Don't rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father; the younger men as brothers;
In short, Timothy was to relate to everyone in the church as if they were the members of his own family. Paul had already taught that the local church is a "household" (1 Timothy 3:15). Therefore believers, and especially a leader of the church, should treat other Christians accordingly. Timothy should not take an adversarial role with members of the Ephesian church.