No One Like Timothy
We are about half way through the book of Philippians, and Paul has already packed a lot in. Over the next two weeks, we are going to look at instructions Paul gives regarding Timothy and Epaphroditus. This isn’t just Paul taking a break, and getting some logistics out of the way. Rather than this being a nice bonus for the the Philippians, Paul's sending of these men is more integral to his care for them. This is actually at the heart of Paul ministry to the Philippians. And in the next few moments, I hope with God's help, to show you that in the text.
The way our text is structured this morning is fairly straight forward. We see Paul say at the beginning and at the end stating what he wants to do, and he explains why in the middle.
Verse 19,
“I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you”
In verses 20-22, he commends Timothy to them, and explains why Timothy is the guy to send.
Verses 23-24,
“I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, and I trust also in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.”
I want to send Timothy to you, why? Because I have no one else like Timothy who cares for you all. Therefore I am excited to send Him to you, and trust Jesus that I will come soon as well.
What Paul wants to do is clearly laid out, and we are going to spend the majority of our time developing the why in Paul’s mind. Why is Timothy so valuable? And why does Paul see it as important to send him?
We are going to do a lot of foundation work, to understand Paul’s relationship to Timothy, which helps us in turn understand why he is eager to send him. So there are 3 answers to the “why” question we will cover this morning. Why does Paul want to send Timothy?
1) Because Paul was a father to Timothy.
2) Because Timothy, was a son to Paul.
3) Because being physically present matters.
1) Paul was a father to Timothy (v.22).
Verse 22,
“But you know Timothy’s proven worth, as how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel”
This is how Paul characterizes his relationship with Timothy.
What do fathers aim to do? Ephesians 6:4,
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
It’s at least that, not exhaustive but a good overall picture of what father’s do.
A father wants to live out a Godly life.
A father wants to live out and pass along a Godly life (a Godly mission and vision).
What I mean by mission, is what we are called by God to do or be. What are our lives supposed to be about?
What I mean by vision, is what it looks like to actually live it out. This could be summarized as a way of life or a “manner of life.”
Put together, it is a singular passion to help your sons have a: “manner of life worthy of the Gospel of Christ” (1:27). That is what Paul is trying to teach to the Philippians, and has taught to Timothy.
Paul's goal in life was to live for the glory of God, and to live as an example of Christ, which is to walk worthy of the Gospel of Christ.
So Paul having this Godly passion, lives it out for the good of others. And he does this, with a fatherly disposition. Let’s look at a three basic pieces of what it looks like to pass along a passion in a fatherly way. Let’s look at the fatherliness of Paul to Timothy.
A father invites his son to join him in the work.
A father invites his son into work that he is doing, he instructs his son in how to enter the work and share in it, and he works along side his son. They may not be doing the same exact thing at every point, but they are working together for a singular purpose. They are working together on something, not two different goals. The father is inviting the son to join him in a worthy passion and purpose. Fathers (& mother’s) ought to have meaningful work to invite our children into.
And Paul tells us what is most important, we don’t need to find it on our own.
For example, I was working along side my son, Jude. We were going to do some yard work. So I said to Jude, “I would like you to come outside and work hard to help me clean up the yard. Then if we get everything done and you listen well and are helpful, we can go to the store together and get some ice cream.” I’ll help with toys, then leaves together, cut wood together, stack together, etc… (join me in the work).
An example from Paul in Acts 16:1-5,
“Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.”
Paul is doing worthy work for the Glory of God and the sake of the Gospel, and he invites Timothy to enter into the work with him.
A father is deeply invested in accomplishing his task.
Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, contrasts his care for them with that of many others.
1 Corinthians 4:15–16,
“For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me.”
At minimum, there is an investment of care and concern Paul has for the Corinthians. There is a difference between a teacher and a parent. Paul’s affections for the Philippians are poured all over his letter to them.
Philippians 4:9,
“What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me — practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
They are to practice things that have been displayed for them. They haven’t just been taught, they have been modeled certain things.
In my example of cutting wood, I did not give Jude the instruction manual, or buy him a book called “Chainsaw-ing for Dummies”. Dummies should probably stay away from chainsaws.
I had him watch how I stood and what I did. I cautioned him, I told him how to shut it down, I carefully instructed him where to point it, and how to hold it. And if your stressing at this point, I firmly put my hands over his, so that he couldn’t move them even if he tried.
Great care is taken when things are important and have real consequences.
An example from Paul,
1 Timothy 4:15,
“Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.”
2 Timothy 2:2,
“You then my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
Paul is working with Timothy, and is passing something along to Timothy.
