II Timothy 2:2

“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

What is ‘faithful’? The Greek word is ‘pistois’ and is also translated as ‘reliable’ (NIV, NLT). 

Paul is differentiating ‘faithful, reliable’ men from others in the same community. We might call this ‘selection’. It is not to be confused by ‘favoritism’ (James 2:9), for the ‘faithful, reliable’ man often is self-selected by his own actions and character. 

Timothy is directed to ‘entrust’ what he has learned to a certain type of man. Paul is charging Timothy to seek out men who are already responsive to God and eager to grow. These are ‘faithful’ men. A helpful acronym for the discipler is to look for men who are F.A.T. This stands for Faithful, Available and Teachable. 

This was the strategic ministry philosophy of Jesus. Paul didn’t make this up. Jesus could have healed tens of thousands and he could have preached 24/7 – but he did not.  He chose to make it a priority to invest in a few F.A.T. men and make disciples who would make disciples.