Introduction to 1 Timothy-Pauline Authorship of 1 Timothy
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday January 5, 2011
1 Timothy: Introduction to 1 Timothy-Pauline Authorship of 1 Timothy
Lesson # 2
Please turn in your bibles to 1 Timothy 1:1.
Tonight we will continue our introduction of 1 Timothy by noting the Pauline authorship of this letter, which has been disputed by liberal, critical scholars within the last two centuries.
That Paul is the author of each of the Pastorals is clearly supported by the salutation in each of them.
1 Timothy 1:1, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope, 2 to Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. (NASU)
Pauline authorship of the Pastoral Epistles was never questioned until the nineteenth century.
The issue of authorship with regards to the Pastoral Epistles is extremely important since the position that one takes concerning this question will determine how one exegetes and interprets these letters.
Today, contemporary critical orthodoxy is adamant that the Pastoral Epistles were not written by Paul and that they were written much later than when he lived.
These scholars consider these epistles as “pseudonymous” which refers to the practice of publishing one’s writings under a revered person’s name (Kelly, page 5; 1963).
The existence of the practice of pseudonymity in the ancient world is not disputed since it is well documented.
It was used in Greco-Roman cultures as a literary means of drawing on ancient authorities to address contemporary situations.
This process was accepted and understood and was not consider something that was deceptive but this cannot be applied to Christianity.
Brandon Carter writes, “The main objection to the idea of pseudonymity is derived from the correct understanding of the doctrine of the Bible. Again, the canon is considered to be those writings which are inspired by God. Because God is the God of truth, it follows that the Bible which he inspired is also completely truthful and inerrant. The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy affirms that ‘Scripture in its entirety is inerrant, being free from all falsehood, fraud, or deceit.’ This extends to every aspect of the text; it includes not only religious truth, but all matters of history and science as well.” (The Authorship of the Pastoral Epistles; pages 10-11; A Senior Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation in the Honors Program; Liberty University; Fall 2007).
Carter citing J. I. Packer, “We may lay down as a general principle that, when biblical books specify their own authorship, the affirmation of their canonicity involves a denial of their pseudonymity. Pseudonymity and canonicity are mutually exclusive.” (Fundamentalism and the Word of God; Grand Rapids; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1958)
There are three basic critical issues that are raised by critical scholarship: (1) Linguistic and Style: The vocabulary and style in the Pastoral Epistles appears to be quite different from the other acknowledged Pauline epistles. (2) Theological: The Pastoral Epistles omit some themes that are central to Paul’s theology in his other epistles and also appear to contradict Paul’s viewpoint. (3) Historical: The Pastoral Epistles do not fit the historical events recorded in the book of Acts.
The first reason for classifying them in this way is that there are many vocabulary differences between them and Paul’s other epistles.
Duane Litfin writes, “Another line of argument against the authenticity of the Pastorals grows out of detailed examinations of their vocabulary. The occurrence of unusually high numbers of words used only once in the New Testament (but more regularly by second-century writers), words used by other New Testament writers but never elsewhere by Paul, and the absence or different use of characteristic Pauline words all combine, so the argument goes, to suggest a writing style of someone other than Paul. But such word-counting cannot support the weight of the critics’ conclusions. To begin with, the entire process is scientifically unsound since the available samples of literature are far too small for any such findings to be statistically valid. Furthermore such studies completely overlook the fact that different subject matter, different experiences, advancing age, changes in environment and companions, different recipients and purposes—all these and more affect a writer’s vocabulary. When the same word-counting techniques are applied to uncontested Pauline Epistles, much the same results occur. Thus authenticity cannot be determined by merely counting word usage.” (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures; volume 2; page 728; Wheaton, IL: Victor Books)
Many scholars today dispute Pauline authorship because the style of these letters appears to be quite different that the other ten letters of the apostle.
Moo and Carson write, “If one opts for a pseudonymous author, the differences are explained, but a new set of difficulties has been introduced. Alternatively, one must ask if the differences can be accounted for without appealing to a pseudonymous writer. There are very few convincing control studies to probe the range of expression found in one author writing letters across a span of almost a quarter of a century to persons and groups as diverse as those represented by the Pauline corpus. One wonders whether the difference in style between the Pastorals and the ten Pauline letters is greater than the difference that might legitimately be expected between private letters to trusted fellow workers and public letters to churches, letters usually addressing specific difficulties. And if it is difficult to be certain what inferences should be drawn from the acknowledged differences, it is equally difficult to be certain what inferences should be drawn from incidental similarities.” (Ibid, page 559)
The second area that biblical scholarship has addressed with regards to whether or not Paul wrote the Pastoral Epistles is that of the absence of basic Pauline concepts.
