Lesson for March 2, 2022
The Book of II Timothy
Chapter 1:1-7
Verses 1-4
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my beloved son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers, night and day, longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy.”
Paul wrote II Timothy from a Roman prison just before his death in 67 A.D. By the time Paul wrote this second letter, Timothy had been pastoring the church at Ephesus for a few years. Timothy had been mentored and ordained by Paul and had ministered with Paul on his second and third missionary journeys in Troas, Philippi, and Corinth. Timothy was familiar with the church in Ephesus, having served there alongside Paul for a period of about three years. Paul wrote this second letter to provide Timothy with encouragement in the face of coming persecutions from false teachers and from the Romans.
This letter offers a picture of Paul’s life and attitude at the end of his ministry, just before his death. Paul mentioned some people who had wronged him and others who had served faithfully with him. It was not long after this letter that Timothy was imprisoned for his faith according to Hebrews 13:23. Paul encouraged Timothy to stay with sound, accurate Bible doctrine and to encourage others to do the same. Paul instructed Timothy to follow his lead of “fighting the good fight of faith (doctrine)” in I Timothy 6:12 and reminds him of this at the close of his letter.
The spiritual gift of apostle included the authority over many churches. Once the Canon of Scripture was completed in 96 A.D., this spiritual gift ceased to exist. Paul was the twelfth apostle (replacing Judas Iscariot) according to I Corinthians 15:7-10. Paul was appointed to the office of apostleship by the sovereign will of God. According to the promise of life in Christ Jesus is a reminder that we have a promise of eternal life and a spiritual life based solely on the work of Christ on the Cross and our faith in Him.
In Christ Jesus means we are in union with Christ. We share His life which is eternal life, we share His destiny, we share His election, we share His righteousness, we share His priesthood, and we share His royalty. We are in union with Christ forever and nothing can ever separate us from that union. Life in Christ also means every believer has the potential of having a successful spiritual life based on their positive response to the teaching and application of accurate Bible doctrine.
My beloved son does not mean that Paul was Timothy’s biological father. Paul used the term to describe their spiritual relationship. Paul taught Timothy as his student, and Timothy learned Bible doctrine and advanced in his spiritual life. So, in this sense Timothy was Paul’s beloved spiritual son. Though Timothy struggled at times, as we all do, he remained diligent and eventually reached spiritual maturity. No failure should destroy our spiritual advance as believers. The mechanics of recovery from failure are clearly outlined in the Word of God.
(I John 1:5-10)
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord describes the plan of God. God’s plan is always based on grace, not human works. Mercy is grace in action and the result is peace with God. Grace is then given to us as we consistently take in accurate Bible doctrine until we reach the point of having the peace of God. (Philippians 4:4-7)
You might notice that there is no reference here to God the Holy Spirit in Paul’s salutation. This is because the ministry of God the Holy Spirit in the Church Age is to glorify Jesus Christ. He does not glorify Himself. (John 7:39; 16:14;
I Corinthians 6:19-20)
I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers, night, and day, longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. Paul served God under the system of grace. The Greek word for conscience is “suneidesis,” which means the mental faculty by which one distinguishes between right and wrong. The filling of the Holy Spirit motivates us to do what is right and restrains us from doing what is wrong. The way my forefathers did refers to the spiritual heritage of Israel in the past and “the remnant according to grace” who were those believers who remained faithful to God and had a clear conscience.
As I constantly remember you in my prayers, night, and day, longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy.” Paul had plenty of time while in prison to write letters and to pray. Timothy was Paul’s “son in the faith” and he knew Timothy would be key to carrying on the ministry after Paul departed this life. Therefore, Paul spent a lot of time praying for Timothy and desired to see him once again. The tears Paul mentions could have been a tearful goodbye when Timothy departed for Ephesians. They obvious had a strong bond of love between them.
Since writing I Timothy around 66 A.D., up to the time of the writing of this letter a few years later, Paul had seen Timothy’s rapid spiritual advance. Paul was counting on Timothy, “his son in the faith,” to be a part of the continuation of the spiritual heritage of the royal family for the next generation through the accurate teaching of Bible doctrine.
Paul, therefore, was encouraging Timothy to press on. He must continue to study, learn, and teach Bible doctrine accurately. Timothy’s advance to spiritual maturity made Paul very happy. He was therefore going to die with wonderful memories about Timothy. So, Paul could see hope for the next generation.
