Timothy, along with Titus, occupy a special place in church history, as direct disciples of Paul. More than that, they were both referred to by Paul as his spiritual “sons,” a title with special significance, as far as their relationship was concerned. No others are given this honor, although there may have been others who were as close to Paul as these two young men were. Barnabas, John Mark and Silas all traveled with Paul at one time or another, but none of them were referred to by Paul as his spiritual sons.
Paul met Timothy in the city of Lystra (Acts 16:1), part of ancient Greece, where Timothy was saved, along with his mother. But according to the account in the book of Acts, Timothy’s father never came to the faith.
The area of Greece that Lystra is in, is close to Antioch, Iconium, Derbe, Perga, and Antioch, all cities that Paul ministered in. Lystra stands out from those other cities though, because Paul was stoned there, thanks to some Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who riled up the crowd. But Paul was raised from the dead by the prayers of the disciples and continued his ministry.
Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. 20 However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. – Acts 14:19-20
Some might suppose that they had erred and that Paul hadn’t died from their stoning. Yet it is unlikely the Jewish believers would have stopped short of killing him, yet still have thought him to be dead. While stoning wasn’t commonplace, it was done enough that they would have known what they were doing, checking to ensure that he truly was dead. The stones they used were likely about the size of our modern footballs and weighing somewhere around 16 or 17 pounds. Being struck repeatedly by thrown stones of that size would do considerable damage, easily leading to death.
Yet this did not stop Paul. Rather, he continued on in his work, traveling on to Derbe, before returning to Lystra to continue ministering, winning many converts to Christ. He also ministered in both Iconium and Antioch, even though those cities were the ones where the Jews who caused him to be stoned had come from. Many years later, he made reference to this in his second letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 11:25).
To Paul, being stoned, as well as the other things he suffered, was a mere sign of the truth of his mission. He was well aware that he had an enemy in the world, by the name of Satan. While that enemy would attack him over and over again, Paul had faith that he would remain triumphant, continuing in the will and the work of the Father.
Before Paul Called Timothy to the Ministry
After leaving the area of Lystra and Antioch, Paul traveled to Jerusalem, where he reported to the apostles and where the first council of the apostles was held. This was a watershed moment for the early church, as it dealt with a potentially deadly doctrinal divide between the Jewish believers who had accepted Christ and the gentiles who had accepted Christ. The issue at stake was circumcision, something very near and dear to the heart of the Jewish believers, as it caused them to stand apart from all other people in the world.
While the believers in Christ were all overjoyed to see that gentiles were converting to Christ, there were some who thought that these new believers had to convert to Judaism first, as they saw their faith in Christ as a fulfillment of their Jewish faith. But Peter and Paul prevailed in the body of apostles accepting that faith in Christ alone was enough for salvation, without the need to follow the Law. As Peter said:
Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made not distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? – Acts 15:7b-10
The viewpoint of Peter and Paul prevailed and the counsel of apostles decided not to put the burden of the whole law on these new believers. A letter was prepared, which Paul and Barnabas carried back to Antioch, accompanied by other brethren from Jerusalem to serve as witnesses. Paul, Barnabas and Silas (one of the brethren from Jerusalem) remained in Antioch for some time, ministering to the believers.
But if there is one thing we know of Paul, it is that he was constantly traveling, taking the gospel to new people. After some time, he decided to go on, encouraging and strengthening the brethren in the various cities in which they had ministered. A disagreement arose between him and Barnabas, leading them to separate, with Paul taking Silas along as his traveling companion, at least as far as Lystra.
Paul Calls Timothy into the Ministry
Returning to Lystra, Paul encountered Timothy. From the way the passage is written, Paul didn’t remember Timothy as one he had led to the Lord earlier or that he had personally discipled. Even so, Paul decided that he wanted to take Timothy with him in his travels. Whether this was because Silas couldn’t continue traveling with him or he saw something special in Timothy, is something that we just don’t really know. Roughly two years had passed, so it is not surprising that he didn’t remember Timothy from before. However, Timothy was spoken of well by the brethren, which may have been what caused Paul to pay attention to him.
