1st Timothy chapter 1...purity of doctrine
The chapter can be divided into four unequal sections, the subject being the purity of doctrine.
Verses 1-2 The commission of Paul
Verses 3-11 The charge to Timothy for the false teachers
Verses 12-17 The conversion of Paul
Verses 18-20 The charge to Timothy for himself
The commission of Paul verses 1-2 It was very important for Paul to establish his authority as he defined what he called “sound doctrine” against which everything else is false. It is equally important for us today, since there are many claiming exclusive rights to speak for God. We have the incontrovertible teaching from God through the apostle, preserved for us in Holy Scripture, so there need be no doubt as to the truth. He introduces himself as “Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ which is our hope....” An apostle is a special emissary who carries the full authority of the commissioners; examples are of a naval expedition carrying out the orders of the Lord High Admiral, or Ambassadors relating the will of their government in a foreign land. Paul’s authority for the doctrine was by commandment directly from God. The word for commandment is “epitage” and is as strong as can be, meaning decree, and that from the highest authority. It is used in Romans 16v26 “...according to the commandment(decree) of the everlasting God for obedience to the faith among all nations...” (again in Titus 1v3 and also in Titus 2v15). It is the idea of mandate, or injunction from a high authority. It carries the idea of imperative authority, something which is not negotiable. In other words the doctrine which he and the other apostles have laid out are the very words of God Himself (indeed in 1st Timothy 6v3 he says as much “the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the doctrine which is according to godliness.” This decree comes from One who is described as “God our Saviour” and “the Lord Jesus Christ who is our hope.” The salvation of humanity and the future hope of the believer depends on our acceptance of this decree and cannot be tampered with in any way either to diminish it or to add anything to it. The language Paul uses here suggests he is calling into doubt the salvation of some as he addresses himself to Timothy “my genuine son in the faith,” this against the background of some who appear to be less than genuine. To the normal form of greeting of “grace and peace”, Paul adds mercy, and this appears to be added in situations of potential or actual departure from the faith (see also the epistles 2nd Timothy, Titus & the epistle of Jude). Mercy is that quality of God which portrays His compassion, His pity, His full understanding of the frailty of human kind. We are introduced here to the title of “God our Saviour” which occurs ten times throughout the epistles in the following verses: 1st Timothy 1v1; 1st Timothy 2v3; 1st Timothy 4v10; 2nd Timothy 1v10; Titus 1v3; Titus 1v4; Titus 2v10; Titus 2v13; Titus 3v4 & Titus 3v6. This is the title of God specific to the present day, that marks out the present age as very special, the age which began with the coming into the world of Jesus Christ (Jesus meaning Jehovah Saviour). The need of the world is not that of education or reformation or rehabilitation; the need of the world is salvation from God our Saviour whose business it is today to save people no matter their national or tribal background. Paul expands on this commission in 1st Timothy 1v12-13 and 1st Timothy 2v7. He was very aware of the priceless truth that had been entrusted to him and he never forgot the words of his Lord on the day of his conversion “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest but rise and stand upon thy feet for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou has seen and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom I now send thee to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me.” (Acts 25v15-18). A commission from the highest authority in existence, of an imperative nature, concerning salvation involving grace, mercy and peace and hope from a Saviour God to the whole world, is something which must be preserved in it’s untarnished form, free from the deviations of men or demons. This is the message of these letters in general, and in particular of this first chapter.
The charge to Timothy for the false teachers verses 3-11
Paul had warned the elders at Ephesus that false teaching would come from two sources, (as recorded in Acts 20vv29-30), from outside...”grievous wolves entering in not sparing the flock...” and from within “...also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things..” This prediction, some 4 years before, was now a reality and had to be challenged. It would appear, from the record in Revelation chapter 2, that this particular mission succeeded. The charge was concerning the purity of doctrine
The doctrine must not be compromised “Charge some that they teach no other doctrine...” The Greek word means doctrine of another kind or doctrine from another source. There are only two sources of doctrine according to these letters; “...the doctrine of God our Saviour..” Titus 3v10; or “...the doctrine of demons...” 1 Timothy 4v1. Imitation doctrines may come from men, but the inspiration is from “seducing spirits”. Resonating from other portions of Holy writ are similar warnings: Exodus 20v3 “...thou shalt have no other gods before Me”; Galatians 1v6-7 “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him which called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” The true doctrine is variously described in the letters, as “sound doctrine”, “the doctrine according to godliness”, “good doctrine”, “the doctrine of God our Saviour”. Nowadays, many are afraid of the word doctrine because of the confusion that has arisen, but the doctrine is the only basis for our lives, and we should embrace it, and not fear it. There is a solemn challenge in chapter 6v3 “..if any man teach otherwise.....he is proud, knowing nothing....”
