Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope, 2 To Timothy, a true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. 3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. 5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. 8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.
Commentary
Vs. 1 The Apostle Paul introduces himself as an Apostle by “…the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope.” From the start Paul makes it very clear that he did not appoint himself as an Apostle, the Lord Jesus Christ did. And throughout his epistles Paul always describes himself as such; as one called by God (2 Cor. 2:1), separated to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:1). In fact he makes a clear distinction between himself as one called by the will of God (Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 2 Tim. 1:1) and those who are in fact only called by the will of men (Gal. 1:1). Now God is the Savior of everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. For God alone initiates salvation and calls men and woman to Himself by Jesus Christ His Son (John 1:14; 6:37-40; 12:32). For faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to knowing God and thus having a relationship with Him which leads to eternal life (John 14:6; 17:3). Since nobody can pay the ransom price that his or her souls require (Ps. 49:7-9). Yet God in His great love for us did when Jesus Christ suffered death on a cross for all our sins at Calvary (John 3:16). Therefore Jesus Christ is our soul’s ransom, as well as our resurrected Savior, and thus He alone becomes our hope for eternal life.
Vs. 3-4 Now in light of what the Apostle Paul has already understood from Timothy’s letter and Timothy’s desire to come to him; Paul nonetheless knowing what was at stake urges Timothy to remain in Ephesus "...that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine 4 or give heed to fables and endless genealogies which cause disputes rather godly edification which is by faith," vs. 3-4 For to leave at this crucial time would likely mean that the church would be left in distress, or worse overrun by the savage wolves the Apostle Paul warned earlier about (See Acts 20:28-30). Therefore the Apostle Paul’s instructions here is to stop those individuals in the church who were forwarding a pseudo “spirituality” amongst the brethren. For it was their questionable doctrines, and or speculations on spiritual matters, that was making for much divisiveness amongst them. Rather than producing Godly edification which comes by faith (consider 2 Cor. 5:7). Therefore in light of such things the Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy, as Pastor, to take charge of the situation and appoint Godly men and charge them that they teach no other doctrine. For fables (i.e. myths) and genealogies are useless for producing a Godly life, and when mixed with the gospel, they like all forms of false teaching and "spirituality" are perilous for believers to partake in. For they open a door for Satan's emissaries to enter in by (Consider 2 Cor. 11:3-4, 13-15; Gal. 1:6-9; Rev. 18:3-4 NKJ).
In Hebrews 13:9 we are similarly warned: “Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.” Thus staying rooted and grounded in God’s Word and the simplicity of the gospel, rather than something that appears “spiritual”, but only produces debates and strife amongst believers and not Godly edification which is through faith and love was to be priority one for Timothy. To get the congregation rooted and grounded in God's Word (John 17:17). For we are all commended to the Word of God's grace, which always directs our hearts and faith towards Jesus Christ, rather than heeding the decrees, speculations, or false spirituality of men (Col. 2:8-10; 20-22).
Vs. 5-8 Therefore the Apostle Paul reminds Timothy that the purpose for the commandment is not to generate more debate and strife, but rather forward “…love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith” (vs. 5). For love is the Christians call to discipleship. That is the command that Jesus left us to govern our relationships with each other love. Therefore love is to define us as His disciples (John 13:33). Not pursuing questionable doctrines and uncertain things; since again the whole law hangs on one command: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself”. Therefore a good conscience towards God and ones fellow person always comes through love (Rom. 13:8-10). Not a love that is divorced of Godly knowledge and discernment, but a love that is born out of abiding in Christ’s love and keeping His commandments (John 15:9-11). Yet some having strayed from that foundational premise of obedience towards Jesus Christ by grace and truth (John 1:17) which always accords with godliness (Titus 1:1) had turned aside to idle talk (vs. 6); “desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.”
