1 Timothy

Timothy, a Servant of God

Memory Verse 1 Timothy 1:15,16 {Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: <[(Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners)—of whom I am the worst.]> But for that very reason and receive eternal life.} (NIV) Portion for each class as marked: (PS), [PM], , {SR}

Introduction With our study of the book of 2 Thessalonians, we concluded our overview of the 9 letters Paul wrote to different churches. The remaining letters by Paul were written to individual believers. Today we will begin a study of the first letter Paul wrote to Timothy. Timothy was not only a friend of Paul but also his coworker. He was also entrusted with the work of God among different churches. Therefore the Lord can use this letter to teach us something about being a servant of God.

Lesson and Application for the SR and MD Classes (1) Who was Timothy? (Acts 16:1-5; 2 Timothy 1:5; 1 Timothy 1:2; Romans 16:21) Before we look at what Paul wrote to Timothy, let us learn something from Timothy’s life. Who was Timothy? The book of Acts tells us that his father was a Greek. He probably died when Timothy was quite young. Timothy’s mother was a Jewish believer named Eunice (U-nis). He also had a God-fearing grandmother named Lois (LOW-is). When he was a child, his mother and grandmother taught him the Scriptures (the ) and told him about the Lord Jesus. Timothy and his family lived in the city of Lystra (LIS-tra). Apparently, it was during Paul’s first visit to Lystra that he led the teenage Timothy to the Lord (Acts 14). Timothy might have been there when Paul healed the man who was crippled from birth. Paul said to the man who had never walked, “Stand up on your feet!” The man obeyed. He jumped up and began to walk. Most of the people in Lystra believed in many gods. When they saw that the man was healed, they thought Paul and were gods coming to them in human form. They wanted to offer sacrifices to them. Paul and Barnabas rushed into the crowd and shouted to the people to stop. They told the people about the true and living God who made and earth and sea and everything in them. It was the mercy of this God who healed the man and not Paul and Barnabas. This must have made a deep impression on young Timothy. Not only that, Timothy might have witnessed the resurrection power of the Lord Jesus. Some Jews from neighboring cities heard about what Paul did. They came to Lystra and spread lies to the people about Paul. The people became angry and stoned Paul. They dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But as the Christians stood around him and prayed for him, Paul came back to life. So Timothy knew first hand that God not only can heal, but He also can give life to the dead. The does not give us other details, but there was a special relationship between Paul and 1 1 Timothy

Timothy. Paul addressed Timothy as “my true son in the faith” in this letter. When Paul came back to Lystra a few years later on his second visit, Timothy had grown much in the Lord. The Christian believers in Lystra, as well as those from the neighboring town of Iconium (I-CO-ne-um), spoke well of Timothy. So Paul took Timothy along with him on his missionary journey. What an opportunity for Timothy! He must have learned a great deal as he watched how Paul preached the Gospel. He saw how Paul loved his Lord and Master as well as those who believed in the Lord. Timothy learned to serve the Lord as he traveled with Paul. They were together for about 13 years. Paul called Timothy his fellow worker. Paul sent him to visit the churches in Corinth and Thessalonica when he himself could not go. Timothy was with Paul during his two-year imprisonment in Rome. After Paul’s release from Rome, Timothy accompanied him to visit many of the churches in Asia Minor, including Ephesus. The last time Paul was there, he warned them of the danger of false teachers, who would come to lead people away from Christ. Those elders to whom Paul spoke had all passed away. New elders had been appointed. The things which Paul had warned them about actually happened. The church in Ephesus was not what it should be. Paul wished he could stay to help but he felt he had to go on to visit the Christian believers in other places. So Paul left Timothy in Ephesus. He encouraged Timothy to be used of God to correct the problem there and Paul instructed (told) him how to do that. Many of you are like Timothy. You have mothers and grandmothers who love the Lord. But God has blessed some of you even more because you also have fathers and grandfathers who love the Lord. While you are young, you have the opportunity (chance) to learn about the Lord Jesus from them and from other older Christians. If you keep following the Lord, you may become a servant of the Lord like Timothy. That will bring much joy to your family and the brothers and sisters in God’s family, as well as to the Lord, because serving God is the most worthwhile (best) work anyone can do.

