1 Timothy 1-2

Timothy • Sermon • Submitted 6 months ago • Presented 6 months ago

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Introduction

The second half of chapter one of this letter in something of a self-reflection of Paul and who he was, and how God saved him. To Paul, this made himself an example of how great God’s grace is. And it’s the grace that comes from faith in Jesus Christ that is the bedrock of what Paul now wants Timothy to teach with others.

With this “charge” in mind, chapter two starts the bulk of the letter which deals with order in the church. Over the course of chapters 2-4, Paul will address the behavior of men, women, elders and deacons, and servants. We’ll slowly peel back the layers of how these commands were both cultural and universal and how we can apply these passages to our lives today.

1 Timothy 1:12-17

In the previous section, Paul contrasts the wicked behavior of the world with the “gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted”. But Paul, more than anyone, was always mindful of what exactly that meant.

Paul never downplayed his past. God could have chosen anybody to take the Gospel to the Gentiles, but he chose Paul - someone who, by his own admission, had persecuted the very church he loved, and even killed Christians. Paul pulled no punches about himself: He was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent of the Gospel.

And so Paul remained humble in this his entire life. And it’s no surprise that he “thanked him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service”.

Christ had shown Paul mercy, and his grace was poured out on Paul. And for Paul this meant one thing was true: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”

But Paul also recognized the bigger picture of Christ’s plan of using him: it meant Paul was to be an example to everyone of Christ’s perfect patience.

It’s still an example that we ourselves can be thankful for. Paul considered himself “the worst of sinners”, but if we’re being honest with ourselves, we know that we’ve been right up there with him. If Jesus had patience, mercy, and grace with Paul, we know he will have the same with us who “believe in Jesus for eternal life”.

But remember, Paul is also talking about his calling as an ambassador of the Gospel here. The example of Paul tells us that if Christ has chosen us in this mission (which he has!), he will strengthen us and use us in spite of our flaws. Or as Paul puts it elsewhere, “Christ is made strong in my weaknesses”.

Verse 17 should not be overlooked! It is a rich and beautiful saying of thanksgiving that ascribes the greatest titles to our Lord Jesus: King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God. And a blessing: honor and glory forever and ever.

What else can Paul say? What else can WE say? When we reflect on the patience, mercy, and grace that Jesus has poured out on us, can we do anything more than declare his majesty in worship? How do you thank him?

Paul makes a similar declaration at the end of the letter (1 Timothy 6:15-16)

1 Timothy 1:18-19

Verse 1-17 have all led to verse 18: a passing of the baton.

Paul has established that he was entrusted with the Gospel, and that Gospel can be summed up in two verses:

1 Timothy 1:5 “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

1 Timothy 1:15 “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”

Paul has also established the kind of person God has chosen to spread this message: the chief of sinners.

And now Paul says, “This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child”. Paul is now passing the baton. And so Paul establishes how the Gospel would be passed down and shared. For the past 2000 years, the charge has been entrusted to every believer.

This is especially true of leaders in the church. Paul here is encouraging Timothy in his position. He reminds Timothy of the prophecies that were made about him.

It’s not clear when these prophecies were made. Perhaps as a child, or maybe when an adult.

Paul elaborates on this in 1 Timothy 4:14 “Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.”

What I think we might be seeing here is an early reference to ordination of church leaders. Laying on of hands and prophecies point to one important thing in ordination: it is guided by the Holy Spirit.

Because Paul knows that the Holy Spirit has chosen Timothy, he know he can trust him. Trust him to do what? “wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience”.

‘Good warfare’ refers to a campaign not a battle. As such, it seems Paul has the “campaign of life” in mind. The Christian life isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. Paul is describing Timothy (and us!) as soldiers, persevering through this life.

It’s no surprise that at the end of his letter to Ephesus (the church Timothy is serving!) Paul encourages them all to put on the full armor of God.

The word Paul uses to describe this lifelong mission, which is translated as “good”, refers to something that is attractive and lovely. We aren’t the kind of soldiers that are gritting our teeth through an ugly battle. We’re soldiers that joyfully march through life defeating evil with love.

Paul describes faith and good conscience almost like two weapons which aid us in this campaign. Whatever we face in life, we have to cling to our faith in Christ to see us through (Paul describes faith as a shield to the Ephesians)…but we also have to live like we belief it - hence having a clear conscience.

