Joshua Smith
Religion 314
Pastoral Epistles
Nov. 21, 2002
What are the Pastoral Epistles?
- I Timothy, II Timothy, and Titus in the New
Testament.
- They are called this because they are written for the
benefit and exhortation of specific Church Leaders.
Who Wrote these Epistles?
- Some Scholars suggest Paul wrote these Epistles with
the help of a “secretary” because of his age and health.
According to Donald Guthrie, “Two close associates of Paul edited the
Pauline material in their possession and published it in the form in which
we now possess it after Paul’s death.
- Other Scholars suggest Pseudonymity, in which someone
else with the same thought life was delegated to “express” the thoughts
and “teachings” of the Apostle.
- Scholars argue against any Pauline Authorship because
of how it goes against the writer’s mainstream of “thought.”
- Scholars believe these manuscripts were written about
a century after Paul’s death, because some of the Greek wording is very
common in the “Second Century.”
- So, it is possible that some author of the second
century could have written this long after Paul’s time.
Date of the Epistles
- Most scholars date these epistles to having been
written sometime in Nero’s reign between 54 – 68 A.D.
- I Timothy and
Titus are believed to have been written shortly after Paul’s release from
imprisonment at Rome and then again when he was imprisoned the second time
in Rome.
Who were the men whom the
epistles were written too?
- Timothy, “son in the faith” to Paul and a young
minister to the church in Ephesus.
- Titus, a minister in charge of the church in Crete.
Language and Style
- There is a sense of “Pauline” language because of the
“clauses, sentences, short paragraphs, and structure.”
- However, these epistles seem much different because of
the lack of Apostolic vigor Paul and inclusion of “smooth” sentences that
is unseen in Paul’s previous letters.
Theological Themes of the Pastorals – Paul’s
theology was built against the heresy in Ephesus
(Beginning) Heresy in Ephesus
- Heresy is threatening the Church of Ephesus, phrases
such as “Sound Teaching, Deposit, and Word of Truth” are used to counter
the false teachings of heretics; the term “Deposit” describes the Gospel
as a “commodity” given from the Lord delegated to Paul to teach to Timothy.
- In both Epistles to Timothy, women had been falling
under the heretical “teaching” of those whom Paul had previously dealt
with such as: Hymenaeus who taught the resurrection had already taken
place and Alexander who caused Paul many problems in the past .
- There are also others spreading asceticism, which
involves the avoidance of sex, certain foods, and rituals that are clearly
a perversion of the truth.
- The advasaries of Paul want to be known as “teachers
of the law,” and desire for people to “apply its restrictive function to
all people for both salvation and lifestyle.
- Their teaching also involves anti – gentile
sentiment, as well as the use of “magic.”
- This perverse lifestyle demeans the role of Christ,
as well as the need for faith and the mercy of God in salvation; this
leads into Paul’s Gospel, which he defends and becomes a major part of the
theology of the epistles.
Pauline Gospel – The Counter
Attack
- In his Gospel, there is a sense of “mission,” and the
structure of I Timothy and Titus “grounds the universal mission that
Christ died for all.”
- This idea of “witness reveals” how the church is to
take part in evangelism to the Gentiles.
- Paul reminds the church to “pray in every place,”
this is seen only in Paul’s writings of the New Testament; however, it
eludes back to Malachi 1:11, which depicts “the universal Gentile worship
of God in the future.”
- This depicts the Church of Ephesus in a “salvation –
historical position of ‘fulfillers’ of the Old Testament Promise that the
nations will worship God.”
- Paul’s mission became the churches mission as well.
Christian Life
- The Pastoral Epistles use “Hellenistic” terms to
develop a structure for “Christian” living; these terms are “faith,
godliness, and good works, the most striking is Godliness.
- Another part of the Paul’s theology in the Pastorals
revolves around “Godliness and Piety.”
- This belief in “Godliness” is much different than
what Paul believes in previous epistles which includes “faith and life in
Christ; Godliness” is the striving point of the epistles.
- This word centralizes a medium “between faith in
Christ” and the reaction of “love and service toward others.
- Use of the word “piety” is in conjunction with
“Hellenistic Judaism” to speak of living in reaction to the Lord’s “covenant
loving – kindness, so there is no reason to think it is at odds with
Pauline Theology.”
- The Pastorals also deploy different terms such as
“moderation, discretion, seriousness, respectability, self control, as
well as love, faith, patience, endurance, and hope.”
- Paul could have been using this Greek terminology
because of how the heretics “had driven a wedge between faith and
practical living.”
