1 Timothy

Chapter 1

^1-2 Dear Timothy, my Brother in the faith. You are really like my own son because you follow me in the same faith.

Greetings from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I’ve been sent as an apostle because of the command of God, who is also our Savior. That command is also from Christ Jesus, who is our Hope.

My prayer is that God the Father and our Lord Christ Jesus will always be kind to you, have compassion on you and watch over you so that you live calm under God’s protection!

Oppose the teachers of misleading teaching

³ When I went to Macedonia, I asked you to stay in Ephesus because there were some people there who had taught misleading teachings. So I asked you to tell them to stop teaching those things ⁴ and not let the church listen to teaching that’s based on fables or about lists of the forefathers of the people who taught it. Teaching like that is boring because it’s endless and only results in debates about things that can’t be confirmed. And that kind of teaching doesn’t lead the church to live with more faith in God. ⁵ The purpose of my previous instruction was so that the church sincerely loves each other. That kind of love only exists if our hearts are cleansed by God and if we try to keep our consciences clean, as well as sincerely believing in the true teaching without pretending. ⁶ But some people no longer live like that, and they just waste time with useless teaching. ⁷ They want to become teachers of the Law but they don’t understand what they’re saying. And they don’t even understand the things that they stress with complete self-confidence.

⁸ We know that the Law is good as long as we teach the law according to its main purpose. ⁹ For we know that the Law wasn’t given to punish people who live right. It was given to control people who like to break God’s commands, like to oppose God, don’t know how to honor the Lord, commit sin, don’t want to live holy, only think about worldly things and kill people. There are even some who murder their own parents. ¹⁰ And the Law was also given to punish those who have sexual relations outside of marriage or with their same sex. People who deserve to be punished also include people who sell slaves, all liars and people who give false testimony about others and everyone whose deeds oppose the true teaching. ^{[1] 11} And that true teaching agrees with the Good News which God gave me to tell. God should be praised through the Good News that reflects His glory!

Thanks for God’s kindness

¹² I’m thankful to our Lord Christ Jesus who always gives me strength. I’m also very thankful to Him who considers me faithful so that He entrusted me with telling the Good News. ¹³ However, I actually used to be one who insulted His name, and I liked to take harsh action while persecuting His followers. But Christ had compassion on me! For at that time I didn’t yet believe in Him, so I didn’t know if what I was doing was good or bad. ¹⁴ Even so, the kindness of our Lord really overflowed to me so that I came to believe in Him and began to love my fellowman. That happened because I received Jesus and became one with Him.

¹⁵ So the following teaching has proven true, and is worthy to be completely believed, Christ Jesus came to this world to save sinners, and of those sinners, my sin was the worst. ¹⁶ It was precisely because of those sins of mine that I was shown mercy and forgiven so that through me people can see the amazing patience of Christ Jesus. So Christ has shown His patience to me so that I would become an example to people who want to believe in Him and receive eternal life. ¹⁷ For that reason, let’s honor and glorify God forever! He’s the King who rules forever, who can’t be seen and who will never perish. He’s the one and only God! Amen.

¹⁸ My son Timothy, I entrust this command to you, and remember that my motivation is in agreement with what was prophesied about you before you began your ministry. Fight well in this spiritual battle. ¹⁹ Continue to believe completely in the true teaching and take care that your conscience remains clean. For there are some people who’ve rejected living according to the leading of their consciences so that they’re no longer able to believe the true teaching. ^{[2] 20} Two people like that are Hymenaeus and Alexander. I’ve handed them over to the devil. ^[3] In that way, they can learn to stop insulting God.

Chapter 2

Motivation to pray

¹ I advise you to teach these things to the church you serve. First of all, every member of the church should give all kinds of prayer requests to God for everyone along with giving thanks. ² And pray for kings and all government authorities. Ask God that we may live in peace and quietness and can be free to live according to God’s will in a way that’s proper in everyone’s sight. ³ Every prayer like that is good and pleases the heart of God who is our Savior.

⁴ And as our Savior, of course, God wants everyone to be saved and know the true teaching about Christ. ⁵ For there’s only one God and only one Person who is the Middle-man between God and man. He is Christ Jesus, who was also a man. ⁶ He’s the one who gave Himself as the payment to free each of us from sin. That event, which happened in the world at the proper time, is proof of God’s kindness towards man. ⁷ Then I was chosen as an apostle to tell this Good News. In my testimony I speak what’s true and I don’t lie. I was sent as a teacher to people who aren’t Jews so that they hear the true teaching and become believers.

