Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

1Timothy 1:18-20

We know from verse 3 that Timothy is in Ephesus to put a stop to false teaching there; Paul has already told us that. Yet in this opening part of his letter to Timothy, he takes an opportunity to write to the young man in more personal terms, to express his affection for Timothy and to urge him forward. In doing so, he reminds Timothy of an earlier time, when prophecies were made about him.

OK, wait… what prophecies?

The short answer is that we don’t know exactly; the text doesn’t say. The longer answer is that we have a clue, and it comes in 4:14:

Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

We don’t know exactly what the prophecy is, but there is a spiritual gift involved, and this leads us to another clue, this time from Acts:

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

Acts 13:1-3

There is a combination of spiritual gifts and prophecies here that result in two men, Paul being one of them, set aside and sent out to build the Kingdom. In my view, this is likely the kind of thing Paul is referring to with Timothy, for spiritual gifts are always for ministry and the building up of the Body of Christ. Timothy’s mission in Ephesus is a ministry to rid the church of false teachers so the Body of Christ can be built up.

Paul continues, telling Timothy that he is bringing this up so that he might “fight the battle well” and hold onto faith and a clear conscience. Make no mistake here; Paul is using a military reference that strongly implies that Timothy will have a real fight on his hands. Yes, he will be confronting the false teachers, but his fight will be with the powers of darkness which are doing everything in their power to thwart God’s Kingdom in the entire region. Certain individuals in Ephesus have not held onto their faith and a good conscience, and as a result have “shipwrecked” their faith; another military reference, this time a nautical one.

This passage concludes on a note that has been disconcerting to many over the centuries. Paul mentions two individuals as examples of having shipwrecked their faith, and says that he has turned them “over to Satan” to teach then “not to blaspheme” As you might suspect, scholars enjoy debating the meaning of this. For what it’s worth, I see it this way: Discipline in the church is about instruction, not revenge or punishment. I can’t see Paul turning a person over to Satan for torture or death, but I can see him removing a person from fellowship with the church, sending them out into Satan’s sphere of influence, this world in which we live, to reconsider their situation. This would serve as example to those who were tempted by their teaching, and maybe, just maybe, it would assist the errant individuals to come to repentance. In any event, it would limit the damage they can cause to the flock of believers.

Next time, we move into the second chapter, where I expect we will find more exciting adventures awaiting us!