GREETINGS: Grace and Guarding
2 Tim 1:1-5
The book of the Bible we call 2 Timothy is the second personal letter
from Paul to his son in the faith, namely, Timothy.
It contains many personal exhortations to Timothy as a minister of the
Gospel. These exhortations are often hard to discern. We are accustomed to
reading the Bible in such a way that the pronoun YOU is taken in a singular and
personal way when it is plural, referring to the larger class to which the
author was writing. So, many times, YOU in a letter to a church is plural
referring to all people in the church, or at least, all to whom the words are
relevant. YOU is often mistaken in our reading as if the words were written
just for you.
On the other hand, sometimes, the YOU is meant to be singular--addressing
only the person to whom the letter is sent, or to someone referenced in the
letter. In 1 & 2 Timothy, the YOU usually refers to Timothy the object of
the personal letter.
In 1 Tim, the words are about life in the church and how to restore order
to the church in Ephesus. 2 Tim is about Timothy's private life as a believer
and a minister of the gospel. Even though it was written to one man, it has
principles that reach far beyond Timothy to all who seek to minister to God's saints, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is not just for pastors, it is for all who would be led by them, who would
pray for them and who would seek to see them successful in their various
ministries, in a variety of places--including me 2,000 years or so after the
facts historically considered, and any who would come after me or during my
time to share the ministry here.
2 Tim 1:1-5 & 6
The Text:
Greeting of Grace
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ
Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is
in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my beloved
child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord.
3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my
ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in
my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I
long to see you, that I may be filled with joy.
5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a
faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and
now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.
A look at the text:
2Tim 1:1-5
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ
Jesus
An apostle is one sent
out. In the scriptures, especially in the NT, it is one sent out by God with a
special commission to preach the gospel and establish churches. It is a unique
calling found in the apostolic church. The apostleship died out with the last
of the apostles. The last of them was probably John. With his work, the apostolate
ended. The elders in the New Testament churches take on the leadership role and
authority. In the language of the NT, there was already an overlap--even in the
life and ministry of The Apostle Paul. These sentiments are found in 2Tim 1:6.
Only Paul is mentioned. So, if we only read here, we see his office was given
to him through the laying on of Paul's hands, but in 1Tim 4:14 we see others
were involved: The gift for ministry was passed on to Paul through the laying
on of the hands of the presbytery--or the God-given rulers of the local church.
Yet, it was not an
arbitrary laying on of the hands of men that made him to be an apostle, the
laying on of hands was a confirmation by the leaders of the church of what they
saw in Timothy's life and ministry. Even as a young man, he had what it took to
serve God's people. And, what makes this special is that he was to serve
alongside the Apostles, especially the Apostle Paul.
The Apostle Paul came
to love him dearly. In Philippians we read that Timothy was the only
like-minded brother who stayed faithful to the Apostle. What an encouragement
that must have been. Timothy's calling was no ordinary one. It wasn't a group
of men at the church deciding among themselves who should be the next leader.
He was put in place ….
1b by the will of God according to the
promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,
It was not ultimately
the will of man or men that put him in the important position of serving the
churches. It was in harmony with the promise of what Jesus Christ would do n
giving life to his church--Jesus was keeping the promise that He would build
his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Matt 16:8. It
was also the fulfillment of many promises of spiritual life given through the
disciples who eventually became the other apostles as Jesus sent them out to
serve.
It was a promise of
life that is in Christ Jesus--nobody else could make and keep such a promise.
The promise made by Jesus is not just about life in the world, but about
eternal life.
Eternal life is a category of life that begins when someone repents and believes the gospel--it is a sign of having been made alive by the Holy Spirit--It is an irreversible blessing--if it truly found in the person---John 6:47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me[a] has everlasting life.
Notice the language:
has everlasting life. It is a sure possession. This life is not something given
on the last day when we pass from this existence to the next. Everlasting life
is a qualitatively different kind of life true believers are given in this
life, when and if they truly believe. There are some who think they have it,
when they don't. Their lives are superficial, more like the world than life in
Christ. This is why perseverance is so important.
How do you live? DO
you live like the unbelievers and pagans we meet in the scriptures, or do you
live like those who have faith and have the work of the Spirit upon them.
