OVERVIEW
The first letter has three main themes. Paul was aware that it
would not be long before sound doctrine would be ignored. He urged Timothy to
resist the false doctrine that was being deliberately taught in Ephesus. It was
evident that some of the believers in Ephesus were teaching doctrinal error, and
were also devoting their time to the consideration of myths, genealogies and
meaningless talk. Paul regarded the development of faith in love as being far
more productive. It seems from 1Ti 1:8-11 that the error being proposed by the
false teachers related to the keeping of the Law (of Moses). Paul, yet again (he
did it in other letters) pointed out that the Law was made for sinners. On the
other hand, while Paul regarded himself as initially a sinner of significant
proportions (1Ti 1:13) it was through the grace of God, and through love and
faith that he was able to receive strength and be a servant of God. Paul was
encouraging Timothy to fight for the faith that he was also given so that he
would not follow the path of those who became distracted and mad e a wreck of
their faith (1Ti 1:18-20).
The second theme concerned the way in which groups of
believers -- the ecclesia -- might worship. Paul gave advice on the way in which
men and women might pray and dress, and he also suggested the role of the woman
in relation to the man: the man should take the responsibility for guidance just
as Christ took the responsibility for his ecclesia -- his "bride". He also
discussed the qualifications of elders in the ecclesias.
The third theme concerns the issue of personal traits that
Timothy should exhibit. Paul saw that Timothy had a major role to play in the
development of the first century Christians and he did what he could to
encourage him. In two other instances, Paul referred to the acute attacks that
would come upon the believers before too long. Paul advised him to be a good
servant "brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you
have followed." "Command and teach," Paul advised. He realized this chore would
not be easy; he used words such as "fight", "take hold" and "command". Serious
issues needed strong words and action.
Two things stand out in the latter part of this letter.
Firstly, it was obvious to Paul that Timothy would need to keep Paul's
directions "until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1Ti 6:14). There was
no doubt that Paul expected Jesus to return to the earth. The second thing is
that Paul was anticipating a time when "what is falsely called knowledge" would
need to be refuted (1Ti 6:20). For the followers of Christ, "looking for his
appearing" should be a fundamental occupation, together with refusal to be
caught up in contemporary society's paranoia for increasing knowledge, too much
of which can be regarded as being false.
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OUTLINE
1Ti 1:1-2: Greeting
1Ti 1:3-11: The problem of false teachers
1Ti 1:12-20: Grace, faith and love
1Ti 2:1-15: Directions for private and public
worship
- the need for being at
peace
- God's desire: salvation for all through
Jesus the mediator
- the roles of men and women in
worship
1Ti 3:1-16: Duties, responsibilities and qualifications of
God's servants in the ecclesia
1Ti 4:1-15: General, personal advice to encourage
Timothy
1Ti 5:1-25: More specific personal advice
1Ti 6:1-2: Continued advice
1Ti 6:3-10: A further reminder of troubles -- doctrinal,
financial and social -- that will come to God's people
1Ti 6:11-20: Final encouragement
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