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1 Timothy
Chapter One
I.
Content of the Chapter
The Knowledge that God’s Workers should Have
I. The energy of service------God’s grace, mercy and
peace (v.1-2).
II. The alertness of service (v.3-11):
A.
Teach no other doctrine (v.3).
B. Do
not give heed to fables and endless genealogies (v.4).
C. Do
not stray from love or turn aside to idle talk (v.5-6).
D. Do
not teach others as one pleases (v.7).
E. Do
not be self-righteous or misuse the law (v.8-10).
F. Do
not disobey the principle of God’s gospel (v.11).
III. The example of service (v.12-16):
A.
Because Christ put him into ministry and enabled him------God counted him
faithful (v.12).
B.
Because of Christ’s exceedingly abundant grace------God made him have faith and
love (v.13-14).
C.
Paul obtained mercy------God made a chief of sinners an example to believers
(v.15-16).
IV. The aim of service------giving honor and glory to
God (v.17).
V. The mission of service (v.18-20):
A.
Waging the good fight for the faith (v.18).
B.
Equipping for the warfare------having faith and a good conscience (v.19a).
C. The
warning example of those who have rejected conscience (v.19b-20).
II.
Verse by Verse commentary
1Tim. 1:1 “Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our
hope,”
YLT: “Paul, an apostle of
Jesus Christ, according to a command of God our Saviour, and of the Lord Jesus
Christ our hope,”
Meaning of Words: “apostle”: he that
is sent, ambassador, a special envoy, delegate.
Literal Meaning: “God our Savior and the Lord
Jesus Christ, our hope” “God our Savior” is from the appellation in the Old
Testament (Deut. 32:15; Ps. 24:5, 106:21; Is. 43:5, 45:15, 21; 63:8). It is
only used six times in Paul’s epistles, centered on the so-called “pastoral
epistles” (1Tim. 1:1; 2:3; 4:10; Tit. 1:3; 2:10; 3:4), showing that God is the
source of salvation and the terminal purpose of the salvation is to accomplish
His will.
“The Lord Jesus Christ”
refers to Jesus who became a man, i.e. God’s Christ (the Messiah). “The Lord Jesus Christ, our
hope” means that the salvation that the Lord
Jesus had accomplished made us partake in God’s salvation which gives us
believers “hope of eternal life” (Tit. 1:2). And therefore Jesus Christ Himself
becomes our hope (See Col. 1:27).
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by
the commandment of” “The commandment”
refers to command. In other epistles, Paul declared himself that he was an
apostle by the will of God (See 1Cor. 1:1; 2Cor. 1:1; Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1) and
here it was changed into “the commandment” and the meaning was clearer and more
definite. Here he seemed to emphasize that his teachings had the authority from
God and were totally different from the heretical teachings from men.
“An apostle of Jesus Christ” is “an ambassador of Jesus Christ” in the
original, the one who presented Christ in the world. To Timothy the recipient,
it seemed unnecessary to Paul declared his apostleship because Timothy was
deeply convinced that Paul was Christ’s apostle. However, from the plural word
“you” (See 6:21) in the greeting at the end of the epistle, Paul intended to
let Timothy read aloud the epistle to the church in
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Not only Christ who carried out the great work
of redemption is our Savior (2Tim. 1:10) but also God who has planed the great
work of redemption is also our Savior.
2) God is our “Savior” because God loves us and
gives His only-begotten Son to us, making Him bear our sins on the cross and
deliver us from sins.
3) Christ Jesus is our hope and therefore we are
glad to accept His commandments, be sent by Him to various places (the original
meaning of “apostle”) to serve Him.
4) This verse expresses the five main items of the
gospel: a) “God” who has created all men and shall judge them; b) “the Savior”
who has planed and prepared the salvation; c) “Christ Jesus” who came into the
world and accomplished the redemption; d) He is the “hope” of all human beings;
e) believers preach the gospel by His “commandment”.
5) Christians are those who walk according to the
commandment of God and Christ. And therefore we should walk with the aim of
accomplishing the mission that has been entrusted to us and pay price for it
willingly.
6) Many preachers themselves do not obey the
commandment of God, however, they like to emphasize that they have the
spiritual authority from God and want others to obey them. Such spiritual
authority only leads men into error.
1Tim. 1:2 “To Timothy, a true son in
the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our
Lord.”
YLT: “to Timotheus --
genuine child in faith: Grace, kindness, peace, from God our Father, and Christ
Jesus our Lord,”
Meaning of Words: “Timothy”: honoring
God, glorifying God; “son”: child, infant.
Literal Meaning: “To Timothy, a true son in
the faith” “In the faith”
means that in the realm of faith, they, surpassing the natural difference of
the flesh, had the union in the spiritual life. The word “true” shows that
their relation was not of a form of adoption but of the propagation of the
spiritual life. In the original “son” is not the common one and it refers to a
child or an infant, showing Paul’s care to him.
From this sentence, Timothy should be the fruit of
the gospel that Paul bore (See 1Cor. 4:15).
“Grace, mercy, and peace from God our
Father and Jesus Christ our Lord”
Paul only mentioned grace and peace in his habitual greetings (
“Mercy” is the source of
“grace” and “peace” is from “grace”. Here mercy is put between grace and peace,
showing that mercy is not only the beginning of grace and peace but also the
element of one’s receiving grace and peace continuously.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The relation among believers that is brought in
by the like precious faith (2Pet. 1:1) is far closer than the relation
according to the flesh and it lasts unto the eternity.
