1 Timothy 1–3: The Pillar & Support of the Truth

Read the Bible in 2023 ◊ Week 33: Sunday

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, our hope,

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To Timothy, my genuine child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Timothy 1:1–2 LSB

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Sunday’s Bible reading is 1 Timothy 1–3. This letter to Timothy is one of Paul’s three pastoral letters, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus, written to those two men to counsel and command them regarding their work in churches.

I love that in his opening words Paul writes Christ Jesus, our hope. Paul speaks frequently of our hope in Christ. In 1 Timothy, he puts it in his greeting. Stop and think about this for a moment. Jesus is our hope.

Paul then exhorts Timothy at Ephesus about his work in Ephesus.

As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.

1 Timothy 1:3–4

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The Greek word translated as instruct in the NASB 1995 translation is found throughout the letter in 1 Timothy 1:3, 5, 18; 4:11; 5:7; 6:13, 17. Different Bible use various English words their translations. John Kitchen explains the meaning of the Greek word.

“The verb “you may instruct” (παραγγείλῃς) is used twelve times by the Apostle (1 Cor. 7:10; 11:17; 1 Thess. 4:11; 2 Thess. 3:4, 6, 10, 12), five of them here in 1 Timothy (1:3; 4:11; 5:7; 6:13, 17). It is a compound word from “along” (παρά) and “announce” (ἁγγέλω). Thus its root meaning is to pass along a message to someone. It came, however, to be used of an authoritative announcement or command. Here its use signals the apostolic authority with which Timothy was to issue the appropriate instructions. The word was used in military contexts and there is strength in it. When, as here, it is followed by μὴ and an infinitive (ἑτεροδιδαισκαλεîν) it can have the sense of “forbid.”¹

This Greek word is used as a noun in 1 Timothy 1:5, 18. Kitchen writes:

“The noun [1:5], like the verb, is a strong word with clear undertones of authority…The definite article sets it out as distinct and unique from the things being so freely thrown about by the false teachers.²

“Both the verb and the noun have strong overtones of authority. Here [1:18] as in v.5, the noun is accompanied by the definite article, which serves to make definite the command that is in view.”³

I went into this detail so you’ll know that the things Paul wants Timothy to instruct are not suggestions, but authoritative commands for Christians to obey.

Paul contrasts vv. 3–4 with the goal of our instruction.

But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

1 Timothy 1:5

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My pastor, Mike Braun, used to ask, “What is the goal of our instruction? To pass a true-false theological exam?” He would then answer, “No!” and quote 1 Timothy 1:5.

In the Bible sound doctrine (orthodoxy) and sound living (orthopraxy) are never seen as two stand alone entities, rather the Bible teaches our living flows from our thinking.

Picking back up with Kitchen’s comments on this verse.

“The definite article sets it out as distinct and unique from the things being so freely thrown about by the false teachers. It marks this “instruction” as that which Timothy has just been charged with delivering (vv. 3–4). Paul wants to set forth clearly “the goal (τὸ . . . τελος) of a truly Christian teaching ministry. The word describes the appointed end toward which all activity and effort in directed, the arrival at which signals all previous output has achieved its goal. The singular form and the definite article underscore that there is only one appropriate goal for a teaching ministry.

“True doctrine and genuine ministry aim at and find their fulfillment in the production of “love”…

“This love springs forth from a three-pronged base… The preposition ἐκ governs all three phrases [a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith ] and describes that out of which love arises.”⁴

Paul’s goal is not three things, but one thing—love. Kitchen has this Ministry Maxim:

“Teaching that does not produce active, genuine, Christian love is misguided at some level.”⁵

Paul uses the word entrust in 1 Timothy 1:11, 1:18, and 6:20. The gospel of the glory of the blessed God is a precious trust given to Paul and now to Timothy.

This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some, having rejected, suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

1 Timothy 1:18–19 LSB

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In 1 Timothy 2, Paul gives commands regarding Christian conduct when they are gathered together, addressing both men and women, and in 1 Timothy 3, he gives commands regarding church leadership.

In 1 Timothy 3:14–15, Paul summarizes his purpose in writing this letter:

I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you soon, but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

1 Timothy 3:14–15 LSB

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Paul describes the Christians in Ephesus as the household of God and says they are the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. Have you ever thought about the church being the pillar and support of the truth?

In 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus, Kent Hughes and Bryan Chapell write:

“The pillar and foundation of the truth. This is an awesome and descriptive phrase. John Calvin wrote: “It is no ordinary dignity that is ascribed to the church when it is called the pillar and ground of the truth. For what higher terms could he have used to describe it?”

““Pillar” and “foundation” are graphic architectural metaphors. A foundation is essential to the building; a building is only as good as its foundation. The church provides a solid bedrock of truth. Pillars stand upright on the foundation as columns and give the building its structure and beauty. The church as a pillar upholds the truth. Of course, the truth comes from God. God is the source of truth and not the church…

“This awesome reality lays equally awesome responsibilities on the church. Just as a foundation undergirds a building or a pillar supports the roof, the assembly of believers has been appointed to uphold and undergird, in this world, the truth that God has revealed through Christ. This is a divine call to allow the Word of God to saturate all of life. Jesus himself prayed for the church, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). The truth of the Bible is to form and inform the foundation and the pillars.”⁶

Kitchen writes:

“The church is a place of warmth and belonging (“the household of God”), a place alive with the presence of God (“the church of the living God”) and a place of proclamation and instruction (“the pillar and support of the truth”). The church is to be a place of belonging, abounding and believing.”⁷

We Christians are God’s household. We belong to Him. To use a phrase from the Jesus Movement, we’re God’s Forever Family. We’re in a new relationship with God, and that means we’re in a new relationship with one another.

Paul concludes 1 Timothy 3:

And by common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:

He who was manifested in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory.

1 Timothy 3:16 LSB

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Hughes and Chapell comment:

“Having stated that the church is “the pillar and foundation of the truth” at the end of verse 15, Paul naturally moves on to the subject of the truth of Christ. He does so by quoting six lines from a creedal hymn about the person of Christ, which he introduces by saying, “Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great…

“The magnificent Christ of this grand confession makes possible the godly conduct that Paul so earnestly desires.

“We are the church. We are family — “God’s household.” God is our Father, and we are brothers and sisters. We are “the church of the living God.” He lives in each of us. We together are “the pillar and foundation of the truth…

“And because of this, what we believe and confess about Christ is everything…

“Because we are the church, and because we confess such a Christ, we can and must conduct ourselves in a way that brings glory to him.”⁸

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Silvesterzug Laterne: Bk muc. (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Ephesus Celsus Library Façade: Benh LIEU SONG. (CC BY-SA 3.0).
^1,2,3,4,5,7John A. Kitchen, The Pastoral Epistles for Pastors (Kress Christian Publications, The Woodlands TX: 2009) 43, 47, 73, 47, 47, 153.
^6,8R. Kent Hughes and Bryan Chapell, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus (Crossway Books, Wheaton IL: 2000) 91–92; 93, 96.

I’m using Michael Coley’s Bible reading plan (one page PDF to print) to read through the Bible in 2023. Each day my posts are on different books because he divides Bible readings into seven categories, one for each day of the week: Epistles, The Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy and Gospels. There’s more information on his plan and other ones at Read the Bible in 2023.