EM200 The Church’s Ministry
2 November 2012
1 Timothy 3
Part #1
Introductory Information on the Book
The book of 1 Timothy is a letter that is written by the Apostle Paul, formerly known as
Saul. He was a person who hated Christians and would persecute them. He then was converted to
Christianity on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter 9 when the Lord shone from heaven and
spoke to him asking Paul why he was persecuting Christ. Paul then became a great apostle and
leader who started many churches. According to James W. Aegeson in his article “The Making
of Paul: Constructions of the Apostle in Early Christianity,” Aegeson states that “Paul is viewed
most often as…the apostle who speaks to all creation and commands a universal audience”
(Aegeson, p. 434). Paul later was persecuted many times as described in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28.
Speaking about himself, he said “five times I received from the Jewsthirty-ninelashes. Three
times I wasbeaten with rods, once I wasstoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day
I have spent in the deep.I have beenon frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from
robbers, dangers frommycountrymen, dangers from theGentiles, dangers in thecity, dangers in
the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers amongfalse brethren;I have beeninlabor and
hardship,through many sleepless nights, inhunger and thirst, oftenwithout food, in cold and
exposure.Apart fromsuchexternal things, there is the daily pressure on meofconcern forall the
churches” (2 Cor. 11:24-28 NASB). This man had gone through much torture for the sake of
Christ.
In this book, Paul is writing to his “true son in the faith,” (1 Tim. 1:2) Timothy. Mark A.
Copeland writes in his article “The First Epistle to Timothy” that “the general consensus… is
that Paul wrote this epistle from Macedonia, following his first imprisonment in Rome”
(Copeland, p. 1). Paul’s purpose for writing the book of 1 Timothy was to teach Timothy how to
be the type of person who is qualified to conduct teachings of the Word of God and to encourage
Timothy not to let anyone look down on him because of his age, but Paul instead encouraged
Timothy to set an example by the way he lived his life (1 Tim. 4:13).
The person to whom Paul is writing is Timothy. Timothy was first mentioned in the book
of Acts. He had a Jewish mother and a Greek father. Timothy’s mother Eunice and his
grandmother Lois were both saved. Paul writes in 2 Timothy that he had “been reminded of
[Timothy’s] sincere faith, which first lived in [Timothy’s] grandmother Lois and in [his] mother
Eunice” (2 Tim. 1:5). This verse leads the reader to believe that Timothy was saved as well
because Paul goes on to write that he was confident that this faith that lived in Timothy’s mother
and grandmother lived in Timothy as well. One factor that is important to understand about the
book of 1 Timothy is that Timothy was a faithful follower of Christ and stayed with Paul during
journeys to different churches. In 1 Tim. 1:3 Paul urged Timothy to stay with the church in
Ephesus which was a vital command for the church’s sake. Also, Timothy was known as timid or
shy. This is necessary background information to understand why Paul urged Timothy to do
certain things such as command, teach, to boldly point out the wrongs that the people of the
church in Ephesus had been involved in committing. It seems as though Paul “charges” Timothy
to do many different things as a leader to help grow Timothy in his faith and boldness for Christ.
Paul encourages Timothy to do a lot of confronting problems in the church of Ephesus. This is
important to remember while reading 1 Timothy because confrontation is an important part of
being involved in a body of believers.
Part #2
Context of the Passage
The main message of the book of 1 Timothy is how to lead and teach properly in a church
setting. The structure of the book begins with a greeting, continues with some warnings,
instructions, and advice, then ends with a charge or command to “pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness (1 Tim. 6:11, NIV). These commands are
necessary for Timothy to read because Paul was someone that Timothy looked up to for advice.
Paul gave Timothy wise advice on how to properly shepherd God’s flock.
Chapter 3 of 1 Timothy fits right in the middle of the book. This chapter is mostly about
the qualifications of those who want to be an overseer or deacon in the church. The commentary
from biblegateway.com writes that “what had been a discussion of what the church and certain
groups in the church ought todobecomes a discussion of what leaders in the church ought to be”
(biblegateway.com). There is a large emphasis on the character of a person rather than the
outward behavior of an individual.
