Summary:

“Elders that rule” (v.17) in the United States are members of the church board. In the context, the “honour” owed them is financial honor. But most churches don’t pay their board members since they usually have jobs, and so have an alternate means of support, just as we are told not to support widows with an alternate means of support (5:3,4).

Ruling elders can labor in the Word, but aren’t expected to (5:17 cf. Rom.12:8). Good boards usually have a mixture of teachers and non-teachers.

To prove his point, Paul quotes Deuteronomy 25:4 (v.18). “Corn” just meant grain (John 12:24). They separated the grains of wheat from the chaff by having oxen walk on it. Cruel owners muzzled the ox so he couldn’t partake of the fruit of his labors. God said they shouldn’t, “altogether” for the purpose of teaching us to pay spiritual leaders (ICor. 9:9-11). Paul also quotes Luke 10:7, calling it “Scripture” as well. This shows the canon of Scripture was known and recognized as soon as the books were written.

Another way ruling elders should be honored is by not receiving an accusation against them without two or three witnesses (5:19). This was also drawn from the Old Testament (Deut.19:15). Without these witnesses, an accusation shouldn’t even be received, let alone believed.

If an accuser does have witnesses who determine a ruling elder has sinned, he must be rebuked before all (5:20). Paul’s giving a pastor a lot of leeway here by not saying how big a sin must be rebuked. Also, if an elder is, say, angry without a cause in private, should he be rebuked publicly? You would think an affair should be rebuked publicly, but Ephesians 5:12 might suggest otherwise. A commonly known sin must be rebuked publicly, however (ICor.5:1,13). Compare how Paul rebuked Peter before all when he sinned openly (Gal. 2:11-15). In addition, perhaps a ruling elder who sins once and repents should not be rebuked as one who continues in sin and refuses to repent. Paul’s ambiguity here gives a pastor latitude in this area.

But it is important to remember that “rebuke” in the Bible is never like a drill sergeant chewing out a recruit. In the Bible, that kind of “furious” rebuke was only given to God’s enemies (Ezek.25:17). Jacob rebuked his adult son by gently asking him what he was doing (Ezek.37:10), and God sees us as adult sons, having received the adoption (Gal.4:1-5).That’s also how Nehemiah rebuked some rulers (Neh.5:7,8), and that’s how God himself rebuked a leader named Balaam (IIPe.2:15,16 cf. Num.22:28-30). And nothing changed in the New Testament (Lu.9:55), or under grace (Gal.2:14). Any time we’re told what words were used to rebuke someone, they were always gentle words.

Paul knew Timothy might not want to rebuke elders who were his coworkers, so gave him a charge not to neglect to (5:21). This is the only time Paul charged anyone before God, His Son, and the elect angels. Those Catholic leaders who didn’t rebuke the priests who molested those boys show why God gave Timothy such a serious charge. People were outraged that spiritual leaders were shown partiality and given preferential treatment (cf. Lev. 19:15).

Paul went on to tell Timothy to be careful in the selection of ruling elders (ITim.5:22). Hands were laid on a man to ordain him (cf. Nu.8:10). This should not be done “suddenly,” i.e., before you get to know a man. If you ordain a man and serious sins come out later you are a partaker of his sins (5:22) because it looks like you knew about them and ordained him anyway. Paul tells Timothy to keep himself pure of the sins of others by not doing this.

Paul knew that rebuking elders and inquiring about their sins would give Timothy a nervous stomach, so he interrupts himself to address that (5:23). If he could have healed him as he did folks in Acts 19:11,12 he would have, but the gift of healing had been withdrawn.

The reason Timothy shouldn’t ordain a man too quickly is because sometimes their sins don’t come out till later (5:24). But Timothy shouldn’t worry about missing some hidden sins in men, since hidden good works are just as likely to come out after ordination (5:25).

Summary:

In the context, Verse 8 is saying that a widow’s sons and nephews should care for her instead of the church (v.1-7). But Paul left it purposely open-ended, saying “if any provide not for his own…he hath denied the faith”, so it would be applied to husbands and fathers as well.

“The faith” is the body of truth given to Paul (Col. 1:23; 2:7), which includes these instructions to care for widowed moms. So if a son refused to care for a widowed mom, he denied the faith and was “worse than an infidel,” an unbeliever (cf. IICor. 6:15). Even unbelievers know they should care for their own (Lu.11:12,13).

The “number” (v.9) was the number of widows on the official roll of widows receiving church aid. If “wife of one man” meant a divorced woman couldn’t receive support, it would also mean a twice widowed woman couldn’t. It actually means one man at a time. Hagar was called Abraham’s “wife”, so if a widow similarly had a husband and a man on the side, she was the wife of two men at a time.