2) Those who “honor God” (the meaning of Timothy in
the original) shall be esteemed by God and be given much grace, mercy and
peace.
3) We are unworthy of all the spiritual blessings
that we enjoy today in Christ and all of them are given to us through mercy.
4) But for God’s mercy, we should not have become
servers who receive commission and are faithful to the end, no matter what
conditions we have.
5) Paul juxtaposed Christ Jesus with God again and
again (See v.1-2) and he called Jesus “Lord” in this verse, showing that Christ
Jesus is equal with God (Pill. 2:6).
6) Christians not only have peace with God through
Christ (
1Tim. 1:3 “As I urged you when I
went into
YLT: “according as I did
exhort thee to remain in
Meaning of Words: “teach other
doctrine”: other doctrine, different doctrine, any other thing.
Literal Meaning: “when I went into
“As I urged you--remain in
“That you may charge some that they
teach no other doctrine” The word “charge”
is the military term and it means conveying the commandment. “Some” though Paul
did not clearly show who they were, Timothy and believers in
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Paul did not mention some by name, showing that
he was of a kindly disposition and still gave them the chance of repentance. We
should also think for others and still give them room before the point of
necessity.
2) The main task of God’s workers is to fight for
the truth. When there are improper opinions that are against the truth in the church,
they must stand up and point out the wrongness and forbid their continual
expansion.
3) “Other” means that it does not refer to other
religions or heresies but the impure and inaccurate words and messages that do
not center on Christ.
4) He whoever preaches the doctrine that is
different from the truth of the gospel in the Bible, he indeed preaches the
heresies and preaches a different gospel, he shall be cursed (Gal. 1:6-9)
5) Some conceited leaders in the church quote this
sentence to accuse others of preaching other doctrine and forbid them from
speaking in the church. They indeed garble the Bible and they are not examples
to be followed because the so-called “teach other doctrine” refers to the words
that are harmful to faith (See v.4).
1Tim. 1:4 “nor give heed to fables
and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification
which is in faith.”
YLT: “nor to give heed to
fables and endless genealogies, that cause questions rather than the building
up of God that is in faith: --”
Meaning of Words: “dispute”:
refutation, question; “edification”: stewardship, administration, dispensation,
distribution.
Literal Meaning: “nor give heed to fables” “fables” refer to
various stories and hearsays that are unreal or cannot be confirmed, including
the groundless teachings with the sentiment of Judaism and various tales with
Gnostic ideas.
“And endless genealogies” “Genealogy” formerly refers to the
pedigree of a clan which dates back to names of ancestors in every generation.
And therefore some Bible exegetes held that it referred to discoveries and
explanations to the genealogies of the Jewish ancestors through which men could
establish their status. However, the majority of the members in the church at
“Which cause disputes” in the original means “which cause
profitless speculation”. Preaching the above-mentioned things which are
irrelevant to the gospel only causes utopian discusses: men may insist on two
points and argue with each other endlessly.
“Rather than godly edification which is in
faith” “edification”
refers to the operation and arrangement in the realm of faith in the house of
God.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Christians should pursue more and more in
knowledge and experiences of faith (See Phil. 1:9-10; Col. 3:10). However, we
should not fall into the far-fetched arguments which lack evidence because they
are useless to the faith of Christians.
2) Today in the heresies and extreme movements of
Christianity, men probably like making up mysterious stories and phenomena,
adding fabulous witness to them and enclosing them with some several words and
phrases of the Bible. They trick many believers: making them think that they do
God service and provide their money, time, intelligence and even their bodies
willingly.
3) In the generation of the New Testament, the
relation between God and us does not lie in races or births but lies in our
works and hearts (See Rom. 2:6, 28-29). All the differences in the flesh cannot
be brought in the church.
4) “Endless genealogies” refers to both the family status and births and
the traditional ideas and ways followed from generation to generation which
would become our veil that blinds our minds (See 2Cor. 3:14-15) so that we
cannot see the fresh revelation and guidance that God would give us.
5) What matters is not how “men” say but how “God”
judges. It is not of men’s knowledge but of God’s Bible. We should not accept
all doctrines that are not recorded or revealed in the Bible rashly.
1Tim. 1:5 “Now the purpose of the
commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere
faith,”
YLT: “And the end of the
charge is love out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith
unfeigned,”
Meaning of Words: “purpose”: ultimate,
end, the final purpose; “love”: divine love, selfless love, complete love
(agape).
Literal Meaning: “Now the purpose of the
commandment is love” “commandment” and
“urge” in v.3 are the same word in the original. However, it is the noun here
and it is the verb there. Paul forbade men from preaching other doctrine (See
v.3) and the final purpose of this commandment is love, just as God’s motive
for giving men various commandments is that He loves men and the result is to
let men have His love.
“Love from a pure heart, from a good
conscience” “heart” is the
place where one’s soul is and the expressions of one’s soul are out of the
heart. And therefore thoughts, feelings and will are all called words related
to hearts in Chinese. “A pure heart” is “the pure in heart” (Matt. 5:8) and it
indicates that one has pure motives and does not have distractions in his heart
and there is none he desires besides God (Ps. 42:1-2; 73:25).
