First Epistle to Timothy
Encyclopedia
The First Epistle of Paul to Timothy, usually referred to simply as First Timothy and often written 1 Timothy, is one of three letters in the New Testament
of the Bible
often grouped together as the Pastoral Epistles
, the others being Second Timothy and Titus. The letter, traditionally attributed to Saint Paul
, consists mainly of counsels to his younger colleague and delegate Timothy regarding his ministry in Ephesus
(1:3). These include instructions on the forms of worship and organization of the Church, the responsibilities resting on its several members, including episkopoi (overseers or bishop
s) and diakonoi ("deacons"); and secondly of exhortation to faithfulness in maintaining the truth amid surrounding errors (iv.iff), presented as a prophecy of erring teachers to come.
, are not original to Paul, but rather an unknown Christian writing some time in the late-first-to-mid-2nd century. Despite the challenge to Pauline authorship, the traditional view is still held by many New Testament scholars.
and the author of the Muratorian fragment
. Possible allusions are found in the letters from Clement of Rome to the Corinthians (c. 95), Ignatius of Antioch
to the Ephesians (c. 110) and Polycarp
to the Philippians (c. 130), though it is difficult to determine the nature of any such literary relationships. Modern scholars who support Pauline authorship nevertheless stress their importance regarding the question of authenticity: I.H. Marshall and P.H. Towner wrote that 'the key witness is Polycarp
, where there is a high probability that 1 and 2 Tim were known to him'. Similarly M.W. Holmes argued that it is 'virtually certain or highly probable' that Polycarp used 1 and 2 Timothy.
Late in the 2nd century there are a number of quotations from all three Pastoral Epistles in Irenaeus' work Against Heresies. The Muratorian Canon (c. 170-180) lists the books of the NT and ascribes all three Pastoral Epistles to Paul. Eusebius (c. 330) calls it, along with the other thirteen canonical Pauline Epistles, "undisputed", despite the fact that Eusebius wrote in the 4th century with little to no knowledge of the complex social structures which line the books of the New Testament. Exceptions to this positive witness include Tatian
, a disciple of Justin Martyr turned heretic, as well as the Gnostic Basilides
.
Marcion, an orthodox Bishop later excommunicated for heresy, formed a Gnostic canon of Scripture c. 140 around ten of the canonical Pauline epistles, excluding 1-2 Timothy, Titus and Hebrews. The reasons for these exclusions are unknown, and so speculation abounds, including the hypotheses that they were not written until after Marcion's time, or that he knew of them, but regarded them as inauthentic. Proponents of Pauline authorship argue that he had theological grounds for rejecting the Pastorals, namely their teaching about the goodness of creation (cf. 1 Tim 4:1 ff.). The question is indeed curious whether Marcion knew these three letters and rejected them as Tertullian says, since in 1 Timothy 6:20 "false opposing arguments" are referred to, with the word for "opposing arguments" being "antithesis", the name of Marcion's work, and so whether it is a subtle hint of Marcion's heresy. However, the structure of the Church presupposed which is less developed than the one Ignatius presupposes (who wrote c.110), as well as the fact that not only is "antithesis" itself a Greek word which simply means "opposing arguments" but as it has been noted, the attack on the heretics is not central to the three letters.
in 1807 and J.G Eichorn in 1812. (Eichorn extended Schleirmacher's critique of 1 Timothy to all three Pastoral letters.) This was argued in further detail by F.C. Baur
in 1835. Following these arguments, a large number of modern scholars continue to reject Pauline authorship, citing various and serious problems in associating it therewith. For example, Norman Perrin analyzed the Greek used by the author or authors of the Pastoral Epistles, finding that over 1/3 of their vocabulary is not used anywhere else in the Pauline epistles; more than 1/5 is not used anywhere else in the New Testament, while 2/3 of the non-Pauline vocabulary are used by 2nd century Christian writers. Richard Heard, in 1950, had this to say: "The evidence of teaching as of style and vocabulary is strongly against Paul’s authorship, nor are these arguments seriously weakened by any supposition that the epistles were written late in Paul’s lifetime and to meet a new type of situation. The three epistles show such a unity of thought and expression that they must be the work of one man, but for the author we must look rather to one of Paul’s admirers than to Paul himself." Robert Grant noted the afore-mentioned parallels to Polycarp's Epistles
and suggested he might be the author.
developing primarily in the latter 1st century. The term Gnosis
("knowledge") itself occurs in 1 Timothy 6:20. If the parallels between 1 Timothy and Polycarp's epistle are understood as a literary dependence by the latter on the former, as is generally accepted, this would constitute a terminus ante quem
of 130-155 CE. However, Irenaeus (writing c. 180 CE) is the earliest author to clearly and unequivocally describe the Pastorals.