The doctrine must not be mixed with speculation “...neither to give heed to fables and endless genealogies ....” It is difficult to understand to what Paul is referring here, and speculation would cause us to fall into the same trap as he wants his readers to avoid. Whatever they were, they seem to be extra-biblical. and they had the effect of causing debates and strife......in Paul’s words “..which minister questions” He refers to them often throughout the letters and it must have become a common problem in the church. We can do best to quote the various references where this problem is exposed: 1st Timothy 1v3; 4v7 “Refuse profane and old wives’ tales...”; 1st Timothy 6v4 “...doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy and strife...”; 1st Timothy 6v20 “...profane and vain babblings and oppositions of science, falsely so called.” 2nd Timothy 2v14 “...that they strive not about words to no profit but to the subverting of the hearers.”; 2nd Timothy 2v23 “..but foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they engender strife.” 2nd Timothy 4v4 “...they shall turn away their ears from the truth and be turned unto fables. ”; Titus 1v14 “...not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men that turn from the truth.” Titus 3v9 “...avoid foolish questions and genealogies, and contentions and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable and vain.” He seems to be warning against a purely worldly/intellectual/fleshly view of things. The phrase “godly edifying” is actually “God’s dispensation” or “God’s administration”. In the scope of that, the only thing that matters is faith in the revealed word of God. In short we listen to what God says, not men. There is a danger today, with the existence of so many interpretations, to get caught up in disputes. The truth of God is clear and we accept it by faith, we do not accept the interpretations of a worldly intellect. Extra-biblical speculation hinders the work We don’t speculate, we don’t imagine, we believe! In the tabernacle of old and the temple in Israel, God left nothing to human imagination in the design or construction of these; similarly He has left nothing to the design or accomplishment of men in the matter of salvation.
The doctrine must not be corrupted “..the end of the charge is love out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned..” Paul recognised the danger of misusing the priceless truth, and the tendency of people to be hypocritical. Truth that should humble us to the dust, is sometimes used as a stick to beat others, when, all the while it has not yet changed us as it should. This is another form of impurity that needs to be addressed. The purpose of teaching is not intellectual only, not to satisfy curiosity only, not to create a caste system ever, not to promote argument ever, but to foster love amongst the people of God. The word for “end” is telos which is defined as “to set out for a definite point or goal”, and is taken from archery, to which he also refers later concerning those who have “swerved” from the truth. The whole purpose of teaching the things of God is to achieve godly features in the hearers, described as; pure love toward others, a good conscience within and faith which is real. The motivation must be love which is unmixed with any bias or prejudice; the manner must be of a good conscience knowing we are free from known evil, that if we would regulate others, we must regulate ourselves; the matter must be of real faith in God, absolute trust in His word. The word for unfeigned is translated sincere, without hypocrisy (without acting). There is to be no play acting in the Divine administration, there is to be no imbalance between truth and practice. Some had turned away from this to their detriment. It says “they swerved” they had missed the mark, they had veered off a straight line, their labour is in vain, because they turned from the right way to their own way. The result was an empty, noisy, worthless work to no profit.