“Conscience” (Rom. 2:15) is a function that God
specially creates for men to regulate their words and deeds. When men’s words
and deed overstep the rules, the conscience would send out the felling of
condemnation and uneasiness. When men’s words and deeds are disciplined, there
will be peace in their conscience.
“Good” has two meanings: 1) without lessening and
deficit; 2) keen and good. “A good conscience” indicates that one’s words and
deeds pass the normal judgment of conscience and does not have the feeling of
uneasiness and condemnation.
“And from sincere faith” “sincere”: without falseness; “sincere
faith” refers to the true faith which is not pretended by men or man-made
because only the Lord Jesus is the leader and completer of our faith (Heb.
12:2).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The essential principle of all God’s
commandments in the Bible to us is love: on one hand they show us the love of
God and on the other they make us love God more.
2) If any doctrine can neither make us know the
love of God more clearly nor lead us to love and contrarily causes disputes,
enmities and even hatred, it mustn’t be of God or according to the Bible.
3) The “purpose” of the word of God is Christ who
is “love” and the spiritual reality of Him upon men------“a pure heart, a good
conscience and sincere faith”.
4) “Love” is the outer testimony of Christians’
inner life. If a man has “a pure heart” inwardly, he shall put the will of God
in the first place; if a man has “a good conscience”, he shall determine to let
his moralities and integrities be regulated by Him according to His standards;
if a man has “sincere faith”, he shall rely on Him only and trust upon Him
sincerely.
5) The way to know God lies in the pure heart
because the pure in heart shall see God (Matt. 5:8); if our hearts are not
pure, we shall fall into darkness (Matt. 7:23) and not see the way of life and
certainly we won’t meet God who is the source of love and we won’t have love.
6) Satan always utilizes many doctrines and things
to lure our hearts so that our minds shall be corrupted from simplicity as to
the Christ (2Cor. 11:3) and additionally our love to men shall grow cold.
7) The world always boasts before men that they
walk according to their conscience. Actually the conscience that they rely on
is not good, or they indeed have lost the feeling of conscience.
8) Since the conscience of Christians has been cleaned
by the precious blood of the Lord, we should have the living, fresh and keen
feelings. If we are able to live by the conscience in everything, we shall bear
good witness of the Lord.
9) We believers should form a habit that the moment
we find out our fault, we deal with it immediately so that we won’t have the
feeling of owing others and condemnation in our conscience.
10) Whenever the conscience is not good, we cannot
be confident because “if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence
toward God” (1John. 3:21).
11) Once we do not have confidence toward God,
there will be gap in our fellowship with God immediately. Whenever the
conscience is not good, the fellowship will not be good. God communicates with
us according to the degree of our conscience.
12) The badness of conscience hinders us from
communicating with God most because “if our heart condemns us, God is greater
than our heart” (1John. 3:20). God must condemn what our conscience condemns.
13) Conscience is the institution of our faith. A
good conscience and sincere faith are inseparable. Whenever the conscience is
not good, the faith shall weaken (See v.19).
14) The keenness of our conscience increases by the
same degree of our spiritual increase. Concerning the true communion of conscience,
the more the better. Conscience is God’s brake. It tells us something is wrong
and we have to repair it and continue walking. We should be wiling to listen to
the conscience, lest there be greater destruction later.
15) When a Christian’s spiritual life has grown up
to a certain degree, the witness that his conscience bears agrees with that the
Holy Spirit bears. Because when the conscience is fully controlled by the Holy
Spirit, the keenness of conscience grows day by day to harmonize with the sound
of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, the Holy Spirit speaks to believers through the
conscience------“my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost” (
16) If we want to have good consciences toward men,
we must have good consciences toward God first. Because once we owe God in the
conscience, naturally we owe men. And therefore all believers who pursue the
spiritual life should seek good consciences toward God (1Pet. 3:21).
17) We should not only pursue good consciences
toward God but also pursue good consciences toward men. We could do many things
before God, however, we cannot do them before men. Only when one has a good
conscience to men shall he have good testimony before men.
18) Lacking a good conscience, it is useless even
if one’s good outer conducts. Having a good conscience, it does not matter even
though some people may misunderstand or slander one. Because “having a good
conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good
conduct in Christ may be ashamed” (1Pet. 3:16).
19) Christians may deceive themselves in faith:
they do not have faith, however, they think that they have faith or make others
think that they have faith. It is called the false faith.
20) Faith is the ground of all spiritual virtues.
Faith works through love (Gal. 5:6). When Christ dwells in our hearts through
faith, we shall be rooted and grounded in love (Eph. 3:17).
21) The one who has true faith shall have works of
faith and the expression of faith lies in one’s love to brothers (See James.
2:14-16).
1Tim. 1:6 “from which some, having
strayed, have turned aside to idle talk,”
YLT: “from which certain,
having swerved, did turn aside to vain discourse,”
Meaning of Words: “stray”: not line
up, miss the mark, swerve; “idle talk”: vain discourse, empty talking.
Literal Meaning: “from which some, having
strayed” “some” refers to
the above-mentioned “some” (See v.3). “Which” refers to the indispensable
qualities which constitute love------a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith (See v.5).
“Have turned aside to idle talk” “Idle talk” refers to “fables and endless
genealogies” (See v.4).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The doctrines that miss the correct aim are
heresies.
2) If men fall away from the spiritual
principle------the excellent way of building up in love and preach the
doctrines that seem to be profound but make listeners perplexed, they indeed
say idle talk.
