Deeper Commentary
CHAPTER 5
5:1 Do not rebuke an elder but exhort him-
See on 4:14. Timothy would have had to discipline some of the church
elders, and these were the very ones who perhaps had laid their hands on
him to grant him the Spirit gift required to be their bishop. We wince as
we think of a man so lacking in self-assurance and maturity as Timothy...
having to do this. Truly his ministry, like every ministry, was not easy;
and he was empowered hugely in order to achieve something which was so
against his grain of nature. It could be argued from the list of different
groups now mentioned (old men, young men, old women, young women) that in
all cases, Timothy was not to rebuke but to exhort. The natural way that a
group leader operates is to rebuke when necessary; but in Timothy's case,
given his weak personality and persona, this would just not have worked.
And so he was advised to not rebuke but to appeal / exhort / come near to
folk who needed to change and be changed. Just in fact as the Father and
Son have done with us.
As a father- This again was difficult; the young Timothy, who was
despised for his youth, had to act as a father to men older than him. Only
the psychological strengthening of the Holy Spirit enabled him to achieve
this- the gift bestowed by these elders in :14. We too find ourselves in
psychologically and emotionally impossible situations as we do the Lord's
work, and require the same mental strengthening. Paul uses the same words
to describe how he too charged those under his care, as a father does his
children (1 Thess. 2:11). The same words are used of the Father exhorting
or entreating the hypocritical older son (Lk. 15:28). Perhaps Paul
is consciously alluding to this in advising Timothy how to deal with the
older ones. The older son clearly speaks the language of the
Judaists; perhaps in order to discharge his responsibility to stop false
teaching by the Judaists (1:3), Timothy had to deal with older men and
older women who were distributing the Jewish "fables". Perhaps these were
amongst the earliest converts in Ephesus, who had come to Christ as a
result of Paul's initial preaching in the synagogue. Therefore their 'age'
may be a reference to how long they had been in Christ relative to others.
The younger men as brothers- Timothy was of their age, and yet he
was their spiritual elder. He was to emphasize what he naturally had in
common with them, to exhort them as their leader but not as their
superior, ever remembering that he was an equal brother in Christ as they
were. Here again we see a great psychological and inter-personal
challenge; which in the internal strengthening and wisdom of the Lord's
Spirit, it seems Timothy achieved.
5:2 The elder women as mothers- I suggested on 4:7 that there were
a group of older women teaching Jewish fables in the church, who had to be
stopped. And Paul advises him to go about this by exhorting / appealing
rather than direct rebuke. How could Timothy, young and despised for his
youth, remove older women from their teaching ministry, and keep them
within the church? Only by the wisdom of the Spirit.
The younger women as sisters- The younger women who needed rebuking
may refer to the former followers of the Diana cult who had to be removed
from their positions of influence in chapter 2. How could Timothy, who
seems to have had a particular temptation from women, successfully engage
with the younger women and get them to accept his position, and remove
them from their teaching positions? For the positive outcome to be
achieved which the Lord's later letter to Ephesus suggests, Timothy must
have been powerfully blessed to achieve what would have appeared to be
psychologically, sociologically and spiritually impossible. And that same
strengthening of the Spirit is available to us in similar missions
apparently impossible.
In all purity- See on 4:12 Purity regarding Timothy's
tendency to sexual weakness.
5:3 Honour widows that are indeed widows- This section reveals that
there was clearly a problem with a group of widows in the Ephesian church.
They were living off the church, and yet instead of praying (:5) were
giving themselves to sensual pleasure to the point they were spiritually
dead (:6). Some of the widows were young and would be best to remarry and
have children (:14), other widows were elderly with adult children and
grandchildren (:4). These are the same two groups who were giving false
teaching. Chapter 2 speaks of the younger women who were acting still like
the prostitute priestesses of the Diana cult, claiming that their sexual
services empowered the prayers of the men who used them (see commentary
there). it was these women whom Paul urged to get on and have children
(2:17); and he gives the same advice here (:14). They were remaining
single in order to act as the priestesses of Diana but in a Christian
garb. And Paul condemns this and encourages them not to see marriage and
bearing children as so dishonourable. The older women represented the
Judaist problem in the church; they were teaching Jewish fables (4:7). The
simple problem was that these widows were financially supported by the
church and had time on their hands. Indeed we could go so far as to say
that if indeed [as suggested on chapter 2] they were acting like the Diana
cult priestesses, they would have been paid money for their sexual
services by the men of the congregation. Effectively they were
prostitutes, even if the whole system was justified by having drawn up a
register of widows and the claim that they were being supported by
charity. This level of immorality in the early church ought not to
surprise us when we recall that the Corinthians were getting drunk at the
breaking of bread service, and there is the implication in Corinthians
that there was sexual misbehaviour going on there too. Jezebel is rebuked
for teaching the Lord's people to commit fornication. The letter of James
suggests grave abuse and even murder going on in the church. I have seen
all this kind of thing happening in churches in the developing world
today. So the picture I am painting of Ephesus is not beyond imagination.
The fact the Lord doesn't mention this kind of thing in His letter to
Ephesus some time later is highly significant; for He does mention such
things to other churches. It shows that Timothy's difficult mission did in
fact succeed. To reform such an awful situation would seem not at all the
mission for a young, insecure, timid man like Timothy. But his success and
empowering just shows what can be achieved by the work of the Spirit.
Timothy was being asked to differentiate between the genuine widows who
really did need support; and these other widows, both young and old, who
frankly needed to focus on good works and serving the Lord in family life,
rather than the roles they had been adopting. Again we note that it was
the content of their teaching, rather than their gender, which was what
Paul took issue with.
