Bible Commentaries
1 Timothy 1

Verses 1-2

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, to Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 1 Timothy 1:1-2

Paul was very close to young Timothy and it even seems unnecessary for him to be reminded of Paul's apostolic authority. No doubt, although Paul was writing to Timothy, he was also speaking in a way as to be heard and respected by the whole church.^(F1)

The great apostle calls Timothy his "true son in the faith." Many think that Paul was the means of Timothy's conversion, and thus he was Paul's spiritual child. It is quite certain that Timothy became a very loyal son to Paul, and stuck with him for much of his remaining ministry. We see Timothy being used by Paul on several occasions: He was Paul's special messenger to Corinth when trouble erupted (1 Corinthians 4:17; 16:10); he was dispatched to Thessalonica to check on things there; and when Paul was planning to send him to the church at Philippi (Philippians 2:20) he wrote, "I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare." ^(F2)

It is noted here that Paul prays for grace, mercy and peace upon Timothy. It is pointed out by several scholars that the letters to Timothy are the only letters of Paul where the word "mercy" is included in the initial salutation.^(F3) Perhaps Paul thought Timothy really needed mercy in his ministry, since he was very young, somewhat timid and beset by some serious stomach problems (1 Timothy 5:23).

Paul's salutation includes the other common words of grace and peace. The Scottish Greek scholar and prolific commentator William Barclay says of grace, "In classical Greek, the word means outward grace or favor, beauty, attractiveness, sweetness…The English word charm comes near to expressing its meaning…In the New Testament, there is always the idea of sheer generosity. Grace is something unearned and undeserved."^(F4)

The word peace is also an important and much used word in the New Testament. The twentieth century Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest says of it, "'peace,' eirene, means literally, 'that which has been bound together again after having been separated.'…when things become disjointed, separated, there is no feeling of tranquility, comfort, well-being."^(F5) We note that grace and mercy must precede peace in God's order of things.

Verses 3-4

PAUL'S CONCERN ABOUT FALSE TEACHERS

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God's work – which is by faith. 1 Timothy 1:3-4

We note here that Paul had traveled to Macedonia and requested that Timothy remain at Ephesus. A number of scholars feel that Paul actually visited Ephesus. It would seem quite odd if he did so, since he had revealed to the leaders of Ephesus in Acts 20:38, that they would never see his face again. If Paul returned there it would indicate on his part a pretty serious blunder in the prophetic realm. Guthrie says of this, "The reference to Ephesus need not imply that Paul had himself recently been there."^(F6)

In this verse we note the impossible chronology involved in placing 1 Timothy into the Acts historical account of Paul's third mission trip. In Acts 20:1, we see Paul traveling from Ephesus to Macedonia. However, Timothy was not at Ephesus at the time. In fact, Paul had actually sent Timothy and Erastus on ahead of him to Macedonia (Acts 19:22).

Timothy's charge from Paul was that he should command certain people not to teach false doctrine any longer. This was no small task because these people were the very "savage wolves" that Paul had prophesied would come in Acts 20. We can understand why Timothy was a little timid with this assignment. Yet, Paul insists that this young worker would "command" (Gk. parageilēs) them to cease teaching such things. The word he uses here is a military term, referring to an order from one's commanding officer. It has to do with giving "strict orders."^(F7) The early church leader and martyr, Ignatius of Antioch (AD 50- c. 117) rephrases Paul's command saying, "You must not be panic-stricken by those who have an air of credibility but who teach heresy."^(F8)

Paul was quite concerned and alarmed by the heresy in Ephesus. Philip Towner, dean of the Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship, comments on Paul's concern. He says, "As Paul saw it, heresy posed a dual threat. It endangered the church and individuals who would be drawn into error, perhaps beyond the reach of salvation. It threatened the church's evangelistic mission in the world, by contaminating the gospel."^(F9)

The command not to teach false doctrines in the Greek is the word heterodidaskaleo. It has the meaning of not teaching things that are heteros, or things which are different, new, strange, false or erroneous from that which the apostles were teaching.^(F10) We know from Galatians 1:8 that Paul would look upon such teachers as accursed.

