2 Timothy chapter 1

Paul greets Timothy. Timothy has many gifts for ministry. Jesus Christ is the center of their lives and ministries. Yet everyone has abandoned Paul.

 


 

GREETINGS

 

VERSE 1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus,

 

VERSE 2. to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

my beloved child. St. Paul refers to Timothy as his beloved “child.”

When you minister to someone else, mentoring them in the ways of Christian discipleship, that person becomes like a “child” to you.

Children are indeed a gift from God. That is true in the natural sense, and it is also true in the spiritual sense.

Psalm 127:3. Behold, children are a heritage of the LORD. The fruit of the womb is his reward.

 

VERSE 3. I thank God, whom I serve as my forefathers did, with a pure conscience. How unceasing is my memory of you in my petitions, night and day

How unceasing … in my petitions. Paul was constantly praying for Timothy.

 

VERSE 4. longing to see you, remembering your tears, that I may be filled with joy;

longing to see you. Paul wished to see Timothy.

remembering your tears. What were these tears all about? Perhaps they were the tears of parting.

 

VERSE 5. having been reminded of the sincere faith that is in you, which lived first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded, in you also.

Lois … Eunice. Paul was very familiar with Timothy’s family of origin.

 

TIMOTHY RECEIVED MINISTRY GIFTS

 

VERSE 6. For this cause, I remind you that you should stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

NIV translation. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Second Letter to Timothy and from the entire Bible.

gift. The Greek word is χάρισμα (“charisma”). It means an undeserved favor, a gift of grace. It is the same word as Paul used when discussing the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

stir up the gift of God which is in you. We are to fan into flame the gift(s) God has given us. They are not meant to go stagnant. If we let our gifts go dormant, we will probably soon find ourselves listless and searching for meaning.

Psalm 39:3. My heart was hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned. I spoke with my tongue:

through the laying on of my hands. In the early days, the Holy Spirit arrived by wind and fire at Pentecost. But later, the Holy Spirit usually arrived by the laying on of hands. Read more »

 

VERSE 7. For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.

When we walk with the LORD God, we can overcome our fears and be bold. As bold as a lion! Read more »

 

VERSE 8. Therefore don’t be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but endure hardship for the Good News according to the power of God,

 

CHRIST THE CENTER

 

VERSE 9. who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before times eternal,

who saved us. The Bible tells us we are saved by God’s grace, and not by our own works. Read more »

called us with a holy calling. It is after you’re saved that you’re called to live a holy life.

We Christians are in fact called to holiness. We’re to be holy, dedicated to God.

But many people get that turned around. They think the essence of getting saved is that you live a holy life, and then God saves you. That’s backwards.

in Christ Jesus before times eternal. Since before the creation of the universe, God had been planning to offer you his plan of eternal salvation. Elsewhere, Saint Paul wrote about that plan with these words:

Ephesians 1:4. even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love;

according to his own purpose and grace. God’s eternal purpose was to show you his grace. God is all about showing things to you, revealing things to you. But sometimes people feel that God tries to conceal things from them. No, God’s intent is to show you his grace.

in Christ Jesus. God’s plan to show you his grace is centered on Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ isn’t some peripheral bystander in the plan of God. No, he is front-and-center to the whole thing.

That’s how Jesus himself saw it. He called himself the gatekeeper (John 10:3), the gate (John 10:7), and the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6).

 

VERSE 10. but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Good News.

 

VERSE 11. For this I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

 

VERSE 12. For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.

 

VERSE 13. Hold the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

 

VERSE 14. That good thing which was committed to you, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

 

EVERYONE HAS ABANDONED PAUL

 

VERSE 15. This you know, that all who are in Asia turned away from me, of whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.

all who are in Asia turned away from me. Paul is nearing the end of his life. Almost everybody he ever knew has deserted him.

 

VERSE 16. May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain,

the house of Onesiphorus. Onesiphorus is one of the very few people on earth who are still loyal to Paul.

 

VERSE 17. but when he was in Rome, he sought me diligently and found me

 

VERSE 18. (the Lord grant to him to find the Lord’s mercy in that day); and in how many things he served at Ephesus, you know very well.

 


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2 TIMOTHY

CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04

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