Week 17

Monday, April 21

1 Timothy 1

         

Commentary

Our reading plan now brings us to the first chapter of the Pastoral Epistles (or Letters): 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. These three letters were written by the apostle Paul to encourage and teach two young pastors, who the letters are named after. In 1 Timothy 1, Paul lays out Timothy’s mission in Ephesus – protect the church there from false teachers and teach God’s Word rightly. Paul was a mentor to Timothy, so much so that he thought of Timothy as a spiritual son. As Paul will mention later in the letter, Timothy is a young man, but the mantle of pastor/elder has fallen to Timothy and Paul encourages Timothy to step up to this call in steadfast resolve and obedience.

Paul talks about false teachers who veer away from the truth of God’s Word. They desire to be teachers and make bold assertions in their teaching, yet they have no real understanding of the matters they discuss. Part of the duty of pastors, as we will see in these letters, is to lead and oversee the teaching ministry of their church. Pastors are to be apt teachers and wise, devoted students of God’s Word, they should be the most equipped people in a church to teach, train teachers, and oversee teachers.

Paul reminds Timothy that the law is good when it is used lawfully. Apparently, then, the problem with these false teachers is not that they are teaching the law, but that were teaching the law wrongly. God gave us his law, as Paul explains, to expose and convict us of our sins and drive us to Christ. Paul recognizes his own sinfulness and unworthiness, rejoicing that God mercifully saved him anyways. He closes the chapter by reminding Timothy to hold firm to his faith, so that he would not have to face church discipline like Hymenaeus and Alexander. Church discipline is when a church, under the leadership of its pastors, exclude an unrepentantly rebellious church member from the church’s fellowship until the sinful person repents. It is restorative; Paul says Hymenaeus and Alexander faced this discipline so that they would learn not to blaspheme. God’s law is good, God’s salvation is good, and even his discipline is good. Praise him!

 

Application/Discussion

1. Teaching God’s Word is a weighty responsibility that should only be taken on with humble reliance on God and diligent study. Have you encountered people who desire to be Bible teachers, yet lack the knowledge and the discipline necessary to teach faithfully? How did their attitude impact their teaching?

2. How does God’s law expose our sin? How does the law point us to Christ? How can the law instruct and encourage us as Christians?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for his merciful salvation, his perfect and instructive Word, and his kind discipline.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in obeying God, loving his Word, and faithfully serving in your church.

3. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help for your pastors in leading, teaching, and disciplining wisely and faithfully.

Tuesday, April 22

1 Timothy 2

 

Commentary

          In our passage, Paul first says that we should pray for our leaders and our society so that the gospel can be spread and the lost can be saved, because God desires all people to be saved. This either refers to God’s general desire to save the lost or of God’s desire to save all sorts of people, like political leaders. Both interpretations lead us to the same principle – God loves the lost and we should pray for their salvation and our ability to spread the gospel.

          In the rest of the passage, Paul tells us how to be godly men and women. Men, who are especially inclined to fighting and aggression, should be prayerful, gentle, and self-controlled. Women, who are inclined to personal vanity or peer pressure about their appearance, should be more concerned about their godliness than their appearance. He then says that women are to learn quietly and submissively, meaning they should not boisterously interpret during the church’s teaching or preaching. Further, Paul adds, women should not teach or exercise authority over men in the church. Godly, qualified men are supposed to be the primary leaders and teachers in the church. Paul grounds this command in creation itself – God made Adam first – and in the fall – Eve was deceived first. However, women will be saved, their created purpose will be restored, if they express their womanhood in a godly way, as in the example of mothering children.

Men need to live up to God’s calling for them to be the primary leaders and protectors in the home and the church by being, as Paul instructs, prayerful, gentle, and self-controlled. Women need to live up to God’s calling for them by following and loving their husbands or fathers and their pastors. We all need God’s help – and he loves to provide it!

