1 Timothy 1:1-11
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,
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.
6: For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion,
7: wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.
8: But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
8: But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
9: realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers
10: and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,
11: according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.
Paul wrote this first letter to Timothy giving direction to him, his son in the faith, while Timothy presided over the church at Ephesus in Paul’s absence. This is one of the “pastoral letters” along with second Timothy and Titus. It was most likely written after Paul was released from his first imprisonment and while he was in Corinth, between 63-67 A.D.
First, Paul reminded Timothy to stay in Ephesus as he had previously told him, so he could specifically address “certain men” not to teach strange doctrines or pay attention to myths and genealogies which caused speculation rather than furthering the establishment of God’s purposes. The genealogies he spoke of were not simple Jewish genealogy, tracing their ancestry to the patriarchs, but an early type of Gnosticism—a study which made more out of the genealogies than what was really there. Gnostics claim to possess a higher knowledge—beyond the gospel—and to be in a privileged class. The physical realm means nothing to them, and anything done in the body, even sin, doesn’t matter because, in their minds, only the spiritual matters. This of course is grossly inconsistent with the teachings of Christ and His gospel.
Those who wanted to be teachers of the Law—the Jewish Law—were taken in by this, yet didn’t understand what they were saying or the assertions they were making. Righteousness only comes through faith in Christ, yet Paul pointed out that even the Law would produce righteousness if one could follow it (which of course no one could). What these people were teaching was not anything that would produce righteousness. “The goal of our instruction,” Paul said, “is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” A law, any law, is not for the righteous. It's for the lawless and rebellious—the ungodly and sinners. The gospel is the message of faith in Christ. Paul entrusted Timothy with the task of instructing the Ephesians not to follow or teach those "strange doctrines."
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Paul wrote this first letter to Timothy giving direction to him, his son in the faith, while Timothy presided over the church at Ephesus in Paul’s absence. This is one of the “pastoral letters” along with second Timothy and Titus. It was most likely written after Paul was released from his first imprisonment and while he was in Corinth, between 63-67 A.D.
First, Paul reminded Timothy to stay in Ephesus as he had previously told him, so he could specifically address “certain men” not to teach strange doctrines or pay attention to myths and genealogies which caused speculation rather than furthering the establishment of God’s purposes. The genealogies he spoke of were not simple Jewish genealogy, tracing their ancestry to the patriarchs, but an early type of Gnosticism—a study which made more out of the genealogies than what was really there. Gnostics claim to possess a higher knowledge—beyond the gospel—and to be in a privileged class. The physical realm means nothing to them, and anything done in the body, even sin, doesn’t matter because, in their minds, only the spiritual matters. This of course is grossly inconsistent with the teachings of Christ and His gospel.
Those who wanted to be teachers of the Law—the Jewish Law—were taken in by this, yet didn’t understand what they were saying or the assertions they were making. Righteousness only comes through faith in Christ, yet Paul pointed out that even the Law would produce righteousness if one could follow it (which of course no one could). What these people were teaching was not anything that would produce righteousness. “The goal of our instruction,” Paul said, “is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” A law, any law, is not for the righteous. It's for the lawless and rebellious—the ungodly and sinners. The gospel is the message of faith in Christ. Paul entrusted Timothy with the task of instructing the Ephesians not to follow or teach those "strange doctrines."
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