1st SUNDAY ~ 1 TIMOTHY 1:1-11

THE REASON FOR WRITING

Paul’s Concern For The Infant Church

The churches which were established as the result of Paul’s ministry were never far from his thoughts. In his letter to the Church in Corinth he mentioned this when describing some of the things he had experienced in his missionary travels. He wrote, “Then besides all this, I have the daily burden of how the churches are getting along.” (2 Corinthians 11:28). It was his concern for the church in the city of Ephesus which prompted his letters to Timothy. The church began as the result of Paul’s first visit to the city. (Acts 18:18-23). Towards the end of his second missionary journey, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila, Paul had called in there on his way back to Antioch. Priscilla and Aquila stayed in Ephesus for several years and made their home available as a meeting place for the new believers. On his third missionary journey Paul returned to Ephesus and was able to stay for three years. (Acts 19 - 20:1). During this time the church grew rapidly. There were many conversions. As he was getting ready to leave, “Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said goodbye and left for Macedonia.” (Acts 20:1).

A Likely Time Frame

A. Duane Litfin[1] gives us a probable time frame for these events. He writes …

Paul’s missionary journeys occupied approximately the years AD 48-56. From 55-60 Paul was slowly making his way through the Roman courts, arriving ultimately at Rome. For two years,  61-62, Paul was held under house arrest in Rome, at the end of which time, it can be surmised, he was released. From 62-67 Paul travelled more or less freely, leaving Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete, and then subsequently writing each of them a letter. Thus the approximate dates for 1 Timothy and Titus are perhaps AD 63-66.

It was during these later travels that Paul’s thoughts turned once more to the Christians in Ephesus. Timothy was the pastor of the now well established church. Paul wanted to offer him some guidance as he faced the challenges which were sure to come in his life as a pastor. And so he wrote him a letter. It may well have been while he was staying at Nicopolis during the winter months that Paul found time to write. Paul would have found the coastal town warmer in winter than those inland. He wrote a similar letter to Titus at this time. It is in this letter that we learn of his stay in Nicopolis. He wrote,

I am planning to send either Artemas or Tychicus to you. As soon as one of them arrives, do your best to meet me at Nicopolis as quickly as you can, for I have decided to stay there for the winter. (Titus 3:12).

As well as writing, perhaps Paul also arranged a retreat for pastors while he was there. The Actium Games were held in Nicopolis. Paul would have enjoyed visiting the games if they were held while he was there. Many of the word pictures he draws in his letters are taken from the scene of athletic contests. Paul may have found accommodation in one of the inns or in a private home. Or he may have rented a house or room in the town. His letters finished, Paul would have sent them by courier to Timothy and Titus.

A CLEAR STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Paul states his purpose clearly when he writes to Timothy,

The purpose of my instruction is that all the Christians there would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and sincere faith. (1 Timothy 1:6).

He wants his teaching to bear fruit in the lives of the church members in Ephesus. His goal in teaching is that it results in …

‘Love That Comes From A Pure Heart’

Barclay[2] explains the meaning of the Greek word καθαροs [katharos], translated  ‘pure’. He writes,

The word used is very significant. It ... originally simply meant clean as opposed to soiled or dirty ... It was used of corn that has been winnowed and cleansed of all chaff. It was used of an army which had been purified of all cowardly and un-disciplined soldiers until there was nothing left but first class fighting men. It was used of something which was without any debasing mixture. So then, a pure heart is a heart whose motives are absolutely pure and absolutely unmixed.

‘A Clear Conscience’

Barclay[3] says of this phrase,

To have a good conscience is to be able to look in the face of the knowledge one shares with no one but oneself and not be ashamed.

‘Sincere Faith’

The word sincere translates the Greek word άνυποκριτοs [anupokritos] meaning not hypocritical, unfeigned, genuine. It is love which contrasts starkly to that of the false teachers for, as Paul comments strongly later in his letter, “These teachers are hypocrites and liars. They pretend to be religious but their consciences are dead.” (1 Timothy 4:2).

