Summary: Bible - Book of 1 Timothy

The GIST

1 Timothy, a letter in the New Testament of the Bible, is traditionally attributed to the Apostle Paul, who is named as its author in the first verse. It is written to Timothy, his younger colleague and delegate, whom he calls "my own son in the faith," and who has been left in charge of the church at Ephesus. Together with Second Timothy and Titus it forms the group known as the pastoral epistles. Most modern scholars think these three letters were written after Paul's death by an unidentified Christian, while a smaller number still argue that Paul wrote them himself.

Whoever held the pen, the result is one of the most practical documents in the New Testament. In six chapters it tells a young leader how to deal with false teaching, how the community should pray, what kind of people should hold office, how to care for widows and elders, and how to think about money. It is a handbook for keeping a church healthy, and many of its lines have passed into everyday speech.

What It Says

Chapter 1: The charge, and a persecutor shown mercy

The letter begins with a reminder of Timothy's assignment. Paul had urged him to stay on at Ephesus when Paul went into Macedonia, so that he could tell certain people to stop teaching a different doctrine and to stop busying themselves with "fables and endless genealogies," which produce questions and not growth in faith. The goal of all instruction is stated in one of the letter's finest sentences: "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned." Some have wandered from that goal into empty talk. They want to be teachers of the law without understanding what they are saying.

The law itself is good, the letter says, "if a man use it lawfully." It is not aimed at the righteous but at the lawless, and a list follows: the ungodly, murderers, liars, perjurers and others whose conduct is contrary to sound teaching.

Then the tone becomes personal. Paul thanks Christ for putting him into the ministry, though he was once "a blasphemer, and a persecutor." He received mercy, and grace overflowed. From his own story he draws a saying he calls trustworthy: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." He was shown mercy, he explains, so that his life could serve as a pattern of Christ's patience for those who would believe later. The thought lifts him into praise: "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever."

The chapter ends by handing the charge to Timothy, who is to "war a good warfare," holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have thrown these away and made shipwreck of their faith, and two are named: Hymenaeus and Alexander.

Chapter 2: Prayer for all, and order in worship

First of all, the letter urges, prayers and thanksgivings should be offered for everyone, including kings and all in authority, "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." The reason reaches wide. God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," who gave himself as a ransom for all.

Practical directions follow. Men are to pray everywhere, "lifting up holy hands," without anger or doubting. Women are to dress modestly, adorning themselves with good works and not with braided hair, gold, pearls or costly clothes. Then comes the passage that has been argued over more than any other in the letter: "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." The letter supports this by pointing to Adam being formed first and to Eve being deceived.

Chapter 3: Bishops, deacons, and the mystery of godliness

The third chapter sets out who is fit to lead. To desire the office of a bishop is to desire a good work, and the qualifications are about character more than talent. He must be blameless, the husband of one wife, sober, hospitable and able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy; patient and not quarrelsome. He must manage his own household well, and the letter gives the reason in a pointed question: "For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?" He should not be a new convert, in case pride brings him down, and he must have a good reputation with outsiders.

Deacons likewise are to be serious, sincere, moderate with wine and not greedy for gain. They should be tested first and then serve if found blameless. Their wives are to be dignified and faithful, not slanderers.

Paul says he hopes to come soon, but writes so that Timothy will know how to conduct himself in the household of God, which he calls "the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." The chapter closes with a short, hymn-like confession about the mystery of godliness: "God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."

Chapter 4: False asceticism and a young man's example

The Spirit, the letter warns, says plainly that in later times some will depart from the faith, following deceiving spirits. These teachers forbid marriage and demand abstinence from certain foods. The answer is a firm affirmation of the created world: "For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving."

Timothy is to pass these things on and to train himself in godliness. "For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things," with promise for this life and the life to come. Then comes direct encouragement to a young leader who may have felt his age: "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers." He is to be that example in speech, conduct, love, spirit, faith and purity. Until Paul arrives he should devote himself to reading, exhortation and teaching, and he must not neglect the gift given to him with the laying on of hands by the elders. If he watches both himself and his teaching, he will save himself and his hearers.

Chapter 5: Family manners, widows and elders

The fifth chapter turns to relationships inside the congregation. Timothy should not rebuke an older man harshly but appeal to him as a father, treating younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, "with all purity."

A long section deals with widows. The church is to honour those who are "widows indeed," that is, truly alone, trusting in God and continuing in prayer night and day. But where a widow has children or grandchildren, they should first learn to practise their faith at home by caring for her. The standard is severe: anyone who does not provide for his own household "hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." A widow enrolled for support must be at least sixty, the wife of one husband, and known for good works such as raising children, showing hospitality and helping the afflicted. Younger widows are advised to marry, bear children and manage their homes.

Elders who lead well are worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in preaching and teaching, since "The labourer is worthy of his reward." An accusation against an elder should not be accepted without two or three witnesses. Timothy is charged to act without partiality and not to be hasty in laying hands on anyone. Tucked among these directions is a homely piece of advice: "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities."

Chapter 6: Servants, money, and the good fight

Those who are servants under the yoke are told to honour their masters, and those with believing masters to serve them all the more because they are brethren.

The letter then returns to false teachers, describing them as proud, obsessed with disputes about words, and convinced that religion is a way to get rich. Against that it sets a memorable alternative: "But godliness with contentment is great gain." The reasoning is simple. "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." Food and clothing are enough. Those who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare. "For the love of money is the root of all evil," and some who have chased it have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Timothy, addressed as a man of God, is to flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and meekness. "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life." He is charged before God and before Christ Jesus, who made his good confession before Pontius Pilate, to keep the commandment unstained until Christ appears. A second burst of praise follows, to the King of kings and Lord of lords, who dwells in unapproachable light.

The rich are not condemned but instructed. They should not be proud or trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, "who giveth us richly all things to enjoy," and they should be rich in good works and ready to share. The last appeal is urgent and personal: "O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust."

Why It Matters

1 Timothy has shaped how churches organise themselves and choose leaders. Its authorship is one of the most discussed questions in New Testament study. The traditional attribution to Paul was questioned in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and most scholars now hold that the pastoral epistles come from a later writer, somewhere between the late first and mid second century. They point to hundreds of words Paul does not use in his undisputed letters, a different style, and a church organisation that seems later than his day. On the other side, defenders note possible early echoes in Polycarp, and that Irenaeus, writing around 180, clearly attributes the letter to Paul. The Muratorian Canon ascribes all three pastoral letters to him, and Eusebius counted the letter among the undisputed ones. The early canon of Marcion, by contrast, left them out, for reasons that are unknown.

Individual verses have had long afterlives. Jonathan Edwards described reading the praise in chapter 1, verse 17, as a turning point in his religious experience. The words about women teaching in chapter 2 have caused considerable controversy over gender equality. Churches such as the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic cite the verse in rejecting the ordination of women, while interpreters differ widely on how far it reaches. Isaac Newton argued that a small change in early Greek copies of chapter 3, verse 16, strengthened the textual support for trinitarian doctrine. Composers have set lines from the letter in Christmas cantatas.

Who Should Read It

Read 1 Timothy if you lead anything, or hope to. Its portrait of leadership as a matter of character, tested at home before it is trusted in public, speaks well beyond the church. It will also interest readers who want to see where famous sayings about money and contentment come from, and anyone trying to understand the debates over women's roles and church order that still turn on a few of its verses.