5:4 But if any widow has children or
grandchildren, let them learn first to show devotion towards their
own family- The presence of the elderly in our lives is in order to
teach us something. It is a form of "devotion", the Greek meaning
'worship' (only s.w. Acts 17:23). Again there may be a hint at the idol
worship / devotion to Diana- for the word is only elsewhere used about
idol worship (Acts 17:23). The Christian equivalent of 'devotion' to idols
/ Diana was to look after your mum and dad or your granny... and not the
grandiose external rituals which passed as 'devotion'. Another track is
suggested by the way in which a related word is used about Jewish
devotion to Judaism (Acts 10:2,7; 22:12). And again... Christian
devotion was not so external and public, it was all about the daily nitty
gritty of caring for your elderly relatives. Perhaps Paul chose this word
in order to address the two elements of the Ephesian problem- devotion to
Diana on one hand, and to Judaism on the other.
And to repay their parents- The Greek seems to suggest an equal,
measure for measure repayment. I have been raised by parents and cared for
those parents in their old age. And I have raised my own children. I can
therefore comment that in no way is the care for aged parents an adequate
or equal repayment for the care they gave you. But Paul says that by
attempting to do this, we learn. We learn grace, that were it not for
parental grace, we would not have survived babyhood and would not be here
today. And we seek to reflect that grace in caring for the elderly within
our families. And this learning and response to that learning- is pleasing
to God.
For this is acceptable in the sight of God- The language of the
acceptability of sacrifice before God. Sacrifice was a part of both
paganism and Judaism; Paul is saying that the acceptable sacrifice to Him
under Christianity is to care for your rellies.
5:5 Now she that is indeed a widow
and alone has her hope set on God, and continues in supplications and prayers night and day- The allusion is
to Anna in the temple. The elderly are limited in what they can physically
do, but Paul seems to envisage here a very serious and organized prayer
ministry, made possible by the widow being materially cared for. That care
should come from her family, and if not, then the church. And in response,
she should use her time and freedom from secular cares to seriously pray
"night and day". This is a wonderful idea for all of us whenever or
however we find ourselves indisposed. But it obviously has particular
relevance to elderly believers. Regarding widows and prayer, see on :3.
5:6 But she that gives herself to pleasure is dead while she lives-
See on :3. I have suggested that the younger widows were acting
similarly to the priestess 'mediators' of the Diana cult from which they
had come out. They were in serious sin, and although they had the name of
the living Jesus, they were spiritually dead, in anticipation of the
condemnation to death they would receive unless they repented. Eph.
4:17,18 was written to the same Ephesians, and urges them to "No longer
walk as the Gentiles walk... alienated from the life of God", that is,
dead. Eph. 5:14 makes the same appeal to these Ephesians- to awake
spiritually out of the sleep of death.
5:7 These things also command, so that they may be without reproach-
The concern seems to be that the surrounding opposition to Christianity in
Ephesus, both Jewish and pagan, could so easily use the situation with the
widows in order to bring reproach upon the name of Christ and to finally
stamp out Christianity in Ephesus. The "things" may be the practical
commands regarding how to reform the system of widow support in Ephesus
which follow in :8-16. The Greek for "reproach" means literally 'not
arrested'. Paul could imagine how the Christians could easily be arrested
for things related to what they were doing; they were laying themselves
wide open to all manner of accusations and legal problems.
5:8 But if anyone does not
provide for his own family and specially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever- This
seems rather an extreme thing to say about someone who doesn't care for
their elderly relatives as they might do. And it can hardly be true as it
stands, because not everyone is able to provide for their elderly
relatives, due to economic, health or geographic reasons. But the
statement here makes perfect sense if we accept the reconstruction of the
scene as suggested in these notes. Instead of looking after parents, money
was being paid to a class of 'widows' in the church who were effectively
prostitutes, who claimed they could empower the prayers of the men to be
better heard by God (see on chapter 2). This indeed merits the kind of
condemnation Paul hands out here.
But then the deep error of ignoring care for parents must still be
faced. If we selfishly build up our own possessions through ignoring the
needs of others, we have denied the Faith- even if we hold on to a clear
understanding of the doctrines. Loving money is erring from the Faith-
again, even though we may keep our theoretical understanding (1 Tim.
6:10). It is perhaps intentional that three times in the same section in 1
Tim., Paul speaks of those who leave the Faith; once he speaks of this in
the context of doctrinal error (1 Tim. 6:21); the other two references
(5:8; 6:10) concern leaving the Faith through being materialistic, whilst
holding on to true doctrines. The point is, the one is as bad as the
other. The fact the Kingdom will be on
earth not in Heaven is not just incidental. It means that we
now, as we live on this planet which will be our eternal
possession, will not strive for present possession of it, neither will be
swayed by the pressure groups and political groups who only look at the
state of the world as it
now is. "The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again [because
he dies before he can repay his mortgage?]: but the righteous dealeth
graciously, and giveth.
For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth" (Ps.
37:21,22 RV). Exactly because we will inherit this planet gives us
strength against materialism; it means that we will be generous; we will
not focus our lives upon temporarily buying a spot of land which in any
case we will eternally inherit.
5:9
Let no one be registered as a widow who is under sixty years old-
This is proof enough that the commands being given here were relevant to
sorting out the situation in Ephesus and not global commands. We must read
the commands about a certain group of women being silenced in chapter 2 in
the same way. The fact he recommends some younger widows to remarry (:14)
is also proof enough that "widows" doesn't mean 'all widows'. It may be
that single and widowed brethren and sisters made open statements of their
decision to devote themselves to the Lord Jesus. 1 Tim. 5:9 suggests
there was a specific "number" of widows in the Ephesus ecclesia who were
financially supported by the ecclesia. But as noted above, this was being
abused and turned into what was effectively prostitution.
Only register those who have been
the woman of one man and- This confirms our earlier suggestion that
the group supported as 'widows' included some who were sexually immoral,
acting [as suggested in chapter 2] effectively as church prostitutes,
taking money for acting as the Christian equivalent to the priestesses of
the Diana cult, in order to supposedly enhance the prayers of the men they
slept with. Note that Timothy and other elders in this church are warned
to be the man of one woman (3:2,12)- modelling to these church members the
kind of life required of a believer. Thinking it through, "the woman of
one man" surely cannot mean that over the course of their lives, they must
not have been promiscuous. For surely such sins are washed away at baptism
and should not be a reason for not supporting such a woman after she has
been baptized and is widowed, being over 60 years old. Rather the logic
surely requires that she should not
now be promiscuous, a woman of many men. This again supports
the idea that there was a problem in Ephesus of some female members, even
those over 60, being promiscuous. And this is explained by our suggestion
on chapter 2 that some of the sisters were offering sexual services
supposedly to improve the power of the men's prayers. No wonder Paul tells
Timothy to end this system and haul them off the platform.
