In Philippians 2:19-22, Paul is writing a letter in response to the church in Philippi. Prisons back then didn’t provide food or supplies to inmates; all came from either family or friends.  Paul takes a moment in his letter to commend his son, Timothy, whom he would be sending to them shortly.  In Paul’s words, there was no one else like Timothy when it came to sonship.  No one else like-minded, all others were seeking their own and not that which was Christ’s.  Paul knew Timothy would care for the Philippians just as he himself would.  Timothy had the same spirit as Paul.  After all, he was his son, right?

Let’s take a closer look.  Timothy was not Paul’s natural offspring but he calls him his son.  Over the years, through laboring together Timothy had taken on Paul’s spirit.  They had a kindred spirit and Timothy knew the ways of Paul.  Timothy would be trusted to represent Paul fully.  To Paul, Timothy was different from a servant or even a fellow soldier in the gospel.  Timothy was his son.  Sons are rare.  Sons differ from servants because they know what the Father would want, they share his heart.  Servants always need to be told what to do.  A son who serves knows what to do to carry out the plans of the Father without being told.  Sons are rare because most people see their OWN!  When our hearts are self-oriented we cannot embrace another’s heart.

When we die to ourselves, we are able to feel the heart of another and use our lives to accomplish their purpose. This is Sonship.  Timothy didn’t come to Christ through Paul, nor was he raised in a church Paul pastored.  Timothy became a son by choice, by adoption.  Paul and Timothy became close during the many adventures they shared in Paul’s journeys.  They traveled together to many places (Philippi, Berea, Thessalonica, Corinth and Ephesus).  Timothy was in prison with Paul in Rome.  Timothy’s great usefulness was that he was prepared to do anything, go anywhere, be a servant or a leader, anything at all to fulfill the vision God had given to Paul.  People become sons by either birth or adoption.  Adoption is a two way street.  We adopt a child but the child must also adopt us.  (This also applies to the church).  The child adopted becomes part of the local family.  He takes on the spirit of the house.  This does not always happen if one is not baptized into the spirit of the house, they are sons and daughters in name only.  Some offspring never embrace the spirit, values, or ways of their natural family, while others are adopted and become true sons in the house.  Even those born again under this ministry and in this house have no guarantee that they will become sons or daughters in this house.  The desire to become a son and the willingness to die to self are essential to sonship.