Sunday School 1

Sunday School 1-1-06 1^st Timothy 1(12-20)

Timothy (Easton’s Bible Dicitonary)
Timothy means “honouring God.” Timothy was a young disciple who was Paul's companion in many of his journeying. His mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, are mentioned as eminent for their piety (2 Timothy 1:5). We know nothing of his father but that he was a Greek (Acts 16:1). He is first brought into notice at the time of Paul's second visit to Lystra (16:2), where he probably resided, and where it seems he was converted during Paul's first visit to that place (1 Timothy 1:2; 2Tim 3:11). The apostle having formed a high opinion of his "own son in the faith," arranged that he should become his companion (Acts 16:3), and took and circumcised him, so that he might conciliate the Jews. He was designated to the office of an evangelist (1 Timothy 4:14), and went with Paul in his journey through Phrygia, Galatia, and Mysia; also to Troas and Philippi and Berea (Acts 17:14). Thence he followed Paul to Athens, and was sent by him with Silas on a mission to Thessalonica (17:15; 1 Thessalonians 3:2). We next find him at Corinth (1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2th 1:1) with Paul. He passes now out of sight for a few years, and is again noticed as with the apostle at Ephesus (Acts 19:22), whence he is sent on a mission into Macedonia. He accompanied Paul afterwards into Asia (20:4), where he was with him for some time. When the apostle was a prisoner at Rome, Timothy joined him (Phil 1:1), where it appears he also suffered imprisonment (Hebrews 13:23). During the apostle's second imprisonment he wrote to Timothy, asking him to rejoin him as soon as possible, and to bring with him certain things which he had left at Troas, his cloak and parchments (2 Timothy 4:13). According to tradition, after the apostle's death he settled in Ephesus as his sphere of labor, and there found a martyr's grave.

Timothy, Epistles of Paul to (Smith’s Bible Dictionary)
The Epistles to Timothy and Titus are called the Pastoral Epistles, because they are principally devoted to directions about the work of the pastor of a church. The First Epistle was probably written from Macedonia, A.D. 65, in the interval between St. Paul’s first and second imprisonments at Rome. The absence of any local reference but that in (1 Timothy 1:3

) suggests Macedonia or some neighboring district. In some MSS. and versions Laodicea is named in the inscription as the place from which it was sent. The Second Epistle appears to have been written A.D. 67 or 68, and in all probability at Rome. The following are the characteristic features of these epistles:-- (1) The ever-deepening sense in St. Paul’s heart of the divine mercy of which he was the object, as shown in the insertion of the "mercy" in the salutations of both epistles, and in the "obtained mercy" of (1 Timothy 1:13) (2) The greater abruptness of the Second Epistle. From first to last there is no plan, no treatment of subjects carefully thought out. All speaks of strong overflowing emotion memories of the past, anxieties about the future. (3) The absence, as compared with St. Paul other epistles, of Old Testament references. This may connect itself with the fact just noticed, that these epistles are not argumentative, possibly also with the request for the "books and parchments" which had been left behind. (2 Timothy 4:13) (4) The conspicuous position of the "faithful sayings" as taking the place occupied in other epistles by the Old Testament Scriptures. The way in which these are cited as authoritative, the variety of subjects which they cover, suggests the thought that in them we have specimens of the prophecies of the apostolic Church which had most impressed themselves on the mind of the apostle and of the disciples generally. (1 Corinthians 14:1) ... shows how deep a reverence he was likely to feel for spiritual utterances. In (1 Timothy 4:1

) we have a distinct reference to them. (5) The tendency of the apostle’s mind to dwell more on the universality of the redemptive work of Christ, (1 Timothy 2:3-6; 4:10) and his strong desire that all the teaching of his disciples should be "sound." (6) The importance attached by him to the practical details of administration. The gathered experience of a long life had taught him that the life and well being of the Church required these for its safeguards. (7) The recurrence of doxologies, (1 Timothy 1:17; 6:15,16; 2 Timothy 4:18) as from one living perpetually in the presence of God, to whom the language of adoration was as his natural speech

1^st Timothy 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

Notice the word “enabled” in this verse; it means. to receive strength, or to be strengthened Paul realizes it is not his talents and desire which have made him what he is, but it is the strength he has derived from his relationship to Christ which has made him a success. I think we would be so much more effective as Christians today if we would praise God for what He has done for us instead of trying to take the credit ourselves. God helps those who are willing to admit they need help. He is available to those who cry out in their weakness. He hides Himself from those who are proud and arrogant. There is another word in this verse which reveals the heart of Paul. The word is counted. Paul does not claim to be faithful, but claims to be counted faithful. The word counted means to be “considered, deemed, or accounted as something.” God counts Paul faithful through His mercy and grace. The same thing was said about Abraham in Galatians 3:6: “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” No one is righteous in God’s eyes in their own righteousness, but righteousness is accounted unto them by faith. The Christian is not righteous, as true righteousness would demand perfection, but he is deemed righteous because of his relationship to Christ. Consider the words of Romans 3:20-27 “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.” Oh, how marvelous are the wondrous works of our God!

