1 Timothy 5:9-6:21

There is an old saying, ‘Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.’ Paul was the exception to that rule; he could do and he could teach. The Apostle Paul was a visionary leader. He had a deep and abiding faith that had plumbed the depths of God’s grace and discovered new Life in Christ. Yet, he could take this expansive vision of the Life in Christ and describe it in ways that everyone could grasp the grace of God. Consider this affirmation from1 Corinthians 15:1-6 and Colossians 1:15-20 that many churches use in their worship services:

This is the good news
which we have received,
in which we stand,
and by which we are saved:

Christ died for our sins, was buried,
was raised on the third day,
and appeared first to the women,

then to Peter and the Twelve.

and then to many faithful witnesses.

We believe Jesus is the Christ,
the Anointed One of God,
the firstborn of all creation,
the firstborn from the dead,
in whom all things hold together,

in whom the fullness of God was pleased to dwell
by the power of the Spirit.

Christ is the head of the body, the church,
and by the blood of the cross
reconciles all things to God.  Amen.

This quality to make manageable the deepest truths about God was evident in Paul’s work in leading local congregations. Paul was not only a visionary he was also a doer. He didn’t live out each day in the Chapel; he lived out each day with the people of his church. He knew first-hand the challenges of building a new community of faith that was so counter-cultural. Paul not only saw a grand vision of this new community, he also knew how to take up hammer and nails and begin to build this new community.

In this First Letter to Timothy, Paul blends pragmatic counsel for the details and inner workings of the new community, together with his vision of God’s Glorious Kingdom. His advice was born of his own experiences and brought the grace of God into the day to day life of the congregation. As an example, within a culture where slaves accounted for at least one third of the population, Paul didn’t issue a blanket prohibition of slavery. Instead, he taught his congregation that in God’s Kingdom, we are all one. He taught his church about equality before God. He taught his church to honor with Godly dignity the sanctity of human life. With such a foundation, his congregation could move from the legalistic, “you have to”; to the grace filled, “I want to.”

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

Reading for 15-Apr-12       2 Tim. 1:1-18

1 Timothy 4: 1 - 5:8

All cultures have adopted social norms and mores to establish acceptable forms of behavior for their society. Without these there would be chaos. However, some people, in an effort to control their environment, are prone to take the norm setting to an extreme. An example of this was the elaborate system of rules established by the Pharisees to govern conduct on the Sabbath. Even in the young church in Ephesus, there were some who wanted to make extreme rules governing behavior. Paul is reminding Timothy that everything created by God is good and we need not live in fear. While there certainly is danger in abusing our freedoms, our safety is in spiritual maturity, not in labeling certain foods or conduct with, ‘Do Not!’

The healthy development of our physical bodies requires exercise. While haphazard exercise is better than none, a specific plan achieves far greater results. When it’s all said and done and we get to meet our Maker, I suspect our greatest sorrow will be in the awareness of the blessings we never received because we never asked. Following closely behind will be the sorrow of realizing the pitfalls we could have avoided, and the good we could have accomplished, had we taken the time to study and learn from the Holy Scriptures.

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

Reading for 14-Apr-12       1 Tim. 5:9-6:21

1 Timothy 3

In every church, God calls some of the people to leadership roles. These people are commissioned to lead the church in fulfilling God’s purpose for her, and to teach the people about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. While all of God’s children are called to yield themselves to God and the work of the Holy Spirit to transform their lives, leaders are expected to hold out their lives for public scrutiny.

God’s will for all of His children is that we would learn to rest in the assurance of His love and acceptance of us. God wants us to learn to live out of the reality of our true identity; we are children of God. This truth allows us to get off of the performance-based acceptance ways of our culture. The unconditional love of God fulfills our needs to be loved, to be accepted and to be valued. When we know who we are in Christ we can get off of the performance-based acceptance treadmill.

I believe the greatest indicator of maturity in our life in Christ is our willingness to have our lives scrutinized.

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

Reading for 13-Apr-12       1 Tim. 4:1-5:8

1 Timothy 2

Paul encourages Timothy to pray and to lead the church in Ephesus to pray. Paul’s belief about prayer is substantially different than the prevailing attitudes about prayer in our society. Generally, prayer in our culture is all about control. The idea is that a person can change the circumstances in their life, or another person’s life, by praying and asking God to do something, to change something. This idea even extends to national politics where some people believe prayer can change control of the country from one political party to another. Not only is that a pretty low view of prayer, it is also contrary to everything the scriptures teach about prayer.

Paul is quite specific about the purpose of the prayer he is commending to Timothy: “that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” For Paul, prayer is Christ Centered, and thus always directed to fulfilling God’s purpose of building His Kingdom on earth.

This higher view of the Christian life is also seen in Paul’s teaching about men and women. In Ephesus, the prevailing religion at the time Paul and Timothy were launching the Christian church was the Temple Artemis. This was a women’s cult. Paul is taking careful steps in the beginning stages of this new church to distinguish it from Artemis. He is also showing that for men and women, the defining characteristic of life should be their inner heart attitude toward God. He is teaching the church to avoid the cultural markers of success and admiration such as outward appearance, power and wealth. Rather, let our lives be defined by our love for God and our good deeds offered in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

Reading for 12-Apr-12       1 Tim. 3:1-16

1 Timothy 1: 1-20

Fifty weeks ago we began reading the New Testament. In just two weeks we will have completed this journey. In our study of the Gospel of John we noted that Jesus often turned to the Psalms for his prayers and on May 1 we will begin a new journey through the Book of Psalms. In the concluding weeks of this study we will read Paul’s Pastoral Letters and the Epistles of John. Today we begin with 1 Timothy 1.

Timothy was the Apostle Paul’s protégé and served as pastor of the church in Ephesus. Paul was writing to encourage Timothy and to give him instructions regarding prayer, worship and the proper administration of the church. Paul makes two points in chapter one that serve as a foundation for all of our work together in the life of the church.

The first part of the foundation is in verse five where Paul states the purpose of Christian education is that “all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.” Paul is pointing us toward new life in Christ as he did in Philippians 2:5 when he urged us to let “our bearings with one another arise out of our life in Christ.” The goal of a Christian is loftier than just gaining information about Jesus, or even to be inspired by Jesus’ life. Our goal is to allow Jesus to transform our lives so that we become like Him.

The second part of the foundation is worship. Everything we do in the church should result in worship. Beginning in verse 10, notice how Paul’s instructions so easily flow into expressing gratitude for God’s mercy, which leads to Paul sharing a portion of his own testimony. This section ends in verse 17 with such a worshipful statement that Walter Chalmers Smith was inspired to write the great hymn, “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”:

Immortal, invisible,

God only wise,

In light inaccessible

hid from our eyes,

Most blessèd, most glorious,

the Ancient of Days,

Almighty, victorious,

Thy great Name we praise.

Could it be that every Bible Study class, every work day at the church, every fellowship dinner could conclude with praise and thanksgiving and worship? Is such a goal reasonable or I am I just being naive?

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

Reading for 11-Apr-12       1 Tim. 2:1-15