Category Archives: 1 Timothy

1 Timothy 2 Prayer for All and the Actions of Men and Women

1 Timothy 2: 1-7

¹ First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, ² for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. ³ This is right and acceptable before God our Savior, ⁴ who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For
there is one God;
there is also one mediator between God and humankind,
Christ Jesus, himself human,
⁶ who gave himself a ransom for all
—this was attested at the right time.⁷ For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth; I am not lying), a teacher of the gentiles in faith and truth.

Among the communities that Timothy is attempting to shepherd we have already seen evidence of divisions and factions in this letter. Paul is working through Timothy to address the harmful teachings and practices which have distracted these followers of Christ from their participation in God’s mission in Ephesus and likely, as we will discuss in the next section, damaging their reputation among their neighbors. It is easy for conflict to divide the community into groups rallied around different leaders, different practices, different beliefs and beginning to view one another as enemies. Paul’s advice to this congregation begins with reshaping their prayers to be for “all.”

In my final year of seminary, twenty-two years ago, I took a course that went through Jaroslav Pelikan’s five volume treatment of the Christian Tradition where he adapts the traditional phrase lex orandi, lex credenda (literally law of prayer, law of belief). His basic point was that the way the church worshipped and prayed throughout history shaped the beliefs of the church and that many of the beliefs adopted began in local practices. Paul here is shaping their practice of prayer trusting that praying rightly will help transform some of the unhelpful beliefs. The key word in this section is the Greek word pas “all, everyone.” In contrast to praying only for my small group of believers who may look, think, act, believe and practice like me now supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings are to be made for “all” (NRSVue everyone).

Prayer for all may be the beginning of repairing the divisions in the community and transforming “us” and “them” into a “we.” It reminds the praying community that “all” are a part of the people we lift up in prayer and thanksgiving before God. Yet Paul does not stop with the wall of the community but pushes these prayers beyond the community walls into the public square. These communities of faith are not to withdraw from the community. As Thomas Long memorably states:

The Pastor knew well that being Easter people did not mean renouncing the world, donning white robes, going to the mountaintop, and singing “I’ll Fly Away.” Rather it meant the harder task of living the gospel every day in the rough and tumble world of pagan neighbors and worldly powers. (Johnson, 2001, p. 60)

The followers of Jesus will be confined to Israel where everyone will be expected to be faithful to the God of Israel and the law.[1] From the time of Jeremiah onwards, the faithful scattered throughout the world have been encouraged to “seek the welfare of the city where they have been sent.” (Jeremiah 29:7). Within Judaism the prayer for kings, other than the kings of Israel or Judah, goes back to at least Ezra.[2] Paul continues this practice and this will continue throughout early Christian writings. Followers of Christ would pray for the emperor, but they would not pray to the emperor which would be something they would be persecuted for in later times, but here as elsewhere Paul encourages them to find a way to be good citizens within the political order of the day.[3] There may have been some among the early followers of Jesus who were advocating for a more contentious position in relation to the empire, similar to the Jewish movements occurring in the time leading up to the Jewish War with Rome (66-73/74 CE) but Paul advocates for a quiet and peaceable life. Even Revelation, which advocates for withdrawing from Rome, does not view conflict with Rome as the role of Christians. Paul and most early Christians likely viewed Rome as a reality that would be replaced by the advent of the kingdom of God, but that coming kingdom was something they prayed for and did not revolt to bring about. Yet, Paul’s extension of the “all” to include the emperor and those in authority is probably less about appeasement and more about the expansive desire that the emperor and those in high positions would also be saved by the God who desires to save “all.”

This is the only time Paul uses the language of ‘mediator’ in relation to Christ. In Galatians the law came through a ‘mediator’[4] and this is a way that Paul distances to law from God. The only other place in the New Testament that uses mediator language for Christ is the Letter to the Hebrews where Christ is the mediator of a new covenant between God and the people.[5] Most translations will show verse five indented like poetry, and many believe this is quoting a pre-existing teaching or fragment that would be known in the community. It is likely that the mediator language was known in this community.

The language of ‘ransom’ where Christ presented his fully human self for is an evocative image with a long history of debate in Christianity. Paul and the early Christians deployed a wide range of vocabulary to try to describe what Christ’s life, death, and resurrection meant both for believers and the world. This word for ransom (Greek antilytron) is only utilized here in the New Testament,[6] although Paul can utilize the word apolytron (NRSVue ‘redemption) to similar effect in several places.[7] Ransom in Roman society was a rich image because it was the primary way a slave could be granted freedom. Roughly 10-15% of the population of the Roman Empire were slaves, many of them captives from Rome’s various wars. The proportion of people who were slaves was highest in Rome and in urban areas, so there would be a large slave population in Ephesus (see chapter six). A slave could be freed by someone paying a ransom on the slave’s behalf, and so in a community of slaves (and slave holders) the ransoming of a person would be well known. Later Christian thinkers would focus on who the ransom was paid to (God, the devil, etc.) but for early Christians the experience of bondage and the hope of freedom are what this image evokes. Once again the ransom is paid for “all.”

