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Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus

Abingdon Press

Commentary: 1 Timothy

Salutation (1:1-2)

The letter's salutation conforms to Paul's established formula (itself derived from hellenistic and Jewish letter-writing conventions): the name of the sender, followed by the name of the addressee, with a concluding blessing on the addressee (see, e.g., 1 Cor 1:1-3; also Acts 15:23; Rev 1:4-5).

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Unlike most of the letters in the Pauline corpus, the Pastoral Letters have no cosenders (cf. 1 Cor 1:1) and are addressed strictly to individuals. Timothy's church is not included in the address (cf. Phlm 1-2), even though, as we shall see, most of the instructions in this letter concern the church. Instead the salutation is narrowly focused on the relationship between God (and Christ Jesus), Paul, and Timothy.

Paul is introduced here, as in most of the Pauline letters, as "apostle of Christ Jesus." The similar but somewhat fuller salutation in Titus reveals how this author construed the role of the apostle. His task was to preserve the faith of the elect and increase the knowledge of truth, so at its very heart it involved being entrusted with the gospel (Titus 1:1-3; see also 1 Tim 1:11). There is no concept of an office here—that is, no ongoing institution—for the letters mention no other apostles besides Paul and none are expected to assume the role when Paul departs. Others can fill his roles of herald and teacher (2:7; cf. 2 Tim 2:2; 4:2), but Paul is the single apostolic link between God and these churches.

He fills that role, the author says, "by the command of God ... and of Christ Jesus." The usual salutation terminology involves the will of God (1 Cor 1:1; 2 Tim 1:1), which indicates God's control of this event as of all others. "Command," however, suggests a more personal connection between God and the apostle. It suggests, in fact, a direct commission (see 1:11; Titus 1:3). The author does not differentiate the roles of God and Christ Jesus in this commissioning: both, it seems, stand behind the command. God, however, is designated Savior (Gk. soter), echoing Old Testament language and concepts (Isa 12:2; Wis 16:7; Sir 51:1; see also Luke 1:47; Jude 25). Here it suggests that God's saving will and plan lie behind the manifestation of Jesus Christ and the proclamation of the gospel (2:3-4; Titus 3:4-7). Christ Jesus is also called "Savior" in these letters (see comments on 2 Tim 1:10; Titus 1:3-4; 2:13; 3:6) because he is the vehicle for manifesting and executing God's saving will. Thus Christ is also, as here, "our hope." This phrase, shorthand for "our hope of eternal life" (Titus 1:2; 3:7), functions almost as a christological title here (see also 2:13; Col 1:27).

Two other, more common, designations are found in the blessing formula: "God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord." The absence of the pronoun "our" with the word "Father" seems odd, and the text has been "corrected" in later manuscripts. Yet God is presented in this letter as giving life to (i.e., "fathering") all things (6:13), while Christ is only acknowledged as Lord by some. Thus the absence of the pronoun with "Father" and its presence with "Lord" could indicate the author's awareness of the difference between God's relationship to the world and Christ's relationship to the community of believers.

Timothy is described, not in terms of his relationship to God or to God's will, but only in terms of his relationship to Paul. According to the undisputed Pauline letters, that relationship was one of younger coworker to older mentor, but it obviously included bonds of affection that led Paul to use the intimate kinship term "child" when referring to him (1 Cor 4:17; Phil 2:19-22). This author continues that practice, but here adds the adjective "loyal" (Gk. gnesios), which also means "legitimate" or "real." As the letters unfold the treachery of the opposing teachers (see 1:6-7; 4:1; 2 Tim 1:15; 4:1415), the significance of that adjective becomes clear.

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The brief salutation not only contains terms and concepts significant for the theology and Christology of this letter, it also presents information about Paul and Timothy that provides important support for the letter's exhortations. Paul is apostle by command—for example, by direct commission—of both God and Christ, who thus stand behind his teachings and exhortations. The one who receives these teachings is Paul's loyal "child" and therefore his legitimate "heir." It will be through Timothy, then—for example, through these letters addressed to Timothy—that Paul's genuine legacy comes. Readers are thus assured that if they are obedient to these teachings, they will experience the saving will of God and the hope of eternal life.

Preface (1:3-20)

The letter opens, not with the usual Pauline expression of thanks (cf. Rom 1:8-15; 1 Cor 1:4-9) or praise to God (2 Cor 1:3-7; Eph 1:3-14), but with a reminder of certain teachers who have endangered the church at Ephesus with their deviant doctrines and meaningless talk. An apparent digression on the proper function of the law (vv. 8-11) interrupts the description of the false teachers, and a second digression on Paul's conversion (vv. 12-16), presented in the form of a delayed thanksgiving, seems to lead even farther afield. After a formal doxology (v. 17), however, the author returns to his charge to Timothy and to the subject of opponents in the church (vv. 18-20), providing some structural unity to the chapter.

