54) The Book of 1st Timothy

FIRST TIMOTHY is the first of the Pastoral Epistles. Paul wrote two letters to Timothy and one letter to Titus. Both men were Paul's converts who became pastors of local churches and Paul instructed them about the organization and rules of a local church. Paul wrote these thre letters close to his death. Paul addressed Timothy and Titus as soldiers in the army of God and he gave ministerial charges to these men concerning the ministry. The Pastoral Epistles are not found in Codex Vaticanus because Romanism despises the independent and local pastor, but the letter contains 6 chapters and 113 verses in the preserved text.

Timothy was led to Jesus Christ by Paul in Lystra (Acts 14:6; 16:1-3; 1 Tim. 1:2). Timothy was circumcised for the sake of testimony because his mother was a Jewess, but his father was a Greek. Paul gave Timothy twelve general orders as a soldier in this first letter. The premier order was to attain sound doctrine (1 Tim. 1:10; 2 Tim. 4:3; Titus 2:1). Sound doctrine is the product of a faithful study of sound words with a sound mind (Ps. 119:80; 2 Tim. 1:7, 13).

Paul put Timothy in charge of the following twelve orders: maintain sound doctrine for the purpose of the law and the purity of the gospel (1:3-20); continue in prayer and study of the word (2:1-8); teach the role of women in the church and the home (2:9-15); establish the ideal qualifications for the pastor (3:1-7); establish the ideal qualifications for deacons (3:8-13); guard the mysteries and the truth of the deity of Christ (3:14-16); beware of the infiltration of false doctrine (4:1-11); maintain personal discipline and holiness (4:12-16); behave properly toward the elderly (5:1-16); honor those who labor in the word, doctrine, and personal health habits (5:17-25); teach of the relationship between master and servant (6:1-5); and be content as a soldier of Christ by resisting the temptations of worldly wisdom and wealth (6:6-21).