Paul is a witness and declarer of this new reality mediated and paid for by Christ for “all.” This is all occurring within God’s appointed (kairos) time which is not measured in the minutes, hours, days, weeks or years of chronological (from the Greek chronos) time. Paul’s phrase “I am not lying” (Greek ou pseudomai) occurs, as Luke Timothy Johnson notes, “with perhaps disconcerting frequency in Paul’s letters; in addition to Rom 9:1, see 2 Cor 11:31 and Gal 1:20.” (Johnson, 2001, p. 193) For Paul’s, and by extension Timothy’s, ministry his call to be a teacher of the faith to the Gentiles (or nations) is central to both his ministry and his authority in times of conflict.

In a time of community division where false teachings and practices have created problems Paul begins by correcting the prayers of the community. The practice of praying for “all” within and beyond the community. Seeking the welfare of the city, the empire, and its leaders as citizens of both Ephesus and the kingdom of heaven because all of creation is caught up in the mediation of Christ and the ransom of Christ. The prayers of the faithful for “all” reflect the saving desire of God for “all.”

2 Timothy 2: 8-15

⁸ I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument, ⁹ also that the women should dress themselves in moderate clothing with reverence and self-control, not with their hair braided or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes, ¹⁰ but with good works, as is proper for women who profess reverence for God. ¹¹ Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. ¹² I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent. ¹³ For Adam was formed first, then Eve, ¹⁴ and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. ¹⁵ Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

1 Timothy has several passages that evoke passionate discussions among modern readers, none more than the current one in relation to women in the community of faith. The text in the hands of its original readers was a tool that was helping to repair the divisions in the community, but many women may have been in environments where this text was wielded like a weapon to keep women out of leadership, to maintain power arrangements the way they are constructed, and even in some cases quoted to sanction abusive treatment. Just because a passage is difficult or has been used in a harmful manner does not mean we should ignore it. Sometimes it is precisely these difficult texts which can produce the richest dialogues.

Paul begins with speaking to men in the community and beyond. Paul’s desire that men in “all” places pray with hands lifted up to God continues the expansive theme of prayer in the previous section, and may seem initially like a contrast with the limiting words that come immediately afterwards. Yet it is worth noting what Paul is desiring and not desiring. Paul desires pray with hands raised from “all” places but also indicates that this is to be done without anger or argument. As Thomas Long frames this action:

Praying with hands open and lifted is a sign of humility and dependence on God. Men who have their hands open and raised in prayer cannot close their fists in rage. (Long, 2016, p. 72)

Anger in both ancient literature and in modern society is an emotion normally associated with men. Anger (Greek orge) is not merely a feeling of passion but the feeling or passion put into action verbally or physically. (Johnson, 2001, p. 199) As Paul has done throughout this chapter, right prayer is to lead to right belief and disposition. Instead of the anger and arguments present in the Ephesian community this posture of prayer symbolically lets go of the anger, voices are turned to prayer instead of argument, and in this posture new ways can be learned and a broken community healed. The church becomes a community that prays for not only their fellow members in the body of Christ but for “all.” In a church caught up in God’s desire that “all” will be saved, prayer is lifted up for “all” and in “all” places.

For many modern readers they can cruise along with what Paul is saying through the first eight verses of this chapter, but when he begins speaking about women everything said before can be lost for many readers. The Paul who has been committed to “all” now appears to be a different Paul who is silencing a large group within the community. As we enter these verses which have been utilized to silence women and keep them from leadership in the church I’m going to slow us down and try to engage them in the time when Paul writes them and why the same person who says in Christ there is no male and female would now speak of how women dress, how they are to be silent and submissive, and not to be in a role of teaching. The final step of any interpretation of scripture should be how we utilize this scripture in our own time and where it both challenges us and may even help us articulate what we believe and why we believe it.

When one engages writing from an author in a different time and with a different worldview than our own it can be easy to dismiss them as irrelevant, uninformed, prejudiced, and unworthy of our time or consideration. It should not be surprising that views on men and women were different almost two thousand years ago than they are today. The role of women today would be unrecognizable to my grandparent’s generation which grew up in the 1930s, and continues to evolve rapidly.[8] There are limits to what we know about life two thousand years ago, and there is lively debate about the role of women in the early church and in Roman society. What we do have is the writings of people who lived in the time around Paul and how they expressed the role of women as well as historical examples of women who did not fit the pattern expressed by these writers.

