Paul had left Timothy at Ephesus with a hard assignment: to stop certain teachers who were leading the church away from the gospel into speculation and a misuse of God’s law. The first chapter of 1 Timothy sets out the charge, explains what the law is truly for, and then, almost in the middle of a sentence, breaks into Paul’s own testimony. The man who had once been a blasphemer and persecutor could never get over the mercy that found him. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”
A study in 1 Timothy 1 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 18 min read
My Own Son In The Faith
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.”
1 Timothy 1:1-2
Timothy was a young man from Lystra, the son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother (Acts 16:1). Paul met him on his second missionary journey and took him along, and from then on Timothy was Paul’s constant companion and most trusted helper. He had been with Paul in Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth and Ephesus, and he had carried Paul’s messages to the churches. Paul calls him “my own son in the faith” — a genuine, true-born son, not by birth but by the gospel.
“Timothy’s father was a Greek and his mother a Jewess. From a child he had known the Scriptures. The piety that he saw in his home life was sound and sensible. The faith of his mother and his grandmother in the sacred oracles was to him a constant reminder of the blessing in doing God’s will.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 203
“Paul loved Timothy, his ‘own son in the faith.’ 1 Timothy 1:2. The great apostle often drew the younger disciple out, questioning him in regard to Scripture history, and as they traveled from place to place, he carefully taught him how to do successful work.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 204
Notice the greeting: “grace, mercy, and peace.” In his letters to churches, Paul usually wrote only “grace and peace.” To a young pastor facing a hard task, he adds “mercy.”
That They Teach No Other Doctrine
“As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.”
1 Timothy 1:3-7
Paul had warned the Ephesian elders years before that “of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things” (Acts 20:30). Now it had happened. Certain teachers were spinning “fables and endless genealogies” — speculative stories built out of the Old Testament family lists, the kind of religious trivia that raises endless questions and changes no one’s life. Timothy’s job was to “charge” them to stop.
And Paul states the goal of all true teaching in a single sentence: “the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.” The purpose of God’s instruction is love, flowing from a clean heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith. Teaching that produces arguments instead of love has missed the point, however clever it sounds.
The Law Is Good, If A Man Use It Lawfully
“But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.”
1 Timothy 1:8-11
The false teachers wanted to be “teachers of the law” but misused it. Paul does not respond by throwing the law away. “The law is good,” he says — the problem is using it wrongly.
Look closely at Paul’s list of sinners. After a general description of the “lawless” and “ungodly” (the first table of the commandments, our duty to God), he walks straight down the second table of the Ten Commandments in order. “Murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers” — the fifth commandment, honor thy father and mother. “Manslayers” — the sixth, thou shalt not kill. “Whoremongers” and those who defile themselves with mankind — the seventh, thou shalt not commit adultery. “Menstealers,” or kidnappers and slave-traders — the eighth, thou shalt not steal. “Liars” and “perjured persons” — the ninth, thou shalt not bear false witness. Paul is quoting the Decalogue, and he calls breaking it “contrary to sound doctrine” and to “the glorious gospel.” The gospel does not abolish God’s moral law. It agrees with it.
What does it mean that the law “is not made for a righteous man”? Not that the righteous may ignore it, but that the law’s condemning work is aimed at the lawbreaker. The one who loves God and neighbor is already walking in harmony with it. The law’s lawful use is to show sinners their sin and send them to Christ for the remedy.
“In order to see his guilt, the sinner must test his character by God’s great standard of righteousness. It is a mirror which shows the perfection of a righteous character and enables him to discern the defects in his own. The law reveals to man his sins, but it provides no remedy. While it promises life to the obedient, it declares that death is the portion of the transgressor. The gospel of Christ alone can free him from the condemnation or the defilement of sin.”
Ellen G. White · The Great Controversy, p. 467
Of Whom I Am Chief
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.”
1 Timothy 1:12-14
The mention of “the glorious gospel … committed to my trust” sends Paul’s mind back to how that trust began. He had been “a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious” — the word means violent, insolent. He had held the coats of those who stoned Stephen (Acts 7:58; see the study of Acts 7) and then led the persecution himself. And Christ put that man into the ministry. The grace that did it was “exceeding abundant” — Paul reaches for a rare word, “super-abounding,” as if ordinary words were not big enough.
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
1 Timothy 1:15-17
Here is one of the most beloved verses in the Bible, and it is the whole gospel in a sentence. Christ Jesus came — He existed before He came “into the world.” He came to save — not merely to teach or to set an example. And He came to save “sinners.” Notice Paul’s tense: not “of whom I was chief,” but “of whom I am chief.” Decades after his conversion, the great apostle still saw himself as the worst of sinners saved by grace.
“Paul did not seek to shield himself; he paints his sin in its darkest hue, not attempting to lessen his guilt. … He does not hesitate to declare that ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.’ 1 Timothy 1:15. The humble and broken heart, subdued by genuine repentance, will appreciate something of the love of God and the cost of Calvary.”
Ellen G. White · Steps to Christ, p. 41
And why did God save the worst? So that Paul would be “a pattern” — a first sketch, a sample — for everyone who would believe after him. If Christ could save the man who hunted His church, He can save anyone. This verse is a weapon against despair.
“When Satan comes to tell you that you are a great sinner, look up to your Redeemer and talk of His merits. That which will help you is to look to His light. Acknowledge your sin, but tell the enemy that ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’ and that you may be saved by His matchless love. 1 Timothy 1:15.”
Ellen G. White · Steps to Christ, p. 35, 36
The testimony ends in praise to “the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God.” “Immortal” is a word Scripture uses of God alone; Paul will say in chapter 6 that He “only hath immortality.” Human beings do not possess immortality by nature. It is God’s gift, given to believers at the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:53).
War A Good Warfare
“This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.”
1 Timothy 1:18-20
Timothy’s calling had been confirmed by prophetic words spoken over him, perhaps at his ordination (4:14). Paul reminds him of them. When the work is hard, a minister needs to remember that God called him.
Two things must be held together: “faith, and a good conscience.” Some had let go of a good conscience — they had continued in known sin — and their faith went down with it, like a ship breaking up on the rocks. Doctrine and life cannot be separated for long. Hymenaeus and Alexander were examples; Paul had put them out of the church, “delivered unto Satan,” back into the world where Satan rules, with a hopeful purpose: “that they may learn.” Even church discipline aims at restoration.
So the chapter holds together the two things every Christian needs. God’s law is good, and it shows us our sin. And Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — even the chief of them. The rest of the letter will show how a church that believes this should pray, worship, lead, and live.
