“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” 2 Peter 1:20 – 2:1
Verses 1-2 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.
An apostle is a delegate, messenger, or one who is sent forth. Barnabas, Timothy and Silvanus were all apostles working with the Apostle Paul in the ministry. Timothy is listed in the introductory sentence of the Apostle Paul’s letters to the Church at Rome, Philippi, Colosse, and Thessalonica. This letter or epistle was addressed to Timothy and is a followup to the first epistle sent by the Apostle Paul referred to as the book of 1 Timothy. The Apostle Paul’s usual salutation of “grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus” is included here as it is in all of his epistles.
Verse 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;
The Apostle Paul had discipled Timothy and thought of him as his son and fellow worker in the Faith. “For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the LORD, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.” 1 Corinthians 4:17 He carried messages to various churches for the Apostle Paul and he could be trusted to teach and preach the good news of the Gospel in the same manner as was done by the Apostle Paul. They were very close and they served each other and prayed for each other faithfully.
Verses 5-6 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.
Scripture does not give a lot of information about Timothy (Timotheus) and about his time spent with the Apostle Paul. The book of Acts records “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.” Acts 16:1 So Eunice was his Jewish mother and apparently both his grandmother and mother were women of sincere (unfeigned) faith and they raised Timothy to be the same. And this writer assumes that when the Apostle Paul laid his hands on Timothy, it was when he was being ordained into the ministry of Jesus Christ at which time he received the baptism of the Holy Ghost/Spirit and therefore received power from on high. The gift was the Holy Ghost/Spirit from who comes faith, knowledge, and power.
Application: Faith needs to be exercised in order to grow. The Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy to “stir up” the gift of God, meaning to put faith into practice daily. Each time a Christian believer puts his/her faith in the LORD when trials and tribulations come and then patiently waits for the LORD to intervene, his/her faith is growing. All believers have a measure of faith because it takes faith to believe in an invisible God and to trust in that which is not seen. So a believer can become a Christian and then never grow in their faith or a believer can exercise their faith and deepen their relationship with the LORD. It is a choice.
Verse 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Application: Fear is an evil spirit. Fear is never from God. The crazy thing is that fear cannot hurt anyone as it is a feeling and not a reality. It is that knot in the stomach or that headache or sleepless night. It is often referred to as anxiety. And most fears never materialize into a real problem. Examples such as fear of heights, of flying, of darkness, of dogs, of water, of sickness, or of dying are all put upon men and women by evil spirits. Christian believers, when walking in the Spirit, have no fear of earthly things. Because their mind, will and emotions are all in tune to the LORD Jesus Christ through the presence of the Holy Ghost/Spirit, Satan or his fallen angels cannot put fear into their lives. A story reported to be true has been told about an incident that happened in Europe during WW11. A church congregation was meeting one night for prayer and encouragement when a group of armed German soldiers entered their church building. The lead soldier announced that they were taking over the church and demanded that all Christian believers remain seated and all those who were not believers were to stand and leave the building. Many people left. The German soldiers closed the church door after those that left and then addressed the true believers that remained. The logical conclusion was that the Christian believers would be taken as prisoners or executed. Those remaining in their church showed no fear because their trust was in the LORD. What actually happened was that the German soldiers put their weapons down and begged the pastor to explain what it meant to be a follower of Jesus. They were war weary and knew that there was more to life than what they were experiencing. God was calling them to repentance and to His Kingdom. The Gospel was presented and the German soldiers repented and converted that very night. They then left and no one knew what happened to them. Those who were true believers in Jesus passed a test of their Faith, had no fear, and ended up with the blessing. They showed love to the German soldiers and had a story to tell their grandchildren. And Satan’s plan to attack God’s people failed.
Verse 8 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;
The Greek word translated as “partaker of the afflictions” is “sugkakopatheo” and it means to suffer hardship together with one. A Christian believer should never be ashamed of the Bible, the LORD Jesus Christ, or their Faith. If a believer fails to defend and stand firm on the teachings of the Gospel, this writer would suggest there is a problem with the believer and that maybe the believer is only religious until pressure is applied from friends, family, or the government, and that the believer never had a conversion experience and the filling of the Holy Ghost/Spirit.