Paul is not unique in asking women to dress modestly and to let her good works be her ornamentation. This type of language is common in both Greco-Roman and Jewish writings of the time. (Johnson, 2001, p. 199) The book of James can critique the wealthy man who comes in wearing gold rings and fine clothes (James 2: 2) and 1 Peter echoes many of the things Paul prohibits here: braided hair, gold ornamentation, and fancy clothes. Although there is positive the description of the woman of substance in Proverbs 31: 10-31 who dresses in fine linen and purple (22), this is not the norm.

There are two feasible interpretations of how the women’s dress is being interpreted by others in the church and the surrounding community. One possibility, highlighted by Elsa Tamez, is that the women are attempting to appear as rich. (Long, 2016, p. 74) Clothing and ornamentation have always been a way of communicating status and prosperity and that may have been the women in Ephesian community’s intention, but there is also another role that these women may be assuming. Kathleen Corley in her book Private Women Public Meals: Social Conflict in the Synoptic Tradition draws a contrast between private women and public women. Wives, daughters, and widows were private women. Public women were sometimes thought of as prostitutes, but there were also courtesans who were educated and would be present at meals with men. In contrast to the moral piety recommended by emperor Augustus (who reigned at the time of Jesus birth) the women we know from this era include names like “Cleopatra, Julia, Poppaea, Sempronia, and Messalina who were hardly known by Romans for their virtue.” (Corley, 1993, p. 43) These women who are braiding their hair, wearing fine clothing, pearls and gold, speaking up in gatherings of men were likely being viewed by their neighbors as moving into this space of courtesans/public women and impacting the reception of these communities of Christ by their neighbors.

In the ancient world family was the foundation of society, a reality reflected in most ancient religions. Marriages in the ancient world were an economic relationship which may have romantic inclinations in contrast to modern marriages which are thought of as being held together by love and economic implications are thought of as secondary. Most marriages at this time were arranged marriages and a woman who portrays herself as a public woman and speaks freely may by dress and behavior be harming their future livelihood. We also know that one of the things Paul is writing about is a false teaching forbidding marriage (1 Timothy 4:3) likely in anticipation of Christ’s return.

There is a non-canonical book known as the Acts of Paul and Thecla which is written sometime prior to 190 CE which embraces some of the ideas Paul warns against in 1 Timothy: a life of perpetual virginity, abstinence from certain food, and world renouncing ideas. For Paul life engages with God’s work in creation and “truth and grace reverberate in the mundane realities of everyday life and relationships.” (Long, 2016, p. 80) Paul’s view of marriage as a place where men are subordinate to Christ and women are subordinate to their husband, while perhaps unpopular today is consistent in his writings. (1 Corinthians 11: 2-3; Ephesians 5: 21-33; Colossians 3: 18-25) Paul also uses a similar interpretation of Genesis 3 in 1 Corinthians 11: 8-9 and 2 Corinthians 11: 2-3 and it is also a pattern utilized by the contemporary Jewish philosopher Philo. Most modern readers will come to a different reading of Genesis, but Paul’s interpretation is consistent with his time viewing Eve as the one who was the transgressor and deceived one.

The passage ends with the statement that women will be saved through childbearing provided they continue in faith, love, holiness and self-control. In our culture this is another statement that is hard to comprehend, but in the ancient world it was much easier to hear. Children in the ancient world were associated with being blessed by God and infertility was a crisis to a woman’s identity. There is a reason the barrenness of Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, the unnamed mother of Samson, Hannah, the wealthy Shunammite woman, and in the New Testament Elizabeth are viewed as a crisis for the woman and her place in the family. There has been a massive swing in the view of children in the past century mainly due to the shift of work away from the household and into the workplace. For most of history having children was viewed as a source of security (children would take over the home and care for aging parents) and labor from a young age. In recent years children may still be viewed as a blessing but also as a burden due to the cost of raising and educating a child to prepare them for life in the modern world. Many modern families choose not to have children to allow both partners to pursue their careers and in most places a woman’s value is no longer associated with her bearing and raising children. Thomas Long approaches this statement by saying, “childbearing is not a means of salvation for women; it is one of the arenas in which salvation occurs.” (Long, 2016, p. 81) I believe he is right that Paul views salvation as not some escape from this world but woven together with God’s actions bringing life to women, men, and children in the mundane everyday acts of provision and nurture in God’s creation.

I am a part of a church that has ordained women for fifty-five years, and I have never known a church where women could not serve as pastors. The majority of my colleagues in seminary were women and I know many excellent women who are both pastors and lay leaders in the church. Yet it took a long time for individual churches to be open to women in pastoral and other leadership roles. There are also many churches that still do not allow women to be pastors or teachers. People of faith have always had to wrestle with what portions of scripture are unique to a specific moment in history and what aspects still apply in our time. It is inescapable, both in the bible and our own time, that the surrounding culture will impact how we practice our faith but it is worth spending the time reflecting why we practice and preach the way we do.

