Bible Commentaries
1 Timothy

The Book of First Timothy heads the New Testament section that has come to be called the Pastoral Epistles. The other two books in this group are Second Timothy and Titus. These books bear this name because they were written to pastors and leaders of the early church, rather than to the churches themselves. Although the books were always grouped together, they were not given the name "Pastoral Epistles" until 1726.^(F1)

It should be noted that the Pastorals are not to be seen as a manual for pastoral theology but nevertheless they were recognized very early as useful for the ordering of ecclesiastical discipline.^(F2) While they were written primarily to individuals, their messages seemed to be aimed also at the church in general. One of the main purposes of the epistles was to combat a common error or heresy in the churches. This heresy is often referred to as Gnosticism, but we must realize that it was a very early form of this error. The full-blown and systemized heresy of Gnosticism did not develop until the second century under names like Valentinus and Basilides.

The Pastorals were written by Paul and in all three books he boldly claims authorship. There was really no question concerning Pauline authorship up until modern times. Donald Guthrie, President of London Bible College says, "The unbroken tradition of the church until the nineteenth century was to regard the Pastorals as the work of Paul and therefore authentic."^(F3)

Nevertheless, modern critics are still prone to doubt that Paul could have written the books. Reasons often cited are the high development of church organization reflected, a too fully developed Gnosticism, developed theology with creedal statements, and a different vocabulary and style from Paul's other epistles. It is stated that about one third of the words used in the Pastorals are not used in the other writings of Paul.^(F4) However, such problems are not deemed critical and they are not felt as conclusive evidence against Pauline authorship.^(F5)

The most pressing problem of the Pastorals is the matter of when they were written. There are several things that make it almost impossible for them to fit into the Acts chronology. These are the visits to Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3); to Troas (2 Timothy 4:13); to Miletus (2 Timothy 4:20); and to Crete (Titus 1:5). A number of modern scholars now think Paul was released from prison in the early to mid-sixties and made these visits, as well as a mission to Spain mentioned by Clement of Rome about AD 95. Scholars feel that after this "fourth missionary journey" to these places Paul was re-arrested and finally martyred before the suicide death of Nero in AD 68.^(F6)

Paul obviously expected to be released from his Roman imprisonment or house arrest (cf. Philippians 2:23-24; Philemon 1:22). We know from Romans that he greatly desired to go to Spain (Romans 15:24,28). Thus the writing of First Timothy and Titus would be placed between the two Roman imprisonments, or about AD 65-67. Second Timothy would be placed about AD 67 or possibly even 68.^(F7) It is thought that 1 Timothy and Titus were written from Macedonia and 2 Timothy was of course written from the final Roman imprisonment.

Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest adds of these books, "They are of extreme importance to pastors today. Their contents revolve about three main subjects: false teaching, directions for a definite church policy, and adherence to the traditional doctrines of the church."^(F8)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 TIMOTHY

This first letter of the Pastorals was written to Timothy. We initially meet this young and outstanding man in Acts 16:1, as Paul made his second visit to Lystra. Luke, the writer of Acts, mentions that Timothy's mother was a Jewess and a believer, while his father was a Greek. Apparently, it was partly because of this that Paul circumcised him. Soon he was included in Paul's mission team. It is noteworthy that the brothers in Lystra and Iconium gave a very good report of young Timothy (Acts 16:2). We learn in 2 Timothy 1:5, that he came from a great faith heritage. It reached back to his grandmother Lois and then to his mother Eunice. In Timothy we see the immense importance of a believing home, and no doubt the faithful prayers of both the mother and the grandmother.

Young Timothy became very important to Paul. Although he was quite young, Paul had sent him to the large and influential church at Ephesus. This city was the largest one in the Roman province of Asia Minor. It was blessed with a natural harbor and was a great commercial center.^(F9)

Timothy's task was to straighten out some serious problems and to stem the tide of heretical teaching that had sprung up there. The heresy at Ephesus was apparently an early form of Gnosticism, with some strong Jewish legalistic influence attached to it. This was a big job for young Timothy and we gather from Paul's message that Timothy was a bit timid and needed some encouragement from the great apostle. In addition to this main work, Timothy was to correct and establish several things regarding proper church organization and order.

The rise of heresy at Ephesus was certainly no surprise to Paul. On his last visit to the area he in fact warned the elders that heresy was on the way. He said to them in Acts 20:29-31, "I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears."

There has been much discussion among scholars as to the dating of this book. We know from Romans 15:24,28 that Paul greatly desired to carry out a mission to Spain. That would have included the whole Iberian Peninsula of today. Several ancient sources verify that Paul actually carried out this mission. In his letter to the Corinthians (about AD 95) Clement of Rome mentions that Paul reached the extreme limit of the west. Also, the Muratori Fragment (AD 170) tells us that after leaving Rome Paul carried out a missionary trip that included Spain. Even the church historian, Eusebius, wrote in the fourth century that Paul made such a trip.^(F10) Paul had expressed great confidence that his Roman house arrest would soon end (Philippians 1:25; 2:23-24; Philemon 22). It is interesting that in 3:14 he indicates that he would come to Timothy soon, and that might well indicate he was no longer confined to house arrest.^(F11)

If Paul did carry out what would have been a fourth missionary journey, then many difficult passages in his letters would be cleared up. If he did so, it would mean that the letter of First Timothy would have been written by Paul from Macedonia or perhaps from some other point in his journey around AD 65 or 66.^(F12)