Application: Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 So the Christian believer is guaranteed to have trouble while living in the flesh on this Earth. Why? Because, like Jesus, believers have an enemy called Satan, the god of this world, and he will do all that he can to destroy the followers of Jesus. He tried to destroy Jesus, he tried to destroy the Apostle Paul, and he will try to destroy you, the Christian reader. So the believer cannot be ashamed of the testimony of the LORD or of those people suffering because of their Faith as in order to call oneself “Christian”, one has to be like Christ and He suffered and died. So take the Apostles words written to Timothy in the verse above and apply them to your life. When walking in the Spirit, the Christian believer is guaranteed peace. It is a promise from God and He cannot lie.
Verses 9-10 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 10 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:
The Greek word translated as “calling” is “klesis” and it means a call, an invitation, or the divine invitation to embrace salvation of God. The Apostle Paul is saying that he and Timothy (and all Christian believers) were called to salvation and to the ministry of the Gospel, not because of their talents and the things they could do, but because God had a plan for their lives and a divine purpose and because of His unmerited favor towards them.
Application: When the Apostle Paul stated that Jesus abolished death, he was not referring to physical death. Physical death is the result of Adam and Eve’s sin in the garden of Eden and that won’t change until the LORD returns and ends time here on Earth. He was referring to spiritual death. All people die physically, and all people have a spiritual life after the death of their body, some in Hell and some in Heaven. So through Jesus, after physical death, people can live forever in eternity with Him in Heaven if they obey the Gospel and commit to follow with a whole heart the LORD Jesus Christ. Those who choose to follow Satan will live forever in eternity separated from God and that is spiritual death.
Verses 11-12 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
The Apostle Paul had three ministries: he preached, he taught, and he traveled and started churches wherever he went. As a result, he was persecuted, primarily by the Jews of his day. But he trusted the LORD and believed that his ministry would be continued until the last day of time when the LORD Jesus Christ would return. And he was correct as this writer is commenting on his written words roughly 2000 years after they were penned.
Verse 13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
The Greek word translated as “form” is “hupotuposis” and it means an example or pattern. The Greek word translated as “sound” is “hugiaino” and it means metaphorically of the Christian believer opinions that are free from any mixture of error. The Greek word translated as “words” is “logos” and it means speech, what someone has said, or the sayings of God. So the Apostle Paul is telling Timothy and readers of today to pattern speech and opinions after that which is true and free from error and which comes from God.
Verse 14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
Timothy is commanded to keep or hold firmly and faithfully the correct knowledge and pure doctrine of the Gospel which was given by the Holy Ghost who dwells in each believer. Then he would be able to impart that knowledge to others and thereby spread the Gospel.
Application: Every Christian believer has been given “that good thing” by the LORD Jesus Christ. They are given forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and the presence of the LORD Himself via His Holy Ghost/Spirit. The world, the Devil and the flesh will try to take that good thing away, so the believer must be vigilant and hang on to that which they know to be true and not waiver in their faith and commitment to Jesus Christ.
Verses 15-18 This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. 16 The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: 17 But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. 18 The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well. (2 Timothy 1)
Application: Some people fail to keep that good thing which was committed to them by the Holy Ghost/Spirit, and the Apostle Paul names a few in these verses. When he was arrested and jailed these people claiming to love Jesus and to be Christian believers ran the other way. It is not known how many people made up the “all they which are in Asia” group, but most likely it was a lot of people as the Apostle Paul made disciples wherever he went and established churches. Phygellus deserted the Apostle Paul in his time of need. His name means, interesting enough, “a little fugitive”. His name does not appear anywhere else in the New Testament. Hermogenes’ name means “lucky born or born of Mercury”, Mercury being the pagan Roman god of financial gain and the guide of souls to the underworld. His name also does not appear anywhere else in Scripture. In contrast, the name Onesiphorus means “bringing profit”.