1 Timothy 1 Bible study: I obtained mercy

The letter opens, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ our hope," (1:1) "to Timothy, my true child in faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord." (1:2) (tap Grace). It names one sender and one reader. These notes say nothing of Timothy, or of when or where the letter was written, beyond what the letter says. It goes on: "As I urged you when I was going into Macedonia, stay at Ephesus that you might command certain men not to teach a different doctrine," (1:3) "and not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than God’s stewardship, which is in faith." (1:4) "But the goal of this command is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith," (1:5) (tap command) "from which things some, having missed the mark, have turned away to vain talking," (1:6) "desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither what they say nor about what they strongly affirm." (1:7). Here is what almost everyone misses: the noun behind command in 1:5 comes again near the end of the chapter, behind instruction: "I commit this instruction to you, my child Timothy" (1:18). The letter doesn't name the certain men (1:3) or the some (1:6), and these notes don't either. They apply 1:3-7 to no one today.

ἐλεέωeleeosay el-eh-EH-o

Strong's: "to compassionate (by word or deed, specially, by divine grace)". "However, I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief." (1:13), and "However, for this cause I obtained mercy" (1:16): behind obtained mercy both times is this one verb, in the same form, and 1 Timothy has it only in these two verses (in all eight editions TAGNT compares). In "Grace, mercy, and peace" (1:2), mercy is the noun eleos (G1656), which Favor's Luke 1 studies.