Bringing up children (v.10) means teaching them the Word as well as feeding and clothing them (IITim.3:15 cf. 1:5). “Lodging strangers” means to be a gracious hostess. It involved washing your guests’ feet in those days, but today it just means to make your guests feel at home. And since God designed women to be nurturers, no one is better at relieving the afflicted. Since a woman is “well reported of” for these things, these are the things “of good report” that a Christian woman should “think on” (Phil.4:8) and emulate.

If younger women are included in the support roll, they’ll start to wax wanton against Christ (v.11). “Wanton” means to fail to restrain one’s sexual urges, something that’s hard for young widows. The word “against” can mean in competition with, as “the cars were racing against each other for first place.” Placing a young widow on the roll sets her urges against Christ for first place in her heart. Older widows can win that battle generally, but not younger widows. They will “marry.”

But marrying is what a woman should do (ICor.7:8,9), so why does Paul say she has “damnation” (v.12)? At first I thought he meant they’d marry unbelievers, but the Bible isn’t shy about saying so when that’s the problem (cf. Neh. 13:27).Then I thought maybe they got married in the Abraham/Hagar sense, but then it would say “having damnation because they fell into fornication.” No, “her first faith” is the faith a young widow pledged to the church when they added her to the support roll. She agreed to pray for the saints to requite them for supporting her (ITim.5:5 cf. Lu.2:36-38). If she then married, she’d cast off that faith.

If all “damnation” were eternal, Mark 3:29 wouldn’t make sense. Breaking the law earns you damnation from the government (Rom.13:1,2), and casting off her first faith earned a widow the kind of self condemnation we read about in Romans 14:23. She condemns herself for taking money from the church then marrying.

Marrying usually leads to fullness of bread, which can lead a woman to idleness (Eze.16:49cf.ITim.5:13), just as a lack of bread can lead man or woman to work hard. Marrying shouldn’t lead to idleness (Pr.31:27). The right response is to requite your husband for supporting you instead of busy-bodying from house to house. By the way, the Thessalonian men became busybodies when they quit working (IITh.3:11). Paul says rather than let younger widows be taken into the number of widows the church supports only to marry and cast off their first faith, younger widows should marry instead (5:14). Since this was Paul’s will, it was also God’s will, since he wrote by inspiration. But if you’re not married or a mother, it was only a “reproach” if young widows pledged faith to the church then cast it off.

Some young widows had already done so, and “turned aside unto Satan” (5:15). If that sounds harsh to say about a woman whose only crime was casting off her pledge of faithfulness to the church, remember Eve turned aside to Satan by eating fruit. The smallest of sins is a turn to Satan.

Lastly, if sons supported their widows, the church would have more money to support widows with no kids (16).

Summary:

Since Verses 1 and 2 mention older women, younger women, and younger men, we know Paul’s not talking about the office of “elder,” but about older men. “Rebuke” is what you give someone doing something wrong (Lev.19:17) or standing in the way of God’s will (Ps.106:9), which today means opposing Pauline truth. But if others are rebuked when they do this (Tit.1:13), why should older men get a free pass if they teach error or live in sin?

Well, to begin with, a young pastor like Timothy (cf. 4:12) shouldn’t rebuke an older man for doing something wrong because he might not be doing anything wrong (cf. Mt. 19:13,14), and he might not be teaching anything wrong. So a pastor should “intreat” an older man first, i.e., ask him earnestly (cf. Luke 15:28) about what he’s doing or teaching. But in the Bible, the word “intreat” is almost always used for God or some superior (cf. Pr.19:6). Older men should be treated as superiors by intreating them be-fore rebuking them. If a pastor still thinks he said or taught something wrong, then he must rebuke him (IITim.4:2).

And the same is true for elder women, younger women, and younger men. The verb “intreat” applies to all. All God’s people deserve to be treated as superiors. Younger men don’t like to be rebuked by men their own age (like Timothy) so they too should be intreated before they are rebuked. Young pastors generally don’t understand women yet so should intreat elder women first as well. The kind of sin younger women are likely to be involved in is the kind Timothy needs to ask about “with all purity.” A pastor doesn’t need to know details to point out what is wrong.

“Honour” (5:3) in this context means to honor financially (cf. Pr.3:9; Dan.11:38), as in our word “honorarium.” In those days if a woman’s husband died, with him died all means of her financial support. So Paul tells Timothy to help widows, as they did under the Law with a special tithe (Deut.14:28,29). At our church, when anyone has a financial need, I announce it and you respond. Some churches have a benevolent fund, but however you help the needy is okay. God doesn’t specify how to help, He just says help.

