Description of the Three Pastoral Epistles

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10 The Pastoral Epistles ARLAND J. HULTGREN The term ‘Pastoral Epistles’ applies to a group of three letters within the New Testament, namely, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. Already in the thirteenth century Thomas Aquinas (1225–74) referred to 1 Timothy as ‘a pastoral rule, which the apostle [Paul] committed to Timothy’.1 The designation of all three letters as the ‘Pastoral Epistles’, however, came much later. That is usually attributed to the German scholar Paul Anton (1661–1730), who used the term collectively in lectures and writings in the eighteenth century. The term is descriptive of the aim and contents of the three letters. Among other things, they provide instructions for pastoral oversight of congregations, and they speak of the qualities and duties of church leaders. THE PASTORALS IN THE EARLY CHURCH Each of the Pastorals begins by identifying Paul the apostle as its author. Each one goes on to represent itself as a communication from Paul to either Timothy or Titus, persons entrusted with obligations to teach and provide leadership within churches committed to their care. The letters provide further instructions in carrying out those obligations in the present and on into the future. In spite of the fact that the letters themselves designate Paul as their author, the Pastorals are not actually attributed to him by known external sources until the second half of the second century. The well-known heretical teacher Marcion, who taught in Rome and founded churches ca AD 130–60, seems to have known nothing about the Pastorals; when he made a collection of the writings of Paul, he did not include the Pastorals among them.2 Furthermore, the earliest known manuscript of Paul’s letters in codex (= book) form – Papyrus 46, which is usually dated from as early as AD 200 – does not contain the Pastorals. To be sure, the document has some leaves (pages) missing at the front and back. But the missing leaves are not likely to have provided space to contain the Pastorals.3 On the other hand, the early Roman document known as the Muratorian Canon, from ca AD 175–200, includes the Pastorals among the letters of Paul.4 Moreover, the Pastorals are mentioned as letters of Paul by late second-century writers, such as Irenaeus (ca AD 130–200), Clement of Alexandria (ca AD 150–215), and Tertullian (ca AD 160–225).5 From that time on, the Pastorals are regularly included in lists of Paul’s writings. The lack of evidence for the existence of the Pastorals (and thereby their lack of attribution to Paul) prior to the second half of the second century is puzzling. It prompts a number of questions, including questions about their authorship and origins. AUTHORSHIP AND ORIGINS OF THE PASTORALS Questions about the authorship and origins of the Pastorals have occupied scholars for a long time. Their authorship by Paul has been questioned mainly on the basis of five factors. (1) The lack of universal knowledge of the Pastorals among the letters of Paul in antiquity is significant for questioning their having been written by Paul. It is not by itself decisive, but it is one factor within a larger complex of more compelling ones. (2) One of the most compelling arguments is that the Pastorals contain terms and expressions that are not found in the undisputed letters of Paul. If all the Greek words used in the Pastorals are listed, the total amounts to 901. Of these 901, 52 are proper nouns (names of persons and places, such as Adam, Jesus, Paul, Ephesus, and Crete). Once these are set aside, there are 849 different words used at least once in the Pastorals. Of the 849 words used, no fewer than 306 (or 36 per cent) are not found in the ten other letters attributed to Paul in the New Testament. Of these 306, as many as 121 (14 per cent of the 849 words) appear in the writings of the secondcentury Apostolic Fathers and Apologists. And if one sets aside three of the ten Paulines which, on various grounds, are disputed in terms of authorship (Ephesians, Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians), the number of words not found among the seven undisputed letters rises to 326 (38 per cent of the 849). Another item to consider in regard to terms and expressions is that there are many expressions within the undisputed Pauline letters that do not appear in the Pastorals. These belong to Pauline style, the ‘connective tissue’ of his habits of expression. There are 77 such words and phrases. Two examples are given here. First, there are two ways to express ‘with’ in Greek. That is either by use of syn followed by a noun in the dative case or by use of meta followed by a noun in the genitive case. Paul uses both (the former 28 times, the latter 37 times) in his undisputed letters. But the writer of the Pastorals uses only the latter (18 times). A second example is that Paul uses the Greek conjunction hoste (‘so that’) 37 times in the seven undisputed letters to introduce a clause expressing a result, but the author of the Pastorals never uses it at all. (3) Theological terms and concepts known from the undisputed letters of Paul are either missing or used differently in the Pastorals. The concept of an imminent parousia (coming) of Christ, for example, is present in Paul’s letters (1 Cor. 15:51–2; 1 Thess. 