First Epistle to Timothy

The First Epistle of Paul to Timothy, usually referred to simply as First Timothy and often written 1 Timothy, is one of three letters in the New Testament of the Bible often grouped together as the Pastoral Epistles, along with Second Timothy and Titus. The letter, traditionally attributed to the Apostle Paul, consists mainly of counsels to his younger colleague and delegate Timothy regarding his ministry in Ephesus (1:3). These counsels include instructions on the organization of the Church and the responsibilities resting on certain groups of leaders therein as well as exhortations to faithfulness in maintaining the truth amid surrounding errors, but, as Gealy points out "What is most baffling in the letters is that they do not adequtely define either the orthodoxy which they champion or the heterodoxy which they combat."

Composition

The author of First Timothy has been traditionally identified as the Apostle Paul. He is named as the author of the letter in the text (1:1). Nineteenth and twentieth century scholarship questioned the authenticity of the letter, with many scholars suggesting that First Timothy, along with Second Timothy and Titus, are not original to Paul, but rather an unknown Christian writing some time in the late-first-to-mid-2nd century. Most scholars now affirm this view.

Historical views

The genuineness of Pauline authorship was accepted by Church orthodoxy as early as c. 180 AD, as evidenced by the surviving testimony of Irenaeus and the author of the Muratorian. Possible allusions are found in the letters from Clement of Rome to the Corinthians (c. 95), Ignatius of Antioch to the Ephesians (c. 110) and Polycarp to the Philippians (c. 130), though it is difficult to determine the nature of any such literary relationships. Modern scholars who support Pauline authorship nevertheless stress their importance regarding the question of authenticity: I.H. Marshall and P.H. Towner wrote that 'the key witness is Polycarp, where there is a high probability that 1 and 2 Tim were known to him'. Similarly M.W. Holmes argued that it is 'virtually certain or highly probable' that Polycarp used 1 and 2 Timothy.

Late in the 2nd century there are a number of quotations from all three Pastoral Epistles in Irenaeus' work Against Heresies. The Muratorian Canon (c. 170-180) lists the books of the NT and ascribes all three Pastoral Epistles to Paul. Eusebius (c. 330) calls it, along with the other thirteen canonical Pauline Epistles, "undisputed", despite the fact that Eusebius wrote in the 4th century with little to no knowledge of the complex social structures which line the books of the New Testament. Exceptions to this positive witness include Tatian, a disciple of Justin Martyr turned heretic, as well as the Gnostic Basilides.

Marcion, an orthodox Bishop later excommunicated for heresy, formed a Gnostic canon of Scripture c. 140 around ten of the canonical Pauline epistles, excluding 1-2 Timothy, Titus and Hebrews. The reasons for these exclusions are unknown, and so speculation abounds, including the hypotheses that they were not written until after Marcion's time, or that he knew of them, but regarded them as inauthentic. Proponents of Pauline authorship argue that he had theological grounds for rejecting the Pastorals, namely their teaching about the goodness of creation (cf. 1 Tim 4:1 ff.). A probable reason for his rejecting them is their strong teaching against Gnostic beliefs. [Reference needed] The question is indeed curious whether Marcion knew these three letters and rejected them as Tertullian says, since in 1 Timothy 6:20 "false opposing arguments" are referred to, with the word for "opposing arguments" being "antithesis", the name of Marcion's work, and so whether it is a subtle hint of Marcion's heresy. However, the structure of the Church presupposed which is less developed than the one Ignatius presupposes (who wrote c.110), as well as the fact that not only is "antithesis" itself a Greek word which simply means "opposing arguments" but as it has been noted, the attack on the heretics is not central to the three letters.

Debate and controversy about the authenticity of the internal evidence to 1 Timothy and the other two pastoral letters

See also: Pastoral Letters

Several scholars argue that on the basis of so-called internal sense of the same letter, content, style, grammar and vocabulary; the Apostle Paul can not be the author of the the first letter to Timothy, as well as the other two pastoral epistles.

