A Commentary in Simple English on 1 Timothy

CHAPTER 1

Verses 1 and 2 Greeting

This greeting is rather like the one in 1 Timothy 1:1 and 2. God has sent Paul out with the Good News. This is not Paul's choice: it is God's will. God has sent Paul as part of the way in which God keeps his promise. This promise is that he will give life to all who are joined to the Lord Jesus Christ. This life is life now, but it is also life for ever in glory. We know that we are joined to Jesus when we believe the Good News and trust him to save us (verse 1).

In verse 2, Paul calls Timothy 'my dear son' again. This is probably because Timothy became a Christian when he heard Paul preach. This was at Lystra. (See Acts 14:6-7 and 16:1, and also 2 Corinthians 4:14-15.) Also they had worked well together for so many years. Then Paul prays that God's great blessings may come again to Timothy.

Verses 3-5 Thanks to God for memories of His grace

Now Paul gives thanks to God. He does not say how bad the prison is. He does not say how cruel the Romans are to him. He is lonely, cold and perhaps hungry. But he still finds something to thank God for. He thinks about the men in his family for many years before him. They were men who served God. Paul, like them, serves God. Paul thanks God for this. Paul is now a Christian, but he has a 'clear conscience' (1 Tim 1:5). He knows that there is nothing in his life for him to be ashamed of. He is in prison and the Romans use him badly as though he was a criminal.

We do not know exactly why Paul was in prison. We only know that it was because he was a Christian. Paul knew just why he was in prison and he knew too that he was not guilty of any crime. In his prison, he prayed. He prayed both night and day, that is, all the time and he prayed for Timothy. We do not pray nearly enough.

In verse 4, Paul says that he remembers that Timothy wept. We can only guess that this was when Paul left him. It seems that Timothy was a great help to Paul when they were together. Perhaps he did not do so well when he was on his own. There are still people like that today. We must see that each man serves God best in a certain way. Some people are at their best when they help other people in their work. Paul understood Timothy and he wanted very much to see him again.

Paul had long, lonely nights and days in prison. Luke was the only old friend who could visit him (4:11). Then in verse 5, Paul says that just as Paul's fathers had served God, so had Timothy's mother Eunice and her mother Lois. Paul probably means that their religion was real even before they believed the Good News. When they heard the Good News, they believed it.

Timothy was not an actor who wore a mask. He did not just pretend to be a Christian. His faith was real. Perhaps Paul means that the false teachers had not hurt Timothy's faith.

So Paul says in these verses that he remembers Timothy. He remembers his tears and his faith. In the next verse Paul tells Timothy about something that he must remember to do.

Verses 6-14 The gift of the Spirit

We do not know exactly what 'the gift of God' here is. It may have been some special gift, which God gave to Timothy when he became a minister of the Good News with Paul. I think it means rather the Holy Spirit. If I am right, in verse 6, Paul says these things about the Holy Spirit. [1.1]

a) The Holy Spirit is a wonderful gift from God to his people. The Holy Spirit is not just with the people of God. He lives in us (John 14:17; Romans 8:9).

b) Then the Holy Spirit is like a fire, which burns inside us. There are other places in Scripture where we read this (Matthew 3:11; Acts 2:2-4).

c) A fire needs air and wood or coal or it will go out. Sometimes it seems that the fire of the Holy Spirit in us has almost gone out. Paul tells Timothy to take care of the fire of the Holy Spirit in him. The same picture of a fire which has almost gone out is found in other places too (Psalm 42:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:19). We, like Timothy, must watch the fire of the Spirit of God in us. We must make sure that it burns brightly.

d) Years before, Paul had prayed with Timothy. Paul had also laid his hands on Timothy. Paul knew that Timothy had received God's gift of the Holy Spirit at that time. Now some churches still use the 'laying on of hands' in their worship. But when this is done, people do not often, if ever, experience the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is not wise to keep anything like this in our worship.

Then in verse 7, Paul says that the Spirit does not make us 'timid'. The Spirit of God does not make us frightened of other people. He makes us open and brave. Then Paul speaks about three things that the Spirit does give us. These are power, love and self-control. [1.2]

There are times when the church of Christ suffers. The time when Paul wrote was such a time. At such a time, we need all three of these things. We need the Spirit of power. We must be brave. We must not be timid and frightened. We must be open. We shall have the power to serve other Christians who need our help. So we shall have the Spirit of love. Now Christians may become excited when the church suffers. They may say: 'I want to show our enemies that we love God.' 'I want all the Christians to march through the streets.' That sort of thing usually does little good. But it will make the enemies of the church more angry. We may never say: 'I could not help doing that. The Spirit of God made me do it.'

