Bible Studies in 1 Timothy: Living out the Gospel

Study One: 1 Timothy 1:1-2

“ … if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth ” (1 Timothy 3:14-15). Paul’s colleague, Timothy, was helping the church in Ephesus get on its feet. Paul hoped to be there soon, but forwarded some instructions in the meantime. His letter is our “1 Timothy” - an inspired epistle that always was intended to be read by others, and from which we may learn how to conduct ourselves in God’s household. 1 Timothy tells us how the church of the living God is to uphold the truth of the only God (1 Timothy 1:17) - that is, how we are to live out the Gospel.

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Good News For a Church in Exile

Study One : Removed (Jeremiah 29:1-4)

The Situation. In 597bc, King Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian army led thousands of citizens of Judah into exile.  The captives included Jehoicahin (whose uncle, Zedekiah became king in his place), Ezekiel and Daniel.  By the rivers of Babylon, the captives were strangers in a strange land.  The prophet Jeremiah wrote to them; his letter is recorded in Jer 29:1-23.

The exiles in Babylon are not the only ones to be described in the Bible as strangers in a strange land.  1 Peter 1:1, 1:17 and 2:11 describes Christians in this way too!  Those who follow Jesus live throughout the world, but the world is not their home. Sometimes the strangeness is particularly apparent.

The Strangeness. One study, quoted in “Everyday Church,” describes the strangeness like this.  The Church has moved from being from in the centre to the margins; from being a majority to being a minority; from feeling like settlers to feeling like sojourners; and from having a position of privilege to being one voice in a plurality of faiths.

We can see this in Jer 29:1-2.  The Judeans in Babylon no longer had the symbols of their faith (the temple, the Promised Land, the king), so it was harder for them to show who they were.  Their ceremonies were nearly impossible; they were now living in a place where “Sabbath rest” or “clean food” meant nothing.  The call to sing “one of the songs of Zion” (Ps 137:3) was just mockery to them.  They were being pressed on every side to forget about the Lord their God.  Some clung to the hope that things would soon change, and that they would get back to what was familiar and safe.

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