1Ti 1:1-5; Act 16:1-3; 2Ti 1:5; Act 20:28-30; Tit 1:13-14;
1TIM-1-200816 - length: 60:00 - taught on Aug, 16 2020
Class Outline:
John Farley
Pastor Teacher
Sunday,
August 16, 2020
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,
2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, 4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. 5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
NASU
Welcome to the first week of our new series, on the first letter of Paul to Timothy!
1 Corinthians ends in love, and 1 Timothy begins with love.
When we finished 1 Corinthians, Timothy was on his way to Corinth from Ephesus.
Paul wrote 1 Corinthians in AD 55, during his third missionary journey, while he was in Ephesus.
He had been to Jerusalem, arrested and brought to Rome to stand trial. As the book of Acts ends, Paul is a prisoner of the Romans.
When he earlier wrote 1 Corinthians, he - Paul - was in Ephesus and Timothy was in Macedonia!
Apparently his case was dismissed and he had been released.
They are called pastoral epistles because Paul wrote them to individual men who had responsibility to guide, direct, and care for a group of churches.
Who was Timothy?
ACT 16:1-3
16 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, 2 and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
Timothy must have stood out among the men in Lystra. He was given high marks by the Christians in Lystra and Iconium.
Because of this, Paul added him to his roster to join him in his journeys.
Timothy became Paul’s top “go-to” guy when Paul needed a special man for a special assignment.
Timothy had a Jewish mother who was a Christian. His father was Greek. Nothing further is written about his father.
From 2 Timothy 1 we learn that Timothy was raised by his mother and grandmother, and that his grandmother was also a believer.
2TI 1:5
5 For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.
Finally, Paul included Timothy in the byline for six letters: 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon.
1TI 1:1-2
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,
2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul was made an apostle by a command of God the Father.
In verse 1 “the commandment” is a military term.
And he will say the same thing about Timothy.
Both the Father and the Son - Christ Jesus - bestow apostolic authority on Paul.
Christ is our hope. Our hope of glory. Of eternal life. Of His glorious appearing.
2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
In verse 2 Paul adds “mercy” to his usual prayer of blessing: “grace and peace”.
3 As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, 4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. 5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
Those orders were to remain at Ephesus to carry out his mission.
Paul knew this was going to happen, and he warned the elders of Ephesus about this when he was with them for the final time.
ACT 20:28-30
"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.
Paul expects Timothy to take a hard line with them, holding them to account.
1:3 As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, 4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. 5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
We need to hear this warning today. Beware of men who are promoting novel teachings or new emerging revelations.
Verse 4 tells us that these strange doctrines include myths and endless genealogies.
These things do not build up the saints, but instead lead them astray.
A passage in Titus shed light on what these myths and genealogies were.
TIT 1:13-14
For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.
This comports with Paul’s reference to the Law in verse 7.
1:4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.
They were rabbit holes.
They stood in stark contrast to the work of the Lord.
The Greek word for “administration” means a stewardship or a dispensation.
1:4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.
5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
We who are pastors and teachers need to take this verse to heart.
Here we have another military reference, this time concerning instruction. The goal, the aim, the intended final result - is LOVE.
This harkens back to verse 1 and shows that the fruit of Paul’s apostleship, the goal of his practical teaching, is love.
Verse 5 also identifies the source of this love. It is three fold.
The opposite of pure is defiled and unbelieving.
The opposite of a clear conscience is a seared or defiled conscience. It calls good evil and evil good.
We find the exact opposite of genuine faith in the false teachers. They have turned away from the truth. They are liars who don’t even understand what they are saying, and are ignorant of the matters under discussion.
5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
So here’s how it works:
When you have a pure heart, you have a clear conscience.