During his Third Missionary Journey, Paul took a trip to Macedonia and left Timothy behind to help lead the ecclesia at Ephesus. Timothy was reluctant to accept that responsibility at first, and he struggled with the task initially.
Even though Paul did not expect to be away from Ephesus for long,1he wrote 1st Timothy to encourage Timothy and to offer him guidance. The theme of 1st Timothy is “O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you” (1 Tim 6:20, ESV).
The Truth is the deposit that Timothy was to guard. The Truth is a treasure, and it has likewise been committed to us. That is a perspective that is important for us to remember. We need to value the Truth and to strive to guard it, just as Timothy sought to do in Ephesus.
Repetition
In guarding the Truth, Paul wanted Timothy to emphasize certain points to the Ephesians. They are indicated by the repetition of key words and phrases — “charge,” “faithful saying,” and “godliness” — that appear throughout 1st Timothy.
There are five “charges” in 1st Timothy. They are identified by the key Greek word paraggello, which is rendered either “charge” or “command” in the King James.2The “charges” are:
- that people in the meeting should “teach no other doctrine” (1 Tim 1:3)
- that “we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God” (1 Tim 4:10-11)
- that sisters “may be blameless” (1 Tim 5:7)
- that the commandment be kept “without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Tim 6:13-14)
- that those who are rich “be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God” (1 Tim 6:17).
Other points of emphasis in the Epistle are labeled “faithful (or true) sayings”:
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Tim 1: 15).
“This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work” (1 Tim3: 1).
“For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation” (1 Tim 4: 8-9).
As the third “faithful saying” indicates, all of the lessons Paul wanted Timothy to convey were for the purpose of encouraging godliness. In fact, “godliness” is a key word in 1st Timothy. It appears nine times in the Epistle.3
What is the reason for the repetition? Why do “charge,” “faithful saying,” and “godliness” appear again and again in the Epistle?
The repetition of those words and phrases makes them memorable. All of the “charges,” for example, could have reminded Timothy that there were
- Commands he had an obligation to keep and
- Commands he needed to give to the ecclesia. The repetition of “godliness” could have reinforced the great need for him to train himself in godliness and to be an example to the rest of the ecclesia.
Repetition is a teaching device. Repetition is especially important in spiritual matters because the natural mind recoils against divine principles. We benefit from having spiritual concepts brought back to mind and reinforced.
The Lord Jesus taught using repetition.4The disciple whom he loved taught using repetition.5Paul taught using repetition, and it appears he wanted Timothy to use it in his instruction as well.
It is important to remember that we benefit greatly from repetition. That is why the daily reading of the Word of God again and again, year after year and regular attendance at meeting to remember the Lord Jesus Christ are so important.
Medical themes
In addition to the repetition of key words and phrases, there are several other features that characterize 1st Timothy. One of them is Paul’s use of medical language to convey spiritual concepts.
Paul used medical language in writing about the Law. He said it was made: “For whore mongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine” (1 Tim 1:10).
The Greek word translated “sound” is hugiaino.6It is a word used throughout the New Testament, often in the context of the performance of miracles, to mean good physical health. But when Paul wrote to Timothy, he used the word in the context of good spiritual health. He used it to write about healthy doctrine in vs. 10, for example. The same Greek word appears again in the sixth chapter:
“If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputing of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself” (1 Tim 6:3-5).
Paul used the Greek word hugiaino to characterize the words of the Lord Jesus as healthy (translated “wholesome” in the King James) in vs. 3.
The Greek word rendered “doting” in 1 Tim 6:4 (above) is also generally used in the context of physical health. It is noseo and means “to be sick.”7Paul wrote about “being sick about questions and strifes of words.” The ESV appears to get the sense with “He has an unhealthy craving for controversy…”. His point is that those in the meeting who engaged in pointless discussions and who loved to show off in academic debates with other believers had erred. They were sick with the thinking of the flesh.
Additional medical language appears in 1 Tim 4. Paul cautioned that some believers would depart from the faith in the latter days: “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Tim 4:2). The phrase “seared with a hot iron” is a single word in Greek.8It is kauteriazo, a word that has entered the English language as “cauterize.”
