Timothy: Paul's Son in the Faith 1 Timothy, 1:1-2

I would have to say Hal's pretty good. He can get things worked out before the message even starts, you know, so that's great. He might have to catch Lindy up on what's going on, too. Anyway, and one other piece of good news, you will get home before the Super Bowl, okay? All right. Unless the Lord takes us all home. Okay.

This morning we want to continue with our study of Philippians. And in doing so, we're going to look very little at Philippians directly, but look at some other things here. We're in fact going to be looking at Timothy. Timothy is one who is a co-author of this book of Philippians, and as we'll see in a little bit, a co-author of other books in the New Testament as well. We want to examine Timothy.

It's, I think, easy for us to sort of move past Timothy and say, OK, this is one of the guys that hung around Paul. But think about this for a minute. Here's a guy who shows up in the New Testament more often than most of the other apostles. Amazing. And yet, as you look at it, and as we examine further here in a little bit, Timothy is a fellow who also had some disadvantages. against him, if you will. And yet we'll see what the Lord does with that. I think it's valuable, and I think it further demonstrates what we saw last week, God's amazing grace.

Let's take a look here. The beginning of Philippians. Here's Paul and Timothy. Here's the sequence. He includes that, and as we'll see in other New Testament books, he starts off pretty much that way. And he includes Timothy, here's this amazing fellow who is substantially included in the book of Acts, in a great many of the New Testament books written by Paul, and even as we'll see at the end of the book of Hebrews. A man of amazing impact, particularly considering his character, as we'll see in a little bit. Now Timothy co-authored six letters with Paul, and you have some of those listed on your handout.

He's mentioned in 1 Corinthians, but listed as a co-author in 2 Corinthians. Philippians, of course, the book we're reading and studying in now. To the church at Colossae, he also is included as one of the co-authors. First, and second, Thessalonians. The Thessalonian church is one that Timothy was substantially involved in, as we read through the Book of Acts and other books.

And Philemon. He's listed with those. But that's not all. He's also listed as one, Timothy sends his greetings in the end of Romans, where Paul is kind of saying, so-and-so says hi, and this other one says hi. He's one of those that are listed apparently, one probably with Paul at the time.

Beyond that, if you look at Paul's letters between these greetings, and being a co-author, and being mentioned in the books, only Galatians and Ephesians don't mention Timothy's name directly, and yet still he's involved with those churches. Timothy was from the city of Lystra, as we'll see more about in a minute, It was one of the churches of Galatia. So the letter to the churches in Galatia included the area where Timothy ministered. Timothy was also left, as 1 Timothy 1 makes clear, at the church at Ephesus. So he was involved with that. So the bottom line is there is no letter that Paul wrote that Timothy was not some way directly or at least indirectly involved with. It's amazing. Here's a guy who's had continuous impact, as we'll see. This is a timeline we showed last week.

I got looking at this last week and thought, oh, I got a formatting error. That's why I've got this little triangle needs to be moved over. It may seem like an incidental fact, but the point is, from Paul's conversion until his ministry here, we need the period of time the scripture calls for. So if you happen to have that, you can make note of it. If you have it at home, you can make note of that. So anyway, a correction.

But one of the things we want to take a look at here, here's the first missionary journey. It does not mention Timothy at that point. But what it does mention, as we'll take a look at in a bit, it does mention in the first missionary journey, Paul's visit to Lystra. That's the town where Timothy is from. And so now you see the establishment of the church there, and how that came about. And then, the church at Philippi that we have posted here, that founding took place right after Paul chose Timothy to go with him and began taking him on the second missionary journey. And as we'll see, the third missionary journey in here comes right after that.

Timothy is involved with that as well. And now, the two of them are sitting down together and writing this book of Philippians. That's kind of the sequence. We'll be kind of revisiting the sequence in a little bit. It's Acts 16, the first three verses that gives us some particular insights on Timothy and who he is, how he got started with Paul and ministry here. Let's take a look at it.

