Timothy, First and Second, Theology of

The two epistles Paul wrote to Timothy are not usually associated with theology as much as they are with church organization and practice. However, it is significant to notice how many doctrines of the Christian faith are supported by key verses from these epistles. Beginning with bibliology, the crucial passage for the inspiration of all of Scripture is 2 Timothy 3:16-17. It is stated here that all Scripture is inspired or "God-breathed" and for that reason is "useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." These verses indicate that anything that goes under the name of "scripture" is God-breathed out, and God-originated, and hence is his Word. As such, it is reliable and trustworthy and must be inerrant. For this reason Paul also writes that we should work hard to present ourselves approved to God, so we do not have to be ashamed, correctly handling the Word as characterized by truthfulness ( 2 Tim 2:15 ). Paul also writes that the sacred writings of Scripture are able to give wisdom and to lead to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ ( 2 Tim 3:15 ). Consequently, the Scriptures for Paul were, as God's Word, the authoritative and inerrant foundation stone upon which all other Christian doctrines and ethics rest.

Theology. Regarding the doctrine of God proper, the two epistles to Timothy contribute mostly to our understanding of the attributes of God. He is called "the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God" ( 1 Tim 1:17 ). His oneness is again declared in 1 Timothy 2:5, where Paul says that "there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." Stressing again some of the same characteristics, Paul describes God as "the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see" ( 1 Tim 6:15-16 a).

With regard to God's work in creation, Paul asserts that "everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer" ( 1 Tim 4:4-5 ). Apparently, there were hypocrites who were forbidding marriage and were advocating abstention from certain foods, things that Paul insists were among the good things created by God to be rightfully enjoyed. In another passage related to creation and in defense of his statement relative to the position of women in the church, Paul points out that "Adam was formed first, then Eve" ( 1 Tim 2:13 ). It is apparent that Paul believed Adam and Eve to be historical figures and that the order in which they were created indicated God's desire for male headship in the family and in the church.

The Doctrine of Sin. In regards to the doctrine of sin, Paul refers to the first sin of Adam and Eve as the origin of all kinds of sinning, from the love of money to the sin of apostasy, which he particularly stresses in 1 and 2 Timothy. He seems to take the blame for the first sin from the shoulders of Eve, and places it squarely on those of Adam. He points out that "Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner" ( 1 Tim 2:14 ). Some believe that Paul is implying that Eve was not able to help herself, but Adam sinned deliberately with his eyes wide open. At any rate, the human race, according to Paul in Romans 5:12-21, fell in its head, Adam, and not in Eve.

In a context in which the apostle is speaking about godliness with contentment as great gain and about the fact that we cannot take anything out of this world with us when we die, he declares that "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" and that some have even apostatized from the faith by longing for money ( 1 Tim 6:10 ). Paul does not say that such a love for possessions is the only source or root of all evil, but it is one, and an important one at that. It has caused people to covet first, then to rob and steal, to deceive, to kidnap, to murder, and even to apostatize from Christ.

Another emphasis in these epistles is Paul's stress on the danger of apostasy and falling away from the faith. Whether this is a falling out of grace and a loss of salvation or a falling away from grace of which one was never a part, Paul sees the danger as a very real and serious one, a danger about which he warns Timothy and desires that he will warn others. In the last days, some will fall away from the faith or apostatize ( 1 Tim 4:1 ). Others, according to the apostle, have already left the faith or have lost their way ( 1 Tim 6:21 ). In 2 Timothy 2:17-18, Paul even names two who have done this, Hymenaeus and Philetus, and states the heresy they were preaching. They were saying that the resurrection had already taken place; as a result, they were upsetting the faith of some. Another who may have committed the same sin of apostasy was Demas; because he loved the present world, he deserted Paul ( 2 Tim 4:10 ). It may be noteworthy that it is not said that he deserted Christ, but rather that he deserted the apostle.