Timothy the Child in the Faith of Paul

Paul sent this letter to Timothy who he called "his child in the
faith" to encourage him and to give him orders. And Timothy is not the
only one who was called "child in faith" by Paul but some other
apostles were also called his child in faith or his beloved child. So
what is the importance of this "father son" relationship between Paul
and Timothy in this letter and other stories in the Bible? What do we
have to learn from this relationship?

One of the purposes that Paul sent this letter to his beloved child in
faith Timothy is to give him orders (1:18). And the orders that he
gave him was to "wage the good warfare" by holding faith. Because , in
the time that Paul wrote this letter, both Paul, Timothy and the other
christians were being persecuted for the sake of the Gospel. So Paul
had to send this letter to encourage them in the battle for keeping
their faith. Paul continued to encouraged them in 2 Timothy also and
wrote to Timothy "to be strengthened by the grace" in Christ (2
Timothy 2:1).

"You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus..."
- 2 Timothy 2:1

Father Son Relationship in the Old Covenant

There are also stories in the Old Testament where people without blood
relationship are characterize through "father son" relationship. One
of the stories that we have to keep in mind when we study 1 Timothy is
the story of Moses and Joshua. Joshua served Moses as a servant from
the time when he was young, and he lead the people of Israel into the
promised land instead of Moses who could not enter the land of Canaan.
 The resemblance between this story and 1 Timothy is that Moses
encouraged "his son" Joshua at the end of his life by saying "Be
strong and courageous (Deuteronomy 31:6)". And Moses sent Joshua to
the battle for entering the promised land. So there is a similarity
between this story and the story of Paul in 1 Timothy encouraging
Timothy his child in faith for the fight of faith. And this "father
son" relationship between Moses and Joshua continued in between Joshua
and the people of Israel after the death of Moses. So Joshua
encouraged the people of Israel by saying "Be strong and courageous
(Joshua 1:6, 9)". The battle for the promised land was inherited from
Moses to Joshua and Joshua to Israelites.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it
is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or
forsake you."
- Deuteronomy 31:6

There are some other stories that include the "father son"
relationship. For example, in the story of Elijah and Elisha, Elisha
cried out to Elijah "My father, my father!" even though they had no
blood relationship between them. After this, Elijah gave Elisha "the
spirit of Elijah" and so he continued Elijah's work as a prophet.

"And Elisha saw it and he cried, "My father, my father! The chariots
of Israel and its horsemen!" And he saw him no more. Then he took hold
of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces."
- 2 Kings 2:12

The Qualifications for Overseers

In the letter to Timothy, Paul taught him about the qualifications for
overseers. And in the list (3:1-13), one of the conditions that Paul
mentioned was that the overseers must be the men who manage his own
household well and keep his children submissive. And the same
conditions are listed about the Deacons also in the next section.
Because if they can not manage their own household, there is no way
that they can manage the church. From this chapter, we can conclude
that the relationship between the church and the church leaders are
also the "father son" relationship.