Who wrote 1 Timothy, and when?
Paul. About AD 62–64, after Paul’s first Roman imprisonment.
1 Timothy names Paul as its author and is addressed to his younger colleague Timothy. Together with 2 Timothy and Titus it is one of the Pastoral Letters, so called because they deal with the care of churches. Traditionally Paul wrote it after being released from his first imprisonment in Rome, in about AD 62 to 64, while travelling in the eastern Mediterranean. Many scholars think the three Pastoral Letters were written later by a follower of Paul, pointing to differences in vocabulary and to church structures that seem more developed. Others answer that Paul's situation and secretary had changed. The church has always received the letter as Paul's, and its teaching is the same on either view.
Who was 1 Timothy written to?
Timothy, Paul’s younger co-worker, left in charge of the church in Ephesus.
The letter is written to one person, Timothy, who had travelled with Paul for years and whom Paul calls his true child in the faith. Timothy was younger than most leaders, somewhat timid and often unwell (see 4:12 and 5:23). Paul had left him in Ephesus to deal with a church in trouble. Certain teachers there were spreading myths and long genealogies, arguing about the law, forbidding marriage and certain foods, and seeing religion as a way to make money. Behind Timothy stands the Ephesian church itself, which would have heard the letter read aloud. So the readers were a young pastor under pressure and a congregation that needed to know how God's household should behave.
What was happening at the time?
Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to stop false teachers who were spreading myths, genealogies and speculative law-teaching. The letter tells him how the church should conduct itself: prayer for all people, the qualifications of elders and deacons, care for widows, handling of wealth, and personal godliness. Timothy was timid and youthful, and Paul urges him to fight the good fight.
Why was 1 Timothy written?
To guide Timothy in guarding sound teaching and ordering the life of the church.
Paul wrote to help Timothy guard the truth and put the church in order. The letter has two threads. One is about teaching: hold to the sound doctrine that comes from the gospel and silence those who teach otherwise. The other is about conduct: pray for everyone including rulers, appoint elders and deacons of good character, care properly for widows, treat older and younger members with respect, and handle money with contentment rather than greed. Timothy himself is told to train in godliness and not let anyone look down on his youth. In the wider story of the Bible, 1 Timothy shows the church settling in for the long haul, passing the faith to a new generation with structures to protect it.
How to read 1 Timothy today
Read it as a letter to a real person, and picture Timothy reading it in a difficult church. Chapter 3:1-13 on leaders and chapter 6:6-19 on money are two good places to start. Watch for the phrase trustworthy saying, which marks short summaries of the gospel. Chapter 2:8-15 on women in the church is read in different ways by Christians, and the differences are real, so read carefully before deciding. Do not treat the lists of qualifications as a scorecard; they describe character to aim for. As you read, pray for your own church leaders by name, and for a godliness that shows in ordinary conduct rather than in arguments.
The key verse in 1 Timothy
Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Passages worth knowing in 1 Timothy
- 1 Timothy 1:12-17
Christ came to save sinners
Of whom I am chief.
- 1 Timothy 2
Prayer and worship
One God and one Mediator.
- 1 Timothy 3
Elders and deacons
Qualifications for leaders.
- 1 Timothy 4
A good minister
Godliness is profitable for all things.
- 1 Timothy 6:6-19
Godliness with contentment
The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
The main themes of 1 Timothy
- Sound doctrine
- Church leadership
- Godliness
- Prayer
- Money and contentment
An outline of 1 Timothy
| Section | Chapters |
|---|---|
| Guarding the gospel | 1 |
| Worship and leadership | 2–3 |
| Timothy’s ministry | 4–6 |