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This section of Chapter 1 has
seven verses:
2 Timothy 1:1-7
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of
God, according to the promise of life which is in
Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy,
and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord.
3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers
with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have
remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of
thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith
that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy
grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am
persuaded that in thee also.
6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou
stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the
putting on of my hands.
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but
of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Let us begin with the Barclay commentary
AN APOSTLE’S GLORY AND AN APOSTLE’S PRIVILEGE
First, the paraphrase of the
verses:
2 Timothy 1:1–7
This is a letter from Paul, who was made an apostle
of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and whose
apostleship was designed to make known to all men
God’s promise of real life in Christ Jesus, to
Timothy his own beloved child. Grace, mercy and
peace be to you from God, the Father, and from
Christ Jesus, our Lord.
I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience,
as my forefathers did before me, for all that you
are to me, just as in my prayers I never cease to
remember you, for, remembering your tears when we
parted, I never cease to yearn to see you, that I
may be filled with joy. And I thank God that I have
received a fresh reminder of that sincere faith
which is in you, a faith of the same kind as first
dwelt in your grandmother Lois and in your mother
Eunice, and which, I am convinced, dwells in you
too. That is why I send you this reminder to keep at
white heat the gift that is in you and which came to
you through the laying of my hands upon you; for God
did not give us the spirit of craven fear, but of
power and love and self-discipline.
WHEN Paul speaks of his own apostleship, there are
always certain unmistakable notes in his voice. To
Paul, his apostleship always meant certain things.
(1) His apostleship was an
honour. He was chosen for it by the will of God. All
Christians must regard themselves as God-chosen men
and women.
(2) His apostleship was a
responsibility. God chose him because he wanted to
do something with him. He wanted to make him the
instrument by which the tidings of new life went out
to all people. Christians are never chosen entirely
for their own sake, but for what they can do for
others. Christians are people who are lost in
wonder, love and praise at what God has done for
them and aflame with eagerness to tell others what
God can do for them too.
(3) His apostleship was a
privilege. It is most significant to see what Paul
believed it his duty to bring to others – God’s
promise, not his threat. To Paul, Christianity was
not the threat of damnation; it was the good news of
salvation. It is worth remembering that the
greatest evangelist and missionary the world has
ever seen was out not to terrify people by shaking
them over the flames of hellfire but to move them to
astonished submission at the sight of the love of
God. The driving force of his gospel was love, not
fear.
As always when he speaks to Timothy, there is a
warmth of loving affection in Paul’s voice. ‘My
beloved child’, he calls him. Timothy was his child
in the faith. Timothy’s parents had given him
physical life, but it was Paul who gave him [instruction
to] eternal life. Many people who never
knew physical parenthood have had the joy and
privilege of being a father or a mother in the
faith.
PAUL’S object in writing is to inspire and
strengthen Timothy for his task in Ephesus. Timothy
was young, and he had a hard task in battling
against the heresies and the infections that were
bound to threaten the Church. So, in order to keep
his courage high and his effort strenuous, Paul
reminds Timothy of certain things.
(1) He reminds him of his own confidence in him.
There is no greater inspiration than to feel that
someone believes in us. An appeal to the best in
someone is always more effective than a threat of
punishment. The fear of letting down those who love
us is a sobering thing.
(2) He reminds him of his family
tradition. Timothy was walking in a fine heritage;
and, if he failed, not only would he damage his own
reputation but he would lessen the honour of his
family name as well. A fine parentage is one of the
greatest gifts anyone can have. It is something to
thank God for and should never be dishonored. [See
Deuteronomy 27:16]
Quoted verse:
Deuteronomy 27:16
Cursed be he that setteth light by his father
or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
(3) He reminds him of his setting
apart for office and of the gift which was conferred
upon him. Once we enter upon the service of any
association with a tradition, anything that we do
affects not only us. We do not do it in our own
strength. There is the strength of a tradition to
draw upon and the honour of a tradition to preserve.
That is especially true of the Church. Those who
serve it have its honour in their hands; those who
serve it are strengthened by the consciousness of
the [spiritual
fellowship] of all the saints.
(4) He reminds him of the
qualities which should characterize the Christian
teacher. These, as Paul at that moment saw them,
were four.