(2) The Lord calls us to serve Him by His mercy and grace. (1 Timothy 1:12-7, 2:1-7) The Lord Jesus Christ is the Master of the whole universe. He holds the whole world together by the Word of His power (Hebrews 1:3). He is greater than the president of the United States and the king or queen or leader of any nation. Paul, Timothy, and many others had the honor of serving the Lord Jesus. In this letter Paul said that the Lord in His mercy and grace had saved him and appointed him to His service. Paul remembered the kind of person he was. He told Timothy that he was a blasphemer, a person who spoke insulting words against the Lord Jesus. He was a persecutor, who hunted down Christians and put them in jail. He was a violent man because he did harm to Christians. The Lord could have said, “Paul, you are too bad for Me to save or use.” Instead the Lord showed him mercy and did not punish him. As Paul said, he did not know who the Lord Jesus was at that time, so he did not really know what he was doing. The Lord not only poured out His grace on Paul, He gave him faith and love for Himself. As Paul said in our memory 2 1 Timothy verses, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am the worst. This is a trustworthy (true) saying that deserves full acceptance.” (This means everyone should believe it.) God had mercy on Paul so that the Lord Jesus Christ can use him as an example to show everyone how loving and patient He is with sinners. In that way others can realize that they too can come to the Lord Jesus. He will not reject them. He will give them His mercy and grace, forgiveness of their sins and everlasting life if they will believe in Him. It is wonderful to know that the Lord Jesus loves everyone, no matter who he is or what he has done. Paul tells us that God wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Because of our sins, we were separated from God. There is a big gulf (distance) between the holy God and sinful people. There is no way for God to come to sinful people or for sinful people to approach (come near to) God. There has to be a mediator, a person who goes between. Paul tells us, “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” How did the Lord Jesus mediate this problem between God and people? He paid the debt we owe to God. We were all held as slaves to sin, to Satan. The Lord Jesus gave His life to ransom us from Satan’s grip. It does not matter whether we think we are better or worse than Paul. The Lord Jesus gave His life to save you and me. It is something we can never forget. God not only desires everyone to be saved but also that each should come to a knowledge of the truth. This means to know the Lord Jesus because only He is “the Truth.” Do you remember the two questions that Paul asked when he met the Lord Jesus on the way to Damascus? First he asked, “Who are You, Lord?” After he found out that this One whom he had been persecuting is Jesus, he immediately asked, “What shall I do, Lord?” His second question shows us that Paul really wanted to serve the Lord. Do you remember the boy named John in our story some weeks ago? He used to serve that mean old man and do many bad things for him. The king paid a large sum of money to rescue John from that old man and took John to his palace. To show his thankfulness to the king for his love, John wanted to serve the king. In the same way, when we realize how much the Lord Jesus loves us and takes good care of us, we will want to love Him and serve Him to show our appreciation. How do we serve? We serve Him by pleasing Him, obeying Him and doing what He wants. The Lord never forces us to obey and serve Him. We do not serve Him out of duty because duty means something we must do. We serve Him out of love because it is something we want to do. Besides, it is an honor to serve our Lord and Savior. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Someday when the Lord comes again, as He promised, a good and faithful servant will receive praise and reward.

(3) How to be a good servant? (1 Timothy 4:6-10, 6:6-10) In this letter Paul told Timothy, and he tells us also, some of the things that can help us to be good servants of Jesus Christ. Paul reminded Timothy that a good servant is one who is “constantly nourished (fed) on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine.” The words of faith are those things that we believe in. Timothy’s mother taught him the words of the faith from the Scriptures when he was young. 3 1 Timothy

