CHRIST JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD
1 Timothy 1:1-20
Key Verse: 1:15
"Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst."
1 and 2 Timothy are Paul's epistles to his partners in Christ, Timothy, in an attempt to instruct
him how to be a great leader. In the New Testament, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus are known as
pastoral epistles. These epistles instruct pastors how to teach and discipline God's sheep under their
care. In today's passage Paul instructs Timothy to be careful of false teachers. But in reality, this
passage is St. Paul's personal life testimony: how he received God's grace and mission. Paul wrote
his personal testimony so that Timothy might keep the basic attitude toward God Almighty and have
God's grace upon him always. I pray that we all may remember the wonderful grace of Jesus upon
our lives and fight the good spiritual fight to prepare our international summer Bible conference. May
God give grace, mercy and peace to you all through this passage.
I. Grace, mercy and peace from God be with you (1-11)
First, a servant of God must have grace, mercy and peace from God (1-2). Look at verse 1. "Paul,
an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope." These
days people say, "I am Steve or Maria." That's all. But in 1 Timothy 1:1, Paul introduces himself,
"Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope."
From his introduction, Paul was convinced that his calling from God was by the grace of Jesus Christ.
Also, it was by the command of God our Savior. The Sovereign God appointed Paul to preach the
gospel of Jesus for the dying people. Originally the title "apostle" was given only to those who saw
Jesus and were commissioned by Jesus directly like Apostle Peter and John. But Paul insisted that he
saw the Risen Christ on the way to Damascus and was sent by Jesus directly. He fiercely defended
his apostleship from his accusers in 1 Cor. 9:1, "Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen
Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?" The position of apostleship to Paul
was so precious that it was like life to him. In this dark generation God called us to become Bible
teachers and shepherds and shepherdesses to share the word of God. Though our position is not
glamorous and nobody appreciates what we do and we are not paid for what we do, it is very
precious before God. Even the angels cannot preach the gospel to the people. But we can preach the
gospel according to God's command. God's calling makes our life meaningful. How do you regard
your position before God? Some of you may think, "I am fruitless and maybe God did not call me.
I can not keep my title as a missionary or shepherd." But that is a sin. We should always say, "No
matter what happens, I am a servant of God." God called us to become his servants by the grace of
Jesus. Not because we are qualified but because Jesus had mercy on us and chose us to become his
instrument. We should not look at our situation but God our Savior who commanded us to follow
his word. God is the source of our calling and mission.
When Paul preached the gospel the world situation was the worst in history. The world was
lawless and extremely unjust. The world was full of despaired men. To them, to have hope was
impossible. Because of despair people were unable to think properly. But Paul had hope in Jesus
Christ, as he said in the last part of verse 1. There is no hope in the world. But there is hope in Jesus
Christ.
Look at verse 2. "To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the
Father and Christ Jesus our Lord." Timothy's mother was a Jewess called Eunice and his grandmother
was Lois(2Tim 1:5) 2 Timothy 1:7 implies that he was timid and shy. He knew how to be loved, but
he did not know how to love others. Moreover, he lacked self-control. Despite all of his weaknesses,
he served Paul so persistently until he was known as a faithful man. Faithful means reliable. Timothy
was always available when Paul needed him. Whenever Paul said, "Let's go campus fishing," he said,
"no problem." Whenever Paul said, "Be a fellowship messenger tomorrow," he did not excuse saying,
"I have a final test next week. Ask someone else." Instead, he made himself available to support Paul's
ministry. Though he did not have a superman-like character, he possessed a quality to become a
leader because he was proved to be faithful in all things. Those who always find excuses when God
called them for a certain task can not be used in the redemptive work of God because they proved
to be unfaithful. Timothy joined Paul's second missionary journey (Ac 16:3) Timothy accompanied
Paul to Troas, Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, where he remained until Paul sent for him to come
to Athens (Ac 17:14-15). Timothy was, in character, one of the weaklings; he was not at all
leadership material. But Timothy became faithful in the course of following Paul and performed a
pastoral ministry at Ephesus. I always found Shep. Todd Funk and two Steves and Anthony Morkre
these days in the 5:30 AM prayer meetings. They proved to become faithful servants of prayers.
Paul and Timothy's main work place was Ephesus, where they spent three years raising
disciples of Jesus during the third missionary journey. According to Acts 19, it appears that Paul had
made a great multitude of Christian converts in Ephesus. His ministry was so fruitful that Ephesus
became the world mission center in the province of Asia Minor. They probably prayed to pioneer 206
Asia Minor campuses. But there was a problem. In Paul's days, churches met mostly in the homes of
Christians. Scores of thousands of Christians in and around Ephesus met, not in one or a few great
congregations like today's megachurches, but in hundreds of small groups in various homes, each
congregation under its own pastoral leadership. There must have been hundreds of pastors. In Acts
20:17 they are called elders. In the epistle they are called bishops or overseers (1 Pet 5:2).