Paul instructed Timothy to "command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies." He may be referring to Jewish myths and Jewish genealogies here but in the first century, mythology abounded. For instance, I am thinking of the non-cannonical work of Clement of Rome, called the First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. Clement was probably known to Paul and he was a respected leader. However, in his epistle he treats as factual the myth of the Phoenix Bird. This imaginary bird from Greek mythology would live for five hundred years and would cyclically regenerate itself. Unfortunately, Clement used this bird to illustrate our own resurrection in Christ.^(F11)

It is urgent that we pause here and deal with some of the mythology affecting our modern and postmodern churches. Towner says, "A close look at our situation will uncover many points of contact with the situation Timothy was to face in Ephesus."^(F12)

In the last century or so, Christianity in the US has been dramatically affected by the spurious doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture of the church. The hucksters have made themselves millions of dollars promoting this heresy in book and in film. This myth began in Scotland in 1830 by a false prophecy from a young woman. It was spread worldwide by the Schofield Bible and, especially since the mid-twentieth century, it has grown to become probably the most popular and revered view of eschatology in the US. Unfortunately, it was unknown to early Christendom and not taught in the Bible. This tragic view of the end time is grossly anti-Semitic and teaches that Christians and Jews must be separated in the last day, despite what Ephesians 3:6 clearly tells us. It has essentially warped and demolished our biblical understanding of the last days.

Another myth deeply affecting the church in the US is the myth of Darwinian Evolution. Since this myth is the foundation for the humanistic lifestyle of millions in the West, it is strongly and almost fanatically defended by scientists, philosophers, educators and the like.

The sad truth is that many Christians are already basing some of their moral decisions on Darwinian ethics rather than on the Bible. If we came from slime as Darwinism proposes, some seem to have concluded that slimy living is OK. How can we become quasi-Darwinists and accept even a part of this godless worldview? The great molecular biologist Michael Denton makes this judgment on the Darwinian system. He claims that Darwin's evolutionary system is beginning to look much more like myth than true science. He says, "One might have expected that a theory of such cardinal importance, a theory that literally changed the world, would have been something more than metaphysics…Ultimately the Darwinian theory of evolution is no more nor less than the great cosmogenic myth of the twentieth century."^(F13)

There are many other myths that are sapping the life from the modern church but let us consider only one more. We have essentially accepted the postmodern philosophical myth that there is no universal standard of truth. This whole idea is logically self-defeating, but people do not seem to pay much attention to logic anymore. The twentieth-century founders of post-modernistic thought are generally felt to be Michael Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Jean-FrançoisLyotard and Richard Rorty.These philosophers generally looked at truth as relative and culturally conditioned. They felt that one person's truth was as good as another person's and that "truth" could change from day to day.

The astounding success of their thinking was reflected in a 1992 Christianity Today article. This article reported on a Barna Research Group survey which asked the question, "Is there absolute truth?" Barna's answer showed that an amazing 66 percent of American adults responded "No" to that important question. The real shocker was that in the 18-25 age group 72 percent did not believe in any absolute standard of truth.^(F14)

How has this myth affected us? Today we have multitudes of young people even in the church who feel that truth is relative. Some say that "their truth" is that they can take drugs, sleep around, maintain a homosexual lifestyle and still be good Christians. This was what Paul greatly feared when heresy was mixed with Christianity. We need to ask ourselves a very important question, "Will 'my truth' stand the test?" How will it fare on the day that God judges the hearts of all people?

Verses 5-7

THE GOAL OF PAUL'S COMMAND

The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 1 Timothy 1:5

Paul's military command (Gk. paraggelias) seen here is a noun with the same root as we saw earlier in verse 3.^(F15) Paul's goal is to bring about pure love, a good conscience and sincere faith in the Ephesians, rather than prideful arguments, strife, divisions and hypocrisy.

