An exegetical treatment of Paul’s First Letter to Timothy 4: 6-16 A younger yet better servant of Christ Jesus Live our faith Express our salvation (original) (raw)

2 Timothy 4:6-8 as Paradigm of the Apostle Paul’s Legacy

ATHENS JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, 2017

By doing so, the epistle would have the potential to shape Paul's figure on the whole Corpus Paulinum. The originality of this paper lies in the consideration of the Pastorals as a differentiated unity that offers to analyse 2 Tim without 1 Tim and Titus, as a fictive Pauline farewell discourse. Using intertextuality, it compares 2 Tim with Phil, a Proto-Pauline letter, in order to emphasise the shift from Pauline to Deutero-Pauline literature. The first one considering Paul's death as an upcoming event, whereas the latter considers Paul's work from a seemingly a posteriori stand point. On the one hand, Phil depicts Paul as a potential perfect follower of Jesus. On the other hand, 2 Tim moulds the figure of Paul as the one and only apostle, building, with the literary genre of farewell discourse, Pauline "orthodoxy". Thus, the purpose of 2 Tim and the Deutero-Pauline letters seem to be to fill a gap in the description of Paul's legacy. Hence, the particular interest of this paper is to consider the possible influence of 2 Tim in the entire Pauline literature.

Pastoral Theology in Paul's First Letter to Timothy

Dissertation for LAEL Graduate School, 1996

This dissertation examines the Pastoral Theology of the apostle Paul in his first letter to Timothy. It seeks to answer the question, "What principles of Pastoral Theology is Paul teaching to the pastors of our generation in his letter to the young preacher Timothy?" This question needs a Biblical answer because pastors face a very difficult challenge today. There is much Satanic opposition causing distraction from Spirit-filled ministry. Many Pastors are frustrated and facing burn out. Others are spiritually defeated and being manipulated by Satan. The answer for the church lies within the covers of the Bible. Paul is the apostle for this church age. His letter is important for study. In pursuing this goal the researcher has examined the general themes of pastoral theology in relationship to Pauline doctrine. The relevant literature was reviewed and the background of First Timothy was examined in relation to this design. The text of Paul's letter to Timothy was studied and translated from the original Greek. The background, history and linquistical significances were considered in the interpretation of the text. The investigator followed the basic outline of Paul's text to bring out its intended meanings. Commentaries and word studies were researched to explore the rich definitions of the text. This interpretation was explained in relationship to practical needs in pastoral ministry. The main body of the paper deals with Paul's application of theology to pastors. Paul warns against false doctrine and exhorts ministers to proclaim Christ as the theme of preaching. Worship in the church centers on the importance of prayer, the sound doctrine of the Scriptures and discipline. The pastor himself is to be an example of godliness to his congregation. He must continually guard against false teachers with their divisive doctrines. He has a great responsibility in dealing with various groups within the church. Special instruction is given for the care of widows. The final message for the pastor concerns the end times and patience until the return of Christ. The servant of the Lord must be content and committed. With false teachers seeking to undermine the church the Pastor is commissioned to earnestly contend for the faith.

The Epistle of 2 Timothy (2024 edition)