It says that Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra and a disciple there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was Greek. Now, first of all, there's some things to take a look at. So, basically, genetically, Timothy is half-Jewish here. But the other thing that's clear, his mother was a believer, his father was Greek, it doesn't mention that he was a believer, so we have to assume that he's not. So here's Timothy with kind of a mixed background. I should note that it was against the Jewish law for a Jewish woman to do this. We don't know, it doesn't explain why that happened, Since many marriages were arranged. It's possible that it was simply something arranged and Timothy's mother had no choice in the matter or little choice Nonetheless, it makes it clear.

Here's Timothy who is of a Jewish mother who is a believer and a Greek father Then and says and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium and There was Lystra, Iconium, and City and Antioch that were all very close together. And City and Antioch and Lystra had a Roman road between them. Iconium was a particularly Greek city by culture and did not have a Roman road connected to it, but there was a path. And so there was enough connection there between Lystra and Iconium that those two were connected, and Timothy was known among both of those churches, and apparently well regarded. We'll take a look at the history of those churches in a little bit.

Now, it became apparent here, verse 3, Paul wanted this man, that is Timothy, to go with him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. So here's an interesting thing, here's Paul, now remember what he wrote to the church at in the Galatian churches, he said to them, if any of you is even circumcised, he gives them a warning that that's a problem. Now he goes and does this, you might say, why? He is not doing it in order to comply with the law as if that's going to accomplish anything. He is doing it in order to be in a position to better witness to the Jews. That's his reason for doing it.

And Timothy, having a Jewish mother, and also, as we'll see in a little bit, having been brought up on the Old Testament scriptures, there was no reason why he shouldn't have been. We don't know why Timothy would not be circumcised at eight days, as all Jewish males were, except perhaps that his father may have forbidden it, being Greek. So now Timothy is obviously old enough that decision can be made separately.

Here's the site of the Roman colony of Lystra, founded 6 BC, about the same time Christ himself was born. This Roman colony, it's interesting, there's not a lot of archaeological remains to look at. Archaeologists have gone over it, but a lot of things are either buried or torn up. Nonetheless, this is the site. It was a smaller Roman city than, say, for example, Philippi. founded centuries before and been made a Roman colony in 30 BC. Lystra, however, was much younger by any measure. I guess one way to comparison, by the time this was written, Lystra was a younger city than Denver is now. A very young Roman city. Now, why is Verne showing you this?

The question is, all right, you've got this circumcision that was done on the Jewish males where the foreskin would be cut off, typically at the eighth day. How would anybody know? In our culture, that would be something that would be fairly private, right? This is the public bathroom at Philippi. Notice there's no dividers between the stalls.

So it would be readily apparent to all the man there, whether this person, Timothy, was a Jew, and it would be something that they would take note of because only the Jews would be circumcised. And that's why, not intending to gross anybody out, but just to make the point here, it's not something that is irrelevant and unknown, it is in fact something that would be readily known to anybody who came into contact with Paul, Timothy, or any of the others with them. Now, this is one passage that spells out kind of Paul's approach, Paul's philosophy. Why would he go about circumcising Timothy?

To the Jews I become as a Jew, in 1 Corinthians 9.20, so that I might win Jews to those who are under the law, as under the law, though not being myself under the law. Because I realize that I don't need this law to justify me for anything. But in order to have opportunity to witness to them, I will become as them. Only for their sakes that I might win some. So that I might win those who are under the law.

That's Paul's purpose in circumcising Timothy here. Now, as we looked at Paul's resume last week, we want to look at Timothy's resume. And what's interesting, we have actually quite a bit of information on Timothy to give us some insights. First thing, he's from Lystra, which is a Roman colony. We mentioned a young Roman colony, a smaller one perhaps, but nonetheless a Roman colony.

In addition to that, we know he's from a Greek father and a Jewish mother, an illegal marriage by the Jewish law, but perfectly okay according to Roman law. The Romans didn't care, they wanted you married and they wanted you having kids. The Romans were happy with it. The Greeks were okay with it. Only the Jews would have any objection.

