1 Timothy 1:1-20

 

(1 Timothy 1:1-20)

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. 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, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; 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, 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; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 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. 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. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.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; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

 

1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus to Timothy are commonly called pastoral epistles. Paul gave his life in the field of ministry and sent doctrinal and practical exhortations to the spiritual sons who were pastoring so that they could lead an upright and healthy life of faith together with the church members.

1 Timothy is one of Paul's earliest epistles, and it is said to have been sent to Timothy, who was ministering in Ephesus around 62-63 AD. The apostle Paul introduces himself as “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ at the command of Jesus,” and calls Timothy as follows. “To Timothy, my true son in the faith”. The apostle Paul gave a unique greeting by adding grace in Greek and peace in Hebrew. This was to show that both Greeks and Jews are brothers and sisters in the Lord. However, unlike the other epistles, the Apostle Paul added the word mercy between the two words in 1 Timothy.

In Galatians 6:16, which is known as the first epistle, Paul said to the Galatians in his final greeting, “Peace and mercy be with you.” Perhaps the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to his spiritual son Timothy after completing his long missionary and pastoral work from his first letter to the Galatia church, which was established through his first missionary journey. Looking back, he confessed how merciful he was. . Through this, Paul expressed with the heart of a spiritual father that he would not forget that he received mercy from his spiritual son, Timothy, and that he would go to work.

Second, the Apostle Paul exhorted Timothy, “Do not fall into vain talk.” 『From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

At that time, the greatest difficulty Timothy faced while ministering in Ephesus was the Gnostic. Because they believed that they could be saved if they had spiritual insight, that is, enlightenment, and it doesn't matter how they live, Paul had a great conflict with them. But the Apostle Paul resolutely admonished Timothy not to fall for vain talk. This is because the Gnostics had nothing to do with a holy life or a life of faith, only for the purpose of arranging the myths and endless genealogies of Judaism.

On the contrary, the Apostle Paul urged Timothy not to worry about useless arguments and to fulfill God's economy. Here, regarding God’s economy, in Ephesians 1:9-10, “Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:”

In Colossians 1:25, “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;”

The dispensation here is that the plan of salvation was accomplished before the foundation of the world, and that in the fullness of time, Christ will accomplish the work of salvation. So the earth and the heavens are filled in Christ.

Next, the Apostle Paul explained what we really need to focus on. 『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.

The Apostle Paul says that all human beings, including himself, are sinners. So, he says that although Christ came into this world to save sinners, he himself took the lead in killing Christians. Previously, he was a slanderer of Jesus, a persecutor and an assaulter. Paul confessed that he was the chief among sinners. Nevertheless, he confesses that God, with all patience, clothed Himself with mercy, making Him an example to those who have attained eternal life. Through this, the Apostle Paul is confessing that he has been ministering until now because of the love of God, which has been clothed with mercy, as he looks back at the end of his life.

“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; holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: These are Paul's words to Timothy, commanding him to fight boldly and not be deceived by vain words through his ability to interpret the times.

God's Word does not change with the times. However, the applied subject may change according to the times, so it must be done wisely. The concept of salvation has also changed with the times. Today, the church seldom speaks of repentance. They say that if you believe in Jesus, you will be saved. There is no salvation without repentance. Repentance is confessing that they are sinners and turning from iniquity. If they only repent with their words and do not turn from their sins, they are not repentant.

Second, Paul asked Timothy to examine himself with the Word of God and keep a good conscience and faith. Thus, Paul admonished Timothy not to be led by Satan with vain words and unbelieving conscience like Hymenaeus and Alexander did. A good conscience is the only conscience in Christ.

In 1 Peter 3:21, Peter explained about baptism: “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, ) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

To be immersed in water when a saint is baptized (baptized) is not to wash away sins, but to confess that if he had lived in the days of Noah, he was dead. That is why it is said that the physical body dies and the spiritual body is reborn to receive a good conscience from God. In order to have a good conscience from God, the physical body must die with Jesus.