Special teaching for men and women

⁸ So wherever brothers and sisters in the faith gather together, I want every man who leads in prayer to be a person without fault. By that I mean that the hands he lifts up to heaven ^[1] in prayer must not be soiled with sin, and he must not be an angry man who likes to quarrel.

⁹ I also want each woman to dress properly, being wise to choose clothes that are modest and neat. Don’t enjoy drawing attention to yourself with fancy hair styles or with too much gold jewelry, pearls ^[2] or expensive clothing. ¹⁰ Instead, the proper way for each woman who claims to be a worshiper of God to beautify herself is to do good things.

¹¹ In church meetings, each woman should be quiet so that she can hear what’s taught and fully obey that teaching. ¹² I don’t allow women to teach or rule over men. They must remain quiet while the church is being taught ¹³ because Adam was the one who was created first, then Eve. ¹⁴ And Adam wasn’t the who was deceived by the devil, but the woman was the one deceived so that she became the first to commit sin. ¹⁵ As a result of that sin, the female descendants of Eve fall under the punishment of God in having pain when giving birth. ^[1] But even so, God is ready to help and save each woman if she keeps fully believing in Him, does loving acts and lives a holy and wise life. ^[3]

Chapter 3

Character traits needed to become an elder of the church

¹ The following teaching has proven true, if a person desires to become an elder of the church, he desires a responsibility that is good. ² The one who’s appointed as an elder must be a person whose life is blameless, is faithful to his wife and doesn’t have more than one wife. The elder must also be a person who always controls himself, is wise, lives an orderly life, likes to provide lodging and is able to teach other people well. ³ Drunkards and people who like to fight can’t be appointed as elders because an elder has to be just, peace loving and not love money. ⁴ He has to be a person who knows how to manage his family well and who trains his children so that they obey and respect him. ⁵ If a person who wants to become an elder doesn’t know how to manage his household, he certainly isn’t able to lead God’s church.

⁶ A person who has only recently believed in Jesus must not be appointed as an elder because that could make him become arrogant. Then the devil would use that arrogance to make him fall. ⁷ An elder must also be known as a good person by people who aren’t members of the church so that the devil can’t trap him through the words of other people who slander his name.

Character traits that are needed to become a church worker

⁸ In the same way, people who are appointed as workers in the church must be people who are respected, not two-faced, not drunkards and not lovers of money. ⁹ Every worker in the church must believe completely in the true teachings which God has revealed to us, and he must live with a clean conscience. ¹⁰ And each candidate for church worker must be tested by being given a temporary service assignment. After proving that the candidate serves well, only then can he be appointed as a church worker.

¹¹ In the same way, the wife of every church worker ^[1] must also be a respectable person and not like to slander other people, is always self-controlled and can be trusted in everything.

¹² A man who serves as a church worker must be faithful to his wife and can’t have more than one wife. To be appointed as a worker in the church, he must be a person who can manage his children and his household well. ¹³ Every church worker who serves well will be more and more respected, and because of that he’ll be more and more confident to tell of his faith in Christ Jesus to other people.

The news of salvation which was revealed to us

¹⁴ Even though I hope to come to you soon, I feel it’s wise to write these things to you now. ¹⁵ But if I’m delayed in coming, through this letter you’ll know how we ought to live as God’s family. What I mean by God’s family is the unity of all of the churches possessed by the living God. Of course as members of that unity, we’re involved in supporting and maintaining the true teaching from God, like supporting pillars and foundation stones which make a house strong. ¹⁶ It’s really true that the true teaching which God has revealed to us is very amazing! For that reason, according to God’s will we completely believe that

     Christ ^[2] came and lived in this world in a human body.

         The Spirit of God proved that all He taught about Himself was true.

         His entire life was witnessed by angels.

     The non-Jewish people groups have now heard the Good News about Him.

         People in the whole world believe in Him.

         And He was taken up to the place where He originally was with God, in glory.

Chapter 4

Prophecy about false teachers

¹ The Holy Spirit clearly says that in times to come, many people won’t want to believe the true teaching any more. They’ll follow evil spirits who lead astray and believe various teachings of demons. ² Those teachings originate from liars who only pretend to be good people. Their consciences have hardened so that they can’t distinguish if what they do is right or wrong anymore. ³ For example, they forbid us to marry or to eat certain foods, even though God is the one who created that food and gives it to us who believe and have learned true teaching. The important thing is that we eat giving thanks ⁴ because everything God has created is good. Nothing is forbidden. By giving thanks we may eat and enjoy everything. ⁵ So because of the Lord’s Word and in answer to our prayers, God allows us to eat all food.

