Contents
1.0 Introduction 2.0 Objectives 3.0 Main Content
3.1 First Timothy 3.2 Second Timothy 3.3 Titus
4.0 Summary 5.0 Conclusion
6.0 References/Further Readings 1.0 Introduction
The history of the Church's use of and attention to 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, commonly known as the Pastoral Epistles, is varied. Sharply polarized opinions exist on overarching questions of authorship and intended audience, as well as on numerous specific issues of interpretation. These include submission to authority, gender issues, differentiation within the leadership, marital status of church leaders, appropriate care of widows and the elderly, and questions of familial and household relationships. One passage, which has not received sustained treatment outside of commentaries in recent scholarship, is 1Tim 5:17-22. It deals with the significant issues of the reward, discipline, and installation of leaders of the young Christian community. These seem worthy of further study.
2.0 Objectives
By the end of this unit you should be able to:
Ascertain the authenticity of Pastoral Epistles
Identify the purpose of Pastoral Epistles
Describe the main teachings in the Pastoral Epistles and its relevance to Church leadership 3.0 Main Content
3.1 First Timothy Authorship
Consistent with the salutations of the Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus), the apostle Paul authored them. In contemporary era, yet, some scholars have argued that Paul himself did not constitute these letters but anonymous writer wrote under Paul's name, a tradition called pseudepigraphy. Arguments against Paul's authorship are progressed on numerous grounds. Some of the additional significant comprise: (1) renunciations of early church familiarity of these letters, (2) the handy correspondence between these letters and the Christian writings of the early second century, (3) diverse manners of addressing heresy than found in Paul's other letters, (4) the difficulty of locating
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these letters in the recognized conditions of Paul's life, and (5) the alterations in writing styles and language between these letters and Paul's other epistles.
In reply to these oppositions to Paul's authorship it should be known that Paul himself admonished his readers to discard the act of pseudepigraphy as dishonest forgery (2 Thess. 2:2-3), even the Pastoral Epistles comprise cautions about fraudsters (1Tim. 4:1-2; 2 Tim. 3:13; Tit. 1:10). This makes it doubtful that an early Christian make effort to honor Paul or to make use of his authority in order to battle heresy would have employed pseudepigraphy. Furthermore, the early Church declined to receive as canonical all of the gospels, apocrypha, and acts that they identified to be pseudonymous, and there is no strong indication that any pseudonymous epistles were ever formed in the early centuries of the Church. In documented cases in which pseudonymous writings were exposed in the early Church, the writings were occasionally endured if their content was measured innocuous, but never accounted canonical status. They were continuously condemned if found to teach blunder.
That the Pastoral Epistles were encompassed in early lists of canonical books and eventually confirmed as honest powerfully designates that the early Church resolutely believed the Pastoral Epistles to be genuine. Some academics, nevertheless, contend that the early Church cannot be proven to have identified these epistles. For instance, they take issue with Polycarp's usage of 1 Timothy the Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians ch. 4, which seem to quote 1 Timothy 6:7 ("we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it") and 10 ("the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil"). Though Paul did not originate these formulaic declarations, there is adequate information to designate that Polycarp's use of them was a direct quotation from 1 Timothy. Unambiguously, both Paul and Polycarp used both these statements in close propinquity to one another (within three verses in 1 Timothy, and in successive sentences in Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians), and both encompassed them in the context of discoursing righteousness and obedience to God. Remarkably, some critical scholars have recommended that Polycarp himself wrote the Pastoral Epistles, signifying how close a correspondence is between Polycarp's teaching and the content of the Pastoral Epistles.
That Paul's writing of the Pastoral Epistles has been rejected both on the ground that Polycarp had no knowledge of them and on the basis that Polycarp had full knowledge of them as their writer calls into serious inquiry the means and ideals by which Pauline authorship has been rejected.
Equally, flimsy are the oppositions to Paul's authorship based on the Pastoral Epistles' linguistic style (which may be a bit advanced than his previous writings), approach to heresy (which seems less precise than in his previous works), and lack of relationship to acknowledged proofs about Paul's life.
