I finished yesterday’s post by saying, “There are four categories of passages in the Pastoral Epistles that give us a sense for what Paul considered the core of apostolic doctrine.” Today we’ll look at the first two categories.
1. The Trustworthy Sayings
There are five “trustworthy sayings” in the pastoral epistles. These sayings were probably early confessions and/or liturgical formulas. As such, they provide us clues as to the essential articles of faith in the early church.
• 1 Timothy 1:15 “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus cam into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”
• 1 Timothy 3:1 “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.”
• 1 Timothy 4:9-10 “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.”
• 2 Timothy 2:11-13 “The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful–for he cannot deny himself.”
• Titus 3:4-8 “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.”
What do we see in these trustworthy sayings? With the exception of 1 Timothy 3:1, they all deal with salvation (and 1 Tim. 3:1 deals with salvation if, as some scholars think, the trustworthy saying refers to what precedes it in 2:15 instead of what follows it in verse 1). We see several interlocking truths in these sayings: Jesus Christ is a Savior who came to save sinners. Salvations comes not by works but through faith and the converting work of the Holy Spirit. Those who truly believe will devote themselves to good works. Those who will saved in the end, persevere to the end. These convictions seem to be essential to Paul.
2. Creedal Sayings
There are other passages, not introduced as “trustworthy saying”, that nevertheless sound like early creedal formulations.
• 1 Timothy 1:17 “To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
• 1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”
• 1 Timothy 3:16 “Great indeed we confess is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”
• 1 Timothy 6:15-16 “…he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality; who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no on has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.”
• Titus 2:11-15 “For the grace of God has appeared, bring salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority.”
With these verses we get an even better sense of what constitutes the good deposit. There is one God and he is unspeakably glorious. There is one mediator, Jesus Christ who gave his life for ours. Jesus, our great God and Savior, appeared in the flesh and ascended into heaven after a time on earth. His coming again is our blessed hope. We have been saved by the grace of God that we might be free from our former passions and live holy lives. These beliefs form the nucleus of Paul’s message.
Tomorrow we’ll look at the other two groups of passages.
