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1 Timothy 1 - Pett Peter - Library Collection - Bible Commentary

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1 Timothy 1

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;

2 unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Christian Ministry

3 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,

4 neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.

5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

6 from which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;

7 desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

9 knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

10 for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

13 who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

19 holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

20 of whom is Hymenæus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

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1 Timothy 1

Introductory Greeting (1Ti 1:1-2 ).

‘Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by order of God our Saviour, and Christ Jesus our hope,’

As he does regularly Paul here establishes his Apostleship. He asserts that it was a position given to him as a result of the commands of both ‘God our Saviour and Christ Jesus our hope’ setting him on a par with the twelve. It thus had the strongest possible backing. And he points out that he was appointed, as it were, directly ‘by order of (kat’ epitagen)’ the divine Board (a use of kat’ epitagen found in inscriptions). See Gal 1:15-17 ; Gal 2:8-9 .

The definitions are significant in the light of the warnings that he will give to Timothy about false teaching. He wants it recognised that the salvation of which he has been speaking is the work ofGod Himself as ‘the Saviour’ (this is emphasised again in 1Ti 2:3 ; 1Ti 4:10 ), in accordance with Old Testament teaching (Deu 32:15 LXX; 2Sa 22:3 ; Psa 106:21 ; Isa 43:5 ; Isa 45:15 ; Isa 45:21 ; Hos 13:4 , see also Luk 1:47 ; Jud 1:25 ), and that their hope lies in ‘the Messiah’, Jesus, Who is the Old Testament solution to man’s needs (Psa 2:2 ; Psa 18:50 ; Dan 9:25 ). Both ideas are rooted in the Old Testament as expanded in later Jewish tradition. There may well here be a deliberate response to those who tried to portray Jesus as a kind of ‘Hellenistic saviour and intermediary’ as portrayed by an incipient Gnosticism. Paul is emphasising that any salvation connected with Jesus is to be seen as directly the work of God, and not of an intermediary, but that nevertheless our hope for this salvation and in the final consummation is in Jesus, who through His manhood is able to act as mediator between man and God our Saviour (1Ti 2:5 ). But as he will immediately point out, God is ‘the Father’, and the Messiah Jesus is ‘our Lord’ (in LXX kurios = YHWH). They are responsible for our salvation together, while Jesus is fully man and fully God, not a half and half intermediary.

‘Christ Jesus our hope.’ In Psa 65:5 God is ‘our salvation’ and ‘the hope of all the ends of the earth’, thus ‘God our Saviour’ and ‘Christ Jesus our hope’ echoes this Psalmist’s words and places God and Christ Jesus on a parallel. In the same way God is said to be ‘the hope of Israel’ in Jer 14:8 ; Jer 17:13 , compare Act 28:20 . Now to Paul and the early church the church was Israel (Gal 3:19 ; Gal 6:16 ; Eph 2:13-22 ), and thus Jesus as ‘our hope’ is here being thought of as ‘the hope of the new Israel’, that is, He is the hope of God’s people. As in Psa 65:5 the idea of hope here includes both present salvation and final deliverance. He is both our daily hope and our future hope. In Col 1:27 also, Christ is our hope of glory, both now (2Co 3:18 ) and in the future (Rom 8:24-25 ), for Paul constantly speaks of our ‘hope’, and it is something that is certain of attainment. It is a ‘certain hope’.

Many see this ‘hope’ as simply referring to the second coming, but while that is certainly an important aspect of it, we cannot restrict it simply to that. Indeed the second coming is our hope precisely because what will happen then, will be the final result of this ‘hope’. Then, having been experiencing constant change (2Co 3:18 ; Php 2:13 ), we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye (1Co 15:52 ), and will become like Him for we will see Him as He is (1Jn 3:2 ). We will be presented holy, unblameable and unreproveable in His sight (Col 1:22 ). But we will have many ‘hopes’ fulfilled before then. When the Psalmist in Psalms 4:3 was cast down in soul, he looked with hope to the God of hope, who would strengthen him to face the future and be his God. And he was expecting God to act in the near future. Our present and our future are thus both in His hands, and we can hope in Him for both, and with regard to this we must again remember that this Scriptural hope is a confident hope. The question in Scripture with regard to hope is not ‘will He?’ but When?’.

