It would make sense to study all three letters together, but
in this Bible study I've chosen to concentrate on 1 and 2 Timothy to keep the
series of lessons from being too long.
The texts of both 1 and 2 Timothy clearly state that they
are written by the Apostle Paul: "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the
will of God..." (2 Tim 1:1a).
The early church clearly accepted them as genuinely Pauline.
They were probably known to the author of 1 Clement (ca. 96 AD).2
Several passages in the letters of Ignatius (ca. 110 AD) seem to show
dependence on them.3
Polycarp of Smyrna (ca. 117 AD) cited them,4
as did Justin Martyr (ca. 140 AD). They were rejected by the heretical Marcion
Canon (ca. 150 AD) according to Tertullian, because of their emphasis on church
discipline.5
They are clearly attributed to Paul by Irenaeus (ca. 180 AD).6
It was not until Schleiermacher in the nineteenth century
that their authenticity was questioned. Today, a majority of New Testament
scholars consider them to be written by a disciple of Paul, not Paul himself. I
disagree. I believe that Paul wrote the Pastoral Epistles. I will outline the
arguments for and against Pauline authorship below. There is no dispute,
however, that the Pastoral Epistles were accepted by the early church as
written by Paul himself.
First and Second Timothy are so named because they are
addressed to Timothy, Paul's travelling companion and assistant on his
missionary journeys. In 1 Timothy, Paul, who has gone on to Macedonia, asks
Timothy to remain in Ephesus in order to deal with the false teachers that have
arisen there (1 Timothy 1:3-4).
It is important, however, to recognize that 1 Timothy, at
least, is not intended for Timothy's eyes only. Again and again Paul
underscores both his own authority and that of Timothy, with the assumption
that this letter would be read by the church itself. Both Timothy and the
church as a whole are the intended readers of 1 Timothy.
Timothy (whose name means "honoring God" or
"venerating God") was born to a mixed marriage of a Jewish mother and
a Greek, unbelieving father. His family lived in the city of Lystra.
On Paul's first missionary journey to this city, Timothy,
his mother Eunice, and his maternal grandmother Lois become believers (Acts
14:8-20; 2 Timothy 1:5). When Paul visits Lystra on his second missionary
journey (Acts 16:1-5), he recognizes the spiritual growth that has taken place
in this young man in the intervening years.
Paul sees in Timothy the makings of an associate who can
help him in his missionary endeavors. It may sound strange to us, but one of
the qualifications Timothy had to meet in order to work with Paul was to be
circumcised. Since Timothy was Jewish through his mother, he could hardly work
with Paul in the synagogues of the Mediterranean as an uncircumcised Jew (Acts
16:3).
Timothy is probably commissioned by Paul and the elders in
his home church of Lystra. There is a word of prophecy over him, the laying on
of hands, and the impartation of a spiritual gift (1 Timothy 1:18; 4:14; 2
Timothy 1:6), perhaps that of evangelist (2 Timothy 4:5).
And so the partnership begins. Timothy travels with Paul's
party as an assistant, apprentice, and protégé -- and he gradually proves
himself to be a trusted minister in his own right.
He travels with Paul and Silas to Philippi (Acts 16:12) and
Berea (Acts 17:14), and joins Paul at Athens. Then he is sent to encourage the
church in Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 3:2) and later is with Paul and Silas
in Corinth (1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1).
On Paul's third missionary journey, Timothy plays an
important role, too. He is sent ahead to Philippi (Acts 19:22), then travels to
meet Paul (1 Corinthians 16:10), is with Paul in Corinth (Romans 16:21), and
travels with him to Philippi (Acts 20:3-6) before Paul returns to Jerusalem and
imprisonment.
When Paul is sent in chains to Rome for trial, Timothy is
there with him (Philippians 1:1; 2:19; Colossians 1:1; Philemon 1). He is a
great comfort. Paul writes during this time:
"I have no one else like him, who
takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own
interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved
himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of
the gospel." (Philippians 2:20-22)
It appears that Paul was released from his first
imprisonment in Rome (see more on this below). At this time the pair splits up.
Paul returns to Philippi while Timothy is dispatched to Ephesus to deal with
false teachers who have established some following there. Timothy has his work
cut out for him. Paul exhorts him to let no one despise his youth as he
appoints elders and deacons, corrects elders bringing false teaching, and regulates
care for the church widows. Timothy is still in Ephesus when Paul is imprisoned
in Rome (apparently for a second time) and writes his final letter, 2 Timothy.
Later, Timothy spends some time in prison himself (Hebrews
13:23). After that his history gets fuzzy. Church tradition records that he
serves as Bishop of Ephesus until 80 AD, when he is beaten to death by pagans.
