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1 Timothy 1 · a question people ask

"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief" (1:15). What does the chapter say of the one who says this?

In the text

Only what these verses say. "I thank him who enabled me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he counted me faithful, appointing me to service," (1:12) "although I used to be a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief." (1:13). And after 1:15: "However, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first, Jesus Christ might display all his patience for an example of those who were going to believe in him for eternal life." (1:16). The letter says no more of his past than these words, and these notes don't fill it in from other books.

From Favor's study of 1 Timothy 1

1 Timothy 1: I obtained mercy

In 1 Timothy 1, chief in "of whom I am chief" (1:15) and first in "that in me first" (1:16) are one Greek word. And behind thank in "I thank him who enabled me" (1:12), the Greek has the noun behind grace in "The grace of our Lord" (1:14).

In Favor, questions like this come up right where they arise as you read, with the Hebrew and Greek behind the words and how the chapter leads to Jesus.

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Last reviewed October 8, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions