1st Timothy Study 

1 Timothy 1:1-3: Paul had rather recently left Timothy to oversee the Christian fellowship which he had planted at Ephesus. 

1:4: This would include what is known as the Apocryphal Books.  Paul may have especially had these in mind here.  They were rejected by the Jewish nation as inspired Scripture.  Jesus and the Apostles did not contend with the Jews about that, even though they contended with the Jews about many other things.  See our Book of Enoch for more in relation to this.

1:5: God’s Law, taken as God intended it, is a guide to having these things.  It was never intended as a means of justification nor was it intended to be a burden to a righteous person using the Law properly as a guide to faith.  Remember how the Pharisees contended with Jesus’ disciples for plucking ears of corn and eating them on the Sabbath Day.  Yet Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because His disciples had not actually violated the Sabbath.  They were doing what they did to serve Jesus the Lord of the Sabbath.  They weren’t laboring for personal profit like the man gathering sticks in Numbers chapter 15 whom God commanded through Moses to be stoned.  There were evidently many like the Pharisees whom Jesus rebuked seeking to influence the Church at Ephesus somehow.

1:6: Turned or strayed- from the true goals of the Law mentioned in verse five.  

1:7-8: Many now though put all use of the law in the category of those who have strayed from the true goals and turned aside unto jain vangling.  Ironically, those who put all use of the law in that category do the same themselves.

1:9a: Another instance where the KJV translators could have done better.  This should have been translated as something like “the law does not lay against” or “the law does not strike against a righteous man.”  Is a righteous man above the law?  Of course not.  It is the people whom Paul is about to mention (the lawbreakers) who consider themselves above the law, and these are clearly not righteous people.  Consider: If you are not a thief, laws against theft do not lay against or strike against you.  If you steal though, they do.

1:9b-11: Sound doctrine is that the moral principles of the Law of Moses and the Gospel of Christ are in perfect agreement and unity.  The Gospel requires morally what the Law requires morally.  This is discussed in greater detail in several of our other studies.  Remember Jesus making it clear near the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount that he came not to destroy the law nor the prophets.

1:12: God can better equip a faithful person for a task or a ministry they may seem unqualified for.  An unfaithful person is unqualified to serve the Lord even if they are highly talented already.

1:13a: He was before, not anymore.  Many try to cite what Paul will shortly say to justify their continuation in sin- though Paul is teaching the very opposite.

1:13b: Paul was not fully ignorant in his opposition to Christ.  He still would have gone to hell if he had died in that opposition.  He was nevertheless misled to a notable degree and didn’t fully know what he was doing in opposing Christ.  He was thus a candidate for mercy.  That would surely not have been true anymore if he had not responded in repentance from his sin and obedience to the Lord like he did when Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus.

1:14-15: Chief here is “protos” in the Greek text.  You probably know the word prototype.  Paul is not saying then that he is still living in sin and walking contrary to the Lord.  Go back to verse thirteen.  Paul regarded himself rather as the prototype of one who had been a sinner yet whom Christ saved out of his sins.  Paul was not in a different type of category of sinner than the common person.  The grace which he obtained in Christ Jesus was not a different type of grace than what the common person who turns to Jesus Christ in truth finds.  In turning to Jesus Christ in truth, Paul surely did not retain his insistence of independence from the true God’s authority (which sinners are defined by).

1:16: Why do so many modern evangelicals know 1 Timothy 1:15, and they cite so often, yet that is not so with 1 Timothy 1:13 and 1 Timothy 1:16 (which really much better show the proper context of 1 Timothy 1:15)?  I’ll let you consider the reasons for this discrepancy.  It seems logical to me that it has much to do with excusing sin and resisting the true God’s God’s authority while assuming an interest in Jesus Christ’s grace and mercy.

The false grace preachers like to quote Ephesians 2:8-9 and, bring up 1 Timothy 1:15, where Paul called himself the chief of sinners.  Yet they neglect the context Paul said this in, evidently describing himself as a prime example of a sinner who obtained mercy and a pattern of how a man actually obtains Christ’s mercy.

Why do they not note the pattern of how Paul diligently turned from his sin and overall opposition to Christ in order to be faithful in line with Christ’s righteous authority?  Paul also clearly connected this to his own salvation.

