Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 1 Timothy
Chapter 5: Honour Widows Indeed
First Timothy 5 turns to how the church cares for and corrects its members, family by family. Timothy is to treat the older as parents and the younger as siblings, 'the elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.' The church is to 'honour widows that are widows indeed,' those truly alone and trusting God, while families first care for their own, 'if any provide not for his own... he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.' Paul gives careful guidance about which widows the church should support, and urges younger widows to marry and guide their households. He then addresses the elders who lead: 'let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine,' for 'the labourer is worthy of his reward.' Accusations against elders require witnesses; persistent sinners are to be rebuked openly; and Timothy is to act 'without preferring one before another,' laying hands on no one hastily, and keeping himself pure. This chapter shows us a church ordered by honor, provision, and impartial justice.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 1 Timothy chapter 5. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Paul instructs Timothy in caring for widows, providing for one's own household, and honoring and correcting the elders of the church with impartial justice. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
As Fathers and Mothers
Treat the church as a family, with all purity.
Widows Indeed
Honor those truly alone; families care for their own.
Worthy of Double Honour
Especially those who labor in word and doctrine.
Without Partiality
Correction by witnesses, impartial and pure.
Honour Widows That Are Widows Indeed (1 Timothy 5:1-16)
The church is a family: the older honored as parents, the truly desolate widows supported, and each household caring first for its own.
Provide for His Own, and Specially for His Own House
"Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity. Honour widows that are widows indeed. But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God. Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day. But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless. But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man, Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work. But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry; Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some are already turned aside after Satan. If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed."
Word Study
"honour," Greek timao (τιμάω). The word means to honor, to value, to hold in esteem; and because value and price are related, it also carries the sense of setting a price on something, giving it its due worth, even in material terms. "Honour widows that are widows indeed." The command is more than a call to be polite to older women; in this context "honour" includes practical, financial support. Paul uses the same word a few verses later of elders who are "worthy of double honour," meaning worthy of respect and material provision, and he confirms it with "the labourer is worthy of his reward." So to timao the widows is both to esteem them and to see to their needs. And Paul carefully defines who qualifies as a "widow indeed": one truly "desolate," left alone without family to provide for her, who "trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day." Such a woman the church is to value and support. But where a widow has family, the honor of caring for her falls first to them, "let them learn first to shew piety at home." Honoring the widow, then, is a shared duty: families provide for their own, and the church provides for those truly alone. The word teaches that in the family of God, to honor the vulnerable is not mere sentiment but concrete care, valuing them enough to meet their needs.
Explanation
Paul gives Timothy a family manual for the church: treat older men as fathers, younger as brothers, older women as mothers, younger "as sisters, with all purity." The bulk concerns widows — those "widows indeed," truly desolate and devoted to prayer, are to be honored and supported by the church; but families must first "requite their parents," for "if any provide not for his own... he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." Younger widows are counselled toward remarriage and useful lives rather than idleness. Christian love is not vague sentiment but organized, discerning care for the vulnerable.
Gospel Focus
Paul begins with the spirit in which Timothy is to deal with people: as family. "Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; the elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity." The church is a household, and its members are to be treated with the respect and affection due to parents, brothers, and sisters, the younger women especially handled "with all purity." Then Paul takes up the care of widows, a major concern in a world with no social safety net. The church is to "honour widows that are widows indeed," providing for those truly alone. But he is careful to guard against burdening the church with needs that families should meet: "if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents." Caring for one's aging family is not optional godliness; it is a first duty, "good and acceptable before God." Indeed, Paul states it with startling force: "if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." To neglect one's own family is to contradict the faith one claims, for even unbelievers care for their kin. Paul then gives practical wisdom about which widows the church should enroll for ongoing support, older women of proven godliness and good works, while directing younger widows toward marriage and household life, lest idleness lead them into gossip and worse. Through all these detailed instructions runs one gospel principle: the family of God cares for its own, with order and wisdom. Genuine faith is not merely felt in the heart; it is worked out in honoring parents, providing for household, supporting the desolate, and ordering the church's compassion so that real needs are truly met. Love in the church of the living God is practical, ordered, and faithful.
Counted Worthy of Double Honour (1 Timothy 5:17-25)
Elders who lead well are to be honored and supported, protected from careless accusation, yet corrected openly when they sin, all with strict impartiality.
Doing Nothing by Partiality
"Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward. Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear. I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure. Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities. Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after. Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid."
Word Study
"partiality," from Greek prosklisis (πρόσκλισις). The word means a leaning toward, an inclination, a bias in favor of one side; "doing nothing by partiality" is doing nothing by such a leaning. Paul pairs it with "without preferring one before another," and together they demand strict impartiality in church discipline and judgment. The picture is of a scale that must not be tipped: Timothy is not to lean toward a person because he is popular, wealthy, a friend, or influential, nor against another because he is disliked or lowly. Justice in the house of God is to be blind to such things. This is why Paul frames it with the most solemn charge in the letter: "I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things." In the very presence of God and the holy angels, Timothy is to judge without bias. The safeguards are concrete: an accusation against an elder is not to be received except "before two or three witnesses," protecting leaders from slander; yet those who genuinely sin are to be rebuked "before all," so that the fear of God is preserved and sin is not hidden because of a person's standing. So prosklisis, the leaning of favoritism, is forbidden. God's church is to be governed by even-handed truth, honoring the faithful, protecting the accused, correcting the guilty, and showing no partiality to anyone, for the God before whom we all stand is Himself no respecter of persons.