Verses 5-7
“For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. For this reason, I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”
Acts 16:1-3a, “Now Paul also came to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there (in Lystra), named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman (Eunice) who was a believer, but his father was a Greek,and he (Timothy) was well spoken of by the brothers and sisters (believers) who were in Lystra and Iconium.Paul wanted this man to leave with him; and he took him …” Timothy was raised by two believers – his mother and his grandmother. Timothy already had a good reputation as a believer among those in the city of Lystra because of his spiritual upbringing. For this reason, Paul took Timothy with him to train him for the ministry.
For this reason, I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. Kindle afresh means to restart the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher that Timothy possessed. He had recovered from his failure as a pastor at Ephesus, but he still had the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher and he needed to use it again. Kindle afresh means to put life back into his spiritual life.
Through the laying on of my hands. Timothy had the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher which meant he was to be a communicator of Bible doctrine. The laying on of the hands was a ceremony of recognition of his gift. It took only one person who had the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher, like Paul, to perform this ceremony and recognize the gift in someone else. The apostle was reminding Timothy of the fact that he still had the gift of pastor-teacher.
For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. This verse is addressed both to Timothy and to those who have the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher. God the Father is the source of the pastor’s authority without which no man could ever stay in the ministry. A pastor is directly responsible to and answerable to God for the function of his spiritual gift.
A spirit of timidity is not part of the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher, this gift demands courage and integrity of life. No pastor can protect a congregation and be a coward. Timidity means a mental attitude of fear. A pastor must never be afraid of people, regardless of their position in the church. Timothy experienced fear in Ephesus when he was allowing himself to be bullied by some reversionistic believers and false teachers. But the mental attitude of fear is a sin, and the opposite of fear is faith – faith in God and His promises of protection.
The spirit of power that God gives is His inner power of the Holy Spirit and Bible doctrine. The primary reason for the pastor possessing authority is to teach accurate Bible doctrine. Above all else, a man who is in the pastorate must be a man of doctrine, it must be a top priority in his life.
The spirit of love means a relaxed mental attitude and the development of virtue-love toward people. The motivation for a pastor to teach accurate Bible doctrine should be personal love for God and impersonal love for his congregation. The demonstration of the pastor’s love for his congregation is the many hours he spends in the study of God’s Word and preparation to teach it accurately. (Romans 5:5; Galatians 5:22; II Timothy 2:15)
The spirit of discipline means self-discipline and self-control. This means that a pastor must discipline himself in making Bible doctrine a priority in his life. He must be organized and systematic in his study and his teaching of God’s Word. And he must not allow himself to be distracted by the details of life or the details of the ministry. Such details can be spending all his time performing deeds that should be handled by those in the congregation with the proper spiritual gift, like visiting the sick, doing administrating duties, greeting people at the door, etc. The gift of pastor-teacher is a spiritual gift sovereignly given by the Holy Spirit at salvation, totally apart from any human merit or ability. The Holy Spirit provides the teaching necessary for the pastor to grow spiritually himself based on his personal study of the Word of God. (Ephesians 4:11-13; II Timothy 2:15)
“Pastor” emphasizes authority as an overseer/shepherd of the local church and “teacher” emphasizes the communication of accurate Bible doctrine. A pastor-teacher cannot lead his congregation to spiritual adulthood without providing them with accurate Bible doctrine. Therefore, a pastor must teach the absolute truth of the Word of God, and not become involved in “controversial theological issues” that distract him from doing his job.
The Greek word for pastor is “poimen” meaning one who tends sheep but entails more than just feeding them. A pastor is to protect his “flock” from any negative influence from false doctrine, assure that the privacy of the priesthood is maintained, give sound doctrinal advice when requested, oversee the administration of the church, resolve theological disagreements, ensure an environment for concentration when doctrine is being taught, and protect the congregation from those who would be disruptive. (I Corinthians 14:40)
The Greek word for teacher is “didaskalos,” which means face-to-face teaching inside the local church building or non-face-to-face teaching by means of letters, electronics, the internet, books, etc. Paul’s epistle to the Colossians was non-face-to-face teaching of those believers whom he had never met. The spiritual gift of pastor-teacher was designed by God to provide the necessary doctrinal information for believers to fulfill the Protocol Plan of God.