Acts 9:3-6: “And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?  And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”

1 Corinthians 9:23-27: “And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.  Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?  So run, that ye may obtain.  And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

Why do the false preachers who try to tell people not to be troubled if they are sinning, while quoting Ephesians 2:8-9, and talking about Paul saying that he is the chief of sinners, why do they not have these things in their mindset and factored into their message?  And why do they not tell people the many warnings, from the man who called himself the chief of sinners even, to those who remain sinners and those who return to being sinners like the following sample?

Romans 6:19-21: “I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity (lawless deed unto lawless deed); even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.  For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed?  for the end of those things is death.”

1:17-18: Prophecies here is a reference to any discourse of divine inspiration.  Paul could be referring to when he and other Christian elders laid hands on Timothy to ordain him, and also instructed him while praying for him according to the goals which he ought to pursue as a Gospel minister.

1:19: Put away or rejected.  Some have put away the true concept that a good conscience towards God is an essential element of exercising a living faith in Jesus Christ and made shipwreck concerning their faith.  

Acts 24:14-16: “But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.  And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void to offense toward God, and toward men.”

This also, especially since Paul gave this warning to a man he knew to be an evidently faithful genuine born-again Christian, refutes unconditional eternal security and Calvinistic perseverance of the saints doctrine.

1:20: Paul also mentions Hymaneus and Philetus’ heresy of saying that the resurrection is past in 2 Timothy chapter two.  That is essentially and practically what the unconditional eternal security teachers, as well as the promised healing in the atonement people, claim as well.  If Paul is referring here to that particular heresy, it fits in logically with the context it is put in here in 1 Timothy.  Philetus and Alexander may very well be a reference to the same person.  

1 Timothy 2:1-3: Note what this is connected to.

2:4: Knowledge here is “epignosis”, experiential knowledge or recognition.  There is no salvation in Jesus Christ without dealing with God as the Great King that He is and so that the truth of His Word lives, abides, and grows in one.  Reference back to 1 John 2:1-6 and 2 Peter 3:13-18.

2:5: No human priesthood nor pastor nor parent nor husband can rightfully be an intermediary to anyone regarding the dealings with God that they need to have with Him.  One must deal with Him through Jesus Christ in order to be justified before Him and on the narrow way to eternal life in Him.  The idea that alleged deceased saints or Mary or anyone else, dead or alive, should be a mediator between man and Jesus is also rebuked here.  

2:6: Ransom here is “antilytron” (an-ti-loo-tron) in the Greek text- something which is given in exchange for another as the price of his redemption/ransom. Jesus offered Himself without spot to God, not to the devil, to redeem us.  God sets the conditions of one partaking in that redemption and having it to apply to them.  It is not unconditionally applied and its application can be revoked in this testing period of our temporary lives before the wheat and the chaff are ultimately separated forever.  Hence, verse seven.

2:7: Verity is aletheia in the Greek, just as the word translated as truth earlier in this verse (the KJV translators definitely could have been more consistent).

Remember:

3 John 3:3-4: “For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”

Psalm 119:142: “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.”

Matthew 28:18-20: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them (testifying submission to His authority, the authority of His Word which testifies of Him) in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.  Amen.”

Romans 1:3-5: “Concerning (referring to the Biblical Gospel) his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name.”

2:8: Still in the same train of thought expressed in verses one and two of this chapter.

2:9: Shamefacedness in the Greek is a reference to turning the eyes away.  It implies not being impudent or seductive.  Makeup tends to communicate the very opposite, boldening the face, with seduction being the consequence (whether the makeup wearer intends that or not).  

If you’re not convinced, hear some lyrics from a popular secular song about a prostitute.

I won’t share you with another boy 

I know my mind is made up

So put away your make up

Told you once I won’t tell you again it’s a bad way

Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light

Sobriety equals a sound mind, self-control, and temperance.  Does the Bible forbid marijuana use?  Yes.  It actually forbids anything in any amount that is known to impair one’s sobriety.  

Broided hair= Woven hair (hairstyles calculated to attract attention).  Note the principle.

Gold or pearls or costly array are all ways of seeking to communicate a high social status and/or attract attention.  Note the principle.

