Second Timothy One
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
· One of the traits found in the apostolic calling is that he is sent with the full credentials of power and authority belonging to Christ Himself. The maturing of Christ’s spiritual gifts is the result of a life of oneness with the resurrected Christ in uncompromising obedience and purity to Him.
· The apostle can only proclaim the life of the resurrected Christ to us to the degree that he lives in it.
Romans 15:19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached( I have filled up the gospel) the gospel of Christ.
It is important for us to be aware that if we are to do our part in filling up the gospel of Christ it will never be accomplished through our mere preaching of God’s word. The gospel must be proclaimed in the power of the signs and wonders that accompany our spiritual gifts.
Sign:The manifestation of a spiritual gift as it is focused upon the believer to prove his or her authority as one sent by God.
Wonder: The manifestation of the same spiritual gift, as it is focuses upon the ones that behold it, to stimulate them to wonder and amazement and the giving of glory to God.
3 I thank God, whom I serve(our religious service to the Lord) from my forefathers with pure (free from evil, innocent because it is free from evil, and resulting in nothing that the devil or man can point an accusatory finger at) conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
The conscience is a simple barometer of what dwells in our lives. A pure conscience reflects a life that has nothing for the devil to hold on to and keep us in bondage, or for the worse of heathen to lawfully charge us with wrongdoing.
· Serve: There are different aspects that describe the Christian as a servant of the Lord.
One is the servant in the capacity of his or her relationship to God. Yes, our relationship with God is always one of sons or daughters. Our sonship however must be executed in the capacity of “love slaves” of the Lord Jesus Christ or what is called a “doulos.”
The second aspect is the servant in the capacity of his or her ministry by the use of spiritual gifts. This is the “diakonos”.
The third type, which is the one mentioned in verse three, is the servant in the capacity of rendering general religious service versus another type of occupation. This is “latreo”
For believers to serve in their religious occupation, it must be done with a pure conscience.
4 Greatly desiring(pursuing with love) to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
The defining principle for mentors; spiritual fathers and mothers.
Greek: Paul had an unceasing remembrance of Timothy; as he daily and nightly longed for him. Paul was reminded of this as he counted his own tears, knowing that only at seeing Timothy would he be filled with joy.
6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift (charismatic or spiritual gift) of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
Stir up: to bring back to life the dying embers on a grill. When the fire on a charcoal grill is in danger of going out, we must stir up the breaking pieces of coal and fan them back into the reddish glow of heat. This is what must be done with our spiritual gifts. First we must discover what they are.
Sadly to say, most of the body of Christ has no idea what their spiritual gifts are.
Secondly, we must step out in faith with the little in which the Lord begins to use us in. As we do, the Lord will give us and we will keep our gifts glowing red for the Lord’s service.
2 Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
· The spirit of fear- The spirit of cowardice.
· Sound mind – Greek: making wise or understanding. A mind that operates in wisdom is one that understands the will of God and walks in His ways. This type of thinking matures the believer in spiritual discernment and discretion, which allows the Christian to refrain from what, is evil, resulting in self-control. Hence a “sound mind.”
· The believer must live out of God’s dunamis power in the same way that a tree does from its roots. Such a believer lives out of the grace or the labor of Christ and goes from glory to glory in the strength of the Lord.
The next two verses out of Philippians is an expose on Timothy by Paul. This is the description of the man or woman of God that is compelled by God’s divine and self-sacrificing love.
Philippians 2:20 For I have no man likeminded ( Greek: of a soul that is of equal desires to that of Paul) , who will naturally care for your state.
21 For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.
Greek: For all are seeking their own things and “not” (absolute negative which implies almost like saying “never”) the things that interest Christ. Was Paul referring to Christians or heathens? Is this his definition of the church at large?
A life which is lived out of God’s rhema word and strength; a divine love which God works to compel the believer to go to the ends of the earth for Him, and a sound mind that allows the Christian to choose the excellent over the good, is what will allow Timothy to overcome all obstacles and face all dangers described in verse eight.
2Tim 1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony (martyrdom) of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
The testimony of our Lord. From the word that mean martyr or martyrdom; the only way that we can give adequate evidence of the Lord is through our dying on the cross so that the Christ within us can be revealed for a testimony to a lost and dying world. Timothy was to present enough external evidence of the person of the Lord Jesus living within him, so that his hearers would have a sufficient platform to either accept or reject the gospel for themselves. This the meaning of Mat 24:14 and “the gospel of the kingdom preached in all the world for witness.”
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Are we doing our part to present the gospel with an accurate and undeniable evidence (as spiritual martyrs of the Lord) which will allow for the jury of the world to either accept or reject it contingent upon our testimony of it?
