Introduction to the Pastoral Letters: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus
Brief Introduction to 1 Timothy
1 Timothy 1 Paul Encourages Timothy in Ephesus
1 Timothy 2 Prayers for All and the Actions of Men and Women
1 Timothy 3 Expectations of Leaders in the Community and the Mystery of Faith
1 Timothy 4 Encouraging Timothy and Correcting False Teachings
1 Timothy 5 Helping Timothy Manage the Elders and Widows in Ephesus
1 Timothy 6 Slavery, Wealth, False Teaching and a Final Encouragement
The process of reading, reflecting and writing on scripture has been formative to my faith and growth over the past fourteen years. I’m always amazed at the discoveries in each book I’ve studied and the way previously underutilized texts have shared their world and wisdom with me. Attempting to translate scripture is more than the translation of the Greek or Hebrew into English, but it also involves translating the texts from a very different world and time to our modern ears. 1 Timothy is an excellent example of this. Sexuality, the role of women in the church and society, the expectations of the household, and the existence of slavery are just a couple of the realities that require translation between the first century and the twenty-first century. Yet I find this letter’s attempts to help Timothy address the conflicts over doctrine and practice in communities of faith in Ephesus providing a window into the life of the early church and some practical guidance for those attempting to manage the continuing reality of church conflict two millennia later.
1 Timothy gives us a window on Paul attempting to help the congregation in Ephesus receive the gospel of God’s salvation while navigating the expectations of the Roman empire and the Hellenistic world. He has to balance the church (ekklesia) with the household (oikos) especially since most churches likely met in the households of members. These early Christ followers come from very different economic backgrounds and likely have varying familiarity with the stories of Jesus and the Scriptures of the church (the Old Testament at this time). Timothy is given the challenging task of being Paul’s young emissary to these Ephesian churches where he has to provide a clear witness and exemplary example to the elders, young men, widows, young women, slaves, and masters among these households and churches. Church leadership both then and now can seem a daunting and impossible task at the same time it is viewed as a noble one.
This short letter provides numerous opportunities for reflection on the difference between the world of the early Christians and our own. For those willing to approach this text with curiosity it should provide an opportunity to refine what one believes and why one believes it. I am like many pastors who have rarely utilized the Pastoral Letters in my preaching and teaching, and I found this close examination of this letter very helpful. One of the things it challenged me to rethink was praying for those in leadership in government even when I may disagree with their beliefs or policies. The conviction that God desires to save all and the Christ was given as a ransom for all allows Paul to understand that kings, leaders, and even Caesar were in need of prayers, supplications, and thanksgivings.
Bolded text has notes on translation below.
1 Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be blasphemed. 2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful to them on the ground that they are brothers and sisters; rather, they must serve them all the more, since those who benefit by their service are believers and beloved.
The Ephesus that Paul writes to in 1 Timothy is a very different world than our modern minds are used to. The views on sexuality, the place of women in worship, expectations of leaders, expectations of families in relation to their parents, and now slavery are all challenging topics that should invite discussion. It is also important to acknowledge that these texts have been used to impose the worldview of the ancient world or to resist the movements for change for women, enslaved people, and other groups throughout history. I do believe that as 2 Timothy states:
All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness 2 Timothy 3:16
Engaging in the places where scripture is challenging should allow us to refine our values and why we hold them so that we may be trained to embody righteousness in our own time.
Slavery in the ancient world, particularly in the Roman empire of Paul’s time, was a part of the way that the world was ordered. Paul did not defend slavery, but he also did not condemn it. In Philemon Paul speaks on behalf of the runaway slave Onesimus and encourages him to be received back as “more than a slave, a beloved brother” (16) but acknowledges Philemon’s role as Onesimus’s master and his ability to make decisions about his slave’s future. Ephesians 6:5-8 and Colossians 3:22-24 include master/slave relations as a part of the household codes with expectations for both masters and slaves, but not challenging the reality of slavery in the Roman world. Paul is not alone in this. 1 Peter 2: 18-25, the Didache 4:10, and several other early Christian documents operate with the understanding that slavery was a part of the ordering of the Roman world. Thomas Long makes a helpful analogy when he states:
The Pastor could no more envision a society this side of heaven in which there was no slavery than those of us raised in the 1950s and 1960s could imagine the digital world we now inhabit. (Long, 2016, p. 166)
Slavery in Rome was not based on any racial dynamic. Many slaves were captured in the wars the Roman empire fought which brought slaves from Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Many scholars once believed that most slavery in the Roman world was for a fixed number of years and that it allowed opportunities for advancement, but that is now highly debated. Some slaves could operate with immense power on behalf of their master, and that is the world envisioned in many of Jesus’s parables, but slavery was a massive portion of the economy in Roman society.
