Don

The last word in the last verse of 1 Tim is y’all or you plural. As far as I know, this is the only indication that 1 Tim MIGHT be for eyes beyond Timothy’s.  In any case, we know since we actually have the letter’s text that Timothy did not “burn upon reading” or even let it be lost in time, rather it was considered precious by the church at Ephesus and kept.

The more I hear about MacArthur’s teachings, the less I respect him as a teacher.  I do not even know why anyone sees him as a teacher, he seems more a teller of tales.  He makes up a story, which might even be possible, and just assumes it is what happened.

Being sure when one should be unsure is a way to be a false teacher.

Timothy is acting as Paul’s agent at a church Paul planted as an apostle to the gentiles, a church that has trouble.  This gives Timothy tremendous authority.  However, there is lots of context to the letter that we simply do not know, and therefore it avails itself to varying possible interpretations.

My take is the only book that is harder to interpret than the pastorals (1 Tim, 2 Tim and Titus) is Rev.  This makes it imperative to get to these 4 books LAST when doing a subject teaching, such as the gender debate.  It is simply too easy to misunderstand something in these 4 books, especially without a thorough grounding in the counsel of the rest of Scripture.