Explanation
Elders who lead and teach well are worthy of "double honour," for "the labourer is worthy of his reward." Yet leaders are also accountable: an accusation is received only "before two or three witnesses," but persistent sin is to be rebuked openly, and Timothy must act "without preferring one before another," showing no partiality. Interwoven is a tender personal note — "drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake." And a wise reminder that "some men's sins are open beforehand... and some they follow after" — time reveals both hidden sin and hidden good.
Gospel Focus
Paul turns from widows to the elders who lead the church, and calls for them to be honored: "let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine." "Double honour" means both respect and material support, and Paul proves it from Scripture: "thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn" (an ox must be free to eat as it works), and "the labourer is worthy of his reward." Those who give themselves to preaching and teaching deserve to be supported and esteemed. Notice, too, that Paul quotes a saying of Jesus (Luke 10:7) alongside Deuteronomy as "scripture," a quiet witness to the authority of the Lord's words. Yet honor does not put elders above accountability. On one side, they must be protected from careless charges: "against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses"; a leader is not to be undone by gossip or a single accuser. On the other side, when an elder truly sins, he must not be shielded: "them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear." Public sin by a leader calls for open correction, so the church learns the fear of God. To hold these in balance, Paul gives his most solemn charge, "before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels", that Timothy act "without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality." Justice in the house of God must be blind to status, friendship, and popularity. He adds practical wisdom: "lay hands suddenly on no man," do not ordain or restore anyone hastily, lest you share in their sins; "keep thyself pure"; and a tender personal note, "use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities," care for your health. Finally, Paul observes that character eventually comes to light: some men's "sins are open beforehand," obvious now, while others surface only later at judgment; and likewise "the good works of some are manifest beforehand," and even hidden good "cannot be hid." Time and God's judgment reveal the truth about everyone. So the church honors its faithful leaders, guards them from slander, corrects them without favoritism when they fall, and rests in the God before whom all things are finally made plain.
Chapter 5 in Review
First Timothy 5 orders the church's care and correction as a family. Timothy is to treat members as parents and siblings, "with all purity." The church is to "honour widows that are widows indeed," the truly desolate who trust God, while families care first for their own, "if any provide not for his own... he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." Paul gives wise guidance on which widows to support and urges younger widows toward marriage and household. He then honors the elders: "let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine," for "the labourer is worthy of his reward." Accusations against elders require witnesses; persistent sinners are rebuked "before all"; and all is to be done "without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality."
For the Apostolic reader this chapter shows that genuine faith is intensely practical. The gospel does not float above daily life; it shapes how we treat the old and the young, how we provide for our families, how we care for the desolate, and how we honor and correct our leaders. It teaches that neglecting one's own household contradicts the faith itself, that those who labor in the word deserve support, and that the church must be governed by impartial justice, protecting the accused, correcting the guilty, and showing favoritism to no one, all "before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels." Love in the house of the living God is ordered, faithful, and just. So we honor the vulnerable with real care, provide for our own, support and esteem faithful leaders, and judge without partiality, knowing that God, who sees all, will bring every hidden thing to light.
- Treat the church as family, "with all purity" (5:1-2).
- "Honour widows that are widows indeed"; families care first for their own (5:3-4).
- "If any provide not for his own... he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel" (5:8).
- "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour" (5:17).
- Protect elders from careless accusation; rebuke real sin "before all" (5:19-20).
- Judge "without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality" (5:21).
Questions for Reflection
- Do you treat older and younger believers as true family, with honor and purity?
- Are you faithfully providing for those of your own household?
- Do you honor and support those who labor in the word and doctrine?
- Are you free of partiality, judging matters by truth rather than by a person's standing?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. Treating the church as family; honoring widows: 1 Timothy 5:1-7; Leviticus 19:32; James 1:27; Acts 6:1. Providing for one's own household: 1 Timothy 5:8, 16; Exodus 20:12; Matthew 15:4-6. Double honour for elders; the labourer worthy of reward: 1 Timothy 5:17-18; Deuteronomy 25:4; Luke 10:7; 1 Corinthians 9:9-14. Accusations, correction, and impartiality: 1 Timothy 5:19-25; Deuteronomy 19:15; Leviticus 19:15; Acts 10:34. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The church as family; honoring true widows: 1 Timothy 5:1-7; James 1:27.
- Providing for one's own household: 1 Timothy 5:8, 16; Matthew 15:4-6.
- Double honour for elders; the labourer worthy of his reward: 1 Timothy 5:17-18; Luke 10:7.
- Accusations by witnesses; correction; impartial justice: 1 Timothy 5:19-25; Deuteronomy 19:15; Leviticus 19:15.