The Man of God, 2 Tim 3:10-15

2Tim 3:10-15

The Man of God

Let's read the text for today. This is connected to what has been said. Yet, it focuses on Timothy and what influence Paul had on him. Through his writings and the preaching of them, Paul ought to have a large influence on all of us, too. He continues to be used by God, by the Spirit, for the good of the churches.

God used men as agents of inspirations. He did not dictate his words. They passed through the mind of godly men as they were carried along by the Spirit of God. Paul was one of those men used mightily by the Spirit of God. We should thank God for the ongoing legacy and influence of the Apostle Paul. In these verses we see the influence of Paul on Timothy and Paul's realization of his influence. And, that is stated in truth without Paul being puffed up with pride. It is a good thing to influence others with the truth and for the truth of the gospel, as well. That is what preachers do--they tell people what they should already know, but perhaps have forgotten. And, in the case of new believers, the preacher is used to fill the mind with godly thoughts. That is how it is supposed to work. That is how it worked on the pages of the New Testament. To be autonomous and pursue growth by oneself is not what we find taught in scripture and is not what we find in the history of the church in the NT. We should look to the Apostles and what they did as the exemplars of how the Great Commission is to be fulfilled. Have you ever thought about that? The Bible teaches us WHY and WHAT to do but also HOW to do it. We have their example of how they understood the Great Commission. To our detriment, many are not informed by the history found in Acts and the rest of the New Testament. People since WWII tend to want to figure out things for themselves--as if the Bible was no longer relevant. It is so-called Christian scholars who undermined a high view of the scriptures. Someone once joked that at some point in eternity Hell will be turned over to find these words written, "Made in Germany."

It is the Word of God that is given for our good. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. We will see that at the end of this chapter and again in Chapter 4. The scriptures are not open to private interpretation. That's what Peter said under inspiration. The Bible is a divine unity. It is God's revelation of Himself and his will. We should always ask, "What has God said?" when we search, read, meditate, listen to preaching and any other activity with the Word. We should never think, "How does this hit me, or what does this mean to ME?" It has one intended meaning that we are to look for. It does not mean many things to different people. God revealed his truth to mankind. Jude verse 3 reads like this: Jude 1:3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.  

Faith is singular not plural. It is the faith, a body of truth that was delivered to mankind by God.

Back to our text: Let's read 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. If there was one place that needed to know how to do things in a right and godly way, it was the church in Ephesus.

The Man of God and the Word of God

1. Carefully Followed

¹⁰ But you 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 text:

1. Carefully Followed (9 Item list)

¹⁰ But you have carefully followed

my This is an important word that precedes this list from Paul. The text is often read as if the word my only refers to the word, doctrine. "My" has a broader use. The nine items on the list in the original are all equal in their usage. They are all accusative case nouns meaning they are direct objects. They lack articles just like the translation. But, the word "My" functions like an article. Instead of "the doctrine" and so on, the meaning is "my doctrine" and on and on as it is implied throughout the list.

Paul calls it his doctrine for a number of reasons. Firstly and probably most importantly, he has come to not just believe what he has been taught from the Word of God, but he has come to own these items. He has made them his own. He cherishes and prizes them as God's revelation to him and through Him to others. The truths of the Word of God are precious to him as they ought to be to any true believer. We should be like those men of old who loved the scriptures. We should be like the Psalmist who hid the Word in his heart. Remember why? That he might not sin against God (Psalm 119:105). Nothing else will have that effect. To not sin against a holy God who has called us and saved us and is making us holy ought to be one of our main goals. It is an act of love towards God who has first loved us.

To have a section of the scriptures in a handwritten form in the centuries before printing, was to own something most precious. In the abundance of copies we can have, the preciousness is sometimes lost. It is a remarkable grace from God to be able to search online for just the right Bible that pleases us: right color, large typeface, pleasant format, study references in the center column, notes somewhere on the page, all sorts of information in concordances, dictionaries, sidebars and the like. In the ancient world very few people could read and among those who could, there were only a few copies of the Bible. An entire Bible cost about a man's year's income. On average, that would be about $50,000 or a little more in the Worcester area. Would you pay that much for a copy of the Word? Do you value it that highly? Thank God we don't have to pay a year's wage. If we are online, we can access it for free. Hard copies can be bought for as little as $2.99. We don't realize how blessed we are. We have it so good. We need to avail ourselves of this grace in order to use it properly. The first in the list requires the right use of the scriptures. Paul writes My Doctrine.

doctrine,  

Doctrine means teaching. Paul received teaching after his conversion. A lot of this happened when he went to Arabia. In 1 Cor 11, when he teaches about the Lord's supper, he tells the Corinthians, "23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you:"

When someone gives something to you, it is a gift. That is the language we find here in 11;23. Paul sees the teaching of the doctrine of the Lord's Supper as a gift he has received. To receive something inplies a two-way transaction. To get requires a giver. The doctrine and practice at the Lord's Supper was given to him and in the same way, he passed it on to them without adding or taking anything away.

