sensitive conscience.
"The absence of . . . [a thanksgiving] here supports the observation . . . that 1 Timothy is really for the sake of the church as much as, or more than, for Timothy himself; what is taking place in the church gives no cause for thanksgiving."14
Paul penned these opening words to remind Timothy to correct teachers in the Ephesian church who were majoring on minor matters in their Bible teaching. In so doing he reminded Timothy of his own responsibility as a communicator of God's truth.
"That the false teachers were . . . probably elders [of the house-churches in Ephesus] is supported by several items from 1 Timothy: their presuming to be teachers of the law' (v. 7), a responsibility of the elders (5:17; cf. 3:2); the fact that two are named and excommunicated by Paul (1:19-20), not by the church as in 2 Thessalonians 3:14 and 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; and the repeated concern about elders in this letter, both as to their qualifications--with no mention of duties--in 3:1-7 and their discipline and apparent replacement in 5:19-25."15
1:3-4 Paul's geographical movements, to which he referred here, probably took place between his first Roman imprisonment and the writing of this epistle. We cannot fit them into the chronology of Acts. Acts concludes with Paul's first Roman imprisonment. The apostle had left Timothy in Ephesus for the general purpose of acting as his special representative. He was under Paul but over the elders of the church in his authority. As such Timothy occupied a position unique to the apostolic period of church history.16
"Paul repeats in writing what he had outlined orally for Timothy in order that Timothy might have it black on white and that he might present it as written evidence to those who objected to Timothy's activities . . ."17
The error of the objects of Paul's criticism seems to have been more in their emphasis than in their content. "Strange doctrines"(Gr. heterodidaskalein) is a general term that contrasts their novel teaching with what is edifying.
"Some see in this teaching the influence of Gentile gnostic philosophy with its speculative views of religious beliefs and practices. Such incipient gnostic elements did circulate in Asia during the latter half of the first century and may have been present here. But that the false teaching combatted in the Pastorals had already become Gnostic in character is doubtful. The Jewish character of the teaching here denounced is obvious."18
In particular, these teachers seem to have been emphasizing extra-biblical stories that had become part of the traditions of Judaism that grew out of the genealogies of the Old Testament (cf. Titus 1:14; 3:9). "Myths"and "endless genealogies"evidently describe two aspects of one aberration rather than two separate problems. Certain myths about what Jesus did are an example of this ear-tickling entertainment, though these specific myths were not the subject of these false teachers. 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.19
"The lists of bare names in Old Testament genealogies were easily expanded into fictitious histories, supposed to illustrate God's dealings with His people and an example is still preserved to us in the apocalyptic Book of Jubilees. The practice, indeed, was so common that the word genealogy' was often used in the sense of mythical history, and this would seem to be its meaning in the present verse."20
This kind of emphasis, Paul warned, simply generated questions for which there are no real answers rather than contributing to the spiritual maturation of believers (cf. Eph. 4:11-16). John Bunyan reportedly said, "Some love the meat; some love to pick the bones."21Growth is God's goal for Christians, and it involves the exercise of our "faith"(cf. Rom. 1:17).
Examples of similar errors in teaching today would be preoccupation with typology, numerology, or the details of exegesis along with a failure to emphasize the point of the passage being expounded. This failure to emphasize what the writer of Scripture emphasized and to emphasize something else seems to be at the heart of the problem Paul addressed here.22
"I am personally of the opinion that one of the causes of weakness in the churches today is the virtual disappearance from our pulpits of sound, steady, Scriptural, expository teaching, and that a widespread return to that desirable practice is essential to the solid building-up of our members in the faith."23
1:5 The ultimateaim of a Bible teacher should not be to generate debate and controversy. It should be to cultivate the lives of his or her students so they manifest love in their daily living. This love should spring from a pure heart, a conscience void of shame, and a genuine trust in God.24
"For Paul and the ancient Mediterranean culture in general, consciencewas the internal judgment of one's actions by that one's group--'pain one feels because others consider one's actions inappropriate and dishonorable.'25Honor and shame, rather than guilt, were the operative feelings. Therefore, Paul's readers would perceive the conscience as sending internal signals evaluating the rightness or wrongness of behavior (past, present or future) as a member of a group. We, on the other hand, view the conscience as concerned with right and wrong on an individual basis, not necessarily taking into account what others think and expect about us."26
We need to approach confrontation carefully (cf. Gal. 6:1). Is our motivation to help or to hurt the other person? Is our attitude loving, and does this come through in our non-verbal as well as verbal communication? Loving confrontation expresses care and respect for the other person. It communicates that we want the other person to respect us and understand how we feel. The timing, location, and setting are all very important in confrontation. We need to be sensitive to other pressures that may be on the other person. We should also give help with an openness to accept confrontation from the other person as well.