The doctrine must not be misinterpreted “ they have turned aside unto vain jangling, desiring to be teachers of law..” They substituted love for legality, and this brings us to a very serious and very present danger. They have misinterpreted the word of God for the sake of self promotion. In the things of God we are promoting the glory of God (verse 11), not the glory of man. This is exactly as Paul predicted in Acts 20v30, that the motivation of these false teachers would be “..to draw away disciples after them.” We always have to ask “what is at the heart of misinterpretation of scripture?” The Jews, who were the custodians of the oracles of God, ended up misinterpreting the word and misapplying it, as it gave them some kind of status. Paul, here, has to correct their misunderstanding of the law. The law, he says was not given for a righteous man, that is, it did not elevate man, on the contrary it debased him. The law is the Divine standard against which to measure sin. The law is not the way of salvation, it simply reveals the need for salvation. The demands of the law in the New Testament are the same as the demands made on ancient Israel. The law can only expose sin in all it’s forms, only the gospel can save from it’s condemnation. The list given here brings the truth of this into the 21st century as all of these sins are present today and we stand exposed to the judgment. The Divine standard was introduced for the lawless (those who deny the authority of God, rebels); for the disobedient (those who wilfully break His law); for the ungodly (those who disregard God or ignore Him); for sinners (those who come short of His standard); for unholy (those who live unclean lives); for profane (those who treat sacred things as common); for smiters of fathers and mothers (the ultimate dishonour, violence toward the Divinely appointed carers); for manslayers (murderers, violence against the highest earthly creation, made in the image of God); for whoremongers and abusers of themselves with mankind (the full range of sexual perversion whether of heterosexuals or homosexuals); for menstealers ( robbing people of their liberty, whether in slavery or as barters for ransom); for liars (the practice of untruths); for perjured persons (those who pervert the course of justice). This list is by no means exhaustive and so he adds “if there be any other thing contrary to sound doctrine.... The new testament spells out the detail of human sin and the law of God condemns it all. The gospel, however has dealt with it, because it is all “...in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God.” The gospel is not contrary to the law but is complimentary to it and takes humanity to a level the law could not. Why then would anyone turn aside to a law that can only condemn?
The conversion of Paul verses 12-17
Paul now takes his own conversion as an example of the power of the gospel. No sooner had he mentioned “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God”, than he bursts into praise to the One who made it so. He begins the section with thanks to the Lord who saved him and ends it with an unparalleled doxology to the incomparable God. He attributed his remarkable change of life to Christ Jesus his Lord.
“He has enabled me” Strength for the task ahead; the work of God is too big for any of us and we need help. Divine help. Paul was able to testify to the Philippians in chapter 4v13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”(who continually infuses me with strength). Passive strength is in view, none of us possess this without help from above. The same idea is in Ephesians 6v10 where passive strength is required to face a superior enemy.
“..for that He counted me faithful putting me into the ministry.” Status for the work, which the Lord alone can give. To serve God well, we need “favour with God and man”. The prerequisite for service is faithfulness and the Lord, who knows all, counted him faithful, that is he was trustworthy. We know that we can rely on the Lord, can He rely on us? He counted Paul faithful, as Moses was “faithful in all God’s house”. Paul said to the Corinthians in chapter 4v1 “It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.” In every walk in life, reliability is the key, and with the Lord it is no different. Later on he will say to Timothy “..the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also.”
“...who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor and injurious(an insulter) What a change, the persecutor has become the preacher/pastor. He was a blasphemer because he rejected Christ as Messiah; he was a persecutor because he followed Christ’ people, hounding them to prison and even death; he was an insulter because he publicly demonised the followers of the Lord. According to the law he should have been stoned, but the Lord had mercy on him (withholding from him his due punishment), because he did it in ignorance. What a humbling for this highly intelligent man who had so misjudged things he was in a position of ridicule, having ridiculed others.
“And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” The mercy shown to this sinful man opened the floodgates of Divine grace without measure, with faith, and with love in Christ Jesus.
He now goes on to show how this can happen to anyone and everyone who confesses Christ as Lord, and introduces the first of five faithful sayings in the letters. These sayings were probably ditties in the early church to keep the fundamentals of the faith before their minds. They include shepherd care of the church (1st Timothy3 v1); the exercise of godliness (1st Timothy 4v9); rewards for suffering (2nd Timothy 2v11); our future inheritance in Jesus Christ our Saviour (Titus 3vv7-8). Here we have the beginning of it all salvation for sinners!(1st Timothy1v15). The idea behind it is that here is something we can all depend on, in a world of falsehoods these are priceless truths indeed. They are safe, reliable and true, and serve to enhance our spiritual lives. Here is a magnificent gospel message for any preacher in one verse.
