²… we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, ³so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this.

The family of God is made up of brothers and sisters in Christ. How refreshing it is to hear Christians refer to each other that way, a practice that has endured since the beginning of the church. The first time Paul himself had heard that term was just after his conversion from being a “blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor” (1 Tim. 1:13), one who “used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. . . .” (Gal. 1:13). Ananias, under God’s strict orders, went to Saul (as he was then called), who was still blind from the experience, and the first thing Ananias said to him was, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus . . . has sent me to you. . . .” (Acts 9:17).

From his earliest time as a Christian, within a few days of his conversion, Paul was branded in his own mind by a new identity: he was “Brother Saul.” The ones he had persecuted were now his brothers! Now, this is not a term for a religious order but a new designation for all believers. In fact, the book of Hebrews, referring to all believers, says, “[Jesus] is not ashamed to call them brethren . . .” (Heb. 2:11). Yes, the church is the household of God (see Eph. 2:19 and 1 Tim. 3:15).

So it is quite natural that Paul should refer to Timothy as “our brother.” He adds, “and God’s fellow worker.” This designation puts him in company with those who have particularly given themselves over to the Lord’s service: Prisca and Aquila, Urbanus, Titus, Epaphroditus, Clement, Justus, and others. Their common characteristics seem to be that they all worked closely with the apostle Paul or were noteworthy for their hard work in the spread of the gospel and ministering to believers. Again, this was not a term for clergy, for Prisca and Aquila were tent-makers by profession (Acts 18:1–3), as was Paul at least part time. To be called a “fellow worker” by Paul was indeed a great honor!

Timothy may not have been a particularly gifted evangelist, for otherwise Paul would not have had to instruct him to do the work of an evangelist (2 Tim. 4:5), but Paul leveraged his other abilities when he sent Timothy back to the Thessalonians in order to build them up in their faith. Yes, serving the Lord is difficult. We are all called to it, not just those in so-called “full-time ministry.” Let us work hard to be “God’s fellow workers.”

Lord, thank You for preparing me for persecution; I accept what is destined for me as a believer and will endeavor to work hard in Your work.