4:15–18), but not in the Pastorals. Missing also is the familiar Pauline expression of the believer’s living ‘in Christ’ (Rom. 6:11; 8:1; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:17; etc.). The term ‘faith’ always means ‘the Christian faith’ in the Pastorals (1 Tim. 1:2; 3:9, 13; 4:1; 2 Tim. 4:7; Titus 1:13; etc.) or a Christian virtue (1 Tim. 1:5, 19; 4:12; 6:11; 2 Tim. 2:22; Titus 2:2; etc.), whereas in Paul’s letters it more commonly has the basic meaning of ‘trust’, which is placed in God, Christ, or the gospel. The term translated ‘godliness’ (NRSV) is found ten times in the Pastorals as an important virtue (1 Tim. 2:2; 3:16; 4:7, 8; 6:3, 5, 6, 11; 2 Tim. 3:5; Titus 1:1), but never in the undisputed letters of Paul. (4) The form of church order found in the Pastorals – with bishops, presbyters, and deacons as the norm – does not appear in the undisputed letters of Paul. What one finds in the Pastorals is more like church orders found in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers than in the writings of Paul. (5) There is great difficulty fitting the Pastorals into the career of the apostle Paul as we know it from other sources (Acts and the undisputed letters). In order to do so, one has to assert that they fit into Paul’s life after events narrated at the close of the book of Acts. According to those who make such a claim, Paul was released from prison, travelled to Spain, returned to Rome, wrote 1 Timothy and Titus while still free, was arrested and imprisoned again in Rome, wrote 2 Timothy while in prison, and then was executed. Such a construction, however, is based on an account from the fourth century, written by Eusebius, that does not stand up to critical scrutiny.6 While no one of the five points discussed here is decisive by itself, the cumulative weight of them suggests strongly that the Pastorals, as we have them in their present form, do not appear to be the work of the apostle Paul as we know it from other sources. Although some scholars contend for the authenticity of the Pastorals, a wide range of scholars consider them pseudonymous. There have been attempts by others to argue for a mediating position. Some account for the differences between the Pastorals and the undisputed letters by suggesting that the former were dictated in the main by Paul but written up in their final form by a secretary who worked with considerable freedom. Others have suggested that the Pastorals, though written after the death of Paul, contain some genuine fragments or authentic materials from him. It can be said, however, that neither of the last two proposals has been widely received as persuasive, and in either case the Pastorals, as we have them in their present form, are not strictly ‘Pauline’ in the sense of the seven undisputed letters. The conclusion drawn here is that the Pastorals were written after the close of Paul’s career. They were most likely written at the end of the first century or at the outset of the second by a writer who was devoted to Paul and sought to represent him in a time and situation that called for an authoritative, apostolic voice. The place of composition is debated. The usual suggestions are Ephesus or Rome. The matter of pseudonymity has received increased attention in modern studies. The discussion cannot be surveyed here. Suffice it to say that pseudonymous writings were produced in both Jewish tradition and Graeco-Roman cultures prior to the rise of Christianity. That there could be pseudonymous writings in the New Testament is not surprising. In each case the author sought to represent the views of the person to whom the writing was attributed, had that person been living and working at the time of the actual author. Pseudonymous writings were received as authoritative by the early church if they were sufficiently in keeping with what was already known about the persons to whom they were attributed, and if they were of theological and pastoral importance for the church itself. THE THEOLOGY OF THE PASTORAL EPISTLES The Pastorals set forth theological claims that belong to the common Christian tradition of the first century and to the New Testament as a whole. But they also have some distinctive theological concerns of their own. Three of these will be discussed. God and Creation God the Father, who is one, has created all things and has created them good (1 Tim. 1:2; 2:5; 4:3–4; 2 Tim. 1:2; Titus 1:14–15). He has not withdrawn from the world but ‘gives life to all things’ (1 Tim. 6:13) and ‘richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment’ (6:17). In light of these assertions and others, it is likely that the goodness of the creation was being challenged. Within the second century the challenge was particularly strong in the teachings of Marcion and among the Gnostics. The Gnostic attitude is expressed most emphatically within the apocryphal Gospel of Philip, according to which ‘the world came about through a mistake’ (75.2–3). Although the teachings of Marcion, the Gospel of Philip, and the full-blown Gnostic systems arose after the composition of the Pastorals, it is likely that early forms of Gnosticism already existed by that time, and in those early manifestations of Gnosticism the world was despised, and life was to be ascetic. Over against such views, the Pastorals stress the goodness of marriage and having children (1 Tim. 3:2–5; 5:10, 14; Titus 2:4), the legitimacy of secular authority (1 Tim. 2:1–2; Titus 3:1–2), the care of the elderly (1 Tim. 5:4), compassion for those in need (Titus 3:2, 8, 14), and courtesy towards all people (Titus 3:2). Stress is placed on living in accord with values that are consistent with the Old Testament and common Christian teaching, summed up in the word ‘godliness’. Likewise, certain vices are to be avoided, such as the love of wealth (1 Tim. 6:9–10; 2 Tim. 3:2). On balance, then, the Christian is not to flee from this world, but is exhorted to live within it in a manner that is consistent with being a Christian – in other words, a life of good works (1 Tim. 2:10; 2 Tim. 2:21; 3:17; Titus 3:1), moderation (1 Tim. 6:8), and generosity (1 Tim. 6:17–18). Christology Four christological titles appear in the Pastorals: ‘Christ’, ‘Lord’, ‘Saviour’, and ‘Mediator’. Surprisingly, the title ‘Son of God’ – used so often in the undisputed letters of Paul – does not appear at all. On the other hand, and even more surprising, at one point the exalted Christ is even called ‘God’: Christians await their ‘blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ’ (Titus 2:13). The term ‘God’ is applied elsewhere in the New Testament to Jesus only at John 20:28 (and perhaps at Rom. 9:57). The degree to which the term should be pressed in the Pastorals, however, is a subtle matter. Elsewhere in the Pastorals a distinction is made between Christ and God (1 Tim. 1:1; 2:5–6; 5:21; 2 Tim. 4:1; Titus 1:4; 3:4–6). Lurking behind the application of the term ‘God’ to Christ in the Pastorals may well be the ease of applying it to major, heroic figures, particularly in Graeco-Roman ruler cults, in which the ruler was thought to manifest, or even embody, the divine. In any case, for the writer of the Pastorals, God and Christ are intimately related, so much so that at his parousia Christ will bear the divine glory to complete the saving work of God, and in that sense he will be ‘God and Saviour’. The titles ‘Christ’, ‘Lord’, and ‘Saviour’ affirm the majestic, even divine, status of Christ. On the other hand, his true humanity is maintained (1 Tim. 2:5; 6:13; 2 Tim. 2:8), and his death is acknowledged (1 Tim. 2:6; 2 Tim. 2:11; Titus 2:14). When he is spoken of as ‘Mediator’ (once only, 1 Tim. 2:5), the term does not speak of his nature (divine/human) so much as his function in giving himself as a ‘ransom’ for the salvation of humankind. His exaltation to heaven and his reign is affirmed (1 Tim. 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:10; 2:12). Finally, it is expected that he will appear at the end of time (1 Tim. 6:14; 2 Tim. 4:8), when he will judge both the living and the dead (2 Tim. 1:18; 4:1, 8). Interpreters disagree on the question whether the Pastorals affirm the preexistence of Christ and his incarnation. Those who say No on the matter point to the fact that nowhere do these letters speak of an eternal Son of God or ‘logos’ (= ‘word’) existing before the creation of the world. On the other hand, other interpreters point to an implicit affirmation of Christ’s pre-existence and incarnation in certain passages. For example, the writer speaks of the ‘grace . . . given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but . . . now . . . revealed through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus’ (2 Tim. 1:9–10; cf. Titus 2:11). And again, if Christ was ‘manifested in the flesh’ (1 Tim. 3:16, RSV), they would say, his pre-existence (in a ‘not-inthe-flesh’ state) is presupposed, for incarnation implies pre-existence. The christological accent of the Pastorals, however, is not to be found so much in the titles used or in answering the question whether the categories of pre-existence and incarnation apply. Instead, the accent is upon the appearances (epiphanies, manifestations) of Christ at two points – in time past, and at the end of time. Jesus Christ has appeared as the earthly, visible manifestation of the grace, goodness, and loving kindness of God (2 Tim. 1:9–10; Titus 2:11; 3:4), and he will appear at the end of time bearing