The First Epistle to Timothy, the Second Epistle to Timothy and Titus form the group of so-called pastoral letters. The authenticity of the Pauline letters pastoriali is the subject of discussion in modern academia, owing to their style and content that are involved. Today, many modern scholars attribute these writings to a Pauline tradition next apostle. Other hypotheses ranging originality Pauline possible reworking of sayings and writings of Paul, for example, a recent debate has arisen around the attribution of a papyrus, 7Q4, found in Qumran.

An illustration depicting the Apostle Paul, author of the pastoral letters

One of the characters has extensively analyzed and explained the debate related to the authenticity of the pastoral letters was the theologian and academic British James Dunn known for his works on Paul of Tarsus, pointing out that one of the major pitfalls of modern critics has been to examine the three letters as a whole, rather than individually. In the opinion of Dunn is more important to focus on the internal consistency of each letter because "few people will read the complete corpus' of the three letters in one sitting." According to the scholar there is a paradox: How come the three pastoral letters, even though they are "among the most popular among those New Testament writings" at the same time in the past 150, are among the most discredited in modern academia?

Dunn examines different aspects that analyze: The reasons raised by critics, internal consistency of the same individual letters, the importance of the theology contained in them, the fundamental themes common to the three letters and the issue of the order of writing letters citing academic critics of "recent debate." In his analysis, in fact quotes historian of early Christianity Luke Timothy Johnson (that was the letter' 2 Timothy to be written first), the scholar of The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity, Jerome D. Quinn The First and Second Letter to Timothy] </ ref> (according to which, however, was the letter to Titus the first to be written) and the theologians and teachers, Gordon Fee and George Knight (according to which the writing order was 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy Titus and then, instead of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus.

Its detailed Treaty highlights among others, the following points:

• "The fashion of treating the three letters together, to talk about theology or ecclesiology of the Pastoral Letters, rather than each letter separately can be misleading, as the Second Timothy, has a different scope than the other two letters."
• According to the academician, the three letters were written in the same period of time: "I'm certainly closer together than they are to all other NT writings, including the undisputed letters of Paul," and they are all consistent with the themes treated by Paul in fact "share the same broad feature: Paul's counsel to two of his most important collaborators." In fact, "just compare (Template:Biblical passage) with (Template:Biblical passage) (church leaders), (Template:Biblical passage) with (Template:Biblical passage) (good management of the house), and (Template:Biblical passage) with ({ {biblical passage | Tito 3,1,2}}) (civil authorities). " In addition, the British theologian points out that 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy, written to the same person contain obvious points of convergence' on specific issues. Just compare: terms of personal memories (Template:Biblical passage) with (Template:Biblical passage) ({{biblical passage | 1 Timothy 1.20} }) with (Template:Biblical passage), assignment of personnel assignment (Template:Biblical passage) and (Template:Biblical passage with (Template:Biblical passage) (Template:Biblical passage) with (Template:Biblical passage), warnings against false teachings (Template:Biblical passage) and (Template:Biblical passage) with (Template:Biblical passage) and (Template:Biblical passage (Template:Biblical passage and (Template:Biblical passage) with (Template:Biblical passage) (Template:Biblical passage) and (Template:Biblical passage. All three letters, also notes Dunn are likeminded vocabulary in the show consideration for quality as faith and piety as well as the contempt of alternatives to Christian behavior. According to the theologian must therefore focus on the internal consistency of individual letters treating them in their historical and canonical order.
• The obvious answer, as the explicit statements contained in the letters, the writer of the three pastoral letters, both Paul, found academics the last 150 years, disagreed. Dunn, however, points out that the answer to the question of who actually wrote the letters, can become so "dominant" in the end, the same value of the letters', may be overshadowed by what the theologian defines "minor issues" adding that "we must not confuse the personal address of the letters (Timothy and Titus) with their function. Whatever their origin, (the letters) were not intended only for the eyes and ears of Timothy and Titus. These letters were intended to be read in the church as a whole and, therefore, to use as a manual of discipline for the benefit of the whole community. Their value in effect bypasses the question of the historical status of Timothy and Titus , as well as survive the death of Paul. "
  