Paul's second visit to Lystra
is when Timothy first connected with Paul . Paul not only brought Timothy into the faith but he was Timothy’s main mentor in Christian leadership , having done church planting and missionary journeys together. Timothy would have received his authority to preach in churches directly from Paul who of course was the greater known and accepted of the two and an apostle. Timothy’s official position in the church was one of an evangelist and he worked with Paul in Phrygia, Galatia, and Mysia, Troa, Philippi and Berea and continued on to do even more work in Athens, and Thessalonica for the church not to mention his work in Corinth, Macedonia, Ephesus and greater Asia. Timothy was also noted for coming to Paul’s aid when Paul fell into prison . It is noteworthy that despite not being required due the ruling of the Jerusalem council; Timothy took circumcision himself to be a better witness among the Jews. According to church tradition he was loyal to Paul’s wishes and stayed and worked in Ephesus until he finally suffered the Martyr's death himself.
If, however, "… the pastorals are best understood against the background of the second century, the evidence in the letters relative to church order ... clearly reflect a time when apostle and prophet have been succeeded by bishop (and archbishop?) and/or elder in a stabilized church organization fully committed to an authorized succession of ordained ministers. The local churches are no longer lay churches, nor are their needs now taken care of simply by itinerant missionaries. There is obviously hierarchical organization both in the local and ecumenical church. The chief function of the bishop (or archbishop?) is to transmit and maintain the true faith" TIB 1955 XI p. 346
If, however, I Timothy is post Paul, then Timothy represents all the "Timothies" of the church whom the writer is exhorting to preserve Pauline Christianity against incipient heresies.
such as Encratism
take hold.
The structure for the role of women in the Church at Ephesus is laid out as well as a detailed list of qualifications for who can and cannot serve as Elders and Deacons in the church. It is a notably a hotly debated issue in the church as to what Paul meant in this book in regard to the women’s role in the church. What provoked this reversion from Paul’s revelation, in Galatians, that in Christ Jesus there is no male or female, to this banal legalism? Had the women, having been led to expect an imminent end of the world, begun to abandon their “wifely duties”? "Some feel he clearly teaches that women are not to have authority over men in the church structure and that this is why he clearly excludes them from the roles of Elder/Bishop
and Deacon
in chapter three. People who hold to this stance point out that Paul’s use of the phrase “Husband of one wife” is gender specific and excludes women from that role. They would point out that in the Greek text it literally reads "Man of one woman". "μιασ γυναικοσ ανδρα" However, more liberal scholars debate this, arguing that this is a product of the time in which Paul lived and it is a cultural reference not meant to be eternally binding on the church. Many churches have now embraced the ordination of women
based on this modern outlook. The treatment of this issue has also been pointed to as evidence that I Timothy is not Pauline, noting "the freedom granted [women] in the aspostolic age to exercise the gifts of the Spirit, [and] Paul's insistence that in Christ there is neither male nor female, [which] had brought them into quick and widespread public activity." TIB 1955 XI p. 349. TNJBC also points out that the reasoning in I Timothy (the fall was Eve's fault) is non-Pauline: “Paul himself prefers to assign blame to Adam (as a counterpart to Christ – see Rom [Romans] 5:12-21; I Cor [Corinthians] 15: 45-49…)” TNJBC 1990 p. 897
The treatment of widows, elders, masters, youth, and church members are spelled out; as well as a healthy warning against greed being given to the rich.
Key words and phrases in this book include; “fight the good fight”, “This is a faithful saying
”,” let no one despise your youth”, doctrine, elder/bishop, deacon, fables, guard.
II. Negative Instructions: Stop the False Teachers (1:3-20)
III. Positive Instructions: Repair the Church (2:1–6:10)
IV. Personal Instructions: Pursue Godliness (6:11-21)
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
often grouped together as the Pastoral Epistles
Pastoral epistles
The three pastoral epistles are books of the canonical New Testament: the First Epistle to Timothy the Second Epistle to Timothy , and the Epistle to Titus. They are presented as letters from Paul of Tarsus...