Now that Timothy was older, he still needed to study his Bible again and again because the Word of God was his spiritual food. We need to eat our spiritual food regularly just as we eat food to keep our physical bodies healthy. If we are not spiritually healthy, we cannot serve properly and be a good servant of the Lord. Paul reminded Timothy also to discipline (train) himself for the purpose of godliness. Godliness means to be like God, like the Lord Jesus. Many people do exercises like jogging, swimming, etc. Paul tells us, “Physical exercise is all right, but godliness has value for all things.” It is valuable not only for this life but also for the life to come (in eternity). When the Lord Jesus comes again and judges us, the main thing that He will look for is how much we are like Him. The question will be “How godly are you?” rather than “What have you done?” The Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples (in Matthew 7:22) regarding those who are qualified to be in His kingdom. Many will say, “Lord, Lord, did we not speak in Your name? Did we not perform many miracles? ” The Lord will say to them, “I never knew you.” But if we are like the Lord Jesus, we will naturally do the things which He would do. Then the things we do will be those He approves of. For example, the Lord Jesus is the Truth. He never lies. But it is not so easy for us to always tell the truth. That is why we need to exercise (continually practice) so it becomes easier and easier to tell the truth. One of the things you must do now is to go to school. What you study in school may not seem to have any connection with the Lord Jesus. But the Lord can use your studies to discipline you for the purpose of godliness. For example, you can learn to be diligent, make good use of your time, and learn to obey your teacher. All these are exercising godliness. More than that, you can learn to depend on the Holy Spirit to help you in your studies. So when you get good grade in school, it is not for you to be proud but for the glory of God. Being the best student you can be by God’s grace is a way you can serve the Lord Jesus today. Another thing Paul told Timothy was to be content (satisfied). Paul says, “If we have enough food and clothing, we should be content.” Today, not only adults but also children lack contentment. When you see another child’s new toy, you may feel dissatisfied because you want to have one too. This is not how the Lord wants His children to be. He does not want us to envy or covet (want very badly). To be content is to give thanks in everything. When we remember that many children in the world have no clothing and no food, we will be content and very thankful to the Lord for giving us all the good things we have. Paul mentioned that there are some who serve in the church in special ways. Some Christian men who are more mature in the Lord and who know the Lord better are called elders. They have the responsibility to preach and to teach the truth. Others (including women) are called deacons. They take care of practical matters in the church. Not only the elders and deacons, but everyone is called to serve. Some of you children help in the kitchen after lunch on Sunday and help clean the meeting place. The Lord takes note and remembers these labors of love to Him and His family. Because Timothy learned to help Paul when he was young, the Lord appointed him to be His servant later. Each of you should learn to serve at home, in school and in our meeting place so that someday the Lord can also use you as His servant. 4 1 Timothy

Lesson and Application for the PS and PM Classes (1) Who was Timothy? Today we want to learn something from the first letter Paul wrote to Timothy. Who was Timothy? The Bible tells us that Timothy lived in a small city called Lystra (LIS-tra). Timothy’s father was not a Christian. He was Greek, not Jewish. He probably died when Timothy was quite young. His mother’s name was Eunice (U- nis). She was a Jewish believer. His grandmother, Lois (LOW-is), was also a Christian. When Timothy was a child, his mother and grandmother taught him about the Lord Jesus. One day the apostle Paul came to the city where Timothy lived. His mother and grandmother took him to hear Paul preach. Timothy’s heart was touched by the love of the Lord Jesus. When he heard how Jesus died on the Cross for his sins, he accepted the Lord Jesus to be his Savior. Timothy might have been there when Paul preached another time. There was also a crippled man listening among the crowd of people. This man had never walked in his whole life. Paul said to him, “Stand up!” The man jumped up to his feet and started walking. How wonderful that was! How kind the Lord Jesus was to heal that poor cripple! Then some Jews came to make trouble for Paul. They told lies about him and made the people very angry. The people threw stones at Paul until they thought he was dead. Then they dragged him outside the city. When the Christians gathered around Paul and prayed for him, Paul got up and went back into the city. Timothy might have been there also, or he heard about it from other Christians. Then he knew for sure that the Lord Jesus is powerful because He brought Paul back to life. Timothy wanted to know more about the Lord, so he studied his Bible diligently.

