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
First I want to give so text that speaks to the
purpose of this letter.
2 Timothy 1:1-18.
Address: Thankful expression of
love and desire to see him: Remembrance of his faith
and that of his mother and grandmother. Exhortation
to stir up the gift of God in him, and not shrink
from affliction, enforced by the consideration of
the freeness of God’s grace in our Gospel calling,
and by the apostle’s example. The defection of many:
The steadfastness of Onesiphorus.
This Epistle is the last testament and swan-like
death song of Paul.
~Jamieson, Fausset, Brown
Now the introduction of 2 Timothy by the Matthew
Henry Main.
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. 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 verses:
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.
2 Corinthians 1:20
For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in
him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
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 Timothy1:5.
Quoted verse:
2 Timothy 1:5 [See
Lesson]
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. 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:
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:
3 John 1:4
And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a
conscience void of offence toward God, and toward
men.
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. I rejoiced greatly that I found of
thy children walking in the truth, 2 John 1:4.
~Matthew Henry Main
Quoted verses:
Acts 11:23-24
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.
24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost
and of faith: and much people was added unto the
Lord.
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.
Now to the specific commentaries.
Our verse again is 2 Timothy 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
according to the promise of life which is in Christ
Jesus.
Most commentaries divide verse into three parts:
1] Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ.
2] By the will of God.
3] According to the promise of life which is in
Christ Jesus
1] Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ.
Paul an apostle of Jesus
Christ - Not of men, nor by men, but by Jesus
Christ, from whom he was sent; by whom he was
qualified; in whose name he came, and ministered;
and whom he preached. ~John
Gill
2] By the will of God.
By the will of God -
Called to be an apostle in accordance with the
divine will and purpose.
~Barnes Notes
By the will of God -
not by the will of man, no, not of the best of men,
of James, Cephas, or John, or any of the other
apostles; nor by his own will, he did not thrust
himself into this office, or take this honour upon
himself; nor was it owing to any merits of his,
which he always disclaims, but to the will and grace
of God; it was by the secret determining will of
God, that he was from all eternity separated unto
the Gospel of Christ; and it was by the revealed
will of God to the church, that he, with Barnabas,
was set apart to the ministry of the word.
~John Gill
3] According to the promise of life which is in
Christ Jesus.
According to the promise of
life which is in Christ Jesus - In accordance
with the great promise of eternal life through the
Saviour; that is, he was called to be an apostle to
carry out the great purpose of human salvation;
compare Ephesians 3:6. God has made a promise of
life to mankind through faith in the Lord Jesus, and
it was with reference to this that he was called to
the apostleship. ~Barnes
Notes
Quoted verse:
Ephesians 3:6
That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the
same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by
the gospel:
According to the promise of
life which is in Christ Jesus. — Paul’s
apostleship is in order to carry into effect this
promise. Compare “according to the faith ... in hope
of eternal life ... promise,” etc. (Titus 1:1-2).
This “promise of life in Christ” (compare 2 Timothy
1:10; 2 Timothy 2:8) was needed to nerve Timothy to
fortitude amidst trials, and to boldness in
undertaking the journey to Rome, which would be
attended with much risk (2 Timothy 1:8).
~Jamieson, Fausset, Brown
Quoted verses:
Titus 1:1-2
1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus
Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and
the acknowledging of the truth which is after
godliness;
2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot
lie, promised before the world began;
2 Timothy 1:10 [See
Lesson]
But is now made manifest by the appearing of our
Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and
hath brought life and immortality to light through
the gospel:
2 Timothy 2:8 [See
Lesson]
Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was
raised from the dead according to my gospel:
2 Timothy 1:8 [See
Lesson]
Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of
our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou
partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according
to the power of God;
Recap:
1] Paul, an apostle.
2] Chosen of God by the will of God.
3] Qualified by God.
4] To represent God.
5] To preach the gospel.
6] In accordance with the great promise of eternal
life through the Saviour.
7] Paul was called to carry out the great purpose of
the Salvation Process.
8] This letter was sent to inspire and strengthen
Timothy for his task in Ephesus.
9] Timothy's task was primarily to stop false
doctrine and false teachers.
10] Paul has confidence in Timothy regarding this
task.
11] Anything a firstfruit does affects his or her
reputation and it affects the church.
12] All firstfruits have the honor of the church in
their hands.
13] Paul is encouraging Timothy to invoke: courage,
power, love and self-discipline, which are all
possible via the Holy Spirit.
14] Pardon [grace], mercy and peace come from the
Father and Jesus Christ.
15] Regardless of what we do in or for the Work of
God, the glory always goes to God.
16] Firstfruits are to draw near to God in full
assurance of faith.
17] Firstfruits hold faith without hypocrisy. This
faith is a living principle of God.
18] Pray for your ministers and all members of the
Body of Christ. |