1st Timothy

Life as a Church

The “pastoral epistles” start here and include both letters to Timothy and the letter to Titus. They are called “pastorals” because they are addressed to individuals rather than churches, and to individuals, moreover, who are pastors of local churches. Timothy was a young pastor, Paul’s protégé in pastoral ministry. Paul writes as an older, experienced missionary, church planter, and apostle; he is Timothy’s mentor, instructing him in what to say and do as he confronts doctrinal deviation and other difficulties in a relatively new church at Ephesus. Although the letter is addressed to Timothy, Paul assumes that the church in Ephesus will also hear the letter and benefit from its instruction, and beyond that, what this letter says about church life is normative for the Christian church in all ages. Paul’s own purpose statement is that he has written in order that Christians “may know how . . . to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God” (3:15). – ESV Study Bible