Root Words,  Weekly Words

Weekly Words | 1 Timothy 1:3-7 “Fact from Fiction”

In 1 Timothy 1 verses 3-7 we find out that five years had elapsed from when Paul had personally warned the Ephesians elders that “Savage wolves” would come in and not spare the flock of God.

Paul’s instruction to Timothy suggests the extreme value Paul and the early Church placed upon teaching in the church. Jesus didn’t instruct Peter to entertain the sheep, or to flees the flock; He told him to feed and tend the flock of God.

In verse 11 Paul defines this as “the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.” Thirty-two times in these pastoral letters the words: “doctrine, teach, teaches or teacher” appears and it is clear that teaching the word of God to the people of God held the primary position within the church. There are a lot of subjects that may interest us that we can engage in healthy debate, but these must not be the subject of our time together.

In verse 6-7 it seems that at least some of these teaching were centered on wrong interpretations of the Old Testament that included “fables and endless genealogies”, verse 4. There can be differing gifts, subjects and styles among teachers, but their must not be differing truths! The Word of God by the Spirit of God is the most powerful weapon the Christian has to correct error and deliver people from bondage to freedom. In verse 4 Paul uses the word “Fables” and it’s where we get our English word myths from and it means an invention, a fiction or falsehood, something without historical reality.

The genealogies that Paul refers to were not just the ones found in our Bibles but ones that had been added onto with additional tales and allegorical interpretations to which Paul calls them endless because they led to no truth or conclusions. Neither of these furthered saving grace instead they distracted people from it as people chased after people’s pet fancy and speculations.

Saint’s all Biblical teaching should lead us into three things:

1. A greater understanding into the character and nature of God.

2. A greater awareness of who we really are as God sees us.

3.And finally, we ought to be attuned to how God is moving us closer to Himself and away from our flesh!

Far too often the church has spent too much time on topics that trigger the imagination while neglecting the word of God that transforms the heart. The world is in desperate need of people who have had and are continuing to have transformational encounters with the Word of God.

This has been Pastor Dale, Blessings!