Another Bible Commentary: 1 Timothy

The letters we’ve studied so far have been to congregations. These next few “pastoral Epistles” are to fellow church leaders and provide insight about leadership. These letters are from Paul’s final batch of correspondence before his execution. See 1 Corinthians 12 to see from the diversity of spiritual gifts that saying preachers, prophets, teachers, etc., must be elders in the Church is a mistake. In a society that allowed religious/ethnic groups to settle their own issues amongst themselves, elders were those entrusted with responsibilities like judging cases according to church law and controlling the treasury. For issues involving Christians, the elders would have been those sought by the government for questioning. In that place and time, that meant picking respectable family men to maintain a good reputation in a culture that viewed us as a degenerate element with regard to pagan values. For those still denying women positions within the Church, Deborah (Judges 4), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), Junia, Priscilla, etc., were all legitimate leaders in their roles. For those focused on such matters to the extent of having jargon for it, “complementarian in marriage; egalitarian elsewhere” is your summary.

Timothy was Paul’s sidekick, co-wrote some of his letters, and became the Bishop of Ephesus. Diana/Artemis of the Ephesians was worshiped there; we’ll revisit that context momentarily.

1:3-4 In Acts 20:28-30, Paul said that these wolves were coming. They already had enough pagan myths to contend with without the influence of Judaizers (Titus 1:14, Titus 3:9) as we’ll see in verses 6 and 7. Genealogies to prove how Jewish and therefore superior an instructor was (like those Paul answered in Philippians 3:5) or apostolic succession (like 1 Corinthians 1:12) don’t matter in the face of the Holy Spirit (John 16:13) and the Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

1:5 The pure heart and good conscience are gifts as part of the New Covenant thanks to what Jesus did for us. Notice that love and faith (“Believe and Love”) are what is important.

1:6-7 Judaizers (Titus 1:14, Titus 3:9).

1:8 The proper use of the Law of Moses is to reveal our need for God’s grace, as Paul explained at length in Romans 1 through Romans 5 and Galatians 3 through Galatians 5. If you are in Christ, you have no relationship with the Law. Christians are not under the Law (Romans 6:14) and have died to the Law (Romans 7:4). Christ is the end of the Law of Moses for believers (Romans 10:4). Therefore, Paul is about to launch into a list of things to avoid.

1:9-10 Remember how we recontextualized Acts 15:20 in light of the Noahide Laws applicable to all humanity (Jews and Gentiles) as well as the non-negotiable pikuach nefesh exceptions. Refraining from murder and having respect for parents are on the list. Sexual immorality is explained in Leviticus 18 and Leviticus 20 because those offenses got lawless Canaanites killed. The weightiest commandment in the Law was to love, but 1 Corinthians 5 proves there are still off-limits sexual behaviors. See arsenokoites in the 1 Corinthians 6:10 note. The issue of “homosexuals” Paul mentioned in Ephesus is admittedly partly about anal sex with castrated Galli in the worship of Cybele. Pederasty in ancient Greece sometimes involved ritually kidnapping a boy like Ganymede in the Zeus story. “Slavetraders” kidnapped men unlawfully to enslave them rather than slavery to settle a debt or as spoils of war, etc. God helped Abe and David kill kidnappers, as theft is on the list. In the case of “perjurers, liars, and oathbreakers”, truth was sworn before God so these were offenses against the Name. Jesus turns away none who come to Him (John 6:37), we are to love fellow believers (1 John 5:1), and we are to stay off God’s throne (Romans 14:4). Paul listed these things as flavors of unbeliever; we Christians have been changed (1 Corinthians 6:11), and these actions no longer define the nature of a believer.

1:14 Here’s some more of that superabundant grace without measure (dismissed by some as hypergrace) and another endorsement of Believe and Love.

1:15 Jesus came to save us. Some Christians aren’t convinced that He finished the job.

1:16 Believe and receive; it really is that simple.

1:18-19 Paul kept a good conscience to be a good ambassador for the Gospel (1 Corinthians 9:27, 1 Corinthians 10:33, 2 Corinthians 6:3). Paul came back from many shipwrecks (2 Corinthians 11:25), so it’s not like that means loss of salvation. Some people threw away a good conscience, like the sin-on-purpose-so-grace-gets-even-bigger people (Romans 3:8, Romans 5:20, Romans 6:1).

