Lesson for March 9, 2022
The Book of II Timothy
Chapter 1:8-18
Verses 8-11
“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the Gospel according to the power of God, Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, Who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.”
Testimony is the Greek word “marturion,” which means to testify or give evidence in a trial. Paul was encouraging Timothy to continue to be a witness for Jesus Christ by unashamedly teaching accurate Bible doctrine (giving evidence), which had been taught to him by Paul.
The Gospel according to the power of God. The Gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to those who believe in Christ. (Romans 1:16) By staying true to the truth of God’s Word, Christians will suffer. This suffering will come from Satan’s world system in the forms of people testing, system testing, disaster testing, or thought testing. The Apostle Paul had already suffered a great deal of evil for the name of Christ and the Gospel, and he was encouraging Timothy to follow his example of never compromising the Gospel or accurate Bible doctrine. More than any other believer of his time, Paul was attacked directly by Satan and his system of evil. (II Timothy 3:12; I Peter 4:12-14)
Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. This verse is to make us realize that God’s purpose was not only to save us by His grace, but for us to live by His grace. Grace means the absence of any human work or effort. And grace means God does all the work and we simply allow Him to do it, in and through us. And not only are we to live by grace, but we are to grow in grace, and that means growing in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Notice that God saved us before He called us. This means that we are chosen by God to serve Him, and that service is based on His grace, not our human good works. In eternity, God designed a plan for every believer based strictly on His grace because of our union with Christ. (Romans 8:29, Galatians 5:22-23)
God’s predetermined plan of grace for mankind was designed in eternity past and revealed in the Person of Jesus Christ. In eternity past, God the Son agreed to come into the world as a human being and pay for mankind’s sin. God also has a plan for every believer (a holy calling), which is to follow the example of Jesus Christ as His representatives. (Hebrews 10:5-14)
But now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, Who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. Christ came to defeat Satan by His death on the Cross, His resurrection, His ascension, and His session. He came to provide eternal salvation. When Christ accomplished this on the Cross, He did so by defeating both spiritual and physical death. By His spiritual death, Christ provides eternal life (life and immortality) for those who believe in Him. By his physical death and resurrection, He provided the victory over physical death for all believers. All believers receive an immortal (glorified) body at the Rapture of the Church. (I John 5:11,12; John 1:4; 14:6; 20:31; Philippians 3:20-21)
For which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. God the Holy Spirit gave Paul the spiritual gifts of apostleship and pastor-teacher (and others). The Greek word for preacher is “kerux,” which means to announce a proclamation as the herald for a king. A pastor-teacher is therefore a herald for the King of kings, Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 4:11)
Verses 12-14
“For this reason, I also suffer these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know Whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to protect what I have entrusted to Him until that day.Hold on to the example of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.Protect, through the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”
Paul was suffering at the hands of the Roman Empire through his imprisonment at the time he wrote this letter. For this reason means that Paul was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. Paul had experienced great suffering and at the same time had great happiness. His circumstance of life did not dictate his happiness. Everything that Paul had suffered for the sake of Christ was nothing to him compared to what awaited him in eternity – he was not ashamed of Christ. (Romans 8:18-23)
For I know Whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to protect what I have entrusted to Him until that day. Through his knowledge of Bible doctrine, Paul knew Jesus Christ very well and was confident that he was secure in Christ forever. This confidence in Christ was what carried Paul through the most difficult times in his life. The Greek word for able is “dunatos” meaning God is all-powerful, referring to His omnipotence. The Greek word for protect is “phulasso,” meaning to guard or to watch over. Our salvation is guarded by the power of God. (I Peter 1:5) The Greek word for entrusted is “paratheke,” which means a deposit. “The deposit of faith” that we made in Christ is our protection against spending eternity in the Lake of Fire and our confidence in spending eternity with our Savior.
Hold on to the example of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.Paul had received the mystery doctrine of the Church Age directly from God and his mission was to spread it throughout the world. He did this by preaching the Gospel, establishing churches, and teaching accurate Bible doctrine (sound words). It was now Timothy’s responsibility to follow in the footsteps of Paul by continuing to teach accurate doctrine. “The faith” means that which is believed (Bible doctrine). “In love” means virtue-love (the love of Christ) developed through the knowledge of doctrine and applied toward God, His Word and toward others.
Protect, through the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. Once again, entrusted means a deposit. First, Paul refers to the deposit of faith in the Gospel that gave him eternal life. After salvation, there is to be another “deposit of faith,” which is in accurate Bible doctrine. This is “the treasure” Paul refers to in this verse. Protecting the accurate Bible doctrine that we have deposited in our souls can be done only through the power of the Holy Spirit Who indwells each one of us. (I Corinthians 2:12-13)
Verses 15-18
“You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains;but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me; the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day, and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.”
“All” refers to a group of believers in the province of Asia (which included Ephesus) who once supported Paul and the Gospel of grace. Perhaps they were in Ephesus where Timothy was the pastor since Paul said Timothy was aware of them. The Roman province of Asia included ancient Greece and modern-day Turkey. Ephesus was on the coast of modern-day Turkey. Phygellus and Hermogenes were two people who had supported Paul’s ministry at one time but had fallen into a state of reversionism. Reversionism means to turn away from truth and those who preach it. We are not given details as to why or how they turned away from Paul. By contrast, Onesiphorus and his family had obviously been a great blessing to Paul and supported his ministry, which he acknowledged. Onesiphorus is used as one of the great illustrations of the ministry of refreshment. His family was still alive in Ephesus; we know this from II Timothy 4:19.