Skip to main content
Psalmlog Logo

1 Timothy 1

Paul joins the defense of sound teaching to Christ’s mercy toward sinners and Timothy’s charge to keep faith.

Paul writes to Timothy, whom he has urged to remain in Ephesus and confront teachers spreading different doctrine. Their attention to myths and genealogies has fueled disputes, and their claims about the law exceed their understanding. Paul sets out the goal of his command, explains the law’s proper use, and recounts Christ’s mercy toward him as a former persecutor. He closes by charging Timothy to hold faith and a good conscience, with a warning about those who have rejected them.

leadership weightguilt and confessionpraise and worship
Read
1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ our hope,
2to Timothy, my true child in faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3As I urged you when I was going into Macedonia, stay at Ephesus that you might command certain men not to teach a different doctrine,
4and not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than God’s stewardship, which is in faith.
5But the goal of this command is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith,
6from which things some, having missed the mark, have turned away to vain talking,
7desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither what they say nor about what they strongly affirm.
8But we know that the law is good if a person uses it lawfully,
9as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave-traders, for liars, for perjurers, and for any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine,
11according to the Good News of the glory of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
12I thank him who enabled me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he counted me faithful, appointing me to service,
13although I used to be a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
14The grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
15The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
16However, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first, Jesus Christ might display all his patience for an example of those who were going to believe in him for eternal life.
17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
18I commit this instruction to you, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which were given to you before, that by them you may wage the good warfare,
19holding faith and a good conscience, which some having thrust away made a shipwreck concerning the faith,
20of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they might be taught not to blaspheme.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
1 Timothy 1:15Christ’s purpose to save sinners stands at the center of Paul’s account of mercy toward a persecutor.
1 Timothy 1:13Paul names his former violence and unbelief, showing the gravity of the past that Christ’s mercy met.
1 Timothy 1:17Paul’s account of grace turns into praise, directing honor to the eternal God rather than to his own service.
Where this chapter reaches

Romans shares this chapter’s concern with the law’s relation to sin, while Titus also joins sound teaching with God’s saving mercy. The disciplinary language concerning Hymenaeus and Alexander has a close parallel in 1 Corinthians, where handing someone over to Satan also has a corrective purpose.

1 Timothy 1's chapter linksAll strongest linksHover or tap a book
Notice

After reading the whole chapter

How does Paul’s account of mercy shape your reading of his charge to Timothy?

Write on this

What do you notice about the link between a good conscience and faith in this chapter?

Write on this

Questions people ask about 1 Timothy 1

Why does Paul call himself the chief of sinners in 1 Timothy 1:15?

Paul has just named his past as a blasphemer and persecutor. Calling himself chief underscores the seriousness of that past and the abundance of Christ’s mercy. Verse 16 explains the point: Christ’s patience toward Paul serves as an example for those who would believe in him for eternal life.

What does “delivered to Satan” mean in 1 Timothy 1:20?

Paul describes a disciplinary action against Hymenaeus and Alexander, whose rejection of a good conscience has led to shipwreck concerning faith. The phrase is often understood as exclusion from the church’s fellowship, though this chapter does not spell out the procedure. Paul states its purpose: that they learn not to blaspheme.

What are the myths and endless genealogies in 1 Timothy 1?

Paul does not identify the stories or family lines involved, so their precise content remains uncertain. He connects them with disputes and with people who want to teach the law without understanding it. His stated concern is their effect: they divert attention from God’s stewardship in faith.

Read it. Now write it.

Start an entry on 1 Timothy 1. Your words go beside the text, and you get one next step for the week.

1 Timothy · 6 chapters
123456
What the Bible says about guilt →What the Bible says about worship →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).