Some time later Paul’s travels take him by Ephesus again. The family there needs help, so Paul leaves with them Timothy. 20
As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine… (1 Timothy 1:3).
As Paul travels on, he writes back twice. We call these letters 1 and 2 Timothy. They remind Timothy and the Ephesians of the church’s importance as God’s family.
I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth (1 Timothy 3:14-15). M
Today, for many people, the word “church” means a division of Christianity, or a building belonging to such a group. Earthly ‘temples’ – and worse – earthly ‘divisions’ are the opposite of what the Bible means by the word “church.”21 In 1 Timothy 3:15, “the church” is singular, and it is none other than “the household of God.” Many men have two or more households. This happens through divorce. It also happens when men move to cities for jobs. A man may have his first family with his country wife, then another family with his city wife. Did God do something like that as we moved to the modern age? He had one family in the first century. Does He now have many families from many mistresses? Paul’s letters to Ephesus remind us that God is not an adulterer that produces separate families. The one Father has one family.
This Father’s saving seed is His word.22 Paul, therefore, appeals to Timothy to faithfully pass along “the pattern of the sound words” (2 Timothy 1:13). Indeed, the church is “the pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). (“Buttress” can also be translated “foundation.”) The temple of Artemis provides the grandest example of a huge foundation. Its platform measures about 425 by 240 feet (129.54 by 73.15 meters). Over a hundred columns reach to a height of 60 feet (18.29 meters), making the temple visible for miles around. Other buildings in Ephesus have such firm foundations that they survive many earthquakes (and still stand today). In a spiritual sense, God’s family is like that, solid and dependable, lifting the truth high for all to see and hear. But the truth costs Paul his freedom, his reputation, his friends, his living, and finally his life. 2 Timothy is Paul’s farewell letter, written shortly before he receives the death sentence.23
20. Paul’s “true son of the faith” 1 Timothy 1:2 cf. Acts 16:1-4 with 14:6-22; 1 Timothy 1:18; 2 Timothy 1:2-6; 3:10-15; Philippians 2:19-22
22. Luke 8:11; John 8:32; 17:17; 1 Timothy 4:16; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; James 1:18, 21; 1 Peter 1:23
Picture: Early Christians were familiar with giant foundations and tall, stout pillars (like these of the Erechtheum in Athens). Paul borrowed those terms to describe God’s spiritual family (1 Timothy 3:15)