1:6-7 The "Law"is the Mosaic Code but also the Scriptures of Paul's day, the Old Testament, particularly the legal parts of it. Paul probably did not mean that these erring teachers failed to understand the letter of their content, though this may have been true of some of them. He probably meant that they did not understand what they were really saying and not saying by their emphasis. They missed the point of the Law.
". . . Paul's description of their confidence' implies in this context stubbornness, a refusal to be denied. We might say they are dogmatic, which (along with the claim to authority) Paul regards with irony, since they have no real understanding of the matters they teach."27
"This apostasy' on the part of both the erring elders and their followers is the great urgency of 1 Timothy."28
1:8-11 The Law (Gr. nomos) is profitable if one uses it properly, according to its original intention ("lawfully,"Gr. nomimos, a play on words).
"Here its goodness' is related to its being used properly, that is, treated as law (intended for the lawless, v. 9) and not used illegitimately' as a source for myths and endless genealogies, or for ascetic practices."29
"Thus Paul is saying that the law is not given to apply in some mystical way to people who are already righteous,' i.e., those already seeking to conform to the law. It is, rather, given to deal with people who are specifically violating its sanctions and to warn them against their specific sins (as the list in vv. 9b-10 goes on to do)."30
Paul arranged his first six epithets in pairs (v. 9a).31The leading attitude in each pair precedes the resulting action. There is a progression in these three couplets from more general to more specific lawlessness. The first two terms are introductory.
The disobedient
"Lawless"people refuse to recognize law.
"Rebellious"individuals refuse to obey laws.
The following sins are violations of the first through the third commandments.
The irreverent
"Ungodly"men and women have no regard for God.
"Sinners"live in opposition to God.
The impure
"Unholy"people are those whose lives are impure.
"Profane"persons treat sacred things as common.
The second group of offenders (vv. 9b-10a) provides examples of individuals who break the fifth through the ninth commandments of the Decalogue. They are sinners arrayed against society.
The violent
"Father-strikers and mother-strikers"(better than those who kill these people)32have no reverence or affection for their own parents (cf. Exod. 20:12, the fifth commandment).
"Murderers"kill people deliberately (cf. Exod. 20:13, the sixth commandment).
The immoral
"Immoral men"deal perversely with people of the opposite sex (cf. Exod. 20:14, the seventhe commandment).
"Homosexuals"abuse people of their own sex (the seventh commandment).33
The deceitful
"Kidnappers"steal and sell other people (cf. Exod. 20:15, the eighth commandment).
"Liars and perjurers"bear false witness (cf. Exod. 20:16, the nineth commandment).
"Most likely the list is a conscious reflection of the Mosaic Law as law and expresses the kinds of sins such law was given to prohibit."34
Paul concluded his list (vv. 10b-11) with a general category of anything contrary to not only the Law of Moses but the larger gospel that Paul preached.35That gospel encompassed the Old Testament. "Sound doctrine"does not just describe correct or accurate doctrine but what is healthful and wholesome.36
"Healthy teaching leads to proper Christian behavior, love and good works; the diseased teaching of the heretics leads to controversies, arrogance, abusiveness, and strife (6:4)."37
"Missionaries of one particular cult say that their scriptures are authoritative because they stem from God. Its elders usually insist that the Holy Spirit will move in the heart' to confirm the veracity of their teaching. But when their doctrines do not pass the more objective test applied by the church fathers, what does it matter how one feels' about their teaching? Such counterclaims to authority are clearly wrong."38
"It will be clear from any careful reading that this concern for the gospel is the driving force behind the P[astoral]E[pistles]."39
Paul's points in this pericope are the following. When a person teaches the Scriptures, he or she should distinguish speculation that goes beyond what God has revealed from the teaching of God's Word (the method, v. 4). Second, love should be primary (the motive, v. 5). Third, the teacher should present a portion of Scripture considering the purpose for which God intended it (the meaning, vv. 8-10). Knowledge of the letter is not enough. A teacher should communicate the spirit of the divine Author as well.