Besides, even the academicians of The American Journal of Biblical Theology assert that "it is easy to show" that it was just the apostle Paul the writer of the First Epistle to Timothy, one of three letters belonging to the Pastoral ' '. Trinity College in the University of Toronto] </ ref> .These, considerations of the Journal of the American biblical theology:

• "The intent of the pastoral epistles is to address specific problems that arose in the Church and to encourage their pastors on how to address these issues. For this reason, these letters have a tone and a structure staff a bit ' different from the other epistles. " The American Journal of Biblical Theology argues that when you write to a single person style turns out to be different than when you write for a wide audience. In the discussion of the pastoral letters it should be noted, in the opinion of these theologians, that the clarification dell'indizizzo in which you write (or a single person or a large audience) becomes paramount. Writing for a wide audience involves a "vocabulary (and illustrations) is very different from what you use for a single close friend to us. Vocabulary and grammar is more formal, and they tend to use a more precise formulation" of that used to write to a single friend.
• The controversy raised "by scholars who argue, based on internal tests (vocabulary, grammar, content and style), that Paul is not the author of the pastoral epistles" is, in the opinion of the newspaper of theology, "relatively easy" to counter, showing that "the author of the pastoral epistles, the apostle Paul is right." The fact that "historically, these three letters do not exactly corrispondno calculations to the book of Acts" can not be considered as evidence. "Paul did not write the book of Acts, and the purpose of this book (Acts) is not to make a comprehensive bibliography of all the experiences of Paul." "For example, Clement of Rome (among others) cites Paul's journeys, which are not reported in the book of the Acts of the Apostles."
• "There are many words used in these letters that are not used in other writings that are more clearly attributed to Paul. Nevertheless, the different audiences and different circumstances can certainly be reason of the use of different words."
• "The Pauline authorship was not challenged in the early centuries. The other arguments to refute Paul as the author, can be easily controbattute when you pay attention to the context and the place from which these letters were written." In the opinion of the newspaper, "the large amount of external evidence (writings of the early Christian writers)" recognize in Paul, the sole author of three letters.
• "The early church historians unanimously record Paul's death at the hands of Nero at the end of his second Roman imprisonment.'s Second letter to Timothy was written before the winter season (2 Tim. 4:21), before Nero's suicide, then the letter must have been written no later than AD 67. Accordingly, this letter (1 Timothy) must have been written at an earlier date. sooner is difficult to determine because we have little knowledge of the content and details of the history of the last years of Paul. 1 Timothy 1:03 indicates that Paul was in Macedonia when he wrote this letter to Timothy while he was serving the church of Ephesus, one of the largest cities in the region. "
• The American Journal of Biblical Theology analyzes verse by verse all six chapters of the first letter to Timothy supporting the internal consistency of the letter and highlighting style and vocabulary, which in the opinion of these theologians, can be attributed to the apostle own Paul.

Date

The dating of 1 Timothy depends very much on the question of authorship. Those who accept the epistle's authenticity believe it was most likely written toward the end of Paul's ministry, c.62-67 CE. Other historians generally place its composition some time in the late 1st century or first half of the 2nd century CE, with a wide margin of uncertainty. The text seems to be contending against nascent Gnosticism(1 Tim 1:4, 1 Tim 4:3)(see Encratism), which would suggest a later date due to Gnosticism developing primarily in the latter 1st century. The term Gnosis("knowledge") itself occurs in 1 Timothy 6:20. If the parallels between 1 Timothy and Polycarp's epistle are understood as a literary dependence by the latter on the former, as is generally accepted, this would constitute a terminus ante quem of 130-155 CE. However, Irenaeus (writing c. 180 CE) is the earliest author to clearly and unequivocally describe the Pastorals.

Background

This historical relationship between Paul and Timothy is one of mentorship. Timothy is first mentioned in Acts 16:1. His mother Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, are mentioned in 2 Tim. 1:5. All that we know of his father is that he was a Greek not a Jew (Acts 16:1).

