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Up to this point, Paul's letters were directed to churches. The next four are directed to ministers, Timothy, Titus and Philemon. Timothy and Titus were also evangelists, a lesser order of the Apostles as appears in Ephesians 4:11, some prophets, some apostles and some evangelists. Their duties was much the same as the Apostles, to plant churches and to feed those churches with the Word of God.
Timothy was born and raised in Lystra, of a Greek father and a devout Jewish mother. He was trained in the Hebrew Scriptures. When Paul came to Lystra on his First Missionary Journey, he won the young man to faith in Jesus Christ. Two or three years later, when Paul returned on his Second Missionary Journey, he found that Timothy had progressed in the faith and had the respect of his fellow Christians. Paul, then, ordained Timothy to the Christian ministry. From that point on, Timothy was either with Paul or on special assignment for Paul at one of the many churches that Paul had established.
Timothy served for Paul at Jerusalem, Rome, Corinth, Philippi, Athens, Colossae and Ephesus where he was when Paul wrote these letters. Later, Timothy joined Paul and was with him when Paul was executed. He was then arrested but later released. He was believed to have been small of frame and suffered many health problems. He was timid and needed constant pushing which Paul supplied. In spite of this, Timothy was one of the greatest and most useful of the New Testament workers. According to tradition, he died a martyr, protesting a pagan parade. It also declares that he was the first Bishop of Ephesus.
Paul is not the undisputed author of both of these letters. Many scholars question the authorship of Paul on the basis of what we know about Paul's life as it is recorded in the Book of Acts. We, however, will accept it until the Lord tells us otherwise.
| The Church and its Message. | |
|---|---|
| Sound Doctrine | 1:1-11 |
| Sound Preaching | 1:12-17 |
| Sound Faith | 1:18-20 |
| The Church and its Members. | |
| Praying Men | 2:1-8 |
| Women | 2:9-15 |
| The Church and its Leaders. | |
| Pastors | 3:1-7 |
| Deacons (Elders) | 3:8-13 |
| Believers | 3:14-16. |
| The Church Pastor | |
| A Good Pastor | 4:1-6 |
| A Godly Pastor | 4:7-12 |
| A Growing Pastor | 4:13-16 |
| The Churches Responsibility | |
| To Older Members | 5:1-2 |
| To Old Widows | 5:3-10 |
| To Young Widows | 5:11-16 |
| To it's Officers | 5:17-25 |
| Responsibilities Continued | |
| To Employees | 6:1-2 |
| To False Teachers | 6:3-10 |
| The Pastors Responsibility | 6:11-16 |
| Rich Peoples Responsibility | 6:17-19 |
| Timothy's Responsibility | 6:20-21 |
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