Las Vegas, Nevada Church
Affiliated with the Intercontinental Church of God and the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

 
 
 Survey of the Letters of Paul:  2 Timothy 1:7  
  
                                                                                                                                                                                    
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2 Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
 
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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

Now to the other commentaries beginning with the general.

First we will go to the Matthew Henry Main which covers verses 6-14. I will share with you the commentary on verses 6-7.

He exhorts him to stir up the gift of God that was in him. Stir it up as fire under the embers. It is meant of all the gifts and graces the God had given him, to qualify him for the work of an evangelist, the gifts of the Holy [Spirit], the extraordinary gifts that were conferred by the imposition of the apostle's hands. These he must stir up; he must exercise them and so increase them: use gifts and have gifts. To him that hath shall be given, Matthew 25:29.

Quoted verse:
Matthew 25:29
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

He must take all opportunities to use these gifts, and so stir them up, for that is the best way of increasing them. Whether the gift of God in Timothy was ordinary or extraordinary (though I incline to the latter), he must stir it up, otherwise it would decay. Further, you see that this gift was in him by the putting on of the apostle's hands, which I take to be distinct from his ordination, for that was performed by the hands of the presbytery, 1 Timothy 4:14.

It is probable that Timothy had the Holy [Spirit], in his extraordinary gifts and graces, conferred on him by the laying on of the apostle's hands (for I reckon that none but the apostles had the power of giving the Holy [Spirit]), and afterwards, being thus richly furnished for the work of the ministry, was ordained by the presbytery. Observe,

1. The great hindrance of usefulness in the increase of our gifts is slavish fear. Paul therefore warns Timothy against this: God hath not given us the spirit of fear, 2 Timothy 1:7. It was through base fear that the evil servant buried his talent, and did not trade with it, Matthew 25:25.

Quoted verse:
Matthew 25:25
And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

Now God hath therefore armed us against the spirit of fear, by often bidding us fear not. “Fear not the face of man; fear not the dangers you may meet with in the way of your duty.” God hath delivered us from the spirit of fear, and hath given us the spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. The spirit of power, or of courage and resolution to encounter difficulties and dangers; - the spirit of love to God, which will carry us through the opposition we may meet with, as Jacob made nothing of the hard service he was to endure for Rachel: the spirit of love to God will set us above the fear of man, and all the hurt that a man can do us; - and the spirit of a sound mind, or quietness of mind, a peaceable enjoyment of ourselves, for we are oftentimes discouraged in our way and work by the creatures of our own fancy and imagination, which a sober, solid, thinking mind would obviate, and would easily answer.

2. The spirit God gives to his ministers is not a fearful, but a courageous spirit; it is a spirit of power, for they speak in his name who has all power, both in heaven and earth; and it is a spirit of love, for love to God and the souls of men must inflame ministers in all their service; and it is a spirit of a sound mind, for they speak the words of truth and soberness. ~Matthew Henry Main

Now notice the Matthew Henry Concise.

God has not given us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, of courage and resolution, to meet difficulties and dangers; the spirit of love to him, which will carry us through opposition. And the spirit of a sound mind, quietness of mind. The Holy Spirit is not the author of a timid or cowardly disposition, or of slavish fears. We are likely to bear afflictions well, when we have strength and power from God to enable us to bear them. As is usual with Paul, when he mentions Christ and his redemption, he enlarges upon them; so full was he of that which is all our salvation, and ought to be all our desire. The call of the gospel is a holy call, making holy. Salvation is of free grace. This is said to be given us before the world began, that is, in the purpose of God from all eternity; in Christ Jesus, for all the gifts that come from God to sinful man, come in and through Christ Jesus alone. And as there is so clear a prospect of eternal happiness by faith in Him, who is the Resurrection and the Life, let us give more diligence in making his salvation sure to our souls. Those who cleave to the gospel, need not be ashamed, the cause will bear them out; but those who oppose it, shall be ashamed. The apostle had trusted his life, his soul, and eternal interests, to the Lord Jesus. No one else could deliver and secure his soul through the trials of life and death. There is a day coming, when our souls will be inquired after. Thou hadst a soul committed to thee; how was it employed? in the service of sin, or in the service of Christ? The hope of the lowest real Christian rests on the same foundation as that of the great apostle. He also has learned the value and the danger of his soul; he also has believed in Christ; and the change wrought in his soul, convinces the believer that the Lord Jesus will keep him to [The Kingdom]. Paul exhorts Timothy to hold fast the Holy Scriptures, the substance of solid gospel truth in them. It is not enough to assent to the sound words, but we must love them. The Christian doctrine is a trust committed to us; it is of unspeakable value in itself, and will be of unspeakable advantage to us. It is committed to us, to be preserved pure and entire, yet we must not think to keep it by our own strength, but by the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us; and it will not be gained by those who trust in their own hearts, and lean to their own understandings. ~Matthew Henry Concise  [Emphasis mine]

I was discussing with another minister the text I have highlighted here in red.  This was my statement:

"If the heart and mind of a firstfruit is likened unto a closely woven cloth bag, the scriptures cannot be something we place in the bag but something that must become part of the fabric of the bag.  For whatever reason, I believe the spiritual journey of some is far too shallow, as if they merely had the scriptures in the bag.  The scriptures must become a part of the substance of the heart, mind and soul of the individual.  This is what I believe the Matthew Henry is referring to when it calls this, 'unspeakable' as in, 'of unspeakable value and advantage to us.'  Christ IS the Word and we must become like Christ."

