Several years ago, I wrote a paper on the book of Philippians. As I studied this powerful book, I was reminded again of the Apostle Paul’s investment into Timothy’s life. Discipleship is an investment, an investment in people. We see this in the first part of the book when Paul writes, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6. God has begun this good work, salvation in you, and the maturing of your salvation is an ongoing process. It is a process that God began and will definitely bring to completion using many people, and many means in which to mature you. Discipleship is a means to grow in Christ, something we are commanded to do. 2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. But the way to grow in Christ is not something you do exclusively on your own, we need other believers to come alongside of us, we need each other.
We need each other and we need an example to follow. Jesus left us a perfect example to follow, 1 Peter 2:21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. Jesus modeled the example to follow by doing those things that pleased the Father, John 8:28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” Discipleship is centered around Jesus example, and His model of pleasing the Father. Jesus was the greatest disciple that ever lived, He did nothing on His own authority, He was not a “lone disciple”. He was in complete partnership and harmony with the Father and thus the Trinity. He spoke as the Father taught Him. He duplicated the Father, doing things, speaking the same things “just as the Father taught” Him. He recognized His responsibility as a disciple of the Father, as a sent One, He knew He did not do this on His own, His Father was always with Him. All of this led to Him be able to say “for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”, the ultimate goal of the disciple, pleasing God and bringing Him ultimate glory. Do you see the harmony, the closeness and likeness within the Father and Son’s relationship?
If Jesus is the greatest example of discipleship, then discipleship centers and hinges on our ability to duplicate that example. God has enabled us to do this through the means of the gospel. God has invested in you through the gospel of His Son. This empowerment, Romans 1:16, 17, 2 Peter 1:3,4, gives us the ability to replicate Jesus’ example of discipleship. He has also called us to invest in others as discipler’s, Matthew 28:19, 20. This is a fascinating thought to contemplate! We partner with God investing in others, modeling His Son, truly the greatest investment of all time! We invest our time, our gifts and our resources through His power to help bring others into maturity in Christ. Colossians 1:28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. Discipling others is a gift.
Paul’s example of discipleship in Philippians features Timothy as Paul’s disciple and co-laborer. In Chapter 2, verse 19, Paul informs the church in Philippi that he would be sending his trusted disciple Timotheus to check on their condition. And, that sending Timotheus to them would bring great comfort to him. He would know of their state or condition from Timotheus who could and would evaluate their condition and care for them and comfort them as well as Paul would (v. 20). Here Paul cracks the door open to show the closeness and likeness of true discipleship. Here we see discipleship in action, the very fruit of what discipleship looks like as they walk through life and ministry together.
We meet Timothy in Acts chapter 16, Paul no doubt had won Timothy to the Lord on his first missions’ trip. The second time to Lystra, Paul found Timothy highly reputed and warmly recommended by the Church in that place, Paul then took him to be his companion in his travels. The local church and the brethren in the church gave a good report of his testimony, they had invested in him and seen great returns, He was well reported of by the brethren Acts 16:2. Timothy from a child had been brought up in the fear of God, and carefully instructed in the Jewish religion by means of the Holy Scriptures by his mother and grandmother. God’s Word was used in young Timothy’s life and Timothy responded well, making him a worthy investment, and God’s Word was used in Timothy’s life by Paul to continue to roll over the investment for further and future dividends.
Discipleship As An Investment
I knew a man who dealt with investments for a living. I spoke to him about investments because I was developing a message concerning Paul & Timothy’s relationship, that is Paul’s investment into Timothy’s life, and I learned a few things from our conversation. I asked him about a few important things that investors look for when they consider investing in something, and he said, “you look for growth and you look for protection from liability.” So, growth and liability were the two important things that he mentioned right from the beginning of our conversation. I found basically that an investment is taking something valuable, a possession of some sort, and then putting it toward something secure, in hopes it will pay dividends or pay you back later.
Ultimately the gospel is the agent of change, it is the greatest investment that God has in man, it cancels sin, it transforms man, its dividends pay off for time and eternity in and through Christ as the sinner is brought into a right standing before God. God does the work, God makes the investment, God provides the security, God provides the ongoing dividends of Christ working in and through His now redeemed people. In Him and through Him and to Him for His glory! The payoff is God’s glory, but that glory is through the transformational effects of the gospel into the image of Christ in the believer. 2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Timothy must have been a good learner because of what is said about his mother and grandmother’s investment of Old Testament Scripture in his life, he must have been reproducing the truth he had learned from them. He was well reported of by the brethren, his testimony preceded him, and his family had heavily invested in him. All this is an indicator of a true disciple. So, Paul had a head start with Timothy because of his family’s input, and that is one of the good reasons Timothy was such a good investment. Timothy is mentioned throughout the book of Acts as being with Paul in his travels, Acts 17:14, 18:5, 19:22, 20:4, as well as six of Paul’s epistles include Timothy, in the salutations of 2 Corinthians 1:1; Philippians. 1:1; Colossians. 1:1; 1 Thessalonians. 1:1; 2 Thessalonians. 1:1; and Philemon 1. So, Paul invested heavily into the life of Timothy as a worthy investment and made it a lifelong commitment to mentor him.
Discipleship Implies Closeness And Likeness
One of the fruits of discipleship is to reproduce yourself in others. It is to take all of what you know and all of what you do, and all of the very image of Christ stamped on you and pour that into someone else’s life. True discipleship implies closeness and likeness. The disciple is replicating his mentor in doctrine and in practice, and in this case, the vital role of a missionary/pastor/teacher under training to eventually care for the church. Timothy became a duplicate of the Apostle Paul. He intuitively cared for the church at Philippi exactly as Paul would in a very natural manner.
Philippians 2:19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.