Timothy's work was primarily to train these pastors and congregational leaders in the place
of St. Paul. This was not an easy task. And Paul thought that the foundation of gospel faith should
be firmly established in Ephesus. So the false teachers should not bother new Christian converts. This
is the reason Paul writes this letter to Timothy. It is very important to train future leaders who can
defend the true gospel of Jesus. It is time for us to establish a training program to equip many chapter
directors and fellowship leaders to protect the sound Christian doctrine and support pioneering work
of 206 East Coast campuses.
Look at verse 2. "To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the
Father and Christ Jesus our Lord." In the first part of verse 2, Paul said, "my true son in the faith."
As we know, Paul never married. Then how could he have a son. He meant that Timothy was his
spiritual son in the faith. Apostle Paul was like a spiritual father to young Timothy. Single shepherd
and shepherdess can have spiritual children through 1:1 Bible studies. Shep. Steve can have
spiritual sons like Ian and Anthony through shepherding them before he can have a little Haga. Verse
2b says, "Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord." A servant of God
is like a father with many sons. A father who has many sons has many problems because of his
children. So he can not maintain grace, mercy and peace from God. But the servant of God, even
though he has sons and daughters with many problems, must maintain God's grace, mercy and peace
in his heart. When we have a goat-like sheep, it is hard to be graceful. We feel like spanking them
when they never listen to the word of God. Missionary Elijah Park maintains the peace of God though
storming Norman grows very slowly and gives him many storms. As you know, being a father means
a lot of troubles. If you have a father spiritual or physical, don't make him troubled even a day and
give him one day break by saying, "Thank you, father. I appreciate your grace and love for me."
Second, warning against false teachers of the law (3-11). Look at verse 3. "As I urged you when I
went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false
doctrines any longer." When Paul went into Macedonia, he told Timothy to stay in Ephesus so that
he might somehow deal with false teachers. Where there was a work of God, there was also a work
of Satan. False teachers misled many new believers and caused them stumble from their faith. Look
at verse 4. "Nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies
rather than God's work-which is by faith." "False teachers" mainly talked about Jewish legends
connected with Old Testament genealogies. They talked endlessly but there was no 1:1 Bible studies.
They did not have a single Bible study sheep. Their smooth talk only produced many controversies.
They did not help the ministry at all. They implied that anybody can enter the kingdom of God
because God is love. God condemns nobody. They confused a lot of people with their endless talk.
Paul commanded Timothy to stop them without any compromise. Paul knew the false teachers made
use of the law. Paul recognized that the law itself is good. But the law cannot save men from their
sins. Paul explained why the gospel of Jesus Christ is superior to the law. Look at verse 8. "We know
that the law is good if one uses it properly." How nice it is if all the people of the world keep the law
of God day and night. But the sinful human beings break the law of God 100%, some of them 120%.
Look at verse 9. The law is for the lawbreakers not for the law-abiding good citizens. We don't have
to be fearful of the law as long we keep the law. But as soon as we break the law, we are in trouble.
The summary of the whole Bible is to love God and to love your neighbor. When we love God and
our neighbor we can live with a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith. How wonderful
it would be to see all American young students having the key point of the Bible--love God, love your
neighbor--and by doing so, keep a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith.
II. Wonderful grace of Jesus (12-20)
First, God's grace and mission upon Paul (12-17) This part is not easy to understand for anyone who
has not experienced the deep grace of Jesus, who was nailed in his hands and feet on the cross. This
part may be easy for Peter to understand. Peter expressed this grace poetically by paraphrasing Isaiah
(Isa. 53:3-6): "O my Master, I betrayed you three times. Because of my sins you were nailed on the
cross and whipped until you were badly wounded. But by your wounds I am healed." Paul also
encouraged Timothy to remember God's grace in his heart always. For example, Jesus Christ
considered Paul faithful when he was terribly unfaithful. Even if Paul was a dangerous man, the Risen
Christ appointed him as the apostle for the Gentiles (Ro. 1:5) When he was not trustworthy Jesus
trusted him and gave him the most precious mission. Paul shared what kind of sinner he was in verse
13. "Though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy
because I acted in ignorance and unbelief." He was a blasphemer and persecutor of early Christians,
who were desperately helpless. In order to gratify his selfish ambition he blasphemed God by
persecuting the Risen Christ. He was the worst sinner. He should not remain on the earth. But Jesus
visited him on the road to Damascus. When the Risen Christ appeared, suddenly light from heaven
flashed around him, and the whole world became dark. Paul fell down to the ground and heard a
voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, who do you persecute me?" (Ac 9:4) Paul was the unique one who
persecuted the Risen Christ. So Paul said, "The grace of our Lord was poured out on me
abundantly..."(14a) Not only did the Risen Christ pour out his grace upon him abundantly, but also
he poured out abundantly the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The Risen Christ granted him the
faith and love that the Risen Christ had. What a wonderful grace! Paul remembered God's grace even
when he became a top leader of the Christian church. When Paul remembered his past sins, he felt
that he was a crippled man. So he called himself, the "one abnormally born" (1Co 15:8b). Paul kept
on saying in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10, "I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be
called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace to me was not without effect." It is sure that when he told this testimony he cried a lot
before young Christians even though he was an old man. There is a deep meaning in Paul's telling
about God's grace. It is because servants of God must remember the grace of God in any
circumstance. Paul is telling this to Timothy so that Timothy may not despair in any situation but
remember God's grace and be strong.
