Hymenaeus
Hymenaeus was a false teacher named twice by Paul as one who had made shipwreck of his faith. Paul reports having 'delivered him unto Satan' that he might learn not to blaspheme, and warns that his teaching - that the resurrection was already past - spread like gangrene and overthrew the faith of some. He serves as a solemn example of doctrine gone astray and its corrosive effect on the church.
Biography
- Occupation
- False teacher
- Era
- New Testament
- Nationality
- Greek
Did You Know?
Hymenaeus is named twice as a cautionary example of shipwrecked faith: Paul says he 'delivered [him] unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme' (1 Timothy 1:20).
His specific error - teaching 'that the resurrection is past already' (2 Timothy 2:18) - shows how a distorted doctrine of the end times could 'overthrow the faith of some' in the early church.
Paul compares the spread of his teaching to gangrene ('will eat as doth a canker'), a vivid medical metaphor for how corrosive false doctrine can be to a congregation.
Key Chapters
Key Passages
Delivered to Satan
1 Timothy 1:18-20
Paul names Hymenaeus among those who put away faith and a good conscience, delivered to Satan to be taught.
18his charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
His Error Spreads
2 Timothy 2:16-18
Paul warns that Hymenaeus and Philetus, saying the resurrection is past, eat like a canker and overthrow faith.
16ut shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.