AM Bible Study Group; March 5, 2014
1 Timothy 1:1-2
Theme: Paul’s introduction in this letter establishes a sense of authority in his instructions for church ministry.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
This morning, we begin considering the Pastoral Epistles of 1 and 2 Timothy. These are part of a section of the New Testament called ‘the pastorals’ because they were letters written by Paul to Pastors. There are three such letters in the New Testament. 1 Timothy was written around 64 A.D. by Paul to—as the name suggests—Timothy (who was pastor over the church in Ephesus). The second of the pastorals in chronological order was Titus. It was written by Paul between 65 to 67 A.D. to Titus, who was pastor of the church on the Isle of Crete. The third was 2 Timothy—written in 68 A.D., shortly before Paul was executed for his faith.
These remarkable letters tell us a great deal about how a pastor ought to conduct himself in a church. For that reason, they are good for the whole church to study. They help the members of Jesus’ church to know what the duties of their pastor are; and how they should pray for him and support him. Studying these letters are not just beneficial to pastoral leadership, but to everyone else in the church; because it helps every believer keep the command of Hebrews 13:17; “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” But a study of them also helps everyone in the church know how it is that a healthy church is to operate.
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A good, basic outline of 1 Timothy might look like what you see below. Timothy is told—in the key verse of the epistle, “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust . . .” (1 Timothy 5:20). What had been entrusted to him was the care of the church in Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3)—the precious flock of God which Jesus purchased with His own blood (see Acts 20:28); and he was to keep this charge as if waging “a good warfare” with “faith and a good conscience” (1:18-19). In reminding Timothy of this, Paul urged him to diligently lead the church in pursing:
I. EVANGELISTIC INTEGRITY (Chapter 1)
II. WORSHIPFUL ORDER (Chapter 2)
III. QUALIFIED LEADERSHIP (Chapter 3)
IV. DOCTRINAL PURITY (Chapter 4)
V. HONORABLE CARE (Chapter 5)
VI. GODLY CONDUCT (Chapter 6)
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Notice that, in the first two introductory verses, we find . . .
I. THE AUTHOR OF THE LETTER (v. 1).
A. “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ . . .” It’s interesting that Paul began his letter in this way to Timothy. Timothy certainly knew Paul’s story. His calling as an apostle is told in detail in Acts 9. Saul, who was formerly a great antagonist in the church, met Jesus Christ and became converted. God turned Saul into Paul—the greatest missionary the church has ever known. Timothy certainly knew this. But perhaps Paul began his letter in this way because the letter is filled with instructions and commands. Throughout it, Paul “urged” Timothy (1:3), and “charged” him (1:18; 5:21), and “commanded” him (6:13-14); and “exhorted” that certain things be done in the church (2:1), as Paul “desired” (2:8). He even told Timothy to “instruct” the people (4:6) in certain things, and to “reject” other things (4:7), and to “command” and “teach” them in certain things (4:11), and to “teach” and “exhort” the people in things (6:2), as Paul directed him. The whole letter is filled with a sense of authority! That authority came from the fact that Paul was ‘an apostle’—a personally authorized and sent representative—of King Jesus!
B. Timothy got his authority to teach and instruct and issue commands in the church from Paul. But where did Paul get his authority? Perhaps for this very reason, Paul felt led to stress his credentials as an apostle at the beginning of the letter. He declared that he was an apostle “by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope . . .” The word that Paul used for “commandment” (epitagē) is a strong word with a military feel. It refers to a command or a commission that must be obeyed. It’s the word translated “authority” in Titus 2:15—”speak these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.” Paul’s commission to serve as an apostle was a command from God that must be obeyed! He was glad to do so—and counted it an honor to have received his apostleship (1 Timothy 1:12; 1 Corinthians 15:9; Ephesians 3:8). But he also made sure no one despised this authority that had been given to him (Galatians 1:1). It was his by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope.
II. THE RECIPIENT OF THE LETTER (v. 2a).
A. This letter was sent to Timothy. We first meet Timothy in Acts 16. When Paul and Silas came to Derbe and Lystra on Paul’s second missionary journey, the met a certain disciple named Timothy—”the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek” (Act 16:1). He was well spoken of by the people in the churches of Lystra and Iconium.
B. Paul calls him “a true son in the faith”—literally, a “genuine” or “legitimate” son in the faith. And this may be because Paul had been instrumental in some way in leading him to the Lord. Timothy had been raised by a godly mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:14); but was perhaps brought to deeper commitment to the faith through the many things Paul suffered in that region (2 Timothy 3:10-11); and had come to be personally mentored by him (2 Timothy 1:13). Paul may even have been present to help commission him to ministry (see 2 Timothy 1:6 with 1 Timothy 1:18, 4:14).
III. THE GREETING OF THE LETTER (v. 2b).
A. Paul’s formal greeting to Timothy expressed the wishes of “Grace, mercy and peace”. Those are three things that Paul wished for all the people under Timothy’s care. Note the vital order of things. Grace—God’s gracious gift of unmerited favor—must come first. Mercy—God’s tender compassion toward those who are in need and who do not deserve His compassion—flows from that grace. And peace—that is a peace first with God, and then with each, other and finally within ourselves—comes only to those who have first received God’s grace and found His mercy in the forgiveness of their sins.
B. And notice the source of grace, mercy and peace: “from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord”. It isn’t that Jesus Himself alone desires to bring us into the full joy and hope of our salvation. It is the impulse of the Father’s love for us.—expressed to us in the gracious gift of His Son. That is something that the whole of this wonderful letter seeks to make practical to us as the body of Christ.
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Paul told Timothy, “I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). Everyone in the body of Christ benefits from a careful study of the pastoral epistles. May God help us all learn from it how we are to serve together in the precious household of faith!