Before I comment directly on the text, I want to briefly talk about slavery as it is understood in the history of the United States. The reality of chattel slavery in the United States was very different from the ancient world. Instead of being predominantly urban it was predominantly rural. It underwrote the economy in the southern United States, particularly the farming of cotton. One dynamic was that the slaves in the United States, brought forcibly from Africa, was that they were viewed as less human than their white masters. Willie James Jennings in his book The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race discusses a deformed Christian imagination which allowed generations of missionaries, priests, bishops, as well as everyday Christians to be unable to see the common humanity of the people indigenous to Africa, Asia and the New World. Throughout the era of colonization, the colonizers practiced an inverted hospitality where they assumed that the land, the resources, and even the people were there in service to them. Yet, the same scripture read by the colonizers would eventually be read in a new light by abolitionist, slaves, and the colonized. One critical difference for Paul is that both the slaves and the masters were brothers and sisters sharing both a common humanity and a common calling in Christ.
Paul only addresses the slaves and not the masters in 1 Timothy, and it is plausible that once again Paul is addressing a problem that has emerged as both slaves and masters hear the language of being brothers and sisters in Christ while living as master/slave in the household. Those under the yoke of slavery are commanded to regard their masters as worthy of honor (tima, the same term in the previous chapter for true widows and worthy elders are entitled to). Many of the slaves in the community may not have served believing masters and actions of disrespect towards their masters may be bringing suspicion to the communities in the eyes of the surrounding community. For those whose masters were believers they may be asserting their equality in the household or refusing to serve. There is no evidence in Paul’s letters of rebellion, but the view of the masters was likely diminished in the eyes of their slaves. As Luke Timothy Johnson states:
In the ancient world, such attitudinal derogation was almost worse than open rebellion, for it more effectively subverted the social order. (Johnson, 2001, p. 288)
Yet, Paul’s language is not as one sided as the English renders it. The word translated “serve them” (euergesia) is a word of benefaction, something normally reserved for those in power. Paul’s language indicates that the slave serving the master is done from a position of power. Paul will call the believing masters believers and beloved suggesting that the slave and master share a bond that remains distinctive to their shared commitment to Jesus. I’m not willing to go quite as far as Luke Timothy Johnson to state that Paul’s language here may be more liberating than his diplomacy with Philemon (Johnson, 2001, p. 290) but Paul throughout his letters has attempted to find a way to manage the realities of being brothers and sisters in the church (ekklesia) with the realities of men and women, slave and master, rich and poor in the Roman household (oikos). Paul, like Christians of all times, live in the hope of the new creation but must continue to function in the environment and expectations of their time.
Teach and urge these duties. 3 Whoever teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that is in accordance with godliness 4 is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about words. From these come envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, 5 and wrangling among those who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it, 8 but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. 16 It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
17 As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches but rather on God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, 19 thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.
Paul encourages Timothy to continue to teach and urge the congregation to maintain their responsibilities in the church and the home. Those teaching otherwise (heterodidaskalia– literally another or other teaching) are in contrast with the healthy (hugianousin where our modern word hygiene comes from) words received from Jesus and the teaching in accordance with godliness (eusebia one of Paul’s favorite words throughout this letter, as mentioned before it has elements of religion, piety, godliness and it involves the entire practice of faith). In contrast to the healthy words of Jesus are the sick (nouson NRSVue morbid) words which crave controversy and are deluded[1] disputing about words. From these other teachings, which have wandered away from the healthy words received from Jesus, spring a list of vices which end with the idea of eusebia (religion/piety) being utilized for gain.
The idea of religion/piety being utilized for personal gain is a theme that emerges throughout history. Jesus criticized religious leaders in his time who:
As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” Mark 12: 38-40
Paul makes it clear that elders who teach well are worthy of honor (tima) which includes financial compensation, but it is plausible that some leaders have emerged who have utilized their position in the community to benefit their honor and financial status. It is also highly likely that the financial troubles of some of the widows in the community may be related to these teachers who in Paul’s view have misled these women.
