<p>16:10 <i>Now if Timothy comes, see that he has nothing to fear while he is with you. For he does the work of the Lord, as I do</i>- The &quot;if&quot; continues the theme of the plans of these early Christians not being at all set in stone or somehow set in stone by God's will. They used their initiative in planning as they thought best, and those plans were therefore at times open ended. The basis for acceptance of Timothy was that he did the work of the Lord Jesus- the Lord was working through him, and that was a good enough reason for believers to work with Timothy. This sets a powerful challenge to the parochialism of many in the Lord's body today. Paul writes to Timothy urging him not to fear, and yet he tries to pave the way so that Timothy would have no reason to fear. Paul's &quot;work of the Lord&quot; was the Corinthians (9:1 &quot;Are you not my work in the Lord?&quot;), and Timothy was sharing in this.</p>