5:10
Well reported of for good works; if she has brought up children,
if she has used hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints'
feet, if she has helped the afflicted- This is not just a
random list of good works for a believing woman. I suggest that each of
these works are in conscious contradistinction from the behaviour of the
priestess prostitutes of the Diana cult. They did not believe in having or
therefore raising children; hence Paul tells the younger widows to have
children (:14) and in chapter 2 suggests those particular women save
themselves from their immorality by childbearing. The Diana cult was
fiercely xenophobic- we recall how the appeal was made to the citizens of
Ephesus to destroy Paul and his missionary work on the basis that he was
bringing their beloved Ephesus into dishonour. The problematic sisters
were clearly influenced by these wrong attitudes although they had left
the Diana cult. Hence the requirement for them to show hospitality to
strangers; and they were to wash the feet of their brethren rather than
take money for having sex with them on the excuse they were assisting in
the power of their prayers [according to our reconstruction offered in
chapter 2]. "Helped the afflicted" may well refer to how Paul went through
awful problems with the mob there (Acts 19); the Greek for "afflicted"
means literally 'the thronged', which is how it is translated in Mk. 3:9.
1 Cor. 15:32 suggests he may even have been thrown to the wild beasts in
the arena there. Those who had ministered to Paul and other persecuted
preachers then were thus qualified to be supported. The hint might be that
these Christians who were still so influenced by the Diana cult may not
have been so forward in coming to his assistance. It is Onesiphorus and
not the local believers who is mentioned as ministering to Paul in his
great afflictions in Ephesus (2 Tim. 1:18). Paul mentions this in writing
to Timothy there at Ephesus.
If she has diligently followed every good work-
Notice the double emphasis in this verse alone on good works; and so often
in the letters to Timothy. The fact the Lord later commended Ephesus for
their good works in Rev. 2 shows that Timothy's ministry was in that sense
successful. He, the weak and unlikely one, took Paul's inspired words at
their full weight and implemented them. The same relatively rare Greek
word translated "followed [after]" is found soon after, where in :24,25
Paul says that the good works of the faithful follow them to judgment.
Whilst salvation is by grace and not works, works will be taken into
account in our final judgment and will play a part in forming the nature
of the person whom we shall eternally be.
"Good work" is the same phrase as in Eph. 2:10, where we are to do the good works which were "beforehand prepared" for us. "Beforehand prepared" suggests we were prepared for the performing of our good works from a specific beginning point. And that surely was at 'the beginning'. Our entire genetic history, the nature of our early childhood experiences and surrounding family, was prepared so that we would be born with the wiring required to do the works intended. It is often noted of heroes that they were 'born for this hour'; but that is in fact true of us all. To turn away from those works, through disinterest, laziness, wilful lack of perception, self absorption... is to waste so much. We on our side must be prepared unto every good work (2 Tim. 2:21); "be eagerly ready [s.w. prepared] unto every good work" (Tit. 3:1). We are to abound in good works (s.w.) because of God's abounding grace to us (2 Cor. 9:8). The good works are therefore a way of life and not some occasional good charitable deeds. We will be 'established' in this life of good works (2 Thess. 2:17); we are to "follow every good work" (1 Tim. 5:10), a strange phrase until we undertsand that the good works were prepared for us ahead of time, and we are to follow after them. We are to be on the look out, prepared, for those good works.
5:11
But refuse to register younger widows, for when their passions
draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry- There is
nothing wrong with marrying. Indeed Paul commands it for these women in
:14. It would appear that they had entered a voluntary vow to Christ not
to remarry- hence the sin. As suggested on chapter 2, actually these young
sisters were acting like the prostitute priestesses of the Diana cult,
vowing virginity to their god whilst sleeping with the male worshippers
and aborting any pregnancies. They had of course left the Diana cult, but
were acting in a similar way, instead taking a vow of virginity to Christ-
will apparently sleeping with brethren on the pretext of strengthening the
acceptability of their prayers, and then receiving money for this from the
widows' support fund. This would be a classic example of pagan mentality
mixing in with Christianity, and apparent devotion to Christ being mixed
with immorality. This kind of thing is far from unknown in the church of
today.
5:12
Having condemnation, because they have rejected their first
pledge- As there were consequences for breaking the Nazirite
vow and other vows under the Mosaic law, so it was and is wrong to vow
things to the Lord and then break them. But all the same, the language of
condemnation seems rather strong- see on :8. And yet it is understandable
if my reconstruction of the situation is correct. To use such a pledge to
Christ as an opportunity for immorality, and earning money by effective
prostitution in the name of worshipping God and mediating Christian
prayers- this is indeed behaviour that has to call for condemnation. If we
don't read it this way, we are left with the apparent severity of judging
those who pledge singleness to Christ and then feel they want to get
married. In 1 Cor. 7, Paul speaks exactly to this situation. He seems to
refer to this pledge of singleness when he writes of those who promise to
keep their virginity; but Paul says that if even after that, they cannot
"contain", then they should marry. Yet here he is saying that such
breaking of the pledge warrants condemnation. I therefore feel justified
in resolving that contradiction by seeing in the pledge breaking far more
than meets the eye if we just read these words without their context.
5:13- see on Lk. 9:4; Acts 20:20.
Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to
house, and not only
idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not-
The Greek for "idlers" means literally 'not workers'; the compound
includes the same word for "works" used in 2:10 about the need for the
young sisters to do good "works" rather than dress up as the equivalent of
the priestesses of the Diana cult. The antidote to their bad behaviour and
immorality was to do works; not that works would save them, but passionate
involvement in the Lord's service in practice would preserve them from
involvement in immorality. This is actually, reading between the lines,
Paul's advice to Timothy regarding his wayward sexual urges. And it is
true for all time that the [Biblical] devil finds work for idle hands. One
reason why God's purpose operates through human works is that the works
are a necessary part of our own spiritual path and development; although
the works in themselves are not needed by God nor are they the basis of
our salvation
per se. "They learn to be idlers" can bear the translation
"they give to understand / teach"- as they went from "house to house".
This is the very phrase used in Acts 2 about the early brethren going from
house to house, i.e. from one home group to another, breaking bread and
doing Bible study. We can assume that these women were going around the
house groups which comprised the Ephesus church, teaching idleness,
teaching against good works. The fact Ephesus are commended for their good
works in Rev. 2 shows that all this advice really did work for the church
and Timothy managed to obey it all successfully. "Saying what they should
not" uses
laleo, a word elsewhere translated 'preach' and 'teach'. And
they were repeating gossip and busybody material in the name of teaching.
No wonder in chapter 2 that Paul says they should no longer be teachers.
But we notice that it is the content of their teaching, rather than their
being teachers, which is the burden of his difficulty with them.
By publicly getting a bad name for “wandering
about from house to house”, these women were giving opportunity to the
Jewish adversaries to “rail against” (A.V. margin) the Christians. Jude
9,10 implies that the Judaizers brought “railing accusation” against the
Christians. “Speaking things which they ought not”, recalls Jude 10 about
the Judaizers: “these speak evil of those things which they know not”.
“Wandering” connects with Jude’s description of “wandering stars” (Jude
13). Diotrephes, one of the Judaizers who was trying to discredit the
apostle John and the other apostles, (as the Judaizers did to Paul) is
described as “prating against us with malicious words” (3 Jn. 10).
“Prating” is from the same word translated “tattlers” in 1 Timothy 5:13
concerning these women. The women going from house to house may imply from
church to church, as that is how the word “house” is often used in the New
Testament (due to the many house churches then in existence). This is what
the Jewish false teachers did; 2 John 7 talks about deceivers or seducers
that had entered into the Christian world, i.e. the false brethren
“unawares brought in” to the church of Galatia. There are many references
to these “seducing spirits” (1 Tim. 4:1) – i.e. false teachers (1 Jn. 4:1)
– within the church, to which the church was not to give “heed” (1 Tim.
4:1). That these were Jewish false teachers is suggested by other
references to “giving heed” in the context of being watchful against
Jewish infiltration of Christianity:
– “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees” (Mk. 8:15);
– “Not giving heed to Jewish fables” (Titus 1:14);
– “Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies’ (1 Tim. 1:4) –
the source of which genealogies was probably the Old Testament, over which
the Judaizers were encouraging the Christians to argue to no profit.
5:14
I desire therefore that the younger widows marry, bear children-
I have repeatedly connected this with the comment that the
young women of 2:15 should quit their effective prostitution and teaching
within the church, renounce their vow of virginity which they had copied
from the Diana cult priestesses, and have children. And by submitting to
the spiritual disciplines which come with Christian family life, they
would save themselves from a path which was otherwise leading to their
condemnation (5:12).
Rule the household, give no occasion to the adversary for slander- These women, as
teachers, were clearly capable. Paul encourages these particular women to
exercise their abilities in spiritually leading their households. But it
could be that Paul is also encouraging them to start their own house
groups of believers which they would "rule", instead of going around
teaching idleness to the other house groups (see on :13).
The New Testament speaks of households run by women: Mary (Acts 12:12),
Lydia (Acts 16:14,40); Nympha (Col. 4:15) and Chloe (1 Cor. 1:11). These
women were presumably wealthy widows or divorcees who hadn’t remarried. We
are left to speculate whether they were in some way the ‘leaders’ of the
house churches which met in their homes. Women are described as ruling
households in 1 Tim. 5:14; Tit. 2:4,5. The woman of Prov. 31 clearly had
autonomy within the private sphere of the household, even though the
husband was the public leader. Seeing Christianity was initially a
house-church, household religion, we are left to wonder how much women
actually led house churches, especially seeing that the majority of early
Christian members appear to have been women. The wall paintings [frescoes]
found in the Christian catacombs around Rome are highly significant for
our present study. The significant ones for our purposes are the catacombs
of Priscilla on the Salaria Nuova, Callixtus on the via Appia Antica, and
that of Domitilla on the via Ardeatine. They feature in places scenes of
female Christians raising cups, with the inscription
agape over them. Some show a woman occupying the central place
in the meal, with a large cup in her hand, with the other women looking at
it intently. Some of the frescoes [there are many of them] show women
dressed as slaves doing this in what appears to be a wealthy home. These
frescoes seem to me indicative of how groups of slave women formed house
churches, and faithfully kept the breaking of bread. Some frescoes show
the women sharing the bread and wine with children around the table; one
shows a woman holding a scroll, as if she is reading Scripture to the
others. One fresco features a woman holding a cup of wine inscribed ‘nobis’- ‘for us’. Some
frescoes show men in the group, but the woman in the centre, as if she is
leading the meeting, or as the host of the household.
Paul encourages younger mothers to “rule their households”, using a
word [oikodespoteo]
which would usually be used about the man ruling the house. His
implication is surely that in Christ, husband and wife together rule the
household, notwithstanding the wife being in submission to her husband.
“The adversary” is not the same word as “Satan”, although it may still
refer to the Jews seeking opportunity to criticize the. It can mean “an
adversary at law” in a legal sense, implying that the Jews could get them
in trouble at a Roman court. There’s plenty of historical evidence of
this.
5:15
For already some are turned aside after satan- The
Greek for "turned aside" is used four times in the letters to Timothy.
Paul knew that some would be turned aside by false teaching (1:6; 2 Tim.
4:4), and he didn't want Timothy to be turned aside by it either (6:20).
We see here the importance of Timothy's commission to stamp out false
teaching- because this is what it leads to. People listen, and they are
led aside from the Kingdom path.