However, there are many subjects that appear in the undisputed Pauline letters and the Pastorals.
First of all, 1 Timothy 1:5 mentions the doctrine of love and in particular the Christian operating in God’s love towards their fellow believer and the unbeliever.
This teaching appears elsewhere in 1 Timothy (2:15; 4:12) as well as 2 Timothy (1:13; 3:10) and Titus (2:2) and is found in Paul’s other epistles (Romans 12:9-21, 13:8-10; 14; 1 Corinthians 13; Ephesians 5:1-2; Philippians 1:9).
The purpose of the Law is discussed in 1 Timothy 1:8-10 as it is in Romans (3:19; 4:15; 5:20; 7:7) and Galatians (3:19-24).
Then, the subject of salvation through faith in Christ is mentioned by Paul with regards to his own salvation in 1 Timothy 1:15.
This subject of salvation is mentioned also in 2 Timothy 2:10 and 3:15 as well as Titus 2:11, which is a theme mentioned in the other Paulines (Romans 1:16; 2 Corinthians 6:2; Ephesians 1:13).
Another obstacle found by those who reject Pauline authorship of the Pastorals is their historical placement of Paul when they were written.
Some scholars attempt to fit the movements of Paul reflected in 1 Timothy and Titus with the events recorded in the book of Acts.
Those who hold the view that the events recorded in the book of Acts can fit the movements of Paul reflected in 1 Timothy and Titus have Paul experiencing only one Roman imprisonment.
It would have the imprisonment mentioned in 2 Timothy corresponding to the imprisonment mentioned in Acts 28.
The problem with this theory is that it fails to taken into consideration that the imprisonment in Acts 28 is a house arrest and Paul has freedom to proclaim the gospel and has his own rented quarters.
The “prison” epistles (Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon) do not present any expectation like 2 Timothy that Paul was about to be executed.
In fact, in Philippians, Paul is convinced and certain that he will soon be released (Philippians 1:25-26; 2:24).
Connected to this imprisonment in Acts 28, is the fact that Festus admitted that Paul had done nothing deserving of death and could have been released if he had not appealed his case to Caesar as stated by Agrippa (Acts 25:25-32).
This coincides with the anticipated released mentioned in Philippians.
The more reasonable view is that the movements as recorded by Luke in the book of Acts indicate that Paul must have been released from a “first” Roman imprisonment as indicated in Acts 28.
This view has 1 Timothy and Titus written after Paul’s release from his first Roman imprisonment and the events recorded in these epistles do not appear in Acts.
It also places 2 Timothy as taking place when Paul was again arrested and imprisoned in Rome when his execution was anticipated by the apostle.
Also, Paul’s statements in Romans 15:24, 28, 29 and 32 reveal that through the Spirit, he was confident that he would visit Spain by way of Rome.
Another objection to Pauline authorship of the Pastorals is that these letters allude to Gnosticism, which belongs to a period well into the second century.
These alleged references to Gnosticism are said to be found in the warning “what is falsely called knowledge” (1 Timothy 6:20) and the expression “myths and endless genealogies” (1 Timothy 1:4; cf. 4:7; Titus 3:9) and the mention of ascetic practices in 1 Timothy 4:3.
However, all these references can also be attributed to problems with the Judaizers, which is supported by the obvious references to those called by Paul “teachers of the Law” in 1 Timothy 1:7 and “the circumcision group” in Titus 1:10.
They are also alluded to with the expression “Jewish myths” in Titus 1:14 and “arguments and quarrels about the law” in Titus 3:9.
Some scholars are of the opinion that the understanding of church organization that is presupposed in the Pastoral letters would not be known during Paul’s lifetime.
In response to this, it is clear that there is a presumed organization in 1 Timothy which indicates that by no means was church organization being created by Paul.
Furthermore, during Paul’s first missionary journey he and Barnabas appointed elders in the churches that he recently established (Acts 14:23).
He also sends his greetings to the overseers and deacons in the city of Philippi (Philippians 1:1).
Carter rightly surmises “How would Paul have mentioned such officials if they were not contemporaneous with Paul?” (Page 23).
Still other scholars contend that the provision for care of widows mentioned in 1 Timothy 5:3-16 would not be familiar during Paul’s lifetime.
However, Acts chapter 6 makes clear that concern for widows was a concern for the first century church, thus, it is not surprising that Paul mentions care of widows in 1 Timothy.