Compiled By: Lisa K Gonzales
From: The Life Application Study Bible
3 “When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those who are teaching wrong doctrine. 4 Do not let people waste time in endless speculation over myths and spiritual pedigrees (genealogies). For these only cause arguments; they do not help people live a life of faith in GOD. 5 The purpose of my instruction is that all the Christians there would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and sincere faith.” ~ 1 Timothy 1:3-5
This letter was written by Paul to Timothy after Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome. Apparently, Paul had been out of prison for several years, and during that time he revisited many churches in Asia and Macedonia. Paul first visited Ephesus on his second missionary journey. Later, on his third missionary journey, he stayed there for almost three years. Ephesus, along with Rome, Corinth, Antioch, and Alexandria, was one of the major cities in the Roman Empire. It was a center for the commerce, politics, and religions of Asia Minor, and the location of the temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis (Diana).
The church at Ephesus may have been plagued by the same heresy that was threatening the church at Colosse – the teaching that to be acceptable to GOD, a person had to discover certain hidden knowledge and had to worship angels. – “Do not let anyone lead you astray with empty philosophy and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world, and not from Christ.” – “Do not let anyone condemn you by insisting on self-denial. And do not let anyone say you must worship angels, even though they say they have had visions about this. These people claim to be so humble, but their sinful minds have made them proud.” – Colossians 2:8,18 – Paul wrote against any philosophy of life based only on human ideas and experiences. Paul himself was a gifted philosopher, so he was not condemning philosophy. He was condemning teaching that credits humanity, not Christ, with being the answer to life’s problems. That approach becomes a false religion. There are many man-made approaches to life’s problems that totally disregard GOD. To resist heresy we must use our mind, keep our eyes on Christ, and study God’s Word. We must also remember that true humility means seeing ourselves as we really are from GOD’s perspective and acting accordingly. People practice false humility when they talk negatively about themselves so that others will think they are spiritual. False humility is self-centered; true humility is GOD-centered. The false teachers that Paul was referring to were claiming that GOD was far away and could only be approached through various levels of angels. They taught that people had to worship angels in order, to eventually reach GOD. This is not scriptural; the Bible teaches that angels are GOD’s servants, and it forbids worshiping them. 8 “I, John, am the one who saw and heard these things, I fell down to worship that angel who showed them to me. 9 But again he said, ‘No, do not worship me I am a servant of GOD, just like you and your brothers the prophets, as well as all who obey what is written in this scroll. Worship GOD!’” – Revelations 22:8-9 – GOD alone is worthy of our worship and adoration. HE is above all creation, even the angels.
Thinking that it would aid in their salvation, some Ephesians constructed mythical stories based on Old Testament history or genealogies. The false teachers were motivated by their own interests rather than Christ’s. They embroiled the church in endless and irrelevant questions and controversies, taking precious time away from the study of the truth. We could also enter into worthless and irrelevant discussions, but such disputes quickly crowd out the life-changing message of Christ. We should all stay away from religious speculations and pointless theological arguments. Such “debates” and conversations may seem harmless at first, but they have a way of sidetracking us from the central message of the Good News – the person and work of Jesus Christ. And they expend time we should use to share the Good News with others.
The false teachers that Paul talks about were motivated by a spirit of curiosity and a desire to gain power and prestige. By contrast, genuine Christian teachers are motivated by sincere faith and a desire to do what is right. It may be exciting to impress people with our great knowledge, but high status based on falsehood is ultimately empty.
Father GOD guard our ears, our hearts and our minds. Help us to not waste time in endless speculation over myths and spiritual genealogies because we know LORD, that these speculations only cause arguments and they do not help people live a life of faith in YOU, Father. We pray LORD that we would not let anyone lead us astray with empty philosophy and nonsense that come from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world, and not from our Lord Jesus Christ.
We worship YOU, Father God, YOU alone are worthy of our worship and adoration. YOU are above all creation, even the angels. LORD, we want to be Christian teachers who are motivated by sincere faith and a desire to do what is right. Fill our hearts Father, with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and sincere faith.
Photo: Loretto Chapel (1873)Santa Fe, New Mexico
Photo By: Lisa K Gonzales
