TEXT [Commentary]

  II.   Instructions concerning Various Pastoral Responsibilities (1:3–6:21)

A.   Dealing with False Teaching (1:3-11)

3 When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth. 4 Don’t let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations,[*] which don’t help people live a life of faith in God.[*]

5 The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. 6 But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. 7 They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don’t know what they are talking about, even though they speak so confidently.

8 We know that the law is good when used correctly. 9 For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. 10 The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders,[*] liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching 11 that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God.

NOTES

1:3 When I left for Macedonia. The present tense participle poreuomenos [TG4198, ZG4513] (while, as) is circumstantial and can be translated, “as I was leaving for Macedonia.”

I urged you. The Greek term parakaleō [TG3870, ZG4151] is the standard form of request used by someone who has the right to command but chooses diplomacy instead. The NLT’s “I urge” is thus preferable to “I beseech” or “I beg” found in other translations.

stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth. Lit., “command some not to teach a different or foreign thing” (heterodidaskaleō [TG2085, ZG2281]). The verb parangellō [TG3853, ZG4133] (command) is a military term that means “to give strict orders” (BAGD 613).

1:4 waste their time. Lit., “pay attention to” (prosechein). It is the second half of the Greek correlative “to neither teach . . . nor pay attention to.” The term prosechō [TG4337, ZG4668] is found four times in 1 Timothy (1:4; 3:8; 4:1, 13). The present tense points to habitual behavior—the false teachers are constantly absorbed with myths and genealogies.

endless discussion. The Greek adjective a + perantos [TG562, ZG596] means “without boundary.” The talking is not merely incessant but also detrimental.

of myths. The word “myth” refers to the content’s legendary and unreliable character. Every occurrence of the word in the NT is negative (TLNT 1.93-94).

lead to . . . speculations. The Greek ekzētēseis parechousi [TG1567.1/3930, ZG1700/4218] means to produce or promote what is novel or speculative (not merely “lead to speculations”). In this case it has to do with the spinning of fictional stories and pedigrees. The addition of the preposition ek [TG1537, ZG1666] is probably intensive: “excessive speculations.”

don’t help people live a life of faith in God. Lit., “instead of [promoting] the stewardship of God which is by faith.” The concept of stewardship is elsewhere associated with both God’s plan of salvation (1 Cor 4:1-2; 9:17; Eph 3:2, 9; Col 1:25) and God’s church (Titus 1:7). If it is the former, Paul was talking about distracting people from the work of bringing people to Christ. If it is the latter, then Paul was thinking about the first-century oikonomos [TG3623, ZG3874] or “household steward.” The steward was a slave who was entrusted with managing the everyday matters of his/her master’s household (TLNT 3.568). The expression en pistei [TG1722/4102, ZG1877/4411] could be locative “in faith” (“faithfully”) or instrumental “through faith” (as a believer). The NLT’s “which don’t help people live a life of faith in God” is too periphrastic and strays from the Greek text and its first-century background (but see NLT mg). The urging is to be faithful stewards of God’s church.

1:5 The purpose of my instruction. The need is for Timothy (lit.) to command (not just “instruct”) the cessation of false teaching. For the military overtones of parangelia [TG3852, ZG4132], see the commentary below.

that all believers would be filled with love. Lit., “the goal [of discipline] is love.” Paul’s point is less that all believers be filled with love and more that the discipliner be motivated by love and not punishment. Paul was reminding Timothy that the ultimate goal (to telos [TG5056, ZG5465]) is love of the wayward. Discipline is the means to this end and not the end itself.

pure heart. Ceremonial purity was required of those who ministered at the altar. Here the requirement for the one doing the disciplining is purity of heart. Cf. 1 Tim 3:9, where it is purity of conscience that is required of a deacon.

clear conscience. Lit., “good” conscience (suneidēseōs agathēs [TG4893/18, ZG5287/19]). The Greek word suneidēsis appears only twice in the Greek OT (Wis 17:10; Eccl 10:20), not at all in the Gospels, and 30 times in the rest of the NT. A “good” or healthy conscience is what guides believers to make the right decisions.

genuine faith. Lit., “a faith free of hypocrisy” (an + hupokritos [TG56, ZG57]).

