I. Introductory·
(a) 1 Timothy 1:1 f. Salutation. Paul greets Timothy, his true son in the faith. The character of his communication leads him to write, even to a personal friend, in his official capacity as an apostle by Divine commandment.
1 Timothy 1:1. God our Saviour. This title is not applied to God by Paul outside the Pastorals. It is, however, familiar in OT, and appears also in Luke 1:47 and Jude 1:25. Christ Jesus our hope: cf. Colossians 1:27. This union of Christ Jesus with God as the source of Paul's apostle-ship, like their association in 2 under the vinculum of a single preposition, carries important theological implications.
1 Timothy 1:2. mercy: added to Paul's usual salutation only here and 2 Timothy 1:2, cf. 2 John 1:3.