That there were those who had strayed from the truth, yet were seeking to be teachers of the law, is not restricted to the congregation that Timothy was overseeing (See 2 Peter 3:16-18). For the vanity of the human heart loves to be seen as an authority before one's peers; nonetheless Jesus commands something far better from us all who would follow Him in discipleship (Consider Matt. 23:1-12). Now the entirety of God’s Word is truth and every one of His righteous statutes endure forever (Ps. 119:119). Therefore the Apostle Paul affirms that the law is good if one uses it lawfully (vs. 8). That is uses it lawfully, as it is intended, for instruction in righteousness, for correction, for rebuke and thus directing us all away from sin and error and hopefully into a personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 3:16-17). For neither the church nor individual believer is under the law (Rom. 6:14), and thus its curse, which Christ suffered for us all on the cross (Gal. 3:10-14). Therefore the law is not given to us to impose on others in the New Covenant era (Acts 15:1-29). Rather the law has a righteous purpose, and in the context of salvation it's purpose is to reveal our sins to us. Since it is through the law that God has set the everlasting moral standards that everyone is to live by, and will be judged by (Rom. 2). Yet as we honestly examine our own hearts and lives, all we see are our own failings according to it. For God has through the law shut up the whole world under sin, with no hope of redemption from sin and death through it. And thus the law (if we are humble and wise) brings us to repentance towards God and faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who then saves us (John 3:3-5, 16; Acts 20:21). For the law is not given as a means to salvation. As if by it one could be justified before God by their own obedience to it; Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler in gospel clearly reveals that impossibility. Rather the law serves as a tutor to bring us to Christ that we might be justified by faith in His Person (Gal. 3:24-25). That is why the Lord Jesus Christ calls us all to repent of our sins and self-assuredness and believe (Matt. 9:9-13; Mark 1:15; Luke 13:1-5; 18:9-14). So that we might be saved from God's wrath and coming judgment against those things, by turning from them and trusting in Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on a cross given through God's great and unfailing love to save us all (John 3:15-16). For only then God will sanctify you, by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, who both makes alive and regenerates everyone who believes (Eph. 1:13-14).
Note: This is a first installment on 1 Timothy, as such each new blog entry will contain roughly ten verses, so as not to make any single blog entry to long. Also the entire Biblical Text may be viewed by hovering ones cursor over the blog title or any cited Scripture.
Commentary
Vs. 1 The Apostle Paul introduces himself as an Apostle by “…the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope.” From the start Paul makes it very clear that he did not appoint himself as an Apostle, the Lord Jesus Christ did. And throughout his epistles Paul always describes himself as such; as one called by God (2 Cor. 2:1), separated to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:1). In fact he makes a clear distinction between himself as one called by the will of God (Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 2 Tim. 1:1) and those who are in fact only called by the will of men (Gal. 1:1). Now God is the Savior of everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. For God alone initiates salvation and calls men and woman to Himself by Jesus Christ His Son (John 1:14; 6:37-40; 12:32). For faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to knowing God and thus having a relationship with Him which leads to eternal life (John 14:6; 17:3). Since nobody can pay the ransom price that his or her souls require (Ps. 49:7-9). Yet God in His great love for us did when Jesus Christ suffered death on a cross for all our sins at Calvary (John 3:16). Therefore Jesus Christ is our soul’s ransom, as well as our resurrected Savior, and thus He alone becomes our hope for eternal life.
Vs. 2 The Apostle Paul addresses his letter (or epistle) to Timothy whom he calls a true son in the faith. A young protégé who had both Jewish and Gentile bloodlines; Paul had shared the gospel with Timothy along with his Godly mother and grandmother. And when they believed in Christ Paul brought Timothy on some of his missionary journeys. Then while they were in Ephesus; Paul having already discipled Timothy, entrusted him to the oversight of the believers in Ephesus, while he himself crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Macedonia to minister the gospel there (vs. 3). The Apostle Paul then having received distressing correspondence from Timothy while there, is now writing to him. And so the Apostle Paul begins his epistle by bestowing three blessings on young Timothy (which are likewise every believers), “…Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.” In so doing the Apostle Paul affirms God's agenda for us all who believe, though the road in this life is often precarious and sometimes even perilous (Acts 14:21-22).