Throughout this chapter the goal has been for the people to live a peaceful and quiet life within their society. Paul in his ministry in the Hellenistic world is conscious of the values, dress, beliefs, and behaviors of his surrounding world. In many ways Paul models what the Jesuits will later adopt in their missionary work where he utilizes the common language and attempts to find common ground between the local traditions and the gospel he is entrusted with. Paul believed women were firmly equal with men in membership in the church and identity in Christ, but Paul also did not want the actions of women and men in the community to place additional stumbling blocks for their neighbors encountering the saving God of the gospels.

I do think this uncomfortable passage still has questions for us to wrestle with in our own culture. In our time we are highly individualistic while in Paul’s time they thought primarily in terms of family and community and this passage makes me think about where we have neglected the common good for our own individual fulfillment. Paul’s discussion of prayer for “all” including political leaders has prompted me to think about how unprayerful my language can become for political leaders who I disagree with. Prayer permeates this passage and I have often moved directly into dialogue or even confrontation without prayer. The well-known proverb that ‘clothes make the man’ in combination with Paul’s words about women’s dress here allow an opportunity for considering what message our clothing and ornamentation are sending to our neighbors. I have seen in my lifetime a phenomenal change in societal dialogue around masculinity and femininity, and I do think that we as people of faith do need to consider how we shape women and men for both the world they encounter and their relationships with one another. I know a lot of young people are hesitant to have children for economic and other reasons and I think this can give us encouragement to wonder at a world where children are viewed as blessings and potential instead of an economic burden. None of these reflections have easy answers and they touch on core portions of our lives, but for me this chapter reminds me of how God’s salvation impacts “all” of life for me, my neighbor, my nation, and my world.

[1] In fairness, Israel/Judah was always in contact with other cultures, beliefs, and values.

[2] Ezra 6:10, see also Baruch 1:10-12 which prays for King Nebuchadrezzar.

[3] Romans 13: 1-7; Titus 3: 1-2.

[4] Galatians 3: 19-20.

[5] Hebrews 8:5; 9:15; 12:24.

[6] Both Mark 10:45 and Matthew 20:28 utilize the Greek word lutron which has a similar meaning.

[7] Romans 3:24; 8:23; 1 Corinthians 1: 30; Colossians 1:14.

[8] Those advocating for change may not feel that it is occurring rapidly, but from a historical perspective the opportunities for education, employment, equality, participation in the political process, leadership in religious organizations, and beyond for women are a tectonic shift in only a couple of generations.

1 Timothy 1 Paul Encourages Timothy in Ephesus

1 Timothy 1: 1-2

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
² To Timothy, my true child in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Letters in the ancient world begin with the identification of the sender and the recipient. Paul begins by making a strong claim to authority, “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope.” When Paul begins with the title of apostle (e.g. 1 Corinthians, Galatians) he is often writing to communities dealing with crisis and where his authority is needed. In letters like Romans or Philippians where he is not addressing significant behavioral issues or where he wants to be more diplomatic he utilizes the title of servant/slave (doulos) of the Lord. Paul also immediately leans into the title of God as our Savior. God as Savior is a common theme in the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures[1] and it is worth remembering at the time these letters are written the stories of the gospels are likely circulating but they have not been collected and distributed throughout these young communities of faith. The Scriptures for these early Christian are the Hebrew Scriptures.

Timothy is described as Paul’s ‘true child,’ an adjective that normally defines a child born in wedlock. A legitimate child as opposed to an illegitimate one (NIB XI: 790). Yet, when the letter continues ‘in the faith’ most readers would probably understand Timothy as Paul’s true and authentic delegate, that Timothy and Paul share the same faith and that Timothy is being empowered to speak with Paul’s authority. Paul’s also utilizes the term for ‘true’ (gnesios) in Philippians 2:20 to speak of Timothy’s true concern for the welfare of the Philippians. Timothy is Paul’s trusted representative before the Ephesians, one who is like a son to him.

Paul concludes the greeting with a blessing. Grace (charis) is a distinctive Pauline term, and the vast majority of this term’s occurrences happen in Paul’s letters. Here the term is combined with two additional terms: peace (eirene) and mercy (eleos). Peace brings forward the Hebrew idea of shalom and mercy (eleos) is the normal term used to translate in both Greek and English the Hebrew term hesed. These three rich terms are brought together to bless Timothy and his community. God is referred to here as Father, a common way of referring to God in both the teaching of Jesus and occurs frequently in Pauline benedictions, and Christ Jesus our Lord is placed in parallel usage of God the Father.

1 Timothy 1: 3-11

³ I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach different teachings ⁴ and not to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculations rather than the divine training that is known by faith. ⁵ But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith. ⁶ Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk, ⁷ desiring to be teachers of the law without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions.
⁸ Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately; ⁹ this means understanding that the law is laid down not for the righteous but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, ¹⁰ the sexually immoral, men who engage in illicit sex, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching ¹¹ that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I was entrusted.

