2Tim 3:10-15
The Man of God
Paul's Purpose
Let's read
the broader context about this influence of the Apostle Paul on Timothy, a
brilliant young man who had been left to minister in a tough situation in
Ephesus. I want to focus in on two items on this list of characteristics that
Timothy had carefully followed. It is likely Timothy knew a lot of Paul's
private history that is somewhat obscure to us. But, we know enough from the
Scriptures to have a basic idea of what the Apostle experienced and how all of
what he became and did shaped him as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul
stands out in so many ways. His conversion is one of the best arguments for the
authenticity and truthfulness of the Christian Gospel. His ministry lays the
foundation, after the ministry of Jesus, of what Christianity is all about. His
doctrine defines what Christian Churches in this age ought to believe. His
manner of life shows how Christian leaders and followers of Jesus are to think
and conduct their lives. Today, I want to look at Paul's purpose and his faith
that Timothy was already carefully following. By extension, all who profess
Christ should have a similar purpose. The only differences are the specifics
for men in the ministry. Otherwise, as Paul wrote in 1 Cor 11:1, we should
imitate him as he imitates the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let's read
the fuller section of 2 Timothy 3 that gives us the context of these two
important words from the inspired list of qualities Timothy has cultivated in
his life as he emulated the Apostle Paul. We don't have a living Paul to watch,
learn and follow. We have the inspired recorded of his history and his
teaching. We have not been left to
ourselves to figure out what to do. Bless God, he has given us the scriptures
as his revealed will. We ought to make God's will our own.
The Man of God and the Word of God
1. Carefully FollowedàTo Timothy
10 But you (Timothy) have carefully followed my
doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions,
afflictions,
2.
Persecutions Endured
which happened to me at Antioch, at
Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured.
3.
Due Credit for Deliverance
And out of them all the Lord
delivered me.
Let's look deeper at the next two
items in our text:
Today:
Remember the "my" precedes
all of these items. Paul owned those things taught to him and the changes
within by virtue of the work of God that is consistent with the Word of God.
To Paul's doctrine and manner of
life, we have to own and consider:
10b [my] purpose,
faith,
Purpose is what drives someone to do
what they do. It is why something or someone exists. It deals with what is most
foundational and fundamental. In the case of Paul, it is not so easy to get
back to what is so fundamental. But, I want to reduce it to two items. These
two items cover all the items that define who Paul was and what he did as an
apostle.
Paul's twofold purpose in this
message is based on two important realities.
The first: Phil 1:21 reads,
"For me to live is Christ…."
This is a remarkable piece taken
from Paul's testimony. He looks over what his life has become, what he is being
changed into and he summarizes it with these words. The "is" makes
the subject and the object to be a literary equation--one thing is equal to
another. What is equal is Paul's life and the Lord Jesus Christ. What could be
more foundational for a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ?
Paul is not puffed up with pride
that makes him say this. He always attributes what he has become to the grace
of God. He sees himself as an unworthy recipient of the saving work of God. 1
Cor 15:10 points us to this reality, among a host of other places, 10 But by the grace
of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored
more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with
me.
Paul was not boasting, or bragging,
he was telling the truth. Even with all he had to claim by the work of the
flesh in making him a Pharisee of Pharisees, Paul credits the work of God's
grace as making him what he became by virtue of the transformation that changed
him completely. It wasn't Paul, it was nothing in vain, the work was not empty
and worthless. It was the grace of God that made him labor as he did.
Everything in his new transformed life came from God's work in him and the work
given to Paul to do. He owed everything he became and had to the underserved
favor of God. Paul even saw his sufferings as coming from God's hand for the
good of himself and the churches.
If the scriptures reveal something
for the churches of the NT, it should be viewed as being for us in our day--we
are in the same age.
The Holy Spirit inspired these
words. Words that people don't like to make their own:
Phil 1: 29 For to you it has
been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to
suffer for His sake,
Or, consider: Col 1:24 24 I
now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking
in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church
We should embrace these principles.
Paul wrote more about suffering than he did about salvation. He understood it
as necessary and important for the individual suffering and those who are
served by the sufferers. Suffering teaches us important things about God and
his work. We are humbled by it. It makes us rely on God. People who have not
suffered miss out on the blessing that comes from God. His strength is made
perfect in weakness. When we are weak; we are strong. All of this was a part of
Paul's life--a part of his life being Christ.
2 Cor 12:
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me
was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but
the grace of God which was with me.
And, 1 Cor 1:5 5 For as the
sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through
Christ.
Paul so identifies with Christ that
he sees his sufferings in the ministry as being the ongoing sufferings of
Jesus. Such is the power of his indentification with the Lord. For me to live
is Christ it is also to see that Paul means for me to suffer is Christ….
Everything in Paul's life in the
ministry was for the purpose of making Christ known and the power of his
resurrection. Christ was everything to Paul. Timothy had already taken up the straight
and narrow path following Jesus as Paul did. Yet in Phil 1:21 there is
something else that is important. Paul so identified with the life of the Lord
Jesus that he also identified with Christ in death-- for me to live is Christ,
to die is gain.
It is not a bad thing to suffer and
die for Jesus or in his service. It is good and glorious. As the text says,
"To die is gain."
Do you really believe that? I do.
Even though I have never experienced death personally, I believe what God says.
