1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
2To Timothy, my dear son:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Encouragement to Be Faithful
3I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
8So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
13What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you--guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
15You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.
16May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.
1) V1-7 – 1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, 2To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
Paul introduces himself in this final letter to Timothy as first and foremost “an apostle of Christ Jesus.” It’s the most important thing about his personal identity, not because he’s proud of having chosen that role. On the contrary, Paul did not choose to be Christ’s apostle to the Gentiles; rather, he was chosen, as he says, “by the will of God.” This choice was “according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus.” In other words, the apostle’s role is to proclaim the gospel of Christ, that all who are chosen would be given the promise of life by faith, which comes through hearing (Romans 10:17). As Paul says elsewhere, “since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21).
In v2, Paul issues the same blessing he gave previously, referring to Timothy as his “dear son.” Timothy was certainly Paul’s spiritual son in the faith, as well as his protégé in ministry. The grace, mercy, and peace that are so crucial to the Christian life, come “God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” The language is unmistakable in asserting the full Deity of Jesus Christ, by equating Him with the Father.
V3-5 serve as Paul’s typical thanksgiving section of his letter. All of his letters include such a section, except for Galatians, 1 Timothy, and Titus. He says a wealth about himself in v3, not only thanking God, but also declaring that he serves Him “with a clear conscience…constantly.” Paul says that his forefathers served God as well, revealing that Paul sees no difference between New Testament Christianity and Old Testament Christianity (Acts 24:14; 26:5-6; Romans 4; 2 Corinthians 11:22; Philippians 3:5).
Paul remembers, recalls, and is reminded several times in v3-6; it’s the same Greek word (mneia). First, Paul remembers Timothy in prayer thankfully. Next, he recalls Timothy’s tears in v4, noting that most likely, the last time they parted, Timothy cried. Undoubtedly, it was as Paul was imprisoned unto certain execution. Yet Paul holds out hope that he may see Timothy once more in order that he “may be filled with joy.” Third, Paul is reminded of Timothy’s sincere faith (literally “unhypocritical” or “pure,” as in 1 Timothy 1:5), which stemmed from his mother’s side of the family. Paul knows that Timothy, as well as his mother and grandmother, have continuing faith in Yahweh’s plan of redemption, which comes through Jesus. And finally, into v6, Paul reminds Timothy that he has been equipped for ministry. We’ll look at that more closely in the next section of the text.
In v6, Paul reminds Timothy “to fan into flame the gift of God.” Timothy has sincere and living faith (v5), and he is especially gifted for ministry, but it may be that Timothy wasn’t being as passionate or bold as he ought to have been; perhaps the fire was smoldering and needed to be rekindled. Along these same lines, it appears from v7 that Timothy was afraid – a coward – or shy at best. Thus, Paul reminds him that God did not give him “a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.” We must also be reminded of this truth for our own lives (Romans 8:15).
The spirit Paul speaks of is not the Holy Spirit, per se, but the empowering of Timothy’s spirit by the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit has not helped Timothy to be timid, but to be powerful (bold and courageous), loving, and self-disciplined. And Calvin comments, “He speaks of this power as accompanied by love and self-discipline in order to distinguish the power of the Spirit from the intemperate zeal of fanatics, who rush in with reckless haste and boast that they have the Spirit of God. But the power of the Spirit, the powerful energy of the Spirit, is tempered by love and sobriety. It always has a calm concern for edification.” In other words, the power Timothy has been given is for love and self-discipline, something that the false teachers did not exhibit in claiming their own power.
2) V8-14 – 8So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me His prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9who has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day. 13What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
This entire passage is the body of the letter (v8-14 is one sentence in Greek), including an exhortation to boldness and faithfulness. Timothy should “not be ashamed to testify about our Lord” (Acts 1:8), because he has been given “a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (v7). The mention of Paul as a prisoner of God in v8 is meant to encourage Timothy to boldness, for many times did Paul urge his followers to model him in ministry and Christian living. To be a prisoner of God and for God is the height of Christian living, because such a position eliminates both selfishness and fear. Paul was not ashamed, and he was proud of being unashamed, as he should have been. And Jesus tells us not to be ashamed of Him, lest He be ashamed of us on Judgment Day (Matthew 10:33). Those called to be preachers must preach the Good News regardless of cost or consequences. Paul urges Timothy to join him “in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.” Being united to Christ in suffering is a blessing, because it means that we are united to Him in death and life eternal!