Current studies have confirmed that the vocabulary, style, and theology of the Pastoral Epistles are relatively well-suited with the rest of Paul's works, and undeniably that the Pastoral Epistles differ from one another as much as they differ from Paul's other writings. Paul's language and approach to dealing with heresy in these letters may contrast slightly from his former writings, but this should not be shocking given that the Pastoral Epistles were written: (1) later in Paul's life, (2) to address different glitches, and (3) to individuals who were close friends of Paul rather than to Churches. It should not be thought uncommon that Paul would write in a different way at several periods in his ministry, or that he preferred one style of correspondence to Churches and another to persons. Furthermore Paul‘s fewer precise treatment of heresy in these letters may merely designate that he knew that Timothy and Titus were already conscious of the details. To end, branded proofs about Paul's life at this period are limited, and are not unswervingly in conflict with any information in the Pastoral Epistles.
164 Purpose and Date
The purpose of writing was to direct Timothy on opposing false teachers in Ephesus. False teaching in the Church must be attacked. Legalistic traditions lead people away from the true Gospel. Worship and Church authority must be well-organized. Several groups within the Church have different needs and love for money has no place in the ministry of the Gospel. The letter is dated in A.D. 62-64
Time, Place of Writing and Audience
Some evidence in the Pastoral Epistles has led to the submission that these letters were written all through what may have been Paul's fourth missionary journey. Acts concludes not with Paul's demise, but with his house arrest in Rome (Acts 28:16, 30-31). Whereas, the late first-century writing, 1 Clement asserts that Paul was martyred in Rome, it does not associate his martyrdom with the incarceration documented in Acts 28. The fourth-century Church historian Eusebius well-preserved a tradition that Paul was unfettered from that imprisonment, carried on with his missionary works, and was martyred by Nero on his second visit to Rome. This tradition is reinforced by Philippians and Philemon, which, if they were penned during the Roman imprisonment documented in Acts 28, offer proof that Paul anticipated to be released (Phil. 1:25-26; Philemon 1:22), in addition to the Pastorals themselves. A fourth missionary journey and a second imprisonment after the one recorded in Acts 28 constitute to form the most likely setting for the Pastorals.
Supposedly there were two imprisonments in Rome, Paul was released from his first around A.D. 62.
Consistent with later tradition he was martyred by Nero, who died in A.D. 68. Under this situation, 1 Timothy, was written while Paul was still in the middle of his fourth missionary journey, was undoubtedly written during the earlier part of this time, between A.D. 62 and 64. Paul may have written from Macedonia (1 Tim. 1:3) in northern Greece.
First and Second Timothy were written to the man whose name they carry. Timothy comes from Lystra, a Roman colony in the province of Galatia. His father was a Gentile and his mother a Jew (Acts 16:1). Little is expounded about his father, who seemingly never became a Christian, but his mother and grandmother were doubtless transformed to Christianity as a result of Paul's visit to Lystra on his first missionary journey (2 Tim. 1:5). Timothy had from his youthful been coached in the Jewish Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:14-15), and these two women were indubitably significant in Timothy's own repentance to Christianity. When Paul went back to Lystra on his second missionary trip, some of the Christians called his attention to a young believer named Timothy, and Paul took decision to engage him on his tour (Acts 16:1-3). Hence Paul would be preaching to Jews, he circumcised Timothy based on Jewish custom (Acts 16:3). Paul and the elders of the Church also laid their hands upon Timothy to set him apart and prepare him for ministry (1 Tim. 1:18; 4:14).
Timothy toured with Paul during most of Paul's second and third missionary journeys (Acts 17:14-15;
18:5; 19:22; 20:4-6), and seemingly for part of his fourth. He appears to have become Paul's ward, and Paul spoke of himself as Timothy's "father" (Phil. 2:22) and of Timothy as his "son" (1 Tim. 1:2, 18; 1 Cor. 4:17; 2 Tim. 1:2; 2:1). As Paul's colleague, Timothy served as his archetypal in the Churches of Thessalonica (1 Thess. 3:2, 6), Corinth (1 Cor. 4:17; 16:10), Philippi (Phil. 2:19, 23), and Ephesus (1 Tim. 1:3). If Timothy had a fault, it was that he was hampered by what Paul categorized as a "spirit of timidity" (2 Tim. 1:7). Paul felt it obligatory to ask the Church in Corinth to accept Timothy in a
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manner that would set him at ease (1 Cor. 16:10-11). In his letters to Timothy, Paul urged him not to let anyone loathe him on account of his youth (1 Tim. 4:12), not to disregard the spiritual gift that he had received (1 Tim. 4:14), and not to be embarrassed to speak out confidently for the gospel (2 Tim.
