Section 1:1–2

Paul greeted Timothy

In this first section of this letter, Paul introduced himself as the writer of the letter and explained to whom he was writing it. Then he wrote a short prayer for Timothy. Paul began this letter the way most people did when they wrote letters in New Testament times. That is why he put his name first and then wrote Timothy’s name.

In your language, people may not start letters the same way that Paul did. To follow the Greek word order might even convey wrong information. It may, therefore, be necessary to change the order of some of the information. Perhaps your readers may not understand that this was a letter or would think that Paul was being rude or was not well-educated. So in some languages it may be necessary to place the name of the person to whom Paul was writing before Paul’s own name. Then follow that with information that Paul was an apostle by the command of God.

Paragraph 1:1–2

1:1a

Paul: Paul began this letter to Timothy by stating his own name first. In some languages, it is not natural for a person to use his own name to refer to himself, as Paul did here. If that is the case in your language, you may have to say something like:

I, Paul

In addition, Paul did not use a verb here, so you may have to supply one. For example, you may have to say:

I, Paul, am sending this letter
-or-
I, Paul, am writing this letter

Other possibilities are:

I, Paul, greet you
-or-
This letter is from me, Paul

1:1b

an apostle of Christ Jesus: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as apostle means “sent one.” Therefore an apostle is someone who has been sent to do a specific job. Christ Jesus had sent Paul to represent him and authorized Paul to teach others about him.

Christ Jesus: Notice that in this verse Paul referred to Jesus as Christ Jesus instead of “Jesus Christ.” The names “Christ Jesus” and “Jesus Christ” refer to the same person. (Some people, however, think that when Paul used the word Christ before the word Jesus, as in Christ Jesus, he was emphasizing that Jesus was the Messiah.)

In most English versions “Jesus Christ” and “Christ Jesus” are translated in the same order as they occur in the Greek manuscripts. It is recommended that you do the same thing.

However, it is possible that, in some languages, people may be confused to see the names in two different orders. They may even think that Paul was referring to two different people. If this is true in your language, it may be necessary to translate Christ Jesus as “Jesus Christ.” This is the more usual word order in the New Testament.

Christ: The word Christ is used two ways in the New Testament. In the Gospels, Christ is a title for Jesus. It means “the anointed one.” But later, by the time that Paul and others wrote letters to individuals and churches, the word Christ was used as another name for Jesus. It was no longer used as a title. So here and in other New Testament letters you should spell Christ according to the rules of your language.

1:1c

by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope: Paul knew he was an apostle was because God and Christ wanted him to be one. He did not choose himself to be an apostle. The other apostles did not choose him either, nor did any other human being. Rather, Paul became an apostle by the command of God and of Christ Jesus. They had appointed him to be an apostle.

In some languages it may be necessary to translate the command with a verb. For example:

God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope commanded/commissioned me to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.

God our Savior: When Paul mentioned God here, he was referring to God the Father. New Testament authors usually refer to Christ as Savior. However, Paul used this expression six times in 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus.

our: This refers to Paul, Timothy, and the Ephesian believers.

Savior: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Savior refers to a person who saves or rescues someone else from danger. Paul was saying that God rescues all people who trust in Christ. In other words, he saves them from their sin and its consequences.

Christ Jesus our hope: When Paul described Christ as our hope, he meant that Christ was the one who gives Christians hope.

In some languages, it may be necessary to translate hope with a verb. One way to express this would be to say:

we can hope/trust in Christ Jesus

our: Here again this refers to Paul, Timothy, and the Ephesian believers.

General Comment on 1:1c

Paul became an apostle because God and Christ had appointed him as one. This was Paul’s main point in 1:1. In 1:1c, he also included the information that God is our Savior and that Christ Jesus is our hope. This is secondary information. Paul did not explain how or why God is our Savior or in what way Christ Jesus is our hope. Do not add too many details to your translation to explain what it means to say that God is our Savior and that Christ is our hope. Otherwise your readers may miss Paul’s main point.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.