Doctrine is teaching in a systematic manner. Sometimes the truth to be taught is short and sweet. Other times it takes more space. The first chapters of Ephesians are doctrinal. The church was so messed up, it needed to be reminded of the glorious truths of the gospel to straighten them out. First in the mind and then throughout the life. The first 11 chapters of Romans are mostly doctrinal, they are the closest thing to a systematic theology in the NT. Paul quotes many OT passages to make his case about sin, many facets of salvation, sanctification and coming glory. Hebrews may be an early sermon. It uses the OT to teach New Covenant realities that are for believers in Christ alone. It is a repudiation of the Old way of doing things and a systematic expression of how Jesus changes what we believe and who we really are. They are all doctrines that Paul has made his own, well, Pauline authorship is controversial. At least we can say the book of Hebrews teaches truth entirely consistent with Paul's epistles. It is Pauline. T

Timothy carefully followed what Paul taught to him. Remember the main context in which Timothy was taught? It was among many witnesses. And Paul's teaching to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 finds Paul saying he taught them the whole counsel of God. That means enough for them to know the entire body of Christian truth, but perhaps not all the details and the practices of the Christian life. Orthodoxy equals straight teaching; orthopraxy is straight living. Both are taught in the scriptures. It is the job of teachers to own the truth and to teach it to believers. 

The second of these items points us to the Christian life. Paul instructs Timothy to use him as an example of how to conduct himself in life. Or, in the text….

manner of life,

One of the most enduring classics from the Middle Ages is called "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A Kempis. It is basically a guide for monks living the ascetic life--a life of self-denial. The main point is as the title says, "Imitating Christ." We should be doing the same. It is in the image of Christ that we are being changed. We should go with that work. There are other metaphors and analogies that picture the transformation of our life from when we were dead in sin to when we will be dead to sin in glory. As we are being changed, we are being changed more and more into the image of Christ. People should see him in us to some degree. We should show forth his love to others: fellow believers and our neighbors and another category of people among us --The Christian calling is a radical ones--we are to even love our enemies. Enemies are those who oppose you. It is one of the hardest things to do consistently and thoroughly. We owe love to all as a manner of living. One reason is that all humans are made in God's image and even though they may not believe, they have human value and dignity because of God's image stamped on them. A lot of Christians in the West don't like that idea. It is one of those doctrines taught in God's Word from way back in the beginning--"Let US make man in our image…." That is why all people have value and worth, even humans in the womb bear that image even as they are being formed.

In 1 Cor 11, Paul introduces a new topic by talking about imitation. 1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. It is a high standard for Timothy as a leader in the Ephesian Church. It is a high calling for any Christian leader. But, it is for all believers to imitate Christ.

Do people see Jesus in you? It is the highest compliment anyone can give to another human--I see Jesus in you, or that was like Jesus would have done. There was a movement a few years ago that is due to come back around. It asked the question, "What would Jesus do?" It became this mystical means of guidance that devolved into crass subjectivity. A better question is, "What did Jesus command in love for me to do?" The Great Commission is all about making disciples in God's way. In part it is teaching others to observe all things Jesus commanded. His continued presence is predicated upon the loving obedience of the church, his people.

Doctrine and manner of life are so important. If we get them right, so much of the others will follow. They flow from how we live and what we really believe in our hearts. We are what we think. It is hard to hide. Eventually, the Word of God exposes the thoughts and intents of the heart. When they are holy thoughts and pursuits out of a holy purpose, it can be beautiful and encouraging to witness. When they are otherwise, it can be very ugly. As Paul lived like Jesus, we should imitate them. And, we should set a good example for others.

Do you ever see yourself in your children? When it is good and holy, it can be a holy encouragement and make us thank God for using us despite ourselves. When we hear our unsanctified anger, cynicism, insults or sinful speech coming out of them, we should repent and ask God to help us put it to death and to apologize to our children in humility for the bad examples we have been. They will learn humility from us. They will learn what to do when they sin and affect others by what they see in us. So too, the mature among us as a church. The next generation is watching and learning from us. We should live in such a way that they own our doctrines insomuch as they are from the scriptures and learn to imitate our manner of life. Let us always point them to Jesus. To thank when they see his work in their hearts or in others and for forgiveness when we have sinned. And, to search the scriptures for principled guidance throughout our lives.

The rest of the list are important details we will leave for the next message. Prepare yourself to receive the word by reading and remembering what is said, so you can meditate on these qualities and experiences from the life of Paul. Ask how these are examples of how we may be called to imitate the Lord. Also ask how they might point you to Jesus and in you point others to the cross as well. AMEN

NEXT TIME:

10b [my] 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.

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.

Here is another list from the pen of the Apostle Paul. It is one of four distinctive ways in which he writes. The others are A, B, A; the use of conjunctions to tie thoughts together; long run-on sentences that convey one complex, but complete thought and lists of items that are related together. He also likes to make up words in Greek. But, a lot of ancient writers did that. German in our day has that convention. These stylistic points are not unique to Paul, but they are to Paul as a biblical writer.

Paul also used a secretary to write down some of his letters. The technical term is an amenuensis. When Paul writes with his own hand, he usually tells the recipients of his writings--I Paul, write this with my own hand. Paul had some sort of problem with his vision. It may have affected him in some way throughout his ministry, but it did not keep him from having a profound ministry among believer and unbeliever, both Jew and Greek. What we do know is that his thorn in the flesh kept him from boasting in himself. It made Him more dependant upon God for sustenance. That is the context in which Paul says, "His grace is sufficient for me."