God’s Looking for the Right Type of Person!

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim 4:12). Timothy’s example for us today.

Everyone has role models they emulate. We allow ourselves to be influenced by the example of others, even when we don’t want to. Or it happens consciously, as when young people dress like their idols, for example. Our niece wants to be a gymnast like Simone Biles. Someone else may want to be successful like this person, or drive a race car like that person. A Christian wants to know the Bible like this person, or a pastor wants to be able to preach like that person.

Paul told his longtime missionary companion and associate Timothy to be an example to the believers. A good example can often motivate us more than superficial (albeit well-intentioned) advice. Perhaps we’re familiar with the accusation: “Why are you punishing your children for that? They learned it from watching you!”

Be an Example

Timothy was to be an example, and a good one. Someone to look up to for growth or benefit. The Greek word used by Paul, typos, translates as “prototype” or “type.” The word “type” frequently appears in our everyday speech. And so, I’d like to give this phrase the full biblical meaning that Paul intended. In this sense, God is looking for the right role models, or even the right type of person!

The term “role model” can put us off. We’re familiar with our own flaws and shortcomings, and we know we’re not the ideal candidates to go through life as exemplary Christians or role models. Our perceptions and expectations of what being a good example entails can deter us.

God isn’t looking for perfect, sublime role models. He’s looking for people who are shaping their everyday lives so that they point to the Lord’s love, forgiveness, and faithfulness in a variety of ways. Some of these ways could be owning up to our mistakes and confessing them, working on our imperfections, and pursuing His business with our whole lives.

When Paul urges Timothy to be an example, it isn’t because he sees Timothy as the ideal candidate, with a model education or background. Instead, Paul recognizes the life-changing power of the Gospel in Timothy and knows that he lives with Jesus. Timothy is an example of how God can shape every person into the right role model, the right type, regardless of their past.

In Acts 7:44, Stephen speaks of when God commanded Moses to make the tent of witness (the Tabernacle) after the pattern or type (typos) that God had shown him in heaven. The “prototype” is in heaven, and Moses created the earthly copy here below.

How easy it would have been if Jesus had just created a prototype disciple, an example, and then mass-produced or copied him. But humans aren’t products. Jesus took three years to shape His twelve Apostles to serve as role models, as His representatives and successors. We know that after those three years, they weren’t “released” from this school of discipleship as perfect, faultless human beings. And yet they became role models for us!

Jesus calls people who are imperfect and deformed by sin, redeems them from a godless life, and begins doing something new in each individual. This alone makes each of us a role model! We’re examples that point to God’s grace and goodness. We’re bearers of hope, valuable creations who have been blessed by the redemption we experienced to become God’s children.

Jesus Christ is the perfect example. He could truly say, “For I have given you an example” (John 13:15a). His exemplary behavior can be our guide.

As God’s children, we must orient ourselves to Jesus, the perfect example, the One with the most correct and important message. The more we do so, the more another mysterious process will take place in us. We will slowly find our way back to the original image; namely, God the Creator. We are to be role models in this world, pointing more and more to the image in which we were originally created: that of God Himself (cf. Gen 1:26-27; 5:3; 9:6).

This is an enormous challenge. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “that you … put off your old self … to be renewed [visibly] in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph 4:17-24).

Timothy was a Gospel-oriented type for others to follow and imitate.

Timothy the Man

Born and raised in the Roman colony of Lystra, a city in the region of Lycaonia (modern-day central Anatolia, Turkey), Timothy was part of an “unclean” family: The marriage of his Greek father and believing Jewish mother (Acts 16:1) couldn’t be recognized as valid according to Jewish canon. The son of such a union was considered both an Israelite who should be circumcised, and an illegitimate child who would consequently be despised. Timothy was uncircumcised, demonstrating that his Jewish mother had failed to convince her Gentile husband. But we can assume that his mother took him with her when she went to the synagogue.

How do you suppose Timothy was viewed by those who knew him? He was different from his Greek peers. From the perspective of Lystra’s Jewish community, the marriage of Timothy's mother to an unbeliever was a betrayal of Jewish tradition. It’s possible that she was considered the black sheep of the family as a result, a subject of gossip or even scandal for the Jews.

