Greeting
1 Paul, a an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command b of God our Savior c and of Christ Jesus our hope: d
2 To Timothy, e my true son in the faith.
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
False Doctrine and Misuse of the Law
3 As I urged you when I went to Macedonia, f remain in Ephesus g so that you may instruct certain people h not to teach false doctrine 4 or to pay attention to myths i and endless genealogies. These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan, j which operates by faith. 5 Now the goal of our instruction is love k that comes from a pure heart, l a good conscience, m and a sincere faith. n 6 Some have departed from these and turned aside to fruitless discussion. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on. 8 But we know that the law is good, o provided one uses it legitimately. 9 We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, p for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral q and homosexuals, r for slave traders, liars, s perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching t 11 that conforms to the gospel u concerning the glory of the blessed God, v which was entrusted to me. w
Paul’s Testimony
12 I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened x me, because he considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry— 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, y a persecutor, z and an arrogant man. a But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 This saying is trustworthy b and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world c to save sinners” d—and I am the worst of them. e 16 But I received mercy f for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience g as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life. h 17 Now to the King i eternal, j immortal, k invisible, the only God, l be honor m and glory n forever and ever. Amen. o
Engage in Battle
18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies p previously made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the good fight, 19 having faith q and a good conscience. r Some s have rejected these and have shipwrecked their faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus t and Alexander, u whom I have delivered to Satan, v so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.
1:1. Timothy is under attack. Appropriately, then, Paul begins by calling attention to the fact that it is only by the command of God that he himself is an apostle (1:1a). In so doing, Paul underlines not only his but also Timothy’s authority. Three times in this letter Paul stresses that we are to place our hope in God alone and not in human devices (4:1–10; 5:5; 6:17). Significantly, Paul calls Christ Jesus our hope (1:1b). God alone saves, and he does that through his divine Son.
1:2. Paul’s primary purpose in this letter (see 3:14–15) is to bring the church together as God’s family. Thus he begins by recognizing Timothy as his own true son in the faith (1:2a). (For Paul’s becoming “father” to Timothy, see Ac 16:1–3.)
A. Love over law (1:3–7). Timothy’s mission is to make sure that side issues (1:4, 6) or contradictory teachings (law keeping, sexual and dietary restrictions) do not dilute the good news of God’s saving mercy. For Paul, it is almost as bad to go beyond Scripture (1 Co 4:6) as to contradict it. Thus, his instructions are twofold: to put down “false doctrine” (1:3) and to advance “God’s plan, which operates by faith” (1:4). The work Paul has in mind consists of two things: first, the way God has brought redemption through his Son (Eph 1:10; 1 Tm 2:3–6; 2 Tm 1:9–10; Ti 3:4–7), and second, the way the church as God’s household displays that redemption through right relationships (1 Tm 3:14–16; Ti 1:1–10).
B. The point of the law (1:8–11). The law is good (1:8a) but cannot replace conscience as a guide to behavior. As Paul will teach in verses 12–17, the inward transformation necessary for living according to God’s will begins with an experience of his mercy. Paul will build on this, teaching in subsequent chapters that the place where the Spirit shapes our moral responsiveness is within a well-ordered and rightly governed community of faith.
C. Paul as trophy of grace (1:12–17). 1:12–13. Refusing at first to believe that Jesus was the living personification of Israel’s hopes (1:13), Paul showed himself to be among those who were not righteous. Despite his claim to zeal for God (see Gl 1:13–14), his hatred for Jesus had numbered him among those the law condemned.
1:14–16. Solemnly, Paul names himself “worst of [sinners]” (1:15). When writing his early epistles, Paul felt it sufficient to acknowledge himself “least of the apostles” (1 Co 15:9). Writing later from prison and meditating on the comprehensive lordship of Christ, Paul moves himself further down the ladder (Eph 3:8). Now, urging radical grace over proud speculation and moralism, he points to himself as exhibit A in God’s program of reclaiming a hopelessly ruined race. In chapter 2, Paul will refer to the process by which Christ became our ransom (2:5). Here at 1:14, however, Paul emphasizes that the personal qualities of Jesus subsequently become ours by grace.
1:17. Because Paul sees himself as a trophy of God’s grace, not only does love follow but so does worship—thus, his doxology.
D. What is at stake (1:18–20). Paul follows his brief doxology by returning to his commandment to Timothy (see 1:5), putting it in terms of a call to arms (1:18). As 2 Timothy will make clear to us, courage will be necessary for Paul’s young coworker (see esp. 2 Tm 1:7).