We shouldn't take suffering for the gospel away from one who serves Jesus--even
if it brings about death. We ought not to worry about someone dying in or
because of the ministry. To die is gain, it may be
hard for those who remain behind, but if it is from a life lived in such a way
that it shows forth Jesus, even in the difficult things Jesus had to do and
calls his undershepherds to also do, to die is gain. Do you believe that? And
for ordinary run of the mill believers--they will also gain all that has been
promised when they die in the Lord.
There is such a wonderful difference
between a funeral for a believer and one who was not. Though some grieve in
varying degrees, it is mixed with joy that is often inexpressible and full of
glory. Why rejoice? Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his
saints. It is precious to God. There are many means he uses to bring home his
saints. Whether in life or in death, we are the Lord's. Death cannot separate a
believer from God. It is the means used to bring us home to heaven. It does not
need to be feared, but favored. Either Jesus will come again of call us home.
Romans
8:38-39 38 For I am
persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor
powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 nor height nor
depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love
of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul understood in dying he would
gain something that he did not yet have. What would he gain?
In general, he would gain everything
God has promised to those that love Jesus and I'll add, who have suffered for
him. He would gain heaven and with it the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ
forever. That would be enough for me. He gains by what can no longer be a part
of his existence: Rev 21:4 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be
no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the
former things have passed away." He would gain a glorified body, eventually
once the final resurrection occurs.
And, there
is so much more. We fear death. Death is an enemy that has been conquered for
us by the Lord Jesus Christ. Death for Paul, but also for us so many years
later, is gain. Therefore, life for Christ--to show him to those around you.
Tempt people to see Jesus in you by the way you speak and act.
The second
foundational part of Paul's purpose, as far as I can discern from studying the
scriptures. It is to live for the glory of God.
1Cor 10:31
reads 31
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,
do all to the glory of God.
In the mundane
activities we do as humans out of necessity to survive, eating and drinking,
glorify God.
Then there is the great
catch phrase "Whatever you do." Christians are called to glorify God
in everything. There is nothing we do wherein we do not glorify God.
This is a great test we
can use for guidance in life. Ask youself, "Can I do this and glorify God
at the same time?" or, "Can I do this to glorify God?" If you
can't without mental and ethical gymnastics, don't do it. I've had a few tell
me my expectations were too high. But, is it my standard that is too high when
it is God's standard? This question alone would keep professing Christians from
many sins. The particular act may not be a sin on its own, as it may be a
matter of Christian liberty, but we should also consider if what we do will
offend others. That will detract from them seeing the glory of God in what we
do. If it will offend, and we know that, we ought to be sensitive to the
conscience of another and not engage. We should consider how our words and
actions will or will not glorify God.
The glory of God is
illustrated it two ways: weight and brightness.
2Cor 4:17 17
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is
working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
Back in the late 1950s
and 1960s, there was a class of people called "Beatniks." They were
around before Hippies and a lot of other people who were nonconformists in
Western society. When something was significant or worth pondering, they would
say, "That's heavy." It was ponderous, or worthy to be thought about,
taken apart, put back together and if any part of it was found to be
significant, it was taken up and believed. The taking up of the idea is what
made it heavy.
The same idea is behind
one of the metaphors behind glory.
Again, glory is tied to
affliction and illustrated as something of great weight. Our afflictions bring
about glory in our lives. It is the glory of God found in suffering.
The other picture that
shows glory is brightness. Speaking of the Lord Jesus and his glory, we read in
Heb 1:3
who being the brightness of His glory and the express image
of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had
by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high….
His glory = God's
glory. See Ezekiel 10:4 & Isaiah 60:19.
In
England, when the sun is out and shining brightly, the people say," 'Tis a
glorious day." Yet, the sun does not show the complete brilliance that is
the glory of God alone. It only reflects the glory of God. Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the
glory of God…
In everything Paul did, he sought to
shine the bright light of God's revelation on the heaviest ideas ever revealed
to humans.
When we seek to glorify God, we use
the same word revealed as the standard by which he live and speak and do
anything we do. We could go look at all that Paul did. In all of it, even the
hard parts, even when dealing with issues of discipline and matters of sin in
the church, we should look to find the glory of God.
The purposes of Paul included the
heartfelt quest to live unto the glory of God. This is what Timothy had
experienced traveling with the Apostle and this is how Timothy was supposed to
live. What we find in the NT is how Paul and others glorified God in their
ministries by their words and in their actions. We must not forget it. They
define how God is to be glorified in all things.
So, through Paul's commitment to the
teachings of God, and his expectation that they would be followed by
Timothy--even as Timothy had already been following them carefully. We see the
Apostle's purpose. We should emulate or imitate him as leaders in the church,
but in all who would glorify God and to live as him as we live for him. When we
spent 12+ years going through the life of Christ, I was instructed daily about
hos to live, but also how to be like Jesus as he dealt with various kinds of
people. It might surprise you to see the strength of character in the meek and
lowly Jesus who stood down hypocrites in Israel as he sought to protect the
Father's truth.
For us to live like Jesus is to be
him to this generation. I think many modern men and women would be surprised at
the real Jesus that we are to be.
Faith,
longsuffering,
love,
perseverance,
11 persecutions,
afflictions,
2.
Persecutions Endured
which happened to me at Antioch, at
Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured.
Antioch:
Iconium:
Lystra:
The area where Timothy lived from
his youth. It was unfriendly to the gospel.
3.
Due Credit for Deliverance
And out of them all the Lord
delivered me.
No comments:
Post a Comment