📣 1 Timothy 4:12 | Christ is The Ultimate Example

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📧 In today’s email…

• 📕 A quick review of what we’ve learned this week

• 💪 5 ways to take action this week

• 🧐 In case you missed it.. 👀

 🧠 Memorize

_{see if you know what words go in the blanks}

___ _ _______ ___ ___ ____ _____,

___ ___ ___ _________ ______ in s_____, in c______, __ l___, in f____, in p_____.

1 Timothy 4:12

A review of what we’ve learned 🤔 

Here’s a quick recap of what we’ve learned this week:

Background Context

• Author: Paul

• Recipient: Timothy

• When: Paul wrote this in between his two imprisonments, likely in the mid-60s AD

Passage Context

In contrast to many of Paul’s other letters (written to churches), 1 Timothy is written to a person.

Paul wrote 1 Timothy in order to help Timothy correct concerning issues at the church in Ephesus:

• A group of leaders infiltrated the Ephesian church and were spreading incorrect teachings about Jesus and what it means to follow him.

• Paul sent Timothy to confront these leaders and get things back on track.

More Context

• Ephesus was a center of pagan worship.

• When Paul left Timothy in Ephesus he instructed him to address false teachers in the church (1:3).

• Paul hoped to return to visit Timothy at some point, but wrote to him in order to address Christian behavior in the meantime (3:14–15).

Original Hebrew 🤓 

• The Greek word translated “despise” (kataphroneō) is not the jealous kind of despising. Rather, it means to “look down on” someone

  • Paul is saying to make it difficult for others to “think little of” him because his Christ-like conduct is so visible.

• The Greek word translated as “your youth” in v12 is neotēs, which at the time was used to refer to a young adult of military age.

  • Commentators estimate Timothy’s age to be somewhere from his late 20s to mid-30s, with most favoring the mid-30s at the time of Paul writing this letter to him.

Being an Example 🪞 

In the Old and New Testaments, we see that youth is not a barrier to God using you to set an example and advance His Kingdom:

The Power of Example Throughout Scripture 📖 

The Christian faith has been passed down for generations in part through the example of believers.

Remember “monkey see, monkey do” and my uncle who is a Chiropractor:

people take notice of how you speak and act, and it influences how they speak and act

This is a serious responsibility God to steward with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s walk into this calling this weekend!

Christ’s Example ✝️ 

This week we learned that no matter how old you are, you are called to live a life that others can look to as a model of Christlike behavior.

What does Christlike behavior look like?

Like this…

To live like Christ is to:

• Sacrifice for both friend and enemies

• Take on the posture of a servant

• Obey the Father

• Speak truth

Jesus’ life and sacrificial death are the ultimate example and demonstration of God’s undying love for us.

And Jesus’ resurrection shows us our ultimate destiny - we will be made completely new!

Let’s reflect Christ’s example so that others may catch a glimpse of our Savior!

As a reminder, here are 5 ways to do that in daily life:

1. 🗣️ Speech: Build others up. If someone looked at a transcript of everything you say, would they see Jesus reflected?

2. 👟 Conduct: Behave in alignment with your words.

3. ❤️ Love: Show love to everyone, especially your enemies.

4. 🕊️ Faith: Spend time with God and trust him with your circumstances

5. ☀️ Purity: Make choices about what you consume (news, tv shows, movies, music, etc.) that make you more like Jesus.

Practice: Setting An Example

🏃‍♂️ Take Action: Choose one idea from above to focus on this weekend (speech, conduct, love, faith and purity)

In Case You Missed It 👀 

In case you missed it, here are some resources to help you dive deeper into this week’s memory verse:

• 📹️ Bible Project: Overview of the 1 Timothy (link)

• 🎙️ A 6-minute podcast on 1 Timothy 4:12 by David Platt (link)

• 📚️ Life Lessons from 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus: Ageless Wisdom for Young Leaders (link)

• 🎵 Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher (Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music)

Answer key ✅ 

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

How did you do? 💡