Vs. 3-4 Now in light of what the Apostle Paul has already understood from Timothy’s letter and Timothy’s desire to come to him; Paul nonetheless knowing what was at stake urges Timothy to remain in Ephesus "...that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine 4 or give heed to fables and endless genealogies which cause disputes rather godly edification which is by faith," vs. 3-4 For to leave at this crucial time would likely mean that the church would be left in distress, or worse overrun by the savage wolves the Apostle Paul warned earlier about (See Acts 20:28-30). Therefore the Apostle Paul’s instructions here is to stop those individuals in the church who were forwarding a pseudo “spirituality” amongst the brethren. For it was their questionable doctrines, and or speculations on spiritual matters, that was making for much divisiveness amongst them. Rather than producing Godly edification which comes by faith (consider 2 Cor. 5:7). Therefore in light of such things the Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy, as Pastor, to take charge of the situation and appoint Godly men and charge them that they teach no other doctrine. For fables (i.e. myths) and genealogies are useless for producing a Godly life, and when mixed with the gospel, they like all forms of false teaching and "spirituality" are perilous for believers to partake in. For they open a door for Satan's emissaries to enter in by (Consider 2 Cor. 11:3-4, 13-15; Gal. 1:6-9; Rev. 18:3-4 NKJ).
In Hebrews 13:9 we are similarly warned: “Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.” Thus staying rooted and grounded in God’s Word and the simplicity of the gospel, rather than something that appears “spiritual”, but only produces debates and strife amongst believers and not Godly edification which is through faith and love was to be priority one for Timothy. To get the congregation rooted and grounded in God's Word (John 17:17). For we are all commended to the Word of God's grace, which always directs our hearts and faith towards Jesus Christ, rather than heeding the decrees, speculations, or false spirituality of men (Col. 2:8-10; 20-22).
Vs. 5-8 Therefore the Apostle Paul reminds Timothy that the purpose for the commandment is not to generate more debate and strife, but rather forward “…love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith” (vs. 5). For love is the Christians call to discipleship. That is the command that Jesus left us to govern our relationships with each other love. Therefore love is to define us as His disciples (John 13:33). Not pursuing questionable doctrines and uncertain things; since again the whole law hangs on one command: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself”. Therefore a good conscience towards God and ones fellow person always comes through love (Rom. 13:8-10). Not a love that is divorced of Godly knowledge and discernment, but a love that is born out of abiding in Christ’s love and keeping His commandments (John 15:9-11). Yet some having strayed from that foundational premise of obedience towards Jesus Christ by grace and truth (John 1:17) which always accords with godliness (Titus 1:1) had turned aside to idle talk (vs. 6); “desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.”
That there were those who had strayed from the truth, yet were seeking to be teachers of the law, is not restricted to the congregation that Timothy was overseeing (See 2 Peter 3:16-18). For the vanity of the human heart loves to be seen as an authority before one's peers; nonetheless Jesus commands something far better from us all who would follow Him in discipleship (Consider Matt. 23:1-12). Now the entirety of God’s Word is truth and every one of His righteous statutes endure forever (Ps. 119:119). Therefore the Apostle Paul affirms that the law is good if one uses it lawfully (vs. 8). That is uses it lawfully, as it is intended, for instruction in righteousness, for correction, for rebuke and thus directing us all away from sin and error and hopefully into a personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 3:16-17). For neither the church nor individual believer is under the law (Rom. 6:14), and thus its curse, which Christ suffered for us all on the cross (Gal. 3:10-14). Therefore the law is not given to us to impose on others in the New Covenant era (Acts 15:1-29). Rather the law has a righteous purpose, and in the context of salvation it's purpose is to reveal our sins to us. Since it is through the law that God has set the everlasting moral standards that everyone is to live by, and will be judged by (Rom. 2). Yet as we honestly examine our own hearts and lives, all we see are our own failings according to it. For God has through the law shut up the whole world under sin, with no hope of redemption from sin and death through it. And thus the law (if we are humble and wise) brings us to repentance towards God and faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who then saves us (John 3:3-5, 16; Acts 20:21). For the law is not given as a means to salvation. As if by it one could be justified before God by their own obedience to it; Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler in gospel clearly reveals that impossibility. Rather the law serves as a tutor to bring us to Christ that we might be justified by faith in His Person (Gal. 3:24-25). That is why the Lord Jesus Christ calls us all to repent of our sins and self-assuredness and believe (Matt. 9:9-13; Mark 1:15; Luke 13:1-5; 18:9-14). So that we might be saved from God's wrath and coming judgment against those things, by turning from them and trusting in Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on a cross given through God's great and unfailing love to save us all (John 3:15-16). For only then God will sanctify you, by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, who both makes alive and regenerates everyone who believes (Eph. 1:13-14).
