We live in confusing times. Truth is under assault from every direction. This was also true when Paul wrote what we know as 1 Timothy. Paul had recently been released from prison. The Church was experiencing persecution from without and false teaching from within. In this letter, his goal was to instruct Timothy regarding how to shepherd the church at Ephesus.

The first order of business for Timothy was to stop the false teachings. This included “teach(ing) strange doctrines” (heterodidaskaleo, heteros, other, and didaskaleo, to teach). Didaskalos encompasses both the content and the way it is taught. These false teachings, known as Gnostic heresies, included teaching myths. A myth is a fictitious story that begins with an element of truth but is then used metaphorically to teach what is false. Also, they were using genealogies to claim superior knowledge based on personal heritage. And they were constantly raising questions that only confused rather than clarified the truth. Such teachings undermine the very fabric of the Church and society.

What follows in this epistle are instructions on how to teach “sound doctrine” (1 Tim 1:10). Sound doctrine consists of two terms, sound (hygiaino, which is closely related to the English term healthy) and doctrine (didaskalia). As with the verb form above, it refers to both the content and manner of teaching. What the false teachers were teaching was anything but healthy doctrine.

Timothy was to teach that which furthered the administration (oikonomia) of God. Oikonomia refers to the responsibilities of a steward who manages the household. The rest of the epistle involves instructions on how Timothy, an oikonomos, was to fulfill his task at Ephesus.

This brings us to the final portion of the fourth verse in chapter one, “which is by faith.” (NASB) The Greek is ten en pistei. Ten is a definite article, en a preposition, and pistei a noun: dative case, the object of the preposition. What follows is a careful exegesis of this phrase, which occurs repeatedly in the New Testament. Microsoft Copilot, utilizing reputable sources, helps to bring out the correct interpretation:

The word order τὴν ἐν πίστει places the prepositional phrase directly after the article to mark it as a restrictive, defining modifier of οἰκονομίαν (“administration/stewardship”). This signals that Paul is not saying “stewardship that comes from faith,” but “the stewardship which exists in the sphere of faith.”

Noting the importance of wording and word order from a comparison of trustworthy Greek grammars, Copilot continues:

By choosing ἐν and placing it immediately after the article, he signals:

    • not source
    • not instrument
    • but sphere/mode

This is why the word order is theologically significant.

In other words, this does not refer to anyone’s act of believing, but the sphere or mode in which Timothy was to teach as a steward of the Word of God. It was not by his faith, which our English translation suggests.

Paul’s admonition to Timothy concerned the quality of his teaching, both in content and methodology. Not his act of believing.