The letters of 1 and 2 Timothy are written to Timothy while
he served as Paul's appointed leader of the church of Ephesus, probably in the
mid-60s AD. We'll look at Paul's circumstances as he wrote the letters below,
but first let's consider the historical situation of the church in Ephesus.
Ephesus was a wealthy city located on west coast of Asia
Minor (modern day Turkey), on the banks of the Cayster River as it enters the Mediterranean,
forming an ample harbor. It was an important city, serving as the capital of
proconsular Asia, a Roman province. It probably had a population of about half
a million.
Statue of the goddess Artemis (Diana), first century AD, Ephesus Archeaological Museum, Selçuk, Turkey.
Larger image. |
The Ephesians worshipped the goddess Artemis (Diana), whose
temple in Ephesus at the time was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
It was also home to Hellenistic mystery religions, as well as the residence of
many Jews. Each of these exerted its influence on the religious climate in the
city.
Acts 19 tells the story of Paul's two-year ministry founding
the church in Ephesus, probably about 53-54 AD. The city was so important to
Paul and early Christianity that it was the recipient of four letters that
exist today:
- Paul's Letter to Ephesians
- Paul's Letter to 1 Timothy. (2 Timothy was
addressed primarily to Timothy himself while he served as the leader of
the church in Ephesus.)
- 1 John was probably written by the Apostle John as
a circular letter to the churches in the area, with Ephesus as the most
important. John apparently lived there for a number of years, and it is
his traditional burial place.
- Letters to the Seven Churches of Revelation
(Revelation 2-3) has Ephesus as the first church addressed,
encouraged, and admonished (Revelation 2:1-7).
This
important church was subject to the winds of heresy from both Judaism on the
one hand and the Hellenistic mystery religions on the other. Correction of the
false teachers was necessary for the church to survive intact.
Paul's Release and Second Roman Imprisonment
The historical setting of 1 and 2 Timothy, however, raises
some difficult issues. The book of Acts, which chronicles Paul's ministry, ends
with him under house arrest in Rome, awaiting trial:
"For two whole years Paul stayed
there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and
without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord
Jesus Christ." (Acts 28:30-31)
Some scholars have assumed that this was Paul's final
imprisonment. But there are several indications to the contrary in both the
Pastoral Epistles as well as early church tradition. Here is a possible
chronology of this period.
|
60-62 |
First
imprisonment in Rome, 2 years (Acts 28:30-31) |
|
62-64 |
Mission to
Spain (1 Clement 5:7) |
|
64 |
Second
Aegean ministry (Crete, Macedonia, etc.) |
|
65 |
Wrote 1
Timothy and Titus |
|
66/67 |
Visited
Miletus (2 Timothy 4:20) and Troas (2 Timothy 4:13, 20) |
|
67 |
Second
imprisonment in Rome, wrote 2 Timothy |
|
67/68 |
Execution
in Rome during the 14th year of Nero (Eusebius, Chronicle)7 |
There
are some indications in early Christian writings that the ministry to Spain
that Paul hoped for in Romans 15:24 was actually completed after release from
Paul's first Roman imprisonment.8
The Pastoral Epistles describe a ministry in that period in both Crete (Titus
1:5) and Macedonia (1 Timothy 1:3), as well as in Achaia (Greece) for a year or
two, spending the winter of 65-66 at Nicopolis (Titus 3:12). Paul also visited
Miletus (2 Timothy 4:20) and Troas (2 Timothy 4:13, 20). He was apparently
arrested and imprisoned in Rome, from which he wrote 2 Timothy, and was finally
executed about 67/68 AD.9
Of course, this reconstruction is speculative; we can't know
for sure.
Unlike some of the other churches Paul had founded, the
false teachers he opposed in the letters to Timothy were primarily insiders,
not teachers from outside the church. Most dangerously, these false teachers
were the elders or overseers themselves. The church in Ephesus and in other
cities was probably composed of house-churches, each presided over by an elder
(cf. 1 Corinthians 16:19; Titus 1:11). These elders were, in turn, influencing
other elders and house-churches.
Paul had foreseen this years before as he had met with them
on the beach at Miletus for the last time. He had told them:
"I know that after I leave,
savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from
your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away
disciples after them." (Acts 20:29-30)
Now it had come to pass, and Timothy, as Paul's most trusted
co-worker, had been appointed to deal with it. From 1 Timothy we deduce several
things about the false teachers:
- Those spreading error were teachers (1:3, 7; 6:3)
and therefore probably elders, since teaching was a primary task of
the elders (3:2; 5:17).