1:6 missed this whole point. The alpha privative (a) plus stocheō [TG795, ZG846] denotes a “misstep.” It occurs elsewhere in the NT in 6:21 and 2 Tim 2:18, both times in connection with the false teaching. The idea is that the false teachers strayed from the path of healthy teaching.

1:7 teachers of the law of Moses. The Greek is simply “law teachers.” But since Paul goes on in vv. 8-11 to contextualize the Ten Commandments, the Mosaic law is clearly in view.

but they don’t know what they are talking about, even though they speak so confidently. The NLT’s concessive “even though” obscures the Greek correlative construction: “They know neither what they are talking about nor what they confidently assert.”

1:8 We know that the law is good. The Greek term kalos [TG2570, ZG2819] emphasizes outward beauty, rather than intrinsic goodness. An alternative translation might be: “We know that the [Mosaic] law is attractive.”

when used correctly. Paul’s concern was with using the Mosaic law as God intended.

1:9 consider nothing sacred. The Greek term anosios [TG462, ZG495] occurs elsewhere only in 2 Tim 3:2, where it describes those who will come in the last days.

kill their father or mother. The Greek verb aloas (cf. patrolōas kai mētrolōas [TG3964/3389, ZG4260/3618]) means to cudgel or thrash someone.

1:10 people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers. Lists of vices and virtues were a common literary genre in antiquity. Paul employs them throughout his letters to great epistolary advantage (Rom 1:29; 13:13; 1 Cor 5:9-11; 6:9-10; 2 Cor 12:21; Gal 5:19-20; Eph 4:19; 5:3-5; Col 3:5-9).

sexually immoral. Pornoi [TG4205, ZG4521] is technically the masculine counterpart to pornai (“female prostitutes”). In the NT, however, the term is used more broadly of “the sexually immoral” or “fornicator” (NRSV).

slave traders. “Kidnappers” (NLT mg) is closer to the mark (MM 40).

1:11 that comes from the glorious Good News. The range of meaning for the word which NLT renders “comes from” (kata [TG2596, ZG2848] + the accusative) includes (1) direction “to,” “toward,” (2) reflexive “by itself,” (3) distributive “one by one,” and (4) normative “according to,” “in conformity with” (BAGD). The last of these fits admirably here. Paul would then be saying that the OT ethic is “in conformity with the glorious Good News.”

the glorious Good News. Lit., “the Good News of the glory of our blessed God.” The NLT accurately treats the first genitive as descriptive in function: “the glorious Good News.” The second genitive is likely one of source, “the glorious Good News which comes from our blessed God.” The phrase is typically Pauline (1:11; Rom 3:2; 1 Cor 9:17; Gal 2:7; 1 Thess 2:4; Titus 1:3).

COMMENTARY [Text]

Paul wasted no time with formalities; he bypassed the standard thanksgiving so that he could get right to the point: “When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth” (1:3). Timothy’s task was to confront and put an end to false teaching in the church at Ephesus. The term Paul used is a military one that means “to strictly order” (see note on 1:3), an action that usually included a public rebuke. Confrontation of a disciplinary nature is difficult even in the best of circumstances. So it would not be at all surprising if Timothy was contemplating flight rather than fight. The task was a large one. Timothy was not only to command false teachers to stop teaching heresy (1:3) but also to stop the congregation from listening to them (4:11).

At this point Paul did not name names. The false teachers were merely “certain persons” (tisin [TG5100, ZG5516], 1:3; “those” in NLT). This fits Paul’s general practice in dealing with opponents (cf. 1 Cor 4:18; 2 Cor 3:1). The lone exceptions are found in the Pastorals. But, for now, Paul opted for discretion. The aberrant teaching was literally a “different” or “strange thing” (NLT, “contrary to the truth”). The implication is that there was a recognizable body of teaching being taught in various churches. The Greek term heteros [TG2087, ZG2283] (other) defines teaching that is not merely unconventional but non-Christian. The same term is used in Galatians for a perversion of the gospel (heteron euangelion [TG2098, ZG2295]; “gospel”) and thus was no gospel at all (Gal 1:6-9). (For a discussion of the heresies addressed in the Pastorals, see Introduction.)

