1 Timothy 5:17-25
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1 Timothy
1 Timothy
Background
Apollos “founded” the church of Ephesus, but he only knew about John’s the Baptist’s baptism of repentance. Paul Priscilla and Aquila “explained the way of God to him more accurately” (Acts 18:26). While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul went to Ephesus and baptized the disciples of Apollos/John the Baptist “in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:5). They did not know about the Holy Spirit, but when Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit filled them and 12 men began to prophesy. Paul stayed in Ephesus for 3 years (A.D. 46-48) before a riot cased him to leave for Macedonia, where he had already sent Timothy.
Paul circumcised Timothy. Timothy had a Greek father, and a Jewish mother, Eunice. Timothy’s half-Jewish heritage let Paul to circumcise him to be able to minister to Jews. Titus, on the other hand, was a Gentile, and Paul did not circumcise Titus. Timothy was perhaps the closest friend of Paul.
Timothy was converted on Paul’s 1st missionary journey (Acts 14), joined him on the 2nd missionary journey, and was in Ephesus during Paul’s 3rd missionary journey and after.
Paul wrote 13 letters to the churches. Here, in approximate chronological order:
Galatians - 1st missionary journey
1 Thessalonians - 2nd missionary journey
2 Thessalonians
1 Corinthians - 3rd missionary journey
2 Corinthians
Romans
Ephesians - 1st Roman imprisonment
Philippians
Colossians
Philemon
1 Timothy - After Acts
Titus
2 Timothy - 2nd Roman imprisonment
Pastoral Epistles Compared
In Chapter 1
Paul greets Timothy, foreshadowing his topics (mercy, commandments, true son).
Paul tells Timothy to deal with false teachers. These false teachings were used to justify bad morals.
The law is for the ungodly and disobedient. There is not a law for the righteous person.
Paul gives his testimony:
I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry—even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them. But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
5. Timothy must keep up the good fight for the true gospel, “in keeping with the prophesies”.
6. Some have “shipwrecked” their faith. Paul “delivered them to Satan” so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.
In Chapter 2
Paul gives instruction on prayer.
For kings and all in authority.
So that we may live quiet lives.
For it pleases the Savior since he wants all to be saved.
Therefore men pray without anger or argument.
Therefore women dress in good works. There is order in the church.
Starting with Chapter 2, the rest of the letter is a handbook for order in the church. Paul sprinkles in some gospel and warnings against false teachers, but primarily he instructs Timothy on how to run an orderly congregation.
Let’s keep a critical eye on our own church as we study 1 Timothy. We surely don’t get everything right. But, I do think that we get a lot right.
Paul begins his “handbook” with instructions on prayer.
In chapter 3, he talks about the qualifications for leadership. In chapter 4 he teaches on the demonic struggle that leaders have, and their guidelines for ministry.
In the New Testament, the elder is the pastor, is the bishop. These are three different titles for one office.
In Acts 20:17, Paul “sent to Ephesus and summoned the elders (presbyterous) of the church”....and in Acts 20:28 says, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit appointed you as overseers (episkopous) to shepherd (poimainein aka pastor) the chuch of God, which he purchased with his own blood.” Elder/pastor/presbyter/bishop/etc. these refer to the same office in the church. Part of what we believe as Baptists is that the local church is under authority.
The following acrostic acronym, spelling BAPTIST, summarizes Baptists' distinguishing beliefs:
Biblical authority (Matt 24:35; 1Pet 1:23; 2Tim 3:16–3:17)
Autonomy of the local church (Matt 18:15–18:17; 1Cor 6:1–6:3)
Priesthood of all believers (1Pet 2:5–2:9; 1Tim 2:5)
Two ordinances (believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper) (Acts 2:41–2:47; 1Cor 11:23–11:32)
Individual soul liberty (Rom 14:5–14:12)Saved and baptized church membership (Acts 2:41–2:47; 1Cor 12:12; 2Cor 6:14; Eph 4:3)
Two offices of the church (elder and deacon) (1Tim 3:1–3:13)
I’ve been a little nervous about this lesson. Since losing a husband is such a terrible thing, the subject of widows should be handled with great care.
However, God has given us this passage and there are lessons for everyone in it.
Let me begin the topic with three things to put in context:
One, God cares for widows. A lot. We should too.
Two, the word “widow” is broader than our English word.
Three, the treatment of widows (good and bad) reflects what we believe.
God loves the widow and the orphan
There are way too many OT verses to list here. Take my word, there are a lot. From some of the earliest stories in Genesis to major treatment in Psalms and the prophets, God’s love for widows is throughout the OT. Shortly after the 10 Commandments, the Lord says,
“You must not mistreat the widow or the orphan..” (Ex. 22:22) or “My anger will burn and I will kill you with the sword...” (Ex. 22:14)
When Job fell into calamity and lost everything, one of his “friends” suggested that he had harmed a widow, since logically that was the worst thing you could do (Job 22:9). Job protested that he had not done that, but instead had not even withheld “crumbs” from widows or orphans (Job 31:16-18).
In the NT, Jesus criticizes those who abuse widows (Mark 12:40, Luke 20:47), and James 1:27 says “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after the orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
Most languages don’t have a word for a “divorced woman” separate from the word for “widow” (even English borrows a French word). The Bible uses “widow” to describe any abandoned woman.
English didn’t have a word for divorce until the 1300s. Of course, people got divorced before that. Roman and Greek societies had divorce . . . for rich people. If you don’t own anything, marriage and divorce weren’t legally necessary. It wasn’t until common people owned land and a woman might own that land apart from her husband did we need to narrow the definition of “widow” in English. “Widow” was used to describe an abandoned mistress until after the time of Shakespeare.
So… In 1 Timothy, Paul’s discussion of widows begins his section on money. His discussion on money is part of his larger discussion on church order. That church order is endangered by false teachers, who use the church to satisfy their desires. So let’s reach this section with the understand that Paul wants us to live with and in the gospel. He says in 6:3-10:
If anyone teaches false doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing, but has an unhealthy interest in disputes and arguments over words. From these come envy, quarreling, slander, evil suspicions, and constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth, who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out. If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Is it easy or hard to accuse a pastor of wrongdoing?
How much should we pay our pastors?
Why do you keep drinking water when the Bible forbids it?
1tim5:17-18
The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says: Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, and, The worker is worthy of his wages.
Don’t accept an accusation against an elder unless it is supported by two or three witnesses. Publicly rebuke those who sin, so that the rest will be afraid. I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing out of favoritism. Don’t be too quick to appoint anyone as an elder, and don’t share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
Don’t continue drinking only water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. Some people’s sins are obvious, preceding them to judgment, but the sins of others surface later. Likewise, good works are obvious, and those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden.
Applications
The ESV Study Bible Chapter 2
Paul suggests that the way the church conducts itself in corporate worship (unity, modesty, proper submission) bears significantly on its effectiveness in world evangelization.