(2) Timothy became a servant of God. When Paul came to visit Lystra again a few years later, Timothy had grown much in the Lord. The Christians there told Paul good things about Timothy. So when Paul left to go to other places, he took Timothy along with him. What a wonderful way to learn! Timothy saw how Paul loved his Master, who was the Lord Jesus. He watched Paul preach the Gospel. For about 13 years he traveled with Paul and learned to serve the Lord too. Paul was not only like a father to Timothy, Paul called Timothy his fellow worker. Paul sent Timothy to visit the churches in Corinth and Thessalonica when he could not go himself. Do you remember learning about Paul in prison in Rome? Timothy was there with him. When Paul was set free, Timothy traveled with him back to Ephesus. Timothy had become a good servant of the Lord. So Paul could leave Timothy there to take care of some problems there. Then Paul went on to visit other places. Many of you are like Timothy. You have mothers and grandmothers who love the Lord. But God has blessed some of you even more because you also have fathers and grandfathers who love the Lord. While you are young, you have the chance to learn about the Lord Jesus from them and others, like your Sunday school teachers. You have heard about the many wonderful things the Lord Jesus did when He was here on 5 1 Timothy earth, as well as through His servants like Paul and Peter. The Lord wants you to know about Timothy so that you will study your Bible and learn more about God. If you keep following the Lord, you may become a servant of the Lord like Timothy.

(3) The Lord calls us to serve Him by His mercy and grace. In this letter, Paul tells us that the Lord Jesus was very kind to call him to serve God. Paul remembered the kind of person he used to be. He used to be against the Lord Jesus. He tried his best to harm Christians and put them in jail. Paul knew he was very bad and he did not deserve the Lord’s kindness and love. He tells us, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” He says, “This is really true and everyone should believe this. The Lord Jesus saved me so that I can be an example to others, showing them how kind the Lord is.” No one should ever think that he is so bad that the Lord cannot love him and forgive him. Isn’t it wonderful to know that the Lord Jesus loves everyone, no matter who he is or what he has done? Paul tells us, “God wants everyone to be saved.” God is holy and perfect. We are so sinful. There is no way we dare to come to God. Remember that boy John in our story? He would never dare to come to the king and ask to be allowed to live in the palace. But the Lord Jesus made the way for us to come to God. He came to find us, just as the king’s official went to find John. We were slaves to Satan, just like John was a slave to that mean old man. The official paid a lot of money so John could be adopted by the king. The Lord Jesus did even more. He had to give His life so that we can be free. He gave his life as a ransom for all. We should thank Him and praise Him for saving us! That boy John used to serve the mean old man and do many bad things for him. As you know, the king took John to his palace. The king had many servants. Do you think that from then on John didn’t have to work anymore? Maybe John thought he could just relax and enjoy all the good things in the palace. But when John realized how much the king loved him, he wanted to do everything to please the king. In the same way, when we realize how much the Lord loves us and takes such good care of us, we will gladly want to do everything to please Him. We serve Him by pleasing Him, obeying Him and doing what He wants. Even a small child like you can do that. Serving the Lord is the most wonderful work anyone can do. So, let us all learn to be good servants of the Lord, the One who loves us and gave Himself for us. One of the things you must do now or will have to do is go to school. The Holy Spirit can use school to teach you how to be like the Lord Jesus. You can learn to do your work carefully and obey your teacher. You can learn to depend on the Holy Spirit to help you in your studies. When you get good grades, you should give thanks to God. Being a good student is a way you can serve the Lord Jesus today. Some of you help clean up after lunch on Sundays and help clean the meeting place. The Lord notices and remembers these ways you show love to Him and His family. Because Timothy learned to help Paul when he was young, the Lord chose him to be His servant later. Each of you should learn to serve at home, in school and in our meeting place so that someday the Lord can also use you as His servant.

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Activities

SR Class: Give each student the prepared form with the memory verse and lesson outline for today’s lesson. Have the students take notes during the lesson presentation.

The decoding activity—“1 Timothy” may be done at home in addition to homework.

MD Class: Give each student the prepared paper with today’s memory verse. Have the students copy the memory verse. Have each student write a key word or phrase from today’s lesson on the board. Then copy them on the paper under the section “Bible Words.”

Decode the puzzle to find out what advice Paul gave Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:12.

When completed, have the students put the papers into their folders. Collect the folders. They will be given back to the students later.

PM Class: Give each child a piece of paper with today’s memory verse. Have the student copy the memory verse and learn the memory verse together.

Do the word-find activity—“The Way to God.”

Do the coloring activity—“A Young Man God Used.” Look up the verses to find out which colors to use.

Collect the papers from the children and insert in their folders. The folders will be given out later.

PS Class: Learn today’s memory verse.

Color the picture—“A Young Man God Used.” Look up the verses as a class to find out which colors to use.

Color the picture—“Telling Our Friends.”

Sing some appropriate songs with the children.

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