These ideas, which are firmly rooted in the Old Testament, were especially useful to Christian teachers in view of the fact that the terms ‘Saviour’ and ‘Hope’ were also prominent in pagan religion, for Nero was spoke of as ‘the (divine) Saviour’ and there were many Temples which were dedicated to ‘Hope’. Gentile Christians would thus see in this use of ‘Saviour’ and ‘hope’ that the church had a greater Saviour and a greater hope than their fellow-Gentiles. (Indeed it may well have been the emphasis being placed at the time on Nero as mankind’s ‘saviour’ that prompted Paul to refer to God as ‘our Saviour’, emphasising God’s overallness, and putting such Neronic ideas firmly in their place without actually saying so).

So the reason that Paul is what he is, (‘the Apostle, the one sent forth’), is because of the Old Testament salvation that God the Father, Who is Himself the Saviour, is bringing about through the Messiah, Jesus ‘our Lord’, and the result is that he, as an Apostle, (that is, as one ‘sent forth’ by God and by Jesus), has been given as a charge the establishing of the people of God, and the preservation of the truth, and it is for that purpose that he is writing to Timothy.

His calling on the fact of his Apostleship in what appears to be a personal letter demonstrates that he is giving not just advice, but instruction. The point is that his instructions to Timothy are to be seen as carrying the full weight of his authority behind them. Timothy would thus be able to present the letter as confirming his own authority in his dealings with the churches.

‘By order of, by command of.’ A thought typical of Paul. See 1Co 7:6 ; 2Co 8:8 ; Rom 16:26 ; Tit 1:3 .



‘To Timothy, my true child in faith. Grace, mercy, peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.’

He is writing to Timothy as his ‘true’ that is, his genuine ‘child in faith’. The final phrase may indicate that ‘by faith’, having assessed him carefully and discussed the matter with the Lord, he senses a genuine oneness with him, and has adopted him ‘by faith’ for the purpose of his carrying on with Paul’s own ministry as one of his successors. Or we may read in the article, and see it as signifying ‘my child in the faith’, that is, the one who Paul, like a father, has nurtured and nourished, and now looks on as one of his successors on a roving brief (although never as an Apostle). Either way it brings out Paul’s affection for Timothy and his confidence in him. We can compare here, "I have sent to you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord" (1Co 4:17 ), and "I have no one like him.... As a son with a father he has served with me in the Gospel" (Php 2:20 ; Php 2:22 ). Timothy was someone whom he knew that he could trust utterly, and whom he loved dearly.

He wishes for him ‘grace, mercy and peace’, three words which sum up the Gospel. Grace signifies God’s undeserved love and compassion reaching out and active towards men. In the end all that is of God is of grace. Mercy indicates that a way has been made back to Himself through forgiveness, and that He continues unceasingly to look compassionately on His people. Peace indicates the reconciliation that Timothy is enjoying through Christ and the resulting peace of heart that he can enjoy. The introduction of ‘mercy’ between ‘grace’ and ‘peace’ is an advance on the usual ‘grace and peace’ but is paralleled in 2Ti 1:2 ; 2Jn 1:3 . Here it reflects the ageing Paul’s recognition of the wonder of God’s mercy towards himself as the chief of sinners (1Ti 1:15 ). In his old age he cannot get over the amazing fact of God’s mercy towards him, and recognises that Timothy needs it too.

‘From God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.’ As regularly in Paul ‘God’ and ‘the Lord’ are seen as of equal status. What God the Father does, Christ Jesus our Lord does. What God the Father is, Christ Jesus our Lord is (compare 1Co 8:6 ).



Timothy Is Called On To Charge The Church Leaders To Be Faithful To The Truth And Not To Heed False Teachers (1Ti 1:3-5 ).