(a) There was courage. It was not cowardly
fear but courage that Christian service should
bring. It always takes courage to be a Christian,
and that courage comes from the continual
consciousness of the presence of Christ.
(b) There was power. In
true Christians, there is the power to cope, the
power to shoulder the backbreaking task, the power
to stand firm when faced with the shattering
situation, the power to retain faith when confronted
by the soul-destroying sorrow and the wounding
disappointment. Christians are characteristically
people who could pass the breaking point and not
break.
(c) There was love. In
Timothy’s case, this was love for the brothers and
sisters, for the congregation of the people of
Christ over whom he was set. It is precisely that
love which gives Christian pastors other qualities.
They must love their people so much that they will
never find any toil too great to undertake for them
or any situation threatening enough to daunt them.
No one should ever enter the ministry of the Church
without a deep love for Christ’s people.
(d) There was self-discipline.
The word is so¯phronismos, one of these great
untranslatable Greek words. It has been defined as
‘the sanity of saintliness’. In his book on The
Pastorals, Sir Robert Falconer defines it as
‘control of oneself in face of panic or of passion’.
It is Christ alone who can give us that command of
self which will keep us both from being swept away
and from running away. No one can ever rule others
without having complete self-control. So¯phronismos
is that divinely given control of self which makes
people great rulers of others because they are first
of all the servants of Christ and in complete
control of themselves [by
the power of the Holy Spirit].
~Barclay Commentary
2
Timothy 1:5
Now to the other commentaries. First a general
commentary covering the first 11 verses.
Lonely and facing death the Apostle fell back on the
bedrock of the will of God. If it were the divine
plan that he should finish his life-work in that
miserable plight, he was content that it should be
so. But he longs to see his beloved son in the faith
once more. He desires to stir up the dead coal of
his ardor, in which there was fire and heat, but not
enough flame.
Apparently the young evangelist was becoming daunted
by the gathering difficulties of the time and so
Paul sets himself to encourage him. With this
purpose in view he adduces his own example,
2 Timothy 1:3, his fervent affection,
2 Timothy 1:4, the memory of the sainted dead,
2 Timothy 1:5, the solemn vows by which Timothy
had bound himself at his ordination,
2 Timothy1:6, the divine donation of grace and
power and love,
2 Timothy 1:8, the eternal purpose which had
received its fruition in the advent of Jesus,
2 Timothy 1:9, the clear light which His
resurrection had thrown on death and the hereafter,
2 Timothy 1:10. Surely such a chain of arguments
must have proved irresistible! God’s soldiers must
be brave and unflinching in meeting the opposition
of the world. When once we realize that the stores
which reside in God are at the disposal of our
faith, we, too, shall be invulnerable and
irresistible. ~F. B. Meyer
Now from the Matthew Henry Concise which covers the
first five verses:
The promise of eternal life to believers in Christ
Jesus, is the leading subject of ministers who are
employed according to the will of God. The blessings
here named, are the best we can ask for our beloved
friends, that they may have peace with God the
Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Whatever good we
do, God must have the glory. True believers have in
every age the same religion as to substance. Their
faith is unfeigned; it will stand the trial, and it
dwells in them as a living principle. Thus pious
women may take encouragement from the success of
Lois and Eunice with Timothy, who proved so
excellent and useful a minister. Some of the most
worthy and valuable ministers the church of Christ
has been favoured with, have had to bless God for
early religious impressions made upon their minds by
the teaching of their mothers or other female
relatives. ~Matthew Henry
Concise
Let us contrast the Concise with the main Matthew
Henry Commentary, which is also for the first five
verses. The commentary is in two rather long
paragraphs. I am going to break it up into multiple
parts so we can read the quoted verses as we
proceed.
Here is,
I. The inscription of the epistle Paul calls
himself an apostle by the will of God, merely by the
good pleasure of God, and by his grace, which he
professes himself unworthy of.
According to the promise of life which is in Christ
Jesus, or according to the gospel. The gospel is the
promise of life in Christ Jesus; life is the end,
and Christ the way, John 14:6.
Quoted verse:
John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and
the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
The life is put into the promise, and both are sure
in Christ Jesus the faithful witness; for all the
promises of God in Christ Jesus are yea, and all
amen, 2 Corinthians 1:20. He calls Timothy his
beloved son. Paul felt the warmest affection for him
both because he had been an instrument of his
conversion and because as a son with his father he
had served with him in the gospel.
