A Study of 2 Timothy 1
A Study of 2 Timothy 1
As biblical students there are certain rules we need to
adhere to. We all know that any verse has to be kept in its context to be able
to rightly divide it. We also must know to whom a verse is written to be able
to see how it applies to them and then see how we can get a benefit from the
verses that are not written directly to us. This applies not only in the Hebrew
Scriptures but also in the book of Acts as well as in the general epistles
1&2 Peter and 1, 2, &3 John. There are also books written to Groups
such as Hebrews and James, there are books addressed to Timothy, Titus, Jude,
and Philemon. If you don’t remember that then you will end up incorrectly
dividing God’s word. The seven Church Epistles are the only books written directly
to us and, the general epistles apply directly to us.
We are going to look at chapter 1 of 2 Timothy a book that
was written to an individual and applies directly to his life. The scriptures
need to be understood in that light or you will sooner or later have the book
saying things it doesn’t say. Once we see how the information applies to
Timothy then we apply those general principals to our life. I can take verses
out of context and build whole religions around them.
1Timothy 5:23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy
stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.
Okay the word says to not drink water but instead we are all
to switch and start drinking wine. Sounds like the base of a new religion to
me. After all the word says we are suppose to do that right?
Of course not, the word teaches no such thing. That verse is
directed to an individual not the body of believers. It is like if you were to
minister healing to someone and you were directed to tell them to drink more
water, it applies to that person in that situation it doesn’t mean you start
directing everyone to start drinking more water.
All the rules of biblical interpretation must be applied to ever verse. This is
one of the most important things for any biblical students to remember.
Psalm 14:1 The fool hath said
in his heart, [There is] no God
So now we know from the word “There is no God” Does the word
say there is no God? Yes it does if I pull it from its context that is exactly
what I can make the word of God say. All I have to do is leave off the part
about the fool having said.
There are things that we can learn from in those books not
directly addressed to us. Some time read Hebrews 11. It talks about the cloud
of witnesses with which we are surrounded. A testament to those who came before
us and who believed God and took God at his word and because of their believing
the word and the promises of God came down to us. We can read about these
people and see how they believed what God had promised them. We can then find what
God has promised us and believe that what God says he will do, he will do.
So bearing all of this in mind let us go to 2 Timothy 1.
2 Timothy 1:1 Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life
which is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my
dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ
Jesus our Lord.
This book is written
to Timothy. It applies directly to Tim not to us directly. We can find out
about Tim and see how we can take what is written here and use it in our life.
We look at the principals taught and see how they work in our lives.
3 I thank God, whom I
serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have
remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
4 Greatly desiring to
see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
Paul and Timothy must
have had a very special relationship. He wanted to see Timothy again. As you
stand you will find these sorts of relationships develop. You will get close to
people in the word and then you part from each other you go left and they go
right. The thing is those people will be a part of your heart for the rest of
your lives. From August 1975 till August of 1977 I was with a group of
believers. We worked together to move the word, we saw each other daily, we
prayed together ,we believed for each other, we cried on each other’s
shoulders. Those people will always be special to me. I have not seen any of
them since the 1980’s and yet I still think about them and pray for them. I
smile at some of those memories. That is what Paul is talking about. Timothy
had a big effect on him. Don’t be surprise as you stand if you get really close
to someone and then for whatever reason God wants them someplace else or he needs
you someplace else.
5 When I call to
remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy
grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
Okay so one of the
other things we need to do as biblical students is make sure we know what words
mean. If you do not know what unfeigned means then you won’t understand what
Paul is saying.
Unfeigned is: not feigned; sincere; genuine.
Feigned
What
is being said that faith runs in Timothy’s family his mother and his grandmother
both exhibited great faith. There is a real history in his family of believing
what God has said. This is often the case, my mother was the first to share God's word with me. She got me to respect the word of God long before I started to study it.
6 Wherefore I put thee in
remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting
on of my hands.
7 For God hath not given us
the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
There is a great deal
of information in these two verses but they go together. Verse seven is used by
many who study the word. Far too many pull verse seven out of its context and
magnify it to the hilt and forget it goes with verse six. Now there is a great
principal in verse seven something people need to know. Fear does not come from
God. There are words translated fear that in context mean a different kind of
fear or should not be translated fear. This is the only place the Greek word
1 Samule11:7 And he
took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent [them] throughout all
the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not
forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the
fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.
In this verse the
word fear means respect. Fear of the LORD should normally be translated respect
for the lord.
Here are a few of
more examples:
Psa 111:10 The fear
of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they
that do [his commandments]: his praise endureth for ever.
Provebs 1:7 The fear
of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and
instruction.
1 Peter 3:15 But
sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give] an answer
to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness
and fear:
In context these all
mean respect.
Fear can also mean
being afraid such as it does in these verses:
Matthew 28:5
And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear
not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6 He
is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord
lay.