Paul’s first concern is with some foolish teaching which has crept into the church. That is one reason why Timothy is there, to seek to put an end to it and have it excised from the church. The centrality of the Gospel must be maintained in its purity.



A Description Of The False Teachers Who Desire To Be Teachers Of The Law (1Ti 1:6-7 ).

‘From which things some having swerved have turned aside to vain talking, desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither what they say, nor that of which they confidently affirm.’

Paul then stresses that these false teachers have strayed away from such things as love out of a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned, and have rather replaced them with vain talking. As they desired to be teachers of the Law this would appear to suggest that they were weaving fantastic ideas out of either the Law of Moses, or the Old Testament seen as ‘the Law’, rather than providing good solid teaching which pointed to Christ and encouraged godly living. And the point is that they wanted recognition and admiration for their scholastic ability, instead of being concerned for the truth.

They had ‘swerved’, that is, they were off course, they had ‘missed what they were aiming at’. Even though they thought of themselves as teaching the Law they were talking in vain. (The internet today is full of such vain talking). For, says Paul, they made confident assertions, but they did not know what they were talking about, nor did they fully understand what they were saying. They were fantasising, instead of searching out the truth.

For the word ‘teachers of the Law’ (nomodidaskaloi) compare Act 5:34 , although Paul hastily stresses that they were not really so.



The True Purpose Of The Law And Who It Is For (1Ti 1:8-11 ).

But we know that the law (nomos) is good, if a man use it lawfully (nomeows), as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and unruly, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers (or ‘smiters/cudgellers’) of fathers and murderers (or ‘smiters/cudgellers’) of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for abusers of themselves with men, for menstealers, for liars, for false swearers, and if there be any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine, according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.’

Paul then describes the true purpose of the Law and defends it. It is not the Law (either the Law of Moses or the Old Testament) that is at fault. Indeed it is good if it is used rightly, for its purpose is to convict the heart of man and act as a mirror to show him what he really is, and is then to show him the way in which he should go (this might suggest that here the Law of Moses was especially in mind, confirming the Jewish connections of these teachers). Had we all been fully righteous the Law would not have been necessary. It is because we are not, and because of what is in our hearts, that it is needed. It is a manual for sinners. It is there to deal with all matters that are contrary to sound teaching, the sins of the flesh and mind. It is there to show us what God requires of us. And this was true of all law. As Romans 1-3 shows us, this task of the Law was very much a part of sound doctrine.

For the ungodly the Law is a pointer to Christ because it draws their attention to their sin. It is not offering them a way of becoming righteous, and they can never be accounted as righteous by God by obeying it, because they are unable to keep it completely. However, by demonstrating that they are unrighteous the Law reveals their need to be saved (Rom 3:19 ; Gal 3:23-24 ). It is like a mirror that they look in and discover how filthy they are. It hammers home to them their true moral situation in order to bring out their sinfulness and in order to convince them that they are condemned. That is the purpose of the Law for the unbeliever. And the more they struggle to keep it, the more it holds them down and condemns them.

But for the believer it is something very different. It is a welcome guide to the will of God. From it he comes to know the mind of God and what God is like. This is revealed especially in the Sermon on the Mount which might be called ‘the Christian Law’, although in it Jesus is in fact bringing out the real meaning of the ancient Law. It shows a Christian how he can fulfil the desire of his heart, and that is to please his Father. So he is ‘under the Law of Christ’ (1Co 9:21 ), and delights in it because he wants to please Him. The Christian does not seek to justify himself by the Law, but neither does he fling it aside. He embraces it. He knows that it is the mirror of all that is good. Indeed it shows him the heart of Christ.

For being ‘under the Law’ can signify two different situations. The first is of a man coming to judgment. He is to be judged ‘under the Law’. It reveals what God’s requirement is for him, and what God will demand (Rom 3:19-20 ). And by it he is revealed as utterly condemned. He is left without hope. For whatever he may do in the future, he cannot erase the past. So the Law leaves him in a hopeless position. It is inconsequential as to what the level is at which he has failed. Having committed one sin he has become guilty of all (Jas 2:10 ). He is established as guilty before God (Rom 3:20 ). But it can then help him no further. His only hope is to turn to Christ for salvation.

