New Testament

1 Timothy 1

Apostolic Charge and the Gospel of Mercy

5 passages

Overview

Paul opens his letter by asserting his God-given apostolic authority, charges Timothy to counter the false teachers in Ephesus who have replaced love with vain speculation, presents his own conversion as living proof that no sinner lies beyond God's mercy, clarifies that the law serves to expose sin and magnify the gospel's glory, and solemnly commissions Timothy to guard the faith with doctrinal fidelity and a clear conscience — warning that Hymenaeus and Alexander have already shipwrecked theirs.

Passages

1–2Sent by God, Received as Son: The Apostolic Bond of Paul and Timothy 3–7The Rudder of Love: Truth, Authority, and the Danger of Vain Speculation 8–11The Law as Schoolmaster: Order, Sin, and the Gospel of Glory 12–17Chief of Sinners, First of the Mercied: Paul's Testimony to Grace 18–20Waging the Good Warfare: Timothy's Charge to Guard the Faith

Study Resources

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1 Timothy 1

¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ our hope, ²to Timothy, my true child in faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³As I urged you when I was going into Macedonia, stay at Ephesus that you might command certain men not to teach a different doctrine, ⁴and not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than God’s stewardship, which is in faith. ⁵But the goal of this command is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith, ⁶from which things some, having missed the mark, have turned away to vain talking, ⁷desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither what they say nor about what they strongly affirm.

⁸But we know that the law is good if a person uses it lawfully, ⁹as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, ¹⁰for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave-traders, for liars, for perjurers, and for any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine, ¹¹according to the Good News of the glory of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

¹²I thank him who enabled me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he counted me faithful, appointing me to service, ¹³although I used to be a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. ¹⁴The grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. ¹⁶However, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first, Jesus Christ might display all his patience for an example of those who were going to believe in him for eternal life. ¹⁷Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹⁸I commit this instruction to you, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which were given to you before, that by them you may wage the good warfare, ¹⁹holding faith and a good conscience, which some having thrust away made a shipwreck concerning the faith, ²⁰of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they might be taught not to blaspheme.

1 Timothy 2