   The literary form that Paul uses in his statement of what he would like to see in the lives of the church members—‘love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and sincere faith—is that of a semantic triad. Litfin[4] says of this triad,

Each member of this beautiful trio speaks of a purity and integrity which produces the most exquisite kind of selfless love, seen in its ultimate form in God’s love itself. Whereas the false teachers were motivated by worthless curiosity, Paul’s instruction was designed to promote the most magnificent of virtues by maintaining the purity of the church’s teaching. God’s truth always purifies the human spirit, while error putrefies it.

THE EXCITED RECIPIENT OF THE LETTER

Timothy Remembers

Timothy was pleased to receive Paul’s letter. He was, no doubt, feeling somewhat stressed in these early years as the pastor of a growing church and needed the encouragement and guidance of his spiritual mentor. What memories would have come to mind as he read the opening greeting. He thought back to his first meeting with Paul, most likely at Lystra when Paul visited that city on his first missionary journey, and again at the beginning of his second.  (Acts 14:6, 16:1). He remembered with much joy and thanksgiving the times when he joined Paul on some of his evangelistic journeys. Paul spoke of him in several of his letters as one of his fellow workers. (Romans 16:21, 2 Corinthians 1:1). Timothy remembered the experience he had gained when Paul had sent him to minister on his own. (1 Corinthians 16:10, Philippians 2:19, 1 Thessalonians 3:1-3). Timothy was taught from the Scriptures by his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. But it was Paul who discipled him and recognised his gifts. (2 Timothy 1:5-8, 3:15).

Sharing The Letter

After reading the letter it is more than likely that  Timothy would have wanted to read it to the people who gathered  for worship the following Sunday. The church met in the home of Priscilla and Aquila. Paul includes this church with those sending greetings to the church members in Corinth when he writes to them.

The churches here in the Province of Asia greet you heartily in the Lord, along with Aquila and Priscilla and all the others who gather in their home for church meetings. The other believers here have asked me to greet you for them. Greet each other in Christian love. (1 Corinthians 16:19).

Church services were different then. The meeting was built around the sharing of a meal.  Robert Banks[5] describes what going to church would have been like in those early days. People would be reclining on couches arranged around tables. Bowls of food would stand invitingly on the tables. Children would be sitting on benches or stools in the open space before the tables. After the meal was over and the tables were being cleared some of the girls may take out their noughts and crosses sets and the boys their knucklebones. After the people took their places once more on the couches, discussion would begin. Prayer and singing would find a place in the service. Someone like Aquila or Timothy would teach from the Hebrew Scriptures.

It is in this kind of setting that we may picture Timothy reading the letter from Paul. Although the letter is addressed to Timothy personally, it is reasonable to assume that  Paul wanted its contents passed on to the church. We may assume this from comments in the letters such as, “give these instructions to the church,” (1 Timothy 5:7) and “remind everyone of these things.” (2 Timothy 2:14). We know also that Paul’s letters to Timothy enjoyed a wide circulation. Donald Guthrie[6] tells us that references to the letters are found in the writings of the early Apostolic Fathers, Clement of Rome and Ignatius. He also notes that,

There are allusions to these letters in Justin Martyr, Heracleon, Hegesippus, Athenagorus, Theophilus, and Irenaeus, which show that they were widely known, while Theophilus definitely believed them to be inspired.

   Listen along with the church in the home of Priscilla and Aquila as Timothy
   begins to read.

THE WRITER IDENTIFIED

We hear the murmur of recognition around the room as Timothy reads the first lines of the scroll. “That certainly sounds like Paul,” one person may have commented, “we have no reason to doubt that it is as the writer says, ‘this letter is from Paul.’ ”

Paul began his letter in typical fashion. He introduces himself as an apostle of the Lord. The introductory format is that of letters written at that time. All present understood the regard Paul had for their young pastor. Litfin[7] writes, “Paul had probably not led him to Christ (cf. 2 Tim. 1:5, 3:15), but he probably had ordained (2 Tim. 1:6) the young minister, and had great confidence in him.”

