1 And 2 Timothy- An Introduction

 These two letters, along with Titus, are the three letters addressed to "pastors" of a church (rather than the entire church) from Paul; one other letter, Philemon, is addressed to an individual- but he is not a pastor or church leader. We credit them to Paul, but they may be written by others.

Timothy is an important "side-kick" of Paul's, and we have heard about him often. Timothy has been sent on frequent missions and he is the co-author of some of Paul's writings (2 Corinthians, Colossians, Thessalonians and Philemon). Paul sees Timothy as a son, an integral part of his life and his ministry. 

1 Timothy focuses primarily in stopping those that teach false doctrine and promote faithful instruction- specifically about the church in Ephesus. The author especially gives praise to Timothy's behavior and ministry as models for Christian living. There is advice on the role of women in the church, how to handle widows, elders, and slaves, and qualifications of church leaders.

2 Timothy focuses on giving thanks to Timothy  and offers words of encouragement to continue in ministry. His call is for Timothy to continue spreading the Gospel message upon Paul's death. One of my favorite passages comes from 2 Timothy 4:6-8, encouraging faith and perseverance, in light of Paul's continuing imprisonment and failing health. Paul clearly mentions his impending death a few times in this letter. This letter is a very personal letter to a dear friend and trusted co-worker.

There is significant controversy as to authorship of these letters. The language and style is different from Paul's typical language and the theology is not what we expect from Paul. When he begins discussing church government, we see that it is too advanced for what the church was during Paul's time. The ideas and proposed ways to combat false teachings don't match what Paul would say. For these reasons, it is difficult to date the letters. Some hypothesize that 1 Timothy was written possibly (by Paul from Macedonia) in the early 50s AD while 2 Timothy (by Paul from prison in Rome) maybe in the early 60s AD