What a family, and what problems!

And yet, it’s possible that Timothy’s parents loved each other. Perhaps they even married for love. In any case, Timothy had to learn to respect the diversity of cultures and religious customs at an early age. His concept of life didn’t fit into a simple black-and-white mold.

Paul points out another detail about Timothy when he writes to him: “No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” (1 Tim 5:23). Timothy wasn’t in good health, and was probably very delicate. Paul also saw Timothy weeping when he was sad (2 Tim 1:4). And when the Apostle called him, he was very young. Too young for such service? “Let no one despise you for your youth…” Traveling with Paul meant that he lacked a stable, well-ordered lifestyle, exposing his weaknesses.

His multicultural background was definitely formative: He grew up in a Roman garrison town with a Greek father and a Jewish mother. His grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice are described as women of true faith (2 Tim 1:5). It seems that Timothy received all of the affection that a child needs, as well as a good education. And part of that education was being introduced to the stories of the Old Testament. Timothy had known them since he was a child (2 Tim 3:15-16). What a privilege and what a beautiful task, for a mother and grandmother to share the substance of the Bible with him! Just the same, none of this detracts from the fact that he grew up in difficult circumstances.

The Circumstances of Timothy’s Conversion

Paul and Barnabas arrived in Lystra around 45 AD, in the course of their first missionary journey. A man paralyzed from birth was living there. As he heard the Gospel and believed in Jesus, he experienced physical healing. The Greeks, who at that time believed that the gods controlled and affected everything, said, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” (Acts 14:11). They began to believe that Paul and Barnabas were the gods Hermes (Latin: Mercury) and Zeus (Latin: Jupiter).

The priest of the temple to Jupiter organized a festival in their honor, preparing bulls to be sacrificed to these “gods incarnate.” Paul and Barnabas were barely able to prevent it. They proclaimed to the Greeks the need to convert from idolatry to the true, living God—the One who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them (v. 15). Jews came from Antioch and Iconium into this situation, and managed to incite the crowd with fabricated and false arguments, instigating them to stone Paul. The people stoned him until they believed him dead (v. 19), but he survived and managed to continue on the missionary journey with Barnabas.

Timothy’s conversion took place in the midst of these circumstances. And so, the first lesson he learned was that a disciple of Christ will face suffering. A convert wouldn’t expect life to be a cakewalk, complete with a refreshing beer in his recliner at the end of each day.

On their return journey, Paul and Barnabas stopped at Lystra again. They explained other Gospel truths to believers, exhorting them to endure in the faith. They also affirmed that one must face suffering to enter the kingdom of God. The Apostles stayed in that area until they could appoint able-bodied men to serve as elders for the local churches, and then they set out for Jerusalem. Timothy remained in Lystra and was part of the group of believers who formed Lystra’s emerging local church.

Timothy’s “Official” Career

After the council that took place in Jerusalem, Paul visited the churches that had arisen during his first journey, including Lystra. Almost five years had passed since his first visit to the city. When Paul met up with Timothy again, a good reference was given for this young man (Acts 16:2).

Timothy had apparently wasted no time. After his conversion, he had immersed himself in the truths of the Gospel, ministered in the church, and made important strides in his own growth. The other believers around Timothy noticed and praised him. He was a type, a role model for others, the right type of person!

So, Paul decided to add Timothy to his team. Timothy was given a very good opportunity to make the kingdom of God his “career.” He “escaped” his surroundings—his provincial town—and was able to see the world. Paul was an extraordinary person who would enable him to have extraordinary experiences. Everyone would take note of him right next to the great Apostle. He might even brag about it in Christian circles! Except … this didn’t happen. From the moment Timothy left with Paul, it seemed as if he might have disappeared. He wasn’t even mentioned for a while. Timothy had become part of the team, without enjoying any visibility. The group visited and evangelized different regions in Asia Minor before arriving in Greece. Churches in Philippi and Thessaloniki were established, and the new believers joined Paul and Silas (Acts 17:4). As for Timothy? Not even a mention.