1:8). Apart from the mysterious account in Hebrews 13:23 that Timothy had been "released" (probably from prison), little is known about what transpired to Timothy after the writing of 2 Timothy.
Content
Undoubtedly, Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus to care for the Church as his unique representative (1 Tim. 1:3), and he wrote this letter to help Timothy deal with a variation of doctrinal issues that were raised up by false teachers there. Paul had founded the Ephesian Church early on his third missionary journey, spending about three years there (Acts 19; 20:31). At the end of that tour he had cautioned the Ephesian elders that false teachers, some coming from the leadership itself, would pollute the Church (Acts 20:29-30). This epistle designates that his prophecy had come true (1 Tim. 1:6, 19; 4:1-2; 6:3-5, 10, 21). Paul labelled the false teaching in Ephesus as coming from within the Church itself (1 Tim.
1:6, 19; 4:1; 6:10, 21; 2 Tim. 2:18; 4:4). It was pigeonholed by a concern with myths (1 Tim. 1:4; 4:7;
2 Tim. 4:4), genealogies (1 Tim. 1:4), squabbles about words (1 Tim. 6:4; 2 Tim. 2:14, 23), controversies (1 Tim. 1:4; 6:4), knowledge (1 Tim. 6:20), worthless talk (1 Tim. 1:6), and godless gossip (1 Tim. 6:20; 2 Tim. 2:16). The false doctrines comprised proscriptions against marriage and certain foods (1 Tim. 4:3), in addition to the belief that the resurrection had already taken place (2 Tim. 2:18). The false teachers erroneously construed Jewish law (1 Tim. 1:7) and consequently placed boundaries on prayer (1 Tim. 2:1-7). The leaders of the movement comprised Hymenaeus (1 Tim.
1:20; 2 Tim. 2:17), Alexander (1 Tim. 1:20), and Philetus (2 Tim. 2:17). Those who sought leadership positions in the movement seemingly did so for monetary gain (1 Tim. 6:5, 10). The false teachers had been disruptive (1 Tim. 6:4-5) and appear to have been predominantly effective in misleading women (1 Tim. 2:14; 2 Tim. 3:6-7).
A number of these elements were seen; the specific doctrinal teachings, the interest in myths and genealogies and the concern for "knowledge" (the Greek word is gnosis) propose that the false teaching in Ephesus may have been an embryonic form of Gnosticism, a heretical movement that became a sturdy opponent to the emerging orthodox church in the second and third centuries.
Nevertheless, some of the more characteristic facets of advanced Gnosticism are missing here, and some emphasize that the movement in Ephesus can be clarified in terms of Jewish and Hellenistic influences. These two proposals need not be seen as inconsistent, for Gnosticism itself was a product of both Jewish and Hellenistic thoughts. But regardless of all that Paul said about the false teaching in Ephesus, its accurate nature remains indefinable.
First Timothy is remarkable for its curiosity in Church organization. It affords the lengthiest account in the New Testament concerning the qualifications for being an overseer or elder (1 Tim. 3:2-7). It similarly offers evidence for a difference between those elders who principally rule and those who principally teach (1 Tim. 5:17). It gives remarks about supporting and scolding elders (1 Tim. 5:17-20) and comprises the only obvious account in the New Testament of the qualifications for deacons (1 Tim. 3:8-13). Paul's precise commands to Timothy also comprise much practical guidance on how a church leader is to operate. This epistle is also branded by its stress on sound doctrine (1 Tim. 1:9-11;
3:9; 4:6; 6:3-4), and it encompasses two theological reflections on the salvation God has accomplished in Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 1:13-16; 2:3-6). These embrace confirmations of salvation by grace (1 Tim.
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1:13-16), Christ as the one mediator between God and humanity (1 Tim. 2:5) and the substitutionary atonement of Christ (1 Tim. 2:6).
First Timothy similarly comprises a deliberation on the work of Christ that upholds his incarnation, resurrection, and ascension (1 Tim. 3:16), an expectation of the second coming of Christ (1 Tim. 6:14), a wonderful doxology (1 Tim. 6:15-16), and indication of the extension of the concept of "Scripture"
beyond the Old Testament to embrace fundamentals of Christian tradition (1 Tim. 5:18). Also characteristic about 1 Timothy are its remarks about women (1 Tim. 2:9-15), including an extensive unit on appropriate care for widows in the church (1 Tim. 5:3-16), and the background information it delivers about Timothy, as well as viable references to both his baptism (1 Tim. 6:12) and his ordination (1 Tim. 1:18; 4:14).