One wonderful thing that Paul says here is that the Spirit of God is a spirit of self-control. God's Spirit does not make you do things which you do not want to do, or things which you ought not to do. The spirit of self-control means that we listen to wise advice by church leaders. We do not march through the streets. We go to visit someone who is in prison because of his or her faith. Or we join with other Christians in someone's home to pray.

Now of course it is not only when the church suffers that we need to bring power, love and self-control together. A time of suffering however, is a time when we have special need of them.

So in verse 8, Paul tells Timothy not to be ashamed. (See also verses 12 and 16.). He is not to be ashamed to preach the Good News about Jesus. Jesus died on the cross. His death was the most shameful death that people knew. It was a death used for slaves who had been guilty of crimes. But Jesus had done nothing wrong. Indeed, he had done far more good than anyone else had. Paul feels no shame when he preaches the message of salvation through Jesus who died on the cross. (See Mark 8:38 and Romans 1:16.) Nor must Timothy feel shame. It was most shameful in those days to be in prison. Timothy must not be ashamed of Paul. Paul had been in prison before. (Ephesians 3:1; Philemon: 9). Paul is in prison again but it is for the sake of Jesus.

Every Christian has a Saviour who suffered to save him. It is true to say, also, that we share in the sufferings of Christ (Romans 8:17; 2 Corinthians 1:5; Philippians 3:10; Colossians 1:24; 1 Peter 1:13). If we suffer because we have faith in Jesus, we still have joy (Hebrews 10:32-34; Luke 6:22 and 23; Acts 5:41; 1 Thessalonians 1:6).

Now the false teachers at Ephesus probably did not understand that suffering has this place in the Christian life. Perhaps they had not broken away from the Jewish worship. So they did not suffer for their faith. Those Jews who did not believe in Jesus were not their enemies. They could also tell the Romans that they were Jews.

So Paul tells Timothy to join with him in suffering for the Good News. But he can only do this 'by the power of God'. We cannot suffer for Christ without God's help. If we do not have God's help we shall become bitter. We shall hate our enemies. Only with the help of God can we love our enemies (Matthew 5:44).

In verses 9 and 10, Paul gives us a fine plan of the Good News.

1. First, he says what God has done for us.

a) He has saved us. Once we were lost. Now he has rescued us from danger.

b) We know that God has saved us because he has called us. He has called us to be followers of Jesus. He has called us to lead holy lives (1 Thessalonians 4:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2). God has forgiven our sins. Our new lives must be holy. God promises us glory and life for ever.

2. Second, he tells us why God has saved and called us.

a) It is not because of anything that we have done. It is not because we were good or because we did good works or joined in worship. Nothing that we could do would be good enough to be the reason for God's love to us.

b) The only reason that we can give is God's purpose or will and his grace or favour to us. There could be no greater reason than this.

3. Then third, Paul tells us how all this began.

a) We do not know what 'eternity' is. We only know what time is. But what Paul says is not just that God gave us his grace or favour 'ages ago' or before time began. He says that God gave his grace to us 'before times eternal'. This was not just before these short lives of ours began. It was before God made the world.

b) Then God placed his grace or favour for us 'in Christ Jesus'. He had his purpose. He knew the way by which he would save sinners. This was by the death of Jesus, the Son whom he loved so well. So God stored up his grace to sinners in Jesus until he came into the world. Through long ages God hid this treasure of grace in Jesus. He hid it for men.

4. So fourthly, Paul tells us about God's way to bring this saving grace to men.

a) Jesus has appeared. He is the Son of God. Always, he had been with God. See John 1:1, where John calls Jesus 'the Word'. Now he has become a real man and he has lived among men (John 1:14).

b) Jesus has appeared and he is the Saviour that we needed. He is the Saviour that God has given to men. He rescues us from the danger of death. He places us safely in life that is real.

c) He is our Saviour just because he brings to us God's grace.

5. Fifth, Paul tells us a little about what Jesus did for us.

a) He destroyed death. Jesus is 'the death of death'. When death itself dies, nothing is left except life. God hates death. God promised long ago to destroy death (Isaiah 25:8; Hosea 13:14; 1 Corinthians 15:54; Hebrews 2:14 and 15). We are still afraid of death. We should be ashamed of this fear. Jesus has taken the power away from death.

Now it is true that we shall all have to die, but Jesus has taken away all the power that death had over men. For those who trust in Jesus, the darkness and the fear has gone. In Romans 6:23, Paul tells us that death is the wage which sin pays to us. Now, Christ has paid the price for our sin and we are free.

Please remember that it was not easy for Paul to write like this. Paul knew that at any time he might have to die a cruel death.

b) So once life was in the darkness. We could not see it. Jesus has brought life into the light so that we can now see it and enjoy it.

6. None of this would do us any good if we did not know anything about it. So Paul adds at the end of verse 10 that God has done this through the Good News. We know the great things which God has done for us when we hear someone preach the Good News.