He knew that false teaching would spread like gangrene and make for an unhealthy body (2 Timothy 2:17). We see here that the goal of everything in the Christian life is real love. It must come from a pure heart and a good conscience.

The Greek word used here for conscience is syneidesis. It literally means a "joint knowledge." In time it came to be used as that part of us that distinguishes right from wrong. Later (4:2) we will see how the heretics had their consciences seared with a hot iron. The human conscience is a delicate gift from God. It is much like a compass that always points north. However, we all know how even the best compass can be thrown off by other strong magnetic interference.

We should also note the words "sincere faith." Some other translations have this as "faith unfeigned" (ASV, KJV). The Greek word here is anupokritos, indicating one who is not hypocritical in faith. It is from this Greek root that we get our word "hypocrite."^(F16)

It is always a danger with the high-sounding wisdom of this world to be thrown off course in our spiritual lives. This is especially a danger in places like seminaries and universities. We must always guard our hearts in such surroundings. The evangelist John Wesley once wrote to a student, "Beware that you are not swallowed up in books. An ounce of love to God is worth a pound of transient knowledge. What is the real value of a thing, but the price it will bear in eternity? Let no study swallow up or entrench upon the hours of private prayer."^(F17) Barclay says, "Paul's whole purpose is to produce love. To think in love will always save us from certain things. It will save us from arrogant thinking."^(F18)

"Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm" (1:6-7). There are a couple of vivid and important Greek words in this passage. The first is astocheo, which has to do with missing the mark. The second is ektrepo, which means turning off course. The result of missing the mark and turning off course is to end up in meaningless, irrelevant talk or false teaching.^(F19)

The inexhaustible commentator James Burton Coffman says of this situation, "It is like useless reasoning, argumentation that gets nowhere, dry as dust disputation, wrangling about fanciful tales anent pedigrees! It has finally landed them in the no-man's-land of ceremonial subtleties, in the dreary marsh of ridiculous hairsplitting. And the owner of that quagmire is Satan, who heads the welcoming committee."^(F20)

So far, we have defined this encroaching heresy as an early form of Gnosticism and we see here that it had several elements of Judaism involved with it. These false teachers actually thought of themselves as great teachers of the law (Gk. nomodidaskaloi). Here we have proof that these men were mixing some Jewish elements in with their Gnosticism.

Perhaps it would be good for us to understand a little about the Gnosticism that was underlying this heresy. Following Greek ideas, the Gnostics believed that the spiritual realm alone was good and the fleshly realm was evil. They did not believe the world was created by a good god but by an aeon or emanation who had come to be removed from god and who had also become ignorant and even hostile toward god. In fact, their system was built on an elaborate mythology of these aeons and emanations. The whole Gnostic system appealed to the intellect and was highly speculative and snobbish.^(F21) All this had little to do with humble faith and sincere love for one another that Paul was seeking.

While Gnosticism could result in asceticism and strict abstinence, it could also end up with one paying little attention to the flesh, since it was really of no importance. The result could easily be the very opposite of asceticism and cause one to live in immorality.^(F22) With such a belief we can see how Gnosticism would deny the incarnation of Jesus, since God could not concern himself with the flesh. The doctrine would also deny the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. It was essentially a gross denial of the whole gospel.

Verses 8-11

THE REAL PURPOSE OF THE LAW

We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 1 Timothy 1:8

Here Paul says something that might be shocking to a number of Christians. He says that the law is good. It seems that many Christians feel that the law has passed away and that they no longer have anything to do with it. Some may get this idea from Romans 10:4 where earlier NIV translations plainly say, "Christ is the end of the law…" Other translations such as the NAS have it stated properly, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." Christ is not the end of the law, but he is the end of the law for righteousness. We no doubt remember how Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (Matthew 5:17). Jesus came to write the law on our hearts so we could live it (Jeremiah 31:33).