Exhortation - to set an example
- Exhortation is a common theological theme throughout
both epistles to Timothy because of his young age and also the intimate
bond between Paul and Timothy.
- In the first epistle, Paul encourages him to be
“faithful” over the church he was leading, this can be seen in I Timothy
4:1 – 16, 6:11 – 21.
- In I Timothy 4:12, Paul exhorts him to, “be an
example to believers;” in this exhortation Paul challenged him to do this
because much of the officials above Timothy were probably older and would
have bucked under the correction of someone Timothy’s age.
- In the next verses Paul gives Timothy instructions in
what he should be an example in, “speech, behavior, love, faith, and
purity;” The first two involve his daily “conduct” and it should be filled
with “great propriety and Christian grace.”
- The last three terms beginning with “love” should be
a deep “charity” in the most “Christian way, faith” should be seen as
“fidelity,” and “purity” is to be regarded with the highest integrity of
aspects in life such as sexuality and “innocence of heart.”
Exhortation to
ministerial needs
- In the next verses Paul gives Timothy another
encouragement to give himself wholeheartedly to the needs of the ministry,
which were: “teaching, exhortation, and reading of scripture.”
- These three needs Paul encourages Timothy to do
characterized the pattern of “worship” in the New Testament Church, all of
which Timothy would have to faithful and diligent over.
- In relation to his job as a minister Paul affirms his
“unspoken doubts” by reminding him that he should not let his gift go to
waste.
- Paul was probably looking back on the power Timothy
was given from the Holy Spirit when he was ordained; this “gift” he was
given will enable the young minister to take on any challenges that he
might face in his ministry.
- This reminder of gifts would encourage Timothy that
he was thoroughly equipped to handle any challenge that may come his way
in ministry.
Exhortation
because of Paul’s departure
- The second epistle to Timothy differs very much from
the first because of Paul’s inevitable fate, which was death.
- Paul exhorts Timothy not because of Timothy’s
weakness, but rather because death was imminent for Paul.
- Paul knew when he died the “ministry” would be
delegated to Christians like Timothy and other ministers.
- Because of their relationship, Paul wanted to take
one last chance to remind his spiritual child what mattered most in the
“ministry.”
- Some of Paul’s exhortation can be seen in chapters
1:6 – 7, 2: 1 – 7,22, 4:2; these verses are Paul’s encouragement for
Timothy to be faithful in his life and character to the Lord as well as to
endure through all the hardships that would come against him.
Church Leadership
- One component that added much of the “heresy” in the
bodies of Christ were the “leaders” who had fallen away from the faith and
were perverting the Gospel message.
- What was required of a person to lead, was that they
“know the truth of the Gospel and are able to refute the heresy, but also
have the personal character that controls their behavior.”
- These commands by Paul can be seen in I Timothy 3,
Titus 1, and 2 Timothy 2:2.
- In examining the churches, Ephesus has been existent
for some time and Paul seems to stress the need of leaders with
“character” so there will not be a reoccurrence in apostasy.
- The way to solve this problem that is plaguing the
church, Timothy is instructed to reinstall and “maintain” stout
“leadership.”
- This will ensure that stability will be restored, as
well as proper management and teaching in the Body of Christ.
- However in Crete, the Body of Christ is young and is
facing heretics who could soon infiltrate the body, and they are in dire
“need” for able “leaders.”
- Paul’s instructions to Titus is very crucial because
the future of the church is in the hands of the leaders he appoints; if
they measure up to the standards that Paul has assigned there will be
blessing and prosperity, if they are heretics in disguise there will be
division and apostasy.
Bibliography
Anthony
Tyrell Hanson, “Why are the Pastoral Letters Different,” The Cambridge Bible
Commentary. Eds. P.R. Ackroyd, A.R.C. Leaney, and J.W. Packer. (Cambridge:
University Press, 1966) 1, 4, 54.
Donald
Guthrie, “The Problem of Authorship,” Revised Edition, The Pastoral Epistles.
Eds. Canon Leon Morris. (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1999) 56, 47.
J.W.
Shepard, “The Pastoral Epistles,” The Life and Letters of St. Paul. Eds.
J.W. Shepard. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: W.M.B. Bredmans Publishing Company 1950)
570 - 571.
P.H.Towner,
“The Pastoral Epistles,” New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Eds. T. Desmond
Alexander and Brian S. Rosner. (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press
2000) 332 - 36.
William
D. Mournice, “Introduction,” Word Biblical Commentary – Pastoral Epistles,
Ed. William D. Mournice. (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers 2000)
lxi, lxx, lxix, lxxx.