Latest / Scripture Central / 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, & Philemon: New Testament with Lynne Wilson (Come, Follow Me)

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1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, & Philemon: New Testament with Lynne Wilson (Come, Follow Me) · Scripture Central

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Shalom and Welcome to Scripture Central, the old Book of Mormon
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central for come, follow me. I'm Lynn Hilton Wilson, and
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we've got the four last books of of Paul's prison letters.
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Today we have Philemon, First and Second.
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Timothy and Titus. I put Philemon first because
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chronologically, that's where it fits.
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All four of these letters were written from prison.
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We usually call the last three Timothy, Timothy, Titus, the
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pastoral letters. He's writing these to pastors.
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He's giving advice to bishops and to deacons and to the ward
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members and to how they can serve and build the community of
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Christianity. These letters fall in the third
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decade of Christianity, and so we see the church going beyond
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just the missionary focus to the living together as a community
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and how to build and strengthen each other and edify as Saints.
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If you'd like to look at my slides or my handouts, they're
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all online. You go to Book of Mormon central
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or Scripture central archives and pull down Come follow me,
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New Testament, and you can find them.
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But I wanted to present today chronological order.
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Remember, the books of the New Testament were put together in
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the order by length. What I have here in my chart the
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chronological order. And we know that Philemon is
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written first because there's an enormous natural disaster that
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destroys the city that he's writing to where Philemon lived,
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and in 63AD, And so this letter, it probably predates the other
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three to Timothy and to Titus, as far as figuring out where
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historically these pastoral letters fit in.
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And these prison epistles just go back to the book of Acts,
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Chapter 28. The very end of Acts is where
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these fit, but most of them fit after Acts.
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Remember, Acts stops when Paul is in his first Roman
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imprisonment and he says in one of the letters that he hopes to
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go to Spain. Well, that's not in King James
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version, but another translation.
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And he hopes to go to do these other places.
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And then in Second Timothy, it sounds like a completely
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different imprisonment. He's chained.
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He's cold. He's alone.
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Well, Luke is with him, but it's a very different times.
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We assume that these occurred in a second, different imprisonment
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still under Nero. And this is also verified and
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validated by historical records that record the history of early
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Christianity. I mentioned earlier this
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earthquake that occurred in 63 to 64 AD.
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If you want to look at the map here, Colossia, which is where
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Philemon lives, we talked about in the letter to Clotians and I
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had mentioned that it was a very fertile area and they were well
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known for these sheep that were bred to have a dark red wool.
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And this is about 120 miles West of Ephesus.
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And when Paul begins this letter to Philemon, he identifies not
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only himself but also his wife. Let's start at verse one in the
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NIV translation. Paul, a prisoner of Christ
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Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our dear friend and
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fellow worker, and also to Ophiya.
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That's maybe his wife, I don't know, our sister and our
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Cupicus, our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets in your
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home. So we start out right from the
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beginning in verse two, learning that the church there in Closia
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doesn't have their own building. But Philemon is wealthy enough
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to have a large home where the Saints come and gather, and they
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meet there regularly, not just on their Sabbath to break the
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bread. And their Sabbath, of course, is
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the first day of the week in remembrance of the Lord's
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resurrection, not the Jewish Sabbath, which was the last day
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of the week, their Saturday or Sunday.
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If you go back historically to the letter that Paul wrote to
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Colossians, I describe it. There's three small villages.
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Actually, one of them is a pretty big city that are close
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to each other there in the Lycus River Valley of modern day
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Turkey. And they interplayed with each
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other and the financial center used these sheeps and there's
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also some beautiful healing Hot Springs in that area.
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And supposedly there's a lot of Jews that live there.
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And so this was a natural area for Paul to go on his mission
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and try to preach the gospel, bring them in.
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And one of the people he obviously meant was this man
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named Philemon, to whom he's writing the letter.
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But he takes a lot of time in writing this letter.
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He This is a very carefully orchestrated letter and the
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reason why we know that is the entire letter from verse one
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down to verse 25 is a perfect chiasmus and it is beautifully
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sculpted. This is not just a haphazard
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ideas thrown out there. Every single point is
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paralleled. The 1st is consistent with the
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last, the 2nd is consistent with the 2nd to last, and the most
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important part is right at the center.
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That is verse 14. Paul needs Philemon's consent
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that he will take back Onimius. We learn about the whole purpose
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of this letter is to ask Philemon to receive back a
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runaway slave. Let's jump down to verse 10 and
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we learn who this runaway slave is.
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I beseech thee for my son Onimius, whom I have begotten in
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my bonds. So Paul is in prison in Rome and
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he has converted a young man or a man named Onimius, and he
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finds out after his baptism that he actually is a runaway slave.
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Now remember in the Roman world, in many provinces the slaves
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were released by age 30. So I referred to him as young
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man because I think he's younger than 30.
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Now, in some provinces, they are not made slaves, and they're not
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released from slavery until age 35.
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But it sounds like this guy ran away, and he ran away clear from
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Turkey all the way over to Rome. And he's there in Rome when Paul
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meets him and converts him to the gospel.
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And somehow we're told that Paul is able to not only bring him to
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the gospel, but finds out that he is a runaway slave from one
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of Paul's friends. When Paul was serving in the
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gospel, now he never had visited Colossia, but he had been to
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that region, and he knew many of the people in that region.
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And so he says. Philemon.
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You won't believe. Believe it.
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Coincidence has put us together again.
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And I know you love me. I love you.
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In fact, I converted you to the gospel.
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All of your understanding of the gospel and your ability to serve
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is due to me. So would you do a favor for me?
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And I've got to obey the law. I've got to return this runaway
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slave to you. But I want you to receive him as
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if he were a brother. That's the purpose of the
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letter. I want to return this runaway
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slave. Well, this is quite surprising,
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but let's go through the letter before we're shocked to say,
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what is an apostle doing returning a runaway slave?
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Verse 15 to 16 in the NIV reads perhaps the reason he was
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separated from you for a time. So he's saying, Philemon, maybe
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this runaway slave left you for a time.
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That you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave,
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but better than a slave as a dear brother.