3) All teachings that lack revelation and
specialize in letters will lead men to stray from the way------“Christ is the
center and reality”, enter into the realm of vain and illusion and be carried
about with every wind of doctrine (See Eph. 4:14).
4) Today the general mood of Christianity becomes
superficial gradually: preachers preach for the sake of preaching and believers
listen for the sake of listening; they only pay attention to whether the words
are agreeable and ignore the practicality of the doctrines.
1Tim. 1:7 “desiring to be teachers
of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they
affirm.”
YLT: “willing to be
teachers of law, not understanding either the things they say, nor concerning
what they asseverate,”
Meaning of Words: “say”: speak, talk;
“affirm”: asseverate, affirm constantly, confirm thoroughly.
Literal Meaning: “desiring to be teachers of
the law” “teachers of the
law” are equal to the scribes and rabbis in Judaism (See Rom. 2:17-20). They
specialize in teaching the law of the Old Testament and the explanations to the
law handed down from generation to generation. They specially stress on what
they can do and what they cannot do.
“Understanding neither what they say nor
the things which they affirm” It indicates that
the speaker scarcely knows what he has said, however, he seems to clearly know
what he has said with the firm tone.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) In the church, we would rather be ministers of
the New Testament who serve by the Spirit than teachers of the law according to
letters because the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2Cor. 3:6).
2) If one does not have sturdy foundation in the
truth and is unwilling to make effort at studying the word of God intensively
and contrarily likes talking volubly or bombastically before all in order to
gain others’ respect, the result shall be that the blind leads the blind and
they both shall fall into the ditch (Matt. 15:14).
3) The prerequisite of a preacher is that one has
to understand what he says and affirms. It is a common phenomenon that one who
has superficial knowledge of the Bible interprets the Bible according to his
own will.
4) The unknowable things are stressed on in the
teachings of error, however, the clear and knowable truth is ignored (See
v.11).
1Tim. 1:8 “But we know that the law
is good if one uses it lawfully,”
YLT: “and we have known
that the law good, if any one may use it lawfully;”
Meaning of Words: “lawfully”:
legitimately, agreeably to the rules.
Literal Meaning: “But we know that the law is
good” “We” not merely refer to Paul and his
fellow-workers but also generally refer to all normal believers. “The law”
refers to the law of the Old Testament. Formerly God gave men the law with the
aim of regulating His people in their walkings so that they would be separate
from the common world. And therefore the law is good (See Rom. 7:12).
“If one uses it lawfully” “use it lawfully” means “use it according
to the rules”, i.e. using it in the correct occasions according to the original
intentions of the law.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ (Gal.
3:24) and therefore the law is good.
2) A correct and good thing must be used rightly
and reasonably, otherwise, it cannot achieve the expected effect and contrarily
turns to be harmful. In like manner, the words in the Bible are spiritual and
good, however, if they are misused, there will be harmful effect.
3) Today in many extreme and heretical teachings of
Christianity, only several words of the Bible are used and the balanced words
in other places of the Bible are not considered; or even the original idea of
the Bible is ignored and some absurd doctrines are made.
1Tim. 1:9 “knowing this: that the
law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate,
for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of
fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,”
YLT: “having known this,
that for a righteous man law is not set, but for lawless and insubordinate
persons, ungodly and sinners, impious and profane, parricides and matricides,
men-slayers,”
Meaning of Words: “the lawless”: without law and are beyond the law; “insubordinate”: that is not put
under, disobedient, unruly; “the
ungodly”: impious, not
esteem God as God; “sinners”: miss the mark; “the unholy”: not holy, not
separate to God; “profane”: unsanctified, walk in the common way, easy to be
attracted; “murderers
of fathers and murderers of mothers”:
father-slayers and mother-slayers; “manslayers”:
murderers.
Literal Meaning: “that the law is not made
for a righteous person” “A righteous man” refers
to one who follows rules and keeps the law. On one hand, there is none
righteous in the world (Rom. 3:10), however, on the other hand, Paul confessed
that “concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless” (Pill. 3:6).
And therefore this sentence means that the law is not made for those who keep
the law.
“But for the lawless and insubordinate” “the lawless” refer to those who disregard
all laws, including those who do not know the law; “insubordinate” refer to
those who knowingly violate the law and are unwilling to receive the control of
the law.
“For the ungodly and for sinners” “the ungodly” refer to those who do not
believe in or respect God. “Sinners” refer to those who stray from the will of
God.
“For
the unholy and profane” “the unholy” refer
to those who are not separate to God. “Profane” refer to those who follow the
bad examples of the world.
“For
murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers” “murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers” refer to those who hit and aggressively
disobey their parents and hurt their hearts, including those who actually kill
their parents. “Manslayers” refer to those who murder others.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) If we have confessed our sins to the Lord,
received the cleansing of His precious blood and been made the righteousness of
God in Him (See 2Cor. 5:21), we shall no longer be afraid of being condemned by
the law because the law is
not made for a righteous person. We could be free
from worry.
2) Since the law is not made for us------Christians
who have been justified by faith, we have been set free from the letters of the
law and we should never be entangled again with the yoke of them (Gal. 5:1).
All teachings that demand believers to keep the law of the Old Testament are
made because men do not understand the real meaning of the law.
3) Christians should be impelled by the love of God
(See v.5) rather than be urged merely by the law of God.
