1 Timothy 1:1
1 Paul, [Paulos] an apostle [apostolos] of Jesus [Iesous] Christ [Christos] by [kata] the commandment [epitage] of God [theos] our [hemon] Saviour, [soter] and [kai] Lord [kurios] Jesus [Iesous] Christ, [Christos] which [ho] is our [hemon] hope; [elpis] KJV-Interlinear
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ
Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who
is our hope; NASB
The writer of this
letter is Paul.Paul means, little or
small, and though it probably referred to his physical presence, it is also a
reference to his spiritual humility.
Revered by all Christians as perhaps the one who made the most
contribution to the New Testament, he is probably second only to Isaiah as far
as the entire Bible is concerned.
Paul is referred to by
those who did not particularly like him, as demeaning and unimpressive as an
individual, 2 Cor. 10:10.
Paul was born into a
Jewish family, Phil. 3:5, was a Roman citizen, Acts 22:25-28, was born with the
name of Saul which was changed to Paul, Acts. 13:9.
He was raised in
traditional orthodox fashion, circumcised on the eighth day, born of the tribe
of Benjamin, a Pharisee, Phil. 3:5, fanatical and devout in Judaism, excelled
among his peers, Gal. 1:14, was exuberant even in his participation in the
death of Stephen, Acts 8:1, and the persecution of Christians in general, Acts
8:3, 9:1-2, 26:9-11.
While traveling to
Damascus, Paul was confronted by Christ and converted to Christianity, Acts 9. Paul spent three years in solitary
preparation then returned to Damascus proclaiming the gospel of Christ. He was run out of town, so to speak, and went
to Jerusalem, where he was hesitantly received because of his former reputation,
Acts 9:22-25, 2 Cor. 11:32-33.
Through the efforts of
Barnabas, Paul was accepted, and went to Antioch, where he became one of the
pastors in the church there.It was from
that ministry that Paul launched his ministry to the gentiles, and thereby came
to meet Timothy in due course, Acts 22:14-15, 26:16-18.
Paul is called an
apostle, which means messenger, or to send off on a commission to do something
as one's personal representative with credentials furnished, an envoy, an
ambassador.
Many in the New
Testament were called apostles, both of the original twelve as well as others, Barnabas,
Acts 14:14, Epaphroditus, Phil. 2:25, Andronicus and Junius, Rom. 16:7, and James, Gal 1:19.
In a more restrictive
definition of the term, only the original eleven plus Matthias and later Paul,
who were selected by Christ Himself, or who were witness to Jesus personally,
came into possession of the title.
Command, epitage, here is one of authority, non-negotiable. For it is by this command from God that the
content which we are about to read, becomes non-negotiable and mandatory on all
believers.This term gives the authority
of God, to the words of Paul within the context of this letter.
The command came from
the source of God, theos, the highest authority in
existence, and above God there is no other authority. And this command is linked through the
Savior, Jesus Christ, who by this association, makes Him co-equal with God, and
therefore God Himself, Matt. 11:27, John
5:17-18, 10:30, 17:1-5,11,21-22, Psa. 18:46, 25:5, 27:9, Mic. 7:7, Hab. 3:18.
God
the Father, authored the Divine plan, which was carried out by the Son, Jesus
Christ.
And by the way, this
father, son relationship is not a generational relationship, but one of chain
of command or access and is designed to thwart human effort in mans attempt to
approach the Father directly through the source of mans sins. Therefore, man can only approach God through
the work of Christ, not through his (mans) own work from arrogance. This is the single most critical principle
which separates Christianity from all other religions, cults, philosophies,
etc.Christianity is a relationship with
God, through Christ.
Jesus Christ is
therefore the basis of our hope for eternal life and a life with God in
heaven.Without Christ, there is no
hope, no future, nothing, Col. 1:27, 1 Jn. 3:2-3 and references in our current
study 1 Tim. 1:11, 14-17, 2:3, 4:10.
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