It is also important to acknowledge that reading 1 Timothy, along with the other New Testament letters, undermines the sociological assumption that I was taught in seminary: that the early Christians all came from among the poor. Summarizing several themes from the letter Luke Timothy Johnson points out:
We have already seen that some believers were slave owners (6:1-2). Some women were able at worship to make a display of their extravagant clothing, hairdos, and jewelry (2:9). Some families were in the position to support the poor widows of their households (5:4, 8, 16). I have already suggested that the presence of such visible wealth presented temptations to leaders. …Paul takes pain to ensure that supervisors and helpers not be lovers of money (3:3) or do anything for a profit (3:8). (Johnson, 2001, pp. 302-303)
Paul points to a godliness (eusebia) combined with contentment (autarkeia) in contrast with the use of godliness for gain. Autarkeia is an important virtue for Stoics and Cynics, but Paul is not opposed to using an idea from the surrounding culture to communicate how the life of faith is practiced. Paul uses the same term in Philippians 4:11, ”Not that I am referring to being in need, for I have learned to be content (autarkeia) with whatever I have.” In contrast those who are not content and desire to be rich are faced with many destructive temptations.
The most famous verse in 1 Timothy is verse ten, and the NRSVue correctly identifies that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Most earlier translations added the exclusive “the” which is not present in the Greek. The exclusive translations seem to indicate in this proverb that the love of money is the only root of evil, but the Greek indicates that this desire is one among the many roots. Yet, it is a critical root and Paul will return one additional time to how followers of Jesus with wealth are to act to prevent them from wandering away from the faith and being pierced by many pains.
Paul turns again to Timothy encouraging him to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness instead of wealth. Fight the good fight here is the language of sports, unlike 1:18 where the Greek is the language of military conflict, where Timothy is encourage to strive towards the life of the new age (NRSVue eternal life) which Timothy has confessed. This is one of only three times where Pilate is given the title Pontius in the bible[2] and Jesus’s confession before Pilate likely refers to a narrative similar to the passion narrative of either the synoptic gospels or the gospel of John. This may also indicate an early confession emerging among the church where Pilate’s title is linked to his person as occurs in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds. Paul and Timothy await the manifestation of Jesus which will be brought about in God’s time (kairos).[3] The language of verse fifteen and sixteen may have been a confession of faith utilized in the Ephesian communities. The statement that no one has ever seen God likely originates in God’s words to Moses in Exodus 33:20 and echoes in the conclusion of the prologue of John’s gospel:” No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” (John 1:18)
Paul returns to how those with wealth are to live as believers. One of the dangers throughout the bible related to wealth is that the wealthy one believes they are self-reliant and they fail to acknowledge the gifts they have received from God. The love of money may be a root of all kinds of evil, but Paul does not view wealth as inherently evil. If they have been given wealth, they are to use that wealth to be generous, do good, and share. Paul echoes the language of the gospels of storing up treasures (Matthew 6: 19-20; 19:21; Luke 12:21, 33-34). Engaging wealth as a gift to be generous with rather than something to be loved and sought after enables the faithful one to take hold of the life that really is life.
20 Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the profane chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge; 21 by professing it some have missed the mark as regards the faith.
Grace be with you.
Paul closes with a final reminder to Timothy to protect the gospel he learned from Paul in the face of competing messages. This other teaching is falsely named (Greek pseudonumoo- pseudonym) knowledge. Other in Ephesus, and likely elsewhere, have focused on the wrong thing and missed the mark. Timothy is to hold fast and guard the precious gift of faith he has received and Paul closes the letter wishing for grace to rest upon his young delegate trying restore order and unity in faith to this community which has been fractured by bad teaching and harmful practices.
[1] Jouette Bassler notes that deluded is a better translation of tetyphotai than the NRSVue’s conceited. (Bassler, 1996, p. 109)
[2] See also Luke 3:1, Acts 4:27.
[3] Kairos time as opposed to chronos (chronological) time is appointed time or special time. Within the world of the New Testament is was time appointed by God for a specific purpose.
Highlighted words have notes on translation below.
1 Do not speak harshly to an older man, but speak to him as to a father, to younger men as brothers, 2 to older women as mothers, to younger women as sisters—with absolute purity.
3 Honor widows who are really widows. 4 If a widow has children or grandchildren, they should first learn their religious duty to their own family and make some repayment to their parents, for this is pleasing in God’s sight. 5 The real widow, left alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, 6 but the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. 7 Give these commands as well, so that they may be above reproach. 8 And whoever does not provide for relatives, and especially for family members, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
9 Let a widow be put on the list if she is not less than sixty years old and has been married only once; 10 she must be well attested for her good works, as one who has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the saints’ feet, helped the afflicted, and devoted herself to doing good in every way. 11 But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when their sensual desires alienate them from Christ, they want to marry, 12 and so they incur condemnation for having violated their first pledge. 13 Besides that, they learn to be idle, gadding about from house to house, and they are not merely idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not say. 14 So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, and manage their households, so as to give the adversary no occasion to revile us. 15 For some have already turned away to follow Satan. 16 If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her assist them; let the church not be burdened, so that it can assist those who are real widows.
