We have already written previously that this epistle deals with the creed and conduct in the local church. The creed of a person must be correct, before the behavior of that person can be correct. It is almost an impossibility to think wrongly and correctly. And your creed has to be correct before your behavior can be correct. It is sad that a person often tries to act correctly even when his way of thinking is wrong. It is impossible to maintain this situation for a long time.
"As I begged you to stay in Ephesus when I went to Macedonia, to send some who do not teach different doctrine"
Here the apostle stressed that Timothy ordered some supposed teachers to stop teaching false doctrines; in other words, that they will not teach a different doctrine. Remember that Paul also wrote to the Galatians that there was no other gospel. The Judaizers were preaching another gospel. (Let's clarify that the Judaizers were Jews converted to Christianity who continued to practice the provisions of the Mosaic Law and intended to impose them on non-Jewish converts.) So there was only one gospel, just as there was only one doctrine.
This word doctrine refers to the teachings of the Church. What should be the teaching of the local church? It should be the one taught from the very beginning. After the day of Pentecost, the story recorded that they persevered in the doctrine of the apostles. This was one of the 4 things that characterized that church: (1) the doctrine of the apostles (2) the communion with one another (3) the prayers and (4) the breaking of the bread, that is, the Lord's Supper . These are, so to speak, the four "fingerprints" of the visible church. A church is not a true church of Christ if its doctrine is not the doctrine of the apostles.
We recognize that our varied interpretations of the Scriptures lead us to disagree in some points of doctrine. On one occasion two pastors were talking and talking about the issues they were or disagreed with and in the end they came to the conclusion that there were no serious differences between them that they had originally thought about. When saying goodbye, one said to the other: "There are so many things that we agree on, because we agree on that which is basic: Therefore, we should not distance ourselves by issues that are not essential. everyone will think like us, but we have to accept as brothers others who in some secondary points differ from our interpretation.
However, we must remain faithful to the doctrine of the apostles, that is, to the basic doctrines of faith. The apostles taught the total verbal inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, the integrity and infallibility of the Word of God. And they taught the deity of Christ. In this same epistle we will see that Paul has a high point of view of the Lord Jesus Christ. There were those who said that he did not teach the deity of Christ. However, among all the doctrinal issues he dealt with, the exposition of this topic was extremely clear. He taught with clarity the deity of Christ. Even here in this chapter when he said of God our Father and of Christ Jesus our Lord, he placed Christ immediately at God's side, making it clear that He is God.
And now, speaking to this young Timothy, he said to him: I begged you to stay in Ephesus. Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus while he stayed in Macedonia. Ephesus was an important city of that time and Paul spent more time there than anywhere else, and it was also the city where he had his greatest ministry. And Timothy had to remind the Ephesians not to teach another doctrine. Because if the teaching of the church was not correct, it was not a church. It did not matter how many deacons, elders, pastors, praise leaders, choirs or Sunday schools they were working on. If the true doctrine was not taught there, that group was not really a church. Because the doctrine should be that of the apostles.
Credits to the author Luis de Miguel from the biblical school following the teacher.