It is only when Paul is sent on that we learn that in addition to the aforementioned Silas, Timothy also remained behind in Berea (Acts 17:14). Poor Timothy? He was probably the one responsible for providing for the team, working with his own hands (Acts 18:5) while the others were in the squares or entering the synagogues… Timothy ministered faithfully in the background. He provided a covert service, helping the team. And yet he was directly involved in the spread of the Gospel in the cities of what was then the Roman Empire.

It was a special way to learn, observe, and sit on the bench without rebelling. Paul himself was his example. Ministry at the Apostle’s side proved to be a daily discipleship in which Timothy could learn lessons and deepen his personal relationship with Jesus—all while under less-than-ideal circumstances.

Years later, during the third missionary journey, Timothy again accompanied Paul. The Apostle called him his helper (Acts 19:22). He sent Timothy from Ephesus, along with Erastus, to Macedonia to encourage the believers in the churches that had sprung up in the intervening years. It seems as if Timothy had now, years later, been visibly promoted from “travel companion” to “employee.” As Paul said, “for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am” (1 Cor 16:10b).

Paul’s Testimony About Timothy

Timothy had matured, gained experience, and become Paul’s co-laborer. Those many years of formation in the great Apostle’s shadow had borne fruit.

In Philippians, we see that Timothy was with Paul in Rome. He helped him and stood by the Apostle during his first imprisonment (Phil 1:1). Paul now desired to send Timothy to Philippi to encourage the church there. He testified that he had no one as sincere as Timothy. In contrast to him, everyone was seeking “their own interests” and not what served the kingdom of God (Phil 2:19-21). “But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel” (v. 22).

Paul urged the Philippians to welcome Timothy as they ought. In doing so, he showed his great appreciation and his full trust in him.

Recommendations to Timothy

The seasoned Apostle made several recommendations to Timothy.

First, of an official nature: Timothy should be on the alert, because false teachers and deceivers would come. People would turn from the truth to deceptive teachings (1 Tim 4:1-3; 2 Tim 3:1-5). For example, in secularized Christian circles today, more and more Christian moral concepts are being called into question, despite having been accepted for two millennia.

Second, of a pastoral nature: Timothy was to continue, persevere, be faithful in his ministry, and carry out his assignment (2 Tim 4:5).

Third, of a personal nature: Timothy was to visit him (2 Tim 4:9). Paul needed his presence. He should bring a cloak, books, and parchments (v. 13). Timothy had become the person in whom Paul confided. The long, close cooperation hadn’t caused division. Together, they had overcome many obstacles and very difficult, often dangerous situations. That had bonded them together closely.

Paul and Timothy worked on the same team for nearly twenty years. Twenty years of life and ministry together. And Paul was no ordinary person: He was a challenging example! He was radical in a healthy way—totally devoted to God. Having him as a direct role model and example often meant that Timothy felt inadequate and was reminded of his limitations.

Paul didn’t bind Timothy to himself but gave him ample freedom to carry out his tasks with increasing independence, encouraging him to rely directly on Jesus. Paul was a role model to him in this. Timothy was Jesus’ disciple, not the great Apostle Paul’s. Let’s make committed, sanctified disciples our examples, but let’s not become disciples of men. We’re to remain disciples of Christ!

Paul wanted Timothy to grow spiritually and in character: to be strong, independent from human opinion, and to maintain a powerful, personal faith, rooted in Christ and His Word. According to Christian tradition, Timothy lived until 97 AD and served as an elder in the church at Ephesus.

We don’t put Timothy the person on a pedestal. He was “only” an instrument of God in a very large project. God saved, chose, and used him, just as He wants to do with each one of us (cf. 2 Tim 2:2). If you are a child of God, be a role model, the right kind of person!

Being a role model will attract copycats. So, in this sense, “multiply” yourself. Continue to serve the Lord, even after having served for decades. Make yourself available to God, or renew your availability. Is there someone you can mentor (as Paul did for Timothy)? Can you pass the baton to someone else? Whether visibly in public or more quietly, stay in your place. Endure and faithfully fulfill your ministry in the kingdom of God.

Be a role model!

Midnight Call - 10/2025