He is deeply invested because he is entrusting something to him. Entrusting the gospel and a manner of live = how to live, not just how to think.
He know he won’t always be there for Timothy, and I wont always be there to hold the chainsaw for Jude.
That is the current case in Philippi, Paul just said “obey much more in my absence” (Phil 2:12).
A father desires to reward His Son.
It is a fathers delight to not only work with his son, and invest in his son, but to commend his son. To reward him with words of honor, or encouragement, or blessing, and sometimes also with ice cream. This is part of the whole thing.
Back to the yard work… I told Jude to join me in the work, to work hard, I will help him and teach him, and if he does well, we will get ice cream. The ice cream wasn’t just after the task, but it was part of the task. The father’s job is not done yet just because the task is finished.
To encourage and reward a son is the privilege and joy of the father. He delights in rewarding the son. And the “well done” from dad, is greater than the ice cream cone.
That’s what I did. I was a proud father, he worked really hard, and I told him that and there was joy in being able to reward him, and shared in the reward of ice cream as well.
An example for Paul: Paul commends Timothy in the letter that Timothy helped him with. Philippians 2:20–23a,
“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…”
2) Timothy was a son to Paul (v.20-22).
Paul was a good spiritual father to Timothy. We have seen the fatherliness of Paul. But, Paul’s focuses in these verses is not mainly on how he was a father to Timothy, but how Timothy was a son to him. We may naturally think, Paul was such a good father to Timothy, but let us not miss what Paul says, that Timothy was such an amazing son to Paul.
There is responsibility and blessing on both sides. This is a two sided relationship. Paul can only benefit Timothy as a father in so much as Timothy responds as a faithful son. Paul described himself as a father to the Corinthian church, in Galatians, in Philemon. He was fatherly by nature to many. But with Timothy he praises his sonliness to Paul: “My beloved and faithful child,” “my true child in the faith,” “as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.”
Timothy was a model son to Paul in the gospel. Lets look at Timothy’s life and how this came to be.
It started at home with a physical lineage of faith.
2 Timothy 1:5,
“[Timothy], I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.”
For all the talk of Paul being a spiritual father, Paul does not overlook his mother, and grandmother from whom he was not only a physical descendant, but a spiritual descendant.
There is such a valuable investment of physical father and mothers, and Paul also wants us to have eyes to think of the spiritual family as well, and to consider a meaningful investment there as well.
There is good reason to believe Timothy was taught and raised well, which was bearing fruit in his life and was a good foundation for him to remember and draw encouragement from.
Timothy had displayed a pattern of faithfulness and was ready to receive instruction.
Acts 16:1–5,
“Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.”
Timothy took advantage of what was in front of him, he wasn’t just sitting around. And when the opportunity came to join Paul in his work he gladly joined him and sacrificed for the work. As a son working with and learning from his father.
A faithful father has a Godly passion that he wants to live out and pass on.
And a faithful son, responds by embracing and participating in the Godly vision a father has laid out for him. The son responds with a heart that says: “If my father wants to instruct, then I want to learn.”
Paul has laid out his heart and life before Timothy, and he is so bold to tell him to imitate him and follow his example. And Timothy does that very thing, He comes under Paul wing to learn the ways of Christ from him.
For us: To be invested in by a spiritual mother or father is an immense blessing, and something good to desire. And Timothy didn’t just sit around idle waiting for older help. He pursued Christ with the brothers around him. Most of our relationship will be brother to brother, sister to sister. We aren’t guaranteed, nor are we entitled to the investment of a spiritual mother or father. May those type of relationships happen more and more, as God sees fit, and may we like Timothy, take whatever God has given us right now and make good use of it.
Timothy having learned from Paul, now stands out uniquely as a partner in the gospel. Now Paul mentions three ways in which Timothy serves Paul so well as a son who is of one mind and spirit in Paul’s passion.
Verse 20,
“For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.”
Timothy has seen Paul's love and care for the Philippians, and he has the same passion.
There is a sincere care and concern for them. This isn’t just duty for Timothy, It isn’t half-hearted or lip service. Traveling is not an inconvenience for Timothy, it is closer to a no-brainer, of course!
Verse 21,
“For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.”
Paul contrasts Timothy with those around him. I don’t think Paul is saying there are no other Christians around him, but that they have not learned, and are not living out the example of Christ, and the example of Paul.
But Timothy is looking to the interests of Christ Jesus, which means he: “not only looks to his own interest, but also the interests of others”, and “in humility counts others more significant than himself.” His care for the Philippians is the interest of Christ.