7 And
go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold,
he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
8 And
they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run
to bring his disciples word.
9 And
as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail.
And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
10 Then
said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into
Galilee, and there shall they see me.
A message that runs through the entire word of God is
fear not. It was said to Mary by Gabriel. It was said to Joshua, Samuel, David,
Isaiah and many, many more. Getting back
to 1 Timothy in verse six it talks about how Paul had laid his hands on Timothy
and a gift ministry was energized in Timothy. What is being said to Timothy is
to operate his gift ministry.
It is the first lesson taught at angel school.
It is the first lesson taught at angel school.
Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended
up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
11 And
he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some,
pastors and teachers;
12 For
the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ:
13 Till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ
14 That
we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with
every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby
they lie in wait to deceive;
15
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him
in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From
whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every
joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every
part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
This is what the gift ministries are and what they are
for. Now Timothy was an evangelist according to 2 Timothy 4:5. He was also not
operating his ministry to its full potential. He had let some fear creep into
his life according to what Paul said in verse seven and he was pointing out to
Timothy that God had not given him a spirit of fear in contrast God had given him
power, love, and a sound mind.
Power the Greek word is dynamis
it is the word we get dynamite from. Potential power that won’t be exhibited
till the fuse is lit and reaches the dynamite, it is a noun, a thing. Love is
the Greek word agapē the noun form of the word that means
God’s love, it is a noun, like I said there is no action; it is just a thing we
have, it needs to be used, it then becomes a verb action and not just a thing.
A sound mind is the Greek word sōphronismos again this is a noun a thing not
activated till you take action. It is like having 3 quarters if they are sitting in your pocket they are not doing anything they are of no use till you use them to buy something then they are in action. What action needs to be taken by Timothy look
back at verse 6:
Wherefore
I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee
by the putting on of my hands.
So this verse is talking about Timothy a believer using the
gift that God gave to him. We all have been given gifts. God gave us all abilities. If nothing else there is no one
who can provide what you bring to the table. It says we are members in
particular of the body of Christ, and that body is fitly joined together. I
believe if we are walking for God we are where we are for a reason. Remember
when I mentioned those people I was with back in the 1970’s. I believe God
wanted me to be there he had a reason for the others being there as well we all
had things to teach each other. Every one of us was a born again believer who
wanted to serve God and God’s family. It was no accident any of us were there.
We bring ourselves and our ability that was given to us by
God. Have you ever thought why there is nine manifestation? Could it be that God is showing us
something by these manifestations? Is it time for you to get off the I-land and
start looking for ways to help others? If you have some great need that needs
fulfilling try helping someone else. Many of you may have heard the statement
“Born to live, Born again to serve.” We need to look for ways to do for others.
When it is made available in a meeting for people to manifest do you hide in
the corner and hope no one notices or do you Jump up and say I will! That is
the truth it is a matter it's your will. I know when I am in a meeting that God
wants his children blessed and I have an ability to make that happen. I am here
today because many years ago someone manifested on a night when I was ready to
give up because something had happened and I felt like an old wound had been
broken open and I was heart sick about it. Someone manifested that night and
God promised to bind all our old wounds if we would just stay faithful learn
his word and stand for him. I heard that and was almost in tears the next
person said God would wipe away all our tears and heal our hearts. What if no
one had manifested that night? I do not know what would have happened that
night but there were 2 believers who believed and manifested and I found the
courage to keep going that night.
That is how important we are. We speak Gods word and people’s
heart gets healed. So I encourage you stir up the gift God gave you and know you
will have a spirit of exousia which is energized power and agapaō which is
the verb form of the word love that love in action, and a sound mind anamimnēskō which is the verb form of a sound mind in action.
8 Be not thou therefore
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou
partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
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,
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:
Paul says to Timothy
not to be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord or of because he is a prisoner
for the lord. We have been given life from Jesus Christ he was God's plan for salvation. After Adam blew it God had the back up plan,
We have had it pretty simple herein the USA no one is trying to murder us for our belief. We have brothers ans sisters who put their lives on the line everyday because of their beliefs.
We have had it pretty simple herein the USA no one is trying to murder us for our belief. We have brothers ans sisters who put their lives on the line everyday because of their beliefs.
11 Whereunto I am appointed a
preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
12 For 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.
Paul isn't ashamed of
his calling and what he has to go through because he committed himself to the
lord. Now Jesus Christ will keep that which he committed unto us against that
day.
13 Hold fast the form
of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in
Christ Jesus.
14 That good thing which was
committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
15 This thou knowest, that
all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and
Hermogenes.
16 The Lord give mercy unto
the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my
chain:
17 But, when he was in Rome,
he sought me out very diligently, and found me.
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.
We are to hold fast
those words and things that have been committed unto us.
2 Corinthians 5:19 To
wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of
reconciliation.
2Timothy 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me
among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able
to teach others also.
As we go forward let us stir that gift we have and
bless many of our brothers and sisters.
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