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He is very dear to me, and even dearer to you, both of us, a
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fellow man. As a brother in the Lord.
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He's saying he's not a servant and a slave.
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He's a child of God. Can you receive him back as a
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child of God? I'm going to obey the law.
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I'm going to return him. But I don't want you to receive
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him as someone that you will order around and disrespect and
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beat. I want you to receive him as a
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member of the gospel of Jesus Christ, continuing on in 18 and
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19, again in the NIV. If he has done you any wrong or
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he owes you anything, charge it to me.
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I Paul, I'm writing this with my own hand.
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I will pay it back. But not to mention that you owe
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me your very self. It's just so funny.
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So he says, you know, I want you to treat him nicely.
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I want you to be kind to him and if he if if this has caused you
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any money because he's been gone, I will pay personally.
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But just don't forget, you owe me your eternal life, because I
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can. I brought you the gospel of
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Jesus Christ. You know, he's sort of going
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back and forth as sort of a manipulation kind of a
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conversation, but it it's just fascinating to see the
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interesting balance between obeying the law and living as a
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Christian. Should verse 22 continues on in
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the NIV, prepare a guest room for me because I hope to be
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restored, meaning he'll get out of prison.
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In answer to your prayers, I will come and visit you to be
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saying I'm going to send back your slave, but then I'm going
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to come check up on you. So make sure you are prepared
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for me to come because you don't know when I'm coming.
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I don't know when I'm coming. I hope to be let free, but I
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want you to be kind. This goes back to the message
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that I taught at the Last Supper in my lectures on John chapter
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13 and 14. That Why does Jesus act as a
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slave? Why does John the Baptist say
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I'm not even worthy to be a slave?
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Why does John the Baptist teach slaves to obey their masters?
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Why does Christ get parables of slavery?
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Why does this happen? Because Jesus is turning their
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entire socioeconomic culture upside down.
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Instead of getting rid of slavery, Jesus is teaching
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masters how to serve. Do you remember from his Last
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Supper what I do? Thou knowest?
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Not now, but thou shalt know hereafter and back early in his
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gospel while Christ is preaching repeatedly, he says phrases like
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this one in Luke 2227. This is the RSV translation.
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I am among you as one who serves.
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There's a very interesting relationship between the slaves
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and disciples. Remember, they are not able to
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wash feet, but a disciple is to do everything that for their
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master that a slave would do. And Paul is going back to that
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same idea. We need to all be servants to
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our Lord, and we also need to all be servants to our God.
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And let's get rid of this slavery mentality and just serve
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one another joyfully. Very interesting letter.
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I love the Book of Philemon, but let's move on now to the three
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pastoral letters. These are written to teach and
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train up young leaders. Because both Timothy and Titus
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are bishops. I think both of them are like
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something like our state presidents or our area
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authorities, they're people who are training up leaders.
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And so Paul as an apostle is writing to them, teaching them
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how to be better leaders. If we want to get more
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historical background on First Timothy, we are giving a lot of
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information about him on Paul's second mission in Acts Chapter
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16 and First Timothy one and Second Timothy one.
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We learn that this is that young convert of Paul when he was
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serving in Lystra. We also know that Timothy is
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mentioned in nine epistles and he is the co-author of five of
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these epistles. And if we want to know more
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about Titus, he was present with Paul at the Jerusalem council.
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Do you remember after the first mission and before Paul's second
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mission in Acts chapter 15, verses 2 to 22, if that
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Jerusalem council, Titus is there and Titus is told that he
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doesn't have to be circumcised, Titus is probably with Paul.
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They're in prison in AD 66 to 67.
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It's the very end of his life and we hear about him in Second
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Corinthians chapter 2 as well as Galatians chapter 22 Epistles.
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He's mentioned. And as we go back to the
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chronological order, first Timothy comes probably sometime
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between 61 and 64, and then the next pastoral letter
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chronologically is Titus. Now remember the Timothy's are
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together, and then Titus, because of the length of the
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books, the sizes of the book. But chronologically it goes
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first Timothy Titus and then second Timothy.
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So that's why I'm presenting it here.
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Today are 4 letters in chronological order.
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So let's start with first Timothy outline.
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It's easy. The first half is all about
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practical instructions and the second-half is about practical
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instructions and he divides them by three beautiful hymns.
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He always starts out with his introduction and his charge to
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Timothy, and then he ends with his charge to the rich and to
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Timothy again. But I just want to remind you
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who Timothy was. We know his mother and his
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grandmother. This is wonderful.
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He's a Greek convert. They live out in the Diaspora.
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His mom and his grandma are both Jewish, but both women had
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married Gentiles, and so they're raising Timothy together as a
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good Jewish young man. And he knows the scriptures from
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his youth, is what we're told in Second Timothy.
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And we also know that he had great faith and they first came
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in his mother and grandmother. And his sensitivity to the
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gospel comes from this upbringing, this sensitive mom
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and grandma. As we move now to the letter,
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though, this is Timothy's third assignment.
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If you go back to Acts and you go back through all the
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different historical backgrounds, you see that Paul
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gives Timothy assignments all the time.
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Timothy joins Paul as a companion on missions.
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And now Timothy is out on his own.
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He's serving in Ephesus. He's serving on the western
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border of Turkey. And Paul, writing him from Rome,
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is giving him instructions. So he says in verse one Paul, an
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apostle of Jesus Christ by commandment of God, and then
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skipping down a little bit to verse 2 unto Timothy, I'm just
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thinking of our mission called, you know, the call comes from
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God. This letter comes from God.
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Timothy is receiving a calling from God.
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It continues on my own son in the faith.
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So Paul has embraced him as not just a junior companion, but as
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a son. He loves him dearly, grace and
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mercy and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our
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Lord. The first thing he does in this
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letter is he attacks the false teachers and he never leaves
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very far from that. In both the first instructions
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and the second instructions, he really lambast these false
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teachers who are trying to come in and not just undermine Pauls
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teaching, but they're destroying our savers teachings.
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He sees them already actively in work.
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We can see an apostasy right here in First Timothy.
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Actually all three of the prison letter, all three of the
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pastoral letters, Timothy, Titus and Timothy again have this
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attacking nature right from the start.