3.2 Second Timothy Author, Purpose and Date
The author is the Apostle Paul. The purpose is to call for Timothy to visit Paul in his latter days and to inspire Timothy in his ministry against false teachers in Ephesus. False teachers will continually worry the Church and Church leaders must be brave in their fight against false teachers. Church leadership must be based on the Scriptures so that God will preserve true believers, but others in the Church will be arbitrated. He penned the letter in A.D. 64-68.
Time, Place of Writing and Audience
Second Timothy is most probable the last of Paul's letters. It was written after what may have been termed his fourth missionary journey and possibly dates between A.D. 64 and 68. Paul wrote 2 Timothy from prison, undoubtedly during a second Roman imprisonment (2 Tim. 1:8; 2:9). Indeed, why he was under arrest, or even where he was captured, is unidentified. He had been given an initial hearing, at which he had received no backing (2 Tim. 4:16). His trial still awaited him, but he was aware that it would result to his death (2 Tim. 4:6). Most of Paul's associates found it appropriate to be in another place (2 Tim. 4:10-11). He had been bothered by the activities of Phygelus and Hermogenes (2 Tim. 1:15-16) and Alexander the metalworker (2 Tim. 4:14), though a Christian named Onesiphorus had been a consolation to him (2 Tim. 1:16-18). Paul wrote to his friend and assistant, Timothy. Timothy was still in Ephesus (2 Tim. 4:19), where Paul had formerly left him (1 Tim. 1:3) and where the false teaching that Paul had addressed in his first letter to Timothy continued to be a problem (2 Tim. 2:14-18, 23; 3:1-9, 13). At that moment, recollecting their long-lasting relationship, Paul anticipated to see Timothy one last time before his demise (2 Tim. 1:4). Timothy's mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, were both Christians (2 Tim. 1:5) who had given Timothy early upbringing in the Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:15). The letter comprises a feasible reference to his ordination (2 Tim. 1:6; 2:2).
Content
Paul appears to have written 2 Timothy with two reasons in mind. First, he needed to provide Timothy with a last letter of personal reassurance in his ministry (2 Tim. 1:5-14; 2:1-16, 22-26; 3:10-4:5).
Second, he asked Timothy to come to Rome (2 Tim. 4:9, 21), providing directions on who and what (2
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Tim. 4:11-13) to bring with him. Like 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy displays a solid concern for sound doctrine (2 Tim. 1:13-14; 2:2; 4:1-5) and encompasses wonderful theological deliberations on the grace of God (2 Tim. 1:8-11), the faithfulness of Christ (2 Tim. 2:11-13) and the nature and function of Scripture (2 Tim. 3:15-17). There are confirmations of salvation by grace (2 Tim. 1:9), election (2 Tim. 1:9; 2:10, 19) and the divine inspiration of Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16). Second Timothy also upholds the resurrection (2 Tim. 2:8) and the second coming (2 Tim. 4:1, 8) of Christ.
2 Timothy ss the last of Paul's epistles, it is particularly significant because it offers us with some final intuitions concerning the apostle Paul. His condition was miserable. He could no longer look onward to productive ministry (cf. Phil. 1:22-26). Most of his associates had left him (2 Tim. 4:10-11). Yet Paul remained self-assured. He was not embarrassed to suffer for the Gospel (2 Tim. 1:12) and was willing to "endure everything for the sake of the elect" (2 Tim. 2:10). He knew that he had been realistic to Christ (2 Tim. 4:7) and that Christ would continually remain faithful (2 Tim. 1:12; 2:13).
Consequently, Paul had assurance that the One who had saved him from death in the past (2 Tim.
3:11; 4:17) would save him through death into eternal life (2 Tim. 4:8, 18).