If it is God, himself,
who has called you with a holy calling, you will be different--you will be
changed. You will live differently than those around you. You won't live after
the flesh, but in the Spirit; not after the world, but according to the word.
You will no longer be superficial seeking to please yourself--you will be
changed seeking to please your savior. Do you?
Three desired graces
from Spiritual Father to Spiritual Son:
2 To
Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the
Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Notice the source of these graces--they are from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
They are from heaven and
earth. The three of them encompass just about everything a follower of Jesus
would need to live in that unique calling of being a Christian disciple. Do you
experience the undeserved favor of God day in and day out. If you are looking
for it, it is easy to find. If you can't find is, you are in deep trouble--you
are probably not a believer. Grace is one of those great promises we enjoy and
receive in Christ.
Does God give you
mercy and peace? Does He pity you and give you spiritual kindnesses--not material
ones of physical blessings, but the mercies found in heavenly places brought
down to change your life?
Do you have the peace
of God that surpasses human understanding that keeps your heart and mind in
Christ Jesus? If we really did, there would be a lot less depression among
professed believers. People are looking for spiritual things they mistake with
all sorts of things that can never bring happiness.
Depression is a
symptom of unbelief or of not being able to understand that grace, mercy and peace
of God as one is too busy looking for substitutes that will never bring
satisfaction. What you need is a work of God in your soul. And, not that kind
of work you can generate on your own, but comes about through the divine power
of God changing a human being from what they were by birth to what they ought
to be by virtue of the new birth. One is man made in the image of other humans,
the other is man made new--that they might be different--that they might know
that power of God in their life.
Those made new are
given a trust, by God to live for Him:
Paul tells Timothy to
guard what has been given to him:
3 I
thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience,
as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.
What love and concern for another that makes one loose sleep in
order to pray for others, or just one. People don't always get this as an act
of love for them.
Have you ever woken up
in the middle of the night unable to sleep? Is may be God calling you to pray
for others. We find this activity many times in scripture. Enough to lay is
before others as something you should consider as part of your Christian life--to
do all to the glory of God and to redeem all the time.
Paul remember
something else: The tears of Timothy:
4 As
I remember your tears,
We don't know what these tears were for other than to know
Timothy was as concerned for the work of the gospel as Paul was. He must have
wept for the unbelief he saw around him and perhaps the sin he witnessed
firsthand in the lives of professed Christians. There are many reasons for
tears in the Christian ministry.
Paul also had strong feelings to see Timothy, his son in the
faith, once again…..
4b I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy.
This joy isn't an empty sort of flippant happiness--it is a
settled disposition of contentment no matter what. Is comes from the sincere
faith that Timothy has. The contrast would be with a superficial belief that
all too many have had through the ages.
I was telling someone
last week about how a professed Christian took advantage of a friend of mine
for tens of thousands of dollars. My friend took a liking to this man because
he reminded my friend of me. Is turned out that he could not be trusted. The
issue was a mission to supply medical assistance to needy folk in the
Caribbean. A man came appearing to be a believer. He asked for $50,000 to
supply medicines to an isolated people. When my friend went to check up on this
other man, he was long gone, with the money, a boat on loan, having taken down
the reputation of Christians another peg or two. This happens all over the
world. People use the gospel to take advantage of others. When a real need
arises, people are less likely to help--is is a shame. People take advantage of
the good graces of God's people all the time. The lies they tell trying to
establish rapport are amazing--what they lack is true grace, and peace with
Joy.
What we look for are
those with true faith and real needs. The others often spoil is for the real
needy ones.
Discernment allows us
to distinguish between the true and the false. One indicator is time--enough to
get to know someone. Paul had known Timothy and his family long enough to
discern true and sincere faith in his family for three generations.
5 I
am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother
Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as
well.
Faith often falls out
in family lines. Is is not because of any promise given, but is is the children
of believers who have gone to hear the preaching of the gospel since childhood
who have been put in places where they are exposed to the truths that alone can
transform. That is a benefit that comes to children through believing parents
and grandparents who pray for them, with them and bring them to the preaching
of God's Word.
You may not like is
now, but if you come to belief, you will thank God for the love of the
believing women in your life.
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