The Appearing of God Our Savior E-Book

Claire Smith

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: New Testament Theology
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 284

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

An Introduction to the Theology and Themes of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus The letters of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus were written by Paul to trusted coworkers toward the end of his apostolic ministry. As Paul's delegates, they were to teach and defend the truth, model godly living, and ensure that godly church leadership was in place. But these letters are more than just a how-to guide for ministry. In this volume of the New Testament Theology series, Claire Smith explores the central themes and theology of each letter, which consistently focus on God's eternal plan in Christ to save a people for himself. Emphasizing that we live between the two appearings of Christ Jesus in history, Smith encourages readers to live in this present time as God's household (1 Timothy), how to endure suffering as believers (2 Timothy), and how to live in an unbelieving world (Titus). - Part of the New Testament Theology Series: Other volumes include To Walk and to Please God; Ministry in the New Realm; United to Christ; and more  - Resource for Church Leaders: Explores 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, written to guide church leaders toward authentic and gospel-centered ministry  - Great for Studying the Bible More Deeply: Perfect for pastors, seminarians, college students, and laypeople

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“Studies of Paul’s three Pastoral Letters often focus on the problems they address. Claire Smith rightly centers on the God who acts and speaks to save a people for himself. This places the emphasis where the text does and advances the teachings and admonitions that surely renewed faith, direction, and hope in Timothy, in Titus, and in their congregations. Smith’s exceptionally clear and flowing exposition of the letters to Timothy and Titus offers the same refreshing benefit to readers, the church, and the world today.”

Robert W. Yarbrough, Professor of New Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary

“With sound scholarship and insightful clarity, Claire Smith zooms out from the text of these three epistles, helping readers to see the overriding themes and ideas Paul communicates, and enabling readers to trace his arguments, understand his terms, and grasp his message.”

Nancy Guthrie, author and Bible teacher

“This is an excellent guide to three New Testament epistles that are vitally important for the life of the church. Smith structures her introduction around their major themes: the sovereign purposes of God, the need for and nature of salvation, and the proclamation of the message and its outworking in the life of the Christian community. A great place to begin to understand what God is saying to his pilgrim people here on earth, as we await the final outworking of his plan for us and the whole of creation.”

Gerald Bray, Research Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School; Director of Research, Latimer Trust

“This accessible volume provides a very useful sketch of the theology of each of Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus. Readers will find in Claire Smith a competent and reliable guide for studying these eminently relevant missives to Paul’s apostolic delegates.”

Andreas J. Köstenberger, Theologian in Residence, Fellowship Raleigh, North Carolina; Research Professor of Biblical Studies, Palm Beach Atlantic University

“The Appearing of God Our Savior is classic Claire Smith. It is clear and compelling and will help you be a better reader of God’s word. Smith shows us that life is always about how God orders things. Therefore, every part of our lives is to conform to God’s purposes and plans. We may suffer now as we live this way, but we are blessed and saved for eternity through Christ Jesus.”

Jane Tooher, Faculty, Moore Theological College, Sydney

“Here is a masterful demonstration that the letters to Timothy and Titus contain much more than ecclesiological tidbits. Pastors and other Bible teachers will find in this volume a lucid summation of God’s redemptive arrangement: the one God who desires to save a people for himself, the one mediator—Jesus Christ—who accomplishes the salvation of God’s people, the Spirit who indwells and empowers, and the human agents through whom God’s saving word advances. This will remain one of my go-to theological resources as I preach and teach the letters to Paul’s delegates.”

Dillon T. Thornton, Lead Pastor, Faith Community Church, Seminole, Florida

“Claire Smith has gifted us with a remarkable resource that delves into the theological and pastoral depths of Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus. Often these letters are viewed only through the lens of specific debates. However, Smith skillfully encourages us to take a broader perspective, highlighting how the letters convey profound truths about the God who saves us from sin and death through his Son, Jesus Christ. Smith connects these truths to the practical realities of human relationships, church life, and pastoral ministry. While clearly the result of her thorough exegetical analysis and scholarly expertise, the book remains clear, accessible, and highly engaging.”

