New Testament · Letter · book 54 of 66 · 1 min read
The book of 1 Timothy
The first of the pastoral letters — practical instructions to a young leader about who should lead, how to handle money, and what to do with disruptive teaching.
“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.”
At a glance
- Chapters
- 6
- Author
- Paul, though authorship is widely debated
- Written
- Around 62 to 64 AD if by Paul; possibly later
- Written for
- A young colleague left in charge in Ephesus
- Themes
- church order, leadership, money, sound teaching
What it is about
1 Timothy is written to an individual rather than a congregation, and it reads like a job briefing. Timothy has been left in Ephesus to deal with teachers producing speculation and controversy rather than anything useful.
Most of the letter is organisational: qualifications for overseers and deacons, the care of widows, the treatment of elders, instructions about wealth. It is the New Testament's most administrative book.
It also contains one of its most contested passages, on women teaching, which has been argued over intensely for decades and which any honest summary should flag rather than resolve in passing.
Where to start
Chapter 6, on money and contentment, which is the most immediately useful section.
The chapters worth knowing
- 1 Timothy 3 — Qualifications for overseers and deacons, almost all of them about character rather than ability.
- 1 Timothy 6 — Contentment and the love of money, which is the letter's most quoted and most misquoted passage.
What people get wrong about it
That money is the root of all evil. The verse says the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and the surrounding passage is about contentment rather than about wealth as such.
Questions
What are the pastoral epistles?
1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus — letters addressed to individuals rather than congregations, concerned with church order and leadership.
Did Paul write 1 Timothy?
Tradition says yes. A significant body of modern scholarship questions it on grounds of vocabulary, style and the church structure described, and the question remains genuinely open.