Cauterization was a medical technique used in the ancient world to close an open wound by burning it, often with a hot piece of metal. The process destroys the existing tissue, which is replaced by scarring. Scarring lacks feeling.
Paul’s reference to the medical practice of cauterization is a reminder that “burning ourselves,” as it were, through exposure to the world’s thinking and by participating in immoral acts can dull our consciences; it can lower our sensitivity to (and repugnance of) wickedness and godless thinking. The writer to the Hebrews states that, as believers, we should have our “senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb 5:14). The “scarring” of exposure to the “fire” of wickedness is the opposite of that sensitivity; spiritual scarring can make us less repulsed by wrongdoing and more susceptible to being drawn away and overcome by it.
Paul’s use of this (and other) medical language in writing to Timothy is grounded in Old Testament Scriptures: “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh” (Prov 4:20-22).
The use of medical language in 1st Timothy was also probably a reflection of the shared experience that Paul and Timothy had of being physically unwell. Since Paul and Timothy both struggled with their physical health, it was probably a topic that tended to come up in their conversations, especially when they talked with Luke, the “beloved physician” (Col 4:14), who often traveled with them. It is quite natural then that – under inspiration – words relating to physical health would come up in Paul’s letter to Timothy.
Paul’s use of medical language in his letter to Timothy is yet another reminder that those two men did not accomplish all they did under ideal circumstances — at least from a natural perspective. “Ideal circumstances” are not an expectation the Bible teaches we should have. So, we cannot wait for “ideal circumstances” before beginning to labor and grow in the Truth. We have an obligation to do our best to work and develop in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.
Due to his frequent bouts with illness, Timothy could certainly appreciate the effect poor physical health could have on a person’s overall well-being. So, the medical language in 1st Timothy probably made Paul’s points about the necessity of correct belief and godly conduct even more vivid for him. Debates were not just “improper,” for example. They were “sick.” That was a powerful statement to a person who struggled with illness.
The lessons that come from Paul’s use of medical language are quite clear to us too. A life based on the doctrines and practices of the Gospel is essential to the spiritual well-being of the individual believer and the ecclesia. Departure from correct, Biblical teaching is an invitation to infection from the world and the resulting spiritual ill-health it brings.
We know that a body that is physically sick cannot perform as it should and is miserable. Just like poor physical health, being spiritually sick leaves us feeling bad, inactive, and unable to do our job effectively, and it ultimately leads to eternal death. In contrast, close adherence to the teachings of the Bible brings spiritual health and leads to everlasting life.
- 1 Tim 3:14.
- It is Strong’s Number G3853.
- 1 Tim 2:2, 2:10, 3:16, 4:7, 4:8, 6:3, 6:5, 6:6, and 6:11.
- Think of the Beatitudes and the repetition of “blessed” or John 15 and the twelve-fold repetition of the Greek word rendered “abide.” The Greek word is Strong’s Number G3306. It is translated a variety of ways in John 15, including “abide,” “continue,” “might remain,” and “should remain.”
- Consider, for example, the repetition of key words “love” and “world” in 1 John 2:15 that makes the verse so memorable: Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.) John’s writings are full of repetition – such as the twenty times the word “truth” (Strong’s Number G225) appears in his epistles.
- The Greek word is Strong’s Number G5198. See S. Palmer. “Medical Themes in the Letters to Timothy (1) In Sickness and Health” The Testimony, 1977, page 52 and A. Nicholls. Letters to Timothy and Titus, pages 46-47. Other occurrences of the word in the New Testament are in Luke 5:31; 7:10; 15:27; 3 John 2.
- The Greek word is Strong’s Number G3552. See S. Palmer. “Medical Themes in the Letters to Timothy (2) Words of Life and Death.” The Testimony, 1977, pages 90 – 91 and A. Nicholls. Letters to Timothy and Titus. page 25.
- The Greek word is Strong’s Number G2743. See A. Nicholls. Letters to Timothy and Titus. page 123.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One