17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching, 18 for the scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain” and “The laborer deserves to be paid.” 19 Never accept any accusation against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest also may stand in fear. 21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels, I warn you to keep these instructions without prejudice, doing nothing on the basis of partiality. 22 Do not ordain anyone hastily, and do not participate in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.
23 No longer drink only water, but take a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.
24 The sins of some people are conspicuous and precede them to judgment, while the sins of others follow them there. 25 So also good works are conspicuous, and even when they are not, they cannot remain hidden.
Throughout this chapter the duties of the household (Greek oikos) and the duties of the church (Greek ekklesia) are brought together to address two specific groups in the church in Ephesus. The bulk of the discussion is focused on widows (Greek chera) but is bracketed by the discussion of relating to and disciplining elders/older men (Greek presbyteros). Although the two initial verses open with four groups: older men/elders, younger men, older women, and younger women; younger men do not enter into the discussion of the chapter but the proper role of older and younger women does heavily enter the discussion of the obligation of the household and the church in relation to widows.
Modern readers who come from a society with much greater opportunities for women may feel that Paul is attempting to unfairly suppress the role of women throughout 1 Timothy. Addressing issues related to women occupy a large portion of the letter, and as Luke Timothy Johnson highlights:
Certainly, there is some sort of unrest among the women in the Ephesian church. They are wearing expensive clothing and extravagant hairdos in the assembly (2: 9-10) and are asserting the right to teach there (2: 11-15). In this chapter, we see some of them charged with self-indulgence (5:6) and with being gossipers as they move from house to house, saying things they should not (5:13). Neither is there any doubt that Paul proposes that women generally should be in subordination (2:11) and that younger women should remain in domestic roles (2:15; 5:14). (Johnson, 2001, p. 271)
We know that one of the false teachings that Paul is confronting in this letter is teachers forbidding marriage (4:3) which may be creating a group of women who are reliant on the church, and perhaps these false teachers for support. The word translated widow (chera) refers at its most fundamental level to a woman living without a husband. The most common meaning is a woman whose husband has died, but it is not the only meaning. (Bassler, 1996, p. 93) One educated guess at the situation Paul is addressing is that the false teachers have created a group of younger women, claiming the title of widows, who are creating a financial strain on the church and without having a household to manage are moving from home to home in the community creating issues. More on this possibility below, but prior to dealing with this potential group of women Paul deals with the responsibilities of every member of the community of faith (ekklesia) for their household.
Honoring widows who are truly widows is not merely paying respect. Underlying this discussion is the commandment to ‘honor one’s father and mother.” The expectation of the commandment on honoring parents is that children would support and care for their parents in their old age. Children and grandchildren of a widow cannot abandon the responsibilities of the household by expecting the church to care for their mothers/grandmothers who cannot care for themselves. As mentioned in chapter two, there are very few opportunities for women in the ancient world to support themselves and widows without a family to support them are one of the primary vulnerable populations, along with orphans and foreigners, highlighted throughout the scriptures. Children and grandchildren in scriptures, as well as the expectation of the ancient world, has a duty to care for their parents. Paul in verse four brings together the word for household (oikos) and the word for religion/piety/religious responsibility (eusebias) to link the expectation both within the church and the family that children/grandchildren/relatives care for their vulnerable women family members. Failure to provide for a family members is a denial of the faith and they are unfaithful (apistia-literally without faith) and bad/evil (kakos). Before the community of faith assumes the responsibility of caring for the widows the expectation is that the household would care for its own allowing the church to care for the widows who have no one to rely upon except God and God’s people.
It is plausible that there were widows who were cared for by their families and still expected additional support from the church and these may have been some of the women dressing in fine clothing and jewelry that Paul criticized in chapter two. Paul attempts to limit the widows cared for by the church by wanting them to be sixty years old or older, an age beyond the expectation to remarry. To be the wife of one man has a similar range of interpretive options highlighted in the discussion of overseers and deacons in chapter two. To be honored and financially compensated there also is the expectation of a life well lived according to the values of the culture: doing good deeds, raising children, showing hospitality, washing feet, and helping the afflicted. I disagree with James D. G. Dunn’s evaluation that washing feet showed the lower status of widows and wives. (NIB XI: 819) Instead, foot washing was a mark of communal service expected of disciples (John 13) and was likely a practice of the early churches. For these widows, who were given not only respect but also financial support by the congregation, they were expected to live a life that modeled the expectations of both the household in the ancient world (oikos) and the church (ekklesia).
