Personal Meditations

1 Timothy - The Epistle of Teaching (Doctrine)

One cannot read the first epistle of Paul to Timothy without noticing that the word "doctrine" occurs eight times in the six chapters. The word "doctrine", of course, means "teaching". In addition, the verb "to teach" occurs three times in the letter. Another verb, meaning "to teach otherwise" or "to teach any other doctrine" is found twice, a noun meaning "teachers of the law" is found once, and there are kindred words translated "learn" etc.

This book, possibly more than any other, and certainly more than any of the other post-Acts epistles, stresses the value of sound teaching. Included are admonitions concerning the necessity for wholesome teaching-sound doctrine-in the church today, especially in view of the times in which we live, see 1 Timothy 1:9-11; 5:17.

Equally important, the epistle stresses the harm that can come from unsound teaching, e.g. the doctrines of demons, read 1:3,4; 4:1-3; 6:3-5,20,21.

In this book we also find our authority for Bible classes, Bible-centred messages and Bible memory work, see 4:6,11,13, along with all that goes to make us unashamedly a people of the Book!