New Testament

1 Timothy

1 Timothy is a letter of instruction to Timothy, Paul’s trusted coworker, left in Ephesus to stop false teaching and put the church’s life in order. It covers sound teaching, prayer and worship, qualifications for overseers and deacons, care for widows and elders, and the dangers of the love of money, all aimed at “the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith” (). It is in the Bible to show how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, “the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” ().

Author: The letter names Paul (1:1), and the church received it as his from the second century on. Since the nineteenth century many scholars have argued that a later follower wrote 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, citing differences in vocabulary and style, a more settled church order, and difficulty fitting them into Acts, while others defend Paul’s authorship, perhaps with a secretary, after a release from the imprisonment that ends Acts.
Audience: Timothy, Paul’s “true child in the faith” (1:2), and through him the church at Ephesus. Teachers there were absorbed in myths, genealogies and speculation about the law (1:3–7), and some forbade marriage and certain foods (4:3).
When: If written by Paul, probably around AD 62–64, between a first and a second Roman imprisonment. Scholars who see the letter as later usually date it around AD 80–100.
Where: Timothy is in Ephesus, and Paul writes after leaving for Macedonia (1:3). Ephesus was the chief city of the Roman province of Asia.
Genre: 1 Timothy is a personal letter from a mentor to his delegate, but it is clearly meant to be heard by the church as well, since its instructions concern the whole congregation. Since the eighteenth century it has been grouped with 2 Timothy and Titus as the “Pastoral Letters.” It includes “trustworthy sayings” (1:15, 3:1, 4:9), lists of qualities for leaders, and a short confession of faith in Christ (3:16). Read every instruction against the background of the false teaching it was meant to correct (1:3–7, 6:3–5).

Shape of the book

Sound Teaching and Mercy to the Worst of Sinners · ch 1Paul charges Timothy to stop false teachers, explains the proper use of the law, and holds up his own conversion as proof of Christ’s patience.
Order in the Household of God · ch 2–3Prayer for all people, instructions for men and women in worship, qualifications for overseers and deacons, and a hymn to the mystery of godliness.
Training in Godliness · ch 4Paul warns of teachers who forbid marriage and foods, affirms that everything God created is good, and urges Timothy to be an example in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity.
Caring for the Church Family · ch 5How to treat older and younger members, which widows the church should support, and how to honor, accuse and appoint elders.
Godliness, Contentment and the Good Fight · ch 6Instructions for slaves, a warning about teachers who use religion for gain, the danger of loving money, a solemn charge to Timothy, and a word to the rich.

Themes

Sound Teaching. The false teachers produced speculation and quarrels (, ), while sound teaching agrees with “the glorious gospel of the blessed God” (). Timothy must guard the truth, pay attention to his teaching, and persevere in it (, ).
Godliness. Godliness means a reverent life shaped by knowing God. Paul says bodily training has some value but godliness has value in every way (), and that godliness with contentment is great gain (), unlike those who treat religion as a means of profit ().
God Wants All People to Be Saved. God our Savior “wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (), so the church prays for everyone, including rulers (). Readers differ on how to understand “everyone”: Arminian and Wesleyan readers take it as God’s desire for every person’s salvation, while many Augustinian and Reformed readers take it to mean people of every kind and rank.
The Church as God’s Household. Paul writes so that Timothy will know how to conduct himself in God’s household (). That is why leaders must manage their own households well () and why members are to treat one another as fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters ().
Money and Contentment. Overseers and deacons must be free from the love of money (, ). Paul warns that those who want to be rich fall into temptation, and tells the rich not to hope in uncertain wealth but to be rich in good works, generous and ready to share (, ).

Where Christ is

The letter’s instructions rest on a few compact statements about Christ: He “came into the world to save sinners” (), He is the “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all” (), and He “appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit” and “was taken up in glory” (). He made the good confession before Pontius Pilate and will appear at the proper time ().