But the Christian has been delivered from being ‘under the Law’ in this sense. For him Jesus has taken it out of the way, nailing it to His cross (Col 2:14 ). He is no longer under the Law but under grace (Rom 6:14 ). No finger any longer points at him. He is free from condemnation (Rom 5:1 ), because Jesus has delivered him from the curse of the Law by being made a curse for him (Gal 3:10-13 ). The Christian is counted as righteous through faith in the redemption of Christ achieved through the shedding of His blood (Rom 3:24-25 ). He has done for us what the Law could not do, by offering Himself for us once for all (Rom 8:2-3 ). But this was in order that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us as we ‘walk after the Spirit (Rom 8:4 ). Thus this does not mean that he casts aside the Law, except in regard to its position as an accuser and a harsh slavemaster. It means that he embraces it. He has begun to walk in the way of life, and he recognises that that was the original purpose of the Law, to be a road map for how he should live. Like the Psalmist he says, ‘O how I love your Law’ (Psa 119:97 ). From it he discovers the heart of God. It has now become to him ‘the law of Christ’. He is ‘under the Law of Christ’, the Law as revitalised and renewed and brought back to its proper function by Him (Matthew 5-7; Luk 6:20-49 ; 1Co 9:21 ; Gal 6:2 ; Gal 5:14 ). It is there to be his guide. It may often convict him in his heart, but it can never again condemn him. It is rather a help along the way as he delights to do His will.

But let us once stray from the way and it springs immediately into effect. It once again faces us up with what God requires. It is for ‘the lawless and unruly, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for cudgellers of fathers and cudgellers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for abusers of themselves with men, for menstealers, for liars, for false swearers.’ Here is a typical Pauline list (compare Rom 1:24-32 ; 1Co 6:9-10 ; Gal 5:20-21 ) although here, as in 1 Corinthians, especially stressing the responsibility of those who do such things. Note how it includes both religious and secular behaviour. For to the Law ignoring God and treating Him as irrelevant is as heinous a sin as being a murderer, if not even moreso. And as Paul has said to Christians, ‘such were some of you but you have been washed, you have been made holy, you have been accounted as in the right in the Name of our Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God’ (1Co 6:11 ). In other words he says, ‘you were like that, but you are no longer like it, through the work of Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit’.

For the truth is that you cannot be a deliberate Law-breaker and a Christian. The two ideas are incompatible. And once you begin to stray back into those ways the Law acts like a mirror and pulls you up and says, ‘Consider your position. Look at yourself. If you are His this way is not for you, and if you continue in it without a torn conscience it will simply demonstrate that you are not one of His’. Thinking in terms most prevalent today no man can help being filled with sexual desire, it is the way of men, but if he sins sexually outside marriage then the Law will pull him up, and if he is a Christian he will truly repent. And if he does not, and seems to get away with it, it may simply indicate that he has never been a Christian at all (although God often acts in the long term for He has plenty of time. He acts in His own way. It is not for us to finally judge). No man can help being a homosexual, and God loves homosexuals as much as He loves heterosexuals (indeed he does not categorise us in that way at all. Those are our distinctions). But let him stray into being a ‘practising homosexual’, in other words into indulging in sexual sin outside Biblical marriage, then the Law will pull him up, and if he is a Christian he will truly repent. And if he does not, and seems to get away with it, it may simply indicate that he has never been a Christian at all. And the same applies to all who are ‘lawless and unruly’, including ‘liars’. God takes no prisoners. We must either join forces with Him in Christ, and submit to Him, or be lost for ever. And we cannot argue about His terms.