Note that the widows turn themselves aside after Satan – Satan is not
necessarily seeking the women. Verses 12 and 13 explain that the widows
“cast off their first faith” – something they did themselves. “They learn
to be idle, wandering about from house to house”. It was by their doing
this that they “turned aside after Satan’ – their evil desires, and the
Jewish temple cult. Using the tongue in the wrong way is a result of an
evil state of the heart – “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaks” (Mt. 12:34). Their turning aside after Satan involved being
“tattlers... and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not” (v.
13). Thus “Satan” refers to their evil heart. Through profitless talking
and not keeping hold of the true spirit of the Word of God, some had
“turned aside unto vain jangling” (1 Tim. 1:6). Paul is now pointing out
that some of the young widows in that ecclesia had also turned aside for
the same reason “unto Satan”, or their evil desires, expressed in their
idle talking.
The “seducing spirits” of :1 had seared consciences (:2), implying that
they were apostate believers. They forbad to marry, “commanding to abstain
from meats” (:3), which especially the latter, was the big contention of
the Jewish element in the church in the first century. Notice that what is
said here about the Judaizers is also true of the Catholics – supporting
the idea that 2 Thessalonians 2 is about both Jews and Catholics.
Thus the “seducing spirits” of 1 Timothy 4:1 were the Jewish
infiltrators of the church, which were doubtless amongst the “deceivers”
of 2 John 7, which 2 John 10 implies were going from house to house
(church to church) spreading their doctrine of belittling the person of
Christ. These Judaizers “subvert whole houses” (Titus 1:11). Back in 1
Timothy 5:13, the fact that the women also went from house to house is
another indication that what they were doing was also what the Judaizers
were doing. Thus it is an interesting possibility that when their husbands
died, these women lacked spiritual leadership, and therefore turned aside
after the Jewish Satan, being influenced by the Jews to undermine the
church. Using such apparently innocent members of the church would have
been a very effective way of infiltrating. Perhaps there is a reference to
this in 2 Timothy 3. This speaks of men within the ecclesia, “having a
form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof” (v. 5), unsound judgment
in church decisions (v. 8 A.V. margin). “Their folly shall be manifest
unto all men” (v. 9) – at the Judgment, where the responsible appear. They
are likened to Jannes and Jambres, who, according to Jewish tradition,
were apostate Jews. These false teachers (probably Judaizers), “creep into
(i.e. subtly infiltrate) houses (churches), and lead captive silly women”
(v. 6). Note how the Judaizers are described as capturing Christians to
become infiltrators in 2 Timothy 2:26 and in 1 Timothy 3:7. This view of
the women is confirmed by the following two points:
i) Acts 13:50 describes the Jews stirring up “the devout and honourable
women and (thereby)... raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas”.
ii) There is evidence in profane history that many Gentile women were
influenced by the Jews. Thus Josephus (Wars
of the Jews, II, 20.2) claims that when the Jews of Damascus were
persecuted, the proselyte wives of the Gentiles living there were also
attacked. Josephus describes the Gentile wives of the men of Damascus as
“almost all of them addicted to the Jewish religion”. William Barclay says
that during the first century “the Jewish religion had a special
attraction for a woman... round the synagogues were gathered many women,
often women of high social position, who found in this (Jewish) teaching
just what they so much longed for. Many of these women became proselytes”
(William Barclay,
The Acts of the Apostles (Louisville: Westminster / John Knox,
2003) p. 114). That the women Paul refers to were also wealthy is shown by
them having time to go around from house to house, instead of having to
work.
5:16
If any woman that believes has widows in her family, let her help
them and let not the church be burdened, so that it may help those that
are indeed widows- This appears to be a summary of the
commands in this section about widows. But in some MSS, such as those
followed here by the NEV, it seems specifically addressed to women. In
this case, given our previous reconstructions, it would seem these young
women were justifying the payment for their sexual services by saying they
were being paid not only for their own widowhood but for their widowed
mothers too.
5:17- see on Mt. 7:24.
Let the elders that rule well- There were some
Ephesian elders that did "rule well", despite all the problems in the
church which we have pointed out. And "the angel of the church at Ephesus"
was commended by the Lord for stamping out false teaching and excelling in
works. Although it was the loss of
agape
love which was their downfall in the end. We recall Paul's last meeting
with the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, where he glumly warned them that of
their own selves, men would arise destroying the flock at Ephesus; and
urged attention to God's word in view of this. I see that warning in the
same way as I see God's inspired message that in 40 day, Nineveh would be
destroyed. But these expressions of future doom of themselves invite
repentance and spiritual effort, which God rewards and takes deep notice
of, to the extent that the threatened catastrophes either don't happen or
are delayed. And the existence of an acceptable church in Ephesus by the
time of Rev. 2 is a proof case of this. The command to appoint faithful
elders and pass on the baton to them (2 Tim. 2:2) was therefore fulfilled
well by Timothy.
Be counted worthy of double honour- If this has some
financial reference (:18 "wages", and see the parallel in 1 Cor. 9:8-10
which is in a financial context), then we should connect it with the
preceding comment that the money spent on the fraudulent widows' welfare
fund was a 'burden' on the church (:16). Paul states plainly enough that
he is not against a paid ministry although he didn't use it himself. But
this verse would appear to be saying that Timothy decided what was paid to
whom, and there seems the surprising idea of payment according to
spiritual integrity. We would rather have expected payment to be simply
according to basic living needs, but he does appear here to go beyond
that. Presumably his idea was not to offer a financial carrot towards
spirituality, but to demonstrate that good service to the Lord was to be
recognized and rewarded by the congregation. I am uncomfortable with that
conclusion but I find it hard to see any other consistent
interpretation. The only alternative I can think of is that the "double
honour" may be referent to the money paid to widows- those elders who
ruled well were to get double what they were being given. But still the
problem remains that it was because of the 'wellness' of their work that
they were to be rewarded; and "honour" is not completely relevant to the
widows. And see on :18
The labourer is worthy of his wages.