The entire chapter functions as a prologue or preface to the body of the letter (chaps. 2-6), which consists of instructions to Timothy concerning various activities, church leaders, and groups within the church (see 1:18). It describes a contentious situation that is the setting, if not the occasion, for these instructions, thereby imparting to them a note of urgency and import (see also 6:20-21). It also grounds Paul's apostolate firmly in Christ's actions and judgment, confirming the legitimacy of Paul's office (see 1:1) and thus the authority of his instructions. Likewise, Timothy is confirmed as Paul's legitimate heir (see 1:2) and thus as a reliable mediator of the Pauline traditions (see also 6:20).

The Problem of Opposing Teachers (1:3-7)

The author does not begin with a formal expression of thanksgiving or a pious beatitude (cf. 2 Tim 1:3; Eph 1:3), but refers immediately to the problem of "certain people" who teach a different doctrine. In this the letter resembles most closely Galatians, which opens with a statement of astonishment over how the Galatians have turned to a "different gospel," following "some" who pervert the gospel of Christ.

The Greek text of verse 3 begins abruptly with a comparative clause: "Just as I urged you while I was going to Macedonia to remain in Ephesus...." The sentence does not, however, contain the "so also" clause necessary to finish the thought (cf., e.g., 2 Cor 1:5). The translators of the NRSV have rendered the sentence as a direct exhortation ("I urge you ..."), the first of many within this letter. Others think that 1:18, though distant, picks up the thought of the opening clause. Indeed, the incomplete sentence in verse 3 could serve as an open-ended introduction to the remaining contents of the letter, thus presenting all the letter's exhortations as an extension of the earlier instruction to correct certain people in Ephesus.

These people are not identified by name (cf. 1:20), a frequent tactic in this letter and in other polemical writings of the period (see 1:3, 6, 19; 4:1; 5:15, 24; 6:10, 21; see also Rom 3:8; 2 Cor 3:1). The effect is to portray the troublemakers as shadowy figures with an indistinct past and to obscure their actual numbers and influence. They are apparently, however, members or former members of the church and not outsiders, for they are subject to instruction by a church leader (v. 3; see also Titus 1:13) and have "deviated from" the sincere faith they apparently once had (v. 6; see also 4:1).

The author focuses on the activities of these people. Of primary importance is the fact that they are teaching different doctrine. (In Greek this is expressed by a single compound verb [heterodidaskalein], found here for the first time and possibly coined by the author.) The theological content of their teaching is not clearly specified here or anywhere else in 1 Timothy (cf. 2 Tim 2:18), but throughout the letter there is a concern for sound teaching and correct teachers (1:10; 2:7, 12; 3:2; 4:1, 6, 11, 13, 16; 5:17; 6:1-3). These issues are pervasive in 2 Timothy and Titus as well (2 Tim 1:11, 13-14; 2:2, 15, 24; 3:10, 16; 4:2-3; Titus 1:9, 11; 2:1, 3, 7), indicating that competing teachers and doctrines probably provided the immediate occasion for these letters (see Introduction).

The significance of the reference to myths and endless genealogies (v. 4) is harder to assess. The content of the myths, like that of the false doctrines, is nowhere given, though myths are mentioned again in 4:7 and 2 Tim 4:4 and identified more closely as Jewish myths in Titus 1:14. Genealogies are also mentioned again in Titus 3:9, where they are associated with "stupid controversies, ... dissensions, and quarrels about the law," but, as with the myths, no indication is given of their content or source. The terms have been taken to refer to gnosticizing speculations on cosmological secrets or to speculative interpretations of Jewish Scripture. It was, however, a standard feature of the attacks leveled by philosophers against their rivals, the sophists, to discredit their ideas as "mere myths" (see, e.g., Lucian Lover of Lies 9). The author of these letters uses the same techniques to discredit his opponents, so the reference to "myths" or "meaningless talk" (v. 6) may be more rhetorical convention than reliable description. The emphasis, at any rate, is not on the empty content of the opponents' teachings, but on their unnecessary complexity, for the author's main objection to them is the way they have enouraged "speculations" rather than the oikonomia theou (v. 4).

This Greek phrase, which appears only here in the Pastoral Letters, is translated in the NRSV as "divine training," though it is found nowhere else with this meaning until the end of the second century in the writings of Clement of Alexandria. The phrase usually refers to God's administration of the universe, including the divine plan for the universe and the divine execution of that plan (see Eph 1:10; 3:9). This more general sense is probably intended here, for there are hints throughout these letters of a divine plan operating in the universe and coming now to fruition (2:6b; 6:15; 2 Tim 1:8-10; Titus 1:2). This plan is not hidden in "myths," to be extracted by elaborate theological or theosophical investigations; it is recognized by (or grounded in) simple faith (so NJB, REB).

