Background for First Timothy. In about 56 C.E., when meeting at Miletus with the older men of the Ephesus congregation, the apostle Paul said to them: “I know that after my going away oppressive wolves will enter in among you and will not treat the flock with tenderness, and from among you yourselves men will rise and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves.” (Ac 20:29, 30) Within a few years the situation regarding the teaching of false doctrines did become so serious that Paul encouraged Timothy to stay in Ephesus, that he “might command certain ones not to teach different doctrine, nor to pay attention to false stories and to genealogies.” (1Ti 1:3, 4) Timothy, therefore, had to wage spiritual warfare inside the Christian congregation to preserve its purity and to help its members to remain in the faith. (1:18, 19) His applying the things mentioned in the apostle’s letter would serve to protect members of the congregation from falling away.

Though forsaken by many, suffering in chains, and facing imminent death (2Ti 1:15, 16; 4:6-8), the apostle wrote an encouraging letter to Timothy, one that prepared his younger fellow worker to resist apostate elements inside the congregation and to stand firm in the face of persecution. (2:3-7, 14-26; 3:14–4:5)