1 Timothy

Lesson 2 w/Answers1 Timothy Chapter 1

This lesson continues our study of the first of the so-called "Pastoral Epistles;" or, as we commonly know them, First and Second Timothy plus Titus. Written by Paul, they provide us excellent instruction regarding our responsibilities in building and stewarding the Gospel and the Church that Christ founded at Calvary.

Timothy the Apostle

As I considered this study of First Timothy, I was struck by something in the first chapter; i.e., Paul’s initial warning against false teachers. I asked myself as I was reading this chapter, "How can we recognize and discern a false teaching?," and it occurred to me that the answer is found in this chapter. It also occurred to me that another way to know that something is false is to clearly know what is true, so that you are able to compare it against that. And so, it inspired me to develop a short series of lessons on truth as we know it, called Doctrine; i.e., what is it that the church teaches as truth, and why.

We will also learn from our study of I Timothy guidelines for church worship, instruction for church leadership, how we are to maintain the truth, and some instructions on managing and living within the church.

This promises to be an exciting study that will shed much light on the truth and equip us to be better witnesses and better discerners of God’s Word and God’s Will.

Read 1 Timothy Chapter 1 and consider the following:

  1. If we were to outline the book of 1 Timothy, it would be organized something like the list of Scriptures below. For each scriptural section of the outline, identify the core point, event, or problem in the church that Paul was addressing. Everything from false teachers acting as though they were the authority, the apostle, the teacher, to improper worship.
    1. 1 Timothy 1:1-2
      1. ANSWER: Introduction of Paul as an official Apostle of Christ, appointed by God.
    2. 1 Timothy 1:3-20
      1. ANSWER: Paul’s warning against false teachers.
    3. 1 Timothy 2:1-15
      1. ANSWER: Guidelines for worship.
    4. 1 Timothy 3:1-13
      1. ANSWER: Instructions for church leadership.
    5. 1 Timothy 3:14-4:16
      1. ANSWER: Maintaining the truth.
    6. 1 Timothy 5:1-6:10
      1. ANSWER: Miscellaneous instructions.
    7. 1 Timothy 6:11-12
      1. ANSWER: Paul’s personal charge to Timothy.
  2. What was Timothy’s relationship to Paul? (see 1 Tim. 1:2)
    1. ANSWER: Timothy was Paul’s son "in the faith."
  3. What was the name of the church that Timothy was responsible for? (see 1 Tim. 1:3)
    1. ANSWER: Timothy was responsible for the Church at Ephesus.
  4. What did Paul tell Timothy to command certain members of the church? (see 1 Tim. 1:3)
    1. ANSWER: Timothy was instructed to command them to stop teaching false doctrine.
  5. What are Paul’s seven charges against the false teachers at Ephesus? List each below:
    1. 1 Tim. 1:4 and 1 Tim. 4:7
      1. ANSWER: Stop focusing on endless genealogies, myths, endless speculation, and old wives’ tales.
    2. 1 Tim. 1:4 and 1 Tim. 6:4
      1. ANSWER: They have "a corrupt mind," and they are "robbed of the truth;" believing that "godliness is a path to financial gain."
    3. 1 Tim. 1:6
      1. ANSWER: They have "turned to meaningless talk."
    4. 1 Tim. 1:7
      1. ANSWER: Teaching "the law" when, in fact, they "do not know what they are talking about."
    5. 1 Tim. 4:3
      1. ANSWER: The false teachers are forbidding people to marry and ordering them to abstain from eating various foods.
    6. 1 Tim. 6:5
      1. ANSWER: The false teachers are intent on creating constant friction within the body.
  6. What was motivating the false teachers at Ephesus? (see 1 Tim. 1:4-7)
    1. ANSWER: They wanted the attention of being a teacher and an authority within the church body, but their intentions were impure. While they believed that they were authorities on the Law, they, in fact, knew nothing.
  7. How many of the Ten Commandments does Paul refer to in 1 Timothy 1:8-10?
    1. ANSWER: Without question, all of them; and also without question, the false teachers at Ephesus were teaching the opposite of the Law; thus confusing everyone, and inciting conflict and disunity within the body.
  8. How can false doctrine (teaching) be recognized? (see 1 Tim. 1:10-11)
    1. ANSWER: Whenever such teaching is contrary to the sound doctrine of the Gospel message, it must be false.
  9. Basic Bible doctrine can be found throughout the Bible, by definition. For an example of this, list all of the doctrine that you can identify in 1 Timothy 3:16.
    1. ANSWER: Jesus came in the flesh, was anointed by God, visited by angels, and preached to a world who believed; then he died and was resurrected and taken up to Heaven.
  10. Why does Paul say that God saved him through Christ? (see 1 Tim. 1:12-16)
    1. ANSWER: Paul saw himself as the worst of sinners, and therefore God saved him in order to show that God can save anyone. He saved Paul in order to show his "immense patience" to the world. God desires that all are saved, and he demonstrated that by saving Paul.
  11. List the doctrine that you can find in 1 Timothy 1:17.
    1. ANSWER: God is eternal and immortal; He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords; He is invisible; and He is the only God—there is no other.

As we can observe from our study, Paul’s single biggest concern for his new pastor and new church was the teaching of false doctrine, and the influence that those teaching false doctrine could have on the church. On this subject, we should be just as concerned as Paul was.

As Christ’s children, we are charged with protecting the gospel message, and keeping it pure and unchanged by false teachings. But how can we do this if we do not know what sound doctrine is?

To learn more about the basic Bible teaching or "doctrine" that forms the basis for all Christian faith and life, I encourage you to explore the Christian Doctrine area of Daniel222.com. There, we examine who God is, who Jesus is, and what our salvation is all about; and we learn about angels, man, the Bible as God’s Holy Word, Satan and the demons, and Heaven and Hell.

May God richly bless you as you read and study His Holy Word with us.

In Christ,

Wes

[2020]

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