- One of Paul's emphases in this letter concerns the
character, qualifications, and discipline of church leaders, namely overseers/pastors/elders
and deacons (3:1-13; 5:17-25).
- Two ringleaders have been named and excommunicated
(1:19-20).
- The false teachers' most fruitful field is apparently among
women in the congregation (2 Timothy 3:6-9; 1 Timothy 2:9-15; 5:3-16, especially
11-15).
- The false teachers seem to have a Jewish cast (1:6-10;
4:3).
Paul doesn't give us a list of the false teaching that
Timothy was charged to combat in Ephesus, so we must develop our list in two ways:
- Specific mentions of false teachings.
- Reading between the lines to discern from the corrective
teachings that Paul gives Timothy.
In compiling this list I am drawing upon direct statements
and hints in all three of the Pastoral Epistles. Of course, 1 and 2 Timothy
were written to the situation in Ephesus and Titus to the situation in Crete.
But the problems seem similar.
Our first inclination is to look for blatant heresies, that
is, teachings that cut to the heart of the nature of God and of Christ --
denying Christ's divinity, for example. But that isn't what we see here. The
false teachings are more subtle than that. Towner characterizes the
"Ephesian Heresy" as follows:
"A form of aberrant Judaism with
Hellenistic / Gnostic tendencies that overemphasized the law and
underemphasized Christ and faith, taught dualism (asceticism, denial of a
physical resurrection), was unduly interested in the minutiae of the Old
Testament, produced sinful lifestyles and irrelevant quibbling about words, and
was destroying the reputation of the church in Ephesus."10
Specifically:
1. Speculative Teaching of Jewish Myths and Genealogies
Perhaps the most obvious false teaching has to do with a
strong emphasis on Jewish myths and genealogies.
"... Nor to devote themselves to
myths and endless genealogies." (1 Timothy 1:4)
"Have nothing to do with godless
myths and old wives' tales." (1 Timothy 4:7)
"They will turn their ears away
from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2 Timothy 4:4)
"Avoid foolish controversies and
genealogies...." (Titus 3:9)
We may find this hard to understand, but consider all the
genealogies in the Old Testament and even the New. Jews who could prove their
genealogical descent from the patriarchs considered themselves superior. This
had been over-emphasized in Ephesus and Crete among the Jewish Christians.
Jewish myths may have included various Jewish allegories of
creation, perhaps speculative rabbinic exegesis. Jewish pseudepigraphical
writings from the first and second centuries AD are full of such stories.
2. Jewish Legalism
Second, there seems to be a kind of false teaching related
to a use of the Old Testament, insisting on adherence to the Mosaic ritual law,
kosher food, circumcision, etc.
"They want to be teachers of the
law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so
confidently affirm." (1 Timothy 1:7)
"For there are many rebellious
people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision
group." (Titus 1:10)
"... Arguments and quarrels
about the law." (Titus 3:9)
"They ... order them to abstain
from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving...."
(1 Timothy 4:3)
"... The commands of those who
reject the truth." (Titus 1:14)
We see Paul combating a similar kind of legalism in Colossae
(Colossians 2:16, 21-23).
3. Downplaying the Role of Marriage
Third, these teachers downplayed the role of marriage, a
kind of asceticism.
"They forbid people to
marry...." (1 Timothy 4:3)
It may be similar to the situation Paul addressed in 1
Corinthians 7:1-7. It is probably no coincidence that Paul stresses the
importance of faithfulness to one's marriage and careful management of one's
household for overseers/elders and deacons (1 Timothy 3:1, 4, 12; Titus 1:6).
Perhaps this false teaching extended to childbirth as well, occasioning Paul's
example concerning childbirth in 1 Timothy 2:15.11
4. Ethical Relativism and Greed
Paul taught that the ritual laws were obsolete in the
messianic age, while the ethical laws remained. The false teachers seemed to teach
the opposite -- that the ritual laws were binding, but conduct wasn't as
important.
"They claim to know God, but by
their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for
doing anything good." (Titus 1:16)
There's the suggestion of taking advantage of some of the
church women, perhaps sexually (2 Timothy 3:6). Paul's guidelines for leaders
presuppose ethical and behavior problems, for Paul writes:
"Now the overseer must be above
reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable,
hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle,
not quarrelsome, not a lover of money." (1 Timothy 3:2-3)
Twice more Paul warns Timothy about the dangers of the love
of money (1 Timothy 6:5-10, 17-19), so we can assume that this was one of the
heresies being promulgated in Ephesus.
5. Mistaken Eschatology
Next, Paul's opponents in Ephesus taught that the
resurrection had already come -- that is, that we no longer look forward to
Christ's coming, judgment, and resurrection of the dead.