The next one, we know from that same passage in Acts 16, he was well regarded by the believers in Lystra and Iconium. As we'll see in a little bit, there had been a few years that had gone by since the church had gotten established. And the believers in these two cities had become aware of Timothy and seen his life. And they said, This is a man who is faithful.

We know from Paul's last letter, and his last letter to Timothy, that he was taught the Old Testament by his Jewish mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois. So this is interesting. Even though his father was a Greek, and may have forbidden him to be circumcised, as all Jewish males were otherwise, They apparently were permitted to teach him the Old Testament scriptures So here is grandmother and his mother both are involved in this process Next there This is something we don't have explicit information But he was likely in his late teens to early 20s when he went with Paul in the second missionary journey Okay, why do we know that because for one he was able to be circumcised without his father father having to say so. The other thing is that it would be an appropriate time for him to go off and to carry on a mission, something of that sort.

We also know later on that Paul tells Timothy, don't let anybody look down on you because you're youth. And by that time, some years had gone by. And we have some idea what men of that era would have thought was youth. We'll take a look at that in a bit. Now the next part, Paul circumcised Timothy before they continued on Paul's second missionary journey here, as we took a look at before.

Timothy had another attribute, some assets if you will, that was helpful. Because he was brought up with his mother and grandmother Jewish and conveying the truths of the Old Testament to him, he had good solid Jewish background. Furthermore, his father being Greek, and we know from the account in Acts there was plenty of Greek influence in Lystra, even though it was a Roman colony, Timothy would have had a good understanding of the Greek culture. Furthermore, it was a Roman colony where he had been raised and lived and where Paul picked him up, and so he was familiar with Roman culture as well. So here was someone who had the ability to deal with the different cultures and to address each of those cultures. He had the background for it.

We know that he traveled with Paul on most of Paul's second missionary journey, obviously starting from Acts 16.1. We know also he traveled with Paul on most of Paul's third missionary journey.

As a matter of fact, once We read about Acts 16.1, the only time that Timothy is not with Paul is when he is either sent ahead or left behind to deal with things or sent in some other manner. For the most part, he is with Paul or dealing with something else in the missionary journey as he is traveling with Paul and others as Paul's companions.

One of the things that we see from various places in scripture, there are instances where Timothy was either left behind to continue on a ministry, or sent to particular places to deal with troublesome issues. Example, as we saw in 1 Timothy chapter 1, where Paul says explicitly, I left you there in Ephesus to deal with the false teachers. He would deal with specific issues. He was a troubleshooter, among other things.

One of the places that it also even talks about, we'll read later on at Philippians, sent to Philippi. At least two letters were written to him that we know of, possibly more, and this second letter, 2 Timothy, is probably the last letter that Paul wrote, or at least the last that we have in captivity. By the time you read the end of the letter, it's becoming very clear, Paul sees his own time is short. And remember, as we looked at last week, there was this prison in Rome where Paul shortly thereafter saw his last days on earth. Okay.

Then we know from the book of Hebrews, Timothy himself spent some time in prison. It may have been even after Paul's own martyrdom. that Timothy was released from prison as referred to here at the end of Hebrews. So here's Timothy following in Paul's footsteps, ending up in prison for his faith. Now, let's take a look at Timothy's character. Real interesting. Paul said, hey, here's this guy, I want him to come with me and deal in ministry. But look at what we find out about his character.

In 1 Corinthians 6 here, starting with verse 10, it says, Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without cause to be afraid. How about that? Ever been afraid to go to church? Apparently this is something Timothy would be concerned, and it says, Let no one despise him. And then as we mentioned here in 1 Timothy 4, Paul's writing to Timothy himself and it says, let no one look down on your youthfulness.

He was, by the time this was written, probably at least in his early thirties. And so, what someone would consider youthfulness might be a little different from what we might measure it as. But nonetheless, Paul's concern is that somehow that's going to diminish You know, his effectiveness by him being somehow squeamish or timid because of that. Here's another insight, but it's really Paul's answer in dealing with Timothy's timidness.

