Philippians 2:19-24

Honoring God: The Example of Timothy

Philippians 2:19-24: “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.”

I. Timothy’s Becoming Biography (vs. 19) “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you.” 1:20: “It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.”

- Timothy was the first of the first generation of pastor/elders - Pastor/elders are called to preach the written Word, by the authority of the Apostles. - Apostles: given authority to write Scripture. - When the Bible was finished, and the Apostles died, the position died with them.

- Timothy was from Lystra a province of Galatia 2 nd Timothy 1:5: “ 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.” 2 Timothy 3:15: “from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

- Eunice, Timothy’s mother, was Jewish by ethnicity, while his father was a Greek and a pagan. - Timothy was not circumcised as a child according to Acts 16:3 - Shows that his father had him educated and raised in the Greek culture. - This made Timothy uniquely qualified to minister with Paul to the Gentiles.

1 Corinthians 4:17: “That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord”

1 Timothy 1:2: “To Timothy, my true child in the faith”

- 2 Timothy 1:2:“To Timothy, my beloved child” - 1 Corinthians 4:17: “my beloved and faithful child in the Lord” - Romans 16:21; 1 Thessalonians 3:2: “my fellow worker” - 2 nd Corinthians 1:1: “our brother” - Philippians 1:1: “fellows bond servant of Jesus Christ”

II. Timothy’s Special Sincerity (vs ) “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.”

- 2:4: “Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” - 1:15: “Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry” - 2:21: “seek(ing) their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.”

John Calvin: “These persons…were so warm in the pursuit of their own interests, that they were unbecomingly cold in the work of the Lord. It may seem at first view as if it were no great fault to seek one’s own profit; but how insufferable it is in the servants of Christ, appears from this, that it renders those that give way to it utterly useless. For it is impossible that the man who is devoted to self, should apply himself to the interests of the Church.”

1:14: “And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”

2:3: “count others more significant than yourselves”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions. We may pass them by, preoccupied with our more important tasks, as the priest passed by the man who has fallen amongst thieves, perhaps reading the Bible. When we do that, we pass by the visible sign of the Cross raised [in] our path to show us that, not our way, but God’s way must be done. It is a strange fact that Christians frequently consider their work so important and urgent that they will allow nothing to disturb them. They think they are doing God a service in this, but actually they are distaining God’s ‘crooked yet straight path’. They do not want a life that is crossed and balked. But it is part of the discipline of humility that we must not spare our hand where it can perform a service and that we do not assume that our schedule is our own to manage but allow it to be arranged by God.”

III. Timothy’s Gospel Greatness (vs ) “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 with me, and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.”

Applications: 1.) Seek to be Sincere

Applications: 2.) Find Your “Worth” in the Gospel