2:10: That should be the way in which a woman seeks to be beautiful and appear pleasant.  Peter basically says the same thing and he states the thing which should be the basis for this (which Paul is implying too).

1 Peter 3:3-4: “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”

Yes, it is indeed a matter of the heart.  Those who don’t dress and act modestly should get their hearts right then.

2:11: Women should learn too.  Learning is not just for men and children.  You wouldn’t know that from certain groups which relegate women to virtually nothing besides childbearers and housekeepers.

Silence= Not meddlesome.  She shouldn’t interfere with the teaching of the church.  It’s not saying there is never a time for her to make known her thoughts and express her concerns and things along those lines.  She shouldn’t be meddling with the leadership’s efforts nor usurping the leadership by seeking to lead or by usurping them in any other way.  Paul is dealing here with what ought to be a normal situation as he instructs Timothy on what a faithful Christian church ought to be.

2:12: He does not suffer this because of the principles already laid down in God’s Law concerning this matter.

“Teach” here is didasko.  It is talking about instructive, formal discourses.  I’ve seen this disobeyed in relatively conservative looking churches too.  This is forbidding women to be pastors in a church and spiritual leaders over other men (this is not talking about teenage sons who may look like men but are still under their parent’s roof).  This is not saying that there isn’t a place for women to teach other women and children nor is it saying that a woman can’t inform a man with something she thinks will be helpful to him (provided she is not trying to control him).  

“Nor to usurp authority over the man”- A woman’s words and behavior should never have the effect of domination, mastery, or subduing of a man (or be a practical attempt at such).  That is not so just in church; that is in life altogether.  A faithful overseer must never suffer this under his watch in the church or in what he knows about how the households in his church operate.  Not many supposed overseers or pastors actually follow this admonition though.  Our message about contending with the Jezebel spirit deals more with this.  

With that said, a woman who does what she has to protect herself and her children from predators is not disobeying this if she goes against her pastor and/or her husband.  There are times church must be left for righteousness’ sake; and there are times when spouses must be separated from- and eventually put away if they won’t repent and change.  Sapphira should not have complied with Ananias in his deceit.  She died with him because she did so.

Some groups and movements which want to act like holy, conservative Christians don’t get this and they end up enabling predators and all types of vile behavior.  They pressure and intimidate concerned women into silence through abusing verses like this (and abuse men too through abuse of verses related to submitting to church authority).  They are hypocrites whom we must logically conclude will receive greater damnation in the fire of hell.  

Promoters of the ways of Jezebel absolutely love such groups and situations due to the inroads it makes for them to make their filthy feminist philosophy seem justified in the ears of the disillusioned and those not well informed.  

2:13: Adam, the man first- then Eve, the woman- as a helper to Adam.  Not Adam and Steve by the way.  They say “Oh, that’s old.”  Yeah, because it’s timeless; it is mankind’s Creator’s design.  Casting that away is regression, not progress- and it will always cause disastrous consequences (as Romans chapter one talks about).

2:14: Adam was more blameworthy in the transgression in the Garden because he had more capacity in him to not be swayed by things along the lines of suggestion and impulse.  

2:15: This is obviously not teaching that all women who bear children will be saved.  It is not teaching that a woman must bear children in order to be saved.  It is better to admit you don’t know what a verse means than to act like you do when you don’t.  The best understanding of this verse which I know of is that it is saying that women are equal candidates for salvation in Christ who must be saved on the same terms despite the fact that the troubles related to mankind’s fall are harder for them to bear than they are for men- generally speaking.  

Genesis 3:16-19: “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.  And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

That last phrase surely applies equally to males and females also.

1 Timothy 3:1: Now we’re getting into which men are qualified to lead in the church.  Women leadership is not a righteous option which is why the potential leaders are going to be referred to as “he.”

Some of these things should apply to every Christian.  Every Christian should have a heart submitted to the things related to character here through applying God’s Word practically in their life.  There is the matter of time to learn discipline, gain wisdom, and of growing in understanding.  Many of these things are matters of consistency, as well as matters of degrees in terms of level of quality.  Some of these things, like being given to wine, should not be true of anyone qualified to be a member of the church.  A man cannot be a drunkard and righteously in Christian communion at the same time.  