1. A reliable word........ ”a faithful saying”
2. For universal acceptance..... “worthy of all acceptation”.
3. An historical fact...... “Christ Jesus came into the world.”
4. An indisputable reason..... “to save sinners”.
5. A proper response...... “of whom I am chief”
Paul places himself at the head of a very long list of sinners, he says “I am first”. This is an unenviable position he takes, but he really believed it. He never forgot what he did when he should have known better....as a highly trained Pharisee, taught at the feet of Gamaliel, the foremost teacher in Israel, he persecuted the church and blasphemed the name of Christ. The man with knowledge of the law, indeed a teacher of law, a guide to the spiritually blind, he sinned against light, and therefore his responsibility was the greater. Later he called himself the “least of the apostles” and “less than the least of all saints.” Such was his vision of the risen Lord, and such was his remorse, he never rose from the dust of the Damascus road. In verse 16 he is the pattern convert “..a pattern to them who should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting.” He is saying that if Christ can save him, after suffering long his persecution of His people, there is mercy for all who will humble themselves. The word pattern is hupotuposis, which literally translated means a super type, a prime outline,.... a blueprint for salvation. He is the prototype convert, such that many more can follow. The issue is the greatest possible....life everlasting!! He then bursts into praise for this awesome salvation from an awesome God.....”Now unto the king, eternal, immortal (incorruptible), invisible, to the only God(wise omitted in most manuscripts) be honour and glory for ever Amen.”
As King.......He supersedes all authority; as Eternal..... He spans all ages; as Incorruptible.....He repels all evil; as Invisible He defies all explanation; as the Only God.....He is incomparable. To this One, the God of inflexible justice, and yet, the God of inexhaustible mercy and grace, to Him alone the honour and glory. So let it be!
Paul’s charge to Timothy for himself verses 18-20
It appears from the language that Timothy was in fact Paul’s convert. He had a good grounding from his mother and grandmother but Paul regularly calls him “his child”. This is his first approach as he lays a charge on the young man to speak for God. He refers to his personal salvation; next he recalls to him prophecies that went before (probably before he engaged in public), predictions of future service. These prophesies were confirmed by Paul, and also by the identification of the local elders. This was necessary as he was to engage the work on his own, and he would need the assurance of his faith and also the faith of his brethren in him to fulfil the charge. The nature of the charge was that of spiritual warfare as he engaged the enemy at close quarters. He is to do this while holding fast his own faith in the Lord and a good conscience, such that he will conduct God’s business with confidence. He refers to others who have abandoned conscience and made shipwreck, naming the individuals concerned. Paul has dealt with them using apostolic authority but there will be others like them. Note the emphasis on a good conscience, in the service of God to keep right with God. In the excommunication of the two named men, Paul is teaching the young man that the ultimate discipline may, in extreme cases, need to be used. The phrase “delivered to Satan” says a lot, that, everything outside the church is the domain of Satan. This fact alone should encourage the sense of reverence among God’s people.
The chapter can be divided into four unequal sections, the subject being the purity of doctrine.
Verses 1-2 The commission of Paul
Verses 3-11 The charge to Timothy for the false teachers
Verses 12-17 The conversion of Paul
Verses 18-20 The charge to Timothy for himself
The commission of Paul verses 1-2 It was very important for Paul to establish his authority as he defined what he called “sound doctrine” against which everything else is false. It is equally important for us today, since there are many claiming exclusive rights to speak for God. We have the incontrovertible teaching from God through the apostle, preserved for us in Holy Scripture, so there need be no doubt as to the truth. He introduces himself as “Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ which is our hope....” An apostle is a special emissary who carries the full authority of the commissioners; examples are of a naval expedition carrying out the orders of the Lord High Admiral, or Ambassadors relating the will of their government in a foreign land. Paul’s authority for the doctrine was by commandment directly from God. The word for commandment is “epitage” and is as strong as can be, meaning decree, and that from the highest authority. It is used in Romans 16v26 “...according to the commandment(decree) of the everlasting God for obedience to the faith among all nations...” (again in Titus 1v3 and also in Titus 2v15). It is the idea of mandate, or injunction from a high authority. It carries the idea of imperative authority, something which is not negotiable. In other words the doctrine which he and the other apostles have laid out are the very words of God Himself (indeed in 1st Timothy 6v3 he says as much “the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the doctrine which is according to godliness.” This decree comes from One who is described as “God our Saviour” and “the Lord Jesus Christ who is our hope.” The salvation of humanity and the future hope of the believer depends on our acceptance of this decree and cannot be tampered with in any way either to diminish it or to add anything to it. The language Paul uses here suggests he is calling into doubt the salvation of some as he addresses himself to Timothy “my genuine son in the faith,” this against the background of some who appear to be less than genuine. To the normal form of greeting of “grace and peace”, Paul adds mercy, and this appears to be added in situations of potential or actual departure from the faith (see also the epistles 2nd Timothy, Titus & the epistle of Jude). Mercy is that quality of God which portrays His compassion, His pity, His full understanding of the frailty of human kind. We are introduced here to the title of “God our Saviour” which occurs ten times throughout the epistles in the following verses: 1st Timothy 1v1; 1st Timothy 2v3; 1st Timothy 4v10; 2nd Timothy 1v10; Titus 1v3; Titus 1v4; Titus 2v10; Titus 2v13; Titus 3v4 & Titus 3v6. This is the title of God specific to the present day, that marks out the present age as very special, the age which began with the coming into the world of Jesus Christ (Jesus meaning Jehovah Saviour). The need of the world is not that of education or reformation or rehabilitation; the need of the world is salvation from God our Saviour whose business it is today to save people no matter their national or tribal background. Paul expands on this commission in 1st Timothy 1v12-13 and 1st Timothy 2v7. He was very aware of the priceless truth that had been entrusted to him and he never forgot the words of his Lord on the day of his conversion “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest but rise and stand upon thy feet for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou has seen and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom I now send thee to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me.” (Acts 25v15-18). A commission from the highest authority in existence, of an imperative nature, concerning salvation involving grace, mercy and peace and hope from a Saviour God to the whole world, is something which must be preserved in it’s untarnished form, free from the deviations of men or demons. This is the message of these letters in general, and in particular of this first chapter.