“Widows indeed” (v.3) are those with no alternate means of support, such as from family (v.4). “Piety” is the worship of God by doing your duty to Him, or to your parents, or to your country, etc. A son shouldn’t join the military to do his duty to God by doing his duty to his country if he leaves a widowed mom behind to fend for herself. And a Christian son shouldn’t do the same by becoming a missionary. Ephesus, where Timothy was pastoring, was a missionary-minded church (Acts 19:1,10). Paul is saying if any of those who took the word to Asia had widowed mothers, they should first learn to show piety at home.

How much of a problem was this? Well, there must have been a strong thinking in the world at that time that you don’t owe your parents anything if it was able to influence the fundamentalist Pharisees to forsake what Moses said about honoring parents (Mt.15:1-6).That influence was still around in Paul’s day, so Paul told Timothy to ignore it and to tell the saints to “requite” (pay back, ISam.25:21) their parents (5:4) by honoring them if they have financial needs.

Paul says it is “good and acceptable” to do this (5:4), which makes it part of your duty to God (Rom.12:1,2). Part of your reasonable service to God is to requite your parents. “Desolate” (5:5) in this context means to have no children who can support her (cf.Isa.49:21). If she’s desolate she must trust in God (5:5), who requites her trust through the saints, not through His prophets as in time past (IIKi.4:1-7).

Then it is the widow’s turn to do some requiting by praying for the saints who support her “night and day” (5:5), just as we requite the government who gives us tax breaks by praying for them (2:1,2 cf.Ezra 6:3-10), something else that is “good and acceptable” to God (ITim.2:3). She should then requite God for helping her through His saints by living a godly life and not living in pleasure (5:6). He’s thinking of the Genesis 18:12 kind of pleasure. If she does, she won’t lose her salvation, just die in the Romans 8:13 sense, the kind of death a Christian doesn’t need to be saved from, just to wake up from (Eph.5:14; ICor.15:34).

Summary:

Some spiritual gifts were given by the laying on of hands (Acts 8:18). If Timothy could neglect his gift (4:14), it must mean a man could choose to use his gift or not. The Corinthians were told to choose not to use the gift of tongues when there was no interpreter (ICor.14:27,28), and not to use the gift of prophecy if someone was already using it (ICor.14:29-32). When Paul tells Timothy not to neglect his gift, it suggests he was choosing not to use his gift.

What was his gift? Well, it was given by the laying on of hands, and so was the gift in II Timothy 1:6-8. The gift there seems to have been the gift of “apostle” (ICor.12:28). That gift gave Paul the boldness (Rom.1:15) he later lacked when the gifts faded (Eph. 6:19), and when Paul told Timothy to stir up his gift of apostle, it was to counter “the spirit of fear.” He was an apostle like Barnabas (Acts 14:4,14).

But we know the gift of apostle included all the gifts, for Paul could speak in tongues, heal the sick raise the dead, etc. In the context here, Timothy was probably neglecting to do what the previous verse said, give attention to reading the Bible and exhorting people to obey its doctrines. That’s the gift of ministry (Rom.12:6,7)! Even today elders lay hands on a man to ordain him to the ministry, although only to identify with him. They cannot impart a gift of ministry.

At Timothy’s ordination his gift was given, and prophecies were made on him (ITim.1:18), probably that he would “war a good warfare” since Timothy was told to do so “by” those prophecies. When men began to teach the law (1:7) and that the resurrection was past (1:20 cf. IITim. 2:16,17), a timid man like Timothy found it easier to neglect his gift than to teach the Word and encourage people to obey it.

Paul also told Timothy to “meditate” (4:15). The world meditates by emptying their mind, but we meditate by filling ours, usually with the Word (Ps.119:15,23).Here Timothy was to meditate on “these things,” a phrase Paul uses 8 times in this epistle to mark off sections. Since it is used in 4:11, he’s being told to meditate on the things in v.12-15.

If he would, his profiting would appear “to all.” That was the purpose of the gifts, to profit “withal” (ICor.12:7). When used properly they profited the one with the gift and others around him in the church. But we know by this time the gifts were fading, since Paul couldn’t send Timothy a blessed handkerchief (Acts 19:11,12 cf. ITim.5:23). But as the gifts faded, men like Timothy could still profit by meditating on those things and giving himself “wholly” to them (4:15) so his profiting could appear to all and profit them. That’s why I try to give myself wholly to studying and teaching and not get distracted by politics, etc.

