Paul’s Letters To Individuals

1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon

How does this type of literature fit into the Bible as a whole?

Since starting the church of Ephesus on his second missionary journey, much had taken place in Paul’s life and in the lives of established churches. Paul was imprisoned, then released and resumed his ministry of planting new churches and cultivating existing ones. Since Paul often brought along several different companions, some of them ended up staying behind as his understudies when he journeyed onward.

When Paul went on to Macedonia, he urged Timothy to remain in Ephesus to address the challenges being presented by significant false teaching. Similarly, on his third missionary journey, Paul took Titus with him to plant churches on the island of Crete, eventually leaving Titus to complete the unfinished work “and appoint elders in every town” (Titus 1:5). This task was difficult because the young churches had to contend with false teachers in a notoriously immoral setting.

1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus –known as “pastoral epistles”– find Paul writing to individuals with leadership responsibilities in order to give them guidance in handling issues that needed attention within their churches. Philemon, on the other hand, was a wealthy Christian leader living in Colossae who served the church by hosting others believers in his home. When Philemon’s servant, named Onesimus, fled to Rome (possibly with stolen property), he somehow came into contact with Paul, became a Christian, and ended up greatly assisting Paul during his imprisonment. From house arrest in Rome, Paul wrote a short and persuasive letter seeking the repair of a fractured relationship between the two men who were now equally brothers in Christ.

How do we read Paul’s Letters to Individuals normally?

Paul’s letters to individuals have much in common with those written to churches. Yet, these epistles are comparatively less theological in order to focus more practically on encouraging leaders to oversee both themselves and their church responsibilities. Taking on a personal and fatherly tone, Paul coached and encouraged these leaders to fight for the church in terms of unity, doctrine, and a lifestyle that aligns with the Gospel.

Keeping in mind the leadership demands in the first century church, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon collectively faced a backdrop of combative false teachers, discouraging circumstances like cultural corruption, and interpersonal strife. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul directly encouraged these men to lead and teach well, to live and require a lifestyle in sync with the Gospel, and to stand up to false teaching. Thus, a modern audience can easily apply these encouragements, commands, and qualifications for leadership to their lives and churches.

How does this part of the Bible point to Jesus?

The pastoral epistles are well aware of Jesus as the perfect leader and ultimate source of truth; how He lived, led, and taught never wandered into error or compromise. Moreover, Jesus taught and equipped His followers not to waver, even in the face of persecution or heresy. Coming from the Father with grace and truth (John 1:14), Jesus makes transformed character and reproductive leadership possible. In light of the Gospel and being empowered by the Spirit, the elders and leaders of God’s church are to hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught in order to encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it (Titus 1:9). In Philemon, Paul is adamant that estranged men of different status be reconciled because God spanned a cosmic divide to overcome our great offense of sin. Since Jesus became a servant (Philippians 2:7) and in a sense is our brother (Hebrews 2:11-12), this reality should correct our vision to the point that we regard our spiritual siblings in the same way He does.

How do Paul’s Letters to Individuals fit into our lives today?

In Luke’s account of the acts of the apostles we see that Saul, a devout Jew, dramatically encounters the risen Jesus. Saul, now Paul, devotes his allegiance to Jesus and the mission to bring healing to a broken and rebellious world. Time and time again the scriptures bear out that Paul’s mission was never self-focused. Rather, Paul’s mission always centered around the person and work of Jesus Christ. Anyone who received Paul’s teaching did not receive Paul, but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This is crucial when we look at individual letters written by Paul in the New Testament. Yes, the letters are written with specific instruction, instances, and correction in mind, but the trajectory in each letter draws all attention to Jesus as the true model of integrity, love, and devotion. These letters make it crystal clear that following Jesus is not about elevating ourselves or our interests in the name of Jesus. On the contrary, these letters give us hope that the good news of Jesus and the power of the Spirit can transform us, our cultures, and, by God’s grace, the world.