1:20 Handing someone over to Satan signified kicking them out of the Church, ruled by Christ, into the world, temporarily claimed by the devil (2 Corinthians 4:4). Excommunication was presented in 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians as a temporary measure intended to correct behavior. The notorious sinners I mentioned in the 1 Timothy 1:18-19 note were considered to have blasphemed the Name by being poor ambassadors for God (Ezekiel 36:20). Additionally, see 2 Timothy 2:17-18, 2 Timothy 4:14-15, and 1 Corinthians 15:12 to speculate about Hymenaeus and Alexander’s specific offenses.

2:1-2 Regarding the imperial cult, the Jews had an exception wherein they could pray for the ruler instead of to the ruler. Paul encouraged the same behavior to get the public’s good will in the interest of saving people (verse 4).

2:3-4 He wants all people to be saved (Ezekiel 18:32). He doesn’t predestine any individual to Hell. He’s a Gentleman knocking at the door of your life but refusing to kick it down.

2:5 There is one mediator: Jesus. Why do people pray to Mary and the rest of the saints who are not Jesus?

2:6 “all” He didn’t just die for “the elect”. Anyone can believe and receive.

2:8 Some translations emphasize that the instructions through the end of chapter 2 are with regard to a public worship service.

2:9-10 Continuing the thought concerning how to appear in a public worship context or representing the faith in the community, in context, women were told not to dress overly ostentatiously and/or like whores out of respect to their husbands, to not cause distraction in church, and to avoid mistaken assumptions of temple prostitution. Back then, pearls were more precious than diamonds. The “braided hair” was not the simple Little House on the Prairie look, but elaborate creations that took all day, required keeping special slaves (ornatrices) trained for the task, and could have included jeweled ornaments, etc. Think of wearing the most ostentatious thing you’ve ever seen at an Atlanta hair show to church weekly to get attention and to rub it in the poorer members’ faces. Paul’s specific instructions to this community can be generalized to “represent Christianity well and dress appropriately to the occasion”. There are things appropriate to wear or not to wear depending on whether you are in your grandmother’s church, on a beach, evangelizing somewhere like a tropical island as a guest, etc. If wearing more than the belts from Genesis 3:21 is considered rude, Paul would have fit in like a chameleon for evangelism (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

2:11-12 Artemis of the Ephesians was a virgin huntress that had no husband to put up with; she was also considered the protector of women during childbirth. It seems that some of her former followers were loudly opposed to young Timothy’s authority, and Paul had specific instructions for the affected congregations. Let us not make the mistake of thinking women are not allowed to lead. God would not break His own rules. He can pick anyone He wants to speak for Him, including Balaam’s donkey, but Deborah (Judges 4) did more than deliver messages; she sat in the same judgment seat that passed from Samuel to Saul and then to David. Saying women can’t lead or teach also creates problems with the story of Huldah the prophetess (2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34), the story about the wise woman who got the rebel beheaded (by convincing all the people in Abel, men included) in 2 Samuel 20, etc. Philip’s daughters prophesied (Acts 21:9), Phoebe was a deaconess (Romans 16:1), Priscilla helped teach Apollos (and I think he may have written the book of Hebrews), Junia was well regarded among the apostles, etc. The verses (1 Corinthians 14:34-35) about women remaining silent in a church service (despite the same author addressing the same congregation telling them to make sure a woman’s head was covered when praying or prophesying in 1 Corinthians 11) has a context. Even in some traditional congregations today, men sit on one side of the room, and women and children sit on the other. Paul telling them to ask their husbands at home was telling them not to yell across the room during the sermon. Many Bible translations title 1 Corinthians 14 “Order in Worship”, “Intelligibility in Worship”, etc. The other passage frequently quoted about this matter is 1 Timothy 2:8-15, and taking a verse out of context out of that chunk loses the meaning. 1 Timothy 2:2 introduces a theme of peace and quiet. 1 Timothy 2:8 continues with men free of strife. 1 Timothy 2:9-10 features women not going overboard with the new Christian egalitarianism (see Galatians 3:28) by dressing in whorish/ostentatious ways that would have been seen as disrespectful to their husbands. 1 Timothy 2:11-12 is better translated including “wife” learning in quietness and submission; Paul did not permit a “wife” to “admonish” or “lord over” her “husband”, which is consistent with his treatment of Genesis. Wives were invented to help husbands, and that help can take many forms, including work outside the home (Proverbs 31). Wifely submission within marriage is a part of marriage being a depiction of Christ’s relationship with the Church (Ephesians 5), but not every woman has to take guff from every man. Again, a summary for groups that think too much about these issues would be “complementarian within marriage, egalitarian elsewhere”.