 

Going Deeper

I wrote my senior paper in college on the meaning of 1 Timothy 2:12 and the wider teaching of the Bible on gender roles. If you’d like to learn more about this issue, you can read the paper on the Family Bible Reading blog:

·      https://familybiblereading.blogspot.com/2025/04/i-do-not-permit-woman-study-on-1.html

 

Application/Discussion

1. God made us and loves us. He knows what will bring us the most joy and how we can best flourish. If you have reservations about what the Bible says about gender and sexuality, pray that God would help you see the goodness of his design.

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for his great love for the lost and the free offer of the gospel to all who will respond in faith.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in being a godly man or woman and serving God well in your church and community.

3. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and strengthen for your leaders to know and serve the Lord, lead with integrity, and allow the gospel to flourish. Pick a few and pray for them by name.

 

Wednesday, April 23

1 Timothy 3

 

Commentary

In today’s passage, Paul outlines the qualifications for the two biblical offices of church leaders: overseers (also called pastors, elders, and shepherds) and deacons. If you look at the two lists, you will find incredible similarities between the qualifications. Candidates for both offices are to be men of godly character and good reputation who lead and care for their families well. These men should have tested, proven faith and a sincere, humble desire to serve the church for God’s glory, not their own gain. The key difference between the qualifications for pastor and deacon is that a pastor must “be able to teach.” The office of pastor is a teaching, leading, overseeing office. Pastors must be able to teach God’s Word accurately and faithfully and be able to protect and oversee the teaching ministries of the church. The titles also differentiate these two offices – overseers are to oversee (lead, manage, and protect) the church and deacons are to serve the church. The Greek term translated as “deacon” actually means servant, and that is what deacons are. As many have said, pastors serve the church by leading, and deacons lead the church by serving.

Paul wraps up the chapter by reminding Timothy that, even if Paul is unable to visit him, that this letter is vital instruction for Timothy to know how believers must behave as part of the church, God’s household. There is no Christian faithfulness apart from being involved in the local church. If you want to obey and love and please God, be part of his church. We are saved into God’s family, and his family is supposed to gather, encourage each other, and worship and serve God together. The pastors and deacons lead the way for this to happen in the local church. Love your pastors and deacons, support them, and pray for them. The church and those who lead the church are God’s gift to you, all thanks to the redeeming work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.

 

Going Deeper

If you would like to learn more about these biblical offices, 9Marks has many excellent articles on elders and deacons:

·      https://www.9marks.org/article/biblical-qualifications-and-responsibilities-deacons/

·      https://www.9marks.org/answer/how-do-elders-relate-deacons/

·      https://www.9marks.org/article/defining-elders-2/

 

Application/Discussion

1. How do your pastors lead and oversee your church? How do your deacons serve your church? How can you be supporting and praying for them?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for his salvation and his family, the church.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help for your pastors to lead well, your deacons to serve well, and your church members to love God, each other, and your community and serve God faithfully.

3. Pray that God would work in the heart of a lost person you know and bring him or her into his redeemed family.

Thursday, April 24

1 Timothy 4

 

Commentary

In our reading today, Paul warns Timothy that the church will be plagued by those who have wandered from the truth and embraced false teaching, under the influence of the enemy. He adds that these teachers will teach things such as marriage being wrong and some foods being unclean, but reminds Timothy that God’s Word teaches that marriage and food are both good, God-created gifts to us that should be received with humble thankfulness and used for God’s glory. Timothy must discipline himself for godliness – godliness is by far the best thing you can set your mind and efforts on. We are not saved simply to have a “Get out of Hell free” card; we are saved to serve and follow God.

Timothy, despite his young age, is supposed to lead the way, set the example of loving and serving God, and protect the church from false teachers and ungodly influences. Donald Guthrie helpfully explained, “What Paul advises Timothy has relevance for all servants of God called on to deal with wrong teaching, although the advice here is of special value for dealing with errors similar to those Paul is countering. Timothy is to point out to the Christian brethren what Paul has just said about the approaching threat (verse 6). In order to do this effectively Timothy must draw on his knowledge of the truth.”[1] So Timothy must know what he believes, live it out, and share it with the church by to reading the Scriptures, encouraging, and teaching. This task of leading, teaching, and protecting falls particularly to pastors, but the task of supporting, growing, and serving falls to all believers.