The instructions given for younger widows are likely to come from the struggles Timothy is attempting to deal with in Ephesus. I do find it plausible that some of the teachers who had been forbidding marriage had created a group of women who were straining the economic resources of the church and perhaps creating dissension as they moved among households without the responsibilities of their own household to manage. When we bring our modern expectations of relationships into this passage, we misunderstand the world Paul is addressing. Relationships in the ancient world were primarily an economic arrangement with romantic implications instead of romantic relationships with economic implications. Most marriages in the ancient world were arranged marriages. We may view things very differently in our time, but being married, bearing children, and managing a household were the inherited expectations of women. This is why being a widow or being barren is such an existential threat in the ancient world for women. The term utilized for managing a household (oikodespot– house ‘despot’/lord) is used frequently in Matthew’s gospel in Jesus’ parables to describe the master of a household.[1] Although women and men exercised different roles in the household, women had significant responsibilities in managing a household in the ancient world often freeing men to participate in a more public way in the society. Women without this role in the ancient world, especially if they were separated from their parental home, would be economically vulnerable and likely relied both on the church and individual households.
I want to avoid speculating too much on the young ‘widows’ and the elders and any real or perceived sexual impropriety occurring in these Ephesian congregations, but it is worth noting that Paul three times calls for Timothy to be pure (4:12; 5:2, 22) and in this chapter he is to be pure with ‘younger women’ and ‘not participate in the sins of others.’ These young ‘widows’ who may have pledged themselves to Christ likely find themselves envying the security and relationships of other women in the community. These young ‘widows’ are accused by Paul of spreading gossip[2] and being busybodies who are creating problems for the community and possibly in households as well. Their actions have given external adversaries reasons to view the community with suspicion and have perhaps pulled some away from the faith through following these false teachers or by discrediting the congregation by its inability to manage these women.
The chapter begins by telling Timothy not to speak harshly/sharply rebuke[3] an elder/older man (Greek presbyter). Now in verse seventeen the discussion returns to elders (presbyters) and the contrast between an elder who ‘rules well’ and one in need of correction before God and the community. A good elder is worthy of double honor (tima the same term used for ‘real widows’ being honored) and it is possible that this indicates a worthy elder is to be compensated twice what a widow is, but although the Paul’s quotations indicate that elders are paid, the double amount may be too literal of a reading. The elders who toil in preaching (literally the word) and teaching are highlighted here. Paul quotes Deuteronomy 25:4 and a saying of Jesus that will be included in Matthew 10:10 and Luke 10:7. Although the gospels were probably not written[4] the early communities did likely have a collection of stories and sayings of Jesus that they shared and echo in the Pauline and other early letters. The requirement of multiple witnesses to accept an accusation against an elder follows the expectations of Deuteronomy 19: 15 which requires multiple witness to convict any person. Yet those who are accused and continue in their sin are to be brought before God, Christ, and the elect angels[5] presumably within the assembled congregation. Timothy is charged not to quickly lay hands on a person, presumably referring to the laying on of hands by the elders in which Timothy was appointed to his leadership role in the church[6], to not share in the sins of others, and to remain pure. Timothy is cautioned not to quickly grant authority before the individual has demonstrated they are worthy of the trust bestowed on them.
The note to no longer drink only water can be read in two ways. A water only regimen in the ancient world may not reflect a dietary choice but may be a statement of an ascetic lifestyle and may be reflecting some of the actions of the false teachers. (Long, 2016, p. 158) It is possible that Timothy, in attempting to bring back some of these false teachers and their followers, is adopting some of their practices to attempt to reach these members and Paul is counseling him not to do so. Yet the mention of the stomach and frequent ailments presents another possibility. Water in the ancient world was a frequent source of bacteria and infections. There was no water purification and ancient sanitary practices, especially in a large city, could easily impact water quality. Wine was often viewed as a safer and more sanitary option than water. With Timothy’s responsibilities it is possible to imagine him in the way James D.G. Dunn does:
But in context we can perhaps imagine an unduly serious young man whose heavy responsibilities caused him considerable stress, manifested in stomach cramps and other ailments. (NIB XI: 823)
Perhaps Paul is merely giving some guidance for a young leader who struggles to care for himself as he ministers to these challenging communities in Ephesus.
Throughout the letter Paul has encouraged good works, and like the letter of James there is the expectation of a way of life that is reflective of the faith. Some of the actions of the church will conform to the expectations of society and the household while others will in positive ways be a light among the community. Sometimes their good work is seen immediately, other times it becomes apparent gradually among the community. Timothy has been given a heavy task in correcting the elders and women in the community and restoring them to a life that is faithful both to the household and to the community of faith. Timothy is called to help these early followers of Christ balance their religious responsibilities (eusebias) with their household responsibilities (oikos).
