1 Timothy chapter 1

vs 1

Paul is the author of this letter. And although you might think "why does he need to justify himself to Timothy - he must know Paul is an apostle" remember that the church Timothy is with (Ephesus) probably needs a reminder that Paul is a king-bean.

vs 2

Timothy is getting the letter. You can see how deeply Paul appreciates Timothy's partnership and his work.

The crazy old verse-guy decided to put the to whom line and the cordial greeting line in the same verse here, but not in other letters. Just goes to show that the verse numbers aren't inspired ;)

vs 3

If you look at Acts, you might notice that everything Paul says in 1 Timothy and Titus don't add up strictly with his movements in Acts. Acts, of course, is not exhaustive, and it is thought that the stuff that Paul is talking about happened either outside of Acts (so after his first imprisonment in Rome) or simply isn't mentioned in Acts (Luke glossed it over).

So, at some point in time, Paul has left Ephesus to go to Macedonia, and told Timothy to stay in Ephesus, specifically to stop certain people from teaching some kinds of false doctrine.

vs 4

Devotion to myths and genealogies are aalso spoken against, and something Timothy is to keep a lid on. The reason Paul gives is because these false teachings and stupid topics are ripe for controversy, and people should focus less on controversy and more on God's work. Faith is the key here.

When Paul says "which is by faith" does he mean God's work happens by faith, or does he mean we by faith can concentrate on God's work, or something else? Well, the Greek doesn't really say God's work. The Greek is more like "charge those certain people not to teach differently or to pay attention to tales or unending genealogies, which provide questionings rather than a stewardship of God - in faith". To me, that reads more like "false teachings and stupid questionings don't lead to faith" - the stewardship or administration of God being the faith you have received. But I'm open to interpretation there.

vs 5

Paul's goal in setting down these rules, and in leaving Timothy to overrule on them, is love. And love can only be in existence when these three things exist.

vs 6

Some people have missed the mark, and so instead they are just jibber-jabbering. This is what happens when people aren't doing what you should be doing to maintain your pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith.

vs 7

The people Paul is warning about are, in the Ephesian case, seeking to become teachers. So they obviously like talking. The problem is that they don't really understand the stuff that they are teaching (and probably its implications), let alone the stuff that a true teacher of the law would be teaching!

So, is Paul charging these people as wanting to become teachers in the church, or is he charging them with the possibly more heinous crime of wanting to become "teachers of the law"? Well, the Greek term is specifically about either those interpreters of the Law among the Jews, or the Christians who do the same job - interpreting the Mosaic Law. So it's probably a bit of both. His discussion about the Law immediately after is probably a testimony to the fact that these guys really don't know how to read the Law.

vs 8

So the OT Law does have its role in the Christian Church, but in order for its role to be fully seen, we need to understand its proper use.

vs 9-10

First of all, we've got to understand that the Law isn't for perfect prissy princesses. It's for scum. Paul goes to great lengths here to show you how scummy he means. One interesting addition to this list is slave traders. I don't think this exists anywhere else in the whole NT. The word is literally andrapodistes, and can mean either one who unjustly forces men into slavery, or one who steals another person's slaves and sells them.

The word translated 'pervert' in the NIV ('homosexual' in the NASB, 'them that defile themselves with mankind' in the longwinded KJV) is literally arsenokoites. It comes from arrhen (meaning 'male') and koite (meaning 'bed', but also 'sexual intercourse'). So well done to the NIV translators, who managed to somehow translate that 'pervert' when the word is a simple compound word meaning "mansex".

vs 11

I went over 1 verse today, because I got up early (6:20am - sigh) but also because this verse is vital to the understanding of this concept Paul's going on about, and because I didn't want to wait till tomorrow.

The second thing we have to understand about the Law is that it must conform to the gospel! Remember that the gospel is more than just John 3:16. The "good news" is basically the entire salvation history of humanity, which includes God's working among the Israelites. So what I think Paul is saying is this: "When you read the Law, remember two things, Firstly, it's written for scum. It's written for a people who are constantly straying from God and need constant boundaries set in place to keep them near to God. Secondly, remember that the Law is not the be-all and end-all of the salvation story! It is just one part of the whole redemption of humanity, which has culminated in Jesus Christ's substitutionary atonement. That's what God has given me to go around teaching, and I don't want you guys to just focus on one part by itself. That's stupid." (Ok, so I added that last part in, but Paul's with me I'm sure.)