, the others being Second Timothy and Titus. The letter, traditionally attributed to Saint Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
, consists mainly of counsels to his younger colleague and delegate Timothy regarding his ministry in Ephesus
Ephesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
(1:3). These include instructions on the forms of worship and organization of the Church, the responsibilities resting on its several members, including episkopoi (overseers or bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s) and diakonoi ("deacons"); and secondly of exhortation to faithfulness in maintaining the truth amid surrounding errors (iv.iff), presented as a prophecy of erring teachers to come.
- "What is most baffling in the letters is that they do not adequtely define either the orthodoxy which they champion or the heterodoxy which they combat." TIB 1955 XI p. 383
Composition
The author of First Timothy has been traditionally identified as the Apostle Paul. He is named as the author of the letter in the text (1:1). In modern times, scholars have become divided over the issue of authenticity, with many suggesting that First Timothy, along with Second Timothy and TitusEpistle to Titus
The Epistle of Paul to Titus, usually referred to simply as Titus, is one of the three Pastoral Epistles , traditionally attributed to Saint Paul, and is part of the New Testament...
, are not original to Paul, but rather an unknown Christian writing some time in the late-first-to-mid-2nd century. Despite the challenge to Pauline authorship, the traditional view is still held by many New Testament scholars.
Historical views
The genuineness of Pauline authorship was accepted by Church orthodoxy as early as c. 180 AD, as evidenced by the surviving testimony of IrenaeusIrenaeus
Saint Irenaeus , was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire . He was an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology...
and the author of the Muratorian fragment
Muratorian fragment
The Muratorian fragment is a copy of perhaps the oldest known list of the books of the New Testament. The fragment, consisting of 85 lines, is a 7th-century Latin manuscript bound in an eighth or 7th century codex that came from the library of Columban's monastery at Bobbio; it contains internal...
. Possible allusions are found in the letters from Clement of Rome to the Corinthians (c. 95), Ignatius of Antioch
Ignatius of Antioch
Ignatius of Antioch was among the Apostolic Fathers, was the third Bishop of Antioch, and was a student of John the Apostle. En route to his martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved as an example of very early Christian theology...
to the Ephesians (c. 110) and Polycarp
Polycarp
Saint Polycarp was a 2nd century Christian bishop of Smyrna. According to the Martyrdom of Polycarp, he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to touch him...
to the Philippians (c. 130), though it is difficult to determine the nature of any such literary relationships. Modern scholars who support Pauline authorship nevertheless stress their importance regarding the question of authenticity: I.H. Marshall and P.H. Towner wrote that 'the key witness is Polycarp
Polycarp
Saint Polycarp was a 2nd century Christian bishop of Smyrna. According to the Martyrdom of Polycarp, he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to touch him...
, where there is a high probability that 1 and 2 Tim were known to him'. Similarly M.W. Holmes argued that it is 'virtually certain or highly probable' that Polycarp used 1 and 2 Timothy.
Late in the 2nd century there are a number of quotations from all three Pastoral Epistles in Irenaeus' work Against Heresies. The Muratorian Canon (c. 170-180) lists the books of the NT and ascribes all three Pastoral Epistles to Paul. Eusebius (c. 330) calls it, along with the other thirteen canonical Pauline Epistles, "undisputed", despite the fact that Eusebius wrote in the 4th century with little to no knowledge of the complex social structures which line the books of the New Testament. Exceptions to this positive witness include Tatian
Tatian
Tatian the Assyrian was an Assyrian early Christian writer and theologian of the 2nd century.Tatian's most influential work is the Diatessaron, a Biblical paraphrase, or "harmony", of the four gospels that became the standard text of the four gospels in the Syriac-speaking churches until the...
, a disciple of Justin Martyr turned heretic, as well as the Gnostic Basilides
Basilides
Basilides was an early Gnostic religious teacher in Alexandria, Egypt who taught from 117–138 AD, notes that to prove that the heretical sects were "later than the catholic Church," Clement of Alexandria assigns Christ's own teaching to the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius; that of the apostles,...
.
