A
Spirit of Power Given From God
by
Rev. Paul J. Bern
Today
we will begin an in-depth study from a Progressive Christian point of
view of Paul's 2nd
letter to Timothy, better known as Second Timothy. As we open today's
study, we find the apostle Paul writing a letter of encouragement to
Timothy. As you will see, Paul has been imprisoned once again for
preaching the Gospel. He is exhorting Timothy in his absence to keep
up his good work for the Lord, and even more importantly, to continue
to keep himself pure in his daily walk with Christ – just as we all
should strive to be perfecting ourselves in our own lives. So without
further comment, let's begin at the first verse of chapter one.
“Paul,
an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the
promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dear son:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I thank God, whom I serve as my forefathers did, with a clear
conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.
Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with
joy. I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in
your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now
lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the
gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For
God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of
love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy chapter one, verses 1-7,
NIV)
The
first thing that jumps out at me here is Paul calling Timothy “my
dear son”. Since there is mention of only Timothy's mother and
grandmother, and none of his father, I think it is reasonable to
assume that Timothy's biological father probably died when Timothy
was still young. So Paul, in effect, is telling Timothy that he
should consider himself adopted. He hadn't had an earthly father in
his youth, so Paul evidently took up the responsibility for his
mentoring and coaching, as we can clearly see here. I grew up in a
foster home, and my foster-dad died just after my 12th
birthday, so I also know what it's like to grow up without a father.
But an Old Testament prophet wrote, “You are my son; today I have
become your father, thus says the Lord your God”. I can personally
attest to the fact that all of the kids who grew up without dads can
take great consolation in knowing that we each have a heavenly Father
who looks down on us and guides us, who protects us from harm, and
who seeks a personal relationship with each of us. The Lord God
Almighty is our heavenly Father who is our provider and our
protector, of that you can all be sure. Moreover, God sent his only
Son to save the world from its numerous sins, and Jesus Christ was in
fact executed by the Roman Empire by being nailed to a cross, and He
became the ultimate sacrifice by substituting himself for the animal
sacrifices of several thousand years ago. Then, after lying in a
borrowed grave for three days and three nights, Jesus Christ became
the only man in recorded history who ever rose from the dead and gain
immortality. That's the gift God has given every one of us, the gift
of salvation through eternal life in Christ. Now that's
what I call having an awesome dad!!
“Recalling
your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.”
Evidently Paul and Timothy had been together long before Paul had
been locked up, or Timothy may have visited Paul in prison. Either
way, their parting was apparently an emotional one. This is
noteworthy because it was 2,000 years ago, and so to see grown men
weeping must have been very rare back then. They have an unmistakable
affection for one another. Paul then makes reference to Timothy's
upbringing as being the reason for his being filled with the Holy
Spirit, which he undoubtedly was. All you parents should take note of
this because it is still just as applicable today. It is absolutely
crucial in a child's development to bring them up in the ways and
teachings of Jesus Christ. This doesn't necessarily mean everybody
suddenly has to become religious, which is defined as dogma that
originates from the minds of imperfect men. But the teachings of
Jesus Christ are taken right out of the Bible, and they are
interpreted exactly as they are written. The teachings of Jesus
Christ supersedes religion and all things religious.
“For
this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God … For
God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a Spirit of power, of
love and of self-discipline.”
The Bible says repeatedly that God is “a consuming fire”, and I'm
certain that that's what Paul was referring to when he wrote these
words. If God is a consuming fire, then we fan the flame that
personifies the gift of God. We do this by acts of faith, hope,
charity and being merciful to others whether we think they deserve it
or not. Paul wrote that God's Spirit is the exact opposite of timid.
That Spirit is one of unimaginable power, unconditional love,
self-discipline and with great fortitude. While mere men and women
like ourselves have physical and mental limitations, God has no such
limitations. Therefore that which He can do for us, if only we will
ask him with humility and thankfulness, has no limits at all. Bearing
that in mind, let's conclude today's study starting at verse eight.
“So
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, who 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,
but 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. And of this gospel I was
appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That 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. What you heard from me, keep as the
pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard
the good deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help
of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. You know that everyone in the
province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.
May the Lord show mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, because he often
refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when
he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. May 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.” (2
Timothy chapter 1, verses 8-18, NIV)
“So
do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord … who 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, but it has now been
revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus...”.
In the same way that Paul was charging Timothy with the task of
spreading the Gospel, we as readers are similarly charged with this
same task. By the same token, that doesn't necessarily mean that
everyone should take the first available plane or boat to the 3rd
world country of their choice and become missionaries. Not everyone
is called to be a missionary, nor are all evangelists, teachers,
helpers, musicians and administrators, and so on. But those who don't
stand in front of groups or go to churches and preach or teach aren't
excused from spreading the Gospel. If we're not called to step up to
a microphone (and not everyone is), then we should be leading and
witnessing by example. How well do we treat others? Are we
compassionate, considerate and generous? Do we stop first before
acting and ask, “What would Jesus do?”
Nothing
that we do on our own, no matter how well-intentioned, can enable us
to come home and be with God for all eternity when our bodies wear
out and die. Only Jesus, and no one else, can save us from our sins
against God. “All have sinned”, king David wrote, “and fallen
short of the glory of God”. So by the grace of Jesus Christ, which
was given to us before the beginning of time, we are saved from
condemnation and by no other means. “And
of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.
That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I
know whom I have believed... ”.
Paul was appointed to be a herald and a teacher for the Gospel of
Jesus. In a way so am I, although in my case “apostle” might be
stretching it a little bit. As you all can clearly see by my
writings, I am not the least bit ashamed of my faith either. Although
I am not suffering for my faith, I don't draw a salary or derive much
income from this web site. I don't do this for the money, I do this
as a form of praise unto God, “through whom all blessings flow”.
Paul wrote that he knew full well what he believed in, and so do I,
so we are at least somewhat alike in that regard.
“What
you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith
and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted
to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in
us.”
In the same way, what you read here from me, try to put it into
practice in the most practical and user-friendly way that you can. As
I wrote earlier, there is no singular way to praise and worship God,
and to lift up the most holy and sacred name of Jesus. There are a
myriad of ways to do this. If you're not sure how to proceed, pause
and talk to God about it. There's never a charge for consulting with
His Majesty the Lord. Pray to him and ask for guidance. He loves you
immeasurably and will be very happy to assist you. Until next time,
let go and let God be your guide.
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