The charge to Timothy for the false teachers verses 3-11
Paul had warned the elders at Ephesus that false teaching would come from two sources, (as recorded in Acts 20vv29-30), from outside...”grievous wolves entering in not sparing the flock...” and from within “...also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things..” This prediction, some 4 years before, was now a reality and had to be challenged. It would appear, from the record in Revelation chapter 2, that this particular mission succeeded. The charge was concerning the purity of doctrine
The doctrine must not be compromised “Charge some that they teach no other doctrine...” The Greek word means doctrine of another kind or doctrine from another source. There are only two sources of doctrine according to these letters; “...the doctrine of God our Saviour..” Titus 3v10; or “...the doctrine of demons...” 1 Timothy 4v1. Imitation doctrines may come from men, but the inspiration is from “seducing spirits”. Resonating from other portions of Holy writ are similar warnings: Exodus 20v3 “...thou shalt have no other gods before Me”; Galatians 1v6-7 “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him which called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” The true doctrine is variously described in the letters, as “sound doctrine”, “the doctrine according to godliness”, “good doctrine”, “the doctrine of God our Saviour”. Nowadays, many are afraid of the word doctrine because of the confusion that has arisen, but the doctrine is the only basis for our lives, and we should embrace it, and not fear it. There is a solemn challenge in chapter 6v3 “..if any man teach otherwise.....he is proud, knowing nothing....”
The doctrine must not be mixed with speculation “...neither to give heed to fables and endless genealogies ....” It is difficult to understand to what Paul is referring here, and speculation would cause us to fall into the same trap as he wants his readers to avoid. Whatever they were, they seem to be extra-biblical. and they had the effect of causing debates and strife......in Paul’s words “..which minister questions” He refers to them often throughout the letters and it must have become a common problem in the church. We can do best to quote the various references where this problem is exposed: 1st Timothy 1v3; 4v7 “Refuse profane and old wives’ tales...”; 1st Timothy 6v4 “...doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy and strife...”; 1st Timothy 6v20 “...profane and vain babblings and oppositions of science, falsely so called.” 2nd Timothy 2v14 “...that they strive not about words to no profit but to the subverting of the hearers.”; 2nd Timothy 2v23 “..but foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they engender strife.” 2nd Timothy 4v4 “...they shall turn away their ears from the truth and be turned unto fables. ”; Titus 1v14 “...not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men that turn from the truth.” Titus 3v9 “...avoid foolish questions and genealogies, and contentions and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable and vain.” He seems to be warning against a purely worldly/intellectual/fleshly view of things. The phrase “godly edifying” is actually “God’s dispensation” or “God’s administration”. In the scope of that, the only thing that matters is faith in the revealed word of God. In short we listen to what God says, not men. There is a danger today, with the existence of so many interpretations, to get caught up in disputes. The truth of God is clear and we accept it by faith, we do not accept the interpretations of a worldly intellect. Extra-biblical speculation hinders the work We don’t speculate, we don’t imagine, we believe! In the tabernacle of old and the temple in Israel, God left nothing to human imagination in the design or construction of these; similarly He has left nothing to the design or accomplishment of men in the matter of salvation.