The previous chapters that are before 1 Timothy 3 speak about the warnings and cautions
that Timothy needed to be informed about due to false teachers of Scripture and about how to
properly worship God in church. Immediately after chapter 3, the chapters are characterized by
Paul giving specific instructions to Timothy about how to discern who the false teachers in the
church were and about how to treat widows, elders, slaves, money, and Timothy’s own physical
body. 1 Timothy 3 fits perfectly in the middle of the other chapters because this chapter
specifically gives qualifications for leaders in the church. The previous chapters are about the
false teachers and the chapters after it are about how Timothy should be a worthy leader in the
church. Matthew Henry writes about worthiness of leadership in his commentary that “all who
are related to ministers, must take great care to walk as becomes the gospel of Christ” and that
“the families of ministers ought to be examples of good to all other families” (Henry, p. 1).
Paul addresses many issues that occurred in the church in Ephesus. He writes that there
are overseers who are teaching wrong doctrine or are not in right standings with God. He also
emphasizes that overseers are supposed to be men. Ernie Lessman writes that “Paul says that
only males are candidates for the office of overseer” (Lessman, p. 292). He gets this from
interpreting 1 Timothy 3 that an overseer must be “the husband of but one wife” (1 Tim. 3:2
NIV) so Lessman goes on to write that “clearly Paul is speaking with the assumption that only
men are candidates for the pastoral office” (Lessman, p. 292). Another problem that Paul
addresses is the fact that woman are trying to have a say in the church. Paul wrote that women
should be quiet in church and learn in submission. There may have been a possibility of women
trying to teach doctrine resulting in the wrong doctrine being taught to the people of the church
in Ephesus. Paul addresses these problems by writing that women should not have authority over
a man (1 Tim. 2:12). Paul addresses the issues of false teachers of the law by stating that there
should be a proper conduct and position for certain types of people and that people who did not
meet the qualifications should not be serving as deacons and overseers. Paul wrote about the
Works Cited
Aegeson, James W. “The Making of Paul: Constructions of the Apostle in Early Christianity.”
people who wanted to be deacons or overseers that “they must first be tested; and then if there is
nothing against then, let them serve as deacons” (1 Timothy 3:10 NIV).
This entire text of 1 Timothy 3 fits perfectly into the context of the rest of the book
because the whole book is about making sure that sound doctrine is taught in the church. These
people who met the qualifications were able to teach this doctrine only after a long testing to
make sure they would be competent to do the job of shepherding and serving people in the
church. It is also interesting to see that as Timothy is to make sure these people are qualified,
that he himself needs to do self-examination of his own thoughts and actions. Later after this
chapter, Timothy is charged to be the kind of leader that needs to be involved in the church. The
only problem with Timothy being a leader is that he was young. Paul addressed that problem as
well. He mentioned that age has nothing to do with ministry and that anyone who meets the
spiritual and heart qualifications is able to be an overseer or deacon in the church. Paul used the
misfortunes of the church in Ephesus to explain to Timothy the ways he should or should not
follow the example but be an example for others to follow. Being an example for everyone else
is what helped Timothy learn how to be a good leader and how to teach others how to be good
leaders as well.
Part #3
Questions
There are many questions that can be asked about this chapter in the Bible. Here will be a
few questions that many may ask about 1 Timothy 3. What makes a man more important than a
woman in leadership in the church? Why must a man be self-controlled in order to be an
overseer or deacon in a church? Why was Paul not available to pastor over the church of Ephesus
and lead them so they could lead others? Was Timothy qualified to be able to lead this church?
Where else in the Bible are there lists of qualifications for leadership in a church setting?
These questions are good questions that can be easily answered with more in-depth
studies of scriptures. Some of the questions are even able to be answered right from the text that
is studied here, 1 Timothy chapter 3.
Review of Biblical Literature 13. (2011): 433-436. Literary Reference Center. Periodical
from Web. 2 Nov. 2012.
Copeland, Mark A. "The First Epistle to Timothy."1 Timothy Introduction - A Study Guide by
Mark A. Copeland. N.p., 2011. Web. 02 Nov. 2012.
<http://executableoutlines.com/1ti/1ti_00.htm>.
Lassman, Ernie. “1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 and the Ordination of Women.” Concordia
Theological Quarterly 56.4 (1992): 291-295. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials.
Periodical from Web. 2 Nov. 2012.
Matthew Henry’s Commentary. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.christnotes.org/commentary.php?com=mhc>.
1 Timothy 3 Commentary. InterVarsity Press, n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/1Tim/Leadership-
Qualifications>.
