I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that,
Paul has just set out who may serve as overseer and as deacon. Here he explains why he put any of it in writing. He had hoped to arrive in person, and the letter exists because that hope might fail.
A visit that might not happen
One writer sets out the background, and why Paul wrote instead of coming:
An Outline of Sound WordsAccording to 1 Timothy 1:3, the Apostle had left Timothy at Ephesus to minister the truth while he went on to Macedonia. From 1 Timothy 3:14 we learn that Paul hoped to see him soon, but was afraid he might be delayed. He clearly knew that "the King's business needs haste." So this devoted servant of the Lord wrote this wonderful letter on "how one ought to conduct oneself in the House of God." It holds a wealth of practical truth to guide the saints of God today.
What "these things" points back to
The phrase is not vague. It gathers up everything Paul has been saying since chapter two:
J. N. DarbyHe hoped to return soon, but he wanted Timothy instructed, so he would know how to act while he was away. He speaks of the doctrine of grace in contrast with law. Then, since this grace is for all, he shows how they ought to pray for all. Men were to pray in a certain manner; women, for their part, were to follow a certain course of conduct. Then he says, "If a man desires the office of a bishop," he must have certain qualifications, and his wife must be a certain kind of woman; so with the deacons. At the end of all this he says, "I tell you these things so that you may know how you ought to behave yourself."
Addressed to one man — heard by many
Commentators differ over how far the "you" of this verse stretches. One reads it as a private commission handed to a delegate, quoting the verse in an older translation:
J. N. DarbyWhen the apostle had to leave Ephesus, he left Timothy there to keep order, because of the charge he had in the house of God. After giving him the directions he needed on a number of points, he adds: "These things I write to you [not to the Church nor to the elders], hoping to come to you shortly. I write in case I delay long, so that you may know how you ought to behave yourself in the house of God."
Another weighs the wording itself. He finds it open on purpose, notes that older English versions narrowed it to Timothy alone, and sides with the later revisers:
William KellyNo doubt this was meant to work on Timothy's soul. But the form of the phrase shows it was not limited to Timothy. It is so worded as to take in any and every saint in his own position. It is no longer an overseer, or a deacon, or their wives. All is on the broadest ground. Yet what could work more powerfully on the conscience than to find oneself called to behave in a way that fits God's house? Every English version from Wiclif to the Authorized refers the call to Timothy only, as his personal duty. I cannot but agree with the Revisers: the application is left more general on purpose.
The gain hidden in the delay
Paul's absence was a loss to Timothy. It became a gift to everyone who came after:
William KellyThe presence of an apostle was an immense benefit, both for founding an assembly in any place and for building it up. But what do we not owe also to his absence? That is why he wrote — here to Timothy, at other times to this or that assembly. So he gave us the mind of the Spirit in permanent form, applied to the needs, difficulties, and dangers of the saints here below.
What the letter is about
The letter has one great subject: God's house and the order that belongs to it:
Hamilton SmithThe First Epistle to Timothy presents the church of God as the house of God, and lays down its divine order according to the mind of God... The great aim of the Spirit in the letter is to give instructions about that order, and about the behaviour that fits it, in every detail of how the house is run on earth.
When the order broke down
Yet the order this letter lays down did not last long:
Church HistoryIn place of divine order there is hopeless confusion. In place of "the house of God, the pillar and ground of truth," there is "a great house." The house was no longer kept according to the will of God and suited to Him. Man arranged and ordered it by his own will, for his own advantage and standing. So early did the evils appear that have been the sin and the disgrace of Christendom ever since. But this was overruled for good. The Spirit of God, in great mercy, has supplied us with the plainest directions for the darkest day of the church's history.
Summary
- Delay — Paul hoped to come soon, feared he would be held up, and wrote instead of waiting.
- Letter — his absence gave us the mind of the Spirit in permanent form; his visit alone would not have.
- Scope — "these things" gathers up prayer, the conduct of men and women, and the qualifications of overseers and deacons.
- Reach — Paul wrote to one man, yet the wording is broad enough that any believer finds himself addressed. Commentators differ on how far this was meant.
- Result — the plainest directions for the house of God still stand, even in the darkest days of the church's history.