4) The law demands men to establish the right
relation with God first and then the relation to fathers and mothers and
others. If men’s intentions and attitudes to God are wrong, naturally they will
have problems with others.
1Tim. 1:10 “for fornicators, for
sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other
thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,”
YLT: “whoremongers,
sodomites, men-stealers, liars, perjured persons, and if there be any other
thing that to sound doctrine is adverse,”
Meaning of Words: “fornicators”: prostitution, a (male) prostitute, whore;
“sodomites”: homosexuals; “kidnappers”: men-stealers, slave-traders; “liars”: falsifiers, those who bear false witness;
“perjurers”: foreswearers; “sound doctrines”: sound
teachings, healthy teachings, pure teachings.
Literal Meaning: “for fornicators, for
sodomites” “fornicators” refer to male and female prostitutes;
“sodomites” refers to homosexuals.
“For kidnappers, for liars” “kidnappers”
refer to those who sell men and force them to be salves or prostitutes; “liars”
refer to those bear false witness to incriminate others falsely.
“For perjurers” refer to those who swear in order to show their
innocence (actually they are not innocent).
“And if there is any other thing that is
contrary to sound doctrine” “that is contrary
to sound doctrine” refers to all that are inconsistent with the sound and
healthy doctrines, i.e. all that are against the truth. The law is made for
sinners and those who are against the truth to manifest the rights and wrongs
and make them under God’s condemnation.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The law is made for avoiding the things that are contrary to sound doctrine, however, if it is used unlawfully (See
v.8), it could easily make men stray from the sound doctrine and pay attention
to the insignificant details, i.e. they concentrate on details but forget the
main purpose and they have an exactly opposite effect.
2) Concerning every doctrine, if it attracts men’s
attention and makes men stray from sound doctrine, it is unhealthy teaching,
i.e. the heresy (See v.3).
3) The differences between sound doctrine and
heresy lie in: the former is sound doctrines and teachings and the latter is
not sound; the former could nourish, heal and correct believers and the latter
would inject the poison of death into believers; the former profits the healthy
growth of the spiritual life and the latter harms the spiritual life.
1Tim. 1:11 “according to the glorious
gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.”
YLT: “according to the
good news of the glory of the blessed God, with which I was entrusted.”
Meaning of Words: “commit”: entrust,
trust.
Literal Meaning: “the blessed God”
indicates that what He is and what He has done are worthy of our praise. “The
glorious gospel” indicates that the nature of the gospel is that God is
manifested in the flesh (See 3:16), i.e. the gospel manifests the glory of God.
And therefore it is called “the
glorious gospel”.
This verse shows that Paul’s
interpretation to the law (See v.8-10) is the conclusion based on the essence
of the gospel that God had committed to him instead of his own random
definition.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) When we believers interpret an item of the truth
in the Bible, we should not rely on our own opinions merely but seek
confirmation carefully according to the connotation of the truth of the gospel
that God has revealed.
2) The connotation of the gospel------Christ Jesus,
He is the brightness of God’s glory (Heb. 1:3);
the objects of the gospel------all believers, we are vessels that manifest His
glory (Rom. 9:23). What the riches of the glory that is manifested by the
gospel (Eph. 1:18).
1Tim. 1:12 “And I thank Christ Jesus
our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into
the ministry,”
YLT: “And I give thanks
to him who enabled me -- Christ Jesus our Lord -- that he did reckon me
steadfast, having put to the ministration,”
Literal Meaning: “And I thank Christ Jesus
our Lord who has enabled me” “Who has enabled
me” is in the past tense in the original, showing that after he had been saved,
the one who enabled him in all the past circumstances is “Christ Jesus our
Lord”.
“Because He counted me faithful, putting
me into the ministry” “Faithful” refers
to trustful, reliable and trustworthy. Faithfulness is the most essential
qualification for serving the Lord (1Cor. 4:2; Matt. 25:21, 23). Faithfulness
means that one does not act on his own and fully obeys the word of the Lord: we
do as what the Lord has said.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) In other religions, there are only requests to
believers and there aren’t provisions. However, in Christianity, provisions are
before requests. This is the greatest difference between Christianity and other
religions.
2) The Lord not only puts us into works so that we
could serve Him outside but also enables us inside so that we could fulfill the
duty. He entrusts works to us and He also helps us accomplishing works.
3) When the Lord Jesus deals with us, He does not
remove “thorn”------tough experiences for us, but enables us------“the power of
Christ may rest upon us” (2Cor. 12:8-10).
4) God’s requirements for His servants are not
their abilities or power but their faithfulness. Abilities and power are what
He gives us and faithfulness is what we should pay.
5) The true service should be of Christ’s “putting
into” instead of ourselves.
1Tim. 1:13 “although I was formerly a
blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I
did it ignorantly in unbelief.”
YLT: “who before was
speaking evil, and persecuting, and insulting, but I found kindness, because,
being ignorant, I did in unbelief,”
Literal Meaning: “although I was formerly a
blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man” “a
blasphemer” indicates that he
sins against the Lord in words; “a persecutor”
indicates that his actions are against the Lord; “an insolent man” indicates that he is insolent and
humiliates the Lord. This sentence shows that when Paul did not believe in the
Lord, he was in the position against Christians and he persecuted Christians in
many ways in words, actions and attitudes because he misunderstood the real
meaning of the law (Acts. 22:4). In the sight of the Lord Jesus, he indeed
blasphemed, persecuted and insulted Him (Acts. 22:8).
