Sometimes the most difficult part of a teacher's job is to
let the students go, to let them graduate and make their way in the world. One
can sense this kind of anxiety in Paul's first letter to Timothy. He affectionately
calls Timothy "a true son" (1:2), charging him again and again to
remain faithful to what he had taught him (1:18;
4:12-16; 5:21; 6:11-13).
The letter concludes with Paul's heartfelt cry: "O Timothy! Gaud what was committed
to your trust" (6:20).
Timothy had
accompanied Paul for years (Acts 16:1-3; 17:10;
20:4), assisting him and acting as his liaison to a number of churches. Paul
had not only taught Timothy the essentials of the Christian faith, he had
modeled Christian leadership to him. Now Paul was leaving Timothy in charge of
the church at Ephesus. From Macedonia,
Paul wrote to encourage his "son" in the faith. In effect, this
letter is Timothy's commission, his orders from his concerned teacher, the
Apostle Paul.
Author and Date: The letter names Paul
as its author, and the author's statements about his life 1:12-13 are consistent
with what is known of him. The early church fathers Clement of Rome, and
Polycarp accepted the letter as one of Paul's, as did Irenaeus, Tertullian, and
Clement of Alexandria.
Early in
the 19th Century, some scholars began to question Paul's authorship of the
Pastoral Epistles (First and Second Timothy and Titus). Critics claimed these
letters were "pious forgeries" written in the second century. They leveled
four different attacks on the integrity and authenticity of these letters.
First is a historical problem. Since the chronological references in these
letters do not correspond with the Book of Acts, critics assume the letters
were written at a much later time by an imposter. However, the letters could
have been written soon after the events described in the Book of Acts. Many
scholars hold that Paul was acquitted and released from imprisonment described
in Acts 28, and then traveled for several years in Asia minor
and Macedonia.
During this time he wrote the disputed letters. Eventually he was imprisoned in
Rome again, and then died in Nero's
persecution.
Second,
critics argue that the Pastoral Epistles do not fit Paul's writing style. These
letters contain a number of words that occur only here in the new Testament but
are common in the writings of the second century. This is taken as evidence
that the letters are from the second century. The weakness of this argument is
that there is a limited body of literature from the second century from which
to draw such a dogmatic conclusion.
The third
point relates to the form of the church leadership in the Pastoral Epistles.
The structure of authority, including elders and deacons, seems to represent a
more developed, second century church. However, it is clear from Philemon 1:1
that the offices of elder and deacon were already functioning during Paul's
ministry.
The fourth
argument involves theology. Critics claim that the heresy combated in the
Pastoral Epistles is the full-grown Gnosticism of the second century. While it
is true that Gnosticism was not fully developed until the second century, it is
also certain that the heresy began slowly and evolved before it became a
complete theological system. Paul dealt with similar false teachings in Colosse
(Col 1:9-15). The heresy in First
Timothy appears to be an early form of Gnostic teaching that combined elements
of Judaism (1:7), Persian thought, and Christianity.
There is no
reason, therefore, to conclude that First and Second Timothy are not authentic
Pauline Epistles. First Timothy was probably composed shortly after Paul's
release from his first Roman imprisonment. This means the book was composed in Macedonia
around A.D. 62.
Historical Setting: Timothy was a
native of Lystra in Phrygia (Acts 16:1-3). His father
was Greek, and his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois were godly Jewish women
(2 Timothy 1:5; 3:14-15). It was
through the influence of these women that Timothy learned the Hebrew scriptures
as a child. Paul calls Timothy "a true son in the faith" (1:2),
suggesting that he was converted during Paul's first missionary visit to Lystra
(Acts 14:6, 19).
At the
beginning of Paul's second missionary journey, Timothy was chosen by Paul to
accompany him and Silas (Acts 16:3). Since they would be preaching to Jews,
Paul had Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:3), and evidently the leadership of the
church laid hands on Timothy (4:14;
2 Timothy 1:6). He traveled with Paul and Silas helping them in their evangelization
of Philippi and Thessalonica. Apparently he remained in Thessalonica
(Acts 17:10) and then joined Paul
and Silas in Berea. In Corinth,
Paul employed Timothy as a liaison between himself and the church in Thessalonica.
Later he used Timothy as a liaison again, this time to the church
of Corinth, to teach the believers
there (1 Cor. 4:17; 16:10). Acts does not record Timothy's travels
during this period. He reappears in Ephesus
(Acts 19:22), where Paul commissioned
Timothy and Erastus to prepare the churches in Macedonia
for his arrival. Timothy remained in Macedonia
and accompanied Paul to Corinth,
where presumably where Paul wrote his letter to the Romans (Romans 16:21).
Then
Timothy, along with six others, spearheaded Paul's journey to Troas
(Acts 20:4-5). Later he comforted Paul in Rome
during the apostle's first imprisonment (A.D, 60-62), sending greetings to the
Colossians (Colossians 1:1), Philemon (Philemon 1), and the Philippians
(Philippians 1:1). During Paul's imprisonment, Timothy traveled to Philippi
to encourage the believers there and then report back to Paul in Rome
(Philippians 2:19). After Paul's
release, Timothy traveled with him to Ephesus.
Timothy stayed there to confront the false teachers who were infiltrating the
church, and Paul went on to Macedonia, where he wrote his first letter to
Timothy (1:3) He wrote his second letter to him from prison (2 Timothy 1:8), imploring
Timothy to come quickly. This was probably Paul's last letter, for he was soon
to die. If Timothy did come quickly, he would have been with him as his
"true son" in the final days before his execution (2 Timothy 4:11, 21).
Themes: The central purpose of First Timothy
is found in 3:15: "I write so
you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is
the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." The
church is God's primary vehicle for accomplishing His work on earth (Matthew 16:18-20). The Lord has ordained that men and
women who have trusted Him as Savior should be involved in working out His will
in local assemblies around the world (1 Thessalonians 1:1; Hebrews 10:24-25).
Paul wrote
First Timothy in order to instruct his young protégé on how the church should
function and how mature men and women of God should interact in it (6:11-16).
Specifics are given on developing and recognizing godly leadership and
avoiding false doctrine in the church (3:1-13; 4:1-6). Paul insists that
Christian maturity should be expected in leadership, while it is developed in
the lives of believers (4:6-10). Paul offers Timothy a whole list of extremely
practical advice for leading a church. As he faced the problems and hardships
on ministry in a local church, Timothy must have repeatedly read Paul's letter
for the valuable insights it offers (4:15).