2:13 Gender roles existed even before the Fall.

2:14 We see the sin of Adam referred to more frequently because he transgressed knowingly (with Eve traditionally considered having been tricked by the serpent), and he was in the position of authority.

2:15 There were former followers of Artemis of the Ephesians that were used to looking to her for protection during childbirth. There were also logically emulators of Artemis of the Ephesians that stayed virgins and considered mothering children a waste of time. This works either way. You can be saved and bear fruit for the Kingdom as a mother. Your whole ministry may be to one child. However, childbearing is not a condition of salvation; salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It’s not about what we do, but what He did.

3:1 Again, the overseer/elder would have been seen as a paterfamilias of the religious group by outsiders.

3:2 “faithful to his wife” or “husband of one wife” Since Paul was single, this means “not in violation of the one-wife rule of the Roman government”. Plus, in addition to looking bad and causing legal trouble, multiple wives (and therefore mothers-in-law, etc.) might have been too much of a distraction and demanded too much time from a full-time minister. Since every tribe and tongue was coming to Christ back then, there were probably still some polygamist converts from among what Paul called the “barbarians”; being an elder is a special calling.

3:3 When the New Testament warns against drunkenness, it means don’t get “so hammered you don’t remember fathering your own grandchildren”-level drunk. Remember Jesus’ miracle at the wedding at Cana, the four drink minimum at Passover, etc. As long as you can still distinguish what sinful behavior is and the “wine god” isn’t possessing you in a blackout, you’re still in Psalm 104:15 territory. A good test is whether you can still provide a clear witness for Jesus Christ. Regarding a “lover of money”, verse 8 clarifies that this means by illicit/dishonest means. Remember Paul’s “above reproach” from verse 2.

3:4-5 There have been attempts to compare this requirement to Deuteronomy 23:1, but since Paul is single we see that this is another mark of public respectability, a black mark to avoid instead of a hoop to jump through. Having minor children reputed to be godless criminals, etc., would not have reflected well upon a candidate’s ability to shepherd a congregation.

3:6 “same judgment as the devil” or “the devil’s condemnation” which is more like “condemnation from the Accuser”. Either a shakeable faith folding under pressure or losing a position of leadership due to egotism like the devil did both fit. You’re secure in Christ, but becoming/staying an elder is a special calling.

3:7 Having a good reputation with outsiders to avoid the devil’s trap meant not getting killed by the Romans unnecessarily.

3:8 “deacons” include females (Romans 16:1-2).

3:9 “clear conscience” to represent the faith well.

3:10 “against” Again, the criteria are more about public reputation icebergs to steer around than hoops to jump through to earn a spot.

3:12 See verse 2 note.

3:13 “great assurance” See Ephesians 4:12-14. He is entirely trustworthy, and becoming entirely sure of that feels great.

3:16 “mystery” The truth of Jesus being entirely divine and entirely human is described thusly in contrast to the secret alleged knowledge of the proto-Gnostics. As to whether vindication by the Spirit refers to the manifestation at Jesus’ baptism, the presence of many miracles, or His resurrection, the answer is yes, all of the above.

4:1 Paul had already warned that congregation (Acts 20:29-30). Paul may have been thinking of Daniel 11:30-32 here; promises of confusion and apostasy can be found all the way back in Deuteronomy 28. Interestingly, Greek philosophers claimed to receive ideas from lesser deities/spirits they called daemons.

4:2 These people were rule-keepers, as we’ll see in the verses that follow.