Paul went on to identify this strange teaching as “myths and spiritual pedigrees” (1:4). The “myths” could well have been Jewish in nature (cf. Titus 1:14, “they must stop listening to Jewish myths”). The rabbinic Midrashim abound with tales that aim to fill the various historical gaps of the Scriptures. Speculating on what Moses did during those forty days on Mount Sinai is one such example (Exodus Rabbah 47). “Myths” could also refer to the cult of Artemis and the belief that Ephesus possessed the very image of the goddess, which (it was claimed) had fallen providentially from Jupiter (Acts 19:35). “Spiritual pedigrees” is literally “genealogies.” The ability to trace one’s lineage was very important to Jews and Greeks alike. The time spent spinning myths and tracing genealogies, Paul states, was “endless.” There was a compulsive character to the whole enterprise. This required that these teachers not only stop their teaching but also end their personal addiction to spinning tall biblical tales. As Paul notes later, compulsive behavior of this sort is not healthy (6:4).

The church’s interest in such matters led to “meaningless speculations” and distracted God’s steward (oikonomian theou [TG3622/2316, ZG3873/2536]; 1:4) from helping believers “live a life of faith in God.” The Greek term oikonomia (cf. the English word “economy”) evokes the image of the bustling first-century household and the need for a steward(s) to make things run smoothly. The oikonomos [TG3623, ZG3874] was chosen for his or her ability to do so. For this reason, stewards needed to be hard working, zealous, competent, and circumspect (TLNT 568-569). In an analogous way, God entrusts the management of his household [the church] to believers. His expectation is that we manage his affairs “faithfully” (en pistei [TG1722/4102, ZG1877/4411], “in faith,” 1:4; cf. the NLT’s “a life of faith in God”). “Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful” (1 Cor 4:2) and, thus, worthy of their master’s confidence. Faithful stewardship was something that was lauded throughout biblical times. Joseph was a faithful steward of Pharaoh’s household (Gen 41:41-57). Moses was praised as a faithful steward in God’s household (Heb 3:5).

One element of faithful stewardship is disciplining the wayward servant. It is important to remember, however, that discipline aims at a positive outcome. “The purpose” (to telos [TG5056, ZG5465], “goal”) is “love,” not punishment (1:5a). The words “love” and “faith” are paired in the Pastorals. “Faith and love” are what Paul experienced in Christ (1:14), what godly women exhibit (2:15), and what Timothy himself should pursue (4:12; 6:11). The “love” Paul has in mind here is one that sacrifices self without any expectation of reciprocation (agapē [TG26, ZG27]). The spiritual requirements for the one who exercises such tough love are threefold: “a pure heart,” “a clear conscience,” and “genuine faith” (1:5b). The emphasis in each case is on the adjective. First-century anatomy viewed the heart as the decision maker. (The bowels were the seat of human emotion.) For the decision to be a correct one, the heart had to have no ulterior motives (“pure”).

The conscience is the moral compass in deciding between right and wrong. But it could be violated (1:19), seared ( “dead,” 4:2, NLT), or corrupted (Titus 1:15). Therefore, to do its job the conscience has to be healthy (agathēs [TG18, ZG19], “good”; NLT, “clear”). Timothy is therefore to hold on to a “clear” conscience (1:19). To do so, he must also have “faith.” But even faith alone is not enough. To be effective, it has to lack any hint of hypocrisy (“genuine,” 1:5). This is in contrast to the false teachers, whose faith had become so hypocritical that their ultimate goal was to make money (4:2; 6:5-10), and so they knowingly and intentionally deceived the congregation.

Those who require discipline are depicted as runners who take a misstep (a + stocheō [TG795, ZG846]) and turn aside (ek + trepomai [TG1624A, ZG1762]) into a wasteland of useless chatter (mataios + logia [TG3150, ZG3467], 1:6-7a; LSJ s.v.). Their misstep involved setting their sights on being teachers of the Mosaic law. Paul does not actually specify what law they were teaching, but 1:8-11 indicates that it was Mosaic law. Such a goal is not wrong in and of itself, for the law is “holy and right and good” (Rom 7:12), but they did not recognize that they were in over their heads: “They don’t know what they are talking about, even though they speak so confidently” (1:7). They wanted the reputation of legal experts, but ironically only ended up as blind guides.

