1 TIMOTHY 1:1-7 - FAITHFULLY FIGHT FALSE DOCTRINE

1 TIMOTHY 1:1-7

FAITHFULLY FIGHT FALSE DOCTRINE

1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;

Susie: Paul always acknowledged that he did not proclaim himself to be an apostle but was made one by the will and command of Jesus. What does he mean by referring to Jesus as “our hope?”

Susan: The Greek word for hope can be defined as “a pleasant expectation.” Jesus is our ultimate pleasant expectation!

Susie: What do you mean?

Susan: Jesus, before He ascended back to the Father, said that He must go and that He would prepare a place for those who believe so that they could be with Him forever. He promised to return and receive all who believe and trust in Him in order to take us to the Father’s house (John 14).

Susie: Therefore, Jesus is the embodiment of the hope we have of eternal life with God.

1 Timothy 1:2 Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

Susan: Timothy was Paul’s son in a spiritual sense. Paul had led him to faith in Jesus.

Susie: Paul had instructed Timothy in the teachings of Jesus and felt comfortable placing him in the leadership position of pastor at Ephesus.

New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible:

Charis – graciousness of manner or act: lit. fig., or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life

Susan: Grace and peace was a greeting used by Paul in all his letters. Grace as defined above was asking the Lord to effect change in their lives. With the word peace, Paul was indicating his desire that the Lord set their lives in order, make them whole, and give them rest. Here, Paul also prays mercy for them. God is merciful, compassionate, slow to anger, toward those who place their trust in His Son, Jesus.

1 Timothy 1:3-4 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.

Susan: Paul told Timothy to stay behind in Ephesus for the purpose of charging, commanding, false teachers to stop teaching erroneous fables about Old Testament people and teach the doctrine of the Gospel as preached by the apostles.

Susie: Paul will address the false teachings more specifically later in the letter. In verse twenty of this chapter, we learn that Paul had in essence excommunicated two former leaders of the church for this very thing. And in chapter 3, he instructs Timothy in the qualifications of church leaders perhaps because some who were teaching false doctrine would need to be replaced. Endless genealogies could refer to trying to prove they were physical descendants of Abraham which is NOT a requirement for salvation.

1 Timothy 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

Susie: The result of the charge or command Timothy was to give to those teaching false doctrine would be charity, good conscience, and true faith.

Susan: Charity or love in this context is the kind of love demonstrated by Jesus – a choice to love regardless of how you feel toward a person.

Susie: God has given all people a conscience, an innate sense of right and wrong. One evidence of our trust in Jesus and choosing to follow His will is a “good conscience,” freedom from guilt or shame.

Susan: We looked up “unfeigned” in our favorite dictionary:

Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language:

UNFEIGNED, adjective Not feigned; not counterfeit; not hypocritical; real; sincere; as unfeigned piety to God; unfeigned love to man.

Susan: So, Paul was describing faith that is genuine and authentic. There were some who were imposters, faking faith in Jesus.

Susie: Jesus instructed us how to discern whether a teacher is true or false, real or faking it:

Matthew 7:15-16 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

1 Timothy 1:6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;

Susie: “Vain jangling?” Haven’t heard that term recently.

Susan: The New King James Version renders this “idle talk”. This is conversation that will not build believers up or point them in a godly direction.

Susie: So, this would be useless jargon that sounds religious but really serves no good purpose.

1 Timothy 1:7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

Susie: These false teachers wanted the prestige, the “cred,” of rabbis, but did not understand the law they were trying to teach. Instead they were teaching a false doctrine of salvation by works, and not even understanding the works they purportedly thought essential. They were contradicting the Christian doctrine of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone.

QUESTIONS:

1.               Is Jesus Christ your hope?

2.               What is meant by hope in the New Testament context?

3.               Paul uses “grace, peace, and mercy” as greetings. Could we as believers do the same today?

4.               Were the false teachers Timothy needed to command to stop from within or outside the church at Ephesus?