According to the Greek, the
word “a blasphemer” is always used towards God and “a persecutor, and an insolent man” towards men. Here Paul called the actions
that he slandered the Lord Jesus as “blasphemy”, showing that he had believed
in the divinity of Christ Jesus.
“But I obtained mercy” “but” shows that it surpasses the normal causal
relationship and one does not obtain what he deserves for his past bad
behavior. “Mercy” indicates that one deals with another kindly when he is
unworthy of the kindness. This sentence shows that Paul confessed that he
deserved the punishment for his past sins and should be punished by God.
However, he even served Him unexpectedly (See v.12). And the reason is that he
obtained mercy.
“Because I did it ignorantly in unbelief” “unbelief” in the original means disobedience.
“Ignorantly” refers to unknown. “Unbelief” is related to “ignorantly”: one on
hand men do not believe because of their ignorance; on the other, men behave
ignorantly because of their unbelief.
This sentence explains why
Paul did that in the past, however, it does not mean that God does not look
into what men “do ignorantly in unbelief”. What matters is that the Lord Jesus
had bore the past sins of believers for us on the cross, however, unbelievers
shall bear their own sins.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) In the sight of God, all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). There is not the difference between good
ones and bad ones and we all sinned against God in the past.
2) None of us is worthy of the grace of God and we
are all who have obtained His mercy because God is rich in goodness and God
desires all men to be saved and is not willing that any should perish (Rom.
2:4; 1Tim. 2:4; 2Pet. 3:9).
3) The more one is willing to confess his dirtiness
of sins, the more he shall experience the Lord’s grace (See v.14).
4) On one hand, faith comes by hearing, i.e. faith comes by hearing
and understanding the word of Christ. However, on the other hand, if men are
insolent and disobedient intentionally (the meaning of unbelief in the
original), they cannot understand the word even if they have heard (Rom.
10:17-21).
1Tim. 1:14 “And the grace of our Lord
was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”
YLT: “and exceedingly
abound did the grace of our Lord, with faith and love that in Christ Jesus:”
Literal Meaning: “And the grace of our Lord
was exceedingly abundant” “Exceedingly
abundant” is a compound word in the original and it is constituted of over and
more and it describes that the grace of the Lord is superabundant and
overwhelm. “Abundant” implies more than enough, showing that the grace of the
Lord is not like the river that is almost dried but like the flowing torrent.
This sentence explains that his completely different behavior today was due to
the Lord’s unlimited grace.
“With faith and love which are in Christ
Jesus” “In Christ Jesus”
describes the realm of the cultivation and activities of faith and love.
“Faith” is opposite to “ignorantly in unbelief” (See v.13) and “love” is
opposite to “a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man” (See v.13).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) God’s mercy (See v.13) brings in the Lord’s
grace and the Lord’s grace makes us have faith and love. Mercy and grace are
the Lord’s gifts; faith and love are believers’ response. Through these the
Lord has the spiritual communion with believers.
2) The faith and love of Christians are not of our
advantages or progress but of the Lord’s special kindness (See Heb. 12:2; Eph.
3:17). What we are and what we have are all from the Lord.
3) How to measure the degree that believers receive
the Lord’s grace is not according to the outer physical blessings that they
receive or the peace and smoothness of circumstances but the amount of faith
and love.
4) Only in Christ Jesus there is faith and love.
Whenever we depart from the Lord, faith and love are all gone.
5) Faith makes us receive the Lord (John. 1:12) and
love makes us enjoy the Lord. More faith will make the Lord who has been
received by us constituted in us (Eph. 3:17) and more love will make Christ who
has been enjoyed by us manifested upon us (John. 13:35).
1Tim. 1:15 “This is a faithful saying
and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners, of whom I am chief.”
YLT: “stedfast the word,
and of all acceptation worthy, that Christ Jesus came to the world to save
sinners -- first of whom I am;”
Literal Meaning: “Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners” The word “Christ
Jesus” emphasizes that Christ (“God”) became Jesus (“man”). “Christ Jesus came into the
world” indicates that the
word became flesh (John. 1:14). “To” refers to the purpose of His coming into
the world. “Save sinners” is to save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21).
“This is a faithful saying and worthy
of all acceptance” “This” includes
two aspects: 1) the Son of God humbled Himself and was made in the likeness of
men (Pill. 2:6-8); 2) the aim of His coming into the world is to save sinners
(Matt. 9:13; Luke. 19:10). “Faithful” indicates that the genuineness of this is
trustworthy and it specially refers to the divinity of Jesus; “worthy of all
acceptance” indicates that the motive and wisdom of this are admirable and it
specially refers to the salvation of the cross.
“Of
whom I am chief” “I am chief” has
two aspects of meanings: 1) the worst sinner; 2) in the leading position among
sinners. Here Paul did not pretend to be humble like the common ones who mean
contrary to what is spoken. He indeed deeply realized his past sins and
repented and confessed that he was unworthy of such bountiful grace.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The Lord Jesus who is God became a man and He
has the full divinity. It is the core of the faith of Christianity and the
unchangeable truth. Every depreciation or denial to His divinity is of the evil
heart of unbelief.
