The First Letter of Paul to Timothy - Introduction

The letters to Timothy and Titus, commonly called the “Pastoral Epistles” because they contain much material related to the pastoral oversight of churches, form a distinct grouping within the collection of Pauline correspondence. Closely similar to one another in content, diction, and theology, they differ enough from the other Pauline letters to raise a question about their true authorship. Lacking many of the typical Pauline theological motifs, such as justification by faith and redemption through the death of Christ on the cross, they use other terms in a way foreign to Paul. Faith, for example, does not define a relationship to Christ, but signifies a body of doctrine which must be kept free of perversion. Problems of church order also emerge, and are discussed in a detail absent from Paul's other letters. The travels presumed in the Pastoral Epistles cannot be fitted into the framework of Paul's journeys as detailed in Acts, but that is also true of some genuine letters (e.g. Rom. 15.19 ), and is not a telling argument for non-Pauline authorship. Most persuasive against Paul's authorship, however, are the language and style of these three letters. Bearing clear marks of typical Hellenistic diction, they do not contain stylistic traits displayed by the epistles to the Romans, Galatians, or Corinthians (traits such as the frequent use of rhetorical questions and complex sentence structure). Similar differences are to be noted in the vocabulary of Paul and the Pastorals. Containing a plea to believers to live quiet lives of moral and doctrinal purity, the Pastorals are probably best understood as compositions of a group who looked to Paul for leadership in religious matters, and who, after his death, sought to meet new problems in a way Paul, as they thought, would have met them.

Timothy, to whom the first of the Pastorals is addressed, was the child of a Jewish mother and a Gentile father (Acts 16.1 ), and a trusted friend of Paul; see 1 Cor. 16.10 n. He shared in the task of Christian proclamation (2 Cor. 1.19 ) and, on at least one occasion, was sent by Paul to clear up some problems within a Christian congregation (1 Cor. 4.17 ). This letter also contains the earliest evidence we have of the emergence of formal leadership within the church, concentrated in the offices of bishop and elder.