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The first thing attacks is people who are wasting their
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times with endless genealogies. That's sort of funny because in
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our church we sort of think genealogy works important.
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We sort of think it's important to know our work, and we know
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from First Corinthians chapter 15, verse 29, that they were
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baptizing for the dead. So what's this problem with
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endless genealogies? I mean, he mentions it twice
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here. I think the problem was they're
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trying to prove that they will be descendants of Blue Blood and
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they are jumping through hurdles.
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It's interesting as I look back at the genealogy work that was
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done at this period of time. Just like we look at the
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genealogies in Matthew chapter one and Luke chapter three, you
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skip many, many generations just to link yourself up with a royal
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line. And once you link yourself up
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with a royal line, it communicated that you were
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important. So I think he's saying you're
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wasting your time on this stuff. Stop going down these black
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holes that make no difference. I want you to spend your time
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where it's important, he says in verse four of chapter one in the
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NIV. And he's talking about these
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genealogies, these endless genealogies.
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Such things promote controversial speculations
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rather than advancing God's work.
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This is so important to me. Let's not waste our time arguing
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over where Zahra Hemla or arguing over some of the details
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of our history. Let's focus on the prophets call
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now and what we should be doing now with our lives.
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First five I'd like to read in the BSB.
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You know he's saying the goal of our instruction, meaning every
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letter I've written. Paul's not just to Timothy, but
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the goal of his missionary work and his instruction to the
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ministries is to love. And that comes from a pure
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heart, a clear conscience and sincere faith.
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Paul is riding out of love. His motives are love, just as
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Christ's motives were love, just as our Father's motives are
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love. We learn in Moses chapter one,
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verse 39, everything that's happening because of love.
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This is not manipulation. This is not for greed.
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He continues on, though in verse six, with an immediate warning,
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from which some, having swerved, have turned aside to vain
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janglings. So some of the words, especially
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in the Pauline epistles, I think we need modern translations.
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It's very difficult in the Pauline epistles to understand
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them, especially if you are a teacher of youth.
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I would encourage you to go to a good translation, and the BSB is
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one of those. Some have strayed from these
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ways and have turned aside to empty talk.
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The falling away was already in full scope by 61 to 64 AD As
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Paul is writing this letter, he continues on in verses 8 to 10.
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In the NIV. We know that the law is good and
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anyone uses it properly. We also know that the law is
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made not for the righteous, but for.
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And then he skips ahead a little bit, down to verse 10.
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Whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine, He's saying if
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you were really living by the Spirit, we wouldn't need all
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these laws, you know, and and remember, Paul grew up as a
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Pharisee. He had the 10,000 oral laws in
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addition to the 613 commandments of the Law of Moses.
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So he's saying let's stop this arguing in this contention.
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He continues on in verse 12 to 15 that God is a God of
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forgiveness. And he said, I'm proof that God
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is forgiveness. Look who I was.
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I thank Christ, and skipping ahead a little bit to verse 15,
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He appointed me in His service. Even though I was once a violent
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man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief,
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and Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the
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worst. This is so interesting.
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In different translations, the King James says he hath enabled
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me, but I love the RSV as well. It's given me strength and the
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NAB. He made me equal to the task and
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that is the blessing of serving God.
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He makes us equal to the tax. We may not be good missionaries,
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We may not have the natural capacity to do a lot of things.
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You may not believe this, but when I was young, I was so shy I
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wouldn't speak to anyone. I was scared to talk to my dad.
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My mom said when I was even five and six years old, and when she
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told me that I was still scared to talk to anyone, I was just
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frightened to talk to anyone but my mom.
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The Lord strengthens us, and that's exactly what first
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Timothy is saying. Paul is encouraging him to do
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the will of the Lord. And then comes the first Kim in
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chapter one, verse 17, Now unto the King, eternal, immortal and
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invisible, the only wise God, the honor and glory, forever and
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ever. Amen.
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Now the King James uses this word, invisible God, but other
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translations change that to an unseen God, which I think is
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interesting. We walk by faith because we
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don't see him. So in this context, the antonym
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of faith is sight. We often say the antonym of
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faith is fear, but here the unseen who are walking by faith.
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Continuing on in verse 18. This is from the NIV.
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Timothy, my son, I'm giving you this command.
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In keeping with the prophecies once made about you, you know.
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I know you're supposed to be a great leader.
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So even if you don't feel capable of doing this, I know
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the Lord will magnify you. I know He will strengthen you.
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He continues on in verse 18 so that by recalling them you may
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fight the battle well, you know, remember back to these
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prophecies you were given them. Remember back to these promises.
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He continues on with directions on how to pray.
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This is now chapter 2 verses one through 8.
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That whole 8 verses is on prayer, but I'm just going to
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start with verses one and two in the NIVI urge.
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Now in King James that's exhort, skipping down a little bit that
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petitions or prayers, intercessions and Thanksgiving
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be made for all people, kings for all those in authority that
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we may live peaceably and in holiness.
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Now the word peaceable here is very interesting.
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It means divinely inspired inner calmness.
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Peace is not just a self centeredness or a a calmness.
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If you are feeling peace according to the biblical
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definition here, it's a divine inspired inner calmness.
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It's much more powerful than we consider.
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Chapter 2, verse 4 continues on with Joseph Smith translations.
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He says here who is willing those are both Joseph Smith
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changes to have all men to be saved and to come unto the
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knowledge of the truth. God is willing to save all.
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God wants to save all. He loves all.
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And then continuing on the Joe Smith translation ads, which is
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in Christ, who is the only begotten Son of God and ordained
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to be a mediator between God and man.
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I remember a mediator is one who goes between and sometimes it's
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referred to as an advocate. But when the Joseph Smith
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translation edition here is so clear that Jesus is our
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mediarity, it's not one of the Saints, it's not Mary, it's our
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Savior. And he elaborates on who our
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Savior is. Paul's words were testifying of
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Christ in every chapter over and over.
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Continuing on to verse eight, he starts giving counsel to the
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men. And this is in the NIV
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translation. I want the men everywhere to
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pray, uplifting the high and holy hands, but without anger or
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disputing. So he's giving them some counsel
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here. He wants them to be cautious.