Paul says this same thing deacons in 1 Timothy 3:9 “They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.”

Paul is encouraging Timothy, and us, with these words, because there are some who don’t - like Hymenaeus and Alexander.

Hymenaeus is again mentioned in 2 Timothy 2, and he had apparently fallen for false teaching claiming that the general resurrection had already happened - this apparently meant that he was encouraging people to live ungodly lives and “upsetting the faith of many”.

Alexander may also be mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:14 “Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.”

Whatever the case, they had shipwrecked their faith, and were in dire straights.

Paul felt that the only option for people like this was to “hand them over to Satan”. This is similar to how he treated the Corinthian man caught in incest. This could mean a number of things, but one is for sure: total separation from the church.

It’s important to note that Paul never gave up hope that these men would repent and return to the Church. Whenever church discipline is needed, we should remember that it serves a purpose: repentance. And once this is achieved we should welcome to brother or sister back.

To sum it all up: be like Timothy, holding the faith and living it out as we take the Gospel throughout the world.

1 Timothy 2

Now that Paul has established Timothy as a leader in the church, and the “charge” which he is being “entrusted”, Paul now goes to work laying out a series of commands that he wants Timothy to cling to and share with the church.

Before we dive in, we have to understand Paul’s goal with these commands which is found in 1 Timothy 3:14–15 “I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.”

1 Timothy 2:2 also needs to be kept in mind here: “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way”.

Taking these two thoughts together, I think that for Paul, he cares less about particular cultural norms, and more so that whatever culture the Church finds itself in, all of its members “ought to behave” in a “godly and dignified way”.

This is why that throughout his letters, the specific commands for each congregation often shift, depending on their surroundings, but as a whole point towards living a holy life.

For Paul, this all starts with prayer. Paul encouraged four different types of prayer:

Supplications - making a request to God

Prayer - Speaking directly to God

Intercession/Petition - This Greek word means to either have an intimate conversation with someone or to enter a king’s presence and submit a request to him. It showcases the unique position we have as God’s children to go into his very presence

Thanksgiving - We shouldn’t just be asking God for things, we ought to be thanking him too

All of prayers, regardless of their type, should be made for all people. But then Paul specifically calls out praying for “kings and all who are in high positions”.

Here he gives that very specific reason: “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way”. Remember, Christianity was fairly new and not an officially approved religion. Rome had every opportunity to squash it (and it tried). For Paul, the encouragement was simple: “Pray for them, that they might leave us alone.”

This is still a very relevant and wise prayer for Christians living in countries that persecute them. But it might even be worth remembering for us, too. What if when we pray for government officials, it’s not that they necessarily do things that benefit Christians - rather they simply do things that don’t negatively effect us, and as a whole they just leave us alone, and we go about living quiet and godly lives not drawing attention to ourselves.

For a culture that loves to be actively engaged in all things politics, this indifference and disengagement towards general affairs can be difficult - but it might relieve a lot of stress Christians have about politics.

Whatever the case, Paul elaborates on the big picture for our prayers: that God desires for all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Paul, ever excited for the Gospel can’t seem to help himself and almost gets derailed in thought expounding on the beauty of the truth: There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, and he gave it all for us to have a relationship with God.

Paul reminds Timothy that it was because of this beautiful truth that he was appointed a “preacher, apostle, and teacher” to the Gentiles. His life mission was to tell people about Jesus in every way possible.

Refocusing on the topic at hand, Paul begins talking about the behavior of men and women within the church in verse 8.

It’s true that the majority of this section deals with women in the church, and for many (including myself) it can be a difficult passage. The importance again, is that Paul wants every member of the Church to live a godly and quiet life that doesn’t draw negative attention from the world.

For men, this means he wants them to pray, “lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling”.

Do you know what men love to do? Fight. Argue. Quarrel. That word for quarreling is “dialogismis” where we get the word “dialogue”. I have to wonder if Paul has in mind the false teachers who were just sitting around debating about nothing?

Brie makes fun of me listening to sports talk radio, because most of them just sit around and argue about sports. The same could be said about political talk shows. Most podcasts are just men who sit around and enjoy arguing with each other.

Paul says, “Why don’t you put that energy into something productive, like praying?”