Not only is the law called "good, but the Bible also says in Psalm 19:7, "The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul …." When we stop and think about it, we see that the law still has many purposes. Much like the Holy Spirit, the law convicts of sin. In this sense the law is holy, righteous and spiritual (Romans 7:12 &14). It would be difficult for us to define sin were it not for the law (Romans 7:7). Much revival preaching in the past thus focused strongly on the law and its commands. We are sorely missing this kind of message today. The law pointed out sin and in that respect it actually made sin increase, so that grace could also increase (Romans 5:20). The law has blessed us in that it has regulated society for thousands of years. As Guthrie says, "The Decalogue still retains its value as an external instrument of justice."^(F23) Of course, we realize today that our society is very busy trying to rid itself of every reference to the law of God.

Perhaps the most important thing about the law is that it was given to prove to humanity that people could not keep its requirements. We remember that the law is perfect and we are imperfect. The law was the schoolmaster that pointed us to Christ. We know from Galatians 3:10, that those who still try to live by the law are under a curse. They are under a curse because they cannot perfectly fulfill the law. The law proved conclusively that we needed a Savior. Jesus kept the law perfectly and he, through his Holy Spirit, can now keep and fulfill the law in us by writing its many requirements on our hearts and giving us power to live by them. Barclay says about this, "The driving force for Christians comes from the fact that they know that sin is not only breaking God's law but also breaking his heart. It is not the law of God but the love of God which urges us on."^(F24)

So, we see that there is a proper and improper use of the law. The heretics were using it improperly by urging people to fulfill its many requirements and thus bringing them into deep spiritual bondage.

"We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers…," (1:9). Perhaps Antiphanes, the Greek, had it pretty well right when he said, "He who does no wrong needs no law."^(F25) As Christians we are now declared "righteous" in Christ. In a real sense we do not live under the law but we live above the law through the power of his Holy Spirit in us. As Martin Luther once said, "Grace makes the law lovable to us…and the law is no longer against us but one with us."^(F26)

However, the law of God is terrifying to the sinner. It falls like a bolt of lightning from heaven upon his head and heart. It is designed specifically for lawbreakers, rebels and such, and God knows we have a plentiful crop of these in our postmodern world. The word for lawbreakers is the Greek anomos, meaning lawless or wicked. The Greek word for rebels is anupotaktos or unruly.^(F27)

Paul goes on with other colorful descriptions of this crowd. He says they are also ungodly, sinful and unholy. Ungodly (asebes) is described by the Greek scholar Vincent as "destitute of reverential awe towards God, impious."^(F28) The sinful (Gk. hamartoloi) speaks of the persons without moral standards. The unholy or impious (Gk. anasioi) describes the persons who violate the decencies of life, while the irreligious (Gk. bebeloi) describes those who are profane and in opposition to all that is sacred.^(F29)

Next in Paul's long list of abusers are those who smite or perhaps even kill their parents. In the Greek, these are (patraloai and metraloai). Barclay mentions that under Roman law such a person could be put to death.^(F30) Of course, the same thing was true under Old Testament law (Exodus 21:15). Here Paul also mentions murderers (Gk. androphonoi) or manslayers.

In the past, some of our Romantic thinkers, like Rousseau, filled our heads with false ideas about the "noble savage,"^(F31) who supposedly thrived in an idealistic lifestyle before being corrupted with western and especially Christian teaching. The truth is that pagan life was a hellish existence, always full of horror, sadness and weariness. The poet Matthew Arnold tries to describe that existence for us:

On that hard Pagan world disgust
And secret loathing fell;
Deep weariness and sated lust
Made human life a hell….^(F32)

Christianity burst into the corrupted and polluted pagan world like a breath of fresh air. For the first time in their lives, pagan people heard the message of hope, of love and of real life, even life that would last forever in Jesus. We really cannot imagine what a blessing and a joy it was for ancient pagans to hear the glorious gospel for the very first time.