Verse 20 in the KJV reads “For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.” Naturally describes Timothy’s kind of ministry, a ministry that bore the stamp of intense discipleship that Paul had with him, it means genuinely, faithfully, sincerely, legitimately and truly, with certainty (care for your estate). Timothy was likeminded with Paul. It is apparent that Timothy became likeminded because Timothy was becoming like Paul. Thayer describes the word likeminded as “equal in soul”, meaning “think the same way, (one–souled),” or “kindred spirit.” The point I want to make here is that being mentored exposes you to becoming like the person who is mentoring you, and there is nothing wrong with that! We understand the pitfall of the copycat, but that is not what is going on here. If you trust your mentor, you will welcome becoming like them because you see Christ in them. “You are unique in what you are and what you can do, and God doesn’t want you to destroy that uniqueness by your trying to be somebody else. To be sure, we can learn from one another, and there’s nothing wrong with appreciating God’s special servants and being inspired and instructed by them. But God forbid that we should imitate them and destroy our own distinctive ministry! Be yourself—your best self—and God will use you in a special way.” [1] There is no man as likeminded as Timothy in ministry, we are exactly alike Paul states. Timothy became a duplicate of the apostle Paul, he naturally or innately would care for and bring ministry to the church in Philippi exactly as Paul would, a ministry that bore the stamp of intense discipleship that Paul had with him.
The Greek word for disciple gives the idea of closeness and likeness. Closeness implies involvement not aloofness or a professional relationship. Jesus did not call His disciples to listen to His lectures, he called them to likeness, to be like Him. John 8:28, 20:21. Likeness implies the loosing of identity. In Matthew 28:18-20 we learn that the mentor must be committed to “teaching them to observe”. Being like Christ in every area of life, to the degree that I am implementing the truths of the Word of God in every area of my life, I am losing my identity and being now identified in Christ, while all the time becoming like my mentor, who is ahead of me growing in Christlikeness as well. That is a true partnership in discipleship, that is closeness and likeness! It is one life impacting another life, the mentor’s life impacting the disciple’s life, which eventually translates to likeness, because each has the goal of likeness as in Christlikeness. Both the mentor and the disciple are growing in Christ in their relationship with each other bringing about harmony. True biblical harmony exists in their thinking and responses to life and ministry.
Closeness and likeness as a father with a son, serving with Paul in the gospel ministry (2:22). As a son replicates his father in so many ways, as a father models in his behavior, actions, attitudes, love, and passion for all things in life, as a father spiritually must transfer that kind of life before His son in Christ. This is all too important! Their relationship was a father son relationship in ministry, you cannot get much closer than that! A key statement in verse 22 is, “he has served with me in the gospel”, not behind me, or under me, but “with me” in the gospel. Paul respected Timothy, and even told him later to; “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 Timothy 4:12. Paul confidently held Timothy to the standards of his discipleship effort. He was to confidently reproduce leadership qualities that embraced being an example in the areas described. This is Paul passing the mantel to a young Timothy, as well as reminding him of accountability and culpability. This true discipleship, this is trust, respect and partnership.
The Importance of Closeness and Likeness.
In his classic book, A Theology of Christian Counseling, Jay Adams advises, “What is the discipleship method? Fundamentally, teaching by discipleship is the “with Him” method. When Jesus chose His disciples,3 it does not say that He chose them to attend His lectures (though at times they did just that) but, rather, “to be with Him” Mark 3:14. What does this imply? Why were the disciples to spend time with Jesus? In Luke 6:40, where Jesus explains His philosophy of education, the answer to those questions comes clear. He says that a student, when properly trained, will “be like his teacher.” That is a startling statement to many modern-day educators, who would never think of such a goal. But why shouldn’t they? Why should they think of themselves merely as verbal deliverers of information, rather than embodiers of it?”
“Notice, Jesus does not say that good teaching will help the student to think like his teacher—of course, that is part of what He has in mind. But there is more; he will “be like his teacher.” In this distinction lies the basic difference (in goals and purposes) between the academic and the discipleship methods of education. The one who becomes like his teacher thinks like him, it is true, but he will come to resemble him in other ways as well—in attitudes, in skills, in incorporation of values and skills in everyday living, etc. A whole person will affect whole persons on all levels; that is the goal of discipleship training. Does it work? Acts 4:13 completes the picture. Those that Jesus chose to be with Him that they might become like Him were so changed by that method that at length they were recognized by others as having been “with Jesus”.[2]
What would have become of the Philippian church without a “Timothy”? Paul’s insight and understanding of discipleship helped bring aid to a church that would have been otherwise cast adrift by overwhelming persecution and disunity. Here a trusted comrade in gospel ministry is sent to come alongside them; one who has also proved himself (2:22). “But you know Timothy’s proven worth.” They knew the trial, testing and approval of Timothy. Paul poured into the life of Timothy all of what Christ had brought to him in the fullness of the effects of the Gospel. And then the testing fields of life’s struggles tempered Timothy into a proven minister of the Gospel. Paul sends him with complete confidence (2:23-24) as he looks to his own affairs. Naturally and intuitively caring with the same concern of Paul, must have brought great comfort to the Philippian church that was under the same intense persecution and suffering as Paul (1:20-30).
Discipleship is more than a book study, more than Scripture reading, more than conversations or even lectures. Discipleship implies investment of one’s life into another. It is studying and learning together, but it is also living out what we learn, it is sharing experiences, it is watching a model and being a model. Paul’s last words to the elders in Ephesus emphasizes this. Acts 20:17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
[1] Warren Wiersbe, On Being a Servant of God, Pg. 26,
3 This choosing factor is important and says something about the discipler’s obligation to determine whom he will teach.
[2] Jay E. Adams, A Theology of Christian Counseling: Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling, Zondervan Publishing, pgs. 88, 89