Paul’s First and Second Letters to Timothy

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:9-10

(click here for another)

There are several key themes of the letters:

• The importance of maintaining true teaching about God in the face of opposition.
• The need to avoid unnecessary arguments about words and other trivial matters.
• The spiritual requirements for church elders (this was becoming more necessary now the congregations were growing).
• Support and encouragement for Timothy in his own personal discipleship and work as missionary.

The advice Paul gives Timothy about the different roles and responsibilities believers will face both in their congregations and in life at large is invaluable. He talks about the roles of men and women (young and old), widows and servants, and he talks of the roles of bishops, deacons and elders. He gives warnings about false doctrine and its impact which are very important, pointing out that human beings are easily distracted into trivial arguments and into leaving behind the true essence of the gospel message. These are dangers to be avoided at all costs, and the warning is just as relevant today.

When Paul wrote the first letter, Timothy's responsbilities as a missionary and elder in Ephesus seem relatively new. This is a major solo assignment for him, and Paul encourages him to be strong and embrace enthusiastically the challenges ahead. In the second letter Timothy has experienced something of the disillusionmet of the reality of tryig to deal with and be a spiritual leader to other believers. He has also felt the full force of opposition to the true gospel message. Paul encourages him to remain strong despite the persecution and 'tears' (2 Tim 1:4). It is an older, more experienced, but also more weather-beaten Timothy to whom Paul writes.

1 and 2 Timothy belong to a subset of the epistles of Paul which are written to individuals rather than congregations of believers. Within that, the letters of Timothy and Titus are known as the 'Pastoral epistles' - pastoral, because they encourage Timothy and Titus in their pastoral or shepherding work among the congregations in which they worked (Timothy in Ephesus, Titus in Crete). Another link between Timothy and Titus is that they both contain 'faithful sayings' - see the Titus page for more details.

Coming soon!

We don't know for certain the order of events at the end of Paul's life (beyond the end of the book of Acts) or how he met his death (though there is church tradition on both). However, 2 Timothy - the last of Paul's letters that we possess - gives us more information on this time period (as well as a fascinating insight into his outlook as he approached the last years of his life) than any other New Testament writing. See the pdf for a possible reconstruction and a summary of the clues from 2 Timothy.

By the very nature of these letters, Paul's advice to Timothy is very personal. We are looking over Timothy's shoulder, as it were, as he reads Paul's advice and encouragement. This is very exciting, because if we are at all committed to the working of preaching and supporting our fellow-believers ourselves, we can hear Paul's voice speaking to us. As Paul advises and 'charges' Timothy to hold on to sound doctrine, to teach what is write, to not give up or be disillusioned whatever may happen, we can hear him advising and charging us. It becomes a very personal and a very powerful message.