Lionel Windsor, Lecturer in New Testament, Moore Theological College, Sydney

“The New Testament letters to Timothy and Titus address a number of critically important issues in the life of the churches in Ephesus and Crete at the time of writing. Claire Smith’s helpful study carefully explores the big ideas about God and his purposes that shape the apostle Paul’s understanding of and response to these issues. Those of us who tend to focus on the details of the particular texts will be helped to see how the appearing of God our Savior is the wonderful reality that, in different ways, illuminates each of these letters. Bible students and teachers will benefit from this perceptive bird’s-eye view.”

John Woodhouse, Former Principal, Moore Theological College, Sydney

“The Pastoral Epistles are essential for the health of the church of Christ. They are core study material for all church leaders and Christian workers. Churches benefit from every member being familiar with them. This concise study identifies and examines the key theological themes in each letter and thus provides an outstanding resource for any wishing to understand and teach this vital material. I found myself profoundly encouraged by Claire Smith’s work.”

William Taylor, Rector, St Helen’s Bishopsgate, London

“This excellent book fills a long-standing need for a thorough assessment of the theology expressed in these letters without the undue but widespread skepticism about the letters. With clear and accessible writing, Smith beautifully articulates the theology of the Pastoral Epistles, showing also how it fits with the rest of Pauline, and indeed New Testament, theology, making this a wonderful resource for anyone studying 1–2 Timothy and Titus.”

Ray Van Neste, Dean of the School of Theology and Missions and Vice President for University Ministries, Union University

“Claire Smith expertly expounds 1–2 Timothy and Titus in this excellent entry to the New Testament Theology series. These apostolic letters not only engage pressing challenges of the early church but also instruct the church in every age to marvel at the saving plan of God, to hold fast to God-breathed Scriptures, to endure suffering, and to love Christ’s appearing. Highly recommended!”

Brian J. Tabb, President and Professor of Biblical Studies, Bethlehem College and Seminary

“Claire Smith’s study of these epistles helps us to elevate our gaze to the majestic narrative of God’s redemptive plan in Christ. Her exploration of the themes reveals that the heart of these Pastoral Letters lies not in household and church rules but in a revelation of God’s character and his mission in the world to save sinners and transform a people for himself. Smith’s work will help Christian leaders and all God’s people to stand courageously firm in God’s revealed truth and live gospel-shaped lives while we await the glorious appearing of Jesus.”

Carmelina Read, Dean of Women, Christ College, Presbyterian Theological College

The Appearing of God Our Savior

New Testament Theology

Edited by Thomas R. Schreiner and Brian S. Rosner

The Beginning of the Gospel: A Theology of Mark, Peter Orr

From the Manger to the Throne: A Theology of Luke, Benjamin L. Gladd

The Mission of the Triune God: A Theology of Acts, Patrick Schreiner

Ministry in the New Realm: A Theology of 2 Corinthians, Dane C. Ortlund

Christ Crucified: A Theology of Galatians, Thomas R. Schreiner

United to Christ, Walking in the Spirit: A Theology of Ephesians, Benjamin L. Merkle

Hidden with Christ in God: A Theology of Colossians and Philemon, Kevin W. McFadden

To Walk and to Please God: A Theology of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Andrew S. Malone

The Appearing of God Our Savior: A Theology of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, Claire S. Smith

Perfect Priest for Weary Pilgrims: A Theology of Hebrews, Dennis E. Johnson

The God Who Judges and Saves: A Theology of 2 Peter and Jude, Matthew S. Harmon

The Joy of Hearing: A Theology of the Book of Revelation, Thomas R. Schreiner

The Appearing of God Our Savior

A Theology of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus

Claire S. Smith

The Appearing of God Our Savior: A Theology of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus

© 2025 by Claire S. Smith

Published by Crossway1300 Crescent StreetWheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.

For all Bible translations used, see “Bible Versions Cited.”

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

Cover design: Kevin Lipp

First printing 2025

Printed in the United States of America

Word counts of Greek words from the New Testament have been obtained from Accordance 12.3.6 © Oaktree Software, Inc. August 2019.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-7652-2 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-7655-3 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-7653-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Smith, Claire S. (Claire Seymour), 1960– author.