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Don't ever begin a prayer in anger.
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Don't ever begin a prayer when you're still disputing with one
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of your neighbors. I want you to purify yourself.
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And then he leaves from giving the counsel to men to giving the
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council of women. Now he doesn't talk about prayer
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with the women. They don't have a problem with
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praying and anger. I guess they have another
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problem, and that is with their appearances and listening to
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corrupt teachers. So Chapter 2, verses 9 through
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15, now give advice to the women, he says.
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A women adorn yourselves in modest apparel with
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shamefacedness and sobriety, not with braided or bordered hair
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and gold and pearls and costly array, but with good works.
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But I want to read those in other translations.
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So in my chart I've got it all written.
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How so? When the King James says
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shamefacedness and sobriety, the Jerusalem Bible says quietly and
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modestly much nicer. You know, I want you to learn, I
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want you to teach. I want you to be part of the
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church. But do it with modesty and in
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your life be calm and quiet in the Nas it says modestly and
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discreetly or in the RSV, modestly and sensibly.
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I also like John W Welch's translation when he says in good
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taste, in a matter that brings honorable respect.
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You know, I I just think our generation has gone so far to be
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so concerned about vain things. But he continues on after
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talking about the problem that women are having with spending
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too much time with vanity. And then he goes on to talk
24:01
about women's learning. And I want to just point out
24:03
that chapter 2, verse 11 starts out with something powerful.
24:08
Let the women learn. Now just that line alone is a
24:13
major change from the time of the Pharisaic traditions that
24:17
Paul grew up in. That said, a woman should never
24:20
be taught to learn. In fact, it says to fathers.
24:22
It said he who teaches his daughters the law is the same
24:27
who taught them luxury. And then another rabbi answers
24:30
back and says don't ever teach your daughters the law.
24:33
You'll only have a trouble with the rest of your life.
24:36
You know, so women were not allowed to learn.
24:39
They were not. Most women in the Judaic,
24:41
Pharisaic tradition were to be kept illiterate.
24:44
But in the Greco Roman tradition, many women were
24:48
literate. So now he's preaching the Gospel
24:51
into an area where there are Gentile and Jewish converts, And
24:55
he says let the women learn. In Christianity, we want women
25:00
to learn. But there are parameters to that
25:02
learning. And then he goes on to some very
25:05
difficult verses, and I'd like to go into detail with them.
25:07
In King James, it says, let the women learn in silence, with all
25:11
subjection. In the Jerusalem Bible, let them
25:14
learn in quietness with full submission.
25:17
Well, all of us do better if we can learn in a quiet
25:20
environment, submitting to our teachers, if we're constantly
25:23
fighting the teacher. It's it's good to have
25:25
questions, but you have to ask them humbly.
25:28
In the NIS, it says a woman must be a learner listening quietly
25:33
with do submission. Now, I have no idea.
25:36
But if any of these women have come from a tradition where they
25:38
have not been allowed to learn, they may be out of control.
25:42
They may be talking too much. They're so excited to be in.
25:47
We don't know the problem. And so let's just be patient
25:49
with with Paul's text here in the RSV, it said women should be
25:53
quiet and respectful during instruction.
25:57
You know, they are to be instructed.
25:58
So let's just not get so worried about the other part.
26:01
And remember, he's talking about the idea of bringing women in.
26:04
He's saying, I don't want illiterate women.
26:07
This is a wonderful topic. And in John W Welch's
26:10
translation in the book that's referred to as charting the New
26:13
Testament, he says let women learn in serenity, with
26:17
deference, in peace of soul. Let's remember to everyone time
26:22
that Paul has a negative statement about women.
26:25
You can find 12 to 19 times where he says women should be
26:29
learning. Women should be part of the
26:31
organization of worship. There's so many positives to
26:34
every negative. It's just hard to see them in
26:36
the King James because they don't get the gender right all
26:38
the time. But remember, every time you
26:41
come across the troubling passage to ask yourself what
26:44
problems was the author trying to address?
26:48
There are obviously things in that community that we don't
26:51
know about. But I want to go back.
26:52
Just to remind you, we've talked about this word many times.
26:55
The word subjection or submission in Greek is mentioned
26:59
over 38 times in the New Testament and 28 times by Paul.
27:04
Remember, at first came from this military definition, where
27:07
it was to arrange in a military fashion under the commander or
27:10
the leader. But it's used so many times.
27:13
In Romans it's a verb. In 2nd Corinthians 9 it's a
27:16
noun. It's in Galatians 2, Ephesians
27:18
5, First Timothy 2. You know all of these are by
27:21
Paul and all of them are used in a non military setting.
27:25
That means submission in a voluntary attitude, giving in,
27:30
cooperating, assuming responsibility, carrying a
27:34
burden. So he's saying women, I want you
27:37
to learn in a cooperative manner.
27:39
We want to build the Kingdom of God.
27:41
We want you to learn so that we can each help each other.
27:45
And we want you to do this voluntarily, giving in and
27:48
carrying a burden. We want you to carry the same
27:51
burden of learning the gospel of Jesus Christ as the fellow
27:54
brethren. We need you to help carry the
27:56
message. This is a fabulous call.
28:00
You know, we read it. Exactly the opposite, I think,
28:02
of what Paul was trying to intend.
28:04
I just want to give you a few other examples of why it's hard
28:07
to know the positive mentions by Paul even in this letter.
28:11
First, Timothy, chapter 6. It says in King James, if any
28:15
man teach otherwise. Well, that word man means male
28:20
or female. It means if anyone is teaching
28:23
otherwise we withdraw from them, which means he was having women
28:26
teach. We know women were being taught
28:28
and listening because of these other statements.
28:30
Second Timothy, chapter 2, verse two.
28:32
It reads these things that thou hast heard of me among many
28:37
witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men.
28:42
Well, that word in Greek is human.
28:45
It's male or female, like our word anthro.
28:49
You know it, it's it's both. So commit these things to the
28:53
Saints, To the male and female Saints, he continues on.
28:57
Who shall be able to teach others.