[1] Matthew 10:25; 13: 52; 20:1.
[2] The Greek phylaros refers to gossip of “a serious and slanderous sort.” (Johnson, 2001, p. 267)
[3] The Greek epiplessein is a harsh word which is a sharp rebuke and even can connote physical striking. (Johnson, 2001, p. 260)
[4] Assuming an early date for 1 Timothy when Paul is the author. Some scholars place 1 Timothy as a later document which may post-date Matthew and Luke.
[5] The Greek angelos can mean angels or messengers. Most translations assume a group of elect angels here, but the reading of human messenger is possible.
[6] The NRSVue’s translation of this as ‘ordain’ assumes a more complete understanding of ministry than likely existed in the early church. The laying on of hands was a sign of granting authority but it does not necessarily grant an existing title with responsibilities like it does as church authority becomes more formal.
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will renounce the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. 3 They forbid marriage and abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.
6 If you put these instructions before the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound teaching that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with profane and foolish tales. Train yourself in godliness, 8 for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and suffer reproach, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhorting, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. 15 Put these things into practice, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.
The apostle Paul’s ministry involved him seeding and supporting churches throughout modern day Turkey, Greece, and beyond. These churches, likely meeting in the homes of individual members, received some formation during the duration of Paul’s presence with them but as Paul’s attention is spread across a larger number of cities and churches the need for instruction becomes apparent. Thankfully for later generations, Paul did a lot of this instruction and correction through letters attempting to continue to guide and shape this young but rapidly growing and evolving church. Paul now writes to Timothy as he attempts to counter the false teachings and practices which are dividing the church in Ephesus both to encourage his younger counterpart and to support his work in correcting these beliefs which are infiltrating the life of the community.
The early Christian community did expect God to speak through the Spirit in prophecy, proclamation, and in acts of healing and power. In Corinth Paul had to counsel that congregation on how to utilize these gifts of the Spirit, but the assumption throughout Paul’s letter is that the Spirit is active and communicating with this young community of faith. Now Paul’s instructions are framed within the statement of the Spirit, presumably through prophecy, that in later times some will renounce (Greek apostesontai, where we get the English word apostate) the faith and that behind these deviant teaching are deceitful spirits and demons. Modern readers may be uncomfortable that Paul is ‘demonizing’ these false teachers, but for Paul this is a matter of critical importance to the life of the church and the individuals. The actions of these teachers is causing strife within the church, leading some down paths which are contrary to the faith, and likely leading others to walk away from these communities in conflict. Paul feels that the gospel is at stake and this is a matter of life and death. The hypocrisy of liars (Greek hupokrisei pseudologon, where our word hypocrisy comes from and ‘false words’) has cauterized the consciences of these teachers. As Jouette M. Bassler can state about the Greek word behind cauterized/seared with a hot iron:
Burning with a hot iron (Gk. Kausteriazein) was done to numb or cauterize a wound, to punish, or to identify ownership (NEB, cf 2 Tim 2:26). Any of these meanings could apply here; the essential point is one of contrast between those whose consciences are good (1:5, 19) or pure (3:9; 2 Tim 1:3) and those whose consciences are rejected. (Bassler, 1996, p. 80)
The two false teachings and practices highlighted in the letter are forbidding marriage and abstaining from certain foods. The forbidding of marriage may have led to some of the instructions on widows in chapter five, but it also fundamentally undermines the social structure of the ancient world. In the ancient world there were few opportunities for women to be self-supporting (outside of prostitution or being a courtesan among the upper class). It is possible that these teachers are anticipating the advent of Christ’s kingdom in a short period of time and view the current time as unworthy of investing in, but Paul may view their actions as turning away from God’s intent for relationships in creation. The actions of these teachers may also be causing these young churches to be viewed with suspicion by their neighbors and placing a stumbling block before those who need to hear the gospel. Paul wrestled with controversies around eating throughout his ministry, both within a Jewish context attempting to maintain the distinctive eating practices of the Jewish people and imposing dietary and other expectation on early Christians but also within the Greco-Roman world where meat was often associated with communal sacrifices to other gods. Paul explicitly wraps both marriage and eating of food under the things God created for humanity to be received with thanksgiving (Greek euchapistias, the word where our English eucharist comes from). These eucharistic gifts are made holy/sanctified (Greek hagiazetai) by God’s word and prayer. This language reminds me of Luther’s discussion of the sacraments where he connects the receiving of the physical element (water, bread, wine) with the Word and command of God.