Title: The appearing of God our savior : a Theology of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus / Claire S. Smith.

Description: Wheaton, Illinois : Crossway, 2025. | Series: New Testament theology | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2024010286 (print) | LCCN 2024010287 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433576522 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781433576539 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433576553 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Bible. Timothy. | Bible. Titus. | Jesus Christ.

Classification: LCC BS2745.3 .S74 2025 (print) | LCC BS2745.3 (ebook) | DDC 227/.8306—dc23/eng/20240523

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024010286

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024010287

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2024-10-23 03:46:10 PM

For my sister Barbara

For her exemplary care of our mother

1 Timothy 5:4, 16

Contents

  Series Preface

  Preface

  Abbreviations

  Bible Versions Cited

  Introduction

Who, What, When, and Why?

Part 1 1 Timothy: The Only God

1  The God Who Saves

2  The Hope of Salvation

3  The Word of God

4  The Household of God

5  The Promise of Godliness

Part 2 2 Timothy: Remember Jesus Christ

6  The God of Power

7  The Promise of Life

8  The Living Word

9  Suffering and the Gospel

Part 3 Titus: God Our Savior

10  The God of Grace

11  He Saved Us

12  Our People, God’s Elect

  Epilogue

  Recommended Resources

  General Index

  Scripture Index

Series Preface

There are remarkably few treatments of the big ideas of single books of the New Testament. Readers can find brief coverage in Bible dictionaries, in some commentaries, and in New Testament theologies, but such books are filled with other information and are not devoted to unpacking the theology of each New Testament book in its own right. Technical works concentrating on various themes of New Testament theology often have a narrow focus, treating some aspect of the teaching of, say, Matthew or Hebrews in isolation from the rest of the book’s theology.

The New Testament Theology series seeks to fill this gap by providing students of Scripture with readable book-length treatments of the distinctive teaching of each New Testament book or collection of books. The volumes approach the text from the perspective of biblical theology. They pay due attention to the historical and literary dimensions of the text, but their main focus is on presenting the teaching of particular New Testament books about God and his relations to the world on their own terms, maintaining sight of the Bible’s overarching narrative and Christocentric focus. Such biblical theology is of fundamental importance to biblical and expository preaching and informs exegesis, systematic theology, and Christian ethics.

The twenty volumes in the series supply comprehensive, scholarly, and accessible treatments of theological themes from an evangelical perspective. We envision them being of value to students, preachers, and interested laypeople. When preparing an expository sermon series, for example, pastors can find a healthy supply of informative commentaries, but there are few options for coming to terms with the overall teaching of each book of the New Testament. As well as being useful in sermon and Bible study preparation, the volumes will also be of value as textbooks in college and seminary exegesis classes. Our prayer is that they contribute to a deeper understanding of and commitment to the kingdom and glory of God in Christ.

The authenticity of the Pastoral Epistles is often questioned, but even when they are accepted as authentic, they are too often assigned a subsidiary status in Paul’s thought. Claire Smith demonstrates in her insightful treatment that these letters proclaim the gospel, the good news that God in Jesus Christ is our Savior and Lord. At the same time, God’s saving work touches earth, reaching out to human beings and forming a new community—the church. We see, then, that God’s saving work brings order and structure and truth to God’s people. Such order and structure doesn’t quench life but causes God’s people to blossom and flourish. God’s saving work has a transformative impact on the lives of those who are redeemed so that God’s people display God’s character and grace to the world.

Thomas R. Schreiner and Brian S. Rosner

Preface

As people who spend our lives studying and teaching God’s word, we can easily pigeonhole books in the Bible. We turn to Romans for teaching on justification by faith; 1 Corinthians for our corporate life as the body of Christ; Philippians for church unity; and, when it comes to the focus of this current book, 1 Timothy for gender relations and the role of women in the church; 2 Timothy for ministry training; and perhaps Titus for church order or mentoring among women. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that. But it can mean our pigeonholing takes us straight into the nitty-gritty of specific texts before we’ve done the Google Earth view and considered the book as a whole.