In many of Paul’s letters there would be a thanksgiving for the community, but here the letter moves immediately into instructions. Paul has done this in Galatians, so this is not unheard of, and like Galatians Paul is concerned about the continuation of the community. Verse three gives us the setting where Timothy receives the letter, Ephesus where he is instructed to remain, and Paul at some earlier time departed for Macedonia. In Acts Paul sent Timothy on to Macedonia while he stayed in Ephesus (Acts 19:22) and later proceeds to Macedonia. Later he will gather with the Ephesian elders in Miletus (Acts 20:17). This letter is likely between Paul’s departure from Ephesus and his later meeting with the elders.[2]

Among the early Christians in Ephesus there are different teachings emerging. We have glimpses into the challenges that the early churches face through letters like this 1 Timothy, the book of Acts and the book of Revelation. The Book of Acts portrays Ephesus as a city where the early Christ followers meet resistance both from within the synagogue and from the followers of the Greek gods, particularly the followers of Artemis. Revelation’s letter to the Ephesians points to a community that has learned to test those claiming to be apostles and continuing to deal with groups, like the Nicolaitans, who are viewed as harmful by the author of Revelation. Yet, in Revelation these conflicts have sapped the energy of the churches in this large city. We may not be able to identify specifically the ‘myths and genealogies’ that some are teaching but to Paul they are leading people away from the central witness of Christ. The ‘myths and genealogies’ may be focusing on the wrong things in scripture, since Paul indicates that some are desiring to be teachers of the law, but they may also be a distortion coming from outside of the scriptures. Another possibility is that these teachers who are leading people into “meaningless talk” have separated teaching from action. They may be so focused on some knowledge they are attempting to wrestle from the scriptures or from the surrounding culture that they have stopped the distinctive practices that shaped the early Christians.

Paul then focuses on the law and how it is utilized. Paul’s declaration that the law is good is similar to statements he has made in Romans[3] but also indicates that the law is not for the righteous. Perhaps Paul intends something similar to the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians where “There is no law against such things.” (Galatians 5: 32) Paul likely composes the vice list in verses nine and ten while reflecting on the ten commandments. Godless and sinful refer to someone behaving blasphemously towards God while unholy and profane likely reference the commandment on keeping the Sabbath holy and profaning the name of God. Killing of father and mother and murderers bring together the commandment to honor father and mother and murder. The commandment on adultery also references both the ‘sexually immoral’ and ‘men who engage in illicit sex.’ The Greek term pornos (NRSVue sexually immoral) is the prefix for the English word pornography. As Luke Timothy Johnson notes, “In the LXX and the NT, the term is used for the sexually immoral without specific reference to homosexuality.” (Johnson, 2001, p. 170) The Greek arsenkoitos (NRSVue men who engage in illicit sex) is literally one who has sex with a man. As James D.G. Dunn notes,

Today the most controversial of these is the putting of homosexual practice (v. 10; the term almost certainly comes from Lev 18:22; 20:13) under the prohibition of adultery; the teaching is consistent with Paul’s views expressed earlier in Rom 1:26-27; 1 Cor 6: 9-10 (NIB XI:791)

This is the first of many times where 1 Timothy will come into conflict with elements of our culture, just as it was likely in conflict with elements of Paul’s time. Many Greek authors write about relationships between a man and an adolescent youth (pederasty) but there is some debate about how often these relationships were sexual. Paul viewed the existence of same-sex relationships as one of the many examples of how far humanity and creation had been corrupted by sin.

On a personal note, the larger church I am a part of has struggled with the question of homosexuality within the larger picture of sexuality since before I entered seminary in 2000. It has been a divisive issue within the larger church and within congregations I have served. I also have a non-gender binary child and my perspective on this issue has shifted throughout my life. When I entered seminary, I would have agreed that LGBTQ+ people have a place within the congregation but I would have been opposed to them having leadership roles whether as pastors, deacons or in positions of authority. Through experiences, wrestling with scripture, and faithful conversations I am now open to LGBTQ+ people who are trying to live faithfully serving in the leadership of the church but I also understand why others struggle to accept them into leadership, just as some do not accept women in leadership (see chapter 2).

Returning to the vice list: stealing is not simply stealing but “slave dealing.” I will talk about slavery more in chapter 6, but although slavery was an accepted part of the Roman empire “slave traders” have normally been viewed with disdain. Liars and perjures point to the commandment on bearing false witness. Paul concludes with ‘whatever is contrary to the sound teaching’ which returns us to the questions about different teaching which began this section. Paul is asking his hearers to measure the teaching they are receiving against the gospel he shared with them for its conformity to Christ and scripture in both teaching and living.

