Hooray for hardly having any semblance of order! I am now reading in I Timothy, and this passage was just too awesome to not write anything down. I feel like if I don't, I'll just kind of forget about it. So yeah. Here ya go.
Verse 1
Paul sets up the letter by identifying himself as an apostle (literally "sent one") of Jesus Christ by the command of God. Not by the ordinance of a church board or anything, but by God.
Verses 2 and 3
The letter is addressed to Timothy, who is the leader of the Church in Ephesus. He's a young whippersnapper. Evidently, there are teachers under his authority, so he might be what we call a "bishop" (Greek episkopos, literally translated "overseer"; I Tim. 3:1-7), though I doubt he wore a funny hat. But then again, he was to appoint bishops, so he may have been something even over that. Regardless, as the next few verses tell us, that sort of thing is nothing to spend too much time on.
Verses 4 through 7
Some of the teachers (what we would call pastors) under Timothy's charge had apparently been wasting time nitpicking on things that were not really that important: "... fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith." "... hav[ing] turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they they say nor the things which they affirm."
This application is obviously for teachers/pastors first: Don't center your teachings around things which aren't important. Just because they have something to do with the Bible in some way doesn't mean that they are spiritually edifying. How do we know what is edifying and should be taught? They cause godly edification in faith, not disputes (though some may dispute over them, the purpose is not to cause dissension), and they produce "love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith." As Jonathan Edwards would say, they produce "affections" towards God; essentially a love for God based on the knowledge of who He is! If your teaching is not doing that, what good is it? I think I might dare to say none!
And of course, not all of us are teachers. So what does it mean for us? Are you attending a church in which the Bible is being taught with the explicit purpose of building up your faith in and love for God? If not, then I would suggest you find one that does.
Verses 7 and 8
Evidently many of the teachers in Ephesus were getting their kicks out of pushing the Old Testament law on their congregants. They took great delight in digging into it and picking it apart, but their delight was not in seeing Christ in the Law, but a mere intellectual joy that we can tend to get from learning new things. Now really, there's not anything wrong with enjoying the study of the literal aspects of the Law. But a pastor should be intent on "feeding the flock" spiritually, not just intellectually. The spiritual should ALWAYS be held ABOVE the intellectual. If the pastor is bored with the truths of who God is and needs to try to find more joy in studying intellectually, something is probably wrong.
Verses 8 through 11
Paul seems to go on a very slight tangent as he often does. He starts out explaining when and why the Law is good, but then just keeps on going. He says, "... the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners..." Essentially, the keeping of the Law is not for us who have been counted righteous by the blood of Christ. The list continues of all sorts of nasty characters. Now you may be thinking, "But I do sin! I have lied, and I still do!" or something along those lines. Yeah, you still sin. But in God's eyes, you are not a sinner (if you are covered by the blood of Jesus). You are a new creation (II Cor. 5:17)! Born again (John 3:3)! Your identity is in Christ when you are joined with Him. You still sin, but never settle in that as who you are. You need to fight your sin by the power of the Holy Spirit, and you will have to until you die or the Lord returns (Romans 7). But you are not a sinner in God's eyes! When He looks at you, He sees His perfect Son, Jesus Christ. You are covered by Jesus, and you are righteous in Him. THAT is WHO YOU ARE. That is why the Bible is riddled with references to a new birth and a new creation. You are new!
And that's why Paul, at the end of this list of icky things, can say that this is "according to the GLORIOUS gospel of the blessed God."
Verses 12 through 17
Paul then explains how he himself was changed and obtained his ministry. He describes the depth of his sinfulness prior to knowing Christ, then explains how God changed his heart by His sovereign grace. Paul did not want to be an apostle. He didn't even want to be a Christian; he HATED the Christians! But God decided to use him and completely turn his life around, so that everyone could see God's amazing grace in Paul's life: "that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."
And why did the Lord show this grace to Paul? "... that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life."
At this, Paul breaks out in an incredible, sincere praise from the heart, having acknowledged what the Lord had done for the purpose of His glory: "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen."
Verses 18 through 20
Paul exhorts Timothy to persevere in the faith and a good conscience. He points out some who have strayed from the faith and caused harm to the Church. Just for speculation, having not studied this very hard, I think what he means by "whom I delivered to Satan," is that he stopped praying for them. Or else just let them go on doing what they were doing, but cut them off from the Church. The end result though, would be that they would hopefully return. But yeah, there are serious sins and false doctrines that MUST be addressed and dealt with. They have NO place in the Church, and those who continue in them must be cut off so they don't harm the Church. Those who continue in them are identifying themselves with that sin or doctrine, and NOT Christ.
I think it's time for bed. Hopefully this was encouraging to somebody. This is totally open for (respectful) discussion!
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