The doctrine must not be corrupted “..the end of the charge is love out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned..” Paul recognised the danger of misusing the priceless truth, and the tendency of people to be hypocritical. Truth that should humble us to the dust, is sometimes used as a stick to beat others, when, all the while it has not yet changed us as it should. This is another form of impurity that needs to be addressed. The purpose of teaching is not intellectual only, not to satisfy curiosity only, not to create a caste system ever, not to promote argument ever, but to foster love amongst the people of God. The word for “end” is telos which is defined as “to set out for a definite point or goal”, and is taken from archery, to which he also refers later concerning those who have “swerved” from the truth. The whole purpose of teaching the things of God is to achieve godly features in the hearers, described as; pure love toward others, a good conscience within and faith which is real. The motivation must be love which is unmixed with any bias or prejudice; the manner must be of a good conscience knowing we are free from known evil, that if we would regulate others, we must regulate ourselves; the matter must be of real faith in God, absolute trust in His word. The word for unfeigned is translated sincere, without hypocrisy (without acting). There is to be no play acting in the Divine administration, there is to be no imbalance between truth and practice. Some had turned away from this to their detriment. It says “they swerved” they had missed the mark, they had veered off a straight line, their labour is in vain, because they turned from the right way to their own way. The result was an empty, noisy, worthless work to no profit.
The doctrine must not be misinterpreted “ they have turned aside unto vain jangling, desiring to be teachers of law..” They substituted love for legality, and this brings us to a very serious and very present danger. They have misinterpreted the word of God for the sake of self promotion. In the things of God we are promoting the glory of God (verse 11), not the glory of man. This is exactly as Paul predicted in Acts 20v30, that the motivation of these false teachers would be “..to draw away disciples after them.” We always have to ask “what is at the heart of misinterpretation of scripture?” The Jews, who were the custodians of the oracles of God, ended up misinterpreting the word and misapplying it, as it gave them some kind of status. Paul, here, has to correct their misunderstanding of the law. The law, he says was not given for a righteous man, that is, it did not elevate man, on the contrary it debased him. The law is the Divine standard against which to measure sin. The law is not the way of salvation, it simply reveals the need for salvation. The demands of the law in the New Testament are the same as the demands made on ancient Israel. The law can only expose sin in all it’s forms, only the gospel can save from it’s condemnation. The list given here brings the truth of this into the 21st century as all of these sins are present today and we stand exposed to the judgment. The Divine standard was introduced for the lawless (those who deny the authority of God, rebels); for the disobedient (those who wilfully break His law); for the ungodly (those who disregard God or ignore Him); for sinners (those who come short of His standard); for unholy (those who live unclean lives); for profane (those who treat sacred things as common); for smiters of fathers and mothers (the ultimate dishonour, violence toward the Divinely appointed carers); for manslayers (murderers, violence against the highest earthly creation, made in the image of God); for whoremongers and abusers of themselves with mankind (the full range of sexual perversion whether of heterosexuals or homosexuals); for menstealers ( robbing people of their liberty, whether in slavery or as barters for ransom); for liars (the practice of untruths); for perjured persons (those who pervert the course of justice). This list is by no means exhaustive and so he adds “if there be any other thing contrary to sound doctrine.... The new testament spells out the detail of human sin and the law of God condemns it all. The gospel, however has dealt with it, because it is all “...in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God.” The gospel is not contrary to the law but is complimentary to it and takes humanity to a level the law could not. Why then would anyone turn aside to a law that can only condemn?
The conversion of Paul verses 12-17
Paul now takes his own conversion as an example of the power of the gospel. No sooner had he mentioned “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God”, than he bursts into praise to the One who made it so. He begins the section with thanks to the Lord who saved him and ends it with an unparalleled doxology to the incomparable God. He attributed his remarkable change of life to Christ Jesus his Lord.
“He has enabled me” Strength for the task ahead; the work of God is too big for any of us and we need help. Divine help. Paul was able to testify to the Philippians in chapter 4v13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”(who continually infuses me with strength). Passive strength is in view, none of us possess this without help from above. The same idea is in Ephesians 6v10 where passive strength is required to face a superior enemy.
“..for that He counted me faithful putting me into the ministry.” Status for the work, which the Lord alone can give. To serve God well, we need “favour with God and man”. The prerequisite for service is faithfulness and the Lord, who knows all, counted him faithful, that is he was trustworthy. We know that we can rely on the Lord, can He rely on us? He counted Paul faithful, as Moses was “faithful in all God’s house”. Paul said to the Corinthians in chapter 4v1 “It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.” In every walk in life, reliability is the key, and with the Lord it is no different. Later on he will say to Timothy “..the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also.”
