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When we reach the epistles to Timothy and Titus, we observe in each features similar
to those in the other. This we should expect if both were written at about the same
period. Let us notice how these three epistles open.
"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord
Jesus Christ, which is our hope; unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy,
and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord" (I Tim. 1: 1, 2).
"Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's
elect, and the acknowledging of God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began,
but hath in due times manifested His word through preaching, which is committed unto
me according to the commandment of God our Saviour; to Titus mine own son after the
common faith: Grace, mercy and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
our Saviour" (Titus 1: 1-4).
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life
which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy and peace,
from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord" (II Tim. 1: 1, 2).
Clearly what is uppermost in the Apostle's mind is "life". The hope of eternal life
which God promised. According to the promise of life. The Lord Jesus Christ which is
our hope. Can we not see, that with imprisonment and death so near to him, "the blessed
hope" would more and more become a precious reality? The title "God our Saviour", or
"Jesus Christ our Saviour", is characteristic of these latter epistles. One other noteworthy
feature is the Apostle's introduction of the word "mercy" into his salutations. In this he
probably had in view the responsibilities of the ministry that he is passing on to Timothy
and Titus.
Paul was an Apostle by the will of God. This he asserts in the opening of five of his
epistles, viz., I and II Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians and II Timothy. The
consciousness of this will supported the Apostle in his hours of stress, and when all
external evidences were against him, he could fall back upon the fact that he had not
sought the Lord, but that the Lord had sought and found him, and all that he was and all
that he had accomplished was by the grace of God.
Timothy, in a very special sense, was the Apostle's son in the faith and like father and
son they served and suffered together. While they had much in common there were
decided differences in their characters. Timothy seems to have been of a very retiring
nature, a little inclined to err on the side of asceticism, conscious of his youth, and made
continual calls upon the Apostle's care, counsel and help. There was another particular in
which they differed and that was in relation to their upbringing. This will be seen more
clearly if we first of all set out the structure of the opening section of the epistle, which
we now do.