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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
1 Tim. 1
It’s interesting to me that Paul always introduces himself in his letters, not just as Paul, but essentially as Paul, the unwitting apostle of Christ. It’s as if he wants people to know up front that any authority he expresses in what follows came straight from Jesus Christ and that it was nothing he sought out to obtain. It seems that message was important enough to him to express in every letter he wrote. I see that partially as a preemptive response to any opposition. It answers the inevitable question, “Who does he think he is?” up front. More than just a response to potential pushback, though, I think it genuinely answers that question. What I mean is that it expresses how Paul defines his identity. And I wonder if that aspect of it was even more important to him than the first.
Being, “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God” (from 1 Tim. 1:1) is a far cry from being, “a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man” (from 1 Tim. 1:13). The latter is what Paul formerly was in his own efforts at righteousness. By human standards, his efforts would have been considered very effective. He was a highly respected, very zealous, up and coming Jewish religious leader who was without fault within that system. However, having quite literally seen the light, he realized the much bleaker truth of his former identity. Thus, by identifying himself as he does in his letters, he makes a clear distinction between who he was in himself and who he became in Christ. I think we would all do well to be more aware of both who we are in Christ and that we carry that new identity solely because of Christ.
1 Tim. 2-3
I still don’t understand a lot of the specifics in Paul’s instructions to Timothy. What I do pick up on, however, is that his teachings are intended to guide the church into godly, dignified, orderly conduct. As Paul himself said, “I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” 1 Tim. 3:15b). Additionally, I still believe that cultural context matters. This was a church of relatively new Gentile believers. As such, they needed to learn that God’s ways are vastly different than what they formerly knew and practiced. Thus, Paul instructed them to worship differently and to adhere to the simple truth of the gospel.
Speaking of cultural context, I noticed something else while looking at this passage this morning. People tend to focus on Paul’s instructions for women to stay submissive and quiet in the church. What I noticed this morning, however, is the part people seem to ignore. Paul first said, “A woman is to learn quietly with full submission.” (1 Tim. 2:11). Could it be that Paul wasn’t so much restricting a woman from teaching and speaking in church, but that he was giving them permission to learn and instructing them on how to do that properly? I’m pretty sure men and women had different roles and practices within their pagan cultures. So it makes sense that they would need different instructions on how to leave those practices behind and take up what is appropriate in the worship and service of the living God.