Paul, having finished with a string of imperative verbs (that is, commands) that Timothy must do, Paul now switches between imperative verbs and other verb forms to help highlight between what is beneficial (or what may have to be done because of circumstances) and what must be done.
Older Widows in the Church
Note: non-imperative verbs are denoted by an “A” and imperative verbs as “C.”
Read 1 Timothy 5:3-4: Honor [C] widows… let children and grandchildren first learn [C] … to make some return [A]
In the first-century Roman world, about 40 percent of the women between 40 and 50 were widows (Bruce Winter, Roman Wives, Roman Widows: The Appearance of New Women and the Pauline Communities, pg. 124).
“honor”: Greek, timao. This can refer to providing for the needs of someone, as in an “honorarium,” monies given to someone to “honor” him or her. Based on where Paul next goes in 1 Timothy 5:5, 9-10, and 17, it makes sense to see that Paul is referring to financial support for such widows.
“to show godliness”: Greek, eusebeo. This is the verb form of the Greek word, eusebeia. It refers to a system of belief and approach to God, which, in turn, shapes devotion and reverence toward God and how someone lives his life: In other words, one’s religion! Paul is saying that caring for one’s family is part of “the teaching,” part of the Christian religion. So, if someone knows this and still refuses to live out this part of the Christian religion, he has “denied the faith.” He, then, is not simply an unbeliever, but “worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8).
- Who are “truly widows”?
- If a woman’s husband has died, and she has children and grandchildren, who then is to care for the widow?
- Why does Paul tell Timothy that the children and grandchildren must take care of the widow?
Read 1 Timothy 5:5
- When Paul said children and grandchildren must first learn to take care of their widowed mother/grandmother, what does that imply about those who are truly widows?
- A woman who is truly a widow does not serve in the vocation of mother or grandmother. What then does Paul say about how she can serve?
Polycarp on Widows: Polycarp, a student of the Apostle John and overseer in the early Church, wrote a letter to the congregation at Philippi (between 110 – 140 AD). Polycarp died as a martyr when he was 86 in 155 or 156 AD. This is what Polycarp wrote about windows in the Church:
The widows are to be self-controlled in the faith of the Lord, praying unceasingly for everyone and being far away from all malicious talk, slander, false testimony, love of money, and any kind of evil, knowing that they are God’s altar… [Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians, 4:3]
What Paul says next may not make sense if we don’t know the associations attached to the Old Testament’s use of a word (in the Greek-language Septuagint).
Read 1 Timothy 5:6
“self-indulgent”: Greek, spatalao. When someone lives solely to please himself. We get a “feel” for this word in two Old-Testament passages:
- This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and self-indulgent [spatalao], failing to help the poor and needy. [Ezekiel 16:40, Septuagint]
- If a man of understanding hears a wise saying, he will praise it and add to it; but if the self-indulgent [spatalao] man hears it, he dislikes it and casts it behind his back. [Sirach 21:15]
Such self-indulgence, the pursuit of pleasure, would then drive the widow only to be concerned about herself, even rejecting parts of “the teaching” that she didn’t like.
- Why would such a self-indulgent widow be “dead even while she lives”?
Read 1 Timothy 5:7-8
- What is Timothy to command (this is a present-tense imperative verb), and to whom?
- What does Paul say about those who choose not to live out the faith?
- How is the dynamic between an overseer (pastor) and a congregation different today? How is it similar?
Read 1 Timothy 5:9-10: A widow be enrolled [C, but passive]… having been [A, participle] a one-man woman…
“be enrolled”: an imperative passive. The widow does not enroll herself (obviously, Timothy will oversee that). However, if she meets all the criteria and wants to be enrolled, Timothy must enroll her.
“sixty years of age”: Then, 60 was the recognized age when someone became an “old” man or woman.
- Into what is a qualifying widow enrolled? (vs. 5)
Read 1 Timothy 5:10: having testified [A, participle] [to the Faith] by good works… brought up [A] children, shown [A] hospitality, washed [A] feet of the saints, helped [A] those being oppressed, followed [A] after every good work.
- Based on what the widow has done throughout her life, what does that imply about what she also may be doing once enrolled?
Note: We’ll look more into women’s service in the Church in Titus. Then, we’ll put it all together.
Younger Widows in the Church
Read 1 Timothy 5:11-13
“refuse”: imperative verb. Timothy must not enroll younger widows, based on the tasks that “enrolled widows” were given to do.
- Why does Paul say not to enroll younger widows?
- Discuss: Why would “their passions” draw them away from Christ? Why would marrying incur “condemnation for abandoning their former faith”?
- Based on verse 13, what would some of the duties of those enrolled widows include?
“washed the feet of the saints”: In 1st-century culture, this was a way of showing hospitality. A person would wash the feet of someone who had stopped to visit. He was tired from walking and his feet were dusty and dirty from the walk.
- What expectations come with greater maturity (not that it always does)?
- What implications are there for those who will pledge to serve Christ and the Church as someone who will remain unmarried if he or she does not have the gift of celibacy (1 Corinthians 7:7-9)?
Read 1 Timothy 5:14
“I would have”: Greek, boulamai, an indicative verb, meaning to wish or desire. This is not a command but a recommendation that younger widows remarry.
- Paul recommends remarriage for younger widows. Why?
Read 1 Timothy 5:15
- What has already happened with some on the younger widows?
Read 1 Timothy 5:16
“care for”: Greek, heparkeo, to help or assist.
- What reality confronts the Church in her ability to “honor” (1 Tim 5:3) and “help” (1 Tim 5:16) those who are truly widows? Discuss.
Back to Overseers/Elders
Read 1 Timothy 5:17
“rule well”: Greek, proistami, meaning to rule, lead, guide, direct. This shows that “elder” and “overseer” are synonyms, for what Paul mentions elders doing is overseeing what a congregation does.
“double honor”: This also lets us know that Paul’s earlier use of “honor” when relating to widows also involved, in some way, financial compensation.
- When Paul referred to elders ruling well, “especially those who labor in preaching and teaching,” what does that say about the workload involved in faithfully preaching and teaching?
Read 1 Timothy 5:18
- Why does an elder/overseer “deserve his wages”?
Deuteronomy 25:4: “Don’t muzzle an ox while it is threshing grain.” Oxen were used to trample out the grain on threshing floors. Muzzling oxen would have prevented them from eating some of the grain, eventually leading to them being overworked and, possibly, falling into ill health.
Luke 10:7: “The worker deserves his wages.” Jesus applied those words to the 70 whom He had sent out. Paul applies that same principle to elders/overseers also deserving their wages. (See also Matthew 10:10: “A worker deserves his food.” Jesus was referring to the 12 disciples whom He had sent out.)
Read 1 Timothy 5:19
“do not admit”: Greek, paradexomai, meaning to accept or pay attention to. This in an imperative verb, a command for Timothy. He must not listen to such charges without two or three witnesses.
- Why would Paul tell Timothy not to pay attention to charges against elders/overseers without enough evidence/witnesses?
- That Paul tells Timothy this means what about such accusations taking place within the Church?
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