Their ignorance led Paul to talk knowledgeably about Mosaic law. He began by affirming it: “We know that the law is good” (1:8). The Greek term kalos [TG2570, ZG2819] is actually “winsome” or “outwardly attractive” (TDNT 1.10; 2.98). Intercessory prayer (2:3), the witness of a Christian life (3:7), and a declaration of faith (6:13) are equally “attractive.” Paul’s point is that law is a beautiful thing but only “when used correctly” (lit., “lawfully”). Undoubtedly, the false teachers were saying that Paul was against the law. They were misunderstanding statements to the effect that believers are no longer “under law” (Rom 6:14; Gal 3:21-25), and they ignored Paul’s unequivocal support of Mosaic law (Rom 3:31; 7:12, 14; 1 Cor 7:19). “Lawful” application is summed up in Galatians 3:24-25 by the word paidagōgos [TG3807, ZG4080] (NLT, “guardian”), the domestic slave whose job it was to supervise every waking moment of the children of the household. Outside of Christ, the controlling principle of our lives is sin (Rom 6:14; Gal 3:22). And so we are in need of the strict supervision that a law code provides. To be “in Christ,” however, is to become an adult and no longer need a nanny. This is because the control is no longer in the hands of sin but of the Holy Spirit (Gal 4:6).

While some might think that the Mosaic law’s role is to supervise those who seek to do what is “right” (dikaios [TG1342, ZG1465]), God actually intends this supervision “for people who are lawless and rebellious” (1:9). In living this way, they lack clear boundary markers for right and wrong. The Mosaic law’s primary function, then, is to insure proper social order and ethical “rules of the road.” In this respect, it is no different from most legal codes down through the centuries.

Those who fall into the category of the “lawless” are identified by means of a vice list (common in that day). It is a familiar vice list, for it parallels the Old Testament Decalogue. The list (like the Decalogue) can be divided into two categories: (1) sins against God and (2) sins against humanity. Sins against God are paired. The “lawless” (a + nomois [TG459, ZG491]) are paired with the “rebellious”—those who spurn laws and lawmakers. Such people are literally “in-subordinate” (an + hupotaktos [TG506, ZG538]). They are those who refuse to assume their proper and orderly place in society. “Rebellious” occurs elsewhere in the Pastorals of children who have a reputation for being wild (Titus 1:6) and of the false teachers and their followers (Titus 1:10). The “ungodly and sinful” make up the second pairing. The “ungodly” are those who have no reverence for God; literally, the “irreverent” (a + sebesi [TG765, ZG815]). The “sinful” (hamartōlois [TG268, ZG283]) are those who live in opposition to the revealed will of God. From a Jewish perspective they are the Gentiles or goyim who worship other gods (cf. Exod 20:3-6). From Paul’s standpoint, they are the object of God’s salvation (2:4). The final pairing are the “irreligious” (a + nosiois [TG462, ZG495]), who “consider nothing sacred,” and the “profane” (bebēlois [TG952, ZG1013]), who “defile what is holy.” They recognize neither God’s holy name nor his holy day, the Sabbath (Exod 20:7-11).

Sins against humanity are similarly paired. The Decalogue once again is clearly in the background. There are those who “kill their father or mother or commit other murders” (1:9). The Old Testament command to “honor your father and mother” (Exod 20:12) is contrasted with “those who strike down” or “cudgel/beat” their parents. The vice is actually closer to Exodus 21:15, where it is said that anyone who attacks his father or his mother must be put to death. The fifth commandment of the Decalogue was so important that if a son proved to be stubborn and rebellious, let alone strike a parent, he was to be stoned (Exod 21:15; Lev 20:9; Deut 21:18-21). The term for those who “commit other murders” is literally “man + slaughter” (andro + phonois [TG409, ZG439]). This reflects the Greco-Roman society as Paul found it. Men typically killed other men (not women).

The second pairing pertains to sexual infractions. The Old Testament prohibition, “You must not commit adultery” (Exod 20:14), is broadened to include the heterosexual (pornois [TG4205, ZG4521], NLT, “people who are sexually immoral”) and the homosexual (arsenokoitais [TG733, ZG780]; 1:10). Pornoi is technically the masculine counterpart to pornai (“female prostitutes”). In the New Testament, however, the term is used more broadly of “the sexually immoral” (NLT) or “fornicator” (NRSV; cf. 1 Cor. 5:9-11). The Greek word arsenokoitēs is a compound of two terms which, when joined together in this way, means “those [men] who bed/sleep with men” (koitai + arsen)(arsēn + koitē)—a common euphemism for sexual relations. The phraseology is so close to that of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 (LXX), it is a fair conclusion that Paul is drawing directly on these two texts.