28:59
Also he's saying that women should be teaching right here
29:02
too. And in Titus chapter two, he
29:04
says the aged women become holy should be teachers of good
29:09
things that they may teach the young women.
29:12
Yet we already have an organization where the women are
29:14
teaching. It's mentioned many times.
29:16
So when you come across a line that is different, just step
29:20
back and say, I don't get the whole picture, let's look at it
29:22
more closely. And we are also blessed with
29:24
another way to tell how something is correct.
29:28
And that comes from the blessing of having modern prophets.
29:33
In section 25 of the Doctrine Covenants.
29:34
We're taught by the Lord that Emma or women should be ordained
29:39
to expound the scriptures and exhort the church.
29:42
That's chapter 25, verse four. I am so grateful to have living
29:46
prophets. And I.
29:47
We began hearing our living prophet on these messages almost
29:50
every year since he's been an apostle, but I just have chosen
29:53
2 from 2019. He says, dear sisters, you are
29:56
more than 8 million strong. You have not only the numbers
30:01
but you have spiritual power to change the world.
30:05
And then in 2022, he said the women of the church should
30:09
increase your understanding of the priesthood power and of your
30:13
temple covenants and blessings. You know this is when he said
30:16
women, the blessings of section 84, the oath in the covenant of
30:21
the priesthood, are as much for you as they are for men.
30:24
Understand that you hold priesthood power and this is our
30:27
prophet. And ever since President Kimball
30:30
said this statement in 1979, it's been repeated and repeated
30:34
and repeated up till as recently as 2019 by President Oakes.
30:39
But starting out with President Kimball in 1979, it will be that
30:43
female exemplars of the Church who will be a significant force
30:49
in the numerical and the spiritual growth of the Church
30:52
in the last days. That's Now may we allow and
30:57
encourage and benefit from the women.
31:01
First, Timothy chapter 2, verse 14, says Adam was not deceived,
31:05
but the woman being deceived was in transgression.
31:09
Now remember, coming out of the Judaic culture and most of
31:12
Christianity, Eve is seen as a Sinner and as the source of all
31:16
evil. And I've got all these notes in
31:18
my hand. Out the footnotes if you want
31:20
those in the full commentary of the New Testament.
31:23
But we live in a dispensation where that is completely
31:27
changed. We honor Eve.
31:29
I feel like Joseph Smith was the first feminist of the 19th
31:31
century. We not only do we honor Eve, but
31:33
we believe in a mother in heaven.
31:35
We believe that women are noble. So this statement by Paul is
31:40
probably accurate. Eve was deceived.
31:43
That's all there is to it. But we do honor Eve in this
31:46
dispensation. He continues on with another
31:48
Joseph Smith translation in verse 15.
31:51
Notwithstanding they shall be saved in childbearing.
31:55
Now if you have the King James there and it says
31:58
notwithstanding, she meaning woman, will be saved in
32:01
childbearing, that means unless women bear children, they can't
32:03
be saved. Well, that is a heresy and it's
32:06
completely false. Of course it has nothing to do
32:09
with childbearing. But the whole purpose why we
32:11
came to earth is so that we could receive bodies.
32:14
So Adam and Eve need to procreate.
32:17
They will be saved if we come to earth and provide bodies and
32:21
those people who are married and can have children.
32:25
The Lord has asked us and commanded us to multiply and
32:28
replenish the earth with as many as we can righteously bring
32:33
forth. It's a righteous desire.
32:36
I want to finish the whole verse in the Joseph Smith translation.
32:38
But if they continue in faith and charity and holiness and
32:42
sobriety, it's not just having children.
32:44
You've got to live the gospel. You've got to live every law.
32:48
I love the ISV translation of First Timothy chapter 2, verse
32:51
15. Listen to this.
32:53
Even though she will be saved through the birth of the child,
32:57
if they continue in faith and love and holiness and good
33:00
judgment, Who is the child? Capital C is how they have it in
33:06
their text. It's our savior.
33:09
He is the only child born just of woman.
33:13
Remember in the both Greek and Hebrew there's no capitals.
33:16
You don't know what's a capital. I love this translation.
33:19
We are saved through Jesus Christ and that is how Eve It
33:24
was in transgression. Adam and Eve fell.
33:27
Adam followed his and supported his wife.
33:29
But we are all saved through our Savior, the child, the only seed
33:34
of just woman. We now turn in chapter 3 to
33:37
advice to bishops, and he gives 7 verses on this, and I'm just
33:40
going to read the first two. If a man desire the office of a
33:43
Bishop, he desireth a good work. A Bishop then must be blameless.
33:48
My husband's been a Bishop twice.
33:50
My dad was a Bishop, my brother, my uncles, my brothers, my you
33:53
know, I've been around a lot of bishops.
33:54
I'm an old lady. Blameless is not quite the right
33:58
word, but sincere in heart and repentant and willing to serve
34:03
where they're called is definitely the case.
34:05
And then Paul goes on and gives all sorts of attributes that are
34:08
good things. This is how I know that Timothy
34:11
is in a position to be calling bishops, and I think it's one of
34:14
the most important callings that our state presence have is to
34:16
receive God's revelation, to know who God wants to serve as a
34:20
Bishop. They have to be above reproach,
34:22
a husband of one wife, temperate, self controlled,
34:25
respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not dependent on wine,
34:31
not violent but gentle, peaceable.
34:34
They do not love money. They manage their household.
34:39
They're obedient and respectful. Their children are obedient and
34:42
respectful as well, with reverence.
34:45
They are not a recent convert. They're not prideful, they have
34:48
a good reputation with outsiders, and they don't fall
34:52
into disgrace. That is a pretty tall order, but
34:55
that is the call for all disciples.
34:57
We all need to act as pastors. Then he leaves the Bishop's
35:01
council and he gives 7 verses. Now from verse 8 to verse 15 for
35:05
deacons. I just want to remind you what
35:07
the word Deacon means in Greek means a servant, A waiter to
35:11
anyone who performs any service or administration.
35:14
So they have it in the female form in the New Testament as
35:17
someone who is waiting on God and who's serving God.