1 Timothy 1: 12-17

¹² I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful and appointed me to his service, ¹³ even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, ¹⁴ and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. ¹⁶ But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience as an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. ¹⁷ To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

For Paul his call to serve Jesus was transformational. He went from someone who, out of ignorance, was acting against God’s will to one whose life is completely committed to the gospel. One of the rhetorical effects of this narration of Paul’s transformation from a faithless one (apistis-without faith, NRSVue ‘unbelief’) to one overflowing with faith and love, from a man of violence to a man of peace, from a blasphemer to a servant of God is to provide hope that those lost to these different teachings can be reclaimed to God and Christ.

Paul talks about faith (Greek pisitis) more proportionally in 1 Timothy than in any other letter except Galatians and Romans.[4] Sometimes English translations obscure the occurrences of ‘faith’ as occurs in verse fifteen. Normally English translations render this verse similar to the NRSVue, “the saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance.” A literal translation of the Greek would be, “the word of faith (or faithful word) and worthy of all acceptance.” What word is faith worthy of all acceptance? That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Paul’s transformation becomes the model of what Christ is doing with those who were once estranged from God. Jesus is at work in Paul showing the patience of God that is for all who have faith in God.

The Greek word aionios (eon) occurs four times in the final two verses of this section. It occurs at the end of sixteen paired with life (zoe)-into life of the eon/age. Most translations render this ‘eternal life’ and while Paul, I believe, does believe that the age God is creating is eternal he is not thinking of an existence in heaven. For Paul, and the other New Testament authors, God’s kingdom and age is coming to earth. The next occurrence of eon is in the title for God, the king of the eon/age. Life in the eon/age is linked to the king of the eon/age who rules the eon of eons/age to age. God is also described as immortal/incorruptible, invisible and the only God. God being the one God goes back to the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4), the central confession of faith of the Jewish people. God is also frequently referred to as unseen in both the Old and New Testament and while God being unending or incorruptible is assumed but rarely spoken throughout the scriptures. It is possible that Paul is using a title for God that is frequently utilized by the communities in Ephesus.

1 Timothy 1: 18-20

¹⁸ This charge I commit to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, ¹⁹ having faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith; ²⁰ among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

The chapter closes with a personal note to Timothy intended to be overheard by the community. Paul reaffirms the closeness with Timothy using the familial language of father to child but also links Timothy’s calling to prophecies made in the church. Timothy is the chosen one, chosen both by Paul and by God. The language shifts to military language. “Fight the good fight” is literally (military) service in this good campaign/battle. Dealing with church conflict is challenging. In my own story I was an officer in the U.S. Army prior to seminary and my job as a leader in the Army may have been harder physically, but leading a congregation through conflict was more emotionally draining.

Hymenaeus and Alexander were people Paul excluded from the community of the faithful. The early communities may not have a word like excommunication for this disfellowshipping of a former member of the faith but even at this early stage there is a need for boundaries. Hymenaeus will be mentioned in 2 Timothy 2:17 along with Philetus as spreading a teaching that the resurrection has already occurred. Alexander the Coppersmith is listed in 2 Timothy 4: 14 as one who did Paul great harm[5] and both are people for Timothy to avoid. In Greek these individuals are handed over by Paul to ‘the satan.’ In Matthew’s gospel which also has this type of disfellowshipping (Matthew 18:17) the desire is that the person changes and they are returned to fellowship. The use of the definite article (the) with the title satan may refer to this role of the accuser in the Old Testament, particularly Job. Here ‘the satan’ is ultimately God’s agent. Martin Luther would sometimes refer to the devil as ‘God’s devil’ because even though the devil may be opposed to God’s designs, even his opposition to God was brought into God’s design.

One of the hardest things for a community to do is to remove a member, but it can also be one of the most important things for the life of a community. Whether it is false teaching, bullying, or other unsafe behavior the failure to address the person who has been corrected and refuses to change will undermine the community. Timothy, in our letter, likely dealt with a very challenging moment in the life of the community and may need the support of Paul, his spiritual father. He may need to be reminded of his calling that God has placed on him as he attempts to bring this community back to faithfulness and peace.

[1] E.g. Deuteronomy 32:15; Psalm 27: 1, 9; Isaiah 45:15, 21; This is also the background for this usage in Mary’s Song commonly called the Magnificat in Luke 1:47.

[2] In this reflection my assumption is that Paul wrote this letter. Many scholars believe 1 Timothy is written by a later author after Paul’s death and therefore the letter comes from a later time. I am also assuming that Acts narration of Paul’s life is generally accurate but incomplete, not capturing every detail of Paul’s ministry.

[3] Romans 7: 7, 14, 21; in Galatians Paul’s language about the law is less friendly but in Galatians 3: 21 the use of the law is in a limited manner like he utilizes here.