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me, his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God. Now think about this for a minute. If you were going to have somebody that's going to go with you in all kinds of different environments, and most certainly encounter opposition in different places, would you pick somebody that's timid?

Probably not. You would say, no, in my list of secular qualifications, this guy doesn't cut it. Guess what? The Lord made it clear that he wanted Timothy to proceed into areas where Timothy was not comfortable. What does that tell us? The Lord may indeed have us involved with things, doing things, carrying on ministry. We may not be comfortable. It may be beyond our bounds. Matter of fact, even getting up here, you know, it's interesting, numerous polls show that a lot of people are more fearful of getting up and talking in front of people than they are of death? So anyway, I must be crazy being up here.

Here's Timothy, a very timid man, and the Lord didn't say, no, I'm sorry, he doesn't cut it, we can't send him. What Paul is saying is, Timothy, I know what you are like naturally, but I have something else in mind, and I will empower you to be what you are not by yourself. That's a good thing. Timothy, Paul is making clear, had to rely upon the power of God to be the man that he needed to be in the ministry that God called him. He did not have what it took as he was naturally. His natural character was not sufficient. The Lord was sufficient.

That's a neat thing to see. I think it's valuable as we find ourselves in circumstances where we say, Lord, I don't feel comfortable in this. Lord, I don't feel adequate for this. I'm not sufficient for this. And the Lord says, that's fine. That's exactly what I had in mind. Because the Lord says, it is my power in the midst of that. that will be adequate. It is my power that will be sufficient, and not Jerome. Isn't it amazing? Here's this guy that would be mentioned in the New Testament more than most of the apostles, and he was a timid guy. He was prone to being afraid. The Lord says, that's great. Now I can use you. Let's take a look here. This is kind of the big picture on Paul's first missionary journey.

He starts off here in Antioch and is sent off heading towards Cyprus and then heads up towards the middle of what is now modern Turkey in this area that's on the edge of Galatia. And one of the things you notice here is kind of a circuit. He first heads up here to the city in Antioch, then over to Iconium, and then to Lystra, and then down to Derby. And then you see him heading back.

And so, what we find here in Acts 14, it describes them going in and first establishing the church in Lystra, where Timothy would become a believer. Then, as they go back through these same cities, what we find in Acts 14 is they appoint elders in these cities. And so, as they go back through, we don't know if Timothy was an elder there or not, but nonetheless, There's a going back. Timothy, if he was not an elder, at least grew up in a church there where there were elders, and he could get an example.

This is what it's supposed to be like. Then as we look at Paul's second missionary journey, there's a lot more mileage in this one. Here he is starting from Jerusalem, heading up again through Antioch, through Tarsus, but it's real interesting, it doesn't seem to spend a lot of time there. That's Paul's hometown. As he goes back through Derby and then Lystra, it's at Lystra that Paul picks up Timothy, who now had been obviously trained in the Old Testament by his mother and grandmother, but also been in a church where there have been elders, where they have been equipping people. And now it's coming to the surface that Timothy is a well-regarded fellow, and Paul sees him and says, I want this guy with me.

I want this guy to be ministering with me as we travel along the rest of this journey. And so Timothy travels along with him the rest of this route, including Philippi that we see up at the top here. So we see in Acts 16, 1 through 3, where Timothy is selected out and goes on the rest of this journey. And to think about this journey for a little bit, this wasn't just a quick hopping through and getting on the train and traveling along.

There was time spent at each one of these places. As that time was spent, Timothy was learning. Timothy was learning as he heard Paul and the other companions with him begin to teach and to preach. Paul was there and teaching to all the different people, Jews and Greeks and Romans, Paul was also establishing elders in each of these cities. Timothy would be a part of that.

On the third journey back, Paul even stops and talks with the elders at Ephesus. This is Acts chapter 20. It's the longest discourse to Christians in the book of Acts. Paul says, to you elders, I have given you the whole counsel of God. Paul's laid everything out and Timothy has had an opportunity to be a part of this and to learn from Paul in the midst of this. So here he is on his third journey and Timothy is a part of most of this directly or indirectly where he is left behind to deal with some things or sent off elsewhere to deal with some things.