3:2: Not saying that the man has to be married, only that this must be so if he is married.  Timothy, an elder to these potential elders, was probably not married. 

3:3: A smiter- Whether someone who is too quick to engage in a physical fight or someone who is too quick to enter into contention in whatever way.

3:4-6: Not a novice= not a new convert.

3:7: A good testimony.  He might be slandered much and misunderstood to some degree, but is there substance to any bad reports about him?  This is another reason why a new convert should be disqualified.  He may need time to prove he has disassociated from a shameful past.

3:8: Those designated as servants for the business of the church are not overseers.  Overseer and deacon are separate offices, but obviously behavior which disqualifies one from one office would disqualify them from the other.

Double tongued implies deceptive.  

They should not be greedy to obtain money.

3:10: I believe that this is saying that they should be tested and proven responsible in smaller matters before they are entrusted with much and put in situations where much is dependent upon them.

Being found blameless= When put to account there is nothing found against them.

3:11-15: Paul is instructing Timothy in regard to the congregation of the faithful wherever that congregating happens.  The people who can be righteously be part of that congregation are the Christian church by the Biblical definition of the term.  What most people consider a church would be better referred to as a meeting hall or something along those lines.  People tend to have a superstitious outlook in relation to buildings which are given holy sounding names.  There is no building which actually makes a person holy by their entrance or regular attendance of.  It is better to save money, and to help avoid the potentially superstitious attitude towards the building, for the congregation to meet in a home.  But if that can’t be done, it is better to call the designated meeting place something like a meeting place or by its actual address (26900 Main St) or something that doesn’t sound impressive at least.

 It makes sense that an Apostle of Christ’s dealing with things related to church, and the proper Christian character required to be part of a faithful Christian church, would rebuke the majority of churches and prove them wanting.

The pillar and ground of the truth is applicable when God’s Word rules there.  Otherwise, the church is built on sand as it is at odds with the truth of God’s Word.  In that case, the call of Revelation 18:4 applies: “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”

3:16: Justified in the Spirit- Likely a reference to the Spirit of God descending upon Jesus at His Baptism (a moment which also rebukes those who deny the Trinity).

Christ lives through His faithful people.  That is the mystery of godliness.  Those who take verses like this to deify man are exceedingly wicked.  The Creator-creation distinction has never been abolished, and it never will be.  

Isaiah 43:10-11: “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.  I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no savior.”

4:1: No one is unconditionally eternally secure.  Nobody who is in Christ is immune to departing from Him- perhaps even to following a false jesus, a false gospel, and demonic spirits.  

1 Corinthians 10:12: “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”

4:2-3: Adopting a false holiness is a key way in which people depart from the faith and a key way in which people are seduced to depart from the faith through lies told by those who can boldly lie and act like they are ministers of righteousness.

4:4-5: I’ve heard some say people shouldn’t eat meat while also claiming that this is a spiritual issue.  Don’t heed them!  

The Roman Catholic Church is proven to not be the pillar and ground of the truth which it claims to be (in this one way alone, not to mention a multitude of others) by forbidding marriage to its clergy class (which isn’t derived from the Bible either- there is no institutionalized Biblical Priesthood involving humans in the Bible except the Levitical Priesthood which is not operating anymore since it has given way to Christ’s High Priesthood in heaven).

Hebrews 13:4: “ Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”

It was even honorable for the Apostle Peter.

4:6-7: Or, mythos.  Fiction; like the Apocryphal books and many other books which oppose Biblical truth or are at least distractions from the Word of God.  That alone is actually able to instruct the soul right and to properly nourish it.

4:8-9: Perhaps that is a reference to things like kneeling in prayer or raising the hands in prayer.  Even if it’s a reference to physical exercise, that is not discounting that the discipline involved in physical exercise might help much in exercising yourself unto godliness.  Sedentary individuals ought to take care of their bodies better and accustom themselves to physical discipline of some kind.  Romans 14:17 is a fitting cross reference with the promises of godliness referenced in verse eight.

4:10: The salvation in Jesus Christ is available to all who yet breathe, while those who believe in Him (as the Great King and Deliverer whom He is) actually partake of His justification and are on the narrow way to eternal life in His kingdom.

4:11: Consider what that might look like practically.

