BibleProject New Testament Series - Lesson 21

BP150-21 - 1 Timothy

Paul's first letter to Timothy. Paul spent many years traveling about and starting new churches, and he developed a large team of coworkers in this mission. Timothy was one of these. Paul was once in the city of Lystra, and he met Timothy's faithful mother and grandmother, and he was impressed by Timothy's passion and devotion to Jesus. And so Paul mentored him for many years and eventually started sending him on missions to different churches. And so when Paul got word about a group of leaders who infiltrated the influential church in Ephesus, they were spreading incorrect views about Jesus and what it means to follow him. He sent Timothy to confront these leaders and restore order to this church. So after Timothy arrived there, Paul sent this letter to follow up and instruct him on how to fulfill this mission. The letter has a really cool design. There's an opening and closing commission to Timothy to go confront these leaders and their bad theology. And then these surround two large central sections that are full of really practical instructions about the problems that Timothy faced in the Ephesians Church. And then finally, all of these sections are linked together or concluded by a series of three poems that each exalt the risen Jesus as the king of the world. Let's dive in and you'll see how it works. Paul opens by recalling how he sent Timothy to Ephesus to confront these leaders who were spreading their strange teaching. And he describes how these guys are obsessed with speculating about the Torah, specifically the early stories and genealogies in the Book of Genesis. And as we'll see, they had developed all kinds of weird teachings about food and marriage and sex that weren't consistent with the teachings of Jesus or the apostles. He even names some of these people, Alexander and high manias. And he describes how their teaching has divided the church. It's generated controversy. And Paul says this is actually the first clear sign that their teaching is distorted when genuine Christian teaching is done. It's faithful to the way of Jesus, and it results in love and genuine faith. And he says the purpose of the Torah, anyway, isn't to fuel speculation. Rather, its purpose is to expose the truth about the human condition, as it did for Paul. Correct. Teaching about the Torah will lead people to see the grace of God revealed in the Messiah who came to save sinful, broken people. And so Paul closes here with a poem that honors King Jesus overall, and he calls Timothy to shut these men and their faults teaching down. He then addresses a very specific problems in this church caused by the false teachers. First of all, he calls Timothy to hold regular church prayer gatherings to pray for the governing leaders of Rome and for peace. Because peace in the land it creates is an ideal setting for Jesus followers to keep spreading their message about the God of peace who wants all people to be saved. The God who sent Jesus as the only mediator to give his life as a ransom for all. In contrast to the false teachers, Paul reminds Timothy that God wants to rescue the whole world and prayer is going to keep this at the forefront of their minds. Paul then addresses problems related to men and women who are being influenced by these corrupt leaders in Ephesus. So he first shuts down a group of men who are getting drawn into angry theological disputes started by the teachers. He says these guys should learn how to pray. Then he confronts a group of wealthy women in the church who were treating the Sunday gathering like a fashion show. They were dressing so upscale that they would shame most of the other people who couldn't afford such a wardrobe. And not only that, but some of these women were also usurping leadership positions in the church, and they were teaching others the bad theology of the corrupt teachers. And so Paul shuts these women down. He says they should not teach or lead in the church. And then he goes on to explore the story of Adam and Eve and the serpent from Genesis chapter three. Now, this is one of those sections in Paul's letters where, like Peter said, he's kind of hard to understand. There are many different views about what Paul meant here. Some think that Paul is prohibiting women from ever teaching or leading men in any church, and that his comments about Adam and Eve are about how God has ordered that only men should be leaders in the church. There are others who think that Paul is prohibiting women from having leadership authority over men in the church, but that once educated women should and can teach as leaders in a church under male leadership. And there are still others who think that Paul is only prohibiting these women in Ephesus and that his comments about Adam and Eve are a comparison of how these women have been deceived by the false teachers. Whichever view you take, Paul, is clear that these Ephesians women need to come under Timothy's leadership and get a proper theological education, and the goal is to help them grow so that they could one day become like the outstanding female ministers that Paul mentions in his other letters, like Phoebe or Junior or Priscilla. Paul continues to address this leadership crisis and he calls Timothy to appoint a small, healthy team of. Husbands and fathers who will act like elders or overseers for the church. These should be men of outstanding character and integrity, and they will work alongside a team of deacons. It's a Greek word that means servant. And these are men and women who actually lead and do the ministries of the church. And they are to have the same kind of character as the elders. And all together, these people should be known for healthy relationships and their families, because that will demonstrate their ability to lead in the church, which is God's family and the way of life that they live all together. It's consistent with the story about Jesus, which is explored in the closing poem about his incarnation, his death, his resurrection, his exaltation as king, and then the spread of his new family throughout the whole world. Paul Second body of instructions for Timothy are again very specific to the problems caused by these bad leaders. So he first corrects their bad theology. They've been telling people to stop eating certain kinds of foods, most likely meat, and to stop getting married, which Paul thinks is ridiculous. So he goes to Genesis one and he reminds Timothy that God's entire creation is very good, including food and marriage. It is all to be received with gratefulness by those who know and give thanks to the Creator. Paul then moves on to address problems about the church's care of widows. So this very important ministry was being taken advantage of by younger, wealthy widows, most likely the same troublemaking women from chapter two. They would sign up for the church's support, but then spend their days sleeping around, spreading gossip and damaging the church's reputation in the city. Paul is having none of it. He says that only older widows that have no other family support qualify. And for these, the church should show the love and generosity of Jesus. Paul then addresses problems among some older men in the church, and Timothy is to respect their age, but not their misbehavior, which seems to be alcohol related. They're damaging the church's reputation in Ephesus. And so Timothy is in love to confront them and have them step down if they're in leadership. And then Paul adds this interesting side note that this doesn't mean that Timothy himself should never drink. Given his stomach problems, he should probably have a glass of wine each night with dinner. Paul then addresses a problem among Christian slaves. Some of them were disrespecting their Christian masters. And so, yes, the gospel creates equality among Jesus followers. However, Paul thinks that equality needs to be implemented in a strategic way that doesn't compromise the mission and witness of the church. If Christians become associated with slave rebellions, they are compromised. The Christian transformation of the Roman household had to be implemented strategically so that their neighbors could be persuaded and not repulsed by this new vision of God's family. Finally, Paul closes the letter by calling Timothy again to confront the corrupt leaders. Paul here exposes their motives to make lots of money by accumulating followers and then charging them all high rates for their teaching. These teachers betrayed Jesus and his message of contentment and simple living. And so Paul instructs the wealthy Ephesians Christians to become rich in good works and generosity, to be people who submit all of their resources to King Jesus. And he's the one who inspires the final poem about how he is the true king above all other kings. First, Timothy is a really important letter. It helps us gain a holistic vision of the nature and mission of the church. So what a Jesus community believes will directly shape how that community lives and behaves in its city. And so its theology, its beliefs have to be constantly critiqued and formed by the Scriptures. And the good news about Jesus and how the church is perceived in public is also very important to Paul. Christians should be known as people who are full of integrity, known for good works, known for serving the poor and the most vulnerable, all out of devotion to the risen King Jesus. And that's what first Timothy is all about.