It wasn't just Timothy and Paul, it was Timothy and Paul and Silas. We see several places, first in Acts. We also note that Paul and Silas wrote alongside Timothy in a few books. And one to take note, Silas is likely Sylvanus here. The name is an equal, just like we have equivalent names and nicknames in our culture. Timothy was also, it's pretty apparent, alongside Luke.

One of the things that Luke does, he tips his hand quite clearly as he writes numerous times in the Book of Acts, we and us. And he's talking about this happened to us, we did this, we went there. And some of the places that he describes are places that it's very clear that Timothy went as well. So he spent time with Dr. Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts as well.

It was also Timothy and Erastus that we find out here in Acts 19. The two of them were sent together. A real interesting side note, here's an inscription in Corinth. It's called the Erastus inscription. The name Erastus shows up up here. And it talks about here Erastus being responsible for the laying of this pavement. He is given, in Romans 16, 23, responsibilities that seem comparable to that. So it may be the same fellow as we see inscribed here on the pavement.

Now, 2 Timothy 2, 1 and 2 brings forth an important and powerful truth. As for you, therefore, my child, be clothed with inward strength by the grace which is in Christ Jesus, And by the way, this is the the Wiest translation, which will be a little different. And the things which you heard from me personally in the presence of many witnesses, these things commit as a trust to trustworthy men who are of such a character as to be capable of teaching others also. Now, think about this for a minute. Here's Second Timothy. Remember, that's the last letter that we know of that Paul wrote. That's the last letter to Timothy that we know of. And so he's making pivotal kinds of statements. If you're writing your last letter, wouldn't you?

He's making a very pivotal statement. He's saying, OK, Timothy, I have spent a great deal of time with you, you and me personally. Timothy, I've spent time with you alongside other people. Timothy, you have seen me teaching other people. Now, Timothy, it's up to you.

I'm seeing my last day, as Paul's saying. But you, you have the opportunity now to teach these truths to others. And as you do so, make sure you're passing it along to those who are faithful and those who have an understanding and a mind and a heart to pass it along to others as well. That's the key that he's trying to convey to Timothy at this critical last opportunity kind of moment.

So what is Paul saying here? He's saying, I've got these truths from Jesus Christ. He, multiple places, makes that clear. Paul received things that were directly revealed to him from the Lord. Those things were given to Paul. And Paul is then saying, okay, I've given those to you, Timothy, along with others, these other witnesses, others.

You were alongside Silas, remember? You were alongside Erastus, remember that? You were there with Luke, remember him? You were with me with the times I was training these people, but you, you carry these truths along to others who are faithful. You pass them along to others who will be faithful to pass them along as well. To others, and still others.

Get the idea? There's a reproduction that's intended, and it's a growing multiplication. It's kind of, you could look at it kind of like a funnel. The funnel's either, you know, getting larger or it's getting smaller, depending on which end you're looking at. He's saying, I started with you, and the Lord started with me. Make sure this funnel goes outwards, and that others have these truths. He's passing the baton to Timothy here. What's happening is this process, initially, We see here's Timothy having become a believer.

He's learning and watching. Some of that certainly was under the elders at his own church where he may himself may have been an elder. He also spent time learning from Paul. He watched as Paul taught. He listened. He saw how Paul taught and what Paul taught and how Paul explained things. He was alongside other people that heard Paul teach and had the opportunity to discuss things.

One of the things that is certainly possible, and the New Testament leaves open as a good possibility, is that Timothy also made tents alongside Paul. Because Paul writes about, you know, we didn't require any support from you. You know, we worked. And frequently those letters include Timothy as one of the co-authors. So Timothy himself may have been one who was alongside Paul.

And as they made tents, I'm sure they didn't just talk about tents. So here he is, he is learning and watching. He practiced with guidance. He says, okay Timothy, now you go teach these people. And as you do that, I can give you some pointers and some ideas. Hey, you might mention this or say things this way. but you've seen the way I've done it, now you do it.

