1 Timothy
Summary[i]
Date: The date of this Epistle turns
upon the question of the two imprisonments of Paul. If there were two
(See Scofield - Act_28:30)
then it is clear that First Timothy was written during the interval. If Paul
endured but one Roman imprisonment, the Epistle was written shortly before
Paul's last journey to Jerusalem.
Theme: As the churches of Christ
increased in number, the questions of church order, of soundness in the faith,
and of discipline became important. At first the apostles regulated these
things directly, but the approaching end of the apostolic period made it
necessary that a clear revelation should be made for the guidance of the
churches. Such a revelation is in First Timothy, and in Titus. The key-phrase
of the Epistle is, "That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave
thyself in the house of God." Well had it been with the churches if they
had neither added to nor taken from the divine order.
The divisions are five:
1. Legality and unsound doctrine rebuked (1
Timothy 1:1-20).
2. Prayer and the divine order of the sexes
enjoined (1 Timothy 2:1-15).
3. The qualifications of elders and deacons (1
Timothy 3:1-16).
4. The walk of the "good minister," (1
Timothy 4:1-16).
5. The work of the "good minister," (1 Timothy 5:1 - 6:21).