1 Timothy begins a trilogy of New Testament books that are commonly known as the Pastoral Epistles. These books consist of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. They are called “Pastoral Epistles” because they largely focus upon issues that involve pastoral leadership. They also provide the right qualifications for bishops, deacons, elders and those who serve in similar types of leadership positions. In short, these books help those in authority oversee God’s church in a manner that is good and acceptable to Him.
However, the Pastoral Epistles also hold great value for those who do not hold positions of leadership within the church. You see, these books are filled with insights, suggestions, applications, and teachings that can help anyone grow to become a more God-honoring person. For example, these letters address a number of important topics including…
- The right way to interact with others in our personal relationships.
- Spiritual apostasy.
- Gossip.
- The dangers associated with a love of money.
- The importance of prayer.
- The role of women within the church.
- The nature and function of God’s Word.
- How to identify and avoid entanglement with spiritual trivialities.
- The characteristics associated with the last days.
Another important subject covered in these epistles involves the need for good, accurate teaching within the church. There were several heresies that had begun to infiltrate the early church and Paul the Apostle will go on to address some of them within this letter. Of course, this unfortunate reality did not come as a surprise to Paul for he had earlier advised the Ephesians to expect such things…
“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:29-30).
Finally, one commentator summarizes the various themes that we’ll encounter as we begin our journey through the book of 1 Timothy…
“In relation to Timothy personally, the theme is fighting ‘the good fight’ (1 Tim. 1:18). In relation to the church corporately, the theme is behaving in the house of God (1 Tim. 3:15). Important subjects discussed in the epistle include the law (1 Tim. 1:7-11), prayer (1 Tim. 2:1-8), appearance and activity of women (1 Tim. 2:9-15), qualifications for bishops or elders and for deacons (1 Tim. 3:1-13), the last days (1 Tim. 4:1-3), care of widows (1 Tim. 5:3-16), and use of money (1 Tim. 6:6-19).” (1)
(1) Ryrie, Charles Caldwell, Ryrie Study Notes, 1 Timothy Introduction © 1986, 1995 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. Database © 2004 WORDsearch Corp