In order to understand 1 Timothy, we must first understand the background behind the writing of this book. In Acts 20 we find Paul sending for the elders of the church in Ephesus while he was on his way to Jerusalem. He spoke a solemn and crucial word to them. He reminded them how for three years he was in their midst, not shrinking from declaring to them all the counsel of God (vv. 20, 27, 31). This means that Paul fully and thoroughly explained to them God’s revelation in the New Testament. Then he said, “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock” (v. 29). The wolves here refer to the Judaistic believers. They were doing an unhealthy work in the church, speaking unhealthy words. Unhealthy words are poisonous words, killing words. Those who were speaking these unhealthy words destroyed men and poisoned them rather than supplying them. In this sense, they were like wolves. In John 10 the Lord said that He is the good Shepherd and that He came to lay down His life that men may receive life (vv. 10-11). He also said that the wolf comes not to give life but to snatch and scatter (v. 12). Hence, everyone who causes harm and destruction in the church is a wolf. Outwardly, those who teach differently are God’s people, but the different teaching that they are teaching is the unhealthy teaching. To be unhealthy means to not supply men with life. This is to harm and destroy. This may be compared to the food that we eat: if it is not healthy, it is harmful. If we eat unhealthy food, not only will it not benefit us, but it will actually harm our body and threaten our physical life.
The Bible is written like a jigsaw puzzle. It is not written in a systematic way. Rather, it says a little here and a little there. We must spend the time to put all the pieces together. In Acts 20 Paul knew that the church in Ephesus had a problem. He was very concerned about the situation, and he sent for the elders to come to him. He charged them repeatedly to be watchful and sober and on the alert. After this, he left for Jerusalem. Once he arrived in Jerusalem, problems arose. The Christians there were deeply into the practice of keeping the law. James and the elders came to see Paul and said to him, “You observe, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews who have believed; and all are zealous for the law” (21:20). Not only were they keeping the law; they were even vowing the Nazarite vow and purifying themselves (vv. 23b-24; Num. 6:2-5). This indicates that the Jewish believers in Jerusalem were still keeping the law of Moses and remaining in the Old Testament age. Under the strong influence of Judaism, they mixed God’s New Testament economy with the out-of-date Old Testament economy.
However, James thought that this mixture was good. He even told Paul, “They have been informed concerning you that you are teaching all the Jews throughout the nations apostasy from Moses...What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come” (Acts 21:21-22). James was saying that there were tens of thousands of believers in Jerusalem who could not accept what Paul had done. As a result, Paul had an evil name. What should he do? James advised him, saying, “Therefore do this that we tell you: We have four men who have a vow on themselves; take these and be purified with them, and pay their expenses that they may shave their heads. And all will know that there is nothing to the things that they have been informed of concerning you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the law” (vv. 23-24). The four had vowed a Nazarite vow. In order for a Nazarite to complete his vow, he had to pay a sum for the sacrifice (Num. 6:13-17). It was a substantial sum of money; therefore, according to the Jewish tradition, those who paid on behalf of a poor Nazarite were not only considered pious but actually became partakers of the Nazarite vow.
Paul writes strongly in the books of Romans and Galatians that the law is over. Since that is the case, why would Paul concede to James’s proposal when he was in Jerusalem and go back to the law? Perhaps Paul was thinking, “Although I have written the books of Romans and Galatians, I have also written the book of 1 Corinthians. There I said that to the Jews I became as a Jew that I might gain the Jews (9:20). Since all the people here in Jerusalem are Jews, I can only be a Jew.” To put it in a nice way, Paul did this in order to not be different from others. To put it in a not-so-nice way, Paul was compromising.