‘For the lawless and unruly, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers/cudgellers of fathers and murderers/cudgellers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for abusers of themselves with men, for menstealers, for liars, for false swearers.’ Note how, having first analysed sinners, the list is very much built around the last six commandments. It begins by analysing sinners, what they are and what they do. They are lawless and thus they refuse to obey the Law and are unruly. They are ungodly and so they offend against God. They are unholy and therefore they behave profanely and treat sacred things in that way. It then continues by turning to specifics in terms of the commandments and the law of the covenant. It is for ‘father-strikers and mother-strikers’, who are those who have no respect for their own parents or for their families (see Exo 20:12 ; Exo 21:15 ; Exo 21:17 ); it is for ‘murderers’ who have no respect for life see Exo 20:13 ; it is for ‘immoral men’ (fornicators) who have no respect for women, see Exo 20:14 ; Exo 22:16 ; Deu 22:22-30 ; it is for ‘practising homosexuals’ (abusers of themselves with men) who have no real respect for other men, otherwise they would not do it, see Lev 18:22 ; Lev 20:14 ; Rom 1:27 ; it is for ‘men-stealers’ (kidnappers) who have no respect for anyone, see Exo 21:16 ; Deu 24:7 ; it is for ‘liars’ and ‘false-swearers’ who consider nobody, see Exo 20:16 ; Exo 23:1 ; Rev 21:27 . Indeed Rev 2:2 speaks of false teachers as ‘liars’, an idea which may be in mind here in view of the context.

So we can see plainly that the Law is good. What is at fault is its misuse. And to use it as a source of wild speculation, as these so-called teachers did, is to misuse it, and even degrade it. The preaching ministry of the church is not the place for speculation. And we ourselves need to beware when we study the Bible, that we do not misuse it by fantasising and letting ourselves be carried away with our own ideas. Yet that is precisely what these Teachers were doing.

‘And if there be any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine, according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.’ So the Law is to be a buffer against all unsound teaching and unsound behaviour. And what is sound teaching can be discovered by considering ‘the good news of the glory of the blessed God’, the message committed to Paul’s trust. But what is ‘the good news of the glory of the blessed God? It is that He is holy and without blemish, and calls on us to be so too, wanting to rid us of every spot and stain. It is that He is truly righteous, and offers to bring us within His righteousness and make us righteous. It is that He is hugely compassionate and has revealed His compassion through the cross And we recognise this by beholding His glory. We can consider in this regard Paul’s words in 2Co 4:6 where the glory of God is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. The good news of the glory of the blessed God is thus also the ‘good news of the glory of Christ’ (2Co 4:4 ), that is, of ‘Christ Jesus as Lord’ (2Co 4:5 ). Compare 1Ti 1:2 . But here Paul wants to keep the close association with God lest any separate the Son from the Father, ‘the Lord’ from God, and thus he speaks of the blessed God. Thus sound teaching is found in the Apostolic message concerning God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ and in what constitutes their glory, a glory revealed in the requirements of the Law. This last point is what is being emphasised here. The Gospel is the good news that through Christ men can be brought into a position where they are accounted righteous, and then where they begin to live in accordance with the Law, as they walk with Him Who is the supreme example of the Law-keeper. And they do it because Christ now lives in them and through them (Gal 2:20 ). They walk in the Spirit. So the Law points all men in that direction, and away from sin and darkness, so that they can be delivered through Christ, and then continues ever to act as a warning sign against hypocrisy, assisting them in their walk with Christ. It is one of God’s tools in men’s redemption, both on behalf of non-Christians and on behalf of Christians, and that is what makes its misuse so heinous.



He Gives Thanks for God’s Grace and Mercy Shown Towards Himself, Pointing Out That God Has Appointed Him To His Service and How As A Gross Sinner He Had Been Graciously Taken Up By His Grace In Spite Of What He Had Been And Fully Enabled For The Task (1Ti 1:12-14 ).

‘I thank him who enabled me, even Christ Jesus our Lord, because he counted me faithful (trustworthy), appointing me to his service, though I was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and violently arrogant.’