Christians were then living in difficult times. The Roman Emperor Nero had initiated wave after wave of persecution against them. One of these rolled over the Christians when Nero blamed them for the great fire which devastated Rome in 64 AD. Tacitus[8]  writes, “First then, those who confessed themselves Christians were arrested ... a vast multitude were convicted ... and their death was made a matter of sport: they were covered in wild beasts’ skins and torn to pieces by dogs; or were fastened to crosses and set on fire in order to serve as torches by night.” In such perilous times Paul’s prayerful wish that the Lord would give them ‘grace, mercy, and peace,’ meant much to the little flock and its shepherd as they met together that first day of the week in the home of Aquila and Priscilla. They listen carefully as Timothy reads Paul’s warning.

THE PERILS OF FALSE TEACHING

In addition to Nero’s persecution of the infant church Christians faced the dangers of wrong teaching. Timothy now reads of Paul’s concern to those who had gathered that day for the service. Paul’s desire was for error to be refuted in the church and for truth to be presented.

An Elder Remembers

We may imagine one of the elders on hearing these words, remembering the  time when Paul warned them about the possibility of error infiltrating the church. When Timothy paused in his reading, we perhaps hear him saying, “This is important. When Paul stopped over for a few days in the port of Miletus on his way to Jerusalem, he sent a message for us to come down to meet him there. He told us that it was doubtful if he would see us again. He explained to us, ‘I am going to Jerusalem drawn there irresistibly by the Holy Spirit, not knowing what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit has told me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.’ (Acts 20:22-23). And then he threw us this challenge, ‘And now beware! Be sure that you feed and shepherd God’s flock - his church, purchased with his blood - over whom the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders. I know full well that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in after I leave, not sparing the flock. Even some of you will distort the truth in order to draw a following.’ (Acts 20:28-30). Let us listen carefully to what Paul is saying. Please read some more  Timothy.”

Useless Argument

At this point one of the new members of the church may have asked, “Would  you explain to us Timothy, what the error is that Paul is concerned about.”

Those present had a good idea of the teachers Paul was referring to and the teaching they were presenting, but they listen eagerly as Timothy summarises what was happening. “Some of these teachers,” he begins, “come from the schools of  the Gnostics.”

The members of the house church there in the home of Priscilla and Aquila knew that Gnosticism was a system of thought developed by the Greek philosophers. It taught a way of salvation built on self discovery and realisation. The people knew, but had to be reminded, that the way of salvation presented by the Gnostics was a completely different way from that referred to by Jesus when he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). Peter made this clear to the Jewish religious leaders when he said, “ ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ (Psalm 118:22). There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them.” (Acts 4:12).

Some Of The Features Of Gnosticism

The following summary will help us to understand something of the nature of the philosophical system that was confronting those first Christians. Gnostics taught that …

•  Creation did not occur from out of nothing. Matter always existed.

•  Matter was imperfect, something evil.

•  Because God was good he could not touch this evil matter.

•  And so, say the Gnostics, God put out an emanation. An emanation is something that proceeds from a source. Referring to God, an emanation is something proceeding from the Divine Essence.

•  From the first emanation proceeded another, and then another, until there came into being an emanation so distant from God that he could handle matter through the emanations.

•  Thus it was not God but this final emanation which created the world.

•  Each successive emanation knew less and less about God until the final emanations were ignorant of God and ultimately hostile to him. And so the god who created the world was at war with the true God. This god, they taught, was the god of the Old Testament, and the true God, the God of the New Testament.

•  The Gnostics provided each of the emanations with a complete biography and so built up an elaborate mythology of gods and emanations, each with its own story and genealogy.

•   Gnosticism saw Jesus as the greatest of the emanations, the one closest to God. It classed him as the highest link in the endless chain between God and man, not as the only mediator Paul writes of in this letter. (1 Timothy 2:5).

•   Gnostics teach that mankind is imprisoned in their material existence. In order to ascend to the spiritual world after death it is first necessary to become possessed of a divine spark, the pneuma [pneuma], and then to receive the enlightenment, the γνωσιs [gnōsis]. This enables a person to become aware of their spiritual condition, the knowledge of who we are, what we have become, and where we are going. This enlightenment is the work of a divine redeemer who descends from the spiritual world in disguise and is often equated with Jesus.