35:20
And they have it in the male form in the New Testament.
35:23
So in the Restoration we just hold it as one who holds the
35:27
priesthood, who serves and actually the president of the of
35:31
the deacons. Quorum has keys of the
35:32
priesthood, but in the New Testament is anyone who serves
35:35
and waits on God and and blesses the Church so they have it in
35:38
both the male and female. In the New Testament, he says in
35:41
verse eight in the BSB translation, deacons likewise
35:45
must be dignified, not double tongued or given too much wine
35:50
or greedy for money. He continues on in those seven
35:53
verses to give a few other attributes.
35:55
They've got to be worthy of respect and sincere, not
35:57
indulgent in much wine. They've got to not pursue
36:00
dishonest gain. They've got to hold deep truths
36:04
of faith. They need to have a clear
36:06
conscience and be tested. They've got to be faithful to
36:09
his wife and manage his children and household well.
36:13
In the early restoration in the early Christian Church, a Deacon
36:16
was an older person obviously, but they remember they were
36:18
married very young, 12/13/14 years old in the ancient world.
36:23
In fact, we have records of people being married at at 10.
36:26
So I am convinced that the restoration change of deacons
36:32
being young men is is in keeping with the Lords, even if it's not
36:36
in keeping with this council here in first Timothy on their
36:39
age. He then goes on to talk about
36:41
the women leaders, the female leaders in verse 11.
36:44
In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not
36:49
malicious talkers. That means gossips if you read
36:52
it in another translation, but temperate and trustworthy in
36:56
everything you know. This is exactly he gives several
37:00
verses now on direction to the female leaders as he did to the
37:03
male leaders. And then we begin the
37:05
second-half of the letter in chapter 4 and he corrects these
37:09
false teachings. He says in verse one in the NIV
37:13
the spirit clearly says that in the latter times some will
37:18
abandoned the faith and followed deceiving spirits and then in
37:22
verse two he calls them hypocritical liars.
37:25
In the NIV translation, the apostasy is not only prophesied
37:29
of but it says it's it's happening now in some of these
37:32
letters as well, verse three reads in the BSB translation.
37:37
They will prohibit marriage. They will require absence from
37:41
certain foods that God has created, he said This is wrong.
37:45
Marriage is is ordained of God. Verse 8 continuing on in the NIV
37:49
for physical training is of some value, but godliness has value
37:55
for all things. I often used to measure how much
37:59
time I spent exercising to how much time I spent in the
38:01
scriptures, and now I spend way more time in the scriptures than
38:04
I do exercising. I have to beef up my exercising,
38:07
but I'm just touched by the fact that he's saying, you know, we
38:09
live in a in a world at this time where the physic, the
38:13
physique was so important and and mastering your body was so
38:16
important. Well, I see that in our world,
38:19
in some cultures too, But let's make sure that we train our
38:24
spirits even more. So we spend more time in the
38:27
scriptures when we arise and our mind is fresh.
38:30
Let's dive into our scriptures. First Timothy 4, verse 12, be
38:34
thou an example of the believers.
38:36
And then he gives specific counsel by your words.
38:40
Do people know you're a disciple now?
38:42
It says in King James in conversation, but that means in
38:44
your conduct. It's different than in the
38:46
words. It's it's grander by everything
38:48
you do. Can people tell you're a
38:50
believer in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity?
38:54
Now I hope that people understand that I am a disciple
38:59
of Jesus Christ, just by the way I act.
39:02
Moving on now to First Timothy chapter 4, verse 14.
39:05
Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by
39:10
prophecy and by the laying out of hands.
39:13
Now this is interesting because it happens multiple times.
39:15
In Paul's letters he refers to gifts as callings.
39:19
Callings are gifts. So is he's referring to
39:22
missionary work? Is he referring to a spiritual
39:24
gift? Is he referring to his temple
39:26
blessings, perhaps washings and anointings and endowment?
39:30
We know that they were part of the New Testament era of the
39:32
Saints. We don't know.
39:35
Paul next moves on to a huge section for the elderly and the
39:37
widows. Chapter 5 verses one through 16.
39:41
He spends 16 verses on saying I want you to care for the older
39:45
people, all about this sensitivity to those who need
39:49
more care. And then moving on he goes back
39:52
to Paul's missionary calling of some sort and in verse 22 it
39:55
reads in the MIV Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands.
40:00
Now he's already talked to him about calling bishops, about
40:02
ordaining elders, maybe setting apart the Saints.
40:06
Maybe specific missionary calls, but he's saying don't do it
40:09
hastily. Make sure you're taking time.
40:11
Make sure you're getting Revelation.
40:13
And he mentions this repeatedly. You know, First Timothy 4IN Acts
40:16
chapter 6. He's saying we want you to call
40:20
people by revelation, not because of convenience.
40:22
Oh, it's time to fill 20 callings.
40:24
Let's just get out a list and write them out.
40:26
No, don't be hasty. Use God.
40:29
Those of you who are in leadership positions, please
40:32
spend time on your needs. Seek prophecy and revelations.
40:35
Don't just counsel with your counselors, counsel with divine
40:39
revelation, Chapter 5 verse 23 in the BSB reads.
40:43
Stop drinking only water and use a little wine instead because of
40:47
your stomach and your frequent ailments.
40:50
Now remember, the average person in this day and age who was a
40:54
peasant, which is 90% of the population, are living off the
40:58
land. They don't have a lot of money.
41:00
And so they dilute their water, 10 parts water, to one part
41:05
wine. And that one part wine acts as a
41:07
purifier so that they don't get dysentery because this water is
41:12
is filled with all sorts of germs.
41:13
It's not purified water. And so he said you got to add
41:18
something to your water to purify it.
41:19
You're getting sick all the time.
41:21
You don't have what it your stomach can't digest this
41:24
without a little bit of wine. And even on high holy days like
41:28
the Passover, they diluted their wine with three parts water to
41:33
one part wine. You know this, this is not a
41:36
problem in the ancient world and their wine is their wine of own
41:39
making. So.
41:40
So don't worry about it continuing on in First Timothy
41:43
chapter 6 verses one and two, he gives duties to slaves.