1:13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 1:14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

The word translated mercy means to help the afflicted, or to bring help to the wretched. Paul does something in this verse which is very rare these days; he admits his guilt. Today we have become a society of excuse makers. Everything we do is somebody else’s fault. We blame our parents, the weather, our bosses, our spouses, our children, black cats, and anything else we can find when we should do as the scripture teaches us and admit our guilt and repent of it so that we can receive forgiveness. The Scriptural proof of this is 1^st John 1:8-9: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Paul didn’t excuse his activity other than to say he did it in ignorance. It was nobody else’s fault. He was guilty. Thanks be to God mercy is available for sinners. You can do the same. If you are guilty before God, just admit that you are a sinner and confess your sin to God. He will be faithful to forgive your sin and accept you as a child of God!

1:15 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.

Paul felt as if he was the worst sinner ever. I feel the same. We need to understand something when we speak along this vein. Jesus doesn’t see sins; He sees sin. I know you are saying “that doesn’t make a lick of sense”, but it does. It doesn’t matter whether you are guilty of one sin or 1 million; you are a sinner. I heard Barbara Walters speaking with Bill O”Reilly about her upcoming show on heaven and they both put forth the attitude which is so common among the world concerning sin. They said man has free choice (which is true) but then they went on to say that those who try to live good go to heaven and those who choose evil go to Hell. That makes sense. It sounds good to the human mind, but it is totally unscriptural. You can never do enough good to be saved or enough evil to prevent you from being saved. God counts all those who have not accepted Him as their Saviour as lost; whether they be what we consider good or bad. I firmly believe Hell is full of good people. When we come to Christ we are accounted as good. Salvation is by faith in Christ, not good works. Should we try to live good and honorable lives? Absolutely! But the reason we perform good works is because we are saved, not to be saved. Our good works bring glory to our Father in Heaven. Christ came to save sinners. I feel like I am chief, but actually we are all in the same boat. The drunkard is just as able to be saved as the nice neighbor who is a model of piety. The prostitute is welcome at the foot of the cross along with any other member of society which we deem as unholy. They are all the same in the eyes of God; a poor, unfortunate, lost human being in need of a Saviour. Christ came to save sinners. He came to heal the sick. He loves the underdog and the hated among us! If we want to be Christ-like, we should value them also!

1:16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

Paul is encouraging those who wondered if Christ could save a wretch them. This verse means “if He can save me, He can save anybody!” I, like countless millions of other believers, have often been inspired by the words of the great hymn “Amazing Grace.” Did you know the man who penned those words was as slave ship Captain? He was a truly evil man in a truly evil occupation, but he came to know the meaning of “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” I might say the same. Sometimes people do not give their lives to the Lord because they feel unworthy of Christ or feel they will not be able to successfully live a Christian life and therefore bring shame upon themselves and Christ Jesus. Do not fear! That Christian who you look up to and admire was once just like you. Once he gripped the seat till his knuckles turned white just like you. Once he wondered if Christ could change his life just as you do now. The difference is that now He has tasted and experienced the mercy of Christ. He now knows the great capacity God has to forgive. Just let me say one thing to those who worry whether Christ can save them: “Jesus is gooder than you are bad.” I know that is not proper grammar, but you get the message. The Blood of Jesus Christ can wash away all sin! Glory to God!

1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Let us define these words Paul uses to describe God so that we can appreciate the full meaning of this verse. King= prince, commander. Eternal= for ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time. Immortal= not liable to corruption or decay, imperishable. Invisible= unseen, or that which can not be seen. Wise= forming the best plans and using the best means for their execution. Our God is certainly King. He is in total command. He is God! He is eternal. He always has been, He is now, and He always will be. He is the eternal “I am.” He is immortal. Our God will never age or perish. He is forever which guarantees our eternal being. Thanks be to God that He is wise. He knows what is best for us. He knows tomorrow and I know who holds tomorrow in His hand!