Marcion, an orthodox Bishop later excommunicated for heresy, formed a Gnostic canon of Scripture c. 140 around ten of the canonical Pauline epistles, excluding 1-2 Timothy, Titus and Hebrews. The reasons for these exclusions are unknown, and so speculation abounds, including the hypotheses that they were not written until after Marcion's time, or that he knew of them, but regarded them as inauthentic. Proponents of Pauline authorship argue that he had theological grounds for rejecting the Pastorals, namely their teaching about the goodness of creation (cf. 1 Tim 4:1 ff.). The question is indeed curious whether Marcion knew these three letters and rejected them as Tertullian says, since in 1 Timothy 6:20 "false opposing arguments" are referred to, with the word for "opposing arguments" being "antithesis", the name of Marcion's work, and so whether it is a subtle hint of Marcion's heresy. However, the structure of the Church presupposed which is less developed than the one Ignatius presupposes (who wrote c.110), as well as the fact that not only is "antithesis" itself a Greek word which simply means "opposing arguments" but as it has been noted, the attack on the heretics is not central to the three letters.
The challenge to Pauline authorship
The modern challenge to Pauline authorship began with the work of German theologians F.D.E. SchleiermacherFriedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher
Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher was a German theologian and philosopher known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional Protestant orthodoxy. He also became influential in the evolution of Higher Criticism, and his work forms part of the foundation of...
in 1807 and J.G Eichorn in 1812. (Eichorn extended Schleirmacher's critique of 1 Timothy to all three Pastoral letters.) This was argued in further detail by F.C. Baur
Ferdinand Christian Baur
Ferdinand Christian Baur was a German theologian and leader of the Tübingen school of theology...
in 1835. Following these arguments, a large number of modern scholars continue to reject Pauline authorship, citing various and serious problems in associating it therewith. For example, Norman Perrin analyzed the Greek used by the author or authors of the Pastoral Epistles, finding that over 1/3 of their vocabulary is not used anywhere else in the Pauline epistles; more than 1/5 is not used anywhere else in the New Testament, while 2/3 of the non-Pauline vocabulary are used by 2nd century Christian writers. Richard Heard, in 1950, had this to say: "The evidence of teaching as of style and vocabulary is strongly against Paul’s authorship, nor are these arguments seriously weakened by any supposition that the epistles were written late in Paul’s lifetime and to meet a new type of situation. The three epistles show such a unity of thought and expression that they must be the work of one man, but for the author we must look rather to one of Paul’s admirers than to Paul himself." Robert Grant noted the afore-mentioned parallels to Polycarp's Epistles
Polycarp's letter to the Philippians
The Letter to the Philippians is an epistle composed around 110 to 140 ADby one of the Apostolic Fathers, Polycarp of Smyrna from Antioch, to the early Christian church in Philippi...
and suggested he might be the author.
If “… the author of the Pastorals is seen as a separate individual, and not as a depleted or altered Paul, he assumes a new position of importance in the New Testament and in the history of the ancient church. The New Testament thereby becomes enriched with an important type of personality distinct and different from any of the other great figures delineated therein, a type without which the origin of the catholic church is inexplicable.” TIB 1955 XI pp. 363-364
Date
The dating of 1 Timothy depends very much on the question of authorship. Those who accept the epistle's authenticity believe it was most likely written toward the end of Paul's ministry, c.62-67 CE. Other historians generally place its composition some time in the late 1st century or first half of the 2nd century CE, with a wide margin of uncertainty. The text seems to be contending against nascent Gnosticism(1 Tim 1:4, 1 Tim 4:3)(see Encratism), which would suggest a later date due to GnosticismGnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
developing primarily in the latter 1st century. The term Gnosis
Gnosis
Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge . In the context of the English language gnosis generally refers to the word's meaning within the spheres of Christian mysticism, Mystery religions and Gnosticism where it signifies 'spiritual knowledge' in the sense of mystical enlightenment.-Related...
("knowledge") itself occurs in 1 Timothy 6:20. If the parallels between 1 Timothy and Polycarp's epistle are understood as a literary dependence by the latter on the former, as is generally accepted, this would constitute a terminus ante quem
Terminus post quem
Terminus post quem and terminus ante quem specify approximate dates for events...
of 130-155 CE. However, Irenaeus (writing c. 180 CE) is the earliest author to clearly and unequivocally describe the Pastorals.