41:47
All who are made under the yoke of slavery should consider their
41:51
masters worthy of full respect, so that God's name and our
41:56
teachings may not be slandered. Now that's the NIV translation,
41:59
but I want you to go back to Philemon and the things I taught
42:02
there. Paul and Christ and John the
42:05
Baptist all gave examples and counsel to masters to be kind to
42:11
their servants and servants, to obey their masters and to serve
42:14
them willingly. Now he's not saying if you're
42:16
being abused, you need to just submit to it and be an
42:20
accomplice, a part of a victim. Here he is saying we want you to
42:26
serve with respect and honor them in your station.
42:29
And remember, slavery was very different than.
42:31
It's like an indentured servant. It's just a few years and then
42:34
they can move on, Chapter 6, verse 7 to 9 reads in the MIV.
42:39
We brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing
42:42
out of it. But if we have found food and
42:44
clothings, we will be content with that.
42:47
Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap.
42:53
Kind of Johnny calls these people high minded in verse 17.
42:56
But he is very worried that the priority of the Saints may be
43:00
affiliated with money, may have a love of money.
43:03
He continues on in verse 10 of chapter 6 in the MIV.
43:06
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
43:11
Now we learn in a well known maximum that you can buy
43:16
anything in this world for money.
43:17
And in fact, Hugh Nibley said the first article of false
43:21
faith. Because you can buy anything in
43:22
this world for money. This is a huge danger.
43:26
We need to seek after the Kingdom of God and His
43:28
righteousness, and when we pay our tithes and offerings, the
43:31
Lord will make sure we have enough.
43:33
But let's not ever seek for money above seeking to serve in
43:38
the Kingdom of God. The second-half of verse 15
43:40
gives us our third beautiful prayer, and the JST adds a lot
43:45
there and cuts out a lot. So I'd like to read it from the
43:47
JST who is blessed and potentate.
43:51
Now potentate means either a sovereign or a ruler.
43:53
You can read those in other translations.
43:55
It goes on to say, the king of kings, the Lord of Lords.
43:58
And Joseph crosses out a whole bunch and then adds to whom the
44:02
honor and power everlasting, whom no man hath seen nor can
44:07
see, and to whom no man can approach, and he who hath the
44:11
light and the hope of immortality dwelling in him.
44:16
Now, this is very interesting. Why is Joseph Smith changing
44:19
this to say that we can't see the Father when Joseph Smith
44:22
himself saw the Father? Well, he's writing Paul's
44:25
account, and in Paul's experience, he had seen the Son,
44:30
but perhaps he hadn't seen the Father.
44:32
He was still an unseen God to him.
44:34
And thus we get this text added in by Joseph Smith as if it were
44:38
Paul's words, not Joseph's words.
44:41
Let's move on to Titus. Now, chronologically, Titus
44:44
follows First Timothy, as you can see here in my chart.
44:47
And we have 11 verses before this book on Titus that tell us
44:50
about Titus. So if you go back and on my
44:52
chart, I've got them all written out.
44:53
Second Corinthians has a whole bunch, and then Second Timothy
44:56
has a few as well. But right now Titus is serving
44:59
in Crete. We think he's writing this in
45:01
about AD 61 to 64. And Crete was a very prosperous
45:05
island. But because it's an island,
45:07
we've got things like pirates going on along there as well.
45:11
We have a lot of treacherous people, a lot of violence, a lot
45:13
of immorality. In fact, the word Cretan was
45:17
another word for liar in Greek because they were so well known
45:21
for being naughty. This is also during the time of
45:23
Nero service and Paul is probably writing from Rome.
45:27
He starts out in chapter one, verse 4, by saying to Titus, my
45:30
own son, after the common faith and by my own son.
45:34
We assume that he was part of his conversion, part of his
45:38
missionary service. I'll just give you a quick
45:40
outline. There's only three chapters
45:42
after the opening. He gives instructions on the
45:44
church organization, chapter one, verse 5 to 9, and then he
45:48
immediately addresses the same thing he did in the other
45:51
letters, faults teachers and apostasy.
45:54
Chapter 2 gives another household code just like we
45:57
found earlier in Colossians, and we see later and Peter.
46:01
And then chapter two finishes up with what Christ has done.
46:05
And then he concludes in the last few verses of chapter 3.
46:10
So let's start out in first Titus chapter one he's asking
46:14
after his little introduction starting in verse five in the
46:17
NIV. He says I want you to put things
46:19
in order and then I skip down to verse 10 and 11.
46:23
Also in the NIV there are many rebellious people full of
46:27
meaningless talk, deception, especially those of the
46:30
circumcision group. They must be silenced 5 times.
46:36
He calls on the need for sound doctrine.
46:39
He says the apostasy is everywhere.
46:41
We have people who are coming in and preaching and teaching
46:45
falsehoods. And Titus, I need you to go in
46:48
there and clean it up. Your job is to clean it up.
46:51
He continues on giving this household code to three
46:55
different groups starting in chapter 2.
46:58
The first group, verses 2 to 5, is to teach older men and he
47:02
said get them out of them drinking too much.
47:04
You got to get them sober. They've got to be worthy of
47:06
respect. The next group is, I want you to
47:09
teach the older women, be reverent.
47:11
I guess they're talking too much or something and they're getting
47:13
addicted, he says. Teach the older women to be
47:15
reverent in the way that they live, not addicted.
47:19
They want to urge the younger women to love.
47:22
They need to be working with their children.
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They need to be self controlled and pure.
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And the last group he talks to again are the slaves.
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And he says, I want you to teach the slaves to be in subject.
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Remember that means to voluntarily cooperate with their
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masters, not to talk back to them, not to steal from them.
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He's just asking for basic commandments of and and respect
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and and honor. Moving on now to chapter 3, I
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want to start in verse five. He's talking about Christ again
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and he says He saved us by the washing of regeneration and
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renewing of the Holy Ghost. Now in addition to this
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referring to the washing and anointing or the washing of
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feet, the washing of regeneration is another word for
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the Atonement. This is Christ complete
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cleansing, His complete sacrifice that he has given for
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us so that we all may be cleansed if we repent.