4:12: It is possible that Timothy was in his thirties, yet perhaps seemed younger for various reasons.  Perhaps his ill health and his singleness were factors in this.  Even if he was in his forties and didn’t seem younger, many who are fifty and older might have found it difficult to heed him due to their older age and (seemingly) greater experience in life.

4:13: Reading= Knowing again.  When it comes to God’s Word, that is fitting and necessary.  When there is an overall status quo which breeds stagnancy, that is another matter which is not good at all.

4:14: Or, the assembly of elders.  They possibly expressed hope for Timothy regarding certain important goals and traits, and prayed for God to equip him to help him attain these.  Paul is reminding Timothy of something like this and exhorting him of his corresponding need to remain diligent to seek God accordingly.

4:15-16: Meditate= Care for, attend to carefully.  

If Timothy is not faithful himself and does not have the dealings with the Lord which he needs to have, then his doctrine will get twisted somehow.  And even if it somehow did not, he could not be the example he needed to be nor exercise the wisdom an overseer needs to exercise to guide the church and those in it right.  

We see here that those who have believed in Jesus Christ in truth yet need to be saved.  There is still a great work which needs to be done in them and through them.  They have not finished their Christian course yet.  One wrong concept in their mind can lead to their eventual derailing if not properly addressed.  One gem from God’s Word might be the very thing they need to avoid a great snare which would be extremely difficult to recover from (we’ll see at least one example of this in the next chapter).  Christian victory is not complete in this lifetime.  God’s Word is perfect and is the light that can guide us to ultimate victory if we are diligent to understand it and walk in it.  It is a big help to be in a church with a faithful overseer as Paul is exhorting Timothy to be here.  This passage is also obviously a great rebuke to those who downplay the importance of having sound doctrine (many actually mock the importance of sound doctrine).

5:1: Paul is going to tell Timothy later in the chapter to rebuke the spiritual elders who sin before all.  Paul seems to be referring generally to one who is advanced in life who needs to be confronted in this particular verse considering the context.  The word in the Greek here is speaking of lashing upon them or beating them.  It is a different word than the word translated as rebuke in verse twenty.  They should not be treated like this, but rather be beseeched or summoned in a less confrontational way.  

5:2: Basically, treat the church members as you should treat those in your own family according to their age and gender.  In the case of the younger women, you wouldn’t deal impurely with your own sister (some sickos might, but they should not be church members at all and they shouldn’t even be allowed among the congregation if they’ve proven themselves to be that wicked).

5:3: This is obviously implying financial help.  The context makes that obvious.

5:4: Nephews here should have been translated as grandchildren.  These should support their parents or grandparents rather than the church (if they need financial support).

5:5: A widow not just technically, but really bereaved of all natural help to lean upon and also really dependent upon God for her needs.

5:6: She is dead to God since her widowhood has not caused her to really draw near to Him.  She is rather yet going her own way since she is dedicated to pleasure.  

5:7: Sin can occur through unrighteous dealing by neglecting those whom an individual or the church ought to help financially.  And sin can also occur by enabling wickedness through financial support which is not appropriate to give to someone.

5:8: We can deny Christ by our deeds, including by not fulfilling mandated responsibilities.  Jesus contended with people in the Gospels who were following a corrupt Jewish tradition of claiming their money was devoted to God in order to avoid giving it to help their needy parents.  Double-minded people can attempt to spiritualize anything, but God is not mocked.  Those who live worse in God’s eyes than unbelievers typically do are sure not going to be partakers of Christ’s redemption on Judgment Day.  They will not escape the condemnation of hell that unbelievers will receive.  This verse is also a key rebuke to antinomianism (lawless, false Christianity) and unconditional eternal security doctrine.

5:9: I believe this is the same principle of 3:2 applied to women.  I believe it is obvious that if she stayed single, and had been faithful to the Lord in singleness, she’d still be qualified.  

5:10: The last phrase sums this up, I believe.  She might not have done one of the previous things due to lack of opportunity.  I think Paul is giving a general guideline of the track record she must have to be qualified to be a widow who is supported by the church while serving in ministry according to her ability.