the divine glory (Titus 2:13; cf. 1 Tim. 6:15–16). Humanity and its salvation According to the Pastorals, the whole human race is composed of ‘sinners’. Furthermore, ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’ (1 Tim. 1:15). But how do the Pastorals portray the general human condition? And what role does Christ have in the process of salvation? The Pastorals lack the profound Pauline view that ‘sin’ is a power that exercises dominion over all persons (Rom. 3:9; 5:12, 21; 7:14; Gal. 3:22) prior to and apart from the saving work of God in Christ. Instead the Pastorals speak of ‘sins’ (plural) that people commit (1 Tim. 5:22, 24; 2 Tim. 3:6). Yet the distinction should not be overdrawn, for the cause of those sins is a life that is disoriented, serving the self and its passions (Titus 2:12; cf. 2 Tim. 3:2–5). And that is a life that leads away from eternal life and towards judgment and eternal death. Salvation in the Pastorals consists primarily of the divine rescue of persons from mortality – with its sins, ignorance, and unbelief – for life in the eternal and heavenly kingdom of God (2 Tim. 1:10; 4:18). Christ plays out the rescue operation on behalf of ‘God our Saviour, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth’ (1 Tim. 2:3–4; cf. Titus 2:11). The way he does that is fourfold. First, he came into the world and manifested the grace, goodness, and kindness of God, thereby eliciting obedience from all who will hear his gospel, and providing for them a model of the godly life. Second, he gave himself as a ransom for all (1 Tim. 2:6). In that act he bore the divine judgment against sins for the benefit of others (cf. Titus 2:14). Third, being raised from death, he ‘abolished death and brought life and imperishability to light’ (2 Tim. 1:10), bringing it out into the light of day for all to see as a possibility for themselves. And, finally, he will come as our ‘great God and Saviour’ once again to rescue his people at the end of time and save them for his heavenly kingdom (2 Tim. 4:18). On the human side, salvation involves accepting the gospel as true and thereby gaining eternal life. To accept the gospel of Christ is to ‘take hold of’ eternal life (1 Tim. 6:12, 19) and to live the life characterized by godliness, enduring until the end of this life (2 Tim. 2:10, 12). The steadfast and obedient believer enters into the eternal kingdom through his or her own ‘departure’ (2 Tim. 4:6) or else at the parousia of Christ (Titus 2:13), if that should take place prior to one’s own death. To be sure, salvation can be spoken of as a present reality (2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:5), but it is essentially future. In their present life Christians are ‘heirs in hope of eternal life’ (2 Tim. 3:7; cf. 1:2), expecting salvation as a future reality (1 Tim. 4:16). CHURCH ORDER IN THE PASTORAL EPISTLES The community envisioned by the writer of the Pastorals was to be, or was already, ordered more explicitly than any others reflected in the writings of the New Testament. Offices are mentioned into which persons are inducted (1 Tim. 3:10; 4:14; 5:22; 2 Tim. 1:6), and the persons so inducted are to be respected, as office bearers, for the sake of their work (1 Tim. 5:17). Three main offices are mentioned. Presbyters are mentioned in two passages (1 Tim. 5:17–19; Titus 1:5). The term is customarily translated ‘elders’ in English versions (KJV, RSV, NEB, NIV, NRSV). The Greek term in the singular is presbyteros, which can refer simply to an older person in ordinary, secular Greek, but in the Pastorals (as in Jewish and Christian usage already; cf. Matt. 16:21; Acts 15:2; 16:4), it is the title for an office that exists (1 Tim. 5:17–19) or at least ought to (Titus 1:5). Age is not a consideration for being a presbyter, for in the Pastorals it is assumed that the incumbent will have children at home (Titus 1:6). The presbyters form a council (1 Tim. 4:14; presbyterion in Greek, literally the ‘presbytery’, as in the KJV, but translated as ‘council of elders’ in RSV and NRSV; NEB has ‘elders as a body’, and NIV has ‘body of elders’). These persons have a ‘ruling’ function, and some are engaged in preaching and teaching (5:17). The English word ‘priest’ is derived from an abbreviation of the term ‘presbyter’. Deacons are mentioned in one passage (1 Tim. 3:8–13). The Greek term (the singular again) is diakonos and can be translated as ‘servant’ or ‘minister’ as well, but it is usually translated ‘deacon’ in English versions at this place (KJV, RSV, NEB, NIV, NRSV). Deacons are selected on the basis of personal qualities, but their duties are not spelled out. Most likely, as made clear from other (but admittedly later) sources,8 they served under the bishop in charitable work and temporal concerns. An officer called a bishop is mentioned in two passages (1 Tim. 3:1–7; Titus 1:7–9). The Greek term is episkopos, meaning ‘overseer’. Although the terms ‘episcopal’ and ‘bishop� …