Background
This historical relationship between Paul and Timothy is one of mentorship. Timothy is first mentioned in . His mother Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, are mentioned in 2 Tim. 1:5. All that we know of his father is that he was a Greek not a Jew .Paul's second visit to Lystra
Lystra
Lystra was a city in what is now modern Turkey. It is mentioned five times in the New Testament. It was visited a few times by the Apostle Paul, along with Barnabas or Silas.-Location:...
is when Timothy first connected with Paul . Paul not only brought Timothy into the faith but he was Timothy’s main mentor in Christian leadership , having done church planting and missionary journeys together. Timothy would have received his authority to preach in churches directly from Paul who of course was the greater known and accepted of the two and an apostle. Timothy’s official position in the church was one of an evangelist and he worked with Paul in Phrygia, Galatia, and Mysia, Troa, Philippi and Berea and continued on to do even more work in Athens, and Thessalonica for the church not to mention his work in Corinth, Macedonia, Ephesus and greater Asia. Timothy was also noted for coming to Paul’s aid when Paul fell into prison . It is noteworthy that despite not being required due the ruling of the Jerusalem council; Timothy took circumcision himself to be a better witness among the Jews. According to church tradition he was loyal to Paul’s wishes and stayed and worked in Ephesus until he finally suffered the Martyr's death himself.
If, however, "… the pastorals are best understood against the background of the second century, the evidence in the letters relative to church order ... clearly reflect a time when apostle and prophet have been succeeded by bishop (and archbishop?) and/or elder in a stabilized church organization fully committed to an authorized succession of ordained ministers. The local churches are no longer lay churches, nor are their needs now taken care of simply by itinerant missionaries. There is obviously hierarchical organization both in the local and ecumenical church. The chief function of the bishop (or archbishop?) is to transmit and maintain the true faith" TIB 1955 XI p. 346
Circumstances
Regardless of whether this epistle is seen as a 4th missionary journey not recorded in Acts or as being written at some other point of Paul’s life, its intent seems clear that Paul is writing to encourage Timothy on his own ministry. Timothy is now pastoring in the Ephesus Church and Paul writes him to tell him to stay there and continue his good work there. Paul had planted the Ephesus church himself putting over 3 years of his blood and tears in to the effort and he is well pleased his former student is currently taking the post there. This is most likely a letter written in Paul’s late life and can be seen as being among his departing advice to his former student who has risen up in the ranks of church leadership himself. As Paul becomes more aware of his impending end, soon to be at the hands of Nero, he is setting things in order for the next generation.If, however, I Timothy is post Paul, then Timothy represents all the "Timothies" of the church whom the writer is exhorting to preserve Pauline Christianity against incipient heresies.
- "The Pastorals are distinguished from all other New Testament letters in that they are addressed ... to a special functional class within the church, namely, the professional ministry. Thus these letters occupy the unique distinction of being not simply the only letters in the New Testament to be addressed primarily to clergymen, but also of being in this sense the first extant pastoral letters - that is, letters written by a pastor to pastors - in the history of the church." <TIB 1955 XI p. 344/>
Key themes and words
The themes in this book circulate around church structure more than any other issue in the letter. Paul gives an example warning to Timothy not to let false doctrineHeresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
such as Encratism
Encratites
The Encratites were an ascetic 2nd century sect of Christians who forbade marriage and counselled abstinence from meat. Eusebius says that Tatian was the author of this heresy...
take hold.
The structure for the role of women in the Church at Ephesus is laid out as well as a detailed list of qualifications for who can and cannot serve as Elders and Deacons in the church. It is a notably a hotly debated issue in the church as to what Paul meant in this book in regard to the women’s role in the church. What provoked this reversion from Paul’s revelation, in Galatians, that in Christ Jesus there is no male or female, to this banal legalism? Had the women, having been led to expect an imminent end of the world, begun to abandon their “wifely duties”? "Some feel he clearly teaches that women are not to have authority over men in the church structure and that this is why he clearly excludes them from the roles of Elder/Bishop
Presbyter
Presbyter in the New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations, then a synonym of episkopos...
and Deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
in chapter three. People who hold to this stance point out that Paul’s use of the phrase “Husband of one wife” is gender specific and excludes women from that role. They would point out that in the Greek text it literally reads "Man of one woman". "μιασ γυναικοσ ανδρα" However, more liberal scholars debate this, arguing that this is a product of the time in which Paul lived and it is a cultural reference not meant to be eternally binding on the church. Many churches have now embraced the ordination of women
Ordination of women
Ordination in general religious usage is the process by which a person is consecrated . The ordination of women is a regular practice among some major religious groups, as it was of several religions of antiquity...
based on this modern outlook. The treatment of this issue has also been pointed to as evidence that I Timothy is not Pauline, noting "the freedom granted [women] in the aspostolic age to exercise the gifts of the Spirit, [and] Paul's insistence that in Christ there is neither male nor female, [which] had brought them into quick and widespread public activity." TIB 1955 XI p. 349. TNJBC also points out that the reasoning in I Timothy (the fall was Eve's fault) is non-Pauline: “Paul himself prefers to assign blame to Adam (as a counterpart to Christ – see Rom [Romans] 5:12-21; I Cor [Corinthians] 15: 45-49…)” TNJBC 1990 p. 897
The treatment of widows, elders, masters, youth, and church members are spelled out; as well as a healthy warning against greed being given to the rich.