Especially those who labour in the word and in teaching-
A reference to Bible study and then teaching the results of that study.
Teaching is therefore not entertainment, re-casting secular stories or
wisdom in spiritual terms accessible to the congregation; it is to be
preceded by study of the word itself. The idea may be that the labour of
the elders was not in secular life, but their work in study and teaching
was equal to that of secular employment. The Lord commends the "Angel" at
Ephesus, presumably referring to the eldership, for "labouring" (Rev. 2:3
s.w.).
5:18 For the Scripture
says- We find a very significant feature in both the New
Testament itself, and in the historical, uninspired writings of the early
Christians:
they speak about the New Testament writings as being inspired Scripture
just as they speak of the inspired Old Testament writings. So
Peter, writing in A.D. 68, speaks of Paul's letters as being amongst "the
other Scriptures" (2 Pet. 3:16), i.e. on the same level of acceptance as
the Old Testament Scriptures. Here in 1 Tim. 5:18, Paul combines two
quotations, one from the Old Testament and another from the Gospel of
Luke, and calls them both “Scripture”: " For the Scripture saith ' 'Thou
shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn ' [Dt. 25:4]; and,
'The labourer is worthy of his hire'" (Lk. 10:7). Polycarp, writing in
about AD115, combines the Old Testament Psalms and Paul’s letter to the
Ephesians in a similar manner: "In the sacred books... as it is said in
these Scriptures, 'Be ye angry and sin not,' and 'Let not the sun go down
upon your wrath’." Some years later, the [uninspired] second letter of
Clement (2:4) quotes Isaiah and then adds: "And another Scripture,
however, says, 'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners'" -quoting
from Matthew. The first epistle of Clement, dating at the latest to AD95,
quotes from many of Paul’s letters and from the Gospels; but very
significantly, it doesn’t quote from any of the books which later were
rejected at the Councils. So, the ‘new’ writings of the New Testament were
accepted on an equal footing as the Old Testament Scriptures, from soon
after they were first circulated. Notice that this was all
before the Councils met to assemble the canon. The
books were widely accepted as inspired
before
them! They didn’t give those books an inspired status. It’s also apparent
that the ‘new’ books didn’t go through much of a process of being
recognized as inspired. They were accepted as inspired immediately. See on
1 Cor. 14:29; 1 Jn. 4:1.
You shall not muzzle- The word means literally to
render speechless. The idea may be that if an elder was not paid, then
they would not have time to prepare their talks for the congregation. The
Old Testament contains examples of where the Levites failed to teach the
people because the tithes for supporting them were not paid.
The ox when he treads out the corn- The stress may be
on the word "when"; the elder must do this if he is to be fed. The
treading out of the corn represents the labour in the word which is
required before teaching it to the church congregation (see on :17). The
corn represents God's word and the treading out the processing of it. And
yet in this figure, the ox [cp. the elder] eats some of the corn he
processes. This has been a theme of Paul in advising Timothy- that the
very process of spiritually feeding others leads to the spiritual benefit
of the feeder (see on 4:6
Nourished up).
And, The labourer is worthy of his wages- The wages
are to be
axios the worker, appropriate
to the quality and amount of work. Hence those who worked "well" were to
receive "double" (:17).
5:19
Do not receive an accusation against an elder,
except at the mouth of two or three witnesses- The way Paul commanded
Timothy not to even
consider a complaint against an elder unless another two or
three had been eye-witnesses is proof enough that he expected elders to be
slandered from within the ecclesia. The more you read between the lines of
Paul's letters, the more evident it is that his very own brethren almost
unbelievably slandered him. See on Gal. 5:11; 1 Thess. 2:3. The context is
the problematic group of sisters spreading gossip and being busybodies
(:13). This kind of thing happens today, with the internet facilitating
it. Paul seems to be saying that such gossips should not be 'taken up' or
responded to unless there are two or three eye-witnesses.
5:20
Those elders that sin, reprove in the sight of all-
The "all" may refer to all the elders; the "rest" who are to take warning
from the reproof. I say this because there appears to be a parallel in the
next verse, where Timothy is charged before or "in the sight of" "the
elect angels", who I suggest refer to the eldership. For the Lord
addresses them as the Angel of the church at Ephesus in Rev. 2.
So that the rest may also be in fear- Reproof in the
sight of others is shame based, which we may be somewhat uncomfortable
with. But shame was a hugely powerful component in first century
Mediterranean psychology and sociology. And perhaps the "sin" in view was
connected to this whole issue of good appearance in the sight of others-
which pride to this day is the root of so many sins.
5:21
I charge you in the sight of God and Christ Jesus- If
the elders were to be reproved in the sight of each other (:20), then who
was Timothy as the 'boss' to be reproved in the sight of? The answer to
that was 'In God's sight and that of Jesus- as well as of the Angels'.
And the elect Angels- The context in 1 Timothy warns against the Jewish
obsession with effectively worshipping Angels. Paul wishes to refocus
their attention on Angels in the correct sense.
I suggested on :20 that this refers to the elders of the
church. But they in turn were represented by literal Angels in Heaven.
Hence the Angel of the church at Ephesus in Rev. 2 was [in the context]
both a literal Angel and the human elder or group of elders in Ephesus
which were represented by an Angel in Heaven. Scripture abounds with
reference to this 'court of Heaven', in which individuals and situations
on earth are reflected in Heaven, and Heaven's structure is reflected on
earth. Angels represent the face and presence of God; the fact they are
physically present in our lives means that we should live in a sense of
awe and humility at the nearness of God to us. Often this presence of the
Angel is used as a means of motivating us to higher endeavour for the
Lord. Jacob conceived of his guardian Angel as "the fear of my father
Isaac". This then is one of the ways we should fear God- to live in
constant respect and awareness of the Angel in our lives. Paul uses the
idea of charging brethren "before the elect Angels that thou do these
things without preferring one before another" (1 Tim. 5:21), as if to say
that the physical presence of the ecclesia's representative Angels should
inspire humility and obedience in the running of ecclesial affairs. In a
judgment context, Paul charges Timothy before the angels of the elect,
i.e. our guardian Angels- as if to say 'They are watching over you now,
they will be there again at judgment and look back to your present life;
so behave as you should as a man under God's judgment'.