That’s certainly been my experience with this project. The letters are familiar. I’ve studied them closely over the years. But it has been reorienting (and rewarding) to step back and explore the main themes and to see that, despite the intensely practical nature of the letters, they say more about God and his project to save a people for himself than they do about us. I hope your eyes and hearts are similarly lifted to God our Savior!

I am very grateful to Drs. Tom Schreiner and Brian Rosner for the invitation to contribute to this series, and for their warm fellowship and encouragement along the way. There are others to thank, too. Anyone working on Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus owes a debt of thanks to Dr. Chuck Bumgardner, who curates the website pastoralepistles.com and is himself an invaluable resource on these letters. I was also greatly helped by the feedback of friends and fellow researchers, Talar Khatchoyan, Archdeacon Kara Hartley, and Drs. Lionel Windsor, John Percival, and Rob Smith, who gave their precious time and wisdom to read the manuscript as it neared the finish line. I’m grateful to my women’s Bible study groups at our previous and current churches, for their faithful prayers and pastoral care. As always, I am thankful for my husband, Rob, my greatest encourager. Thanks, too, go to editor Thom Notaro and the rest of the team at Crossway for bringing this book to publication. My deepest thanks go to God—for saving this foremost of sinners, and for the goodness and sufficiency of his word and the incredible blessing of being its student and sharing it with others. “To [him] be honor and glory forever and ever” (1 Tim. 1:17).

Claire S. Smith

December 2023

Abbreviations

AB

Anchor Bible

AT

Author’s translation

BBR

Bulletin for Biblical Research

BBRSup

Bulletin for Biblical Research, Supplements

BDAG

Danker, Frederick W., Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000

BST

Bible Speaks Today

BTCP

Biblical Theology for Christian Proclamation

BTINT

Biblical Theological Introduction to the New Testament: The Gospel Realized. Edited by Michael J. Kruger. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016

CBC

Cornerstone Biblical Commentary

CNTUOT

Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Edited by G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007

DJG

Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Edited by Joel B. Green, Jeannine K. Brown, and Nicholas Perrin. 2nd ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2013 (ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/moore/detail.action?docID=3316699)

DPL

Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. Edited by Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993

ECC

Eerdmans Critical Commentary

EvQ

Evangelical Quarterly

EWTG

Entrusted with the Gospel: Paul’s Theology in the Pastoral Epistles. Edited by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Terry L. Wilder. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2010

HBT

Horizons in Biblical Theology

IBS

Irish Biblical Studies

ICC

International Critical Commentary

Int

Interpretation

ITC

International Theological Commentary

JETS

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

JSNTSup

Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series

JSPL

Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters

LSJ

Liddell, Henry George, Robert Scott, and Henry Stuart Jones. Greek-English Lexicon. 9th ed. with revised supplement. Oxford: Clarendon, 1996

LXX

Septuagint

NAC

New American Commentary

NDBT

New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Edited by T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner. Leicester, UK: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000

NIBC

New International Biblical Commentary

NICNT

New International Commentary on the New Testament

NIDNTT

New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. Edited by Colin Brown. 4 vols. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1975–1978

NIGTC

New International Greek Testament Commentary

NTS

New Testament Studies

PBM

Paternoster Biblical Monographs

PE

Pastoral Epistles

PNTC

The Pillar New Testament Commentary

REGW

“Ready for Every Good Work” (Titus 3:1): Implicit Ethics in the Letter to Titus. Edited by Ruben Zimmermann and Dogara Ishaya Manomi. Contexts and Norms of New Testament Ethics 13. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 484. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2022

SNTSU

Studien zum Neuen Testament und seiner Umwelt

ST

Studia Theologica

STR

Southeastern Theological Review

TENTS

Texts and Editions for New Testament Study

THNTC

Two Horizons New Testament Commentary

TNTC

Tyndale New Testament Commentaries

WBC

Word Biblical Commentary

WTJ

Westminster Theological Journal

WUNT

Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament

ZNW

Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche

Bible Versions Cited

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations designated NET are from the NET Bible® copyright © 1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked YLT are taken from Young’s Literal Translation, 1898. Public domain.

Introduction

Who, What, When, and Why?