V9 is an important doctrinal reminder to Timothy from the pen of Paul. God’s action of saving an individual includes the calling to service and holy living. Paul’s teaching here recalls the covenant language of the Old Testament; Paul sees New Testament believers as equivalent, a continuation of the Old Testament faithful (Israel). God elects certain sinners (those who in time become believers) for glorification through sanctification, which in turn comes through justification (Romans 8:28-30). This election is “not because of anything we have done but because of His own [gracious] purpose.” Many ask about this purpose, and we conclude that His purpose is “mercy” (Titus 3:5; Romans 9:14-24) and love (Ephesians 1:4-5). This gracious election and calling was given to us in Christ “before the beginning of time” (Titus 1:2; Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:20; Revelation 13:8). In other words, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not an afterthought; we were predestined to holiness (set apart), to be conformed to God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27), the image of Christ. 1 Timothy 1:9 serves as an echo of Romans 8:29, which says, “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son.”
V10 describes Christ as the mediator of the gospel of grace by destroying death and bringing “life and immortality to light.” He did this at His epiphany, His first coming, though the same Greek word also speaks of His second advent. Again, when Paul refers to “our Savior, Jesus Christ,” he is clearly equating Father and Son as two of the three Persons of the one and only Triune Deity. The Pastoral Letters go and back-and-forth calling God savior and Jesus savior, using identical language. Perhaps this characteristic was expressly for combating the common exclamation that Caesar was savior divine.
In v11, Paul returns to his own ministry, which got this ball rolling back in v8. He lists not so much the gifts he received for his ministry but the tasks he was appointed to accomplish with his very life. Heraldry, apostleship, and teaching referred to his tasks of preaching the gospel, being sent out to the Gentiles for the gospel, and training / edifying the saints for the sake of the gospel. He was also called to suffer (Acts 9:16; 2 Corinthians 4:7-12; 6:3-10; 11:24-28) for the gospel, which in a sense, proved that he was faithful to his God-appointed mission. It became no longer a disgrace but an honor to suffer for the gospel; he wasn’t ashamed of it, because he had an ongoing, intimate relationship with Jesus (v12). There were a lot of uncertainties for Paul, but he was convinced that God guards His own people (Romans 4:20-21), that Jesus will accomplish His purposes in and through His people, (“what I have entrusted to Him” – our very selves) until “that day,” those who have by grace believed the gospel and professed that Jesus is Lord. At the end of v12, Paul speaks of that day; he’s referring in Old Testament language to Judgment Day (v18), the day of the consummation of the Kingdom of God.
Finally, in v13-14, Paul returns to his point, that Timothy needs to cling to the sound doctrine that he had learned from Paul. Not only does Timothy need to hold on to it for himself, but he also needs to guard it from false teachers so that it doesn’t get corrupted. He must do this, intending to pass it on “with faith and love in Christ Jesus,” “with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” You’ve heard, “Don’t just stand there! Do something!” Well, Paul is effectively teaching the opposite, for Timothy must ensure that his stance is firm in God’s word, or else whatever he does won’t matter. “Don’t just do something! Stand there!” In concluding this lengthy sentence, Paul practically passes over a great and valuable truth of the Christian faith. The Holy Spirit lives in us! Throughout the Bible, we see the unity of the Father, Son, and Spirit in the truth that They indwell believers, and the Son and Spirit are even referred to with the same names (“Truth” and “Advocate” – John 14:6,16,17; 16:7,13; 1 John 2:1).
3) V15-18 – 15You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.
In this final passage of chapter 1, Paul gives Timothy examples of unfaithfulness in Phygelus and Hermogenes and then faithfulness in Onesiphorus, who was a church member in Ephesus (v18; 2 Timothy 4:19). Paul uses the word “everyone” in v15 as an intentional exaggeration to show the danger of unfaithfulness; when an influential person goes astray, oftentimes many others follow. And being faithful to God doesn’t guarantee that people will be faithful to you! It should, and you might think it would, but it doesn’t, as evidenced by Paul here. In fact, Paul seems to expect human unfaithfulness; that’s why he rests so gloriously in the faithfulness of Christ. And Jesus expected that same human unfaithfulness, and He responded the same way that Paul does – by continuing to faithfully serve God.
V16-18 are an extended prayer for Onesiphorus, Paul’s faithful partner in his ministry. This man stood out to Paul, coming to serve him, and encourage him, in his time of need; and Paul wants God to bless him accordingly. And God will (Matthew 10:41-42; 25:40), because He is faithful. Calvin infers from this verse “that ‘the blessing of God rests, not only on the head of the righteous man,’ but on all his house. So great is the love of God toward His people, that it diffuses itself over all who are connected with them.” Timothy would have known these people and would have been further encouraged by Paul’s thoughts to be steadfast in his ministry labor. That’s the application for us. We ought to be encouraging to our brothers and sisters in Christ. But in order to be encouraging, we have to have fellowship; we have to know the struggles of our fellow believers; we have to have relationships and some level of intimacy beyond that of acquaintances; and we have to care enough to help “in many ways” (v18).
Bible text from Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.