4:3 We discussed the nuances of Matthew 22:30 in which we will become like the angels in Heaven, and it seems that people tried to apply a mistaken version of that here on Earth. This prohibition of marriage altogether goes beyond what Jesus said in Matthew 19:10-12. The Platonists consider this world an illusion/shadow/lesser version of an unseen spiritual reality, the Realm of the Forms. This pro-spirit-anti-physical idea is enough to explain the proto-Gnostic heresies several of the Epistles address. If our resurrection were only spiritual, then our bodies would have no place in God’s future plan. Logically, that error leads to two more: 1) if the body is not important, then go and set a record for sinning 2) if the body is inherently evil, be ascetic to the point of even denying normal/good physical cravings. A general disdain for the physical led to Gnostics saying that Jesus hadn’t really come in human flesh (1 John 4:3). This is the same sort of philosophical thinking behind what Paul was asked to reply to in 1 Corinthians 7:1 and the popular modern Augustinian (anti-lust) reading of Matthew 5:28.

4:4-5 “Thanks” should be the majority of our prayers. I’ve seen this principle used in an attempt to allow couplings Leviticus 18 does not condone, but Paul didn’t criticize the man and his (step)mother in 1 Corinthians 5 for being ingrates. Paul is not inconsistent – God made a good world that we messed up with the Fall (Romans 8:20-21); things can be hellish here, but the entirety of physical reality is not as worthless as the Gnostics say.

4:7 “train yourself to be godly” in the context of being seen as fit for ministry (1 Corinthians 9:27, 1 Corinthians 10:33, 2 Corinthians 6:3).

4:8 This is about the contrast between the temporal and the eternal, like more saved people in Heaven as the result of an effective ministry. If going to the gym is of some value (which in the eternal scheme of things makes about as much sense as paying to have a rental car’s tires rotated), ephemeral hobbies in general are okay. For example, how will unbelievers hear about Him if they have no contact with us?

4:10 “all people” meaning salvation is open to all people groups (Jews and Gentiles) because belief is clearly still the issue.

4:14 The laying on of hands was a traditional demonstration of approval/blessing (Genesis 27, Numbers 27:23, Acts 6:6). The “gift” was Timothy’s ministry, which Paul was telling him to focus on.

4:15-16 Paul told Timothy to live rightly and to teach rightly so that other people would be saved. Timothy wasn’t earning his own salvation, which is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).

1 Timothy 5 – This section can be thought of as How to Correct Various Types of Church Members:

5:2 Having wives is okay (1 Timothy 4:3), so Paul meant not exploiting the pastoral office for sexual favors.

5:3 “really in need” Paul goes on to explain that Christian charity is for the helpless like widows and orphans in that economic system and not the indiscriminate giveaway seen in the Sermon on the Mount about the impossibility of fulfilling the Law of Moses. Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon are all cooler with slavery (which more closely resembled modern salaried/long-term contracted working arrangements than the Trans-Atlantic slave trade) than a “give them whatever they want” approach would have allowed. Also, a temporary handout is distinct from putting someone on “the list” for permanent provision.

5:4 Parents providing for children like in 2 Corinthians 12:14-15 and in Luke 15’s Parable of the Prodigal Son was the natural state of affairs while they were able-bodied in that culture. 1 Timothy 5:4’s application of honoring parents is for those too elderly/infirm to manage their own affairs.

5:5 These were proto-nuns of a sort, if you will. They were still useful as mothers to the Church doing the same sort of things they always had for their earthly families (verse 10) and made pledges to that effect (verse 12). It’s like accepting a job on the prayer team (2 Thessalonians 3:10) if one were somehow hiring.

5:6 In contrast, widows expecting to be propped up by the Church just to be hedonists in turn might as well have been dead already as far as the utility of supporting them. It’s not like the God who remembers our sins no more (Hebrews 8:12) started keeping track of cougars’ mating habits.

5:7-8 See Job 6:14 and 1 John 3:17. Basically, this says that even the pagans take care of their own. This pertains to family members who didn’t leave your life due to the “not peace but a sword” and “seek ye first” divisiveness of Christianity already.

5:9-10 “list” This was a roll for permanent subsidy from Church funds. We’re Spirit people more than letter people, so this general description wouldn’t have turned away a 59 year old person with a disability or a widow who had been too poor for much hospitality.

5:11-12 “first pledge” See the verse 5 note.

5:14 like Ruth 1:8-9.