Paul's second visit to Lystra is when Timothy first connected with Paul (1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 3:11). Paul not only brought Timothy into the faith but he was Timothy’s main mentor in Christian leadership (Acts 16:3), having done church planting and missionary journeys together. Timothy would have received his authority to preach in churches directly from Paul who of course was the greater known and accepted of the two and an apostle. Timothy’s official position in the church was one of an evangelist (1 Timothy 4:14) and he worked with Paul in Phrygia, Galatia, and Mysia, Troa, Philippi and Berea (Acts 17:14) and continued on to do even more work in Athens, and Thessalonica for the church (Acts 17:15; 1 Thessalonians 3:2) not to mention his work in Corinth, Macedonia, Ephesus and greater Asia. Timothy was also noted for coming to Paul’s aid when Paul fell into prison (Philippians 1:1, 2 Timothy 4:13). It is noteworthy that despite not being required due the ruling of the Jerusalem council; Timothy took circumcision himself to be a better witness among the Jews. According to church tradition he was loyal to Paul’s wishes and stayed and worked in Ephesus until he finally suffered the Martyr's death himself.

If, however, "… the pastorals are best understood against the background of the second century, the evidence in the letters relative to church order ... clearly reflect a time when apostle and prophet have been succeeded by bishop (and archbishop?) and/or elder in a stabilized church organization fully committed to an authorized succession of ordained ministers. The local churches are no longer lay churches, nor are their needs now taken care of simply by itinerant missionaries. There is obviously hierarchical organization both in the local and ecumenical church. The chief function of the bishop (or archbishop?) is to transmit and maintain the true faith" TIB 1955 XI p. 346

Circumstances

Regardless of whether this epistle is seen as a 4th missionary journey not recorded in Acts or as being written at some other point of Paul’s life, its intent seems clear that Paul is writing to encourage Timothy on his own ministry. Timothy is now pastoring in the Ephesus Church and Paul writes him to tell him to stay there and continue his good work there. Paul had planted the Ephesus church himself, working there for over three years (Acts 19:10; 20:31), and he is pleased that his former student is currently taking the post there. This is most likely a letter written in Paul’s late life and can be seen as being among his departing advice to his former student who has risen up in the ranks of church leadership himself. As Paul becomes more aware of his impending end, soon to be at the hands of Nero, he is setting things in order for the next generation.

If, however, I Timothy is post Paul, then Timothy represents all the "Timothies" of the church whom the writer is exhorting to preserve Pauline Christianity against incipient heresies.

• "The Pastorals are distinguished from all other New Testament letters in that they are addressed ... to a special functional class within the church, namely, the professional ministry. Thus these letters occupy the unique distinction of being not simply the only letters in the New Testament to be addressed primarily to clergymen, but also of being in this sense the first extant pastoral letters - that is, letters written by a pastor to pastors - in the history of the church." <TIB 1955 XI p. 344/>

Key themes and words

The author of this epistle writes to Timothy concerning the organization of the church and Timothy's own leadership within the body. Paul alternates in instructing Timothy personally and the church corporately, yet in both cases his major goal is to call believers to behave with a recognition that they are living within the household of God. Other major themes include the use of The Law (1Timothy 1:7-11), warnings against false doctrine such as Encratism, instructions for prayer (1Timothy 2:1-8), roles of women in the church (1Timothy 2:9-15; see below), and qualifications for leaders of the church (1Timothy 3:1-13), among others.