The letters to Timothy and Titus1 divide readers perhaps more than any other books in the New Testament. They’re embraced as the last canonical words of the beloved apostle Paul or maligned as fictitious works of forgery. They are the go-to guide for authentic gospel ministry or mark the church’s departure from the apostolic era into arid formalism and hierarchical institutionalism. They present the beauty of God-ordained complementary gender relations or are guilty of misogynistic patriarchalism.

Some interpreters decry the letters’ theological poverty and think them unworthy of Paul. Others see them comfortably aligned with Paul’s teaching and treasure their theological gems, for instance, about Christ’s coming into the world “to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15), the God-breathed nature of Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16), the unstoppable gospel (2 Tim. 2:9), the future appearing of “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13), and “fighting the good fight” of faith (1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7).

There are many reasons for these conflicting reactions, but behind almost all of them is the question of authorship.

Authorship of the Letters

The opening verses of all three letters unambiguously claim that they are from the apostle Paul (1 Tim. 1:1; 2 Tim. 1:1; Titus 1:1). Until the early nineteenth century this claim stood largely unchallenged, but since then it’s been broadly rejected by critical interpreters. This has meant that issues of authorship have dominated the study of the letters among both those who deny Pauline authorship and those who accept it.2 Authorship has become the lens through which every aspect of the letters is viewed, including their theology.

Interpreters who reject Pauline authorship claim the letters were written after Paul’s death by those seeking to sound like the apostle either to preserve his legacy and apply his teaching to new situations or (more self-interestedly) to assume Paul’s identity and authority to advance their own agenda. Either way, the letters are viewed as pseudonymous, and the author and recipients and their situations are literary constructs, not real. It’s not Paul’s voice or theology we hear but Pauline “tradition” or, at best, fragments of the “real Paul” pasted into someone else’s work, skeptics argue.3

Typically, their objections have concentrated on five features (vocabulary, style, false teaching opposed, ecclesiology, and theology), where the letters to Timothy and Titus are seen to differ from Paul’s so-called “undisputed” letters. However, the nature and significance of these differences have been overstated and are increasingly seen as misplaced in the first place.4 The evidence weighs against a pseudonymous author and a post-apostolic date.5

There have always been those who have accepted the prima facie claim of the ascriptions and the testimony of the early church that all three letters were written by Paul.6 More recently, too, the tide has begun to turn, and interpreters across the theological divide are affirming Pauline authorship.7Some among that number see the input of a scribe as the reason for differences with Paul’s other letters (cf. Rom. 16:22),8 although the absence of a scribe or of co-senders might equally explain these differences. My view is that Paul is the author of each of the three letters, without significant input from a scribe, if any.

We don’t know exactly when the letters were written, and there are difficulties fitting them into the chronology of Acts and Paul’s other letters. But this doesn’t preclude Pauline authorship.9 Most likely, Paul was released from the imprisonment recorded in Acts 28, had a subsequent ministry during which 1 Timothy and Titus were written (ca. AD 62–65), then was imprisoned again and died in Rome (ca. AD 65–67).10 Second Timothy is his last letter, written during that final imprisonment.

I have one further observation about their authorship. Liberal scholar A. T. Hanson wrote that anyone writing about the letters to Timothy and Titus “must begin by stating whether he believes they are Pauline or not, and if not, in what circumstances he believes they were written.”11 That’s because views on authorship and the related matters of dating and historical context play a significant role in an interpreter’s hermeneutical approach and conclusions about the letters. Views on authorship affect the whole enterprise. This means that as students of these letters who receive them as divinely inspired, truth-telling Scripture, we need to read scholarly resources with the interpreter’s views on authorship front of mind, even if they come from well-loved, accomplished scholars.12

The “Pastoral Epistles” Label

The three works have been known as the Pastoral Epistles since at least the early eighteenth century13 and, from the time of the early church, have been recognized as forming a group within the New Testament Epistles addressing the ordering and exercise of ministry, and the instruction and discipline of church members.14