Paul expects Timothy to place the contents of the letters before the Ephesian congregations, and in doing so Timothy is a good servant (literally deacon) of Christ Jesus. As mentioned in the previous chapter, the title of deacon and the act of serving are used interchangeably in the early church and the roles are not rigidly defined. Timothy can be a representative of Paul charged with overseeing the congregations in Ephesus, and yet always remains a servant. Timothy has received faithful teaching in contrast to the false words of the troublesome teachers operating in Ephesus. Yet, even Timothy is charged to stay away from profane teaching and ‘foolish tales’ (literally old women myths). I can understand the NRSVue’s discomfort, feeling that ‘old wives tales’ is a translation pejorative to women, but through most of history there have been ‘old wives’ tales’ that were a place where stories, beliefs, and practices, some which may have contradicted the teaching of the church and other authorities, were handed down. Critical to 1 Timothy is the Greek eusebias which means piety, religion, or as the NRSVue renders it godliness. I prefer religion here although it is also an imperfect translation since many think of this either in terms of religious belief or practice within a church. In modern American thought godliness is next to cleanliness and this term’s connection with religious practice has been lost. Piety is an important idea in the Greco-Roman world, but it’s reception in English is often limited to actions that happen in the context of worship and prayer rather than the more wholistic idea the eusebias points to. Eusebias for Paul is something that’s value far exceeds physical training, which Paul uses in several metaphors in his letters, but this term for Paul seems to encompass faith and practice, including but not limited to worship and prayer. Just as the athlete endures physical toil and suffering, so the person training in religion/godliness will endure toil and suffering from the surrounding world as it resists these practices and beliefs as well as the demonic/false teachings of those causing divisions among the community of faith. As James D. G. Dunn articulates:
The writer makes clear that such growth and development depend on training and the discipline involved (vv. 7-8); they involve hard work and sweat-inducing exertion (v. 15). Here again a choice once made has to be repeatedly reaffirmed and lived out. (NIB XI: 816)
The saying is sure (the Greek is literally faith(ful) the word pistis ho logos) and worthy of all acceptance appears for the second time highlighting the statement of faith that the faithful suffer and toil over. Previously in 1 Timothy 1: 15 the faithful saying was that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Now, their hope is in the living God who is the Savior of all people. It is a common biblical belief that the God of the bible (as well as of Israel and the people of God) is a living and active God who is actively engaged in the world. Savior, as mentioned in the first chapter, is a common Old Testament title for God and was likely utilized in the communities in Ephesus. That God is the Savior of all people may point to the idea of a universal salvation or it may be intended to expand the horizon of God’s salvation beyond Israel. The idea of God saving all being indicative of a universalistic hope is congruent with the follow on phrase which declares especially those who believe. Some readers view this phrase as correcting the previous one, but I read this as highlighting those who believe within the larger set of those who God intends to save. Although the method of argumentation is different, since the question is likely different in Ephesus, it has a similar logic to Paul’s rationale for God utilizing the faithlessness of Israel to include the Gentiles and then the grafting of the Gentiles onto the holy tree to point to God regrafting on the branches of Israel that have fallen off so that along with the Gentiles all Israel will be saved (Romans 11).
The instructions to Timothy starting in verse eleven encourage him to not only command and teach but set an example in speech and conduct. Although authenticity is a word of our time, the expectation of congruity between one’s proclamation and one’s actions was very important in rhetorical expectations of the Greco-Roman world. As Luke Timothy Johnson states:
We are reminded of how seriously ancient philosophers regarded the responsibility of teachers to live in accord with what they professed…Since philosophy in the Hellenistic period was considered to be essentially a matter of integrity of life, and since virtue was thought to be learned first and best by the imitation of living models, the teacher has no greater duty than to live in a manner consonant with the principles he enunciated. (Johnson, 2001, p. 255)
The speech, conduct, love, faith and purity which Timothy exhibits will be as crucial in his work to bring healing and wholeness to the community as the commands and teaching he does. Timothy may be young among the elders of the Ephesian church, but his example should demonstrate his worth along with the calling he has received through prophecy[1] and laying on of hands. Paul and the council of elders (presbyteriou where the term Presbyter comes from and the Presbyterian church gets its name). It is not clear whether the prophecy came at the moment of the laying on of hands by the council of elders or before, and whether this council of elders was in Jerusalem, in Ephesus, or in some other place in the Pauline mission area, but Timothy has been set aside for his ministry representing Paul, but more essentially representing Christ. Timothy is called to live a public life which bears witness to the teaching entrusted to him in word and in action which forms a powerful example for his hearers.