The structure for the role of women in the Church at Ephesus is laid out as well as a detailed list of qualifications for who can and cannot serve as Elders and Deacons in the church. It is a notably a hotly debated issue in the church as to what Paul meant in this book in regard to the women’s role in the church. What provoked this reversion from Paul’s revelation, in Galatians, that in Christ Jesus there is no male or female, to this banal legalism? Had the women, having been led to expect an imminent end of the world, begun to abandon their “wifely duties”? "Some feel he clearly teaches that women are not to have authority over men in the church structure (1 Timothy 2:12) and that this is why he clearly excludes them from the roles of Elder/Bishop and Deacon in chapter three. People who hold to this stance point out that Paul’s use of the phrase “Husband of one wife” is gender specific and excludes women from that role. They would point out that in the Greek text it literally reads "Man of one woman".^{[citation needed]} "μιασ γυναικοσ ανδρα"(1 Timothy 3:2) However, more liberal scholars debate this, arguing that this is a product of the time in which Paul lived and it is a cultural reference not meant to be eternally binding on the church.^{[citation needed]} Many churches have now embraced the ordination of women based on this modern outlook.^{[citation needed]} The treatment of this issue has also been pointed to as evidence that I Timothy is not Pauline, noting "the freedom granted [women] in the aspostolic age to exercise the gifts of the Spirit, [and] Paul's insistence that in Christ there is neither male nor female, [which] had brought them into quick and widespread public activity." TIB 1955 XI p. 349. TNJBC also points out that the reasoning in I Timothy (the fall was Eve's fault) is non-Pauline: “Paul himself prefers to assign blame to Adam (as a counterpart to Christ – see Rom [Romans] 5:12-21; I Cor [Corinthians] 15: 45-49…)” TNJBC 1990 p. 897 In fact, 1 Timothy 2:14 states, not that Eve disobeyed, but that she was tricked, holding true to Paul's assertion that Adam alone was the transgressor.

The treatment of widows, elders, masters, youth, and church members are spelled out; as well as a healthy warning against greed being given to the rich.

Key words and phrases in this book include; “fight the good fight”, “This is a faithful saying”,” let no one despise your youth”, doctrine, elder/bishop, deacon, fables, guard.

Outline

I. Salutation (1:1-2)

II. Negative Instructions: Stop the False Teachers (1:3-20)

A. Warning against False Teachers (1:3-11)

1. The Charge to Timothy Stated (1:3)

2. Their Wrong Use of the Law (1:4-7)

3. The Right Use of the Law (1:8-11)

B. Paul’s Experience of Grace (1:12-17)

C. The Charge to Timothy Repeated (1:18-20)

III. Positive Instructions: Repair the Church (2:1–6:10)

A. Restoring the Conduct of the Church (2:1–3:16)

1. Instructions on Public Worship (2:1-15)

a. Concerning Prayer (2:1-7)

b. Concerning the Role of Men and Women (2:8-15)

1) Men: Pray in a Holy Manner (2:8)

2) Women: Quiet Conduct (2:9-15)

2. Instructions on Church Leadership (3:1-13)

a. Qualifications of Overseers (3:1-7)

b. Qualifications of Deacons (3:8-13)

3. Summary (3:14-16)

a. Conduct of the Church (3:14-15)

b. Hymn to Christ (3:16)

B. Guarding the Truth in the Church (4:1-16)

1. In the Face of Apostasy (4:1-5)

2. Timothy’s Personal Responsibilities (4:6-16)

3. Spiritual Exercises (4:7-9)

C. Dealing with Groups in the Church (5:1–6:10)

1. Men and Women, Young and Old (5:1-2)

2. Widows (5:3-16)

a. Older Widows (5:3-10)

b. Younger Widows (5:11-16)

3. Elders (5:17-25)

a. The Reward of Elders (5:17-18)

b. The Reputation of Elders (5:19-20)

1) The Reputation of Elders Protected (5:19)

2) The Sins of Elders Publicly Rebuked (5:20)

c. The Recognition of Prospective Elders (5:21-25)

4. Slaves (6:1-2)

5. False Teachers (6:3-10)

IV. Personal Instructions: Pursue Godliness (6:11-21)

A. Fight the Good Fight (6:11-16)

B. A Final Word to the Wealthy (6:17-19)

C. Guard What has been Entrusted (6:20-21)

See also

• 1 Timothy 2:12 ("I suffer not a woman")
• Textual variants in the First Epistle to Timothy
• Second Epistle to Timothy
• An Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture

External links

• First Timothy texts and resources

First Epistle to Timothy Pauline Pastoral Epistle
Preceded by Second Thessalonians	New Testament Books of the Bible	Succeeded by Second Timothy