Become a good servant of Christ Jesus

⁶ Teach things like this to the brothers and sisters in the faith there, so that you’ll be proven to be His good servant before our Lord Christ Jesus. A good servant of Christ must become more and more mature in all kinds of teachings that build up our faith,like the good teachings that you already follow. ⁷ But don’t get involved in teachings that are based on fables because those kinds of teachings are always based just on worldly thinking and are full of stupidity. It’s better to keep training yourself spiritually so that you’re more and more pleasing to God. ⁸ Physical training is useful, of course, but limited, whereas living according to God’s will is always far more useful because it brings blessings for this present life and for that which will come. ⁹ That teaching has been proven to be true and is worthy to be believed completely. ¹⁰ For we put our hope in the living God. He’s also the Savior of everyone, that is those who believe in Him. For that reason, we keep fighting and working hard.

¹¹ Advise and teach the church of the Lord that you serve to do the things that were mentioned. ¹² Even though you’re still young, don’t let anyone look down on you. For that reason you should become an example for believers through the way you speak, by your lifestyle, your love, your faith in Christ and by your holy life. ¹³ Before I come, put these things first in your ministry. Read and teach the Holy Bible to the church and urge them to do it. ¹⁴ Always remember to use and develop the special ability that was given to you through prophecy, when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. ¹⁵ Keep on doing these tasks with all your heart so that your faith and ministry clearly grow more and more in everyone’s sight. ¹⁶ Guard yourself and pay full attention to the things you teach! Stand firm in those things so that you’ll save yourself and the people who hear your teaching.

Chapter 5

The way to lead the church based on a person's age

¹ Don’t harshly rebuke a brother in the faith who’s older than you, but give advice to him with full respect as if he’s your own father. And advise a brother in the faith who’s younger than you as if he’s your own younger brother. ² In the same way, give advice to a sister in the faith who’s older than you with full respect, as if she’s your own mother. And with a sincere heart, advise a sister in the faith who is younger than you as if advising your own younger sister.

How the church should pay attention to the needs of widows

³ Pay respectful attention to the needs of widows ^[1] who don’t have family that can help them. ⁴ But if a widow has children or grandchildren, her descendants should first learn to serve God by paying attention to the needs of their own parent or grandmother. In that way, each of those children or grandchildren may repay the goodness of his or her parent or grandmother, because that pleases God. ⁵ But the church should pay attention to the needs of the widows who really live alone and have no one who can help them, because they always hope in God completely and pray day and night asking for His help for themselves and for our other brothers and sisters. ⁶ But every widow who lives just to enjoy worldly pleasures alone is actually already spiritually dead, even though she’s still alive. ⁷ Tell these things to the brothers and sisters in the faith there, so that they arrange to serve the widows well. In that way, the church’s way of life won’t be marred before people who don’t yet believe in Christ. ⁸ And vice versa, if a member of the church doesn’t take care of his or her family, especially immediate family, it means that he doesn’t really believe and follow our teaching, and before God he’s worse than people who don’t yet believe in Christ.

⁹ Only put women who are sixty years of age or older on the list of widows if they were previously known as wives who were faithful to their husbands. ¹⁰ Every widow who’s put on the list should be known through her actions as a good woman, for example she raised her children well, likes to give lodging, is willing to be a servant to the brothers and sisters in the faith, likes to help people who experience difficulties and is always involved in all kinds of good deeds.

¹¹ But widows who’re younger than sixty years may not be put on the list because if at some time they desire to find a husband, that desire will make them easily forget their promise to serve only Christ. ¹² So don’t put young widows on the list so that they don’t fall under God’s punishment because they break their promise to serve only Christ. ¹³ Young widows often become lazy, too. And what’s worse, they like to waste time by visiting people’s houses, like to slander other people, like meddling in other people’s affairs and like talking about things that aren’t proper. ¹⁴ So I want young widows to marry again, raise children and take care of their households. In that way, people who oppose us won’t have a reason to speak badly about us anymore. ¹⁵ For it has happened that some young widows have gone astray and become servants of the devil.

¹⁶ The needs of widows should be looked after by their family members in the church so that the church no longer needs to be bothered with taking care of them and can take care of other widows who live alone without a family.

Some instructions for Timothy

¹⁷ The elders who lead the church well deserve to be appreciated in two ways, that is respect them and also give them an appropriate wage, especially those elders who have the responsibility for preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ For there are two verses in the Holy Bible. The firstis,

     “Don’t tie the mouth shut of the ox that works to trample wheat to loosen grains from their stalks. Allow the ox to eat while it works.” ^[2]

     The second is, “The worker has a right to receive his wages.” ^[3]

¹⁹ Don’t listen to accusations about the wrong doings of an elder unless there are two or more eye witnesses who verify that accusation. ²⁰ If it’s proven that an elder is living in sin, rebuke him in front of the whole church so that everyone else will be afraid to do wrong like that person did.