[4] 1 Timothy has eighteen uses of pistis in six chapters, Galatians has twenty-two in six chapters and Romans thirty-seven in sixteen chapters. (Johnson, 2001, p. 158)

[5] This may be the same Alexander mentioned in Acts 19:33.

Brief Introduction to 1 Timothy

Introduction to the Pastoral Letters: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus

1 Reply

Icon of Saint Titus and Saint Timothy. Image from Timothy and Titus, Companions of Saint Paul – The Episcopal Church

Every pastor has portions of scripture that are central and that they know well and other portions that they are less familiar with and less likely to use in their preaching and teaching. One of my motivations within these reflections has been to expand my familiarity and comfort with portions of scripture I was less familiar with. To utilize a couple verses of 2 Timothy:

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3: 16-17

Yet, there is some irony in the way 1& 2 Timothy and Titus are viewed by many modern scholars. Since the nineteenth century many scholars have questioned whether these three books were written by Paul or whether they are written after Paul’s death utilizing Paul’s reputation to give force to these letters. The letters, for many, may still be scripture but they have been relegated to a secondary, or in some cases even lower, status because they may not be viewed as ‘authentically Pauline’ and coming from a later stage in the formation of the church rather than being one of the earlier witnesses to the formation of Christianity. The New Testament professors I had in seminary handed on the consensus that Pastoral letters were not Pauline and therefore received little if any attention. Because of this the very books that claim all scripture is inspired by God and useful are among the most neglected in the New Testament.

My assumption throughout these reflections will be that 1 & 2 Timothy as well as Titus are written by Paul the Apostle. I will go into more of my reasoning below, but whether they are written by Paul or a student of Paul they remain for me, and for Christianity as a whole, a part of our scriptures. To many readers of the Bible the type of discussions that scholars have about texts can be confusing. Most readers of the bible may not spend a lot of time in 1& 2 Timothy and Titus, but they also would be wary of someone questioning the authority of these books they accept as scripture. There are some portions of these letters that modern readers find jarring, especially when talking about women in the church and the existence of slavery. Like all scripture we must wrestle with what it meant in it is specific to the time and audience it is written to and what expectations we bring to our own time. Yet, for me, I find this type of wrestling with scripture, trying to understand it on its own terms and to imagine the world it is trying to create in its original environment a fruitful and life-giving process.

For most of the history of the church the Pastoral Letters were assumed to be Pauline. The only groups that did not include these letters as a part of scripture, like the followers of Marcion[1] and perhaps Valentinius, were considered heretics and their exclusion of these books were not based on any questions of authorship. Polycarp appears to reference 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy in his Letter to the Philippians dated between 110 and 135 CE and the book is heavily utilized by early church leaders like Ireneaus, Clement, and Tertullian. The first person to challenge the Pauline authorship of the Pastoral Letters was Fredrich Schleirmacher, an influential German theologian and scholar, in 1806. Schleirmacher felt there was a Pauline style that could be measured and these letters failed to meet the criteria. Many other scholars would follow Schleirmacher developing authentic Pauline themes and vocabulary to test these letters against while others would compare the events of the letters with the narration of Paul’s ministry in Acts,[2] while others simply went along with what seemed to be an emerging scholarly consensus in the nineteenth and twentieth century.[3]

The reasoning behind my engaging 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus as Pauline letters is fairly simple. First, all three letters explicitly claim to be written by Paul (1 Timothy 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:1; Titus 1:1). Although writing a letter or document under the name of an established individual was a common practice in the ancient world as was viewed as honorific rather than dishonest, for me there would have to be some decisive reason to distrust what the letters claim to be. Secondly, each letter has its own character (1 Timothy is less personal and probably intended to be heard by a congregation) but in 2 Timothy 4 and Titus 3 there are some very personal moments and a lot of people, who the original recipients of the letter were likely aware of and who would raise questions for any reader with knowledge of Paul’s time in ministry if they were created to pass off the letters as authentic.

Christian scholars who do not view these letters as authentically Pauline will typically point to a handful of reasons: the letters do not reflect Paul’s theology, the letters utilize different language than the authentic Pauline letters, the conflicts and the type of organization/hierarchy in the church are presumed to come from a later time. I appreciate and have benefited from the works of those, like James D. G. Dunn, who write works like The Theology of Paul the Apostle and take the ‘authentic Pauline letters’ as the source to identify the elements of Paul’s theology. However, Paul is not a systematic theologian and writes letters to deal with concrete issues in communities and relationships that he knew. Paul may think theologically but his letters are also shaped strongly by the context they are written to. Paul’s language changes dramatically between letters as well: Romans may share similar language to Galatians, but 1 Corinthians employs very different terms. Paul does talk of people being led astray by ‘myths and endless genealogies’ (1 Timothy 1:6) which many scholars of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries linked with Gnosticism[4] but we simply do not know the exact issues that these communities are dealing with. The roles of bishop and deacon outlined in these letters does not necessarily indicate a late date nor the highly institutional roles these would later become. Luke Timothy Johnson also highlights that Paul did not establish the community in Ephesus and that the letters presume the existence of these roles and only give advice about the mental and moral qualities of the people who should fill these roles. (Johnson, 2001, p. 75)