For again the law says nothing about bringing the Holy Spirit into those lives who try to keep the law to be saved from their sins through it (Gal. 3:2-3). Nor does the law say anything about new birth; which Jesus commands of everyone as the only way into the Kingdom of heaven (John 3:3-5). For again God having shut up the whole world under sin (Rom. 3:23) He makes entering the Kingdom of heaven only possible by His Work and Righteousness; not mans (Rom. 3:26). Both His salvation work by Jesus Christ's Crucifixion death on the cross and His regenerating work by His Holy Spirit which brings to life and transforms into Christ likeness everyone who believes. And thus the image of God which was lost to the human race when Adam sinned is restored by the second Adam Christ (Rom. 5:12-21). Therefore we only enter in by God’s grace given to us all by faith in Jesus Christ's Person (Rom. 11:6; Eph. 2:8-9). Thus the law is not "the means" or "a means" to salvation. For apart from Christ the law only makes us aware of our sinful condition, and thus our separated state from God and all that is life. Therefore it is through the gospel that God offers us His solution for our sins and our sin nature. By His first atoning for all our sins, by His Son Jesus Christ's death on the cross, then His regenerating our person's, by our believing in His Son Jesus Christ's Person, whose resurrected life and power the Holy Spirit brings in us the moment we believe in Him. For Jesus says unless you are born again (born of water, that is natural birth, and Spirit, that is born-again by the Spirit of God) you cannot enter the Kingdom of heaven (John 3:3-5). And thus we only enter into God's Kingdom and receive remission of all our sins and eternal life through the grace of God given to us by faith in Jesus Christ's Person (Titus 3:4-7). Therefore unless you see your own need, and your incapability of meeting that need, you will not see your need for Jesus Christ's substitutionary death on the cross given by God to save you, and us all. For the law can save no one, it can only charge us all with having sinned (James 2:13).
In a rather strong rebuke of those who desire to be teachers of the law yet do not understand the things they teach, nor the things they affirm, the Apostle Paul here lays it straight out just who the Law is for! Saying that the law is not made for the righteous person; that is those who are declared righteous by their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and hence forth strive to live righteously (Rom. 5:1; 1 John 3:1-3). Rather for those who do not believe in Him and continue on in their sins (Rom. 2:11-16; Jude 14-15). Therefore the law has nothing to say to those who by the Holy Spirit put to death the sinful deeds of their flesh (Gal. 5:16-24). Yet the church being under the law has always been a problem (Gal. 4:21-31). The reason it is a problem is it moves justification from the realm of faith in Jesus Christ by which we are saved by the grace of God (Eph. 2:8-9). Into the realm of works by which people only acquire debt in their attempts to get justified (Rom. 4:4-5), or become self-righteous in their thinking (Luke 18:9-14). Righteousness then, that is a righteous standing before God cannot come through human effort, for that would circumvent the cross of Christ (John 3:15-16). For the law cannot be kept by anyone to bring salvation through it (Acts 15:8-11; Rom. 3:19-28). It can only convict people of their sins and or authorize God's righteous judgment against them. Therefore to enter into the Kingdom of heaven one must have their hope fully fixed on Jesus Christ crucified and Risen from the dead for the remission of all their sins, rather than their own righteousness through the law or anything else (Rom. 7:4-6). For Jesus Christ was crucified to magnify God’s righteousness through the law, not mans (Rom. 3:26-28; 5:6-21; Gal. 2:21).
Again the Apostle’s Paul’s commandment (vs. 5) is given for the purpose of producing in all who believe love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith. In essence the fruits of the Spirit; which God imparts in us when we believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and we are to live out by being led by the Spirit of God and not the letter of the law. For the letter of the law only kills and or arouses the sinful passions of the flesh (Rom. 7:5; 2 Cor. 3:5-9). It does not liberate anyone from their sins and the spiritually dead condition they are in apart from Christ. Nor can it impart grace when someone falls into sin; only the gospel can do that. Therefore the law is not the gospel, it is to point people to the gospel of Jesus Christ where God redeems, then brings to life and transforms the lives by the Holy Spirit of everyone who believes in Jesus Christ. Again it is the Spirit of God via the fruits of Spirit which produces in believers the righteous life that God requires, against such there is no law (Gal. 5:16-23). Thus we do not preach the law, only Jesus Christ crucified and Risen from the dead for the redemption of sinners from its eternal judgment. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; 39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Acts 13:38-39
Scripture Quotations
Vs. 9-11 “Knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for thelawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for theunholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.” Vs. 9-11
In a rather strong rebuke of those who desire to be teachers of the law yet do not understand the things they teach, nor the things they affirm, the Apostle Paul here lays it straight out just who the Law is for! Saying that the law is not made for the righteous person; that is those who are declared righteous by their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and hence forth strive to live righteously (Rom. 5:1; 1 John 3:1-3). Rather for those who do not believe in Him and continue on in their sins (Rom. 2:11-16; Jude 14-15). Therefore the law has nothing to say to those who by the Holy Spirit put to death the sinful deeds of their flesh (Gal. 5:16-24). Yet the church being under the law has always been a problem (Gal. 4:21-31). The reason it is a problem is it moves justification from the realm of faith in Jesus Christ by which we are saved by the grace of God (Eph. 2:8-9). Into the realm of works by which people only acquire debt in their attempts to get justified (Rom. 4:4-5), or become self-righteous in their thinking (Luke 18:9-14). Righteousness then, that is a righteous standing before God cannot come through human effort, for that would circumvent the cross of Christ (John 3:15-16). For the law cannot be kept by anyone to bring salvation through it (Acts 15:8-11; Rom. 3:19-28). It can only convict people of their sins and or authorize God's righteous judgment against them. Therefore to enter into the Kingdom of heaven one must have their hope fully fixed on Jesus Christ crucified and Risen from the dead for the remission of all their sins, rather than their own righteousness through the law or anything else (Rom. 7:4-6). For Jesus Christ was crucified to magnify God’s righteousness through the law, not mans (Rom. 3:26-28; 5:6-21; Gal. 2:21).
Again the Apostle’s Paul’s commandment (vs. 5) is given for the purpose of producing in all who believe love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith. In essence the fruits of the Spirit; which God imparts in us when we believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and we are to live out by being led by the Spirit of God and not the letter of the law. For the letter of the law only kills and or arouses the sinful passions of the flesh (Rom. 7:5; 2 Cor. 3:5-9). It does not liberate anyone from their sins and the spiritually dead condition they are in apart from Christ. Nor can it impart grace when someone falls into sin; only the gospel can do that. Therefore the law is not the gospel, it is to point people to the gospel of Jesus Christ where God redeems, then brings to life and transforms the lives by the Holy Spirit of everyone who believes in Jesus Christ. Again it is the Spirit of God via the fruits of Spirit which produces in believers the righteous life that God requires, against such there is no law (Gal. 5:16-23). Thus we do not preach the law, only Jesus Christ crucified and Risen from the dead for the redemption of sinners from its eternal judgment. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; 39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Acts 13:38-39
Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982
Note: This is a first installment on 1 Timothy, as such each new blog entry will contain roughly ten verses, so as not to make any single blog entry to long. Also the entire Biblical Text may be viewed by hovering ones cursor over the blog title or any cited Scripture.
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