expected to return to Ephesus shortly, but he knew of the possibility of a long delay (3:14-15) MAP W E OCCASION It is not di cult to learn from the epistle itself what situation at Ephesus constrained Paul to write at this time Read the letter through, not tarrying over details, and observe direct or indirect references to the following problems or needs: spread of false doctrine,8 spiritual coldness, personnel problems, problems of the worship services, problems related to the o ces of the church and the care of widows F PURPOSES Paul’s immediate purpose in writing was to urge Timothy to stay on at Ephesus (1:34) Timothy must have yearned to be ministering at the side of Paul again In general, Paul wrote this letter with two purposes in mind, to meet the needs caused by the occasion discussed above: (1) personal — to help Timothy; (2) ecclesiastical — to help the churches of Ephesus Underlying both of those aims was Paul’s ever-present burden of propagating and preserving the truth of the gospel The apostle clearly shared this burden with his colaborer when he spoke of the gospel as “the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted” (1:11) III SURVEY OF TIMOTHY A FIRST SCANNING Read Timothy in one sitting The purpose of this initial scanning is to get the atmosphere of the book and catch its major purposes Write down your rst impressions of the epistle and any key words and phrases that stand out as of this reading B SEGMENTS AND PARAGRAPHS Refer to Chart 97 and observe that new segments of this letter begin at the opening verse of each chapter, with these exceptions: at 6:26 in place of 6:1; and an additional unit beginning at 3:14 Mark these segments ... problems or needs: spread of false doctrine,8 spiritual coldness, personnel problems, problems of the worship services, problems related to the o ces of the church and the care of widows F PURPOSES... spoke of the gospel as ? ?the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted” (1:11) III SURVEY OF TIMOTHY A FIRST SCANNING Read Timothy in one sitting The purpose of this... (2) ecclesiastical — to help the churches of Ephesus Underlying both of those aims was Paul’s ever-present burden of propagating and preserving the truth of the gospel The apostle clearly shared