5:11: The general trend which Paul had seen was that women who had been married, and then their husbands had died or forsaken them, were extremely likely to desire to marry again- even if they claimed early on in their widowhood that they wanted to be single for the Lord the rest of their lives.  What Paul wrote here is not contradicting his commendation of singleness for Christians in general in 1 Corinthians chapter seven.  Younger single women still served the Lord in Apostolic churches without being widows (who did activities more suited to older women).  Paul saw it as preferable though that the younger widows just get married rather than basically vowing to be single for the rest of their life as a widow.  That was something Paul didn’t want anyone to do before the age of sixty.  Younger widows shouldn’t make such a commitment then due to the snare they will be put in in the likely scenario that they will eventually wish to go back on it.  

5:12: If they have committed to singleness for life, and then went back on that, they would essentially be lying and God’s judgment or sentence would be against them.  So if after they have made that commitment, and they go back on it and marry, they are in a very perilous place.  Could they still repent and obtain God’s forgiveness?  I’m not saying they couldn’t, but even if they could, they have still derailed.  Getting started again going forward in the Lord will be extremely more difficult and painful than if they had just married again and never made such a commitment.  

If you’ve vowed to stay single for life, understand that was probably foolish but it was also probably not the same as this.  This seems like it was a public oath with a definite purpose of being a supported widow by the church who did ministry for the church in that context.  I don’t see it as the typical vow to single that a disillusioned and/or frustrated single person might make because they don’t want to deal with romance again, or deal with something related to romance, at the moment.  If you’ve done that, I suggest that you ask God to forgive you and not hold that against you if you should yet choose to get married.  And even if you did make a public oath, and it was in the context of an invalid expectation in a church you know now isn’t in line with the Lord, then I think the same applies to you.  In 1 Timothy five we are dealing with a real public oath in a church that is in line with the Lord which had a specific purpose and end-goal.  I also must say that the historical circumstances of this ministry of widows within the church is difficult to comprehend.  However, the behavior of idle women, and of idle people in general, is not difficult to comprehend.

5:13: Whether Paul is speaking of the time in which they begin to wax wanton against Christ and fail to fulfill their commitment before they are yet remarried, or whether he is speaking of them marrying and continuing their path of wantonness into marriage in doing what is talked about here, he clearly can tell that spiritual destruction and an overall decay of their life is virtually inevitable if they make this commitment of widowhood and don’t follow through on it.

5:14-15: It is clearly better that these younger widows just get married as opportunity comes up in the Lord and eagerly take up the responsibilities involved in being a Christian wife.  

5:16: Everything spoken of from verse three of this chapter until now has been said in relation to this.

5:17: The next verse will show that this honor clearly includes financial support to the extent they need it in order to not be tied down in their Christian ministry duties because of their need to support themselves and their dependents.  I really doubt this is saying they should be paid double what they need.  I believe it is saying that they should be esteemed so highly for their labor in God’s Word that the church should make sure that they are provided for.  Keep in mind that there were Christians at Ephesus willingly giving for this to happen.  These laborers also weren’t benefiting from a church they had planted (which could seem suspicious).  The congregation at Ephesus existed already.  The labor of these elders was only preserving it and making it better.

5:18-19: Note the wording in verse 19 carefully.  It is not saying that two or more people have to witness something an elder did to give the testimony credibility.  It is saying that at least two people should be present when the accusation or complaint is made.  It cannot be easily brushed aside that way nor can the elder’s guilt just be assumed easily.  It is for everyone’s protection.  Yet I’ve heard this verse twisted to tell a person, who claimed they saw the pastor acting like a pervert, that if no one else saw it, they must be quiet.  That sounds like something a guilty person would say.  This illustrates why we need to look carefully at what the Bible actually says.

5:20: This is referring to elders who have been found guilty of undoubtedly actually doing wickedly (not a petty thing which is doubtful is even a sin).   They’ve been justly examined and have been proven guilty.  They’ve been proven to have knowingly acted hypocritically.  The rebuke and chastening they get at this point should be done before the whole church.  This is probably not fitting for other church members who have done the same, unless perhaps their sin has really harmed the whole church (the elders are leaders who had been declared examples of how to live out Christianity faithfully).  

5:21: Showing partiality is a great temptation for a church leader, especially in regard to one’s own family members and those in the church whom they are closest to.  This is one reason why singleness can be preferable for an overseer, though marriage should never be forbidden to overseers and potential future overseers.

