RSV ~ 1 Timothy 1 Notes

1 Tim 1:1 | ISB Notes

Paul: The sender of the letter, traditionally identified as the great apostle to the Gentiles (2:7; Rom 11:13). As an ambassador of Christ Jesus, Paul is divinely authorized to announce the gospel to Israel and all nations (Acts 9:15). His mission stems, not from his own initiative, but from a direct command of the risen Lord (Gal 1:1, 15-16).

our Savior: Six times in the Pastoral Epistles this title is given to God the Father (2:3; 4:10; Tit 1:3; 2:10; 3:4), and four times to Jesus Christ (2 Tim 1:10; Tit 1:4; 2:13; 3:6).

1 Tim 1:2 | ISB Notes

Timothy: One of Paul’s associates and a member of his missionary team. He was a native of Asia Minor instructed in the Scriptures by his Jewish mother, Eunice (2 Tim 1:5; 3:15). After his conversion, Paul recruited Timothy as a traveling companion (Acts 16:1-3) and ordained him to the priestly ministry (1 Tim 4:14; 2 Tim 1:6). Thereafter, Timothy spent most of his time at Paul’s side, as suggested by the six NT letters that identify him as a co-sender with the apostle (2 Cor; Phil; Col; 1 and 2 Thess; Philem). Though Timothy’s youth might sometimes have been a liability (1 Tim 4:12), his health unstable (5:23), and his disposition timid and unassertive (2 Tim 1:7), Paul always thought very highly of him and considered him a dear friend (Phil 2:19-23). According to tradition, Timothy was the first bishop of Ephesus and was martyred there in old age.

my true child: Similar expressions occur in 1 Tim 1:18, Phil 2:22, and 2 Tim 1:2. They imply that Paul’s apostleship is a ministry of spiritual fatherhood: through preaching and administering the sacraments, he begets the supernatural life of God in others and makes them his children. Timothy is a spiritual son who received the priesthood through Paul (2 Tim 1:6), and, as the apostle’s successor, he is to communicate the gift of that ministry to others as well (1 Tim 5:22; 2 Tim 2:1-2). See note on 1 Cor 4:15.

1 Tim 1:3-11 | ISB Notes

Timothy’s first assignment is to halt the spread of false teaching in Ephesus (1:3). Proponents of these novelties are not missionary invaders but misguided individuals from within the Ephesian congregation. Aspiring to be teachers of the Torah (1:7), they occupy themselves with imaginative theories about the mysteries and genealogies of the books of Moses (1:4). Timothy is to silence them and preach sound doctrine that inspires love and faith (1:5). For Paul, it is unbecoming for teachers of the faith to neglect the certainties of revelation in order to revel in the uncertainties of speculation.

1 Tim 1:3 | ISB Notes

Macedonia: A Roman province in northern Greece.

Ephesus: Capital of the Roman province of Asia (Minor) in southwest Turkey. Paul established the Church there in the mid 50s on his third missionary tour (Acts 19:1-20:1). Although Ephesus is a flourishing center of Christianity in the first century, the apostle foresees doctrinal troubles heading their way (Acts 20:17, 28-29).

1 Tim 1:4 | ISB Notes

myths: Probably legendary stories about OT figures that are found in Jewish apocryphal writings before the dawn of Christianity (Tit 1:14).

divine training: The Greek oikonomia can also mean “arrangement of God” or “household management of God”. The latter sense would connect with a theme developed later in the letter, namely, that the Church is the “household of God” (3:15).

1 Tim 1:7 | ISB Notes

teachers of the law: Elsewhere in the NT this title is used of scribal (Lk 5:17) and rabbinic teachers (Acts 5:34).

1 Tim 1:8 | ISB Notes

the law: The Torah or Law of Moses is “good” because it promotes virtue and prohibits vice (Rom 7:12, 16). Since many of the sins in the following verses are direct violations of the Decalogue (Ex 20:1-17), it is clear that the moral precepts of the Old Covenant are carried over into the New and, in Paul’s mind, are part of what constitutes “sound doctrine” (1 Tim 1:10). This is consistent with his teaching elsewhere in Rom 13:8-10, 1 Cor 7:19, and Gal 5:14.

lawfully: i.e., according to its true intent. Improper use of the Law was made by false teachers, whose useless conjectures spread confusion instead of religious conviction among believers. The purpose of the Torah is not to satisfy our curiosity but to encourage justice, mercy, and faith (Mt 23:23) (CCC 1962).

• The person who thinks he understands the Scriptures but is unable to build up the double love of God and neighbor does not truly understand them (St. Augustine, On Christian Doctrine 1, 36).

1 Tim 1:9 | ISB Notes

for the lawless: i.e., for those who need moral direction and restraint in order to become just.

1 Tim 1:10 | ISB Notes

immoral persons: Literally, “fornicators”.

sodomites: The Greek refers to “male homosexuals”, i.e., men who perform sexual acts with other men. For Paul’s condemnation of this perversity, see Rom 1:26-27 and 1 Cor 6:9.

1 Tim 1:12-17 | ISB Notes

An autobiographical aside. Paul stands as a living exemplar of Christ’s redemptive work, i.e., an example of how the Lord can transform even rebellious sinners into remarkable saints. In the end, the tragic tale of Saul the Pharisee became the epic story of Paul the Apostle because of one fact: the grace and mercy of God was poured out upon him (1:13; 1 Cor 15:10) (CCC 545).

1 Tim 1:15 | ISB Notes

foremost of sinners: The grace given to Paul at his conversion magnified his awareness of past faults. The comment is suggestive of the letter’s authenticity, since it is unlikely that an admirer of Paul would describe him in more humiliating terms than the apostle himself did (1 Cor 15:9).

See introduction: Author.

1 Tim 1:17 | ISB Notes

To the King of ages: Possibly a Jewish doxology that passed into the liturgy of the ancient Church. Others like it punctuate the letters of Paul (6:15-16; Rom 16:27; Phil 4:20; Eph 3:21).

1 Tim 1:18 | ISB Notes

prophetic utterances: This may indicate that Timothy’s ordination was accompanied by a revelation of his precise mission to the Ephesian Church (4:14). A similar missionary calling is outlined in Acts 13:1-3.

1 Tim 1:20 | ISB Notes

Hymenaeus and Alexander: Ringleaders of the erring teachers in Ephesus. So dangerous was their teaching that Paul surrendered them to Satan, i.e., he excommunicated them from the life and liturgy of the Church. This drastic measure is not an irreversible condemnation but a form of disciplinary correction designed to bring about their repentance. Nothing more is known of them unless Hymenaeus is the same person mentioned in 2 Tim 2:17 and unless this Alexander can be linked with the individual in Acts 19:33 or 2 Tim 4:14-15. See note on 1 Cor 5:5.