"The things that you have heard from me, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (v.2)
Here Paul reminds Timothy of the body of truth that he had heard from the Apostle in the presence of many others. Certainly, Timothy heard many Bible studies from Paul, and shared much time with the Apostle in personal discipleship. It may be that Paul reminded Timothy of a special message he presented at Timothy’s ordination service among many witnesses. But he seems to refer here to the doctrines delivered to him when, in the presence of many witnesses, he laid his hands upon him (see 1 Timothy 6:12). Then the apostle gave him the proper form of sound words which he was to teach; and now he tells him to commit those truths to faithful men in the same way that they were committed to him.
God gave a ministry to Timothy, not for him to keep to himself, but for him to pass on to others. An essential part of his work as a pastor was to pour into others what God had committed to him. One may say that everything that a pastor does in his ministry he should train others to do. There are no duties of a pastor so holy or so secret that he should keep them all to himself. He should always seek to spread ministry about to others, and to train others to do the work of the ministry.
Timothy was not to teach others his own particular ideas or theories, but simple apostolic doctrine and example (the things that you have heard from me). What Paul poured into him he was responsible to pour into others. The job of training leaders is simply part of a pastor’s job description. He should not only train leaders when the need for a leader is obvious; nor should he only train leaders for the needs of his congregation alone. He should train leaders for the Kingdom of God in general, whether they are used in ministry at the particular pastor’s congregation or not.
According to Homer's Odyssey, when King Odysseus went off to fight in the Trojan war, he left his son Telemachus in the hands of a wise old man named Mentor. Mentor was charged with the task of teaching the young man wisdom. Today the word mentor has come to mean "a wise and responsible tutor"—an experienced person who advises, guides, teaches, inspires, challenges, corrects, and serves as a model.
Our text today describes spiritual mentoring and the Bible gives us many examples. Timothy had Paul; Mark had Barnabas; Joshua had Moses; Elisha had Elijah. This type of spiritual leadership is just as important today as it was then. There can be no greater calling than passing the torch to young believers, and working with God to help mold their character and accountability. Therefore, prayerfully consider whom you might help grow in their faith. Ask God to lead you to someone that needs a mentor and for His guidance along the way.
When Timothy looked for those whom he could pour apostolic doctrine and practice into, he was to look for the quality of faithfulness. He didn’t need to find smart men, popular men, strong men, easy men, perfect men, or good-looking men; Paul told him to look for faithful men. Without faithfulness to the teaching and example of the apostles, the idea of apostolic succession is nothing more than the laying of empty hands upon empty heads. This job of training leaders was so important that it could not be restricted to Timothy alone. Those whom he had trained must also be given the job to teach others also.
LORD, I thank you for your servant David E. Radford who recently passed into glory. He was a mentor who passed the light to many young men that went on to teach others. His was a life well lived and a race well run. Rest in peace my friend. See you one day on the other side in glory.
The Truth: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32:4)