· The witness of the Lord was to be manifested through Timothy’s use of his spiritual gifts as found in verse six.
The purpose of spiritual gifts is to manifest externally in plain evidence the Lord Jesus Christ who lives within us in a mystery .
2Tim 1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony(martyrdom) of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
Partaker of the afflictions – A co- sharer in the hardships, afflictions and evils brought upon us by the gospel. We are to be partakers of these hardships together with Paul for the purpose of bringing salvation to men and women.
Colossians 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up (supplement) that which is behind ( deficient) of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
· Paul saw Christ’s sufferings in the believer (not those brought forth by sin or maliciously by Satan) as the source of what supplements what is deficient in the church. Any man or woman of God desirous to be used greatly in supplementing and meeting the deficiencies of the church will only do so through the avenue of suffering and sacrifice.
2Tim 1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony(martyrdom) of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
· According to the power of God – There is nothing worse than to see a believer ministering according to his own power, programs, or psychological Christianity. What we minister without must be restricted to what we see Christ labor within.
Ephesians 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power( the energy of His dunamis power)
· Paul was made a minister in relationship to the grace of God which is the labor of Christ within him.
· Effectual working of his power. The grace of Christ therefore is defined as the energy put out by His dunamis power. We must learn to ride on the crest of the wave of this superhuman power and not our own strength.
2 Tim 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
Called us with an holy calling: The holiness of the Lord is what cuts or sets us apart from those who do not know God so that He can utilize us for His sacred, uniquely rare, and highly specialized eternal purposes. This is the opposite of what the world is involved at large. The common purposes entangling the masses are what God calls the profane. My father has always told me “Jose, remember the crowd is usually wrong.”
Ezekiel 44:23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
The calling of God entails first an invitation for us to become born again. This calling however must lead us into our spiritual vocation, which is holy, cut from the world, and highly specialized in a military fashion of sorts. If as believers we are simply content to become born again, but do not allow the Lord to separate us enough from the profane, we will not enter into the fullness of our spiritual vocation and will have missed our calling.
2 Tim 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began
· Not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace.
· It is important to know that with every God given vocation, the Lord Jesus will also equip us spiritually and materially fully so that we can execute this calling successfully. The grace or labor of Christ’s endows us with all that is necessary. If we are not operating within our calling, the grace of Christ will not be fully present and neither will be His endowments. As I teach everywhere, we must realize the difference between being religiously busy, versus walking in our calling. This difference is huge!
10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
(Greek: appearing “epiphany”). In Christ’s appearing resides His labor or grace, which is proportional to how much He is manifested. This is because Christ is always laboring for the salvation of men. Even in heaven, Christ is constantly interceding. His labor always brings forth the incorruptness of eternal life, which we are commanded to take a hold of and make our own. Knowing Christ is the same as taking a hold of this life. It is never enough for us to simply become saved.
John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
1 Tim 1:11 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
· In relationship to the revelation of Christ who calls us into our vocation by His grace and superhuman energy, we receive our ministries. True ministries can never be the planning of men but must come as the vocations brought to us by the revealed Christ. Some of the riches found in Christ are the ministries and spiritual gifts dwelling within Him.
12 or the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
· The sufferings of Christ come to us in proportion to our spiritual vocations. The greater the calling, the more intense and longer will be our period of training.
· Paul is convinced in verse twelve that God is of sufficient power to guard the very calling the He gave to Paul in the first place until the commencement of the eternal ages. The guarding of God here does not simply mean the watchful eye of God hovering over Paul. God’s mode of guarding is to lead, labor, and supply continuously within Paul so that the apostle might be faithful to execute his ministerial responsibilities till the consummation of his earthly life.
13Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
Greek: Hold fast the outline or pattern of healthy words…in a world that belongs to faith and love.
· Here is one way of our fulfilling all that Paul has spoken to us since the chapter began. Only the outline of the healthy words (comprised of the gospel) placed before our eyes can accomplish this. Doctrines of men such as selfish financial prosperity and our “American Santa Claus God” who has come to make us materially wealthy, and shower us with continuous gifts of miracles and blessings, is not the form of healthy words.
14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
·The Holy Spirit is He who guards the gifts of the Spirit as well as the words of the gospel within the believer. A life of disobedience results in the enemy making inroads into our lives by the landing strip that we create for him to fly in and land upon us.
Ephesians 4:27 Neither give place (a space which has been marked off) to the devil.
15 This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.
· Verse fifteen should help me when I am rejected for the gospel’s sake.
16 The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed ( to cool as with a breeze) me, and was not ashamed of my chain:
17 But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me.
· He sought out Paul with great diligence.
18 The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.
· Greek paraphrase: He ministered extremely well to Paul in relationship to his ministry and giftings.
Jose and Mary Alvarez 