There are some difficult texts in 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. We may wish for a Paul who continually lives out the vision of Galatians 3:28 where there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female. Yet, there are places, both in the Pastoral letters and in the other Pauline letters, where we look uncomfortably about what he may say about the role of women in communities, the assumptions of slavery and how slaves and masters are to relate to one another, sexuality, and several other issues. Paul is writing to his congregations almost two thousand years ago with very different assumptions, some of which Paul challenges and some of which Paul does not. Thomas Long is helpful when he states:

One could imagine many ways of relating to the emperor—pray for the emperor, not pray for the emperor, pray to the emperor, refuse to pray to the emperor, obey the emperor, resist the emperor, die for the emperor, die at the hands of the emperor—but a world without the emperor? Unimaginable. Therefore, the author of the Pastorals, given his context, will consistently offer advice about how to move the pieces on the chessboard. We sometimes lose patience with him because we expect him to throw out the chessboard and to change the game itself. (Long, 2016, p. 6)

The board we play on will look different than Paul’s, but it is fruitful to study the moves he makes based on his experience of God and the world he inhabits.

Dialogue Partners for these Reflections

Bassler, Jouette M. 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus: Abingdon New Testament Commentaries. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996). Noted as (Bassler, 1996).

The Abingdon New Testament Commentaries are written to be accessible to those with some familiarity with the bible and are short enough that most readers can follow. Jouette Bassler taught at Perkins Theological Seminary at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She comes from the perspective that the author of these letters is not Paul, but one who appreciates the pseudonymous author’s rhetorical skill and ethical and theological perspective.

Dunn, James D. G., “First and Second Letters to Timothy” and “Letter to Titus” in New Interpreter’s Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes. Volume XI, pp. 789-880. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000). Noted as (NIB XI).

The New Interpreter’s Bible is a good resource for pastors wanting a collection that includes the entire bible (including the apocrypha) and I have been impressed by the collection of scholars they assembled for this project. James Dunn is a very highly respected New Testament scholar who taught for decades at the University of Durham in England. He has written heavily on Jesus, Paul, and the early church and is associated with the New Perspective on Paul which attempted to locate Paul within the matrix of Jewish thought in the first century. Dunn also views the Pastoral Letters as written by someone after Paul. The Theology of Paul the Apostle was an influential book for me when I was particularly focused on Pauline scholarship in 2005-2010.

Johnson, Luke Timothy. The First and Second Letters to Timothy: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentaries: The Achor Yale Bible. (New Haven, Yale University Press, 2001). Noted as (Johnson, 2001).

The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries are designed to be textual commentaries with a lot of notes on the translation which I find to be helpful but are a bit clunky for a lot of readers. Luke Timothy Johnson teaches at Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He is an excellent translator and thinker who is willing to challenge commonly held views. Johnson’s commentary is written from the perspective that Paul wrote 1& 2 Timothy as well as Titus (although his commentary is only on the first two letters). His introduction to all three letters and their reception by Christians throughout history is incredibly helpful.

Long, Thomas G. 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus: Belief A Theological Commentary on the Bible. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2016) noted as (Long, 2016)

Thomas Long is a very well-know instructor of preaching who taught at Candler School of Theology, Emory University in Atlanta. The Belief Commentary series intentionally brought in theologians and non-biblical study specialists to write each volume to approach the texts from a different perspective than most traditional commentaries, an approach I’ve found to be a helpful voice. He also assumes that these letters are written by a later voice claiming to be Paul.

[1] Marcion believed that the Old Testament God was distinct from the gracious God of the New Testament and constructed a scripture that included ten letters of Paul, not including the Pastorals, and a highly modified version of Luke’s gospel. Marcion’s position was declared heretical by the church and Marcion was excommunicated by the church around 144 CE. Valentinius, a contemporary of Marcion, was a one of the early Gnostic teachers who were also viewed as heretics by the emerging church.

[2] Ironically many scholars at the same time, and some of the same scholars, who viewed the Pastoral letters as inauthentic, viewed Luke’s narration in the book of Acts as unreliable as well.

[3] For those who want more detail on the historical reception of 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus see his excellent narration in his commentary. (Johnson, 2001, pp. 20-55)

[4] Gnosticism emerged both within and outside of Christianity in the Greco-Roman world and the term is broad covering a wide range of belief systems. Within Christianity we know of teachers like Valentinius in the mid-second century which does have a very elaborate ‘genealogy’.

Sign of the Rose

Searchings: Sacred and Secular