Paul began this chapter by telling Timothy of his role in making disciples (v. 2). He mentioned three “occupations” that illustrated Timothy’s work as a preacher. Two of these were directly related to the work of making disciples (soldier and farmer). In a related passage, Paul mentioned another related “occupation” – a shepherd (1 Corinthians 9:7). The work of making disciples is ongoing. We do it by doing the work of the farmer, the shepherd, and the soldier.