5:17 “double honor” Overseers could expect twice the food, clothing, and shelter that elderly/infirm parents were entitled to subsist on in theory. There were those like Paul that did not use that right. I don’t see a guaranteed luxury jet airplane anywhere in this verse. Also notice that overseeing the congregation is a separate calling and that preaching and teaching can be done by those with those spiritual gifts, even laymen (1 Corinthians 12).

5:18 See Deuteronomy 25:4, Matthew 10:10, and Luke 10:7.

5:19 See Deuteronomy 19:15.

5:20 Some translations emphasize in this context that this public calling out of sinful behavior is directed at elders of the Church engaged in wrongdoing.

5:22 This means to check people out before giving them power.

5:23 Drinking in moderation is fine. Also, this was the standard of care for Timothy’s condition in those days, so modern medicine is fine, too. False teachers (1 Timothy 4:3) demand teetotaling from everyone. There is also a lot of pressure out there on Christians to try to “faith their way out” of disease, difficulty, etc. There are also frankly lots of phony faith healers out there giving Christianity a black eye. My faith rests not on sick people getting better, but on dead Jesus getting better. He lives. He still heals. Miracles are called miracles because of their rarity, but pray about it and have the “even if He doesn’t” faith of the Hebrew teenagers facing the furnace in Daniel 3.

5:24-25 This continues Paul’s thought from verse 22 about whom to give authority in the Church. Believers are done being judged (John 5:24). Unbelieving wolves clothed as sheep seeking the double honor of verse 17 as well as garishly luxurious estates, etc., exist.

6:1 Represent the faith well (Titus 2:10).

6:2 Paul didn’t tell Christians to free their slaves, but it was closer to an employer/contracted employee relationship in that context. The instructions in verses 1 through 10 seem to be a unit; one of the Roman fears about Christianity was that it would encourage a slave revolt.

6:3-4 Paul clarifies/elaborates on this in 2 Timothy 2:14-26.

6:5 “means to financial gain” There are alleged ministries that exist solely to profit (2 Corinthians 2:17). There are people using things like the Old Testament tithing laws that Christians are not under (Titus 1:10-11) for their own gain.

6:7 See Ecclesiastes 5:15.

6:9 “want to get rich” pertains to the huckster preachers from verses 5 through 8.

6:10 See Psalm 62:10. Those who wandered from the faith had gone back to the synagogue system or back to the pagan trade guilds for better jobs. Money is not evil. Loving money is not an evil on its own. The love of money is a precursor to all kinds of evil. Having it is not the same as loving it. See Deuteronomy 8:18. Abraham, David, etc., were all greatly blessed financially by God. Between an honest cheapskate and a poor person willing to kill an old man at a rest stop for his wallet, who loves money more?

6:11-12 “to which you were called” Believers have eternal life; telling them to take hold of it is telling them to realize it. Live as the saint that you are. Regarding “confession”, see Romans 10:9-10.

6:13 See John 18:37.

6:14 Paul encouraged Timothy for the good of Timothy’s witness for Christ (2 Timothy 2:5-7).

6:16 sounds like 1 Enoch 14:23.

6:17 This verse says that God is generous and wants us to be happy and enjoy ourselves. Be like Dad. Rich Christians exist. Most of us don’t have to worry about that, as this level of wealth (“plousios”) is wealth and abundance far past having enough resources. This is how wealthy the Romans thought the god Pluto was, or Scrooge McDuck for those unfamiliar with pagan fairy tales. Doctors were considered slaves back then; if you’re employed, worried about the effects of inflation, clinging to the illusion of ownership in some companies via stockholding, etc., you are probably not plousios. See 1 Corinthians 7:21. Retiring with enough to live simply with no kids to bum from is okay. Stay out of debt; owe no man but to love them (Romans 13:8). See Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 for what living well looks like.

6:18 “good deeds…share” Great things to share include time on your hands and knowledge as a young retiree, for example.

6:19 Only what He does lasts (Ecclesiastes 3:14), and we stand to inherit everything with Christ (Galatians 4:7), so this isn’t about us earning anything, but rather some more of that “taking hold” we saw in verse 12. Live out the reality of being a saint and God’s child.

6:20-21 Timothy was told to guard his ministry from philosophical and proto-Gnostic corruption.

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