1 Timothy 5:3-16 | Building a Healthy Church | Trent Hunter
Widows are near to the heart of God, and so it is no surprise that the matter of their care fills a good portion of Paul’s first letter to Timothy. The early church invested great energy in the care of their widows. It is possible that in Ephesus the church’s generosity was unsustainable. Paul, in 1 Timothy 5:3–16, seems to offer needed regulation on how the church went about its care for its older widowed members. Many things have changed since the first century, but something clear remains: the church’s responsibility to its most vulnerable members. Some work will need to be done to reconstruct the historical situation, but once we do we’ll see a beautiful picture of how God cares for His people.
