242 linda l. belleville
emperors, he alone will have a second ἐπιφάνεια as “Jesus our lord” and
“Judge of all” (2 tim 4:1).
the Christological statements in 1 tim 1:15, 2:5, and 3:16 are not ad hoc
insertions but polemical statements. social propriety is not the concern;
orthodoxy, not orthopraxy, is primary. the context is false teaching. “i
speak the truth” as a “teacher” and “apostle” stand over against those
who teach that which is non-truth or “heterodoxy” (1:5) and have been
handed over to satan to be chastised and taught not to blaspheme (1:20).
the soteriological emphasis of the Christological statements in 1 tim 1:15
and 2:5–6 also indicates an orthodoxy issue. the purpose of incarnation
was “to save sinners” (1:15) and reconcile “god and humanity” (2:5–6). to
be sure, the author is concerned about the church’s conduct: “i am writ-
ing these things to you [timothy] now... so that if i am delayed, you
will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of god”
(1 tim 3:14–15). however, the intrusion of false teachers into the church
equation suffices to explain the concern.
it is sometimes claimed that the ecclesiastical infrastructure in the Pas-
torals is too advanced for a mid-first century congregation (i.e., overseers,
elders, deacons, a widows’ ministry team). at the time 1 timothy was writ-
ten, the ephesian church had a well-developed leadership infrastructure.
But is such an infrastructure really too complex for an apostolic church?
Paul routinely appointed elders in the churches that he founded (acts
14:23; tit 1:5). the church at Philippi certainly had overseers and deacons
(Phil 1:1). the church at Cenchrea had a woman deacon (rom 16:1–2), and
the Judean churches had something that approached a ministerial team of
widows (acts 9:39). also, the church in ephesus was ten years old at the
time of writing. this was not the case with the recently planted church at
Crete. elders had not yet even been appointed by the time titus was writ-
ten (1:5). What we do not find in the Pastorals is anything like the second
century monarchical episcopate, although this is often read into the roles
of timothy and titus. timothy and titus merely serve as apostolic stand-
ins. the fluidity with which overseer and elder are mentioned in these
letters speaks decisively against distinctive and official roles. Being an
overseer is “an honorable task” versus an office (1 tim 3:1) and is descrip-
tive of what an elder does (titus 1:6–7).101
101 see Belleville, “introduction to the Pastoral epistles,” 16–17. see the detailed treat-
ment by Wieland, The Significance of Salvation.