1 Timothy

Purpose & theme

First Timothy is the first of three “Pastoral Epistles” (with 2 Timothy and Titus), letters Paul wrote not to churches but to individual coworkers about the leadership and life of the church. Paul had left Timothy, his beloved younger colleague, in charge of the church at Ephesus, and he writes to instruct him “how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth” (3:15). That verse captures the letter’s purpose: to guide the ordering of the church so that it guards and displays the truth of the gospel. The two great concerns that run through the letter are sound doctrine and godly order: protecting the church from false teaching, and establishing the kind of leadership, worship, and conduct that reflect the gospel.

Paul charges Timothy to confront the false teachers troubling Ephesus, who promoted “myths and endless genealogies” and misused the law, and to hold fast instead to “sound doctrine” that accords with “the glorious gospel of the blessed God” (1:10-11). He sets out how the church should pray, how men and women should conduct themselves in worship, and, most famously, the qualifications for overseers (elders) and deacons, which center not on talent but on character (chapter 3). He gives instruction about widows, elders, servants, and the right use of money, warning that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” and calling instead for “godliness with contentment” (6:6-10). Woven through the practical instruction are some of the letter’s memorable “trustworthy sayings,” including the heart of the gospel: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1:15). First Timothy thus remains the church’s foundational manual for its leadership, worship, and life, all in the service of guarding “the truth” entrusted to it.