Paul continues on with his rogue's list, saying that the law was also "…for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers – and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me" (1:10-11). One great problem with sin is that it never works. Paul mentions adultery and perversion here. People try their best to make these things work but they always result in wreckage to the personal lives involved and to the immediate society around them. Adultery is such a serious sin since it messes with the sacred bond of marriage and even with the generations that are yet to be born. All this confusion is brought about for a fleeting moment of physical pleasure. How tragic that people today think they have a much better idea for life and marriage than the God who invented it all in the first place.

It is difficult for us to imagine the gross immorality that took place in the ancient world. Barclay describes the Temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, which was situated at Corinth. The temple had 1,000 priestesses who were sacred prostitutes. He describes how in the evening they came down into the city streets and plied their trade. He remarks, "It has often been said, and said truly, that chastity was the one completely new virtue which Christianity brought into this world."^(F33)

We should take particular note of the word pervert (Gk. arsenokoites). It seems to be a combination of the word male (arsen) and either bed (koite) or to lie (keimai). It no doubt refers back to Leviticus and the prohibition of one man lying with another as with a woman.^(F34) This word is translated by others as homosexuals or even sodomites. This act was forbidden by the Law of Moses, and punishable with death (Leviticus 20:13). However, our recent "politically correct" society has lifted the homosexual to a place of high respect and honor. States and nations are now racing to pass same-sex marriage laws to honor homosexuality. Like adultery and fornication, this transgression strikes at the very heart of the human race. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that if everyone became homosexual, the human race would quickly cease to exist. There is much evidence that homosexual activity is unhealthy. "A widely cited 1978 study by Alan P. Bell and Martin S. Wineburg reported that 43 percent of homosexuals had more than five hundred sex partners during their lifetime."^(F35)

Paul also mentions slave traders, liars and perjurers. Really, who would want to live in a world filled with all these types of people? Slave trading was a horrible practice that stole the lives of people and often consigned them to terrible drudgery for the remainder of their existence. It heartlessly snatched away young children from their parents. We may think this occupation is no longer around but even in the US we are now plagued with slave traders who steal young girls and consign them to a life of forced prostitution. The crime of stealing the lives of others is denounced in Exodus 21:16 and Deuteronomy 24:7. Of course, we still have plenty of liars and perjurers around as well. This will no doubt grow exponentially now that truth has become a relative thing for so many.

The Apostle here mentions sound doctrine or healthful teaching (hugiainein). Interestingly, this is the Greek word from which we get our word "hygiene."^(F36) This has to do with healthy living. Barclay says, "Christianity if it is real, is health-giving; it is the moral antiseptic which alone can cleanse life."^(F37) The researcher Nancy Pearcey reports on studies of the National Institute for Healthcare Research. This organization has published scores of studies all confirming that Christianity correlates with better mental health. Pearcey relates that "people who attend church regularly are happier, healthier, and even live longer."^(F38) Other recent studies have documented the natural help that comes from Christianity. These studies have shown that committed Christians are healthier and happier than others…that they recover from surgery more quickly than non-believers. They are less likely to abuse drink, use drugs or commit suicide.^(F39) We have to agree with Paul that ours is truly a glorious gospel!

Verses 12-14

AMAZING GRACE POURED OUT ON PAUL

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 1 Timothy 1:12

The story of Paul's conversion was no doubt one of the most amazing turnarounds in the long saga of God's relationship with humanity. The Englishman John Stott says of this event, "It remains a standing source of hope to otherwise hopeless cases."^(F40)

We note that Paul did not claim any credit for this radical change in his life. He knew that it was solely the mercy and move of God. The great St. Augustine (354-430) once remarked that we would never have been able to seek God unless God had already found us.^(F41) In theology this is known as the prevenient grace of God. In other words, we could not search for God until God himself had instigated the search.

"Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief" (1:13). He was a persecutor of the church and calls himself such, not making any excuses for his actions (cf. Acts 8:3; 9:1 and 22:19).

He also uses the Greek term hubristēs in describing himself as a violent man. This word, from which we get "hubris" today, was a mixture of arrogance and insolence. The nineteenth century American theologian, Albert Barnes, renders this word as "despiteful." He says, "It does not mean merely doing injury, but refers rather to the manner or spirit in which it is done."^(F42)

But in the scripture God says, "…I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion" (Romans 9:15) God chose to have mercy on Paul and he was never able to forget that fact. The slave trader John Newton (1725-1807), because of God's great grace and mercy to him, ended up being a pastor and the author of one of the favorite hymns of Christianity, Amazing Grace. Newton also composed his own epitaph which read:

John Newton, Clerk, once an infidel and Libertine, a Servant of Slaves in Africa, was, by the Mercy of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, Preserved, Restored, Pardoned, and Appointed to Preach the Faith he had so long laboured to destroy.^(F43)

Once Paul was converted he seems to have channeled all the energy, which once fueled his hatred, into serving the Lord Jesus and his church. The famous British Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon (1834 -1892) once said, "Brother, there is no reason why, if you have gone very far in sin, you should not go equally far in usefulness."^(F44)

"The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus" (1:14). Adam Clarke (1760 or 1762-1832), the British Methodist theologian and commentator, notes how the Greek word used here for "abundantly" is huperleonase, and should be translated "superabounded." He says that it speaks of an extraordinary mercy.^(F45) God's mercy was truly poured out on Paul.

We see here that faith and love were also poured out on him. Sometimes we get the idea that we must "work up" both our faith and love. The truth is that God gives these things to us as part of the salvation package (Ephesians 2:8; Romans 5:5).

Verses 15-17

JESUS CAME TO SAVE SINNERS

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. 1 Timothy 1:15

Clarke says of this passage, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – This is one of the most glorious truths in the book of God; the most important that ever reached the human ear, or can be entertained by the heart of man."^(F46)

This saying, as well as the one later in verse 17, all seem to be part of a collection of catechetical teachings, maxims, portions of early hymns or possibly Christian prophetical utterances that were apparently circulating in the early church.^(F47) Whatever the source Paul gives his approval and sanction to the saying.

"But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life" (1:16). Here we see that the Lord's patience or longsuffering (Gk. makrothumia) with Paul is to serve as a pattern for those who would become believers in the future. It has been said that a saint is "someone in whom Christ lives again" and "someone who makes it easier to believe in God."^(F48)

In light of God's great and patient work with him Paul breaks out into a grand doxology that must rank as one of the finest and most impressive in the New Testament. He says, "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen" (1:17). God is King of the ages (Gk. aiōnōn) and is immortal. God is invisible and no one has ever seen him (John 1:18; 1 John 4:12). Clarke says he is "One who fills all things, works everywhere, and yet is invisible to angels and men; the perfect reverse of false gods and idols, who are confined to one spot, work nowhere, and, being stocks and stones, are seen by everybody."^(F49)

Verses 18-20

PAUL'S CHARGE TO TIMOTHY

Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, 1 Timothy 1:18

This might be the place to mention that Timothy was a very important bridge between Jew and Gentile. The earliest church was almost one hundred percent Jewish. There was not a Gentile pastor in Jerusalem for almost a century after Pentecost.^(F50) Paul, Barnabas, John Mark and many others were Jewish. In Colossians 4:10-11, we see that the Jewish element was declining. Paul bemoans the fact that he only had with him John Mark and Jesus Justus who were Jewish. So we see the beautiful picture of how the gospel was handed to the Gentile church by the Jews. We also see how the Jewish element declined and finally almost disappeared entirely. Timothy was the last bridge between the two. He was half Jewish, with a devout Jewish mother and grandmother and a Greek Gentile father. He was very important to the soon to be martyred Paul, as he was placing the gospel firmly into the hands of an almost totally Gentile church.

