Free group study handout
1 Timothy 5: Group Study Handout
How to use: read 1 Timothy 5 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.
Overview
Paul instructs Timothy on how to treat different groups in the church. Older men should be treated like fathers, and younger men like brothers. Older women are to be treated as mothers, and younger women as sisters, in all purity (vv.
Key verse
“But if anyone doesn’t provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.”
1 Timothy 5:8 (WEB)
Outline
- 1 Timothy 5:1–2 Instructions for Treating People
- 1 Timothy 5:3–16 Guidelines for Supporting Widows
- 1 Timothy 5:17–20 Honor for Elders
- 1 Timothy 5:21–22 Impartiality and Integrity
- 1 Timothy 5:23–25 Personal Health and Accountability
Discussion questions
- In v6, why is the widow described as 'dead while she lives'?
- What does Paul command about the treatment of 'younger widows' in vv. 11-12?
- In v9, why does Paul specify that a widow must be 'under sixty years old' to be enrolled?
- In v20, what does Paul mean by reproving those who sin 'in the sight of all'?
- When have you experienced the need to 'honor widows who are widows indeed' in your community?
Go deeper
Passages that echo 1 Timothy 5: Hebrews 13, Titus 2, Galatians 6.
Before next time: read 1 Timothy 6.