Then in verse 11, Paul says that God has made him a preacher or 'herald' as well as an apostle and a teacher. A herald marched in front of a king to tell everyone to get ready. The king would soon arrive. Words like the one that Paul uses here are often used in the New Testament for the preaching of the Good News.

Now Timothy might say: 'It is all very well for Paul. He is a great apostle.' So Paul says: 'Yes. But I am also a preacher and teacher. So are you, Timothy.' We share with the greatest men of God the same Saviour and the same Good News.

It is only because Paul is a Christian and a preacher that he is in prison (verse 12). There is no other reason. He has done nothing wrong. The Romans held Paul in prison until the court of law passed judgment on him.

We use prison as a way to punish people for a certain length of time. The Romans did not use prison in that way. Prisons held people who had to wait for their case to be heard by a judge. Then if the judge decided to punish them, they would be sent back to prison. They would wait there to be punished. [1.3] People in prison were often ill. Many died. Many were killed by other prisoners. Many were hungry. If you had money and honour, you would be better treated.

But although Paul is in this place which is so shameful, he is not ashamed. He is not ashamed because he does not just know the Good News. He does not just know what he has believed. He also knows God Himself and He is the God of glory.

Soldiers or jailors guard Paul. That was not difficult for them to do. How much more is God able to guard what Paul has trusted him with! You may see from your Bible that the meaning of what Paul wrote could be the other way round. It could mean 'what God has trusted Paul with'. But it seems better to understand that Paul has trusted God with his soul. God is able to guard that. It is Paul's 'deposit'. Men may kill Paul. That will be a shock and a great sorrow to Timothy and to many other Christians. But God can still guard all that Paul had trusted him with until the last great day of God's judgment.

The story that Jesus told in Matthew 25:14-30 is quite close to the idea of 'a deposit'. There the man who goes abroad trusts his servants to look after his money until he comes back. Often people trusted you with a ‘deposit’, which you had to take to someone else.

In verse 13, Paul says that it is not enough for Timothy to teach other people what he has often heard Paul say. This is sound or 'healthy' teaching. People who listen to it should lead 'healthy' Christian lives. But Timothy must also have faith. He must put his trust in Jesus. He must also have love to the people he teaches. Without that faith and love, there will be no life in the church. This happens much too often. The teaching of a church is right. Yet there is no love there. Paul knows that this is a real danger.

In verse 14, Paul says that he has trusted Timothy with a 'deposit'. It is a good deposit, and Timothy must guard it. Timothy will have to account to God for it. It is the Good News. But Timothy needs help in this work. The Holy Spirit is not just near us or around us. He is in every real Christian. He will help Timothy to guard the Good News.

Verses 15-18 Paul and some Asian Christians

In verse 15, Paul writes about two of the Christians who live in the Roman area of 'Asia'. This was the western part of what we now call Asia Minor. We do not know anything more about the two men that Paul names here. Perhaps Paul means that he expected these two men to do better. He expected more help from them. Paul says that all the Christians in Asia have turned away from him. He does not say that they have turned away from Christ. He does not say they have turned against him. God had used Paul to start the church at Ephesus. Now no one there wanted to know him.

It would be easy for a man of God to feel bitter at such times. Perhaps many of the Christians at Ephesus said 'Look, Paul is finished now. The Romans have taken him away. They will judge him and kill him. We do not want to side with him.' Remember that we never side with this man or that man in the church. It is Christ's church. Christ is the only head of the church. We are not really on his side. He is at our side. But it was friends like these men that Paul needed now to speak for him in court.

In verses 16-18 Paul writes about quite a different man. Onesiphorus had a good name. It meant 'one who brought profit'. Onesiphorus may have been an old friend of Paul from fifteen years before. Onesiphorus had helped Paul in many ways in Ephesus. Timothy knows all about that. His 'household' was probably at Ephesus (4:19).

Onesiphorus had come to Rome. This may have been a business visit, but he may have made a special journey from Ephesus to find Paul. It was not easy to find anyone in prison in Rome. It was a big city. There would be a number of prisons. People would not want to help you. Nero tried to blame the Christians for a great fire in the city. Then he killed a great many of them in very cruel ways. The Christians in Rome were frightened after what Nero had done to them. Onesiphorus had to try hard, and in the end he found out where Paul was. Then he saw Paul and he gave him help several times. He was not too proud to visit a man like Paul who was not only in prison but who was also in chains (Matthew 25:36).

The Romans would watch Onesiphorus when he visited Paul. The Romans thought that Paul was a criminal. Any friend of Paul might be just as bad. So Onesiphorus too may now be in prison. 'The day' would then be the day when he is tried by the Roman judge. The Roman judge will have no mercy. But the Lord will! Paul cannot reward Onesiphorus for his kindness. But the Lord will!