Now turning to address women, Paul lays down several “desires”:

Women should watch their dress

They should learn quietly

They cannot “teach or exercise authority” over a man

There is a lot of background context to unravel here

In particular, this church was in Ephesus, which was known for its very large Temple of Artemis. Artemis, as a fertility goddess among other things, elicited much sexual immorality among the citizens of the city. It’s estimated that she may have had up to 1000 “priestesses” that doubled as shrine prostitutes.

They likely dressed very scantily and “with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire”. These things aren’t inherently bad, but in their context, Paul was well aware of what they meant in that culture - and it certainly didn’t “profess godliness - with good words”. And that really is the key to this portion.

Regardless of context, Paul wants women to be “modest, self-control, and godly”.

This is in agreement with 1 Peter 3:3–4 “Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”

Remember, Paul wants the church to “lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way”. When the people of Ephesus saw the women of Christ, it should have been obvious that they were different than the women of Artemis. That is still true today.

Now with immodesty making a comeback in our culture, this is certainly wisdom that we should be passing onto women and girls in our churches.

Paul also encourages the women to learn quietly, and not to teach or have authority over men.

Some think that perhaps the women in the church at Ephesus were jealous of the authority that the Artemis priestesses had, and were trying to have that seize that same authority (they translated “exercise authority” as “usurp authority”). This is possible, but not really any historical evidence for this.

Some things that seem to be true: women in the ancient world, especially among the Jewish community, were not allowed to even learn let alone teach. And so Paul allowing women to even be in the same room as men learning alongside them (like Jesus did!) would have been revolutionary.

Second, quietness in the ancient world was actually considered a virtue - and one that people thought women were naturally better at. In a culture that loves to talk, maybe we should bring this virtue back! And maybe men could learn a thing or two from women in knowing how to keep our mouths shut.

Third, in that culture respectable women lived a typically confined life. If women in the church had tried to take a more active role in the congregation, they could have gained the reputation as “loose women”, again similar to the shrine prostitutes of Artemis.

This biggest problem with this passage being merely “cultural”, is that Paul doesn’t give a cultural reason - he gives a theological reason. And this is held up by the fact that historically women have not been allowed positions of authority within the church - it’s been a relatively new development.

The theological reason Paul gives us that Adam was formed first, then Eve and that Eve was the original transgressor.

Now Paul clearly believed that Adam was just as guilty of sin as Eve was - maybe even more so since he wasn’t necessarily “tricked”, but went along willingly. (Romans 5:12-19)

But for Paul, this intrinsic order of events in the Creation account has implications for the order of the church and authority. Perhaps there was a fear that Eve being “deceived” and leading Adam into sin may be repeated in the church.

It’s important to note that women did play important roles in the early church - including at times teaching it seems. To mention a few: Mary no doubt taught Jesus. The many women who followed Jesus (and supported him), Priscilla and her husband Aquila. Timothy’s own mother and grandmother raised and taught him.

Paul ends this section with a rather strange comment: “Yet she will be saved through childbearing - if they continue in faith and love and holiness with self-control”

It’s not entirely clear what Paul means by this, but the fact that he switches between the singular (she, referring to Eve) to the plural (they, all women) seems to indicate a bigger picture: despite Eve’s role in the fall of man, “she” was ultimately saved through childbearing - because Jesus was born of a woman.

This “salvation” extends to all women (and men for that matter), so long as “they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

Paul could also have women’s motherly nature in mind and the role they play in giving birth and raising both physical and spiritual children. And this points to the fact that for women, the crowning glory isn’t in running meetings, but running families.

Whatever the case, the emphasis here is the last part: “continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control”.

The point of this passage shouldn’t be to restrict women (or men!) in the church (Paul himself declared equality in Galatians 3:28), but rather to encourage them to live godly and holy lives that do not bring disrepute to the church. What that looks like is probably going to look a little different in every cultural context.

Conclusion

These passages are just the first part of Paul’s instructions on church life. Again, his goal is to have the Gospel spread, and he knows that the best way for the church to do that is to “lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way”. That means that every person in the church need to know “how they ought to behave in the house of God”. What that looks like in practice will change from culture to culture, and even church to church sometimes. But no matter where we find ourselves, we must continue to “fight the good fight, holding faith and a good conscience”.

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