Another aspect of the degradation of the church was the teaching of things different from the economy of God taught by the apostle, resulting in turning away from the apostle’s teaching. Acts 2:42 tells us that all the new believers continued steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles. What the apostles taught was according to God’s New Testament economy. But at a certain time some teachers began to teach certain biblical things, yet those things were different from the economy of God, that is, different from the teaching of the apostles. Eventually this resulted in a turning away from Paul’s teaching (2 Tim. 1:15).
In 1 Timothy 1:3 and 4 Paul says, “Even as I urged you, when I was going into Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus in order that you might charge certain ones not to teach differently, nor to occupy themselves with myths and unending genealogies, which give occasion for questionings rather than God’s dispensation which is in faith.” “Certain ones” were dissenting ones, as mentioned in 1 Timothy 1:6 and Galatians 1:7; 2:12. To teach differently was to teach myths, unending genealogies, and the law (1 Tim. 1:7-8), all of which were vain talking (v. 6), differing from the apostles’ teaching centered upon Christ and the church.
God’s dispensation, His household economy (Eph. 1:10; 3:9), is God’s household administration to dispense Himself in Christ into His chosen people that He may have a household to express Himself, which household is the church, the Body of Christ (1 Tim. 3:15). Paul’s ministry was centered upon this economy of God (Col. 1:25; 1 Cor. 9:17), whereas the differing teachings of the dissenting ones were used by God’s enemy to distract His people from this.
If we read 1 Timothy 1 carefully, we shall realize that what was condemned by the apostle as different teachings was not altogether heresy. Some taught things from the Old Testament such as genealogies (v. 4) and the law given by God to Moses (vv. 7-8). The law is not heresy, but to teach the law is a different teaching from the teaching of the apostles. Different teachings stress something other than Christ and the church. To be one in teaching is to be uniquely one in the teaching of the apostles, not in the minor things such as the presbytery, the gifts, baptism by immersion, foot-washing, head covering, or the ordinances of the Lord’s table. We should not stress things which are not so crucial to the central lane of God’s New Testament economy. We should not ignore them, but if we are taking care of the apostles’ teaching, they should not be the emphasis of our teaching.
In 1 Timothy 6:3-5a Paul says, “If anyone teaches differently and does not consent to healthy words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the teaching which is according to godliness, he is blinded with pride, understanding nothing, but is sick with questionings and contentions of words, out of which come envy, strife, revilings, evil suspicions, perpetual wranglings of men corrupted in mind and deprived of the truth.” As in 1:3, to teach differently is to teach something that is different from the apostles’ teaching focused on Christ and the church. First Timothy 6:4 and 5 indicate that teachings differing from the healthy words of the Lord always issue from people’s pride with self-conceit which blinds them. Paul and his co-workers taught in a certain way, but some who were blinded with pride deliberately taught differently.
In verse 4 Paul uses the expression “sick with questionings.” To question and contend about words is a sickness. The word “reviling” in this verse means blasphemies. As in Colossians 3:8, it refers to revilings, railings toward man, not blasphemies toward God.
In verse 5 Paul speaks of “perpetual wranglings of men corrupted in mind and deprived of the truth.” The Greek words for “perpetual wranglings” can also be rendered “incessant quarrels.” These wranglings are carried on by men corrupted and depraved in mind and deprived, bereft, destitute, of the truth. The Greek word for “deprived” implies that these are ones who once possessed the truth, but now it has been put away from them. Hence, they are destitute of the truth.
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