The present nature of the judgment ought to powerfully motivate us. "I
charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels,
that thou observe these things..." (1 Tim. 5:21 AV) is full of judgment
language: before God, Christ and the Angels of the elect (i.e. our
'guardian Angels'). 'Before God' is the language of the judgment in Mt.
25:32; Lk. 21:36; Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Tim. 2:14; 1 Jn. 2:28; Jude
24; Rev. 14:5. It's as if Paul was reminding Timothy that he was present
before the judgment already, and should therefore be obedient. 2 Tim. 4:1
makes the link even more apparent: he charged Timothy to preach as being
before (Gk.) both the Father and Son, who
will judge the living and dead at His appearing.
Because we effectively stand before the judgment seat now, therefore
preach now, because preaching is one of those things that will be taken
into account at the final judgment day (Lk. 12:8). As men being before the
Lord's throne, who will be finally judged just as we are now being judged,
therefore act according to the principles which we know will lead to
acceptance then.
That you observe these things- The same word is used
to Timothy in 2 Tim. 1:14, where he is again told to 'keep / observe these
things" "by the Holy Spirit which dwells in us". The Holy Spirit or mind
is an internal power, working "within", in order to empower obedience. But
like Timothy, we must be exhorted to make full use of it rather than
attempting to be obedient in our own strength.
Without prejudice, doing nothing by partiality- This
was so hard for Timothy without the spiritual strengthening just alluded
to. There were many different interest groups within the church, Jewish
and pagan. Timothy the timid and young had to deal with older people who
were teaching wrong things and shut them up. Timothy the afflicted with
sexual lusts had to tell attractive young women to get married and have
children. It would've been so very easy to act with partiality. He needed
the psychological Holy Spirit strengthening mentioned under
Observe these things in order
to achieve this.
5:22
Lay hands hastily on no one- This is in the context
of elders, who like Timothy were appointed by laying on of hands. He is
being told not to appoint anyone hastily, in chapter 3 he has been warned
to give deacons a probationary period before appointing them. We can infer
that Timothy was liable to over hasty and naive decision making. Again,
the fact his mission succeeded was and is a testimony to the power of the
Holy Spirit working within such a weak young man; see on :21
Observe these
things.
And do not participate in other's sins. Keep yourself pure-
It would be fair to say that the church at Ephesus, including its
leadership, was in a very bad moral state. It would've been a big
temptation for someone as weak minded as Timothy to justify bad behaviour
because the other elders were doing it. Paul has just spoken of the "sin"
of elders (:20), and the "others" of :20 would seem to be the other
elders. So Timothy, the newly appointed elder, is being told not to
participate in the sins of the other elders, but rather reprove them
(:20).
Koinoneo,
"participate", is from the common word family for 'fellowship'. We are not
to fellowship the sins of others in the sense of not participating in them
by doing them- Timothy was to "Keep yourself pure", with the emphasis on
"yourself". Not fellowshipping other's sins clearly here doesn't mean
'cast them out of the church as individuals'. The fact the Lord positively
addresses the eldership at Ephesus in Rev. 2 is a testament to the power
of Timothy's example; he turned around that church by obedience to Paul's
inspired advice and commands, rather than by throwing the offenders out of
the church. Significantly, Paul doesn't tell Timothy to do that- despite
the errors being serious indeed. As has been witnessed so many times, the
problems aren't ultimately resolved by throwing people out and 'breaking
fellowship' with them.
5:23
No longer drink only water; instead use a little wine for your
stomach's sake- A theme of the Timothy correspondence is that
Timothy is indeed obedient to Paul's inspired commands- and therefore
ultimately his ministry succeeds. He was clearly aware that Paul was
concerned that he might abuse alcohol; for Paul commands Timothy not to be
given to much wine (3:3). It seems Timothy took this to the extreme and
would not touch any alcohol. Such total abstinence was rare in first
century society, so we can assume Timothy adopted this position from
purely spiritual reasoning. Seeing alcohol was one of the most commonly
available medicines for stomach and other ailments, this meant enduring
much suffering. And Paul doesn't believe that stoic suffering for the sake
of it is required; rather he wants Timothy to be active and useful in the
church. And to that end he had been given the gift of the Spirit within
him, i.e. in his mind, within his psychology (2 Tim. 1:14). But he had to
allow himself to "be strengthened in the grace [gift- of the Spirit] that
is in Christ" (2 Tim. 2:1), to "stir up the gift that is [with]in you" (2
Tim. 1:6). It was only due to doing this that [according to the Lord's
later letter to the Ephesians] his ministry succeeded in the areas he was
charged with [inspiring good works and shutting down false teachers].
And your frequent infirmities- We continue to get the
picture of Timothy as weak both physically and in personality. To be given
such a demanding, stressful commission, when stomach problems are often
connected to nervous strain, means that his obedience and success is the
more noteworthy. And it is a testimony to the internal, psychological
power of the Holy Spirit within Timothy which empowered him mentally to
pull through it.
Consider Timothy's weaknesses, both directly stated and implied:
- He first of all flunked the calling to remain in Ephesus (see on 1
Tim. 1:3)
- The commands concerning bishops were firstly Paul's commands to
Timothy (see on 1 Tim. 3:14,15). The suggestion would be that Timothy
needed to pay attention to things like not womanizing and being a solid
family man
- Liable to be taken in by the Jewish myths pedalled by the old Jewish
sisters (1 Tim. 4:7; 6:20)
- Easily discouraged by older people despising his youth, needing
encouragement to set a good example (1 Tim. 4:12)
- Liable to neglect his gifts, not using his full spiritual potential
(1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6,14; 4:5 "make
full
proof of your ministry")
- Needing to take heed to himself (1 Tim. 4:16)
- Tempted to show partiality (1 Tim. 5:21) and to do the sins he saw
other elders doing, being easily led (see on 1 Tim. 5:22)
- Frequently ill with stomach upsets (1 Tim. 5:23). Paul says that he
himself had to work as a tentmaker in order to meet the needs of Timothy
whilst Timothy was with him; he had to work because of Timothy's weakness,
mentally or physically, because he was unable to work to make himself a
living (see on Acts 20:34).
