seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
2 To Timothy my true son in the faith:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
I found my commentary at the Blue Letter Bible site.Paul told Timothy to remain in Ephesus because it seemed that Timothy wanted to give up and run away. Most everyone in ministry deals with this at some time; for a few it is a constant affliction. There was probably both external pressure and internal pressure for him to leave.
That you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine: Paul left Timothy with an important job to do, making it all the more important that he remain in Ephesus. The job was to make sure that correct doctrine was taught in Ephesus.
Nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies: It seems that the great danger of these teachings (fables and endless genealogies) was that they were silly distractions. Timothy had to remain in Ephesus so that he could command others to ignore these speculative and silly distractions.
It wasn’t that there was an elaborate anti-Jesus theology rising in Ephesus. It was more that they tended to get carried away by emphasizing the wrong things. Paul wanted to prevent the corruption that came when people gave authority to fables and endless genealogies instead of true doctrine. Silly distractions were also dangerous, because they took the place of godly edification which is in faith.
Perhaps the endless genealogies had to do with Gnostic-type theories of “emanations” from God. Perhaps they were connected with Jewish-type legalism that sought righteousness by virtue of one’s ancestry. Or perhaps he had in mind doctrinal systems based on mystic readings of Old Testament genealogies.
Ancient Jewish writings have been discovered which dig into the most complex genealogies, connecting them with wild speculations about spiritual mysteries. A consuming interest in these kinds of things will crowd out godly edification which is in faith.
Cause disputes rather than godly edification: The eventual fruit of these man-made diversions is evident. Though they may be popular and fascinating in the short term, in the long run they don’t strengthen God’s people in faith.
Understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm: The problem people in Ephesus did not even understand the implications of their own teaching.
Faith and a good conscience: These are essential when battling for the Lord. They protect against the spiritual attacks of doubt and condemnation.
And then Paul goes on to talk about two men we know nothing about being put out of the church.Why would good Christians fall for man-made diversions? Why would men cause diversions in the church? We figure anyone in the pew next to us, who is well groomed and smelling sober and singing all the right hymns and saying amen in all the right places.... must be a Christian. So, if that person were to say something... it must be true. So, if they wanted to sell you insurance.... they would cause a man-made diversion to sell the whole church insurance. I saw it happen a couple times in a couple churches. One church got into the diet game. It starts out innocently and then just gets up steam and before you know it.... The church is in trouble.
Paul wanted Timothy to hang in there and keep the people's minds on the Gospel. Paul wanted everyone to stay busy feeding the poor and sheltering the orphans and widows. He needed Timothy to head the mission.
Now when Paul was "allegedly" knocked down, and blinded, by Jesus, he was hunting down Christians. He had a special letter in his pocket that allowed him to arrest anyone he called Christian. No one saw Jesus knock him down. But Paul says he was knocked down and blinded... and here in this letter he seems to call himself the worst of all the immoral people he listed, because he hunted Christians. He claims he stopped hunting Christians after this "alleged" meeting.
Paul says... "If Jesus can take the hate out of me, he can do it for anyone. I was the worst!" I agree Paul!
I can see how loving people can be made so rabid that they will get sucked into arguments that have nothing to do with Salvation. I can see how loving people can get sucked into arguments so bad they fester and grow until they destroy the church.
Paul called for people who would spread garbage to be thrown out of the church.
Paul called Timothy to listen for garbage and point it out.
Timothy was called.
