Philippians 1:1
In all likelihood, your parents spent a considerable amount of time thinking about what they would name you. I remember what my wife and I did many years ago as we anticipated the arrival of each of our four children. In those days we had a boy’s name and a girl’s name ready because we didn’t know which gender our children would be until they were born.
Some people have interesting names and nicknames. Do you know what your name means and why you were given the name that you have? Does your name describe you well? Have you ever wanted to change your name? Do you have aliases – other names?
Not A Number. In our fast paced world you may feel like “a number” at times, but God sees you as a unique individual and one for whom Christ died. Why did He do this? God loved us and knew that we couldn’t save ourselves from eternal condemnation in the lake of fire which we all deserve (Psalm 139; John 3:16; 1 John 2:2; Romans 3:10, 23; 6:23). Maybe you haven’t heard the Good News that Christ died for your sins and rose again bodily from the dead on the third day and that He can save you or anyone else who puts his/her faith in Christ alone for salvation (Hebrews 7:25).
Names & Titles. Some people, especially royalty, have many names and titles. One source claims that Jesus Christ has about 200 of them. [1] Each one means something. How many of them could you name from memory?
Name Change. The Apostle Paul was given the name Saul by his parents. Perhaps this was to remind him of his connection to King Saul, the first king of Israel, who was a very tall man. As time went on, and after he became a Christian, he became known as “Paul” or the “small/humble one.”
Honoring God. This is what the name Timothy means. It was the name that was given to the young man who accompanied the Apostle Paul and Silas on some missionary journeys that resulted in local churches being established in Europe. From the Scriptures we learn that he had a Jewish mother and grandmother who taught him the Old Testament Scriptures, but he also had a Greek father (Acts 16:1 ff; 2 Timothy 3:15).
Impressions. It’s very possible that young Timothy may have witnessed or heard about the Apostle Paul’s being stoned to death by the Jews in his hometown of Lystra while Paul was there on his first missionary journey with Barnabas (Acts 14:19). He may have heard about his restoration to life too. Perhaps it was at this time that he and his mother and his grandmother became Christians who transitioned from being Old Testament believers into New Testament believers as was the case with the Lord’s disciples and many others.
Reputation. When Paul returned to Timothy’s hometown on his second missionary journey with Silas, Paul heard about Timothy’s good reputation and his faithfulness to the Lord and decided to take him with them. This eventually would lead them into Europe and to the city of Philippi where Paul and Silas were beaten and put in prison for casting out a demon from a young girl (Acts 16:1 ff).
Grace Principles. As Timothy accompanied Paul and Silas on their missionary journeys, he was learning New Testament grace principles for living which Paul had been taught from the Lord during his three year “seminary training” in Arabia (Galatians 1:10 ff; Ephesians 3:1 ff). His mother and grandmother had faithfully taught him from the Old Testament about the coming of the promised Messiah (Deuteronomy 18:15; 2 Timothy 3:15).
Diligence. Timothy was instructed to study to show himself approved to God and to rightly divide the Word of God and to pass the information on to other faithful men (2 Timothy 2:2, 15). He was to know the differences between Law, Grace, and Kingdom principles for living. (See Titus 1:9; Romans 6:14; Galatians 5:1 and our “Understanding The Times – Dispensations Chart” on our website for more information.). Question – If you’re a Christian, by which set of rules do you live?
Behavior. Even though he was a very young man, Timothy conducted himself in an honorable manner as Paul had instructed him to do (1 Timothy 4:12). Paul trusted him so much that he even left Timothy behind on different occasions to assist the new believers while Paul went on to other areas to serve God (Acts 17:14) after he (Paul) was chased out of town for preaching the Gospel. Later Timothy was given the responsibility to be the Pastor/teacher at Ephesus where Paul had started a local church (1 Timothy 1:3). The testimony of this church reached into Asia Minor – modern day Turkey (Acts 19:10).
Timidity. Because of intense persecution (2 Timothy 3:12), Timothy seemed to be timid at times when it came to sharing the Gospel (2 Timothy 1:6 ff; See Ephesians 6:17). This caused Paul to admonish him to be strong in the Lord and to proclaim God’s Word with boldness (2 Timothy 4:2 ff; See Romans 10:14, 15). He also warned him of the false teachers who were trying to undermine the truth of God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:1 ff; See 2 Peter 2:1 ff).
Sickness. A chronic illness that Timothy had led the Apostle Paul to urge him to avoid drinking the contaminated water but to use a little wine for his stomach’s sake (1 Timothy 5:23; See Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:19-21). It’s interesting that Paul didn’t use his healing powers to heal Timothy or some other believers who were sick (2 Timothy 4:20; Philippians 2:25-27). This special “gift of healings” (1 Corinthians 12:28) and other temporary gifts were designed to validate the Lord’s messenger and God’s Word until the Scriptures were completed (Acts 19:11 ff; 1 Corinthians 13:8-10; 14:22; Hebrews 2:4). Keep in mind that the devil, demons, and false teachers have limited power to perform miracles and to heal people (See Exodus 7:11, 23; 8;7, 18; Job 1; 2; 2 Thessalonians 2:9).
Applications: No matter what your background is, and whoever your parents are, we’ve all sinned and deserve to be separated from God forever in the lake of fire (Romans 3:10, 23; 6:23). But we don’t have to go there. Why? Christ died for our sins…and rose again bodily from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4). God promises to give us eternal life and the privilege of spending eternity with Him in heaven if we place our faith and trust in Christ alone to save us (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8, 9). Have you done this yet? If not, why not now? When you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you will instantly be saved from eternal condemnation and become a “child of God” and enter into God’s forever family (Colossians 1:13; 1 John 3:9, 10). This new relationship with God has many benefits and responsibilities associated with it (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 1:3 ff). As someone has said, “The believer’s future is as bright as the promises of God.”
Help. We’re here to assist your and others who are teachable and willing to change (2 Timothy 2:2, 15; 3:16, 17). We can be reached through our website: www.kelseypeach.com. If this has helped you, please SHARE it with others. Join us on Facebook and Youtube for our Bible studies.
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[1] Names & Titles Of Jesus. https://www.gotquestions.org/names-Jesus-Christ.html
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