Wuest remarks about the words "Timothy, my son." The Greek word he uses is teknon, a most tender expression. He remarks how it was regularly used as a term of endearment in the Greek world.^(F51) Yet, attached to this tender and endearing expression is once more the word paragelia, (cf. vs. 3 & 5) or military command. Paul is once more giving military orders to his young soldier Timothy. At the end of the verse, Paul instructs Timothy to "fight the good fight." We cannot miss the fact that there was a great battle going on for the souls of humankind. Perhaps Paul felt much like the Roman philosopher and statesman Seneca (4 BC – AD 65) "For me to live, my dear Lucilius, is to be a soldier."^(F52)

Paul mentions in this verse that certain prophecies were given over Timothy. There were quite a number of prophets in the early church (cf. Acts 11:27; 13:1; 15:32; 21:8-9). Barnabas, Paul's companion on the first trip into Timothy's city, was likely a prophet (Acts 13:1). Coffman feels that it was possibly Barnabas who prophesied over Timothy.^(F53)

We can only guess as to what these prophecies were, but from Paul's remarks it is conceivable that they were involved somehow with spiritual warfare. Perhaps this is why Paul has been speaking to him in military terms and encouraging him to fight the good fight.

Today, after nearly a two-thousand-year absence, prophecy is returning to the church. It is a very needful gift and could save the church from many false people and false decisions. However, with the return of prophecy we have the gift often misused and abused. The web commentator David Guzik remarks about this misuse saying:

Not long after 'prophecy du jour' became the primary source of direction, a trail of devastated believers began to line up outside our pastoral counseling offices…After a steady diet of the prophetic, some people were rapidly becoming biblically illiterate, choosing a "dial-a-prophet" style of Christian living rather than studying God's Word. Many were left to continually live from one prophetic "fix" to the next, their hope always in danger of failing because God's voice was so specific in pronouncement, yet so elusive in fulfillment.^(F54)

We must ever be on our guard concerning false prophecy and false prophets. In the last days the False Prophet himself will work mighty miracles and many will run after him (Revelation 19:20). However, this should not keep us from appreciating real prophecy, the kind that was spoken over young Timothy.

Paul adds, "holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith" (1:19). Along with faith, young Timothy is to hold on to a good conscience. The Greek word for good is kalos. It not only means that something is good and strong but it also implies that something is attractive and lovely.^(F55) As we have said previously, the conscience is like a compass that gives us direction and guards us against evil. The great Reformer John Calvin once said, "A bad conscience is the mother of all heresies."^(F56) Those who disregard conscience are likely headed for shipwreck. Paul was an expert on shipwrecks for he had suffered them so far at least three times (2 Corinthians 11:25).

Basil the Great (c 329- 379) spoke of making spiritual shipwreck. He said, "We see, as it were, whole churches, crews and all, dashed and shattered upon the sunken reefs of deceitful teaching, while others of the enemies of the Spirit of salvation have seized the helm and made shipwreck of the faith."^(F57)

"Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme" (1:20). This Hymenaeus is likely the same one mentioned in 2 Timothy 2:17-18, who had taught that the resurrection was already past. We are not able to connect this Alexander with another person, since this was a common name.^(F58)

Paul's expression "handed over to Satan" has raised a lot of questions among commentators. Several scholars feel this certainly is a reference to excommunication from the church. However, there seems to be something more involved. Barclay says, "The idea is that the church should pray for some physical punishment to fall on that man so that by physical pain he might be brought to his senses…"^(F59) We see Paul saying a similar thing in 1 Corinthians 5:5, concerning a sexually deviant person.

We can be certain that the punishment was never intended to be permanent but was designed to restore such a one to the faith and to the community. Likely after Satan beat up on them for a season they were very happy to be reconciled to the church.