The goal of instructing the opponents is given in verse 5: to promote the "love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith." The author's primary thought is probably not that instruction of the opponents will produce these qualities in them (see, however, 2 Tim 2:24-25), but that by silencing these opponents, these qualities, which come only from God (1:14, 19), can flourish in the church. Love, faith, and conscience are not clearly defined in these letters, though love and faith often appear together and in combination with other virtues as characteristic of the Christian life (see, e.g., 2:15; 4:12; 6:11). The adjectives "pure" and "sincere" (literally, "unhypocritical") have a polemical edge, hinting at the opponents' impure hearts and insincere faith (see also 1:19; 2 Tim 1:5). Likewise the conscience can be either good and pure (as here and in 1:19; 3:9; 2 Tim 1:3) or seared and corrupt (as in 4:2; Titus 1:15), and the word serves in these letters primarily to highlight the moral contrast between the opponents and true Christians. The actual role of the conscience in directing the moral life is not developed (cf. Rom 2:12-16; 1 Cor 8:7-13; 10:23-30).

The final charge against these opponents is that they desire to be "teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions" (v. 7). The author seems to have teachers of the Jewish law in mind (see also Titus 1:10, 14), for the Greek word found here (nomodidaskaloi) is used elsewhere in the New Testament only to describe teachers of the Mosaic law (Luke 5:17; Acts 5:34). This connection with Judaism is not, however, given any emphasis. What is stressed is that the teachers do not understand what they are saying; that is, they are incompetent (see also 6:4; Job 35:16).

Correct Use of the Law (1:8-11)

Having charged the would-be teachers of the law with total ignorance of their subject, the author reveals the superior knowledge he and Timothy possess ("we know ...") by giving the correct understanding of the law. It is difficult to determine from this retort, however, what the opposing teachers were saying about the law. It is unlikely that the words, "the law is good" (clearly an allusion to Rom 7:16; see also Rom 7:12), are directed against an antinomian stance, for while the opponents are charged with factiousness (6:4), meaningless talk (1:6), and asceticism (4:3), they are not explicitly accused of lawless behavior, though they are implicitly linked with it (see below). It is also unlikely that the author is correcting a rigorous legalism that bases salvation on strict obedience to an external code. Even though the numerous references to conscience and faith (1:5, 14, 19) could be construed as a counteremphasis on inner moral discernment, nowhere in this letter, nor in 2 Timothy or Titus, does legalism per se clearly emerge as a problem. Unless the allusion to opponents who teach the law (see also Titus 3:9) is simply intended to enhance the fiction of Pauline authorship by recalling Paul's struggles with Judaizing opponents in Galatia and Philippi (see Introduction), the most likely hypothesis is that the opposing teachers used the Jewish Scripture as a basis for their speculations and perhaps even as a warrant for their ascetic practices (4:3). The author's point here, however, is not to rebut their use of the law, but to expose their ignorance and to suggest a connection between their doctrine and moral chaos. In short, he uses this brief discussion of the law to cast aspersions on the would-be teachers of the law.

The author presents as the only legitimate use of the law its application as a moral restraint on the lawless. This is far from Paul's view (see, e.g., Rom 2:12-16; 3:20-31; 8:1-8; Gal 3:19-24) and the author does not develop it carefully. Instead he lists people of various lawless categories for whom the law is lawfully (i.e., "legitimately") intended. (The wordplay is deliberate.) This is the first of several vice lists in the Pastoral Letters (see also 6:4-5; 2 Tim 3:2-5; Titus 3:3). Such lists were often coupled with lists of virtues and used in moral exhortation (see, e.g., Gal 5:19-23; Col 3:5-17; Philo Sacrifices of Abel and Cain 22-27, 32) or, as here, to vilify opponents (see, e.g., Rom 1:29-31; Lucian Runaways 16) (McEleney 1974). This particular list seems to be carefully constructed in two distinct parts. The first part describes the lawless in terms used elsewhere in these letters to define the opposing teachers and their activities. These teachers, e.g., are also described as "disobedient" or insubordinate (Titus 1:10; Gk. anhypotaktos), a word suggesting the resistance to authority that is anathema to this author (see 2:11; 3:4; Titus 2:5, 9; 3:1). Their actions are said to lead to godlessness or impiety (2 Tim 2:16; cf. Titus 2:12) and unholy behavior (2 Tim 3:2; cf. 1 Tim 2:8; Titus 1:8), and what they do is repeatedly described as profane (4:7; 6:20; 2 Tim 2:16). Whatever the opposing teachers were saying about the law, the author is suggesting here that its proper use is as a moral restraint just for the likes of them. The second part of the list seems deliberately to echo the Decalogue: "for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers" (vv. 9b-10; cf. Exod 20:12-17). The effect of the combined list is to link the disobedient, godless, unholy, and profane behavior associated with the opposing teachers with actions condemned by the law they profess to teach.

Sound teaching, on the other hand, results in sound behavior. This is the presupposition of verse 10b and a fundamental premise of these letters (see, e.g., 6:3-5; 2 Tim 1:8-14), as is the connection between sound teaching and the gospel (v. 11; see also 4:6). The reference to the gospel allows the author to undertake a digression on Paul's appointment to its service (1:12-17).

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Excerpted from Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus by Jouette M. Bassler. Copyright © 1996 Abingdon Press. Excerpted by permission of Abingdon Press.
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