1:18 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;

Some read this verse concerning prophesies spoken about Timothy and immediately think of some hocus-pocus thing going on, but I don’t think that is what is being referred to here at all. Notice Timothy is to fight a good warfare “by them,” or by the prophesies. How can prophesies help one fight the Devil? They can if they are based on Biblical principles. We have indicators in this life which allow us to predict certain things. Notice the words of 2^nd Timothy 1:5: “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.” Timothy had been raised in a Christian home under the tutelage of two devout Christian women. His grandmother Lois had been a believer and so had his mother Eunice. They taught him the right way to live and raised him in the fear and admonition of the Lord. What happens when we raise children the Bible way? Ephesians 6:4: “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” This tells us we need to be aware of the Spiritual education of our children. Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” This promises us that those lessons will stick with that child throughout his life. Timothy’s godly parents raised him the right way. They fully expected him to follow Christ. Another marker to success is that Timothy himself had accepted the Lord. Paul calls himself Timothy’s “father in the Lord” which indicates it was through Paul’s preaching Timothy was saved. Now we have a child raised up right who has accepted Christ. We’re on our way to success don’t you think? 2^nd Timothy 1:6 tells us Timothy was ordained into the ministry by Paul. Now we have a child raised correctly who has been born again and has given his life for the ministry. I don’t think it takes Madam Cleo to figure out that Timothy will do OK. He will fight the Devil every step of the way and come out the winner. You can help assure your child the same prosperous Spiritual journey by raising them in Church and in a home which reflects Christ. It will be a big step on the road to a life lived for Christ!

1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: 1:20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

The word translated “holding” means to “have or to own, to possess.” This verse tells us we need to hold on to or possess our faith. When God saves us we are commanded to endure until the end. God will help all the way; we have no excuse to give up. The only Christian who loses his salvation is one who chooses to lose it. You will never be tricked out of your salvation or lose it due to ignorance. Notice the phrase “put away’ in this verse; it means “to thrust away from one's self, to drive away from one's self, to repudiate, reject, or refuse. I am not an eternal security preacher, but I do believe God is able to keep any Christian who has a desire to be kept. There are plenty of good Christian preachers and teachers who believe otherwise, and they can believe whatever they please. They are as saved as I am. I can only teach you as correctly as I can through that which lieth within me. I firmly believe that backsliding is possible, but rare. Notice these people once had faith, but now their faith was shipwrecked. The word translated shipwrecked means shipwrecked. Some translators say there is no hope for someone once shipwrecked, but they are wrong. Some have been saved from a shipwrecked condition, but those who remain in that condition by not calling on Christ for help are lost and condemned to death. Most who claim to have backslid probably were never saved in the first place. We can only backslide on God when we thrust Him away or repudiate Him from our lives. The important point to remember here is “free will.” We never lose it. It is our free will to accept Christ and it is our free will to live for Him. God will never force us to remain a Christian; he will not (as some suggest) kill us to prevent us from turning from Him. There is no Scripture for that idea. God doesn’t draft Christians; He is looking for volunteers!

To better understand this let us read the Scripture in 1^st Corinthians 5(1-5): “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. 5:2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. 5:3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” This Scripture concerns a man who was having a physical relationship with a woman who was his father’s wife. (not his mother, but step-mother) Paul is saddened that the church has not removed him from their midst and “delivered such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved.” This phrase, and that in verse 20 above, does not mean that Paul wants them to give up on these people and condemn them to Hell. It means he wants them to deliver them unto Satan who will oppress them which might cause them to understand their ways and turn back to God. We talk of this also in the modern church when we say we want our loved ones to be convicted of their sins so they will turn to Christ, whatever the cost. Paul didn’t want them destroyed to their eternal death; he wanted them tormented so they would turn to God and live eternally. The ends definitely justify the means in this case.

12 How thankful I am to Christ Jesus our Lord for considering me trustworthy and appointing me to serve him, 13 even though I used to scoff at the name of Christ. I hunted down his people, harming them in every way I could. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. 14 Oh, how kind and gracious the Lord was! He filled me completely with faith and the love of Christ Jesus.

15 This is a true saying, and everyone should believe it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—and I was the worst of them all. 16 But that is why God had mercy on me, so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Glory and honor to God forever and ever. He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.

18 Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they give you the confidence to fight well in the Lord’s battles. 19 Cling tightly to your faith in Christ, and always keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples of this. I turned them over to Satan so they would learn not to blaspheme God.

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