Timothy

Scripture Reading: Acts 16:1-5, 1 Timothy 1:1-2, 1 Timothy 1:18-20, 1 Timothy 4:11-16, 2 Timothy 1:1-6, 1 Corinthians 4:14-17, 1 Corinthians 16:10-11, Philippians 2:19-24, 1 Thessalonians 3:1-6  

“Everyone needs a Paul, a Barnabas, and a Timothy.” Maybe you’ve heard this pseudo-biblical truism offered up before. It means that everyone needs a spiritual mentor, a spiritual encourager, and a spiritual mentee. It’s true as far as it goes, but as is often the case when we distill biblical characters down to a single trait, it misses the more magnificent and complex reality of God’s work in those people’s lives. Let’s consider Timothy. 

When introduced in Acts 16, Timothy was a young believer who was raised to faith by his mother and grandmother (2Timothy 2:5). He was well thought of by his fellow Christians, so much so that Paul singled him out as someone to partner with in his ministry. Is Timothy a mentee? Yes, but he is so much more. He allowed Paul to circumcise him, which might seem like a bizarre fact to include. But this tells us something about Timothy; he was already intent on bringing the gospel of Jesus to all people, Jew and Gentile, and he would not let any cultural barrier stand in the way of getting to carry the truth of Jesus far and wide. So from the very beginning, we know that Timothy was devoted to Christ and His gospel above all.

We see this emphasized over and over again as Paul wrote to and about Timothy. Paul referred to him as “my true son in the faith” (1Timothy 1:2) and his “dearly loved son.” (2Timothy 1:2) Timothy was not merely being trained in ministry, as if it was an internship or a residency—he was being spiritually fathered and loved and poured into. As Paul poured into Timothy and included him in the ministry of preaching, shepherding, and church planting, the Holy Spirit grew Timothy. 

The Lord placed a call to ministry on his life, and as he obeyed it, (1Timothy 1:18) Timothy became a faithful and trusted shepherd of his own flock. He cared about the interests of Christ ahead of his own (Philippians 2:19–21). He was sent into messy situations, like the divisive issues of the church in Corinth, in order to remind them of the ways of Jesus. And even in the face of their derision for his age and resistance to the gospel, above all Timothy served Jesus. Yes, he was raised up and trained by Paul and he was loved by Paul, but Timothy was a servant of Jesus. “And we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you concerning your faith” (1Thessalonians 3:2). 

As we consider his life, this is what we want to imitate and ask God for: “sincere faith” (2Timothy 1:5) and to be “an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity” (1Timothy 4:12).

Written by Barnabas Piper