Quoted verse:
2 Corinthians 1:20
Now the things which I write unto you, behold,
before God, I lie not.
Observe,
1. Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ by the
will of God; as he did not receive the gospel of
man, nor was taught it, but had it by the revelation
of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:12), so his commission
to be an apostle was not by the will of man, but of
God: in the former epistle he says it was by the
commandment of God our Saviour, and here by the will
of God. God called him to be an apostle.
Quoted verse:
Galatians 1:12
For I neither received it of man, neither was I
taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
2. We have the promise of life, blessed be
God for it: In hope of eternal life, which God, who
cannot lie, promised before the world began, Titus
1:2. It is a promise to discover the freeness and
certainty of it.
Quoted verse:
Titus 1:2
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie,
promised before the world began;
3. This, as well as all other promises, is in
and through Jesus Christ; they all take their rise
from the mercy of God in Christ, and they are sure,
so that we may safely depend on them.
4. The grace, mercy, and peace, which even
Paul's dearly beloved son Timothy wanted, comes from
God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord; and
therefore the one as well as the other is the giver
of these blessings, and ought to be applied to for
them.
5. The best want these blessings, and they
are the best we can ask for our dearly-beloved
friends, that they may have grace to help them in
the time of need, and mercy to pardon what is amiss,
and so may have peace with God the Father and Christ
Jesus our Lord.
II. Paul's thanksgiving to God for Timothy's
faith and holiness: he thanks God that he remembered
Timothy in his prayers.
Observe, Whatever good we do, and whatever good
office we perform for our friends, God must have the
glory of it, and we must give him thanks. It is he
who puts it into our hearts to remember such and
such in our prayers. Paul was much in prayer, he
prayed night and day; in all his prayers he was
mindful of his friends, he particularly prayed for
good ministers, he prayed for Timothy, and had
remembrance of him in his prayers night and day; he
did this without ceasing; prayer was his constant
business, and he never forgot his friends in his
prayers, as we often do.
Paul served God from his forefathers with a pure
conscience. It was a comfort to him that he was born
in God's house, and was of the seed of those that
served God; as likewise that he had served him with
a pure conscience, according to the best of his
light; he had kept a conscience void of offence, and
made it his daily exercise to do so, Acts 24:16.
Quoted verse:
Acts 24:16
And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a
conscience void of offence toward God, and toward
men.
He greatly desired to see Timothy, out of the
affection he had for him, that he might have some
conversation with him, being mindful of his tears at
their last parting. Timothy was sorry to part with
Paul, he wept at parting, and therefore Paul desired
to see him again, because he had perceived by that
what a true affection he had for him. He thanks God
that Timothy kept up the religion of his ancestors,
2 Timothy 1:5-the verse of this lesson.
Quoted verse:
2 Timothy 1:5
When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that
is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother
Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that
in thee also.
Observe, The entail of religion descended upon
Timothy by the mother's side; he had a good mother,
and a good grandmother: they believed, though his
father did not, Acts 16:1.
Quoted verse:
Acts 16:1
Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a
certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son
of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and
believed; but his father was a Greek:
It is a comfortable thing when children imitate the
faith and holiness of their godly parents, and tread
in their steps, 3 John 1:4. - Dwelt in thy
grandmother and thy mother, and I am persuaded that
in thee also. Paul had a very charitable opinion of
his friends, was very willing to hope the best
concerning them; indeed he had a great deal of
reason to believe well of Timothy, for he had no man
like-minded, Philippians 2:20.
Quoted verses:
3 John 1:4
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children
walk in truth.
Philippians 2:20
For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally
care for your state.
Observe,
1. We are, according to St. Paul, to serve
God with a pure conscience, so did his and our pious
forefathers; this is to draw near with a true heart,
in full assurance of faith, having our heart
sprinkled from an evil conscience, Hebrews 10:22.
Quoted verse:
Hebrews 10:22
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance
of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
2. In our prayers we are to remember without
ceasing our friends, especially the faithful
ministers of Christ. Paul had remembrance of his
dearly beloved son Timothy in his prayers night and
day.