The formation of the overseers and deacons in the previous chapters and the expectations of Timothy in our current chapter point to the public life of those set aside for roles of leadership in the church. The life of a leader in the church expects that their faith and practice will be an example of the faith and practices they are attempting to cultivate in their communities. Yet, we live in a time where postmodernity and other forces have made talking about standards both for the church and its leaders difficult. Luke Timothy Johnson continues his statement from earlier stating:
The widespread unwillingness in contemporary Western culture to provide direct and unambiguous moral instruction or to assume responsibility for acting in a manner that can be exemplary for others would have been unintelligible in antiquity. (Johnson, 2001, p. 255)
The damage done both to the community’s reputation and the trust within the community when leaders and members do not act in a way that reflects the faith they proclaim is profound. The church has always had divisions, but only a leader who embodies the faith for the community can begin to rebuild trust and authentically proclaim the gospel. Timothy, and faith leaders who follow him into broken communities, brings light into the darkness of division, clarity into the confusion and clashes over practices and beliefs, and healing so that the gospel can be heard both in the church and in the surrounding world. Failure to attend to a life that embodies the gospel places unnecessary stumbling blocks before the entirety of the world that the living God of the gospel desires to save.
[1] Paul also mentioned the prophecy over Timothy in 1:18.
1 Timothy is the first of a collection of letters called the Pastoral letters, and although these three letters are often treated together, each letter has its own character and reason for being written. 1 Timothy is addressed to Timothy, but it is likely intended to be read to the community that Timothy is working with rather than being a more personal letter like 2 Timothy. I am working through this reflection from the perspective that 1 Timothy is an authentic letter from Paul (see discussion in the Introduction to the Pastoral Letters) writing to Timothy at Ephesus.
Ephesus, on the western edge of modern-day Turkey, as Luke Timothy Johnson describes it,
Ephesus was “the first and greatest metropolis of Asia,” …Its population during the early empire was probably between 100,000 and 150,000, making it rank only below Rome and Alexandria in size as an urban center. (Johnson, 2001, p. 142)
Being one of the largest cities in the Roman empire, it is a place where there are already Christian disciples present before Paul’s arrival according to the book of Acts (Acts 19: 1-7). Yet, these Christian disciples are missing a critical component of the understanding of baptism. One of the reasons some readers feel this letter is not from Paul but from a later writer is that it does not precisely line up with the narration of the book of Acts where Paul sends Timothy to Macedonia, while he stays in Ephesus (Acts 19:22), but it is plausible that after Paul goes to Macedonia that he sends Timothy as his representative to address issues continuing to emerge among the communities of faithful in Ephesus.
One of the things that is clear from the letter is that the community of the faithful in Ephesus that Timothy is attempting to guide and correct is dealing with conflicts over beliefs and behaviors. There are connections between this letter and 1 Corinthians, but also between content in Ephesians. As we approach this letter to Timothy and the churches in Ephesus, it is worth remembering that Paul is writing to a community in trouble. Paul’s intention here is to correct issues that are emerging and threatening the future of these communities of faith and to strengthen Timothy’s presence among them. In Thomas Long’s memorable image, “In the Pastoral Epistles, though we see the church on the mechanic’s lift in the garage, and we are given guidance form performing an ecclesial engine overhaul.” (Long, 2016, p. 1) Yet, the work of performing an “ecclesial engine overhaul” is messy work.
In 1 Timothy there will be solutions that Paul commands that may be unpopular to many people today. Paul leans into traditional gender roles, traditional roles in societal hierarchy, and we see within these churches one of the early mentions of deacons and bishops. Paul is not a systematic theologian in this letter presenting a solution for all times and places, he is rolling up his sleeves to get his hands dirty with the overhaul needed in this community at this time. Yet, it is always dangerous to attempt to read modern values onto ancient people. There are several difficult passages to work through in this short letter, but I believe an honest conversation with these texts is fruitful even if it can be difficult.
Among many modern readers 1 Timothy has received skeptical and critical readings, but what I will be attempting is a charitable and generous reading. Ellen Davis, a writer I’ve learned a great deal from, describes a charitable reading in this way:
The difficult text is worthy of charity from its interpreters. Interpretive charity does not mean pity but rather something more like generosity and patience toward the text…Charitable reading requires considerable effort; it is easier to dispense with the difficult text. Those who regard a text as religiously authoritative are willing to sustain that effort, because they perceive it in some sense as a gift from God. (Davis, 2003, p. 178)
One of the perspectives I adopted when I was working through Deuteronomy was to wonder what type of world or community it was attempting to imagine. I look forward to the process of trying to imagine the community of faith that Paul and Timothy desire at the completion of this ecclesial engine overhaul.
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.
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’.