 

Going Deeper

Paul says in verse 10 that God is “the Savior of all people, especially those who believe” (ESV). This seems contradictory to what the rest of the Bible teaches, only those who put their faith in Christ will be saved by God. Given the broader teaching of the Bible, it seems like Paul was using Savior in two senses here: 1) God is the Creator and Sustainer of all people, and 2) God specifically redeems believers.

                                                                                        

Application/Discussion

1. How can you set a godly example for those around you? Who do you know that sets a godly example for you and others?

2. Are you pursuing godliness? How? Why is it important that we actively discipline ourselves for godliness rather than standing by passively?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for the instructions, warnings, and reminders he gives us in his Word.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in cultivating godliness, following godly examples, and setting a godly example.

3. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help for the lost in your community to see the godly examples of your church members and desire to follow Christ.

Friday, April 25

1 Timothy 5

 

Commentary

This chapter is primarily about how the church should deal with respect and finances for widows and pastors. Paul gives instructions for widows because in these days, men were even more likely to die earlier than their wives and the primary forms of “social security” were family members to take a widow in or begging. Paul warns that believers who neglect their widowed family members are “worse than unbelievers,” deeply sinful and a shame to the faith. If a widow is to be taken care of by the church, she must be old enough and alone enough that she truly cannot provide for herself in any way, have reputation for godliness, and not be the type to money foolishly. The church does not help widows with food or lawn care or rides to the doctor so they can afford lottery tickets! If a lady becomes a widow when she is still young, Paul advises that she marry again so that she will not be tempted to sexual misconduct or in idleness and gossip.

Paul then discusses financial help for pastors, saying that pastors who lead well should be doubly honored and compensated fairly for their work. Your pastor, or pastors if your church is fortunate, spend hours and hours every week preparing sermons and lessons, providing pastoral counsel and care, managing things in the church, practicing music for worship, doing outreach and home visits, and much more. You certainly do not want a pastor who is greedy, but you also do not want to be a church that is too greedy to pay your pastors. Interestingly, Paul says that the elders who labor in teaching and preaching are especially worthy of honor. Apparently, then, in Paul’s day, churches regularly had elders who did not primarily serve in preaching and teaching. Multiple pastors, then, is so much a pattern in the church of New Testament times, that there were some pastors who did not even preach or teach! Oversight of the church is a heavy responsibility – no one man should bear that alone and it is not wise for one man to bear that alone. Love your pastors, pray for them, support them, and pay them fairly. Love your church’s widows, visit them, send them cards, help and support them as appropriate.

 

Application/Discussion

1. When a widow does not have family to help, her church family is supposed to step in – the church is her true family, even more than her unbelieving family members. Do you feel like your church is truly your family? What are some ways you can cultivate fellowship and community as you attend church this week?

2. Do you show love and care to any of the widows in your church? Consider sending one a nice card or giving her a phone call this week.

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for sending his own Son to die for us, his enemies, so that we could be brought into his family.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in loving and respecting both the pastors and the widows in your church.

3. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s encouragement and strength for your pastors by name and for two widows in your church by name.

Saturday, April 26

1 Timothy 6

 

Commentary

          As Paul concludes his letter, he urges slaves/servants to represent the faith well by respecting their masters. It is important for us to note here that slavery in Israel at this time was far different from, for example, slavery in the Antebellum South. In the ancient world, few people owned much property or had prosperous livelihoods compared to today. The more well-to-do folks often employed people as servants, giving them a home and food in exchange for their service. A more helpful comparison than slavery in the American South would be indentured servitude, which many Europeans agreed to so they could get free passage to and provision in the Americas in the colonial period, or even live-in servants for the super-wealthy today. Slaves in the ancient world often were mistreated by their masters and although Israel had laws about treating their slaves with dignity, the Romans were less concerned about honoring their slaves. At least a few of the believing slaves in Ephesus would have had poor masters, but they were still called, as Paul emphasizes, to work with Christian honor and dignity.