Yes, Timothy, I know you're timid. I know you're naturally shy, but that's not what's going to count here. It's what God's doing, not what you naturally can do. Finally, this led to putting into practice what has been learned, and that's really what the letters of 1 and 2 Timothy are all about, aren't they?

They're laying out, Timothy, here's how I want you to put into practice what's been spelled out. You've learned all these things from me. You've seen me directly. You have done them alongside me as I've watched you and helped you. Now it's your turn to carry it on. So what we see here is a process going on here from being mentored to mentoring others. From being taught to teaching others.

Imitating mature believers like Paul, and living as an example himself. From looking for the example, Paul, and the others there, to looking for imitators, now Timothy, these others who are to learn from you, they are to imitate you. Paul was seeing himself as quickly fading from the scene. His opportunities had been ample, but they were ending. Now it was Timothy's turn. Spending time with those who are examples to learn from them is where it starts. He ends up with inviting others to imitate his example. You see that transition taking place in Timothy's life?

In Philippians 4.9, which we'll get to some time from now if the Lord allows us to stay here, here's Paul writing in Philippians 4.9, The things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of Peace will be with you." He says, don't just pack him in your head, put him into action. He's looking for reality here, not just academic points. Not just facts and information, but lived out truth.

Notice there that Paul mentored Timothy according to giftedness and area of ministry. There are similar patterns among all believers, essentially. We might look at this example with Paul and Timothy and say, well, that's great. Paul was an apostle and Timothy was an apostolic delegate, but, you know, they're gone from the scene.

What does that mean to me? Well, what we see here is numerous places in scripture where this mentoring others, this example, this reproducibility is played out. One is elders are examples to all. Peter makes that really clear that elders are to be examples. Next, and one that we've implemented in the women's group that's meeting on Tuesday night, is older women mentoring younger women. That's one of the patterns very clearly laid out in scripture. Similar kind of thing with Paul and Timothy, isn't it? Parents teaching and mentoring their children. That's what we read of with Timothy's mother. and even grandparents mentoring grandchildren.

In my own life, I can look back and my grandpa had a huge impact on my life and my grandmother as well. I grew up just admiring the things that they had done and the life that they were living and had lived And I was fortunate enough to have a couple of different aunts and uncles that were missionaries and things of that sort. And I learned a great deal from them. There is plenty of opportunity for believers to reproduce the things that the Lord has taught them through the years. So this maturing process brings believers to a place where the life of Christ expresses itself in reproducibility.

And that's, I think, the bottom line principle we see in the life of Timothy. Spiritual maturity exhibits itself in spiritual modeling, in reproducing the truth and the life of Christ in other believers. That's the direction towards which spiritual maturity leads. This is not by law. This is This is what the life of Christ looks like in a believer as they mature.

The ability to reproduce, not because of their own abilities, remember, Timothy was timid, but because of the very life of Christ in the believer. And what does that mean for each of us as believers? It means that whatever stage of maturity we're in, the Lord is growing us towards a place of being reproducible Not as a law not as a mandate, but as a character of the very life and truth of Christ That's how that's how the Lord wants to continue the church until he comes through the church until that day.

Let's pray Lord as we look at the life of Timothy here. Here's a person that I Didn't have exactly the right heritage His father was Greek unbelievers far as we can tell He didn't have exactly the right personal characteristic. He was fearful and timid and Yet neither of those things mattered his position in you Lord. It's clear.

It's fixed and it is clear that the very life of Christ and the truths that he had learned played themselves out as Timothy matured into reproducing that life and reproducing those truths in the lives of others. We would just pray that you would teach us, Lord, the manner in which you desire to see that lived out in our own lives in whichever way we have been given opportunity, in whichever way you have gifted us in whichever way you have given us abilities. And we just give you thanks and praise and as we look at the miracle of the life of Timothy, we look forward to you working out that very same miracle in our very own hearts and lives. Because of your power and your life in us. We just pray this in Jesus name. Amen.