Iron Sharpens Iron: Life-to-Life® Mentoring in the New TestamentSample

Day 5: Paul and Timothy

If the apostle Paul had a motto, it might have been, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Think of it: He had God-honoring, gospel-advancing Life-to-Life relationships with a number of men throughout his missionary journeys. Among them were Barnabas, John Mark, Silas, Luke, and Onesimus. Yet the one who stands out most is his young protégé Timothy.

Consider how Paul was intentional about building a disciple who would make disciples. First, Paul became a spiritual parent to Timothy. They met as Paul traveled to Derbe and to Lystra on his second missionary journey. Impressed with the young disciple, Paul invited him to join him (Acts 16:1-5). This provided Paul an excellent opportunity to invest in Timothy through a Life-to-Life relationship. Paul would refer to the younger man as “my true child in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2).

Along the way, Paul moved from spiritual parent to pacesetter. The fruit of Life-to-Life ministry is clearly evident in 2 Timothy 3:10-11, where we see: “You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.” 

When the time came for Paul to pass the ministry baton, there was young Timothy, his “fellow worker,” ready to take the handoff and run the race set before him (Romans 16:21). He did so with this admonition: “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” (2 Timothy 2:2). 

Consider what happened next. Timothy co-authored 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon. Of such a partner in ministry, Paul said, “I have no one like him” (Philippians 2:19-23). 

In 2 Timothy 4:6-8, Paul reflected that he knew his time was short. He was likely beheaded by the Romans in AD 68. Paul left Timothy to pastor the church in Ephesus. Thus Timothy too became “parent,” “pacesetter,” and “baton-passer,” as did others through his life and ministry. He was even killed for the sake of the gospel. Tradition holds that Timothy was martyred—beaten to death in AD 97.

Paul’s motto to follow him as he followed Christ and his admonition to “entrust to faithful men” the gospel through Life-to-Life relationships pose a challenge for us today. The baton has been passed to us. Practically speaking, what might that look like? You’ll find one model in the short article “How to Walk Side-by-Side.” In addition, look for someone in your church who is committed to Life-to-Life mentoring. Ask him or her to help you in your desire to make relationships such as these a reality. May we too run the race set before us: to spread the gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom and to be used of God to build generations of disciple makers until Jesus returns!

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We would like to thank Dean Ridings, author of Walking and Talking with God: A Simple Way to Pray Every Day, for this reading plan. For more information on helping people grow spiritually, visit The Navigators.