The Central Theme of the Pastoral Epistles - The title “Pastoral Epistles” is appropriate in that it reveals the most obvious underlying theme of these three Epistles, which is church government, or order, and calling. In the Pastoral Epistles, Paul establishes the order and governance of the New Testament Church. However, I am going to be as bold as to add the small epistle of Philemon to this corpus for the sake of theme structure. Regarding the underlying theme of church leadership, J. Vernon McGee makes an important observation by saying that Paul is not placing emphasis upon the type of church government in these epistles as much as he is focusing upon the character of those involved in leadership; for without godly leadership no form of church government will work. The Pastoral Epistles as a Part of God’s Plan of Redemption - Regarding the relation of the Pastoral Epistles to our spiritual journey, we enter into our calling, which is the underlying theme of these Epistles, after the process of indoctrination that takes place in the Church epistles. So, having received Christ Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour through the Gospels, and having read the Church epistles, which lay down the doctrines of the Church, we must now have godly leadership and some type of order established in our lives. This is what Paul deals with in his pastoral epistles. He tells Timothy and Titus how to select godly leaders and then he explains how to delegate the priorities of church administration and activities to such leaders. Although these the Epistles contain Church doctrine, they place much more emphasis upon how to administer this doctrine in the local congregation. In addition, of these four Epistles, 2 Timothy is the most personal, dealing more with private and personal matters, having being written shortly before Paul’s death. The other two epistles deal with broader matters that relate to the pastoral leadership of congregations as a whole. The Three-Fold Thematic Scheme of the Epistle of 2 Timothy - The primary theme of the four Pastoral Epistles is church government, or order, and calling. Each of these epistles addresses one aspect of this church government as their secondary theme, so that collectively, they deliver the complete order for the New Testament church. The secondary theme of the epistle of 2 Timothy is the preparation of the believer’s heart for divine service in response to the role of Jesus Christ in our redemption. Each of these epistles addresses an aspect of the development of man’s three-fold make-up for Christian service. The third, imperative theme of 2 Timothy is the call to serve in the body of Christ to transform man’s spirit. Paul’s second epistle to Timothy is doubtless the last letter that Paul ever wrote. He put these tender and personal words on paper as he faced execution by beheading. He was most likely in prison, sitting in a damp, lower dungeon with a small hole in the ceiling for light. He addresses his beloved convert, a man named Timothy, who had stood with him under every other situation they had faced together. Paul the aged had faithfully executed his own divine calling, and now he was able to exhort Timothy to do the same by using his own life as an example. Thus, within this Epistle Paul gives an earnest plea for Timothy to make haste and be with him one last time before departing from this earth. Paul’s major emphasis is to stand strong against all adversity and fulfill the divine calling that God has placed upon his life.

The Epistle of 1 Timothy (2024 edition)

The Central Theme of the Pastoral Epistles - The title “Pastoral Epistles” is appropriate in that it reveals the most obvious underlying theme of these three Epistles, which is church government, or order, and calling. In the Pastoral Epistles, Paul establishes the order and governance of the New Testament Church. However, I am going to be as bold as to add the small epistle of Philemon to this corpus for the sake of theme structure. Regarding the underlying theme of church leadership, J. Vernon McGee makes an important observation by saying that Paul is not placing emphasis upon the type of church government in these epistles as much as he is focusing upon the character of those involved in leadership; for without godly leadership no form of church government will work. The Pastoral Epistles as a Part of God’s Plan of Redemption - Regarding the relation of the Pastoral Epistles to our spiritual journey, we enter into our calling, which is the underlying theme of these Epistles, after the process of indoctrination that takes place in the Church epistles. So, having received Christ Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour through the Gospels, and having read the Church epistles, which lay down the doctrines of the Church, we must now have godly leadership and some type of order established in our lives. This is what Paul deals with in his pastoral epistles. He tells Timothy and Titus how to select godly leaders and then he explains how to delegate the priorities of church administration and activities to such leaders. Although these the Epistles contain Church doctrine, they place much more emphasis upon how to administer this doctrine in the local congregation. In addition, of these four Epistles, 2 Timothy is the most personal, dealing more with private and personal matters, having being written shortly before Paul’s death. The other two epistles deal with broader matters that relate to the pastoral leadership of congregations as a whole. The Three-Fold Thematic Scheme of the Epistle of 1 Timothy - The primary theme of the four Pastoral Epistles is church government, or order, and calling. Each of these epistles addresses one aspect of this church government as their secondary theme, so that collectively, they deliver the complete order for the New Testament church. The secondary theme of the epistle of 1 Timothy is the preparation of the believer’s heart for divine service in response to the role of Jesus Christ in our redemption. Each of these epistles addresses an aspect of the development of man’s three-fold make-up for Christian service. The third, imperative theme of 1 Timothy is the call to serve in the body of Christ to transform man’s spirit.

Paul’s Letters to Timothy and Titus: A Literature Review (2009–2015)

The present treatment—more a literature update than a state-of-research essay—covers English-language works on the LTT published from 2009–2015. I discuss scholarly commentaries, highlight a number of important works on the LTT, and provide a bibliography. The bibliography lists over 20 commentaries, and over 250 other published items from this seven-year period, as well as over 25 unpublished LTT-related doctoral dissertations produced since 2000.