Before Paul begins to unpack the intricacies of how Timothy is to faithfully deal with the issues caused by the false teachers in the church at Ephesus he reminds his dear friend and child in the faith of the foundational goal for which the church was established by God. The people of God were created and gathered to love God and love people. And this love Paul focuses in on is the love Jesus demonstrated: self-sacrificially giving ourselves for the good of the other.