5:22-23: Note the context of verse twenty three.  Timothy can’t be a drunkard or in any way addicted to wine.  Paul didn’t want him though to think that a little wine for the sake of his health would make him impure.  Getting drunk would make him impure. Those who so fiercely want to use this passage and/or Jesus turning the water into wine at the wedding should be just as zealous for the Bible passages which insist on sobriety, not fellowshipping with those who walk in darkness, and being faithful stewards with our time, our minds, and our money for the Lord.  Their obvious partiality in their selection of their favorite and/or most quoted Bible passages convicts them as transgressors before God.

5:24-25: Paul was emphasizing to Timothy that even though you must be extremely careful in choosing elders and do all in your power not to ordain a hypocrite or a spiritually immature Christian, there is still a point where you can righteously investigate no more.  When that is reached, you can trust God to reveal sins, and perhaps other issues like weaknesses and immaturities, which ought to disqualify a man from being an elder. Likewise, you may honestly not see that a man is qualified to be an elder, but if you pay attention and aren’t a respecter of persons, you can trust that a man like that will have his good works and good character revealed publicly by God’s own sovereignty over time.  I think Paul’s point here is, Be extremely careful about the elders you ordain but still know that you may not make the best choices anyways due to your limited information.  The information to show who is best qualified will eventually come out, but it may take some time.  Therefore, be ready to adjust afterwards even though you should do all you righteously can to make choices which won’t have to be regretted.

6:1: This is the same word in the Greek which is translated as honor in chapter five regarding the elders who rule well.

6:2: Don’t think little of them.

6:3: Wholesome here is hygaiano (hoog-ee-ah’-ee-no) in the Greek text.  This is obviously the source of the English word hygiene.  We see another condemnation here of those who oppose Lordship salvation.

6:4: He is not acquainted with true godliness but is rather spiritually sick.  The word for doting here in the Greek is directly saying that.

6:5: Perverse disputings= Misemployment; meddlesomeness.  

They view the Christianity they profess as a means of gain for self.

6:6: Only attained by those who die to self, take up their cross, and yield themselves to Christ’s authority to follow the righteous principles in His Word without contention.

6:7-10: Any and every manner of evil might have the love of money at the root of it.  This is not saying that every single wicked action has the love of money at the root of it.  The pursuit of money is such a key way that those governed by their own gain act according to.  It is not the only way to pursue self-interest, yet it is one of the most common and especially destructive ones.  It is also especially tricky to avoid since making and managing money is a part of life for virtually everyone.

Note that some have erred or been led astray from the faith through the love of money.  This is another rebuke yet to unconditional eternal security and Calvinistic perseverance doctrine.  There is still a fight to fight which the Christian is not guaranteed victory- in unless he actually takes heed to God’s Word and follows His instructions- that will be a fight.  The devil, in walking about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, wants the Christian to think that he or she, personally, has already won the fight and already has the fullness of eternal life guaranteed them.  The Apostles of Christ taught otherwise though.

6:11-12: Timothy has started well, but he still is instructed to yet fight the good fight of faith and lay hold on eternal life.

6:13-18: They are to take heed to not look down on others due to their wealth and to rather use their wealth to do good in God’s eyes, distribute (especially to those whom they see in need obviously), and communicate (the Greek speaks of being inclined to share and impart what one has to others).

6:19: Christians who slack in what Paul has been talking about are not laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come.  They are setting themselves up to fall away from the faith rather than laying hold on eternal life (there’s that phrase again).

And many of us, including almost all modern Americans, are rich in this world by current world standards and the first century standards which must have been in Paul’s mind as he wrote this.

6:20-21: Or, silly, empty talk.

Opposition= antithesis.  Knowledge here= gnosis.  False science.  

One example of that would be the teaching of macroevolution.  It is truly opposed to what the Bible teaches about God, creation, and man.  When was the last time you saw a part man, part monkey running around?  You haven’t.  The evolutionist laughs, thinking that they know better than the obvious truth that there aren’t half men and half monkeys running around- and there never were.  I wouldn’t be surprised if God is laughing at them.

Romans 1:20-22: “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools”

Psalm 2:1-5: “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.  Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.”

Aaron’s email is: [email protected]

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