Book of 1 Timothy
Summary of the Book of 1 Timothy
This summary of the
book of 1 Timothy provides information about the title, author(s), date of
writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the
chapters of the Book of 1 Timothy.
Both early tradition
and the salutations of the Pastoral Letters (1,2 Timothy; Titus) themselves
claim Paul as their author (1:1; 2Ti 1:1; Tit 1:1). Some objections have been raised in recent years on the basis
of an alleged uncharacteristic vocabulary and style (see, e.g., notes on 1:15; 2:2), but other evidence still convincingly supports Paul's authorship.
See essay, p. 2481.
During his fourth
missionary journey (see map, pp. 2486-2487), Paul had instructed Timothy to
care for the church at Ephesus (1:3) while he went on to Macedonia. When he
realized that he might not return to Ephesus in the near future (3:14-15), he wrote this first letter to Timothy to
develop the charge he had given his young assistant (1:3, 18), to refute false teachings (1:3-7; 4:1-8; 6:3-5,20-21) and to supervise the affairs of the growing
Ephesian church (church worship, ch. 2; the appointment of qualified church
leaders, 3:1-13; 5:17-25).
A major problem in the
Ephesian church was a heresy that combined Gnosticism (see Introduction to 1
John: Gnosticism), decadent Judaism (1:3-7) and false asceticism (4:1-5).
1 Timothy was written
sometime after the events of Ac 28 (c. 63-65), at least eight years after
Paul's three-year stay in Ephesus (see Ac 19:10 and note).
Recipient
Recipient
As the salutation
indicates (1:2), Paul is writing to Timothy, a native of Lystra (in modern
Turkey). Timothy's father was Greek, while his mother was a Jewish Christian (Ac 16:1). From childhood he had been taught the OT (2Ti 1:5; 3:15). Paul called him "my true son in the faith" (1:2; see note there), perhaps having led him to faith in Christ
during his first visit to Lystra. At the time of his second visit Paul invited
Timothy to join him on his missionary travels, circumcising him so that his
Greek ancestry would not be a liability in working with the Jews (Ac 16:3). Timothy helped Paul evangelize Macedonia and Achaia (Ac 17:14-15; 18:5) and was with him during much of his long
preaching ministry at Ephesus (Ac 19:22). He traveled with him from Ephesus to
Macedonia, to Corinth (see Ac 20:3 and note), back to Macedonia, and to
Asia Minor (Ac 20:1-6). He may even have accompanied him all the way to Jerusalem. He
was with Paul during the apostle's first imprisonment (Php 1:1; Col 1:1; Phm 1).
Following Paul's
release (after Ac 28), Timothy again traveled with him but eventually stayed at
Ephesus to deal with the problems there, while Paul went on to Macedonia.
Paul's closeness to and admiration of Timothy are seen in Paul's naming him as
the co-sender of six of his letters (2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians,
1,2 Thessalonians and Philemon) and in his speaking highly of him to the
Philippians (Php 2:19-22). At the end of
Paul's life he requested Timothy to join him at Rome (2Ti 4:9,21). According to Heb 13:23, Timothy himself was imprisoned and
subsequently released -- whether at Rome or elsewhere, we do not know.
Timothy was not an
apostle. It may be best to regard him as an apostolic representative, delegated
to carry out special work (cf. Tit 1:5).
.
Public Worship (ch. 2)
VI.
Instructions
concerning False Teaching (ch. 4)
From the NIV Study
Bible, Introductions to the Books of the Bible, 1 Timothy
Copyright 2002 © Zondervan. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Copyright 2002 © Zondervan. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
