The Writings of 1 Timothy

Have you ever had something that was really special to you, but you realize that you hadn’t told anyone else exactly how to care for it? Imagine you have a farm or small garden and you have a special routine of weeding, watering, and harvesting. Then you realize that you will need someone to look after your farm one day so you sit down and write page after page of instructions. If you wrote out specific instructions, would you hand them off to anyone, hoping they will be able to care for your most special possession as well as you do? Or would you place those instructions in the hands of someone special who you fully trusted? You would give the care of your farm to people you know well who have proven themselves to be trustworthy.

For Paul, the church, and its care, is what mattered most to him. He loved the church with all his heart. He had made it his life’s work to travel from city to city, planting and building up churches. But Paul realized that he was coming to an important season in his life. He had been in and out of prison, and realized that he would not always be around to build, encourage, and guide the churches he had established. The aging Paul needed to write out instructions on how to care for the church, and he needed to write them to someone he trusted. So he wrote to his spiritual son, Timothy. 

1 Timothy can be read as a church leadership manual, as Paul wrote a practical guideline to Timothy on how a church should be directed. Paul makes sure to give Timothy specific instructions on different topics. As a father would for a son, Paul teaches Timothy everything he knows. In his letter to Timothy, Paul teaches on how to pray for the church, behave in the church, and lead the church. For Paul all of his instructions are centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The relationship between Paul and Timothy is a beautiful example of what a mentor should look like. Paul didn’t just leave Timothy an instruction manual on church leadership, he left him encouragement as well. Paul already had life experience, and he wanted to build up Timothy so he wouldn’t get discouraged in this battle of faith. Paul wanted Timothy to stay confident in what God had called him to do.