Then he (Paul) 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. – Acts 16:1-3
We don’t know exactly, but church tradition says that Timothy was about 16 years old at this time. Being Greek, he had probably been raised in Greek mythology, with their pantheon of gods. Although he and his mother had converted to Christ, his father did not.
This could have caused some serious problems with the Jewish believers in Christ not accepting Timothy as a true believer. Paul’s solution to this, was to circumcise Timothy, obviously with Timothy’s concurrence. This is interesting, as in the previous chapter, Paul argued against requiring circumcision of gentile converts. Yet he himself performed the circumcision on Timothy.
One could easily misunderstand Paul’s actions as going back on what he had said to the apostles in Jerusalem; but they would be mistaken. Paul was traveling through the region, sharing the decision of the counsel with the believers; so, it was clear that he hadn’t gone back on what he said. So then, why did he decide to circumcise Timothy?
When one is in the ministry, it is sometimes necessary to do things so that they will be accepted by the people they are ministering to. Rarely is this something as extreme as circumcision; it normally refers to something less dramatic, such as the manner of one’s dress. But the idea is the same; in order to be able to minister to people, one must be accepted by those people. When ministering cross-culturally, as Paul and Timothy were doing, that often means making changes just so that you will be heard.
Paul and Timothy together went on to minister throughout the area of Greece and then moved into Macedonia. For some 16 years, Timothy traveled with Paul, undoubtedly learning from him. But he was apparently more than just a disciple and traveling companion. A number of the Epistles authored by Paul say that they are from Paul and Timothy. Whether that means that Timothy wrote some parts of those Epistles or not, we don’t know. It is more likely that Paul was giving Timothy credit, as to a coworker, rather than as a co-author.
Finally, during Paul’s third missionary journey, Paul left Timothy in Ephesus, to help that church overcome some of their problems. At the time, Ephesus was one of the largest and most important cities in the ancient world, located on the western edge of Asia Minor, in what would today be considered to be part of modern-day Turkey. It was there, in Ephesus, that Timothy received the two letters from Paul, which are contained within our Bibles.
But Did Paul Ever Ordain Him?
Although Timothy worked directly with Paul for a considerable amount of time and served as his representative in the area of Ephesus, there is no actual reference in the Bible to Paul ordaining Timothy. This may be problematic to some, who feel that ordination is a requirement to ministry, but it is not a problem in the context of the Bible, nor of that time. They were more concerned with who he was, than with whether he had a particular piece of paper. Paul’s approval of his son in the faith became his ministry credentials.
The idea of ordination is, in fact, a Biblical one, tracing its roots all the way back to the Old Testament Law. The very first ministers to be ordained were Aaron (Moses’ brother) and his sons. This gave birth to the Aaronic priesthood, a hereditary priesthood that exists even unto today. Jews in Israel have discovered at least some of the descendants of Aaron, who are training to fulfill the role of priests, when the Temple is rebuilt.
But who was Aaron ordained by? He was ordained by Moses, his brother, under the direction of Jehovah God. But who ordained Moses? There is no reference to this in the Bible. All that we have is Moses’ being called to the ministry by God Himself, at the burning bush (Exodus, chapters 3 – 4).
Moving into the New Testament, we find no reference to Jesus’ disciples or Paul actually being ordained, although they were all specifically called to the ministry. The closest we have to anything that might be considered to be an act of ordination came after Jesus was raised from the dead, the same day that Mary encountered Him in the garden.
Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you…” 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” – John 20:19, 21-23
Did Jesus actually ordain them here? The Bible doesn’t say. It is clear that He called them and that He anointed them to operate under the power of the Holy Spirit. He also gave them His authority to forgive sins; but none of that specifically says ordination.
The case of Paul is even less clear. Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, speaking to him and blinding him (Acts 9:3-8). He was led the rest of the way to Damascus, but was unable to do what he had gone there for, imprisoning believers. Instead, he had to wait until a believer named Ananias came to the house he was staying at to pray that he might regain his sight (Acts 9:10-17). While the Lord told Ananias that Paul was called to be His messenger to the gentiles, there is no reference to Ananias or anyone else praying for him and sending him forth in that ministry.
