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| Chapter 1 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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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 I have thee in remembrance in my prayers night and day without ceasing. 4 I greatly desire 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, is in thee also. 6 ¶ Therefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee through 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. 8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner; but be thou a partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God, 9 who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but in accordance with His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 10 but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. 11 For this I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12 For this 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. 13 Hold fast to the form of sound words, which thou hast heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 14 That good thing which was committed unto thee, keep, by the Holy Spirit who dwelleth in us. 15 ¶ This thou knowest, that all those who are in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. 16 The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains; 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 from the Lord in that Day! In how many things he ministered unto me in Ephesus, thou knowest very well. |
Timothy appears to have been slightly shy and timid, this letter is to encourage Timothy to step forward with the message of salvation with great courage. v1-7 Courage and commitment v1,2 The love of Paul for Timothy, as Paul's life and work draws to a close he is showing how dear Timothy was to him. "my dearly beloved son." Though Paul's future was very uncertain he still knows that he is "an apostle of Jesus Christ," he knew that he was under control and protection of his Master, God would take care of him, he had "the promise of life." v3,4 Prayers. Paul is anxious that Timothy would come to him a soon as possible. He remembers that at one time he was out to destroy the Christian faith, at the time he thought he was doing the right thing. His ancestors had shown him the Jewish faith, but Christ showed him the true faith, he now served God "with pure conscience" v5 Paul thinks of Timothy's faith. Though Timothy was having problems Paul knew that Timothy's faith was an "unfeigned (sincere, unfailing) faith" just as Timothy's mother and grandmother, his relations. v6,7 Paul reminds Timothy that when God called him into service that the Holy Spirit gave him gifts through the laying of Paul's hands. This act of laying of hands upon a person as part of the ordination was common in the early church, 1 Tim 4:14; Acts 6:6; Acts 13:3. God can give the power to overcome any fear v7 Rom 5:1-5. God had already given Timothy all the power he needed in the ministry, Paul is telling Timothy to "stir up" or 'wake it up' 1 Tim 4:14. The Holy Spirit will never leave God's children, John 14:16, but we can stop Him working Eph 4:24-32, "grieve not the holy Spirit of God," or "Quench not the Spirit." 1 Thess 5:19 v8-12 Not ashamed. To not be ashamed of our Lord is an important message in this letter. Because Timothy was naturally quite and withdrawn, timid, it might make Timothy avoid witnessing. v8 Witnessing and working for the Lord may bring suffering, Paul was in prison for his witnessing, but God will give all the power we need. v9 We are part of God's plan, "in accordance with His own purpose" A plan which has existed since the "world began." We have become part of His saving grace because of the work of God and not because of our own life and works. v10 Death has been defeated, there is nothing to be afraid of. 1 Cor 15:55. Jesus brought "life and immortality" an eternal resurrected body. 1 Cor 15:49-58 v11,12 Though he was a prisoner Paul was still witnessing the Gospel, sadly it appears that many of the Christians had deserted Paul, v15, It appears that some were ashamed of being with the apostle. Paul tells Timothy of two reasons he should not be ashamed of his imprisonment. v11 Paul was called by God to be a preacher and apostle, to reject those called by God is to also reject God. God had chosen Paul to be teacher to the Gentiles, it was because of this he was now in prison. Now instead of supporting him the Gentiles were turning away in embarrassment. v12 Paul was not ashamed of his position, he knew, believed that his Lord Jesus was faithful in His promises and was able to keep him, whatever happened. v13-14 Make sure you follow the teaching of God's Word. God had given Paul the message and now Paul was telling Timothy to make sure that he avoided any changes in this teaching. It was the Holy Spirit which gave the truth to Timothy and He would help Timothy guard it. John 16:13. v15 We do not know who were Phygellus and Hermogenes except they had turned away from supporting Paul. v16-18 Paul still had one who supported him, Onesiphorus. v17 suggests that he may have had a problem in finding Paul. Paul was not under house arrest as before but held in a Roman prison cell. Possibly those who were ashamed of Paul refused to tell Onesiphorus where Paul was, a sad situation for Christians. Paul prays for Onesiphorus, they had obviously worked together when Paul was in Ephesus. |
Easy English Translation
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