•   Salvation for  people begins when they are alerted to the existence of the divine spark within and receive the knowledge necessary to at death escape from the material world to the spiritual. In the gnostic context salvation is not understood in terms of deliverance from sin but as a form of existential self realisation.

•   To complicate matters for Christians at that time a form of religious syncretism which may be called Jewish gnosticism also existed. In this system Greek gnosticism and Judaism had merged. A section of Judaism produced genealogies and biographies that were fictitious although based on historical Jewish families. An example of such genealogies is found in the Jewish book of Jubilees. It may well be that these are included in the references to the myths and endless genealogies of Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus.[9]

The Heart Of The Error

Paul’s next comments seem to suggest that he may have been thinking of the teachers who had combined elements of Greek gnosticism with the teachings of Judaism. Contributing to this syncretism was their confusion about the purpose of the law given to Moses. Paul is concerned that such teachers may find their way into the church. We listen as Timothy continues to read from the scroll.

As Timothy paused in his reading, we may imagine one of those present putting forward this question for discussion, “How are these teachers misleading people Timothy?”In his travels with Paul, Timothy had gained a good understanding of the problem. He had linked up with Paul when the apostle visited Lystra on his second missionary journey. Just prior to that time a controversy about the law had arisen in the infant church in Jerusalem. But the matter had been resolved at a conference addressed by Paul and Barnabas. (Acts 15). And now Paul was passing on the decisions of that conference to the churches as he travelled. “Timothy was well thought of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium, so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey ... Then they went from town to town explaining the decision regarding the commandments that were to be obeyed, as decided by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.” (Acts 16:2,4). The teaching Timothy heard from Paul on that trip and on other occasions would have helped him to deal with the error that was now posing problems for the church meeting there in the home of Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus.

Timothy’s Answer Clarifies The Matter

“These teachers,” Timothy explains, “are saying that people enter into a right relationship with God by keeping the laws given to Moses. But this does not work, for none of us are able to keep the laws. We keep failing. It is just like our Scriptures tell us. 'But we are not godly. We are constant sinners, so your anger is heavy on us. How can people like us be saved? We are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find that they are but filthy rags.' ”[10]

Timothy could well have referred to another letter from Paul which was circulating at that time as Paul had also written to the churches in Galatia about the widespread confusion concerning the purpose of the law. Paul wrote, “Until faith in Christ was shown to us as the way of becoming right with God, we were guarded by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until we could put our faith in the coming saviour. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian and teacher to lead us until Christ came. So now, through faith in God, we are made right with God. But now that faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.” (Galatians 3:23-25).

The Law Is Our Pedagogue

The words ‘guardian and teacher’ (Galatians 3:24), translate the Greek word παιδαγωγοs [paidagōgos]. The Roman Pedagogue was not a teacher who gave the instruction in the classroom. The word refers to the slave whose duty it was to take the children to school and to prevent them from getting into mischief. He taught them about right and wrong on their way to school. Trying to keep the law may guard a person from some evils but trying to obey it cannot make us good people. Although trying to obey the law does in a sense keep us in protective custody, it leads eventually to us becoming the prisoners of our futile efforts at keeping it. The primary purpose of the law is to lead us to the place where we realise that we are falling far short of its standards and are in need of a saviour. In making us aware of our sinfulness the law leads us to Christ and the acceptance of the salvation he offers as a gift. The law does not provide us with the way to find a right relationship with God but points us to the way, the Lord Jesus who said, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6).

This does not mean however, that Christians are ever to use their freedom in Christ as an excuse for sinning. Paul reminded the Christians in Rome about this when he wrote, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not.” (Romans 6:1-2). Whereas a religious person may think of himself as righteous if he observes the laws and ritual of his religion even while sinning, a Christian, being under grace and not looking to the keeping of the law for his salvation, chooses to live a godly life without dependence on the observing of ritual and ceremony.

A Lot To Think About

This first section of Paul’s letter gave Timothy and the church in Ephesus a lot to think about. In the next segment of his letter Paul presents what we will see as the best way to answer strange and erroneous teaching. But before we meet again next Sunday take some time to review the lesson.            

I meditate on your age old laws.
O LORD, they comfort me.
(Psalm 119:52).