The fifth chapter of 1 Timothy is about the church as a family. How should a young pastor speak to older members? Who should the church support, and who should support their own relatives? How should faithful leaders be paid, and how should accusations against them be handled? Paul’s answers are practical, and they rest on one principle: in the household of God, every person is to be treated with the honour, care and fairness that belong to family.
A study in 1 Timothy 5 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 18 min read
As A Father, As Mothers, As Sisters
“Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.”
1 Timothy 5:1-2
Timothy was young, and some of his members were older than he was. When correction was needed, he was not to speak harshly to an older man, but to appeal to him with the respect a son owes a father. Younger men were to be treated as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters — and with them, Paul adds, “with all purity.” A pastor who thinks of the women of his church as his sisters and mothers will guard both their reputation and his own.
Widows Indeed
“Honour widows that are widows indeed. But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God. Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day. But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.”
1 Timothy 5:3-6
In the ancient world a widow without family was often destitute. There were no pensions and few ways for a woman alone to earn a living. God’s law had always shown special concern for widows (Deuteronomy 10:18), and from its earliest days the church cared for them (Acts 6:1). “Honour” here includes financial support; James calls it “pure religion” to “visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction” (James 1:27).
But Paul describes a “widow indeed” — one who is truly alone, “desolate,” and whose hope is in God. She gives herself to prayer “night and day.” The picture recalls Anna, the aged widow in the temple who “departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day” (Luke 2:37), and who was among the first to recognize the infant Jesus. The church was to honour such women as a treasure, not treat them as a burden.
“And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless. But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”
1 Timothy 5:7-8
Worse Than An Infidel
These are some of the strongest words in the letter, and they are about family responsibility. A believer who will not care for his own relatives “hath denied the faith.” Even unbelievers in Paul’s day knew they owed care to their aging parents; a Christian who neglected his is “worse than an infidel.” Religion that talks about love for God while neglecting one’s own mother is empty. The fifth commandment, “Honour thy father and thy mother,” does not expire when parents grow old and dependent.
“Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man, Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.”
1 Timothy 5:9-10
It seems the church kept a list of widows it supported, and perhaps who served the church in return. The qualifications are a portrait of a life of quiet service: raising children, welcoming strangers, humbly washing the feet of fellow believers, helping the suffering. The foot-washing Jesus commanded (John 13:14) was clearly practised in the early church.
“Acts of love and reverence for Jesus are an evidence of faith in Him as the Son of God. And the Holy Spirit mentions, as evidences of woman’s loyalty to Christ: ‘If she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.’ 1 Timothy 5:10.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 564
“But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry; Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some are already turned aside after Satan. If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.”
1 Timothy 5:11-16
Younger widows were not to be enrolled. Some who had pledged themselves to the church’s service later wished to remarry and broke that pledge, and some, supported without work, fell into idleness and gossip, going from house to house spreading the false teaching Paul has been fighting. Paul’s counsel is practical and kind: let them remarry and build their homes. And whenever a family can support its widows, it should, so that the church’s resources go to those who truly have no one.
The Labourer Is Worthy Of His Reward
“Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.”
1 Timothy 5:17-18
“Double honour” means both respect and fair support. Those who give themselves to preaching and teaching are to be provided for. Paul backs this up with two quotations. The first is from the law of Moses: “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn” (Deuteronomy 25:4). An ox walking over grain on the threshing floor was allowed to eat as it worked. The second is Jesus’ own saying, recorded by Luke: “the labourer is worthy of his hire” (Luke 10:7). Notice that Paul introduces both with “the scripture saith.” Already, within a generation of Jesus, His words written in the Gospels stood alongside the law of Moses as Scripture.
“One tenth of all the increase was claimed by the Lord as His own, and to withhold the tithe was regarded by Him as robbery. It was to this plan for the support of the ministry that Paul referred when he said, ‘Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.’ And later, in writing to Timothy, the apostle said, ‘The laborer is worthy of his reward.’ 1 Timothy 5:18.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 336
The tithe, a tenth of one’s increase, was God’s plan for supporting the ministry in Israel, and the New Testament carries the same principle forward. Faithful pastors should not have to wonder how their families will eat.
“Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear. I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.”
1 Timothy 5:19-21
Leaders are easy targets for gossip. Paul protects them: no accusation is to be entertained without two or three witnesses, the old rule of the law (Deuteronomy 19:15). But when a leader has truly sinned, the church must not cover it up. Public wrong is to be dealt with openly, so that everyone takes sin seriously. And all of it must be done “without preferring one before another” — no favourites, no protecting the popular or powerful. Paul places the charge solemnly before God, Christ and the angels.
Lay Hands Suddenly On No Man
“Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure. Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities. Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after. Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.”
1 Timothy 5:22-25
“Laying on of hands” was the act of setting someone apart for church office. Timothy was not to do it hastily. A leader who ordains an unfit man becomes partly responsible for the damage that man does.
“The apostle says, ‘Lay hands suddenly on no man.’ 1 Timothy 5:22. In the days of the apostles, the ministers of God did not dare to rely upon their own judgment in selecting or accepting men to take the solemn and sacred position of mouthpiece for God. They chose the men whom their judgment accepted, and then placed them before the Lord to see if He would accept them to go forth as His representatives. No less than this should be done now.”
Ellen G. White · Gospel Workers, p. 438
“Keep thyself pure.” In the middle of instructions about others, a word for Timothy himself.
“To know what constitutes purity of mind, soul, and body is an important part of education. Paul summed up the attainments possible for Timothy by saying, ‘Keep thyself pure.’ 1 Timothy 5:22. Impurity of thought, word, or action will not be indulged by the child of God.”
Ellen G. White · Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, p. 103
Verse 23 has often been quoted as a general endorsement of drinking. It is the opposite. Timothy had been drinking only water — he was evidently a total abstainer, as the leaders of chapter 3 were expected to be temperate. Paul, knowing Timothy’s weak stomach and frequent illnesses, prescribes “a little” wine as medicine, for a specific health problem. It had to be prescribed by an apostle before Timothy would take it at all. (In the ancient world, water was often unsafe, and wine was used medicinally; the word could also refer to unfermented grape juice.)
The chapter ends with a reassuring thought about judgment in the church. Some people’s sins are obvious; others come out only later. Some good works are seen right away; others are hidden, but “cannot be hid” forever. Timothy does not need to rush to judge everyone. Time, and finally God, will bring everything to light.
So the household of God is to be a real family: honouring its elders, caring for its widows, supporting its faithful teachers, protecting its leaders from slander while holding them to account, and choosing new leaders slowly and prayerfully. In a church like that, no one is forgotten and no one is above the rules.