Paul remembered that he was a forgiven sinner. Look at verse 15. "Here is a trustworthy
saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am
the worst." Usually, many servants of God try to appear pious and holy. They only talk about their
achievements not mentioning what kind of sinners they were in the past. Many servants of God think
that they are not sinners but that their church members are all rebellious and stingy sinners. Some
Christians think that they are a little better sinners than their friends because their friends use drugs
but they do not. Usually fallen men are very self-righteous and forgetful. They are strict towards
others but very generous to themselves. But Paul said, "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves
full acceptance..." Paul strongly urges that he was a sinner, but Jesus showered his grace upon him.
At that time, St. Paul's spiritual level was in the heavenly realm. When he prayed, he did not know
if he was on the second-dimensional level or on the third-dimensional level, the kingdom of God. In
other words, through his prayer he entered into the kingdom of God and talked with God(2Co 12:2).
But he never forgot God's grace to him, who was the most terrible sinner. Paul's mission field was
worldwide. His knowledge of God was matchless forever. But Paul remembered what kind of sinner
he was. So he could remember the wonderful grace of Jesus every day, and his spiritual strength was
renewed. Last week God granted a victory to Shep. Rusty Smiroldo allowing him to practice law.
Many newspapers wrote his life testimony telling about his past criminal history and his turn around
through his involvement in UBF. The main point was that Shep. Rusty proved to be faithful not
breaking any law for last 12 years and thus become a changed man of God. The character committee
recommended him not to be admitted to the bar but God overruled their recommendation through
the highest court in Maryland saying, "Let him be admitted to the bar. He is a new creation." Shep.
Rusty has been faithful to the Lord and God blessed his faithfulness and rewarded him to become the
first American lawyer shepherd. Shep. Rusty confidently said, "I am not the same person." When
I asked him to be a messenger last week, he said, "no problem. I am privileged to be a servant of
God's word." Behind him I see one faithful woman of faith. Michelle has been faithful to her mission
as a suitable helper raising up three children quietly and waiting for another. I pray that God may use
his lawyer's license to build his church and strengthen the work of God.
Paul remembered God's world salvation plan, that God wants to save all the lost ones and
bring them back to his kingdom. For this, Paul did not spare his life--because of God's grace. Paul
wanted Timothy to remember God's grace and overcome the world and conquer the world with the
gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Second, Timothy, be a good fighter(18-20). St. Paul was like a four-star spiritual general in the work
of salvation in the early Christian days. He pioneered so many chapters. The enemy of God, Satan,
was bigger than the Rocky Mountains. The early Christians were like a bunch of penguins. But Paul
did not say to Timothy, "Well, be careful. I know you have a weak physical body." Instead, Paul said,
"fight the good fight" (18). It meant, "You gotta be a general even though you are younger. You
gotta be a leader even if you are the youngest among the elders. Don't give up but fight a spiritual
battle to raise up disciples of Jesus." From time to time we think those who are leadership material
are born to be so. But according to Paul's faith, it is not so. Timothy was a kind of quiet introvert
person, spoiled by his widowed grandmother and by his own mother. He did not receive any divine
discipline form his father. In short, he was not great leadership material. He was an average person
like Timothy Forbes who lives up to his name. But Paul recognized him as a spiritual general because
of his faithfulness. People think smart people can do something. But according to Bible teaching,
faithful people can be used by God. Here we learn that we should not see weaklings or shy people
as weaklings, but with faith we must see them all as future pastors and gospel workers. Shep. Carter
Shanklin rarely speaks unless someone initiates a talk. But he proved to be faithful since he began to
preside the Sunday worship service. He never missed his presiding duty though sometimes he messed
up the order of worship service. Last week he was baptized to declare his faith in Christ. He has a
great potential to be a leader in pioneering Virginia campuses.
We want to do God's work wholeheartedly. We want to raise up 12 disciples right away. But
sometimes we do not know what to do. First, we must remember God's grace. Second, we must
remember God's grace. Third, we must remember God's grace. This is the sound doctrine of Christian
faith. Then God will abundantly bless our ministry. Let's read the key verse 1:15.