At the thought of the Gospel Paul’s spirit ignites. He could never speak of it without exulting, and especially in view of what he himself had been. He could never forget that he, who had claimed to be an upholder of the Law, had so far gone against it that he had revealed his disobedience to the Law, by being a blasphemer, a persecutor and an arrogant, overbearing blusterer (hubristes). That was how he had ‘loved his neighbour as himself’, and it was something that he could never forget. He had blasphemed because He had spoken against God’s chosen One and had insulted His Name (Act 26:11 ), he had been a persecutor because of what he had done to his fellow-Jews who were members of the Jerusalem church (Act 8:1-3 ; Act 9:1-2 ; Act 9:4 ), and he had been a violently arrogant man because that was precisely what he had been. No one had been more arrogant, and few as violent against the new faith, as he was (something in line with what the Old Testament describes as a ‘scorner’).

But in spite of it all ‘Christ Jesus our Lord’, (note the full title in contrast with his own revealed weakness and sinfulness), had enabled/empowered him and had counted him as trustworthy and had appointed him to His service (diakonia). The thought filled him with wonder. The mighty Lord, Christ Jesus, Whom he had blasphemed and insulted had reached out to him and had not only forgiven him and saved him, but had chosen him as His special servant, entrusting to him a task, the importance of which was beyond reckoning, because He had known that he was trustworthy. And He had empowered him to do it.

Note the word ‘enabled, empowered’, which is a typical Pauline word, compare Rom 4:20 ; Eph 6:10 ; Php 4:13 ; 2Ti 2:1 ; 2Ti 4:17 . Note also the use of diakonia which is another regular Pauline description, also used of his ministry by his regular companion Luke. Apart from these instances, and Luke’s description of the ministry of the earliest days, it is rarely used otherwise (only in Heb 1:14 , of angels; and in Rev 2:19 ). Here is true Paulinism.



‘However that may be I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.’

But he points out that however badly he had behaved, he had obtained mercy. That was the wonder of it to him. The God and the Lord to Whom he had refused to listen had shown him mercy. But nevertheless notice his caveat. It was because he had done it ignorantly in unbelief. He was insisting that he had not committed open, deliberate sin against what he knew to be right. He had not ‘sinned with a high hand’. He had actually been wanting to serve God, but his mind had been twisted. He had just got it wrong. He is not, however, by that justifying himself. He knew that in trying to serve God he had actually gone against all that God stood for. His own attitude had been in flagrant contrast with what God required. So he recognised only too well the depth of mercy that he had needed, and that he had had to be ‘engulfed in mercy’ (eleethen), for in the end all unbelief results from a rebellious heart which refuses to respond to God’s revelation constantly given to it (see for example Rom 1:19 ). Note also what ‘unbelief’ meant. It was his ‘not believing in Christ’ that represented unbelief, even though outwardly among his fellows he had a reputation for ‘loving God’. For to Paul any position outside of believing in Christ is ‘unbelief’. It is to reject God’s clear revelation. He is thus saying that it is not enough to have ‘sincere faith’, for he had had that, but that it must be faith in what was true, in ‘Christ Jesus’.

And the result of God’s mercy was that ‘the grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.’ Here ‘our Lord’ is Jesus Himself. Paul is numbering himself with God’s true people as seeing Jesus as ‘Lord’. And he is stressing that the free, unmerited love and favour of our Lord, Christ Jesus, abounded towards him, bringing with it both faith and love which is in Him. The recognition of Jesus as Lord had transformed him. Thus the source of all Paul’s faith and love was Christ Jesus Who in wondrous mercy had worked it within him. He had been a man without love. And he was what he was now because of Him. We can almost hear him whispering in a hushed voice, ‘Amazing grace, how deep the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.’



He Describes What The True Gospel Is, And How It Had Even Reached The Chief Of Sinners (1Ti 1:15 ).

In 1Ti 1:15 Paul cites a phrase which had no doubt become common in the churches, possibly one that he had been responsible for establishing, and that was that ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’. Such phrases would naturally be formulated from the earliest days as the church had to establish the basic tenets of its faith, and had to remember them, and declare them in public, and they are discernible from the very beginning. See, for example, Rom 1:3-4 ; 1Co 15:3-4 .

