1 Timothy – Fight the Good Fight

He knew the truth. He had learned it almost from infancy. Timothy’s mother, Eunice, was a believer, the fruit of teaching she had received from her believing mother, Lois. Together, these two women raised Timothy in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, strengthening his heart even as his body kept pace into young adulthood. And then it came time.

Time to let go. Time to let God take all that they had poured into young Timothy and use it for His kingdom. The apostle Paul took Timothy under his tutelage as his son in the faith and companion on several of his missionary journeys. Timothy watched and learned as Paul contended for truth in the darkest, most deceived places. He saw God’s power at work time and again, transforming lives and setting captives free.

So when Paul told Timothy to stay behind in Ephesus while he went ahead to tend to other churches, Timothy knew the time had come again. Time to step out of Paul’s shadow and step up to lead. Though a strong core of believers remained in the Ephesian church, strange and dangerous teachings lurked even among the leadership. Timothy, trained in the truth, would need to keep the church on the right track.

Paul wrote 1 Timothy as an instructional letter to support Timothy’s work in Ephesus. To weed out wicked leadership, Paul outlined exactly how the church government needed to operate, including the characteristics required in the elders and deacons who led the church. To maintain unity, he explained how body life should look, with members caring properly for the widows and elderly. Worship, itself, needed to follow a prescribed protocol to guard against disorder that disrupted the church’s focus and God’s honor.

The directions in 1 Timothy help the church today as much as it did in Timothy’s time. God still desires His people to submit to one another in love, revering God’s established leadership as those in charge surrender to God’s ultimate authority. When we comply with God’s guidelines, we experience the unity God uses to touch the world around us, a testimony of His power and grace in His people.

Who raised Timothy and taught him about Jesus?

Who mentored Timothy?

What did Paul encourage Timothy to do? Read 1 Timothy 4:12-16.

Do you feel God calling you into ministry?