Key words and phrases in this book include; “fight the good fight”, “This is a faithful saying
Faithful saying
The faithful sayings are sayings in the pastoral epistles of the New Testament. There are five saying with this label, and the Greek phrase is the same in all instances, although the KJV uses a different word in 1 Timothy 3:1. George W...
”,” let no one despise your youth”, doctrine, elder/bishop, deacon, fables, guard.
Outline
I. Salutation (1:1-2)II. Negative Instructions: Stop the False Teachers (1:3-20)
- A. Warning against False Teachers (1:3-11)
-
- 1. The Charge to Timothy Stated (1:3)
-
- 2. Their Wrong Use of the Law (1:4-7)
-
- 3. The Right Use of the Law (1:8-11)
- B. Paul’s Experience of Grace (1:12-17)
- C. The Charge to Timothy Repeated (1:18-20)
III. Positive Instructions: Repair the Church (2:1–6:10)
- A. Restoring the Conduct of the Church (2:1–3:16)
-
- 1. Instructions on Public Worship (2:1-15)
-
-
- a. Concerning Prayer (2:1-7)
-
-
-
- b. Concerning the Role of Men and Women (2:8-15)
-
-
-
-
- 1) Men: Pray in a Holy Manner (2:8)
-
-
-
-
-
- 2) Women: Quiet Conduct (2:9-15)
-
-
-
- 2. Instructions on Church Leadership (3:1-13)
-
-
- a. Qualifications of Overseers (3:1-7)
-
-
-
- b. Qualifications of Deacons (3:8-13)
-
-
- 3. Summary (3:14-16)
-
-
- a. Conduct of the Church (3:14-15)
-
-
-
- b. Hymn to Christ (3:16)
-
- B. Guarding the Truth in the Church (4:1-16)
-
- 1. In the Face of Apostasy (4:1-5)
-
- 2. Timothy’s Personal Responsibilities (4:6-16)
-
- 3. Spiritual Exercises (4:7-9)
- C. Dealing with Groups in the Church (5:1–6:10)
-
- 1. Men and Women, Young and Old (5:1-2)
-
- 2. Widows (5:3-16)
-
-
- a. Older Widows (5:3-10)
-
-
-
- b. Younger Widows (5:11-16)
-
-
- 3. Elders (5:17-25)
-
-
- a. The Reward of Elders (5:17-18)
-
-
-
- b. The Reputation of Elders (5:19-20)
-
-
-
-
- 1) The Reputation of Elders Protected (5:19)
-
-
-
-
-
- 2) The Sins of Elders Publicly Rebuked (5:20)
-
-
-
-
- c. The Recognition of Prospective Elders (5:21-25)
-
-
- 4. Slaves (6:1-2)
-
- 5. False Teachers (6:3-10)
IV. Personal Instructions: Pursue Godliness (6:11-21)
- A. Fight the Good Fight (6:11-16)
- B. A Final Word to the Wealthy (6:17-19)
- C. Guard What has been Entrusted (6:20-21)
See also
- 1 Timothy 2:12 ("I suffer not a woman")1 Timothy 2:12 ("I suffer not a woman")1 Timothy 2:12 is a passage from the first letter, I Timothy, of the pastoral epistles in the New Testament. The excerpt is typically raised in opposition to women being ordained as clergy and holding certain other positions of ministry and leadership in Christianity...
- Textual variants in the First Epistle to Timothy
- Second Epistle to TimothySecond Epistle to TimothyThe Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy, usually referred to simply as Second Timothy and often written 2 Timothy, is one of the three Pastoral Epistles traditionally attributed to Saint Paul, and is part of the New Testament...
- An Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of ScriptureAn Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of ScriptureAn Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture is a dissertation by the English mathematician and scholar Sir Isaac Newton. First published in 1754, 27 years after his death, it claimed to review all the textual evidence available from ancient sources on two disputed Bible passages: ...