There is a certain logic to the grouping and adjective “pastoral.” There is no denying that the letters have distinctive shared characteristics. They are the only letters in the New Testament primarily addressed to Paul’s coworkers.15 They were written late in the apostle’s life. They have distinctive vocabulary.16 Much of what they address relates to church ministry.17 They deal with opponents who have arisen from within the churches and are within reach of pastoral discipline. And they’re a substitute for Paul’s physical presence, so that, whether his absence is through distance or death (1 Tim. 3:15; 2 Tim. 1:4; 4:9, 21; Titus 1:5; 3:12), Timothy and Titus, and those after them, will have apostolic instruction about how the gospel of God’s salvation in Christ is to be faithfully preserved, defended, advanced, and proclaimed until Christ Jesus appears in glory. It’s no surprise, then, that they have been recognized as a subgroup within the Pauline corpus.

But even at a surface level, there are real differences. They have different recipients, Timothy and Titus, and churches in two locations, with different cultures and status within the Roman Empire: Ephesus, a significant city in Asia Minor (1 Tim. 1:3; 2 Tim. 1:18; 4:12; 2:17 with 1 Tim. 1:20), and Crete, a large island in the Mediterranean Sea (Titus 1:5).18

There are similarities and differences in the social and theological challenges facing the churches.19 The false teaching in both locations had Jewish elements and involved speculation, genealogies, myths (1 Tim. 1:3–7; 4:7; 2 Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:10–16; 3:9), and ascetic concerns for ritual purity (1 Tim. 4:3; Titus 1:15). The opponents were immoral and greedy (1 Tim. 1:19; 4:2; 6:5–10; 2 Tim. 3:1–6; Titus 1:11, 15–16; 3:11). But the false claims about resurrection plaguing the Ephesian church (2 Tim. 2:18; cf. 1 Tim. 4:1–3)20 don’t feature in Titus; and the churches (1 Tim. 3:6; 5:17–20; Titus 1:5) and influence of the opponents appear less established in Crete than Ephesus (1 Tim. 1:18–20; 2 Tim. 2:17; 4:14; Titus 1:10–11; 3:10).

The delegates themselves had different cultural origins and different contact points with Paul’s mission. Timothy’s mother and grandmother were Jewish (2 Tim. 1:5; 3:14), but his father was Greek (Acts 16:1, 3). Titus was a full Gentile convert (Gal. 2:3). Both had accompanied Paul and been deputized for him and knew him and his theology (Timothy: 1 Tim. 1:3; cf. Acts 17:14; 19:22; 1 Cor. 4:17; 16:10–11; Phil. 2:19; 1 Thess. 3:2; Titus: 2 Cor. 7:6–7; 12:18; Gal. 2:1; 2 Tim. 4:10). Each was Paul’s “child” (teknon) in the faith, although the bond appears to have been closer with Timothy (“beloved,” 2 Tim. 1:2).

The letters were also written at different points in Paul’s life, and different stages in the life of the churches in Ephesus and Crete. We know that Paul had a long and fruitful ministry in Ephesus and a significant history with church leaders there (Acts 19; 20:17–38), but there’s no similar record of his ministry on Crete (Acts 27:7–13; cf. 2:11). He may have ministered there, but Titus’s anticipated role is not dependent upon it (Titus 1:5).

The title “Pastoral Epistles” can obscure these differences, but it can also facilitate a corpus reading that harmonizes the messages and theology of the letters and isolates them from Paul’s other epistles. The “pastoral” adjective itself can direct attention away from other key aspects of the letters. With other interpreters, then, I prefer the title “the letters to Timothy and Titus,” as this groups the letters without obscuring their individuality or prejudging their content.21

How to Use This Book

In keeping with this, and unlike many resources on the three letters, I have studied each one on its own. The upside of this is that the distinctive theology of each can be appreciated, even as we recognize the coherent theology of the same apostolic author. The downside is that to avoid repetition I’ve not always restated in detail what I have said earlier. For instance, Paul uses “Savior” (sōtēr) differently in each letter, but the Old Testament, Jewish, and Greco-Roman background to the title remains the same, and so I have not repeated it in full. Also, at points, I’ve contrasted an aspect of one letter with the other two. That is, while the three parts of this book correspond to the three letters, not everything said about each letter is in its designated part! My recommendation, therefore, is to read the whole book, so nothing is missed.

