Who are:

Who Are Lois and Eunice?

These two ladies are only mentioned once in the Bible but they play an important role in Timothy’s life. Lois is the grandmother of Timothy and the mother of Eunice. Eunice is the mother of Timothy as you can see in 2 Timothy 1:5.

2Timothy 1:5:

5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

Lois and Eunice raised Timothy in the Lord. Because of this, Paul was able to call him brother as you can see in

2 Corinthians 1:1

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

and

Philemon 1:1

1 Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,

Paul could address Timothy as a brother when addressing the church of Corinth and when he wrote to Philemon a wealthy Christian of Colossae.

Hebrews 13:23

23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you

2 Timothy 1:2

2 To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Here Paul is addressing Timothy as his dearly beloved son. Timothy was Paul’s spiritual son, not his physical son. It was Eunice and Lois who raised Timothy and taught him spiritually. Because of them, Timothy would be one of the men to lead the church after Paul died. Paul wrote this epistle to Timothy to encourage him to keep his faith in the Lord after he is gone.

In the following verses, it is believed that Timothy’s mom was a Jewess while his dad was a Greek (meaning Gentile). His mom raised him to know Jewish customs. Eunice and Lois may have become Christians in Lystra during Paul’s ministry. Because of his upbringing and his close relationship with Paul, Timothy would be able to face what would happen and keep his faith in Jesus.

Acts 16:1–3

16 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:

2 Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.

3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.

In conclusion, we may not know much about these Christian women, but we do know that they raised Timothy to be a good Christian man who would be a follower of Jesus and be able to lead others. What a wonderful Christian women Lois and Eunice were!

Phebe

Before talking about our sister in Christ, Phebe, let’s understand Romans 16:1,2. The epistle or letter to the Romans was written in the mid 50’s AD by the apostle Paul. Paul wrote this epistle to the Christians of Rome to encourage them to keep their faith. He was in his third missionary and Corinth Greece when he wrote the Epistle of Romans. He was staying with Gaius, his host (Romans 16:23). It is believed that Phebe was sent to the Roman church to deliver this letter to the Christians.

Let’s read Romans 16:1,2, “I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also”. By reading these two verses we learn some things about Phebe. We know that she was a Christian and helped spread the gospel. Even though she was a woman she could still help spread God’s word as we can read in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus”. We are all God’s children and as such we need to make sure everyone hears our Father's words. One can see women and men working side by side in the Bible. As you can read in 1 Corinthians 3:9, “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building”.

In these verses, we learn that Phebe is our sister in Christ because Paul writes “I commend unto you Phebe our sister”, (Romans 16:1). And only the ones that are baptized can be called sisters or brothers (Mark 16:16, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned”). We also learn that she was a servant to the church of Cenchrea. A servant serves others because they want to. As Christians, we need to serve others with joy. Phebe was also a helper to Paul and others. That means if there was a need, she gratefully helped. We don’t know how she helped but it was important enough for Paul to mention it in his letter. We need to be like Phebe. We need to serve others with joy and make sure that when we say we will help we do it. Last, we learn that she needed help of some kind. Paul tells the Christians to help her since she has helped others. Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”. If we have a need, we need to ask others for help. And if others need our help if we can, we need to help. God loves it when we give with joy as we read in 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver”.

Phebe is a great example for us to emulate. For she is a sister in Christ, a servant to her church and God, and she loves to serve others. She is mentioned by name by Paul for a reason. Foremost, she was essential in helping Paul spread our Father’s gospel to others. So let’s be like our sister in Christ, Phebe, and be a servant of God and help others when we can.