Paul wraps up chapter one with a short phrase that doesn’t seem to be of much consequence. But as we unpack it, we see that there is a lot going on in this verse. It’s the final piece of the of his encouragement to Timothy in this chapter to stand strong. Take a look at it in 1 Timothy 1:20:

There are three phrases in this verse that bear a look.

The first phrase mentions two men who have shipwrecked their faith: Hymenaeus and Alexander. Who were these two men? There’s not a lot of information to go on, but the name Hymenaeus is mentioned again in 2 Timothy 2:17, where his error is mentioned: he apparently taught that the resurrection was already past. He probably spiritualized it, and related it to a person’s conversion, perhaps even denying a bodily resurrection. Whatever the case, it was serious.

Alexander is the other man mentioned. This is a pretty common name, listed again in Acts 19 and in 2 Timothy 4:14. It’s not clear if either of these other two mentions refer to the same man Paul is talking about in this passage.

What seems to be certain is that these two men were probably leaders in the area Timothy was working, perhaps even elders in the church. That makes their errors significant.

The next phrase needing a look is the phrase “handed over to Satan.” What could Paul possibly mean by this? The goal of this is discipline; it doesn’t appear to be a hopeless situation. Paul uses the same phrase in 1 Corinthians 5:5, 13, and in that passage it becomes clear that the offender was to be put out of the church, dis-fellowhipped, so to speak. By this act of “excommunication,” Paul hoped that they might learn their lesson, and return to their faith.

By being removed from the church, they were placed back in the world, which is Satan’s domain. The purpose here is for correction. If these men were to continue to teach their false doctrine, they would lead others astray, convinced that they taught the truth. Placing them out of the church would, hopefully, help them to face their issues, and return to the truth.

The final phrase the we need to examine is the phrase, “taught not to blaspheme.” There is simply no way to know what Paul means here, but we can infer a couple of things. In verse 13, Paul refers to himself as a “blasphemer.” And toward the end of the letter, in 6:4, he talks about “blasphemies” or “malicious talk.” In this latter passage, this is listed as one of the results of the false teachers’ activities. And Paul is firm in his suggestion that Timothy act upon this problem decisively.

Paul’s intent here is not to punish, but to instruct and correct. His desire is clear: that these men might be restored. Whether or not this ever happened we simply do not know.

But we do know that this is the purpose of Paul’s letter to young Timothy; he is in Ephesus to put a stop these false teachers and their deceits.

That wraps up chapter 1 of Paul’s first letter to Timothy.

Next week… On to chapter 2!

Have you ever stopped to examine this verse in detail? What did you gain from it? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.