This document summarizes portions of 1 Timothy 1-7 regarding false teachings that were problematic in the church. It discusses how some people were desire to be teachers but did not understand scripture and instead taught myths and endless genealogies that did not edify believers. It suggests these false teachers may have been early Gnostics. The remainder summarizes key aspects of Gnostic teachings, including that matter is evil and spirit is good, salvation is through special knowledge not faith, Christ's humanity was denied, and it could lead to either harsh asceticism or licentiousness depending on the interpretation. The purpose of John's letter was to expose these false teachers and give believers assurance of salvation through Christ.

1. 1 Timothy 1:9
Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man,
but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for
sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of father and
murderers of mothers, for manslayers
THE PROBLEM OF UNSOUND
DOCTRINE

2. As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went
into Macedonia, that thou mightiest charge some that
they teach on other doctrine, 4. Neither give heed to fables
and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather
than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. 5. Now the end
of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of
a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. 6. From which
some having swerved have turned aside unto vain
jangling; 7. Desiring to be teachers of the law;
understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they
affirm.
1 TIMOTHY 1:3-7

3. 1. Teaching false doctrines
2. Teaching Jewish myths
3. Wanting to be teachers of the Old Testament law
4. Building up endless, far-fetched, fictitious stories based on obscure
genealogical points
5. Being conceited
6. Being argumentative
7. Using talk that was meaningless
8. Not knowing what they were talking about
9. Teaching ascetic practice
10. Using their position of religious leadership for personal financial gain
These heretics probably were forerunners of
the Gnostics

4. Reference Scripture: 1 John 2:12-14,19; 3:1; 5:13
But the letter itself does not indicate who they were
or where they lived. The fact that it mentions no one
by name suggests it was a circular letter sent to
Christians in a number of places.
MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THIS LETTER
WAS ADDRESSED TO BELIEVERS

5. GNOSTICISM
One of the most dangerous heresies of the two
centuries of the church was Gnosticism. Its
central teaching was that spirit is entirely good
and matter is entirely evil. From this unbiblical
dualism flowed five important errors:
John wrote this letter with two basic purposes in
mind: (1) to expose false teachers 1 John 2:26
and (2) to give believers assurance of salvation
(1 John 5:13)

6. 1. Man’s body, which is matter, is therefore evil. It is to be contrasted with
God, who is wholly spirit and therefore good.
2. Salvation is the escape from the body, achieved not by faith in Christ
but by special knowledge (the Greek word for “knowledge” is gnosis,
hence Gnosticism).
3. Christ’s true humanity was denied in two ways: (1) Some said that Christ
only seemed to have a body, a view called Docetism, from the Greek
dokeo (“to seem”), and (2) others said that the divine Christ joined the
man Jesus at baptism and left him before he died,, a view called
Cerinthianism, after its most prominent spokesman, Cerinthus.
4. Since the body was considered evil, it was to be treated harshly. This
ascetic form of Gnosticism is the background of part of the letter to the
Colossians (1 John 2:21-23).
5. Paradoxically, this dualism also led to licentiousness. The reasoning
was that, since matter and not the breaking God’s law (1 John 3:4) was
considered evil, breaking his law was of no moral consequence.