1 Timothy 5

1 Timothy 5:1

In chapter 5, dealing with the church and her ministry to herself, Paul will address three areas: the church family, widows specifically, and leaders practically… Paul’s word to young Timothy is an important word for all younger men, for, in their zeal, young men have a tendency to feel as if they know all the answers. But in reality, as we go through life with the Lord, we realize we don’t know as much as we thought we did. I know I, for one, was a whole lot smarter when I was twenty-two than I am now, twenty-five years later! Within the church family, we’re to treat older men with respect, older women with devotion, contemporaries as brothers, and younger women as sisters.

1 Timothy 5:3

In Acts 6, we read of division in the early church due to tension arising concerning the care of the Greek and Hebrew widows. Thus, from the very beginningin the days before Social Security, retirement plans, or life insurancethe church realized her responsibility to care for those who would otherwise have been in financial straits.

1 Timothy 5:4

If a widow had children, or grandchildren, it was not the church’s responsibility to care for her. There were those who were saying, “We don’t have to worry about Mom because the church will take care of her.” “No,” said Paul. “The first place to show piety is with the older members of your own family who are in need.” Thus, one of the characteristics of a “widow indeed” (verse 1Ti_5:3) was being one who didn’t have children or grandchildren to care for her.

1 Timothy 5:5

“Widows indeed” were women who gave themselves to constant prayer. I like the ordernight and day. When one is suddenly single, sometimes it’s hard to sleep. I’ve been therebut I’ll tell you this: Such times provide wonderfully rich opportunities for prayer. When you can’t sleep, don’t watch TV. Pray. Go to your knees and intercede for those who are hurting. There’s something about the nighttime hours that often cause them to become the matrix of miracles, the womb of wonder. There’s something about being in the dark with the Lord that allows you to focus on Him, to do battle against the Enemy, to receive insight from Him in a way unlike at any other time of the day.

1 Timothy 5:6

If an older woman is living for pleasure in her later years, she’s doing nothing more than going through the motions of life.

1 Timothy 5:7

It’s up to you as a child or a grandchild to take care of your parents and grandparents. Don’t leave it to the church. I believe this principle applies down the line. Mom, Dad, the church should not be expected to foster your teenager’s spirituality or your preschooler’s introduction to Jesus. Oh, the church gets to partner with you in seeing Junior taught the things of Godbut nothing the church can do is as effective as what children learn from their parents on a daily basis.

1 Timothy 5:9

A woman at least sixty years of age, who had been a faithful wife and a good mother, who had been given to hospitality and who had refreshed the saints, who had helped those who were hurting, but who had no family to care for her was a “widow indeed” and therefore qualified to be cared for by the church.

1 Timothy 5:11

“Don’t let younger women join the community of widows,” said Paul, “because when they remarry, they’ll condemn themselves, wondering if they should have remained singularly devoted to the Lord and to prayer.”

1 Timothy 5:13

Paul instructs Timothy to make sure the women of the church don’t give the enemy opportunity to speak negatively in the community about Christians due to the neglect of their own households.

1 Timothy 5:15

After dealing with the state of widows in the church, Paul will go on to delineate some standards of leadership for the church…

1 Timothy 5:17

In this, we see that the church is to financially support those who labor in the teaching ministry.

1 Timothy 5:18

Paul supports his previous assertion both with the law that said, “While an ox grinds meal for others to eat, he is to be supported as well” (see Deu_25:4) and with Jesus’ instruction to the disciples He sent out that those to whom they ministered would provide for them (Mat_10:10).

1 Timothy 5:19

Do not listen to slander against spiritual leaders unless there are two or three witnesses willing to go on record to discuss the situation. Why does Paul say this? Because the Enemy wants to destroy churches, and he will do that most significantly and successfully by attacking leaders. The Book of Proverbs says, “Where there is no wood, the fire goes out” (see Pro_26:20)a good principle to grasp not only for the church but also for life in general. As long as you give ear to gossip, you encourage the gossiper to continue in his or her sin. Don’t listen to gossip evernot even if it’s couched in a “prayer request"for it will hurt the church corporately and your own walk personally.

1 Timothy 5:20

On the other hand, if there is legitimate sin, it needs to be rebuked in order that all may learn to be in awe of God.

1 Timothy 5:21

Paul warns Timothy not to have favorites and not to bestow leadership on anyone too quicklya charge of which I need to be more mindful… Years ago, I baptized a young man who had previously dabbled in Rastafarian religion. Articulate and insightful, he had so much going for him that I turned over a Monday night Bible study to him only eight months later. It proved to be a total disaster, however, when I found out that for inspiration before the study, he would get high on marijuana. As is too often my tendency, I laid hands on someone too quickly. I like to give people an opportunity to servebut I am learning to listen to Paul when he advised Timothy to go slowly in appointing leaders.

1 Timothy 5:23

Earlier, in chapter 3, Paul told Timothy an elder was not to be given to wine. Yet here in chapter 5, he’s telling Timothy, an elder, to use a little winethe medicine of the dayfor his stomach. I find this intriguing on a number of counts… As one who moved powerfully in the arena of healing, Paul obviously had prayed for Timothy. Yet Timothy was not healed right then. Does this mean God was unable to heal Timothy or that He didn’t hear Paul’s prayer? No. God will heal everyone who believes in Him (Isa_53:5). When? It might be immediately. It might take a year or ten. Or it might not happen until the person goes to heaven. Prayer doesn’t heal. Faith doesn’t heal. Medicine doesn’t heal. Our own bodies don’t heal themselves. God heals (Exo_15:26). And He can use prayer. He can use medicine. He can use faith. He can use our own bodies. Therefore, because God heals, I pray for His direct healing, as well as thanking Him for His gift of medicineknowing that His method and His timing will be perfect.

1 Timothy 5:24

Referring to the fact that Timothy would be open to criticism if he followed Paul’s advice and took some wine for his stomach, Paul advised his young protigie to ignore the innuendoes of his critics. If you are one who will not “take your medicine” because you’re living in fear of being misunderstood or if you are one whose entire life is governed by what people think or say, you’ll be tripped up in your Christian walk because the fear of man is indeed a snare (Pro_29:25). If, on the other hand, like Jesus, you let go of your reputation (Php_2:7) and seek only to please the Father, you’ll find an easy yoke upon you and a clear path before you.