Note, as we have seen, how this clear definition of the Gospel is set in comparison with the purpose of the Law (1Ti 1:8-10 ), which is also for sinners. The Law speaks to men in God’s Name, and even reveals something of Him, but it is Christ Jesus Who came to save.



As The Chief Of Sinners He Has Been Raised Up As An Example To All Believers Of The Grace Of God At Work (1Ti 1:16 ).

He now explains that God has raised him up in order that he might be a true illustration of the active grace and longsuffering compassion of Jesus Christ, even towards the chief of sinners, and thus as a clear pointer and illustration, ‘an example’, given to all who believe in Jesus Christ with eternal life in view. And as we have seen this certainty is to be contrasted with men who seek to set themselves up as Teachers of the Law, but simply go astray, giving only a bad example (1Ti 1:7 ).



He Finally Closes The Section With A Paean of Praise To The ‘King of the Ages’, Stressing His ‘Otherness’, That Is, His Unlikeness And Utter Superiority To Anything Connected With The Universe As The Only God (1Ti 1:17 ).

Overflowing with gratitude and wonder Paul now gives vent to praise. It is possible that these were words that he knew from a Jewish prayer, or even a relatively new Christian prayer, but it is even more likely that it was of his own composition, for we must remember that he prayed often, even in prisons where he had much time to consider the glory of God without hindrance. It was his recognition from the depths of his heart of the glory of the blessed God (1Ti 1:11 ). And indeed we can probably say, also of the glory of Christ the King. For the coming King was to be the King of the ages (Mic 5:2 ), He was the One Who had life in Himself (Joh 5:21 ; Joh 5:26 ). He was the One Who was the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15 ), He was the only God (Joh 14:9 ), and to Him was due honour and glory throughout all ages. And the words come after a number of verses which have been exalting Jesus.



‘This charge I commit to you, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which led the way to you, that by them you may war the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience; which some having thrust from them made shipwreck concerning the faith,’

It is clear from what is said here that at some time in the past Timothy’s calling had been brought into effect and confirmed by the testimony of ‘prophets’ (see 1Ti 4:14 ), including at some stage Paul himself (2Ti 1:6 ). It had thus been divinely confirmed, and along with this confirmation Timothy had been given the necessary gifts which would render him effective (1Ti 4:14 ; 2Ti 1:6 ). This was one reason why Paul had been led to him and had such confidence in him. Now he was being called on to be inspired by the prophecies and make use of the gifts in this vital work that lay before him. There is no point in having gifts, Paul is saying, if you do not use them. Indeed he might have added that not to use them is dereliction of duty.

So now he was calling on him to war a good warfare in respect of the ‘charge’ now being given to him. The idea of a ‘charge, from a military viewpoint was of an urgent obligation. The one who was ‘charged’ was under a strict responsibility to carry out his orders. With respect to Timothy this necessitated him holding ‘faith and a good conscience’, which he would be able to do through wearing the armour of God, which included right belief and right use of the word of God (1Th 5:8 ; Eph 6:10-18 ; 2Co 6:7 ; 2Co 10:3-6 ; Rom 13:12 ; 1Pe 4:1 ). ‘Faith’, which indicates both right belief and right response, and a constant looking to Jesus Christ (Gal 2:20 ; Heb 12:1-3 ), would keep him in touch with God and with His truth, and ensure that he persevered on the way, and ‘a good conscience’ (‘good’ (kalos) meaning not only a working conscience and a moral conscience, but also one that is ‘lovely’, that is seemly and loving and moulded by the truth) would act like a road map and signpost, and a light along the way, and if followed and not thrust away, would keep him walking in the truth both in his teaching and in his life. For ‘faith and a good conscience’ see 1Ti 1:5 ; 1Ti 3:9 ; Heb 10:22 . It was necessary for him, as for us all, to trust and obey, and obedience included being obedient to the truth.