          All believers, Paul then teaches, should seek contentment in God’s provision for them. The love of money, greediness and distrust or discontentment in God’s provision, is the source of all sorts of sin and straying from the faith. We should flee from those who teach that we should greedily pursue worldly riches and from the influence of this false teaching. In contrast, we should pursue godliness, knowing that the Lord will indeed return and give us greater reward than anything we can find in this world. Timothy is to charge those who are rich, at least in this world, to humble, godly, and giving and to hold onto his faith.

 

Going Deeper

If you would like to learn more about what the Bible says about money and greed, see these excellent articles from Crossway:

·      https://www.crossway.org/articles/5-dangers-of-money/

·      https://www.crossway.org/articles/6-questions-about-money/

·      https://www.crossway.org/articles/10-things-you-should-know-about-money/

·      https://www.crossway.org/articles/moneys-not-the-problem/

 

Application/Discussion

1. How can the pursuit of worldly wealth distract us from following the Lord? What differentiates how Christians should think about money from how unbelievers think about money?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for the riches of blessing waiting in heaven for all his children.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in being content in God’s provision and fleeing from greed and other sins.

3. Pray for that God would help a lost person you know see the incomparable blessing of salvation and pursue Christ instead of the world.

Sunday, April 27

2 Timothy 1

 

Commentary

As we begin Paul’s second letter to Timothy, we should note that this is the last letter Paul wrote, as he alludes to in the last chapter. His final encouragement to his dear protégé, and the Christian church as a whole, is a firm charge to preach the gospel, stay true to the faith, and remember the hope we have in Christ. Paul has a sincere longing to see Timothy, is continually praying for him, and is encouraged when he remembers the passion and sincerity of his faith. I love that Paul adds the detail of the faithfulness of Timothy’s grandmother and mother – think of how many lives were reached for the gospel because of Timothy’s ministry, yet it started with a simple, godly lady who loved the Lord and shared her faith with her daughter and her grandson. Share the gospel with your family, especially with your kids! Paul encourages Timothy to cultivate his God-given gifts of ministry, not submitting to fear but relying on God’s power and self-control.

Paul tells Timothy not be ashamed of the gospel, instead sharing in the suffering to which God has called him. We may not like suffering, but the way of Christ is to follow in his footsteps, denying ourselves and taking up our crosses. If you are in Christ, God has called you and God will preserve you, regardless of whatever hardships you may face between here and glory. Just as we should trust God’s provision in terms of our finances, as Paul said in 1 Timothy 6, we should trust God’s provision in terms of holding onto us, protecting us, and keeping our salvation and heavenly inheritance secure. Follow God’s Word – it is the guidebook he has given us – and lean on God’s Spirit – he is the Comforter that the Father has sent to us. Paul also lifts up Onesiphorus (you can read more about him in Philemon) as an example of godly friendship and support, even when everyone else abandoned Paul. In addition to his Word and his Spirit, God has given us each other – encourage one another, pray for one another, and help each other along, all for the glory of God, knowing your eternal reward awaits you if you have come to know Christ.

 

Application/Discussion

1. As a wise man once said, the rain falls on the just and unjust alike – everyone suffers. In what ways do Christians uniquely suffer? How does the Bible give us comfort in our suffering?

2. Is there someone in your life who has been especially helpful and encouraging to you, perhaps in a particularly hard time or when nobody else encouraged you? Lift up that person in prayer tonight and considering sending him or her a nice note or text message.

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for Jesus denying himself and undergoing great suffering for our salvation.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit to strengthen your faith, help you persevere in obeying God, and trust in God’s plan and provision.

3. Pray for the salvation of a lost person you know well and for the Holy Spirit to give you opportunities to witness to that person.

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[1] Donald Guthrie, “1 Timothy,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 1300.