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The apostle Paul met the young man Timothy at
Lystra. Timothy was the son of a Greek father and a Jewish
mother. His mother Eunice and his grandmother Louis brought
him up in the Jewish faith. He became a faithful helper in
the work of preaching the Gospel.
Paul thought a great deal of Timothy and treated
him as his own son. In this letter Paul calls Timothy "my
true child in the faith" (1:2), "my son" (1:18)
and "man of God" (6:11). The letter contains instruction
and advice for the young man who had been entrusted with the
work of guiding the believers at Ephesus, holding fast to
the one true faith and countering the influences of false
teachers.
The importance of sound doctrine - a
word meaning both teaching and practice (1:10) - is stressed
in chapter 1. Chapter 2 deals with the need for prayer
and a proper approach to God. The women were not to offere
public prayers or to have authority over the men in the church
(2:8-15). Chapter 3 deals with the qualities needed in "bishops"
or "deacons" (helpers) and chapters 4-6 give instructions
on how Christians should live as members of the church.
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