1  Explanation of this preferred collective term is found below.

2  For a recent survey of the issues, see Jermo van Nes, “The Pastoral Epistles: Common Themes, Individual Compositions? An Introduction to the Quest for the Origin(s) of the Letters to Timothy and Titus,” JSPL 9 (2019): 6–29. See, also, introductions to most commentaries, in particular: Luke Timothy Johnson, The First and Second Letters to Timothy, AB 35A (New York: Doubleday, 2001), 20–97; Philip H. Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2006), 27–53; Andreas J. Köstenberger, Commentary on 1–2 Timothy and Titus, BTCP (Nashville: Holman Reference, 2017), 1–54; Robert W. Yarbrough, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, PNTC (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2018), 69–90.

3  For a critique of such views, see Terry L. Wilder, “Pseudonymity, the New Testament, and the Pastoral Epistles,” in EWTG 28–51.

4  See Stanley E. Porter, “The Pastoral Epistles: Common Themes, Individual Compositions. Concluding Reflections,” JSPL 9 (2019): 167–74.

5  See Eckhard J. Schnabel, “Paul, Timothy, and Titus: The Assumption of a Pseudonymous Author and of Pseudonymous Recipients in the Light of Literary, Theological, and Historical Evidence,” in Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith? A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture, ed. James K. Hoffmeier and Dennis R. Magary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 383–403.

6  Cf. Muratorian Fragment, lines 59–63 (ca. AD 180–200); Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.3.3 (ca. AD 175). For history of reception and interpretation, see Gerald L. Bray, The Pastoral Epistles, ITC (London: T&T Clark, 2019), 51–68.

7  See Yarbrough, Letters, 72–78; Johnson, Letters, 92–94, 98–99.

8  So, for example, William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, WBC 46 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000), cxxvii–cxxix; George W. Knight, Commentary on thePastoral Epistles, NIGTC (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1992), 48–52.

9  Johnson, Letters, 61–62.

10  Köstenberger, Timothy and Titus, 24–32.

11  Anthony T. Hanson, “The Use of the Old Testament in the Pastoral Epistles,” IBS 3 (1981): 203.

12  For example, I. Howard Marshall proposes a process of “allonymity,” where, after Paul’s death, a follower of Paul composed the letters using authentic notes or fragments from him. Marshall believes the theology of the letters shares the “same coherent core” with Paul’s but also differs from it: e.g., “The Christology of the PE goes beyond that of the genuine Pauline epistles in various ways.” The Pastoral Epistles, ICC (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1999), 83–108 (quoting p. 101).

13  Donald Guthrie, The Pastoral Epistles, TNTC (1957; repr., Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1984), 11.

14  Since at least the Muratorian Fragment.

15  However, church members are also in view in the plural greetings (1 Tim. 6:21; 2 Tim. 4:22; Titus 3:15).

16  E.g., eusebeia (godliness); hygiainousa didaskalia (sound doctrine); epignōsis alētheias (knowledge of the truth); and distinctive use of words: sōtēr (Savior); epiphaneia (appearing); pistos ho logos (trustworthy saying).

17  E.g., church discipline (1 Tim. 1:18–20; 2 Tim. 2:24–26; Titus 1:13–16), ordering the church (1 Tim. 3:1–13, 15; 5:17–22; 2 Tim. 2:2; Titus 1:5–9), false teaching (1 Tim. 1:4; 2 Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:14).

18  See S. M. Baugh, “A Foreign World: Ephesus in the First Century,” in Women in the Church: An Interpretation and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9–15, 3rd ed., ed. Andreas J. Köstenberger and Thomas R. Schreiner (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016), 25–64; George M. Wieland, “Roman Crete and the Letter to Titus,” NTS 55 (2009): 338–54; Yarbrough, Letters, 46–51.

19  See Towner, Letters, 41–53.

20  Towner, Letters, 295n45.

21  For recognition of differences, see Yarbrough, Letters, 11–40; Towner, Letters, 27–89; Köstenberger and Wilder, EWTG 52–83, 105–72, 241–67; Bray, Pastoral Epistles, 38–43.