1 Timothy 1:1-3

God recently convicted me of something: I need to spend time in his word, as a minister of the Gospel, to really search out what God says about ministry.

So, I decided to take some time to study the 'Pastoral' epistles - that is, the letters that Paul wrote to Timothy and Titus, 2 pastors in the early Church.

If God wills, I'll be studying them and posting my observations here.

I just started; and today was 1 Timothy 1:1-3.

1:1 – Paul, unlike anyone alive now, is an apostle and speaks the word of God. I like here how he identifies Jesus as our hope. He’s not the giver of hope – he’s the thing that we hope for. That is to say, he’s the object of our joy. Knowing him perfectly is what we’re looking forward to.

1:2 – I like how Paul calls Timothy ‘my true child’ and then essentially prays the grace of God towards him. It’s clear that Paul loves Timothy a lot. In 2 Tim 1 Paul calls him ‘my dear child’ or ‘to the child I love.’ What an example of the love of Christ for us – and what a call to genuinely love those we serve.

1:3 – Paul had to leave Timothy behind. Their relationship had to cease being close for a reason. Why? So bad doctrine, bad theology, bad teaching wouldn’t spread. So this love between brothers is true and real – but it had to take a back seat to doctrine and the ministry.

And that doesn’t mean that love ceases – it means that at the moment, something was urgent and important.

Why? For the spread of love in the Church of God! (v. 5) And this is the result of true heart change (v. 5) through the Gospel (v. 11).

In summary, then, we have a few things to note:
1) Jesus is our hope and our treasure. Our aim is in the future being with him.
2) Ministers are to be characterized by love – real love.
3) That love means pointing people to Jesus as their hope - and making sure people aren't believing false things about God!
4) It also means that sometimes we have to take relational losses in the present so that God’s Church will experience that love of God.
5) And that ultimately happens through the Gospel’s changing lives.

Prayer: God, make Jesus our treasure. Cause us to stop seeking ultimate joy in things now - even good relationships - so that we can see how great it is that one day we get to be with you. Fill our hearts with the good news of your Son so that we will be characterized by genuine love for people. Cause us to speak about that Gospel out of love for others. In Christ, Amen.