Notes on 1 Timothy 3:12-4:16

husbands of one wife- 1 Timothy 3:12

husbands of one wife. Though Paul listed the requirement of marital faithfulness for 'overseers' as the first example of being 'without reproach' (see note 3:2), he delays listing the requirement for male deacons because he is addressing a mixed group of male and female candidates for the office in 3:8-10. Having listed the requirement that women candidates 'be faithful in everything' (3:11; cf. 5:9), he also requires male candidates to be 'one-woman-men' and to manage their households well (see notes 3:2 and 3:5).

Covenant Community: Timothy's Covenant Responsibility - 1 Timothy 3:14-16

Paul Summarizes the Church's Identity and Mission to Show-and-Tell the Gospel. This section provides a clear purpose statement for the letter and reiterates Paul's earlier instructions to Timothy (see note 1:18-20). The character and mission of the church is narrated by the bigger story of the gospel, the truth about God and humankind revealed by Christ.

How to behave in God's household- 1 Timothy 3:15

how to behave in God's household. As those who have been joined to God's household, the church is called to bear true witness to Christ by its way of life. Paul is concluding a section in which he has outlined the church's conduct in public worship (2:1-15) and in the character of its leaders (3:1-13). and support of the truth. Amidst a city of temples and their idols, Paul described the church at Ephesus as the household of the one, true God, who lives. That confession of truth is supported by their public piety in corporate worship, the character of their leaders and their own conduct.

The revealed truth of godliness is great - 1 Timothy 3:16

the revealed truth of godliness is great. Over against the Ephesian public profession that 'Artemis is great!' (cf. Acts 19:28), Paul wrote yet another summary of the gospel, and described not only its subject, but its wider impact (on godliness, see note 2:10) as 'great'! With a parallel grammatical structure, Paul either penned or incorporated an early Christian hymn. This brief introduction and the hymn itself underscore the scope of God's revelation. Again, Paul chose the Greek word mysterion (see note 3:9; cf. Eph 3:4-6), which is his shorthand to reference the inclusion of the nations in the covenant community. He was proclaimed among the nations, He was believed on in the world. The poetic parallelism is emphatic. The gospel is 'good news' for the nations, that is to say, for the entire world.

False Teaching and Asceticism - 1 Timothy 4:1-16

Paul Contrasts False Teaching & Asceticism with Healthy Teaching & Embodied Practices. The Spirit's speech is contrasted with 'the teachings of demons.' Prophecy is referenced twice (4:1, 14) and discerned in close relation to 'the word of God and prayer' (4:3-4, 13). On the other hand, demonic teachings are mediated through 'hypocritical liars' (4:2) and characterized as 'godless myths' and 'tales told by older women' (4:7). After correcting false teachings about abstinence from certain foods and from marital relations (4:3), Paul reminds Timothy that healing the damage caused by false teaching requires 'healthy teaching' based on 'the public reading of Scripture' (4:13), and godliness (4:7-8) that demonstrates that teaching in life

False Teaching and Doctrines- 1 Timothy 4:1-5

False Teachers Wrongly Regulate Food and Forbid Marriage. Returning to his opening concern in the letter (1:3-11), Paul now addresses some of the particulars of the false teachers' misreading of the law—their prohibition of marriage, and their dietary restrictions

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