2) To the insignificant truth, Christians could
tolerate others’ different opinions. Only concerning the divinity of the Lord
Jesus, Christians should never make a concession.
3) God even sacrificed His beloved only-begotten
Son to save sinners (John. 3:16) and has designed the excellent plan. He is
worthy of all acceptance and admiration.
4) Anyone who does not feel his past corruption
keenly and deeply may probably regard the salvation ordinary and show light
appreciation to the Savior and lack the positive motive power in running on the
way of Christians.
1Tim. 1:16 “However, for this reason
I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering,
as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.”
YLT: “but because of this
I found kindness, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all
long-suffering, for a pattern of those about to believe on him to life
age-during:”
Meaning of Words: “pattern”: norm, form,
precedent; “everlasting life”: eternal life, incorruptible life.
Literal Meaning: “However, for this reason I
obtained mercy” It retells the
words in v.13 and it aims at what he “did” in the past there and here it aims
at what he “was” in the past.
“That in me first Jesus Christ might
show all longsuffering” In v.13 it is said
that he obtained mercy because he “did” evil things ignorantly in unbelief and
here it is said that he obtained mercy because Christ might show all
longsuffering in him who was a chief of sinners. “Longsuffering” refers to
bearing men’s obedience and contradiction and not raging easily or executing
the judgment (See
“As
a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life” “are going to” refers to the time from
Paul’s believing in the Lord to the second coming of the Lord. “Those who are going to
believe on Him for everlasting life”
refer to all believers. “As a pattern” refers to setting a precedent that a
chief of sinners could obtain mercy and be saved.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) God has changed Paul who is chief of sinners, in
like manner, He is able to change all sinners as long as we receive His mercy.
2) The Lord shows His all longsuffering in Paul and
saves him, in like manner, He shall show His all longsuffering in men of later
generations and save us as long as we are willing to repent and believe like
Paul.
3) The chief of sinners could be the example of
being saved, showing that God’s mercy makes Him take care of sinners. The
Lord’s all longsuffering gives us chance to obtain grace by faith.
4) Receiving the “everlasting life”------the
uncreated life of God is the greatest gift and highest blessing that God gives
to all that believe in the Lord Jesus.
1Tim. 1:17 “Now to the King eternal,
immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and
ever. Amen.”
YLT: “and to the King of
the ages, the incorruptible, invisible, only wise God, honour and glory -- to
the ages of the ages! Amen.”
Literal Meaning: “Now to…be honor and glory” “honor” refers to the esteem equivalent to one’s
status and position. “Glory” refers to the beauty worthy of one’s life and
disposition.
“The King eternal, immortal, invisible,
to God who alone is wise” “Immortal” refers to the incorruptible and
changeless feature of God. “Invisible” refers to the features of God that He
surpasses everything and cannot be completely known by the creature. “The King
eternal” indicates that God reigns from generation to generation and forever.
“God who alone is wise” indicates that there is not any true God beside Him.
“Forever
and ever. Amen” “Amen” refers to
surely and verily.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Only God and the Lord Jesus are worthy of honor
and glory (Rev. 4:11; 5:12-13). The actions and words that men lift up
themselves or others in the church more or less usurp the worship that God
deserves.
2) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and
forever (Heb. 13:8). All things change and He is the same (Heb. 1:12; James.
1:17).
3) No one has seen God according to his eyes (John.
1:18). However, we Christians could experience and enjoy God by faith (2Cor.
5:7; 1Pet. 1:8).
4) When Christians live in the orderless situation,
we should still see that God sits as King (Ps. 29:10). Someone could proclaim
himself king superficially for a short while. However, our God is the King
eternal and He is worthy of our obedience and worship forever.
5) He is the only wise God. We should never worship
anyone or anything else besides Him------Mary, the spiritual giants, their
books and etc.
1Tim. 1:18 “This charge I commit to
you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you,
that by them you may wage the good warfare,”
YLT: “This charge I
commit to thee, child Timotheus, according to the prophesies that went before
upon thee, that thou mayest war in them the good warfare,”
Literal Meaning: “son Timothy, according to
the prophecies previously made concerning you” “the prophecies” refers to the things that would
happen in future said by the prophets in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit
(See Acts. 11:28; 21:11). From the scriptures in this place and other places,
we could not know what the prophecies that Paul made to Timothy were. Probably
when Timothy began joining Paul’s work of preaching (Acts. 16:1-3), Paul passed
on gifts and made prophecies in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit through
praying and the laying on of the hands of eldership (See 4:14; 2Tim. 1:6) and
the contents of the prophecies perhaps were related to waging the good warfare
mentioned in this book.
“This charge I commit to you” According to the context, “this charge”
should indicate that Paul ordered Timothy to forbid men from preaching the
heresies in the church (See v.3-5).
“That by them you may wage the good
warfare” “The good warfare”
refers to fighting for the truth with those who preach the heresies and such
warfare is called “the good warfare” because it accords with the will of God
and profits believers (please see the spiritual outline of “the good wage” at
the back).
1Tim. 1:19 “having faith and a good
conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,”
YLT: “having faith and a
good conscience, which certain having thrust away, concerning the faith did
make shipwreck,”
Meaning of Words: “reject”: thrust
away, abandon.
Literal Meaning: “having faith and a good
conscience” “having” refers to
never lacking them all the time. “Faith” refers to our subjective faith which
is the basic equipment for the spiritual warfare. All actions of the warfare
are of faith. “A good conscience” indicates that one’s walkings are not accused
by his conscience and it is the required condition of keeping faith. Whenever
the conscience is not good, faith shall leave out.
