What does 1 Timothy 1:2 mean?

Verse 2 completes the introduction, identifying the letter's recipient and offering a standard Pauline greeting. The letter was written to Timothy, one of four personal New Testament letters by Paul. The others are 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. Timothy was the only person to receive two personal letters from Paul in the New Testament. Here, Timothy is called "my true child in the faith." This was a spiritual relationship, most likely meaning that Paul had led Timothy to faith in Christ. Timothy and Titus were the only two men called "true child" by Paul (Titus 1:4).

Paul's greetings frequently include the ideas of grace and peace. Paul will mention grace again in this letter in 1 Timothy 1:14, as well as in the letter's conclusion in 1 Timothy 6:21. Paul also makes a reference to mercy twice when describing his own testimony (1 Timothy 1:13, 16), emphasizing God as the reason for his salvation rather than his works (Ephesians 2:8–9). Paul will also refer to peace in 1 Timothy 2:2 in a mention of living a peaceful and quiet life.