Paul’s Letter to Timothy
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.” I Timothy 1:1-2
All the epistles that Paul wrote placed in the Bible prior to this one were addressed to churches, but this one to Timothy and those to Titus and Philemon were addressed to specific individuals. We first read of Timothy (Timotheus) in Acts 16:1. We are not told of his specific born-again experience, but we are told that his mother was Jewish, and a follower of Christ, and his father was Greek, thus a Gentile. I would assume that Timothy came to Christ through the influence of his believing mother, Eunice, and his believing grandmother, Lois (II Timothy 1:5). Bible commentators believe that Paul was the one who led Timothy to faith in Christ because Paul calls him “his son in the faith”. However, the writer of the book of Acts, Luke, the physician and writer of the book of Luke, wrote that when Paul came to the area in which Timothy resided, Derbe and Lystra, that Paul met “a certain disciple” named Timothy. Thus, it would appear that Timothy was already a believer when Paul met him. Also, we read that Timothy was highly regarded by Christians in Lystra and Iconium (Acts 16:1-2).
It doesn’t really matter who led Timothy to faith in Christ. What does matter is that he became a born-again believer and followed Christ. Paul became very fond of Timothy and desired to take him on his second missionary journey. However, because Timothy was the son of a Gentile, he had never been circumcised. Since areas to which they would journey were populated by Jews, and people in those cities knew that Timothy was half-Greek, Paul circumcised him so as not to offend the Jews. An uncircumcised Gentile would have been an immediate “turn off” to the Jews. Paul was always very conscientious in keeping the Jewish laws and traditions so as those Jews to whom he spoke would be more willing to hear him (I Corinthians 9:20), but he never compromised his faith or the gospel.
Timothy accompanied Paul to many cities as they journeyed to spread the gospel. At one point, Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to keep a close eye on the church there because of some false doctrine and sin that had crept in among the believers. It was in Ephesus where Timothy resided when he received Paul’s letter which began with the same greeting that he used in all of his letters. Paul first identified himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ. An apostle is one who is sent to deliver the gospel of Christ to those who are lost in sin. This apostleship was given to him by a commandment of God, mankind’s Savior and by Jesus Christ, the only hope for a lost and dying world. Paul then identifies the recipient of this letter, Timothy, and called him “his own son in the faith”. As stated earlier, this phrase has been used by scholars to give Paul the credit for leading Timothy to faith in Christ, but Paul could have used this phrase because Timothy was like a son to him. Since Paul was not married and thus did not have a son of his own, he basically adopted Timothy.
Paul’s introduction continued by his desiring of grace, mercy, and peace upon Timothy from God the Father and Jesus Christ the Lord. Peace is not possible without God’s mercy and grace. Nearly everyone says they want peace, but many do not want to submit to the only One who can bring peace. Matthew Henry wrote that ministers need more of God’s mercy and grace than ordinary folks because of the responsibilities laid upon preachers of the gospel. Luke 12:48 tells us that “…unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more”.
Paul and Timothy were in Ephesus when Paul planned to go to Macedonia. Timothy likely wanted to accompany him, but Paul felt it more necessary for Timothy to remain in Ephesus. Timothy was to be diligent to keep the gospel preaching pure from fables and what Paul called “endless genealogies”, that is, bringing into the preaching a need for following the law or pagan rituals. Paul didn’t want what Gentiles had been taught before knowing Christ nor any demand to follow the law as an addition to receiving Christ. That would have only caused confusion and misunderstandings. Only edifying believers in the gospel by faith was acceptable, and this is what Timothy was left at Ephesus to do. It is believed that Paul wrote this letter after his first incarceration in Rome. Paul, knowing that he would likely not survive for much longer, understood the importance of leaving a legacy to those whom he trusted would carry on the preaching of the true gospel.
More of Paul’s letter to Timothy next time.