Timothy has been able to get his own interests and concerns out of the way, so that he can seek the interest of Christ, and genuinely, sincerely, care about the welfare of the Philippians.
He doesn’t need to carve out his own little niche of significance. He is content with serving the interest of Christ, by showing genuine concern for the Philippians and serving them in the gospel.
Timothy is unique here, but what kind of uniqueness is this?
“I have no one like Timothy”
“They all seek their own interests”
Is it a uniqueness like, “there is no one who can shoot a basketball like Steph Curry? Something that we have no chance of accomplishing even if we devoted our whole lives to it?
No, its actually something that any Christian around Paul could be but they are not.
1 Cor. 4:17,
“That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.”
Paul is a model for everyone, and he expects that you can and should imitate him.
This is a commendation for Timothy and a convicting word for others. Would Paul, or would Jesus, find anyone like Timothy here? How are we doing?
Can we get our own interests, and our striving for empty glory out of the way, to serve the interests of Christ by caring for the welfare of one another?
Can we follow the example of Timothy, who was imitating Paul and Christ?
Can we serve others, when it doesn’t align also with our interests, or is inconvenient?
Verse 22,
“But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.”
Last, Paul appeals to the fact that they already know this about Timothy. They should not need any convincing, because they themselves have witnessed Timothy’s proven worth as a son to Paul and as a Godly example to them. Proven: tried and tested as he has spent time with Paul and time in Philippi. Timothy has learned Paul’s ways, so that Paul can say if you imitate him you imitate me.
To summarize where we are, we have covered two reasons why Paul wants to send Timothy to the saints in Philippi. 1) Because Paul has been a father to him and trained him in the gospel, and 2) because Timothy has been a proven son to Paul in the gospel. Both of these focus on why Timothy, and last here we will focus on why send anyone?
3) Being physically present matters (v.19, 23-24).
Paul values face to face interaction. It is so much more to him than a luxury, being with them gets at the very heart of his ministry. To see real faces, to shake real hands. Paul not only wants to send Timothy, but he wants to get there soon himself. As I mentioned at the beginning, sending Timothy isn’t just icing on the cake, but is part of the completion of Paul’s care to them.
Paul, with Timothy, in this letter has laid out:
His love and thankfulness for them
His singular mission in life “to live is Christ” (and labor for their good)
That Christ is our substitute, and is also our example
He has commanded them to walk worthy of the gospel of Christ and work out their salvation with fear and trembling
And now he seeks to send a visible, tangible example to them (to put it all together)
Paul sends Timothy to show them again what it is like to be united in mind and spirit, to in humility count others more significant, and to have the mind of Christ and walk worthy of the gospel of Christ
Paul and Timothy want to go to the Philippians because: 1) They love them, he wants to hear good news and he anticipates joy from being with them again. 2) They are confident that the Lord is working in them, he is excited to see what the Lord has done, and he is excited to share about how he was delivered by their prayers. 3) And, because they want to be Christ to them, Paul wants to send more than words, it wasn’t enough for Paul to just tell them about unity, and humility, and walking according to the gospel, he wanted to show them.
Paul seems to think you can’t just mail that, or stream it to one another.
Face to face he wants to remind them that “what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.”
The Philippians are starting to suffer for the gospel (1:29), and Paul wants to encourage them that God is working through it to advance the gospel, his life is a testimony of it and he wants to be there in person to further encourage and help them in the suffering that God is allowing among them.
Sometimes, all a situation might need is a godly, mature example present. An example to help steady the ship, or right the ship. Paul is confident that through the grace of God, and the work of the Spirit, in tandem with Timothy as a living example of Christ, that the Philippian church will be united and strengthened under the gospel and be of one mind and one Spirit.
In all of this, Paul goes to great pains to get there and care for them, because the salvation they have in Christ matters more than anything else.
We have spent a bit of time this morning talking about horizontal relationship. Paul and Timothy’s relationship. There connection and friendship with the Philippian church. But make no mistake, what animated Paul is the advance of the gospel for the glory and pleasure of His heavenly Father.
In the gospel, we have a father that does everything we talked about at the beginning.
“God [the father] so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
“[and] to all who did receive [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,”
And as a son or daughter of God, we have a father who has a mission to save and sanctify us. He works for us, and with us, and in us through His Spirit. And! He loves to reward His children. He works in us, so that he may in turn say to us “well done!” It is the joy of a father to be able to commend his son or daughter.
It is your fathers good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
The Table
This table reminds us that Jesus died for our sins, so that by believing in Him we would become children of God and enjoy the smile of God the Father over us.