“Which
some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck” “having rejected” is more serious than a
bad conscience. It indicates that one ignores the conscience or walks against
the conscience intentionally. “Faith” refers to the objective faith. “Have
suffered shipwreck” its result shall lead to the destruction of a ship at sea,
i.e. the bankruptcy of faith.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Faith and a good conscience are the
indispensible equipment to wage a good warfare. And they are closely linked:
the strong faith helps the exquisiteness of conscience and a good conscience
helps one to hold faith.
2) Christians walk in the world just as the ship
sails in the sea and they depend on the guardianship of faith and a good
conscience. Otherwise, the faith of Christians shall leave out and in the
result, we shall be the same as the world.
3) The faith of Christians is inseparable from our
moral behavior: though we are not saved by our works, our progress and
spiritual states after we have been saved are closely related to our works (See
Eph. 2:8-10).
4) Once Christians are infected with sins, their
function of conscience shall be abnormal and their faith shall not be strong on
one hand. On the other, the conscience with normal function that performs well
will help us deal with sins and make our faith strong to wage the good warfare.
1Tim. 1:20 “of whom are Hymenaeus and
Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.”
YLT: “of whom are
Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I did deliver to the Adversary, that they might
be instructed not to speak evil.”
Literal Meaning: “of whom are Hymenaeus and
Alexander” “Hymenaeus” was
the heretical teacher who said that the resurrection was already past (2Tim.
2:17). “Alexander” probably was Alexander the coppersmith who resisted faith
and did Paul much harm (2Tim. 4:14-15).
“Whom
I delivered to Satan” “Delivering to
Satan” means that Paul used his spiritual authority of apostleship to regard
them as heathen men (Matt. 18:17), make them under the power of the evil one
(1John. 5:19) and let Satan destruct their flesh at its convenience (1Cor.
5:5).
“That
they may learn not to blaspheme” “Learn” refers to
being punished or disciplined. “Not to blaspheme” shows that the aim of
delivering them to Satan is not only to punish them but also to let them know
their wrongness and repent and no longer blaspheme and slander.
III.
Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons
The Comparison between Preaching the Truth
and Preaching Heresies
II. Preaching the
truth helps men know God’s godly edification which is in faith
(v.4c)------preaching heresies only causes disputes (v.4b).
III. Preaching the
truth leads men to love (v.5a)------preaching heresies makes men keep enmity in
mind because of “disputes” (v.4b).
IV. Preaching the
truth is of a pure heart, a good conscience and sincere faith
(v.5b)------preaching heresies is abandoning conscience and the conscience
leaves out (v.19b).
V. Preaching the
truth is according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was
committed to their trust (v.11)------those who preach heresies preach fables
and endless genealogies (v.4a) and idle talk (v.6).
VI. The words that
they use in preaching the truth are faithful and worthy of all acceptance
(v.15)------those who preach heresies understand neither
what they say nor the things which they affirm (v.7).
How the Elder Fellow-workers Cultivate and
Tutor the Younger Fellow-workers
I. Dealing with them
with the friendly sentiments between the spiritual fathers and sons (v.2).
II. With the
appropriate attitude: “urging” (v.3) or “committing” (v.18).
III. Pointing out
the core and focal points of works (v.3-4).
IV. Explaining the
reasons for doing so (v.5a).
V. Explaining how to
bring in the right work (v.5b).
VI. Pointing out the
failure of the wrong workers (v.6-10).
VII. Explaining the
bases of right doctrines (v.11).
VIII. Setting good
examples (v.12-16).
IX. Committing and
warning with the attitude of handing over the ministry to them (v.18-20).
The Wrongness of Teachers of the Law (Those
Who Preaching Heresies)
II. They paid
attention to fables more than the edification of men (v.4).
III. They caused
profitless words instead of love (v.5-6).
IV. They stressed on
their ambitions more than the truth (v.7).
V. They did not
treasure the gospel of God because of their self-righteousness (v.8-11).
VI. They rejected
conscience (v.19).
The Reasons Why Men Are Forbidden to Preach
Heresies
I. Because their
teachings only caused disputes (v.4b).
II. Because their
teachings can not edify believers or make them be rooted in faith (v.4c).
III. Because their
teachings were not of the right intention and cannot build up the communion of
love (v.5).
IV. Because their
teachings were only the impractical idle talk (v.6).
V. Because they only
liked teaching others and did not have the qualifications and the knowledge of
the Bible (v.7).
The Reasons Why It Is Called “the Good
Warfare”
I. The result of the
warfare helps the faith that God has entrusted (v.4b).
II. The motive of
the warfare is of the love to God and believers (v.5a).
III. The defensive
weapons of the warfare are a pure heart, a good conscience and sincere faith
(v.5b).
IV. The assault
weapons of the warfare are the “sound doctrine”------healthy teachings (v.10).
V. The aim of the
warfare is to guard the purity of the glorious gospel of God (v.11).
VI. The task of the
warfare is what the Lord has appointed (v.12b).
VII. The supplies of
the warfare are the Lord’s enabling (v.12a) and the exceedingly abundant grace
of the Lord (v.14).
VIII. The purpose of
the warfare is to give honor and glory to God (v.17).
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Sharon Ren