"The Introduction to First Timothy"

I want to begin our time this evening by giving you a little background to what is happening here at Paul lays out some instruction for Timothy and the church. So, before we jump into the study tonight let me set this up for us so we can better understand some of the behind the scene things.

The Apostle Paul was like an Elderly Father who is giving some final wise instruction to his younger son in the faith Timothy as well as to other godly pastors or elders in the church. In fact, as Paul is giving some final instructions out to the elders at the church of Ephesus back in Acts chapter 20 Paul warns them of some serious things.

Acts 20:29–30 ESV

29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

Paul here is saying watch out and beware because false teaching and false teachers were creeping into the church and causing tremendous problems for the body of Christ. This false teaching was a deadly disease that must be removed for the spiritual health of the church. So, we see here just how much Paul cared about the truth of Christ and His church. Paul understood more than anyone that this was not about human wisdom, because the church needed to stand on the truth of God’s Word and fix their hope on the good news of Jesus Christ.

The same message applies for us today. There are so many churches proclaiming a false gospel. Churches and pastors today are telling people that if they just do enough good things that they can enter heaven without repenting of sin and fully submitting to the Lordship of Christ. In fact, many churches today are telling people certain sinful behaviors are now ok. Many churches believe that God desires for you to be healthy and wealthy and when this doesn’t work out people get mad at God and leave church. So, we must be aware of the false teaching and false teachers that are now very prevalent in our culture today.

The integral message of the whole book of Timothy is this!

1 Timothy 1:3 (ESV)

3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine,

1 Timothy 3:15 (ESV)

15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

I want to dive in now and explain to you that 1 and 2 Timothy as well as Titus, these letters are referred to as the Pastoral Epistles. They are called this because they have much to do with the responsibilities of pastors and ministering to God’s people.

As we dive into these first several verses this evening I want us to consider 3 main thoughts. First who is the author or writer of 1 Timothy, second who is the recipient, and finally the greeting or focus.

Acts 16:1–3 ESV

1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

1. The Writer.

1 Timothy 1:1 (ESV)

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,

The book of 1 Timothy was written by the Apostle Paul to his true child in the faith Timothy. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles and also a major contributor to writing 13 letters in the New Testament. Paul placed Timothy at the church in Ephesus to lead the church and help it combat false teaching and false teachers. Leading God’s people is never an easy task, but Paul wanted Timothy to be faithful in his calling as he led the church there in Ephesus.

Even in today’s culture do we see this hard task of leading the church in the right direction. Pastors and churches today continue to deal with tough issues and complex questions related to who we are as humans. I would of had a hard time believing 20 years ago that we would be wondering where does the church stand on gender reassignment, cloning people and LGBQT issues. But we are not the first generation to deal with things like this. So, we consider all that the church in Ephesus was dealing with. During this time the city of Ephesus was a growing and diverse city. It was like most major metropolitan cities that we see here in the US. Since the temple of Artemis was located in Ephesus, the cult of Artemis was especially influential in this capital city. Also, the practice of magic, sorcery and soothsaying was happening here in the city. So, Paul and Timothy were dealing with many sinful issues that we too face in our culture today.

There were many challenges that this church faced.

-The church was getting away from true doctrine. (1:3)

-The people were consumed with myths, genealogies, and speculations. (1:4)

-Some of the people misused the law. (1:7)

-They were being immoral. (1:19-20)

-Their consciences were seared. (4:2)

-They were not allowing people to get married and abstaining from certain foods. (4:3)

-They were using godliness for material gain. (6:5)

Some of the early seeds of heresy later became known as Gnosticism.

-Apostle of Christ Jesus.

-By the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.

2. The Recipient.

1 Timothy 1:2 (ESV)

2a To Timothy, my true child in the faith:

3. The Greeting.

1 Timothy 1:2 (ESV)

2b

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

-Grace = Grace is a one-word summary of God’s saving act in Christ stressing that salvation comes as a free gift to sinners. (Ephesians 2:8-9) This word is a very important word in Paul’s theology. In fact, he uses this word quite often. Of the 155 times we see this word in the N.T. Paul himself uses it 100 times.

Paul’s use of the word shows us a much deeper understanding than just favor, being closer to the meaning of steadfast kindness from God or even showing us His covenantal faithfulness.

The word grace here actually shows us 13 times throughout the Pastoral Epistles apart from the greetings. Grace is shown to be the main reason for God saving the Apostle Paul, for God saving others, and for our justification. Paul encourages Timothy to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

-Mercy = Mercy describes acts of pity and help that are appropriate within a relationship between two people. In classical Greek culture, mercy was the response when something unfortunate and undeserved happened to someone. It was an emotional response to a bad situation. However, in the Septuagint it translates not so much love and faithfulness as it does the conduct to the covenantal love between God and Israel. The point here I want us to understand is that mercy primarily defines a relationship and secondarily shows us how to respond with pity within a relationship. In other words, its not just that we should have mercy, but that we should act in a way that is appropriate to the relationship. Paul uses the word mercy or to be merciful 24 times, seven of which are found in the Pastoral epistles. The important thing to note here is that we cannot demand God’s mercy, because God is free to grant mercy as He wills, however God’s mercy will come to those who are in a relationship with Him. This is why Paul says that mercy is the basis of his own salvation.

-Finally Peace = Peace describes an objective relationship between God and the believer. It is not so much an emotion or feeling as much as it is a reality. J Murray says of peace, “it is the status of peace flowing from the reconciliation of God. God brings about a peace of mind and heart. In Classical Greek the cessation of war included the idea of peaceful relations, and was the absence of hostility. But here we see that peace is possessed by Christ and given to His followers. Because we as believers are justified,

Romans 5:1 ESV

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

we can be at peace with God.