3. The faith that dwells in real believers is
unfeigned; it is without hypocrisy, it is a faith
that will stand the trial, and it dwells in them as
a living principle. It was the matter of Paul's
thanksgiving that Timothy inherited the faith of his
mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois, and ought to
be ours whenever we see the like; we should rejoice
wherever we see the grace of God; so did Barnabas,
Acts 11:23-24.
Quoted verse:
Acts 11:23-24
22 Then tidings of these things came unto the ears
of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent
forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.
23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God,
was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose
of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children
walking in the truth, 2 John 1:4.
Quoted verse:
2 John 1:4
I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children
walking in truth, as we have received a commandment
from the Father. ~Matthew
Henry Main Commentary
Let us look at least at one specific commentary;
actually two.
When I call to remembrance the
unfeigned faith that is in thee - This caused
him to give thanks to God for it, whose gift it is
and made him the more desirous of seeing one, who
was a true believer, and an Israelite indeed. This
is to be understood of the grace of faith, which was
implanted in the heart of Timothy by the Spirit of
God, and was genuine and sincere; he believed with
the heart unto righteousness; his faith worked by
love to God, and Christ, and to his people, and was
attended with good works;
~John Gill
Which dwelt first in thy
grandmother Lois - That is, the same faith
dwelt in her; or, she was a sincere believer in
Christ. It would seem probable, from this, that she
was the first of the family who had been converted.
In the Acts of the Apostles Act_16:1 [discussed
above], we have an account of the family
of Timothy: - “Then came he to Derbe and Lystra; and
behold a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus,
the son of a certain woman which was a Jewess, and
believed; but his father was a Greek.” In this
account no mention is made of the grandmother Lois,
but there is no improbability in supposing that Paul
was better acquainted with the family than Luke.
There is, at any rate, no contradiction between the
two accounts; but the one confirms the other, and
the “undesigned coincidence” furnishes an argument
for the authenticity of both. As the mother of
Timothy was a Hebrew, it is clear that his
grandmother was also. Nothing more is known of her
than is mentioned here.
~Barnes Notes
And thy mother Eunice -
who was a Jewess, and a believer in Christ, Acts
16:1 [discussed above]
though her name is a Greek one, and so is her
mother's name; hers signifies "good victory", and is
the name of one of the Nereides, the daughters of
Oceanus; and her mother's signifies "better", or
"more excellent". She lived, it seems, if her mother
did not, to know that Christ was come, and that
Jesus, the son of Mary, was he; and she believed in
him for righteousness, life, and salvation; and in
her this faith dwelt and abode to the end.
~John Gill
And I am persuaded that in
thee also - not only that faith was in him,
and that that was unfeigned, but that it also dwelt,
remained, and would continue with him to the end of
life; for true faith is an abiding grace, it is a
gift of God, that is irrevocable, and without
repentance; Christ is the author and finisher of it,
and prays that it fail not, whose prayers are always
heard; it is begun, carried on, and performed by the
power of God, and has salvation inseparably
connected with it. Now when the same faith is said
to dwell, first in his grandmother, and in his
mother, and in him, this is not to be understood as
if this grace was conveyed from one to another by
natural generation; for grace comes not that way,
only sin; men are not born of blood, but of God; but
the sense is, that the same like precious faith was
obtained by one, as by another. This was a rich
family mercy, and deserved special notice, as being
a thing uncommon, and required a particular
thanksgiving; and is designed as a motive and
encouragement to stir up Timothy to the exercise of
that grace, and every other gift God had bestowed
upon him, as in the following verse.
~John Gill
Some key points from tonight's lesson:
1] Paul's letters to Timothy are those of
encouragement. That encouragement is for us today.
2] The primary message of ministers today is the
promise of eternal life for those staying in the
Salvation Process.
3] Whatever good we do, God gets the glory.
4] From Paul's time to the present, the substance of
our religion has been the same.
5] The gospel is the promise of life in Christ
Jesus.
6] All of the promises of God in Christ Jesus are
Yes and
Amen.
7] Grace, mercy and peace come from God and Christ
Jesus our Lord.
8] Grace, mercy and peace are the best things we can
request of God for our friends.
9] God is the one who guides us in the substance of
our prayers to Him.
10] There is great joy in seeing our children
following in our faithful footsteps.
11] We are to constantly drawing nearer to God in
full assurance of faith.
12] The Salvation Process is a gift of God, that is
irrevocable and without repentance and Christ is the
author and finisher of it. |