These examples indicate that there was no requirement for ordination in the New Testament. Ordination is rather something that the church has created, in order to fulfill its own needs. Ordination provides a way for us to know that someone has been judged and found approved for the ministry, by others who are already in the ministry. Since it is God who calls people to the ministry, we can say that ordination, as it is practiced in the church today, is nothing more than man’s recognition of God’s calling and ordination of an individual.
Hence, we find nowhere in the New Testament where Paul actually ordained Timothy. While it is still possible that he did so, we have no record of this happening. That might very well be immaterial, both because Paul himself wasn’t ordained as a Christian minister and because of the ministry that Timothy fulfilled.
The Ministries of Timothy and Titus
Paul and Titus were both considered to be spiritual sons of the apostle Paul, spending years with him and learning directly from him. As we’ve already seen, Paul gave Timothy credit for co-laboring with him, in the way that he addressed several of his letters. His relationship with Timothy seems to have been closer than his relationship with Titus. Still the two young men had similar ministries, with both of them sent out by the apostle Paul to fulfill their specific work.
It is significant that they both spent several years traveling and working with Paul. Through this, we can be sure that they not only learned the truth of the Gospel, but also learned Paul’s heart. As they later were sent out by Paul, he did so with the sure knowledge that they would complete the work as he himself would have done.
Many have said that Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus for the purpose of pastoring that church; however, that doesn’t necessarily make sense. The church in Ephesus had been established about a decade earlier, with Paul establishing elders in that church a good five years before sending Timothy there. Paul sending Timothy to Ephesus to take over from the existing leadership would have been a grave insult, likely to cause a very negative reaction and the church rejecting Timothy outright.
On the other hand, had Paul sent Timothy there as his apostolic representative, in order to help correct some errors and bring further teaching, he would likely be accepted by not only the leadership, but by the congregation as well. This would open the door for Timothy not only to be a blessing to the church there in Ephesus, but the other nearby cities.
Titus was given a similar mission, except on the island of Crete. While the people of Crete were different from the people of Ephesus, both groups needed ongoing instruction and assistance. Paul sent his two sons deliberately, to take his own place in providing that help, choosing the one who would be best able to work with each group of people.
When we look at the letters that Paul wrote to Timothy, as well as the one he wrote to Titus, we see this sort of relationship. Those weren’t letters written to pastors or to the eldership of a church; but rather, letters written to his personal representatives in the apostolic ministry. There was both a more personal nature to the letters, than that which we see in the epistles he wrote to the various churches and some ministry direction, as to what they were to do in their assignments.
Working in such a role, even today, would not require ordination. The only qualification that either Timothy or Titus needed, was that they were sent by Paul, who the churches respected as an apostle. To some extent, there was a transfer of that respect, “by association” to Timothy and Titus; but only to some extent. Paul admonished Timothy, saying:
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. 13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. – 1 Timothy 4:12-14
As a spiritual son of Paul, who had lived, worked and traveled with Paul for many years, Timothy likely displayed many of the same characteristics that Paul himself did. This was essential, as Paul’s representative to all the people that Timothy came into contact with. His being there, ministering on Paul’s behalf, allowed the ministry of Paul to be extended, covering a greater territory. The same can be said for the ministry of Titus.
When Paul was arrested and eventually beheaded, it was likely Timothy that the church in Greece, Macedonia, and Asia Minor looked to, as being the one closest to Paul, who would know Paul’s mind and heart on any issue. While we have no record of it, there is a strong likelihood that the elders of the various churches either visited Timothy or sent letters to him, seeking help and advice for the various problems, especially theological problems, within their congregations. This would have become the greatest sign of his ordination, even without a ceremony or certificate.
God will choose who He will choose and He will ordain those whom He so chooses. Whether we get on-board with that program and ordain those people or not, it is essential that they obey God and fulfill the ministry that He has called them to.