“...who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor and injurious(an insulter) What a change, the persecutor has become the preacher/pastor. He was a blasphemer because he rejected Christ as Messiah; he was a persecutor because he followed Christ’ people, hounding them to prison and even death; he was an insulter because he publicly demonised the followers of the Lord. According to the law he should have been stoned, but the Lord had mercy on him (withholding from him his due punishment), because he did it in ignorance. What a humbling for this highly intelligent man who had so misjudged things he was in a position of ridicule, having ridiculed others.
“And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” The mercy shown to this sinful man opened the floodgates of Divine grace without measure, with faith, and with love in Christ Jesus.
He now goes on to show how this can happen to anyone and everyone who confesses Christ as Lord, and introduces the first of five faithful sayings in the letters. These sayings were probably ditties in the early church to keep the fundamentals of the faith before their minds. They include shepherd care of the church (1st Timothy3 v1); the exercise of godliness (1st Timothy 4v9); rewards for suffering (2nd Timothy 2v11); our future inheritance in Jesus Christ our Saviour (Titus 3vv7-8). Here we have the beginning of it all salvation for sinners!(1st Timothy1v15). The idea behind it is that here is something we can all depend on, in a world of falsehoods these are priceless truths indeed. They are safe, reliable and true, and serve to enhance our spiritual lives. Here is a magnificent gospel message for any preacher in one verse.
1. A reliable word........ ”a faithful saying”
2. For universal acceptance..... “worthy of all acceptation”.
3. An historical fact...... “Christ Jesus came into the world.”
4. An indisputable reason..... “to save sinners”.
5. A proper response...... “of whom I am chief”
Paul places himself at the head of a very long list of sinners, he says “I am first”. This is an unenviable position he takes, but he really believed it. He never forgot what he did when he should have known better....as a highly trained Pharisee, taught at the feet of Gamaliel, the foremost teacher in Israel, he persecuted the church and blasphemed the name of Christ. The man with knowledge of the law, indeed a teacher of law, a guide to the spiritually blind, he sinned against light, and therefore his responsibility was the greater. Later he called himself the “least of the apostles” and “less than the least of all saints.” Such was his vision of the risen Lord, and such was his remorse, he never rose from the dust of the Damascus road. In verse 16 he is the pattern convert “..a pattern to them who should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting.” He is saying that if Christ can save him, after suffering long his persecution of His people, there is mercy for all who will humble themselves. The word pattern is hupotuposis, which literally translated means a super type, a prime outline,.... a blueprint for salvation. He is the prototype convert, such that many more can follow. The issue is the greatest possible....life everlasting!! He then bursts into praise for this awesome salvation from an awesome God.....”Now unto the king, eternal, immortal (incorruptible), invisible, to the only God(wise omitted in most manuscripts) be honour and glory for ever Amen.”
As King.......He supersedes all authority; as Eternal..... He spans all ages; as Incorruptible.....He repels all evil; as Invisible He defies all explanation; as the Only God.....He is incomparable. To this One, the God of inflexible justice, and yet, the God of inexhaustible mercy and grace, to Him alone the honour and glory. So let it be!
Paul’s charge to Timothy for himself verses 18-20
It appears from the language that Timothy was in fact Paul’s convert. He had a good grounding from his mother and grandmother but Paul regularly calls him “his child”. This is his first approach as he lays a charge on the young man to speak for God. He refers to his personal salvation; next he recalls to him prophecies that went before (probably before he engaged in public), predictions of future service. These prophesies were confirmed by Paul, and also by the identification of the local elders. This was necessary as he was to engage the work on his own, and he would need the assurance of his faith and also the faith of his brethren in him to fulfil the charge. The nature of the charge was that of spiritual warfare as he engaged the enemy at close quarters. He is to do this while holding fast his own faith in the Lord and a good conscience, such that he will conduct God’s business with confidence. He refers to others who have abandoned conscience and made shipwreck, naming the individuals concerned. Paul has dealt with them using apostolic authority but there will be others like them. Note the emphasis on a good conscience, in the service of God to keep right with God. In the excommunication of the two named men, Paul is teaching the young man that the ultimate discipline may, in extreme cases, need to be used. The phrase “delivered to Satan” says a lot, that, everything outside the church is the domain of Satan. This fact alone should encourage the sense of reverence among God’s people.
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