- Often in tears (2 Tim. 1:4)
- Being a fearful person rather than a positive one (2 Tim. 1:7)
- Fearful of suffering and having to identify with Paul from fear of
persecution, easily embarrassed by association with Christ (2 Tim. 1:8),
needing encouragement to "endure hardness" and have a disciplined mind and
life (2 Tim. 2:3)
- Weak and needing to be stronger (2 Tim. 2:1)
- Easily caught up in secular things (2 Tim. 2:4) and to try to take
spiritual shortcuts around the difficult inevitabilities of the true
Christian life (2 Tim. 2:5)
- Needing to flee sexual lusts (2 Tim. 2:22), even though he was a
married man with children, according to 1 Tim. 3.
He had to be exhorted to "purity" (1 Tim. 4:12),
the word carrying the specific idea of sexual purity. Paul commanded
Timothy to be a man of one woman in chapter 3, and warns him to deal with
the younger sisters "with all purity" (1 Tim. 5:2). Putting all this
together, it would be fair to assume that Paul perceived a weakness in
Timothy in this area. And yet all the same, Paul put him in to the
position of eldership, with all the inter-personal contact with females
which this required. But he warned him to beware of his weakness.
- Needing to be constantly reminded to "continue" and not give up, as
he was near to doing (e.g. 2 Tim. 3:14).
All these issues could have been the result of being a 'rich kid'. 2
Tim. 3:16 says he was taught to read from the Scriptures by his mother and
grandmother (2 Tim. 1:5). He was very blessed to have both a mother and
grandmother to raise him; for female mortality was very high in the first
century world. And the vast majority of the Roman empire was illiterate.
So Timothy had advantages from birth which put him in a favoured minority.
But this is no reason to despise him; he was made strong out of the
weaknesses associated with his background.
Yet out of all this weakness, Timothy was made strong and according to
the Lord's letter to the Ephesian church, he achieved his calling to stamp
out false teaching, purify the eldership, and encourage the doing of "good
works". Perhaps he did it so zealously that the church ended up lacking
the
agape love for which finally it was condemned. But so far as
his obedience to his particular ministry goes- he succeeded. Out of such
weakness.
5:24- see on 1 Cor. 4:5.
Some men's sins are evident, preceding them to judgment-
The sins in view are surely those of the elders just mentioned (see on :20
and :22). Paul is saying that although some sins are open and need to be
rebuked openly, Timothy should be aware that there are many other secret
sinners around whose sins he may never know about in this life. He was not
to judge the evident sinners on a basis which assumed everyone else was
innocent and had no secret sins. And that is important to be aware of in
church life today too. Any church discipline is only dealing with the
evident sins. And those evident sins will in any case be dealt with by the
Lord's judgment; any rebuke we may give is not therefore to be seen as
equivalent to His judgment.
But those of others follow them there later- The
Greek could equally mean 'Those of others accompany them there'. The idea
being that some have sins which they quit, which go before them to
judgment; other men are accompanied by their sins to judgment. The idea
would be, in the context of open rebuke in :20, that the motive for
bringing out another's sins to the light is so that those sins do not
follow him to judgment later, but are openly made evident now.
5:25 Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden- The idea may be that in seeking to inculcate a culture of good works, Timothy should be aware that some good works are not "evident" not, but will not be hidden at the day of judgment. For then, according to the Lord's parable, He will openly go through the good deeds of the accepted; their feeding of the hungry, clothing the naked etc. Nothing then will be hidden. Timothy's mission of encouraging good works was recognized as successful by the Lord's letter to the Ephesian church in Rev. 2. But Paul is encouraging Timothy that it would be hard for him to judge his own success, because good works are not always evident. The same phrase is found in Mt. 5:14, to which Paul likely alludes; the good works of the city set on a hill "cannot be hid". But Paul would then be interpreting this as meaning 'cannot be ultimately hidden because they will be displayed at the day of judgment'. Here we have the final answer to the human desire for recognition of works. They will not be hidden from God and although salvation is by grace alone, our works will also be openly rewarded and will not remain hidden. The hours of silent effort and patience with difficult situations and people will not remain hidden. The times when 'Someone around here has to be the Christian', and that person was us... will all be somehow openly displayed. It is part of our human wiring to want recognition. But we don't get it much in this life, indeed no good deed goes unpunished; those helped so often complain and bite the hand which fed them. Yet we naturally long for recognition. The composer whose music is never performed longs for his work to be appreciated. The housewife and young mother longs to be thanked and valued. Thankless service for others is found to be one of life's cruellest cards. And without faith and the perspective of the judgment and the eternal consequence of the Kingdom, we will live in frustration over this, and will never get that appreciation and recognition. This is an example of where God "has set eternity" in the heart of man, a longing and wiring which which will only find resolution in the life of faith which leads to eternity. Our longing for perfect relationships is another example.
However, the "otherwise" could mean 'bad
works'; the comfort being that secretly committed bad works will all the
same be judged, and Timothy should not worry unduly about the bad works
which he could not detect or find enough evidence to openly rebuke. Again,
in this case, we see Timothy's tendency to overly worry.
For the righteous, our acceptability before God now is related to our
acceptability with Him at judgment day. Our good works are manifest before
we reach the judgment, which will manifest them again (1 Tim. 5:25). Thus
David reflected on the experiences of his life: "Thou hast made my
judgment; thou satest in the throne judging right... and he shall judge
the world (at the second coming, through Christ, Acts 17:11) in
righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness"
(Ps. 9:4,8 A.V.mg.). This shows the continuity between God's attitude to
him in his mortal life, and God's attitude at the coming judgment. If
Christ is glorified by us now, we will glorify Him in that day (2 Thess.
1:10,12).
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