But some, alas, instead of ‘holding’ to a good conscience, had thrust it from them (the verb is forceful), and the result was that they had been shipwrecked as far as true faith was concerned. They had ‘swerved’ away from ‘love out of a pure heart, a good conscience and faith unfeigned’ (1Ti 1:5-6 ). And it had resulted in ‘shipwreck’. For it is in the conscience that backsliding always begins. It is when we begin to relax our spiritually guided moral life, and begin to follow worldly desire that spiritual difficulties soon appear, leading on, if we continue in that way, to total shipwreck. The shipwreck here probably resulted from the desires of the mind. They had so fantasised their beliefs (1Ti 1:4 ), and had been so gripped by the fantasies, that they had lost their way (1Ti 1:5 ), and then, following that, all that they had believed in. And sadly some of them probably did not even yet realise it. Others are similarly shipwrecked by the course of this world, the desires of the flesh, and that evil spirit who works in the children of disobedience (Eph 2:2-3 ). In each case had they listened to their good conscience and looked off to Jesus in faith it would never have happened.



‘Of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered to Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme.’

Paul then gives two well known example, something that he does not often do. This is probably because they had been prominent members of the church at Ephesus, even possibly elders, although it may also be because of the seriousness of their offence. They were guilty of blasphemy. These men had clearly been a great disappointment to him, and had let him and God down badly.

For Hymenaeus see also 2Ti 2:17 . He was clearly prominent amongst those who taught foolish things, but had also taught that the resurrection was already past, upsetting the faith of others. We do not know precisely how he did this, but we can see why it was seen as blasphemy. He had rid the cross of its power, replacing it with some psychological or mystical experience. Perhaps his claim was that some had already become ‘divine’ as a result of some spiritual resurrection, which only applied to initiates. He may well have been misrepresenting Paul’s teaching in Eph 1:19 to Eph 2:6 .

About Alexander we know nothing further. There is no reason for seeing this Alexander at Ephesus as the same Alexander who did much harm to Paul in 2Ti 4:14 . That was not at Ephesus, and Alexander was a common name. But these two had also thrust their consciences to one side and their behaviour had been so bad that Paul had felt it necessary to act openly against them

Paul then goes on to say that he had "delivered them over to Satan so that they might learn not to blaspheme," and that raises the question as to exactly what this means. A number of suggestions have been made.

1) That he was thinking of the Jewish practise of excommunication. According to synagogue practise, if a man was an evildoer he was first publicly rebuked. If that was ineffective, he was banished from the synagogue for a period of thirty days. And then if he was still stubbornly unrepentant, he was put under ‘the ban’. This put him into a position where he was seen as accursed, and debarred from both the society of good men and the fellowship of God.

2) That he was saying that he has barred them from the fellowship of the church. The world outside the church was seen as being in the arms of the evil one (1Jn 5:19 ). Thus to exclude them from the church may well have been seen as delivering them to Satan. The aim would be to bring about repentance as a result of their exclusion. However, this suggestion does not strictly tie in with the idea of ‘the destruction of the flesh’ in 1Co 5:5 unless Paul also expected that God’s punishment would follow, which may well be the case (see 1Co 11:30 ). It does, however, tie in with Mat 18:17 ; 2Th 3:14 .

3) That he was saying that he has handed them over to Satan in a similar way to that in which Job was handed over to Satan (although in his case it was because he was such a man of faith). The point then is that he has called on God to let Satan have his way with them so that they will become subject to suffering in order that it might make them rethink their position. We can compare here the man in the church at Corinth who was guilty of incest. Paul's advice was that he should be delivered to Satan "for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (1Co 5:5 ). The hope would be that, after chastisement, he might finally be saved. We can compare the blindness which fell on Elymas because of his opposition to the gospel (Act 13:11 ). It could well be that it was Paul's prayer that these two men should be subjected to some painful experience which would be both a punishment and a warning.




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Rights in the Authorized (King James) Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Published by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
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