Paul coaches a church toward victory.
As we read Paul’s words in 1 and 2 Timothy, we feel his heart reaching out to the new Christians at Ephesus, a city where he had invested much time and hard work to establish a community of faith (Acts 19:1—20:1), and to Timothy, the young pastor to the Ephesians. Paul envisioned the flock and its shepherd growing to full maturity together, and the messages he wrote to Timothy serve as manuals for ecclesiastical organization that still guide churches today. Paul’s first letter emphasizes the life of the congregation, and his second letter dwells on the life of the pastor.
Paul’s instruction was necessary in part because of the gospel’s success at Ephesus. The city’s Christian community had grown substantially over the years and was influencing other cities throughout Asia Minor (see “The New Testament Church” at Eph. 1:1). The large, diverse congregation struggled internally with issues of unity and doctrinal purity, and externally with an unbelieving and sometimes hostile environment.
Paul saw Timothy as a key human factor in the success or failure of the Ephesian church. Although Timothy was relatively young and untested in his role as a solo pastor, Paul believed that careful coaching would draw out Timothy’s God-given gifts (2 Tim. 1:6). The apostle encouraged Timothy to push past his natural timidity and rely on God for the power, love, and wisdom he needed (1:7).
Paul’s confidence was based on both God’s trustworthy support and the potential he saw in his young protégé during their work together. Paul called Timothy his “beloved and faithful son in the Lord” (1 Cor. 4:17) and his “true son in the faith” (1 Tim. 1:2). He knew Timothy’s single-minded commitment to the Lord. Paul once told the Philippians that no one could care for them so well as his young friend (Phil. 2:19–21). Other leaders paid more attention to their own affairs than what mattered to Christ—but not Timothy: “You know his proven character,” Paul wrote, “that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel” (2:22). As Paul’s apprentice, Timothy had traveled widely and worked among Christians in Greece, Macedonia, and Asia Minor. He also participated in sending six New Testament letters (2 Cor. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:1; Philem. 1; see also Timothy’s profile at 2 Tim. 1:1).
The two epistles addressed to Timothy bear Paul’s usual greeting, and throughout history the church has generally agreed that Paul is indeed their author. This view is supported by the close, personal tone of these letters, which reflects the keen friendship that is known to have existed between Timothy and Paul (1 Tim. 1:2, 18; 6:20; 2 Tim. 1:2, 4, 5; 2:2). The first letter was written from Macedonia, probably late in Paul’s life.
Key Verses in 1 Timothy
• “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Tim. 1:17).
• “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).
• “Bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come” (1 Tim. 4:8).
• “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:12).
• “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim. 6:10).