1 Timothy 1

Listen to 1 Timothy 1

Greeting

1 Paul, 1an apostle of Christ Jesus 2by command of 3God our Savior and of Christ Jesus 4our hope,
2 To Timothy, 5my true child in the faith: 6Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Warning Against False Teachers

3 7As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not 8to teach any different doctrine,
4 nor 9to devote themselves to myths and endless 10genealogies, which promote 11speculations rather than the stewardship[a] from God that is by faith.
5 The aim of our charge is love 12that issues from a pure heart and 13a good conscience and 14a sincere faith.
6 Certain persons, by 15swerving from these, have wandered away into 16vain discussion,
7 desiring to be teachers of the law, 17without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
8 Now we know that 18the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
9 understanding this, that the 19law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers,
10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,[b] liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to 20sound[c] doctrine,
11 in accordance with 21the gospel of the glory of 22the blessed God 23with which I have been entrusted.

Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners

12 I thank him 24who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, 25appointing me to his service,
13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, 26persecutor, and insolent opponent. But 27I received mercy 28because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,
14 and 29the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the 30faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 The saying is 31trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus 32came into the world to save sinners, 33of whom I am the foremost.
16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
17 To 34the King of ages, 35immortal, 36invisible, 37the only God, 38be honor and glory forever and ever.[d] Amen.
18 This charge 39I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with 40the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may 41wage the good warfare,
19 42holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have 43made shipwreck of their faith,
20 among whom are 44Hymenaeus and 45Alexander, whom I 46have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to 47blaspheme.

Cross References 47

  • 1. See 2 Corinthians 1:1
  • 2. Titus 1:3; [Romans 16:26]
  • 3. See Luke 1:47
  • 4. Colossians 1:27
  • 5. Titus 1:4
  • 6. 2 Timothy 1:2; 2 John 3; [Jude 2]
  • 7. [Titus 1:5]
  • 8. 1 Timothy 6:3; [Galatians 1:6, 7]
  • 9. 1 Timothy 4:7; 2 Timothy 4:4; Titus 1:14; 2 Peter 1:16
  • 10. Titus 3:9
  • 11. 1 Timothy 6:4
  • 12. 2 Timothy 2:22
  • 13. 1 Peter 3:16, 21
  • 14. Romans 12:9; 2 Timothy 1:5
  • 15. 1 Timothy 6:21
  • 16. Titus 1:10
  • 17. [1 Timothy 6:4; Colossians 2:18]
  • 18. Romans 7:16
  • 19. Galatians 5:23
  • 20. 2 Timothy 4:3; [1 Timothy 6:3; 2 Timothy 1:13; Titus 1:13; Titus 2:2]
  • 21. [2 Corinthians 4:4]
  • 22. 1 Timothy 6:15
  • 23. Titus 1:3; See Romans 2:16; Galatians 2:7
  • 24. Acts 9:22; Philippians 4:13
  • 25. See 2 Corinthians 3:6
  • 26. See Acts 8:3
  • 27. 1 Corinthians 7:25; 2 Corinthians 4:1
  • 28. See Acts 3:17
  • 29. Romans 5:20
  • 30. [Luke 7:47, 50]; See 1 Thessalonians 1:3
  • 31. 1 Timothy 3:1; 1 Timothy 4:9; 2 Timothy 2:11; Titus 3:8; [Revelation 22:6]
  • 32. Matthew 9:13; See John 3:17; Romans 4:25
  • 33. [1 Corinthians 15:9]
  • 34. [Psalms 10:16; Revelation 4:9, 10]
  • 35. 1 Timothy 6:15, 16; Romans 1:23
  • 36. John 1:18; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 11:27; 1 John 4:12
  • 37. Jude 25
  • 38. 1 Chronicles 29:11
  • 39. 2 Timothy 2:2
  • 40. 1 Timothy 4:14
  • 41. 1 Corinthians 9:7; 2 Corinthians 10:4; 2 Timothy 2:3, 4; [1 Timothy 6:12]
  • 42. [1 Timothy 3:9]
  • 43. [1 Timothy 6:9]
  • 44. 2 Timothy 2:17
  • 45. 2 Timothy 4:14
  • 46. See 1 Corinthians 5:5
  • 47. Acts 13:45

Footnotes 4

  • [a]. Or good order
  • [b]. That is, those who take someone captive in order to sell him into slavery
  • [c]. Or healthy
  • [d]. Greek to the ages of ages

1 Timothy 1 Commentaries

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.