"They say that the resurrection
has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some." (2 Timothy
2:18)
This may have similarities with teachings in Corinth that
denied the resurrection of the dead at all (1 Corinthians 15:12). Two church
members had already been excommunicated for such teaching that was causing
major problems with some of the members' faith (1 Timothy 1:20; 2 Timothy
2:17).
There are some indications that Paul is dealing with an
early form of Gnosticism here that deprecates physical matter, for example -- not
full-blown Gnosticism at it would appear a century later, but beginning strands
of "the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge" (1
Timothy 6:20).
6. Neglect of Evangelism
Finally, there is an indication that the false teachers were
so immersed in speculative controversies that they neglected the very core of
the Christian faith -- a situation not unfamiliar today! Why else would Paul
talk about his own salvation and then make the point:
"Here is a trustworthy saying
that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners
-- of whom I am the worst." (1 Timothy 1:15)
Finally, he exhorts Timothy:
"Endure hardship, do the work of
an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry." (2 Timothy 4:5)
The gospel! The gospel! It is always on Paul's mind. It is
his theme, his message -- and is so easy for us to dismiss as "old
hat."
It is hard to characterize the heresy at Ephesus in any
clear, simple way. Lightfoot correctly describes it as: "Floating
speculation, vague theories, coalescing gradually to a great consistency and
tendency more or less in one direction."12
The heresy was destructive. The false teachers had:
- Upset entire house churches (Titus 1:11)
- Deceived many women (2 Timothy 3:6)
- Upset the faith of many (1 Timothy 1:19; 2 Timothy 2:18)
- Caused people to stray after Satan (1 Timothy 4:1; 5:15)
The false teaching must be fought. There is a sense of
urgency, especially in 1 Timothy.
So the primary purpose of 1 Timothy is to urge Paul's
appointed representative to stop the false teaching. The secondary purpose is
to provide written authorization before the church to allow Timothy to carry
out this task.
The purpose of 2 Timothy is much more personal -- primarily
to call Timothy to his side and to exhort him to faithfulness in his ministry.
Paul has seen many defections and desertions during his second imprisonment. He
appeals to Timothy's loyalty and longs for him to come to him in Rome.
Before we conclude, we need to look briefly at various
arguments that have been raised against Paul's authorship of the Pastoral
Epistles. In short, here they are:
- A significant part of the characteristic words of the
Pastoral Epistles is new vocabulary, and the new terms seem to represent
more the language of Hellenism or Hellenistic Judaism. For example,
instead of "faith," the author tends to use
"godliness," instead of "the gospel" we see
"sound teaching." "Sound-minded" and related words
predominate as virtues.
- Much of Paul's rich theological vocabulary is lacking,
such as those words used to develop themes such as "righteousness,"
"justification," etc.
- Stylistic features of Greek grammar that are common
to the Pastoral Epistles are different than in Paul's earlier letters.
These observations are true --
though they are often overstated by opponents of Pauline authorship. But
assuming a different author creates other problems. It is preferable to explain
the differences by Paul's use of a different amanuenses (or secretary), as well
as the more personal rather than theological nature of these letters.
Opponents of Pauline authorship
claim that the Pastoral Epistles were written by a pseudepigraphic writer
(perhaps a disciple of Paul), who wrote at the end of the first century. To put
it bluntly, they argue that a later writer claiming to be Paul, wrote the
letters -- that pseudepigraphy was common and accepted in the early church.
However, it is clear to me that many bogus letters or gospels, suspected of
being written by someone claiming to be an apostle, were detected and rejected
out of hand by the early church. The early church did not accept
pseudepigraphic writings as Scripture! Moreover, this assertion of
pseudepigraphy creates several other problems:
-
The
letters are far more Pauline than not in language, style, and theology.
- The historical
situation of the Ephesian church presupposed in 1 and 2 Timothy fits the
period of the 60s much better than it fits what we know of the situation at the
end of the first century, when critics claim it was written.
- There
is no adequate occasion and purpose for a pseudepigraphic author to have
written these letters, in particular, three such letters. The argument that the
author used some genuine fragments of Pauline letters doesn't explain the
questions of occasion and purpose.13
Add to that the nearly unanimous acceptance of the letters
as Pauline in the early church, I conclude that the letters are genuine, from
the person of Paul himself, despite the differences between the Pastoral
Epistles and Paul's earlier letters.14
We've looked at some of the various issues surrounding these letters. Now it's time
to look at 1 and 2 Timothy in some detail.
References
Life of Jacob
joyfulheart.com
Christmas Incarnation