Now we will read from the John Darby Synopsis:

God then has given us the Spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind; the apostle had received such a position from God, that he had been able to bestow on Timothy the gift needed for his service but the state of spirit and soul which could use it was part of the inheritance of every Christian who leaned really on God. Nor was he to be ashamed either of the testimony, which was losing outwardly its onward current in the world, nor of Paul who was now a prisoner. How precious to possess that which is eternal, that which is founded on the power and on the work of God Himself! There were indeed the afflictions of the gospel, but he should take part in them and not shrink, enduring according to the power of God. God has saved us, has called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, as though anything depended on man, but according to His own purpose and His grace given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. This is the sure and immovable foundation, a rock for our souls, against which the waves of difficulty break in vain, shewing a strength which we could not resist for a moment, but shewing also their total powerlessness against the purpose and work of God. The efforts of the enemy only prove that he is without strength, in the presence of that which God is, and of that which He has done for us. And the apostle identifies his ministry with this, and the sufferings he was undergoing. But he knew whom he had believed and his happiness was safe laid up with Him. ~John Darby Synopsis

Now notice this from the Expositor's Bible Commentary...

The spirit with which we are endowed is a spirit of power, whereas a spirit of fearlessness is weak. Faint-heartedness cannot be strong. The fainthearted mistrust themselves and others; and they discourage themselves and others. They anticipate dangers and difficulties, and thereby sometimes create them; and they anticipate failure, and thereby often bring it about. It is only by acting, and by acting vigorously and courageously, that we find out the full power of the spirit with which we have been blessed.

Again, the gift which God has bestowed upon us is a spirit of love: and more than anything else perfect love casts out the spirit of fear. Fear is the child of bondage; love is the child of freedom. If we love God, we shall not live in terror of His judgments: and if we love men, we shall not live in terror of their criticisms. Moreover, the spirit of love teaches us the nature of the gift of power. It is not force or violence; not an imposing of our own will on others. It is an affectionate striving to win others over to obedience to the will of God. It is the spirit of self-sacrifice; not of self-assertion.

Lastly, the spirit with which we are endowed by God is a spirit of discipline [sound mind]. By discipline that cowardly indolence, which the spirit of fearfulness engenders, can be kept down and expelled. If it be asked whether the discipline be that which Timothy is to enforce in ruling others, or that which he is to practice in schooling himself, we may answer, "Both." The termination of the word which is here used seems to require the transitive meaning; and slackness in correcting others may easily have been one of the ways in which the despondency of Timothy showed itself. On the other hand the whole context here speaks of Timothy’s treatment of himself. To take a more lively interest in the conduct of others would be discipline for himself and for them also. There may be as much pride as humility in indulging the thought that the lives of other people are so utterly bad, that it is quite out of power of such persons as ourselves to effect a reformation. This is a subtle way of shirking responsibility. Strong in the spirit of power, glowing with the spirit of love, we can turn the faults of others, together with all the troubles which may befall us in this life, into instruments of discipline. ~Expositor's Bible Commentary

We must look at least one of the specific commentaries.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear - A timorous and servile spirit. This is said in order to encourage Timothy, who was not improbably modest and diffident [lacking confidence in one’s ability or worth].

But of power - Power to encounter foes and dangers; power to bear up under trials; power to triumph in persecutions. That is, it is the nature of the gospel to inspire the mind with holy courage; compare, however, Luke 24:49.

Quoted verse:
Luke 24:49
And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

And of love - Love to God and to the souls of men. The tendency of This, also, is to “cast out fear” 1 John 4:18, and to make the mind bold and constant. Nothing will do more to inspire courage, to make a man fearless of danger, or ready to endure privation and persecution, than “love.” The love of country, and wife, and children, and home, makes the most timid bold when they are assailed; and the love of Christ and of a dying world nerves the soul to great enterprises, and sustains it in the deepest sorrows.

Quoted verse:
1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

And of a sound mind - The Greek word denotes one of sober mind; a man of prudence and discretion. The state referred to here is that in which the mind is well balanced, and under right influences; in which it sees things in their just proportions and relations; in which it is not feverish and excited, but when everything is in its proper place. It was this state of mind which Timothy was exhorted to cultivate; this which Paul regarded as so necessary to the performance of the duties of his office. It is as needful now for the minister of religion as it was then. ~Barnes Notes

Let us recap some of what we have learned in this lesson.

1] Firstfruits must avoid and/or destroy any spirit of fear within us.
2] God has delivered us from fear.
3] God has given us the spirit of power, and of love and of a sound mind [discipline].
4] The call of the gospel is a holy call, making you holy.
5] The scriptures must become a part of the substance of the heart, mind and soul of the individual.
6] There are afflictions of the gospel, but we should take part in them and not shrink.
7] The fainthearted anticipate dangers and difficulties and thereby sometimes create them; and they anticipate failure, and thereby often bring it about.
8] The spirit of love casts out fear.
9] Discipline [a sound mind] keeps down and expels fearfulness.
10] A disciplined mind is one that is well balanced and under right influences.



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Las Vegas Church of God - part of The Intercontinental Church of God and The Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association - Tyler, Texas