Awake & Alive: 1 Timothy Reading Plan
Day 2
3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions. 1 Timothy 1:3-7
Paul, a passionate man, quickly shifts gears as we continue in 1 Timothy. Verse 3 introduces the critical topic that Paul will cover for much of the remainder of Chapter 1: the importance of Timothy protecting the Gospel from false teachers within and around the church at Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3). Recall that Ephesus, a major international port city, housed a diverse population with various religions, nationalities, socio-economic backgrounds, and political views. This diversity undoubtedly impacted the church.
The exact nature of the false gospel is not shared, but there is still much to be gleaned from what Timothy faces. Note first that Paul instructs Timothy to “charge” certain persons with not clinging to these false gospels (1 Timothy 1:3). This wording is meant to remind Timothy of both his authority as a leader and as a Christ follower. Echoes of Paul’s introduction of himself, along with the power and commissioning of Christ, undoubtedly ring in Timothy’s ears as he reads this language, which is quite militaristic in nature. Timothy is not to be interested in his own, or even Paul’s, message, but rather in the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
What we do know about the false gospel being taught is that it promotes disunity, speculation, and vain discussion (1 Timothy 1:4). These things are never from God. Paul throws out a verse we would do well to anchor the rest of our study in this epistle on: verse 4. The central message of the gospel and the transformative power found therein is rooted in love. The issues with this false gospel being taught is that it sows the opposite of love. It creates indifference to the kingdom of God and calls attention to religious and moral practices that pull away from the central message.
The Christian section of the Ephesus bookstore is growing every day with new novelty forms of Christianity, but Paul strongly urges Timothy to protect the Gospel that calls to love and grows the kingdom of God. The people of the church at Ephesus are wandering and many have missed the mark entirely, as evidenced by their indulgence in meaningless talk (1 Timothy 1:5-7).