1 Timothy
Advice from Paul to his protégé on leading a church that was going sideways.
Who wrote it: Says it is from Paul to Timothy. Most scholars think the three Pastoral letters (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus) were written in Paul's name after his death, around 80 to 100 AD, because of their vocabulary and church structure; a solid minority defend Paul in the mid 60s.
What it is
Timothy was young, sickly, timid by temperament, and had been left in charge of the church in Ephesus, which was being pulled apart by teachers obsessed with myths, genealogies and arguments about the law. This letter is Paul telling him what to do about it. Stop the false teaching. Pray for everyone, including rulers. Appoint leaders whose lives match their words, and here is what that looks like. Take care of widows properly. Don't let anyone look down on you because you're young.
It is more organisational than Paul's other letters, which is one reason people question the authorship: there are qualifications for overseers and deacons, rules for widows' support, and instructions about worship. But it is also warm and personal. Paul calls himself the chief of sinners and says Christ came to save sinners. He tells Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach. He tells him to train for godliness the way athletes train for a race.
The last chapter is about money, and it contains the line everyone misquotes. Not 'money is the root of all evil' but 'the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil'. Godliness with contentment is great gain. We brought nothing in and take nothing out. Tell the rich not to be arrogant or trust in wealth, but to be generous. Then a final word to Timothy: guard what has been entrusted to you.
Verses worth keeping
The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
Gen Zsame meaning, your wordsHere's a saying you can trust and take fully on board: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I'm the worst of them.
Paul, decades into being an apostle, in the present tense. He never stopped thinking of himself this way.
Let no man despise your youth; but be an example to those who believe, in word, in your way of life, in love, in spirit, in faith, and in purity.
Gen Zsame meaning, your wordsDon't let anyone look down on you because you're young. Instead, set the example for the believers in how you talk, how you live, how you love, in your faith, and in keeping yourself clean.
The answer to being dismissed for your age is not arguing. It is a life they cannot argue with.
6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can’t carry anything out.
Gen Zsame meaning, your wordsBut godliness plus contentment is real wealth. We brought nothing into this world, and we definitely can't take anything out.
Contentment is the rare part. Plenty of people are godly and miserable.
Read 1 Timothy
The full text, every chapter, from the World English Bible, a modern public-domain translation. Pick a chapter below. The highlighted verses are the place to start if you have never read it.
1 Timothy 6
1Let as many as are bondservants under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and the doctrine not be blasphemed. 2Those who have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brothers, but rather let them serve them, because those who partake of the benefit are believing and beloved. Teach and exhort these things.
3If anyone teaches a different doctrine and doesn’t consent to sound words, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, 4he is conceited, knowing nothing, but obsessed with arguments, disputes, and word battles, from which come envy, strife, insulting, evil suspicions, 5constant friction of people of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. Withdraw yourself from such.
6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can’t carry anything out. 8But having food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation, a snare, and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11But you, man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you confessed the good confession in the sight of many witnesses. 13I command you before God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who before Pontius Pilate testified the good confession, 14that you keep the commandment without spot, blameless until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which at the right time he will show, who is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords. 16He alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen nor can see, to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.
17Charge those who are rich in this present age that they not be arrogant, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy; 18that they do good, that they be rich in good works, that they be ready to distribute, willing to share; 19laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold of eternal life.
20Timothy, guard that which is committed to you, turning away from the empty chatter and oppositions of what is falsely called knowledge, 21which some profess, and thus have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.
Questions about 1 Timothy
Does 1 Timothy 2:12 ban women from teaching?
It says the writer does not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man. Some Christians read that as a permanent rule for church leadership. Others point out that the same letter's context is a specific problem in Ephesus, that the Greek word for 'authority' is rare and may mean 'domineer', that women taught elsewhere (Priscilla in Acts 18), and that the same passage tells women not to wear braided hair or gold. This is one of the sharpest live disagreements between denominations, and it is not resolved here.
Did Paul actually write this?
The letter says so, and the church accepted it from early on. Most modern scholars doubt it: the vocabulary is different, the church structure is more developed, and the situation does not fit neatly into Acts. Defenders answer that Paul could have used a different scribe, been released and traveled again after Acts ends, and adapted his style late in life. Christians hold both positions.
What does 'a bishop must be the husband of one wife' mean?
Probably faithfulness in marriage, or 'a one-woman man', rather than a ban on single leaders or a requirement of exactly one marriage ever. Paul himself was single. Churches have applied it in a range of ways.