July’s Passage: Philippians 2:19-30
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you.
For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the Gospel.
I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go for me, and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.
I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice in seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. So receive him in the Lord with all joy and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. (ESV)
If you are new to this reading plan, follow the instructions on the right side of this page or click here to read the "Why Just One Letter" introduction article.
Throughout each month, we will post short articles to give some depth of understanding regarding our text (see the archive links on the lower right of this page for review). Today we will discuss...
Sending Timothy
Paul, writing from prison, says that he hopes to send Timothy to Philippi as soon as he can. To learn more about Timothy, you can look back to the article, “Who is Timothy” from January.
That article talked about Timothy as a model that was set for us in the early church. A pattern of Christians discipling the next generation of Christians in a way that expects the new disciples to go and do the same thing with yet another generation of Christians. That is the model of discipleship that has made it possible for us to become Christians almost 2,000 years later. It is the model that we are to follow if we desire to see the church continue to grow and spread and reach into all the nations as Jesus directed.
Today, we will unpack a couple of ideas from the passage that shed a little more light on Timothy and that reinforce what we know about Jesus.
“…no one like him…”
Paul highlights Timothy’s good quality, that Tim is, “genuinely concerned for your welfare.” by comparing them to the bad qualities of some other people, who, “seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ…”
Timothy has a genuine concern for the welfare of the Philippian church. He has a biblical love for them that is not based on emotion. It is based on commitment to their betterment and a commitment to the Gospel.
This is the kind of love that you want your ministers to have for you, church. The Bible warns leaders against being domineering toward their church. Jesus tells His disciples not to be like worldly leaders who lord their power over others.
Yet, some leaders do rise up in each generation of the church who are in it for the wrong reasons. They may do many things right if you are looking at the surface level, yet, if/when their heart motives are investigated, they reveal a commitment to self instead of a commitment to others. A desire to glorify their own names, instead of a passion to glorify Jesus. Paul is likely referring back to the leaders he wrote about in Philippians 1:15-18.
Timothy, is the right kind of church leader. Focused on the good of others and the Glory of God. He is good for the Philippians. Paul is eager to send Timothy, and the Philippians would do well to be eager to receive him.
“Timothy's proven worth…”
Paul doesn’t tout Timothy as a beneficial minister to the church because of a couple of good words he has heard Timothy say, or because of a couple of good deeds that he has seen in Timothy’s life. No, Paul is confident to vouch for Timothy because like, “a son with a father he has served with me in the Gospel.”
Timothy isn’t an “employee” in the church, Timothy is family. This is such a key idea to grasp and cultivate in our own church today. We cannot look at equippers and ministers as “hired hands” who simply come in and perform a service. Your pastors/elders and deacons, your children ministry workers, your praise team, and many others who serve you - the church - do so primarily because we love you and we have a passion to lead you into an ever deeper love for, and trust in, and obedience to Jesus Christ. We are your brothers and sisters. That is why we do what we do. That is why we stick with the work even when the work is difficult. We are propelled by the Gospel and by our love for you and our love for the not-yet-believer.
And that is why, just as Paul and Timothy are so eager to come together and gather with the Philippians as soon as they are able - we too are eager and rejoice at every opportunity to gather with you, the saints at Warsaw.
Look to Jesus
But, we would fall short in this article if we stopped by looking at Timothy or looking at ourselves. If you remember the article when we talked about living as Christ, we said that this was an idea that Paul would unpack from a lot of different angles. First in his role as a leader of the early church. Then in the life of an individual Christian, then in the life of the Church as a people, then in the living examples of two servants of the Church, Timothy and Epaphroditus. And in-between all of that, Paul talked about the best example - Christ Himself in 2:5-11.
Timothy surely gives us a great picture of living in a way that should point your heart to Jesus.
Just as Timothy did not live for His own interests (or comfort or ease), how much more did Jesus lay down His right to be worshiped and instead allowed Himself to be mocked, spit upon, beaten and killed because of a concern for YOUR welfare - your eternal welfare.
And, just as Timothy proved by His life how he served the church like a spiritual son to Paul - How much more did Jesus, our King, prove His worth as our Spiritual brother, making a way for us to be reunited into the Family of God.
We pray that when you look to Timothy today and when you look to any of the servants at your church, that you will see a little bit of the brilliance of Jesus in them and praise the Father today.
