"Son Timothy, Prepare Well to Be a ‘Type’ for Believers As I Have Been"

Living a life of godliness is a major focus of this letter as 1 Tim. 3:16 states says so clearly:  "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."  In chapter 4 as we have seen already, the apostle continues this theme.  Believers, he writes, are to manifest the godliness of the son of God through the "life giving spirit" (1 Cor. 15:45) we have all received.  Here though Paul calls on young Timothy to be an example for all he will mentor so that they, as "types" for all believers, may work out the work of God in the midst of the church which is according to 1 Tim. 3:15, "the pillar and ground of the truth".  Interestingly, the entire letter has as a major theme the hierarchical order of the creation, whether in the inanimate universe, in the angelic sphere, in the nations, in the churches, in marriages and families.  So Timothy is called upon here to be a "type" of other leaders just as Paul has been to him and so many.