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And if we come and return unto him and stop sinning, next we
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come to Second Timothy. It was probably the last epistle
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written of Paul's, and in the chronological order it falls
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right between AD 66 to AD 68. It's probably during his second
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Roman imprisonment, still under Nero after Acts chapter 28.
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And Paul says in this letter I'm going to read from chapter 2,
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verse nine in the NIVI am suffering even to the point of
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being chained like a criminal. So This is why it's a different
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imprisonment that he had the first time.
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When he's able to teach the gospel.
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People are coming in to visit him, you know, very different.
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And he's writing back to Timothy, who's still in Ephesus,
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which is on the West Coast of modern day Turkey.
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I'll just give you a brief outline of this letter.
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There's four chapters. He starts out with his greeting
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and then he spends chapter one through, halfway through chapter
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2 on this charge. He wants him to visit Paul in
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prison, and he gives him a mission to do this.
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Then chapter 2 gives the second section, verse 14, to chapter 4,
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verse five, dealing with the false teachers you know.
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As you see these chronologically, there's more
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and more challenges with these false teachers creeping in and
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changing the doctrine. We're seeing an apostasy in
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action. In this letter he talks about
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the teachings of the Lord's servants, the evil of the last
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days, that all scripture is the word of God, and that we have to
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teach that scripture. And then he concludes in the
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last few verses of chapter four with greetings to specific
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people. So he starts out in Second
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Timothy, chapter one with his standard greeting, Paul an
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apostle. And then he goes into his
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Thanksgiving between verses one to five to Timothy, my beloved
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dearly beloved Son, grace, mercy, and peace from God to
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Father and Christ. And skipping down a little bit
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more, I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day,
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greatly desiring to see thee. And then he talks again about
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his mother and grandmother, Lois and Eunice, that I talked about
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earlier. He moves on in verse 7 and I'm
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going to read from the NIV. The spirit God gave us does not
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make us timid, but gives us power and love and
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self-discipline. You know, again and again we
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hear that Timothy is a little bit reticent about moving
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forward and again Paul encourages him.
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The spirit can give you the strength to do this.
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You can do this. He's a cheerleader behind the
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scenes. Moving ahead to verse 15 in the
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NASB, it reads all who are in Asia are turned away from me.
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So this whole letter is a letter, an appeal for an
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endurance in this whole area. Now remember, Asia is not what
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we refer to as Japan and China and Korea.
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This is Asia started with Turkey and going across they say
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they're all apostasizing. He's continues with this in
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chapter 2, verse three to six. And I'll read from the new King
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James version. Endure hardships as a good
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soldier and also if anyone competes in athletics or is a
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hard working farmer, you know how to work hard.
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You got to apply that to the gospel.
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Don't leave over silly things because your culture thinks that
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what the prophet saying is wrong.
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Remember back you have you have Jesus Christ atonement to to
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hold on to you know it. It fits into our day and age so
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beautifully. Second Timothy, chapter 2, verse
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11 to 13, continues on in the MIV.
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If we died with him, we will also live with Him.
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If we're going to receive the Savior's Atonement and we're
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going to receive the blessings of repentance and forgiveness,
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we better act like it. We have to live with Him, and if
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we endure, we will also reign with Him.
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If we disown Him, He will disown us.
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But if we are faithless, he will remain faithful for he cannot
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disown himself. So God will always be faithful.
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But if we disown him, we will not have the blessings in
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heaven. He continues on with the evil in
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the last day starting in chapter 3.
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The 1st 9 verses are all about this.
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But I just want to summarize the 1st 5 verses here.
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In the last days, perilous time shall come, for men shall be
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lovers of their own selves. That is where we are right now,
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continuing on a little bit further ahead.
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They're covetous. They're having a form of
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godliness but denying the power. Remember that word power is used
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generally for all of God's priesthoods, all of the power of
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the Spirit thereof. From such, turn away and let us
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go there today. Stop being so self-centered and
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self focused and focus on others and on serving God.
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Chapter 2, verse three. Now in verse 15 goes back to
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that those beautiful verses that I mentioned earlier, that
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Timothy as a child thou has known the holy Scriptures which
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are to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is
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in Christ Jesus. May we teach the scriptures to
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children? May we find translations that
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they can understand. May our breakfast tables and our
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dinner tables be filled with scriptural understanding.
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Connect daily scripture study with your family.
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Connect your family vacations with church history.
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Things. Teach the scriptures.
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We, as Nephi said, we talk of Christ.
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We teach of Christ so our children may know to what source
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to look. It's not so.
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They don't know the stories. It's so that they can come unto
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Christ. What source to look for a
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remission of their sins. I love verse 16 and chapter 3.
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All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is to be
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profitable for the doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
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instruction and righteousness. After about age 11, I couldn't
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tell my children what to do, so I shared with him a verse of
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Scripture that taught them some of these principles and they had
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to be accountable to God. Joseph Smith's translation is
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very helpful in chapter 3. Here in verses 12 and 13 all
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that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution,
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and then Joseph Smith changes but to four evil men and
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seducers shall wax worse and worse, receiving and being
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deceived. You know this apostasy is well
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documented in our scripture. And second, Timothy ends with
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this call in chapter 4, verse 9 and 11 and 13 and 21, with
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letting us know how hard it is for Paul right now in prison,
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how miserably cold he was and hungry make every effort to come
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to me quickly. Only Luke is with me.
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Get Mark and bring him with you and bring a cloak.
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He says where to pick it up. And then he says my scrolls,
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especially the parchments, come to me before the winter.
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You know, he's cold, he needs some friendship.
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And I'm so grateful he's asking for Mark.
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Do you remember on his second mission, according to the book
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of Acts, he and Barnabas had a disagreement.
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He said, I don't want Mark to come with me.
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Mark left my first mission and I don't want a quitter.
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And now he's saying Mark is not a quitter.
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Mark has endured. I want Mark beside me.
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I want Mark to be one of my disciples.
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This is such a beautiful way to end the New Testament letters
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chronologically by Paul. He's asking the Saints to join
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together and to support their leaders.
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May we do the same? I pray in the name of Jesus
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Christ. Amen.