²¹ Before God and Christ Jesus and the heavenly angels, I command you to follow all of these instructions. And do all of this for every member of the church without being partial, and without taking sides with anyone.

²² Before a candidate for elder is proven to be a good person, don’t lay your hands on that person to officially appoint him as an elder. Don’t let other people accuse you of being involved in his sins. Always watch yourself so that you stay pure and aren’t stained.

^23-25 The sins that some people commit are quickly known and become obvious before they’re examined. But the sins of some other people are hidden and will only become obvious in days to come. In the same way, the good deeds we do are usually quickly known, but those that aren’t quickly known can’t possibly remain hidden forever.

I also advise you, besides drinking ordinary water, drink a little wine as a medicine too so that you don’t often have a stomachache.

Chapter 6

¹ Every slave who has become a follower of Christ should respect his master completely. In that way, other people won’t insult God and our teaching. ² And urge each slave like this, “If your master’s family is of the same faith as you, don’t feel that it's a reason to have less respect for them. But you must work more diligently to serve them because they’re your beloved brothers and sisters in the faith.”

Misleading teaching and genuine riches

So Timothy, you should continue to teach, and urge all the Lord’s churches that you serve to do the things I've mentioned. ^3-4 For if there’s a person who teaches wrong teachings, he’s arrogant and doesn’t know anything. By saying ‘wrong teachings’, I mean teachings that go against the true teaching ^[1] which comes from our Lord Christ Jesus and which do not lead to the life that glorifies God. People who teach misleading teachings like that are always happy to debate and argue about things that aren’t important, like small differences in the meanings of terms. But debates like that only give rise to envy, divisions, slander and suspicion of each other. ⁵ People like that always bring up arguments about unimportant things. Their thinking has become disordered so that they aren’t able to distinguish between right and wrong anymore. And they think that following certain religious rules is the key so that God will bless them with riches.

⁶ But in a spiritual way, we really receive great riches if we feel content with what we have and keep living according to God’s will. ⁷ We didn’t bring anything into this world when we were born, of course, and we won’t take any treasure when we leave this world. ⁸ So if we already have food and clothing, that’s enough for us. ⁹ But people who want to become rich often fall when they experience temptation. And they’re caught in the devil’s trap when without realizing the danger, they follow their lusts here and there and suffer great loss. As a result they’re suddenly totally destroyed, like being caught in a disastrous flood. ¹⁰ For the love of money is the main cause of every kind of evil. There are many people who’ve gone astray and left their faith in Christ by chasing after the wealth of this world and in the end what they get is just deep bitterness and great suffering.

The vision and mission that Paul gives to Timothy

¹¹ But Timothy, because you belong to God, keep far away from all of that. Keep pursuing the life that’s right and is according to God’s will. Keep believing in Christ, show love to everyone, endure suffering and keep a gentle attitude. ¹² Like a person determined to train himself for a sports competition, fight hard so that you keep believing completely in true teaching. Fight to get the victory prize according to God’s call for you, which is eternal life. Remember that you weren’t ashamed to confess your faith before the crowd. ¹³ So now I urge you again to promise before God who gives life to every creature, and before Christ Jesus who boldly acknowledged Himself before Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴ carry out every command of Christ with a pure heart and without blemish or fault until our Lord Christ comes back again. ¹⁵ The right time for His coming is determined by God, the one and only Authority who is praised, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. ¹⁶ He’s the only one who never dies, who lives in light which is so bright that no one can come near Him. The people who’re in this world have never seen Him and no one is able to see Him. Honor and power to Him forever! Amen.

¹⁷ Advise people who’re rich in the wealth of this world not to be arrogant and not to hope in possessions which don’t last, but hope in God alone. For God generously provides for all we need with all of His riches, and He blesses all of that for us to enjoy. ^18-19 Advise them also to become rich in God’s eyes, which is being generous, loving to give and using their wealth to do good deeds. In that way, it’s as if they save up treasure in heaven. That treasure is like good savings for their future life in heaven so that they have complete hope that they'll share in the life that’s genuine.

²⁰ Timothy, keep working at the task of ministry that God has entrusted to you. Keep yourself far from the teachings that don’t glorify God and from useless debates with people who oppose us based on their ‘knowledge’. That ‘knowledge’ of theirs is actually stupidity. ²¹ By following that ‘knowledge’, there are people who’ve gone astray and left the true faith.

And to all who read this letter, my prayer is that God’s kindness will always be with each of you.