Judaism considered homosexual activity one of the most abhorrent vices of non-Jews. This is consistently reflected in biblical texts (1:9-11; Lev 18:22; 20:13; Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:9-11) and extrabiblical materials (see, for example, Josephus Against Apion 2.199; Pseudo-Phocylides 3-5; Philo On Abraham 135-136). The first-century Jewish historian, Josephus, is representative: “Our laws own no other mixture of the sexes but that which nature has appointed, of a man with his wife . . . and it abhors the mixture of a male with a male” (Against Apion 2.199). Same-sex relationships were found among men thrown together for extended periods of time (for example, in the military). Also, sexual favors performed for a male teacher by his prepubescent student were common among upper-class males. Otherwise, Greeks and Romans alike rejected such unions. The Greek historian and moralist Plutarch, for instance, called such consorting with males “a completely ill-favored, indecent, an unlovely affront to Aphrodite” (Dialogue on Love 751D-752B; see Belleville 2005).

The fifth vice, “slave traders” has no pairing (1:10). It contextualizes the Old Testament command against stealing (Exod 20:15, “You must not steal”). The Greek word literally refers to a dealer in human slaves (see note on 1:10). These traders kidnapped human beings and forced them into a life of slavery. Old Testament law demanded the death penalty for such an action (Exod 21:16; Deut 24:7). In Paul’s day this was considered the most heinous form of stealing.

The final pairing has to do with false testimony. The Old Testament prohibition, “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor” (Exod 20:16), is broadened to include “liars” and “promise breakers” (1:10). The second of these targets a specific form of lying, namely, the violation of a divine oath (Keener 1993:608). “Promise breakers” are those who perjure themselves after they have sworn by their gods to tell the truth.

Paul’s vice list lacks the tenth commandment, “You must not covet your neighbor’s house . . . or anything else that belongs to your neighbor” (Exod 20:17). This omission is rather odd, since covetousness appears in Paul’s other vice lists (Rom 1:29; 1 Cor 6:10; Eph 5:5; Col 3:5). Instead, Paul concluded with the words, “or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God” (1:10b-11). Paul goes on to talk at length about “blasphemy”—the kind of lying that was specific to the Ephesian situation (1:18-20). So he may well have stopped to elaborate when he got to the ninth commandment.

Paul’s concluding statement (1:10b-11) is particularly significant. Not only is Mosaic law “good” (1:8), but it is “wholesome” or “health-producing” (hugiainousē [TG5198, ZG5617]) and “in conformity with . . . the Good News” (not “comes from”; see note on verse 11). Elsewhere Paul speaks of, lit., “healthy teaching” (1:10; 2 Tim 4:3; Titus 1:9; 2:1) and “healthy words” (6:3). The pattern of “healthy words” is one Timothy himself is to follow (2 Tim 1:13). Titus is to rebuke the false teachers so that they will be, lit., “healthy in the faith” (Titus 1:13). He is also to encourage older men to be healthy in faith and in love (Titus 2:2), and he himself is to be a model of healthy speech that cannot be censored (Titus 2:8).

There is no pitting of law against gospel here. The notion of moral standards for the Christian life is wholly consonant with the gospel. To speak of “the Good News,” then, is to speak of a moral code not unlike that found in Mosaic law. “Law” is something positive, especially for society at large. Paul defines the law’s legitimate use as that of a social restraint “for the lawless.” Its function is not that of a source for idle speculation or mythmaking, as the Ephesian teachers were making it out to be. Its ethical norms are wholly appropriate as boundary markers for the society of any day or age.

In the concluding verse of this section Paul says that the Good News is no less than “glorious” (cf. 2 Cor 3:7-18), and the God of the Good News is no less than “blessed” (1:11). Mention of the gospel quite often prompted Paul to ponder with wonder his call to be an ambassador of such a message. First Timothy is no exception. God “entrusted” this glorious gospel “to me,” Paul exclaims (1:11). With such a charge comes authority, which brings us full circle to Paul’s opening claim of apostleship.