One God and One Mediator. Fulfillment. Israel confessed that the Lord is one (). Paul pairs one God with one mediator, the man Christ Jesus (), and calls His death a ransom for all (), echoing Jesus’ own words that the Son of Man came to give His life as a ransom for many (). (; ; ; )
The Mystery of Godliness. A summary of fulfillment. The confession in traces Christ’s path: appearing in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit in His resurrection, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations and taken up in glory. It gathers in six short lines the story the Gospels and Acts tell at length. (; ; )
The Lord’s Words Beside the Law. Echo. To support paying elders, Paul cites about the ox treading grain alongside the saying that the worker is worthy of his wages (), words Jesus spoke in . Interpreters debate whether “the Scripture says” covers both sayings, but the passage sets the Lord’s teaching beside the Law. (; ; ; )
King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Echo and fulfillment. Moses called the Lord “God of gods and Lord of lords” (). Paul says God will bring about Christ’s appearing at the proper time and calls Him the blessed and only Sovereign, King of kings and Lord of lords (), a title Revelation gives to the Lamb. (; ; ; )

Voices

Augustine. On God wanting everyone to be saved (), he suggested that “all” means people of every kind, kings and subjects, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, rather than every single individual. More from Augustine at CCEL ↗
John Wesley. Wesley read the same verse at its full extent: God sincerely wills the salvation of every person, and Christ gave Himself as a ransom for every person, not for some only. Read the full commentary ↗

Reading well, key terms and common misreadings

Read it well

Start with 1:3–7 and 3:14–15. The first shows the problem, false teaching; the second states the purpose, ordering God’s household.
Watch for the “trustworthy sayings” (1:15, 3:1, 4:9). They mark short summaries of teaching the church already held.
Compare the qualifications for overseers (3:1–7) with those for elders in Titus 1:5–9.
Read Paul’s farewell to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:17–38, where he warns that false teachers would rise from among them.
Read the instructions about widows (5:3–16) as a real support system; the church kept a list of widows it cared for.

Key terms

Godliness εὐσέβεια (eusebeia) — Reverence for God shown in life. A key word of the Pastoral Letters (2:2, 3:16, 4:7–8, 6:6).
Sound teaching ὑγιαίνουσα διδασκαλία (hygiainousa didaskalia) — Literally healthy teaching, teaching that produces spiritual health, in contrast to the sickly craving for controversy (1:10, 6:3–4).
Overseer ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos) — One who watches over, later translated bishop. In 3:1–7 the office requires tested character and the ability to teach.
Deacon διάκονος (diakonos) — Servant or minister, here a recognized role in the church (3:8–13). Readers debate whether the women in 3:11 are deacons’ wives or women deacons.
Elder πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros) — An older man or a church leader. Elders who lead well, especially in preaching and teaching, are worthy of double honor (5:17).
Exercise authority αὐθεντέω (authenteō) — A rare verb found only here in the New Testament (2:12). Scholars debate whether it means simply to exercise authority or carries a negative sense such as to domineer.

Easy to misread

Lifting 2:11–12 out of its setting, or ignoring its stated reasons. Complementarian readers take 2:12 as a lasting restriction on women teaching men or holding the elder’s office in the church, grounded in creation order (2:13). Egalitarian readers see an instruction for Ephesus, where false teaching spread through households (5:13, 2 Timothy 3:6), and note that authenteō may mean to domineer. Both should notice that 2:11 commands women to learn, which was not a given in that world.
Reading “women will be saved through childbearing” (2:15) as salvation by having children. The verse adds “if they continue in faith, love, and holiness.” Proposals include salvation through the birth of the Messiah, being kept safe through childbirth, and faithful family life in contrast to false teachers who forbade marriage (4:3).
Quoting 6:10 as if money itself were evil. Paul says the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil; he tells the rich to use wealth generously (6:17–19).
Assuming “the husband of but one wife” (3:2) has one obvious meaning. Readers take it as excluding polygamy, as requiring marital faithfulness, as excluding the remarried, or as requiring marriage; many think its main concern is a faithful, blameless married life.

Further reading: David Guzik, Enduring Word · Matthew Henry on CCEL · BibleProject overview video