3.3 Titus
Author, Purpose and Date
The author is the Apostle Paul. He penned this letter to encourage Titus to complete the organization of the Churches on Crete, attack the effects of false teachers there and teach believers in appropriate Christian behavior. The Church must be systematized with competent leaders and false teachers must be attacked. Special responsibilities exist for precise groups in the Church. Some overall responsibilities are to be shared by all believers. All Christian behavior must rest on God's saving work in Christ. He wrote in A.D. 62-64
Time, Place of Writing and Audience
Titus was most probable collected during Paul's fourth missionary journey, which occurred after his first imprisonment in Rome, and it undoubtedly dates between A.D. 62 and 64. Paul may have been in or on his way to Nicpolis in Epirus (western Greece) when he wrote Titus (Tit. 3:12). Titus was a Gentile Christian who was possibly transformed by Paul (Tit. 1:4). The New Testament offers little information about him, and he is not cited in Acts. Paul took him to Jerusalem early in his missionary works. Whereas in Jerusalem Paul declined to have Titus circumcised (Gal. 2:1-3). Titus obviously toured with Paul on his second and third missionary journeys and subsequently on what may have been part of his fourth missionary journey. He was Paul's reliable subordinate, and Paul reckoned on him in delicate conditions, such as that in Corinth (2 Cor. 8:6, 16, 23; 12:18). Titus later served as Paul's archetype on the island of Crete (Tit. 1:5) and in the province of Dalmatia (2 Tim. 4:10). From the onset of Paul's fourth missionary journey, Paul and Titus were occupied with missionary work on Crete, an island in the Mediterranean Sea whose populations were identified as degraded with no exemplary conduct (Tit. 1:12). When Paul moved on, he left Titus behind to continue the work (Tit.
1:5).
168 Content
Paul wrote to reassure Titus to accomplish his ministry on Crete. Precisely, Paul desired Titus to finish the organization of the Churches (Tit. 1:5-9), deal with the false teachers who were existing (Tit. 1:10-14; 3:9-11) and give directives to the Churches on appropriate behavior (Tit. 2:1-3:8). Like 1 Timothy, Titus is remarkable for its information on Church organization. It affords a drawn-out report of the qualifications for being an overseer or elder (Tit. 1:6-9) and significant indication that the terms
"overseer" and "elder" refer to one office rather than to two distinct offices (Tit. 1:5-7).
Similarly, like 1 Timothy, Titus displays a strong concern for sound doctrine (Tit. 1:9, 13; 2:1-2) and comprises two theological deliberations on the grace that God has protracted in Jesus Christ (Tit. 2:11-14; 3:4-7). These comprise assertions of the second coming of Christ (Tit. 2:13), Christ's substitutionary atonement (Tit. 2:14), regeneration by the Holy Spirit (Tit. 3:5), and justification by grace (Tit. 3:5, 7). Titus also confirms the deity of Christ in an outstanding manner: The title "Savior"
is applied easily and in the same contexts, to both God (Tit. 1:3; 2:10; 3:4) and Christ (Tit. 1:4; 2:13;
3:6), with 2:13 speaking of "our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ." Paul's zeal for sound doctrine was well-adjusted by an emphasis on good Christian behavior. For Paul, the two undoubtedly are on the same level. To be specific, he emphasized the quality of "self-control" (Tit. 1:8; 2:2, 5, 6, 12) and the significance of doing "what is good" (Tit. 2:7, 14; 3:1, 8, 14).
It is hard to ascertain in detail the nature of the false teaching on Crete. Paul labelled this false teaching as something that had emerged from within the Church (Tit. 1:10, 16). It has to do with Jewish myths (Tit. 1:14), genealogies and squabbles about the law (Tit. 3:9), and human commandments (Tit. 1:14). The false teachers represented a narrow Jewish-Christian perspective (Tit.
1:10) and pursued leadership positions for financial advantage (Tit. 1:11). They brought division into Churches and led numerous believers astray (Tit. 1:11; 3:10). Almost everything that Paul wrote in Titus about the false teaching on Crete equals what he said in 1 and 2 Timothy about that in. While there is no cause to assume a direct connection between the erroneous teachings in Ephesus and Crete or to assume that every idea being taught in one place was also being promoted in the other, the false teachings in the two areas may have been parallel appearances of a more general predisposition to mix Christian faith with forms of Jewish syncretism.
4.0 Summary
The First and Second Epistles to Timothy, and Titus form a distinct group among the letters written by Paul, and are now known as the Pastoral Epistles because they were addressed to two Christian ministers. When Timothy and Titus received these epistles they were not acting, as they had earlier done, as missionaries or itinerant evangelists, but had been left by Paul in charge of churches; the former having the oversight of the church in Ephesus, and the latter having the care of the churches in the island of Crete. The Pastoral Epistles was written to guide them in the discharge of the duties entrusting upon them as Christian pastors. Such is a general portrayal of these epistles. In each of them, nevertheless, there is a great deal more than is covered or implied by the designation, "Pastoral"
much that is personal, and much also that is focused on Christian faith and doctrine and practice generally