Most pastors give heed to their people to see if they are giving themselves to spiritual things, but Paul tells Timothy to take heed to himself (4:16). If he would also give heed to “the doctrine” he wouldn’t give “heed to…doctrines of devils” (ITim.4:1). The way to not be seduced by false doctrine isn’t to study false doctrine (Jer.10:2). You might just fall for false doctrine that way! (Deut.12:30). The way to not give heed to false doctrine is to study Pauline doctrine. God wants us “simple” concerning those that teach false doctrine (Rom.16:17-19). Don’t be studying Islam to try to help Muslims! Paul says to “avoid” them, not study them!

If you want to know how important it was for Timothy to “continue” in those things (v.16), where do you think we’d be if Paul hadn’t (Gal.2:5)? Where do you think we’d be if Timothy hadn’t? Where do you think the next generation will be if we don’t? If Timothy would give heed to the doctrine, he would “save” himself from the doctrines of devils, and from all the misery and heartache that comes from not giving heed to Pauline doctrine. And this would save his congregation from those things as well.

If Timothy had an extraordinary miraculous gift, yet was told to avail himself of ordinary means, how important it is for people like us, who don’t have a gift, to avail ourselves of reading the Scriptures and meditating on those things, etc. And while you may not have any miraculous gifts, you have natural gifts God can use, as He used Esther’s beauty, and David’s ability with a sling. Just don’t neglect to use your natural gifts for the Lord!

Summary:

It can be intimidating for a timid young man like Timothy to have to “command” the older people that must have been in his congregation, and it can be difficult for older people not to “despise” (v.11) a young pastor when he does. But the people in the Ephesian church that Timothy pastored shouldn’t have despised him, for as Paul said, “Timotheus …worketh the work of the Lord, as I also do. Let no man therefore despise him” (ICor.16:10,11), and young pastors who are being Pauline today shouldn’t be despised either. If a pastor starts to give his opinions about things, then God’s people should despise him, be he young or old.

Of course, this didn’t mean Timothy could act foolishly, then when people despised his youth, say, “Paul says I’m not to let you despise me!” The way to not let anyone despise your youth is not give anyone reason to despise it. That’s good advice for all young people, not just pastors!

An “example” (v.12) is a pattern (cf. Tit.2:7). What’s a pat-tern? God told Moses how to make the tabernacle but then showed him the “pattern” (Ex.25:1-40) of the tabernacle in heaven (Rev.15:5). He probably said something like, “There, that’s a tabernacle, make it like that.” That’s what Paul did for Timothy and Titus, told them how to edify believers, then told them to show people what a believer should look like by being an example, a pattern.

Paul told Timothy to be an example “in word” because words express who you are. Christ is called “The Word of God” (John 1:1-14) because He expressed who the Father is (Heb.1:1-3). Your words express who you are, but you have an old man and a new man. Don’t let your old man express who you are! Even if your old man wasn’t such a bad person, he wasn’t better than Christ, and Christ expressed the words of His Father rather than His own (John 14:24). You should too, if you want to be an example of a believer “in word.”

Being an example “in conversation” means in your conduct (cf. II Pe.2:4-8). If you’re not being an example of the doctrines you teach, you are tearing down with one hand what you’re trying to build up in people with the other. Being an example in love isn’t possible, for love is a feeling, and feelings can’t be seen, but being an example “in charity” is possible, for charity is love in action.

You should also be an example of the believer “in spirit,” in the spirit of humility, for example (Pr.29:23 cf. 27:2). Being “patient in spirit” is also a good example (Eccl.7:8). Being “fervent in spirit” (Rom.12:11) is also very exemplary behavior. “Fervent” means hot or boiling over, the kind of spirit that made Apollos someone who “taught diligently the things of the Lord” (Acts 18:24,25).

You should also be an example of the believer “in faith.” People can’t see your faith, but they can see your faithfulness, and that’s what the word means here (cf. Rom. 3:3). So be an example of the believer in faithfulness, and “in purity.” That word is only used in ITimothy 5:1,2, where it refers to chastity.

Paul tells Timothy to “give attendance to reading” (v.13), specially the Bible (cf. Deut.17:18,19). You can read the Bible through in 40 hours, by the way. You can easily read it through in a year by reading a little each day, and I recommend this highly!

Paul also told Timothy to give attendance “to exhortation.” Exhortation means to encourage people to do what the Bible says. After the Word was read, Paul was invited to give a word of exhortation (Acts 13:15). If you hear the Word but don’t do it, God doesn’t think much of that (Ezek. 33:30-32), so “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22).

Finally, Paul tells Timothy to give attendance “to doctrine.” This is specially important for pastors, who must “preach the word” and “exhort with…doctrine” (II Tim. 4:2). Don’t exhort people to do things with old sayings. Don’t exhort people to do things because they are things your parents taught you to do. Exhort them to do things with Bible doctrine!