June 1, 2025
Morning Service

The Apostle Paul’s final three letters were written to two young pastors who would tend to the flame of the faith following his death.  The two letters to Timothy along with the one written to Titus are known as the “Pastoral Epistles.”  Paul defines his purpose for writing these letters in chapter 3 of this first letter.

 1Tim 3:14-15 These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; (15) but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

            Paul is setting into place what the church is going to look like moving forward.  He is investing in these two young ministers, among many others, to teach these truths as they establish the foundation in which the church will operate.  As we will see in our study, these teachings set the structure of the church that Jerry sought to follow as he established the Bride of Christ Fellowship. God has uniquely chosen Paul and used him to be the one to set these standards into place as he establishes churches everywhere he goes.  This is what he told the Corinthian church about his writings:

 

1Co 14:37 If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.

            These inspired Words are much more than a man’s opinion, but they are the very Words and commands of God inspired by the Holy Spirit.  This is much more than a “self-help” book full of good ideas, but these are the instructions of our Lord setting down His expectations for us.  God called Paul for this purpose and he fulfilled that calling.  Paul wrote to the church in Galatia this warning:

 

   Gal 1:6-9 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, (7) which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.  (8)  But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.  (9)  As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

            This should make it crystal clear to us that God has chosen to speak to us through this book we call our Bible.  These are the words, commands, instructions, and promises of God to us.  These Words are alive and speak to us through the Holy Spirit inside of us. In obeying and following them, we are being obedient to our Heavenly Father.  Where it is obviously stated or “Thus sayeth the Lord” there is no debate or room to vary, we are commanded to line up with the these teaching as a servant yielding to his Master.  These three “Pastoral Epistles” make it clear in many areas how “we are to conduct ourselves in the house of God” and also in our own personal lives as we follow Jesus.  So as we go through these letters, and all the Bible, take them as being written to you from God Himself.

            Let’s get a little background on who Timothy was and where he came from.  We see him first mentioned in Acts chapter 16 when Paul and Silas were on their second missionary journey.

 

Act 16:1-5 Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek.  (2)  He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium.  (3)  Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.  (4)  And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem.  (5)  So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

            The name “Timothy” means “Honoring God” or “Honored by God,” so we know he was off to a good start and he certainly lived up to his name.  Here we see his mother, Eunice, is mentioned as a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek.  This would have made them an outcast of the Jewish society, and would have been treated harshly for that.  He, however, had a good reputation as Luke puts it he “was well spoken of by the brethren” so despite his rough background, he was not bitter towards God and he used those tough times to become who he was in the Lord.  Again we see on display that “God does not call the qualified, but qualifies the called.”  He does not look at our resume, but at our heart.

 

When he displayed a desire to go with Paul, the first thing Paul did was to circumcise him.  This causes a bit of debate because just in Acts 15 the church council had just stated that any new believer was not to be held to the standard of Moses’ Law which is where circumcision would have been required.  Why would Paul do this?  I believe he was teaching Timothy a lesson to do whatever it takes to reach those who are lost.  Paul told the Corinthians in that “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” (I Cor. 9:22) Timothy would see this on display many times as he traveled with Paul as he established churches going the extra mile to reach all those who were lost.  We can see Timothy followed Paul’s instruction well as Paul describes him later like this to the Philippian church:

 

Php 2:19-24 But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state.  (20)  For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.  (21)  For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.  (22)  But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel.  (23)  Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me.  (24)  But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly.

            Paul fully trusts Timothy calling him his spiritually son and he his father.  He trusts Timothy to come to them as a true servant of the Lord and not one who has his own agenda in mind.  His “proven character” speaks for itself in that he has shown himself faithful to the calling is which he has been called.  Paul desires to go himself, but sends Timothy knowing he will do right in the eyes of the Lord.

 As we step back and look at our own character, the person our actions show us to be, are we trustworthy enough to be used by the Lord?  Do we look at situations that occur in our lives as stepping stones for our career or personal betterment OR do we look at them as opportunities to display the Lord’ s goodness and to share His kingdom with others?  Timothy despite his rough past, Timothy chose the road of character, integrity, and faithfulness making himself available to be used by God.  Are we making the same choice and making those things a priority in our lives?  There is more on character shortly.

Let’s at least get started a little in our study of the first letter to Timothy.

 

1Ti 1:1-2 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope, (2) To Timothy, a true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

            Right off the bat, as we did earlier, Paul reaffirms to all readers the authority in which he is writing as one called “of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  This is not his job, but his lifelong calling to be an instrument of righteousness in the hands of God to build the Lord’s church and kingdom.  He then after mentioning Jesus, refers to Him as “our hope.”  Paul and Timothy have been brought together in that they both believe Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God in whom we have hope of His guidance, protection and a brighter future which gives us a purpose as we follow Him wherever He leads us.  This was their common denominator as it is ours here within our fellowship.  We gather here each time in that same hope in the promises given to us through Jesus our Lord and Savior.  We have all been brought together in this life for a purpose that God has called us to.  We need to embrace that hope and allow it to motivate us to do all that we do for the Lord.  Paul told the Roman church that there is a process we go through to attain that hope.

 

Rom 5:1-5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (2) through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  (3)  And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; (4) and perseverance, character; and character, hope.  (5)  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

            This hope Paul, Timothy, and each of us share has come to us through our journey through life.  Through our confession of belief, we have been justified by our faith, given peace, and entered into grace.  Our trials and tribulations led to us building up our perseverance, which led to us building our character and that led us to attaining hope in our Lord.  A hope built in that manner does not disappoint, but will be fulfilled one day when our faith becomes sight.

            Today we see the words of Paul are the commands of the Lord.  We see the importance of character in our lives as we examined what we know about Timothy.  We see the process in which we must go through to attain hope in Jesus that does not disappoint us and binds us together as a family.