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2 Timothy (Part 2)

2 Timothy
2 TimothySteve Gregg

In this insightful continuation of his study on 2 Timothy, Steve Gregg delves into the transformative work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life. Drawing upon various Scripture passages, Gregg emphasizes the importance of self-control and the renewal of the mind. He explores the concept of God's eternal grace and purpose, challenging certain theological positions. Gregg also highlights the significance of faith and love, urging believers to remain steadfast in the face of challenges and to trust in God's mercy on the day of judgment.

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Transcript

Power is something that most Pentecostals and Charismatics think of immediately when they think of the Holy Spirit's work in the Christian life. Because we're mindful of one of our favorite verses, Acts 1-8, For you shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you. And when the Holy Spirit comes upon a person, or when a person is said to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, we are aware that power is one of the manifestations of the Spirit, and that power may well be demonstrated in powerful gifts like signs, wonders, miracles, healings, supernatural displays of supernatural power.
And that certainly is true. Unfortunately, in at least some circles, Christians have come to see that as the main and most important manifestation of the Spirit. Paul acknowledges that the Spirit gives us power.
But, he goes on and says, and love. And love, of course, is more character oriented. It's something that is a fruit of the Spirit, according to Galatians 5-22.
And love is that which changes the way we relate with people. It has to do with our character and the quality of our relating with each other. It is, of course, the great commandment.
And only the Holy Spirit can make us capable of it. That is, of loving. In Romans 5-5, Paul said that the love of God is shed abroad, or poured out in our lives, by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 5-5. And then, of course, Galatians 5-22 tells us that love is the fruit of the Spirit. So, the Spirit gives us power, which we usually think of in terms of gifts of the Holy Spirit, but also love, which is the principal fruit of the Spirit.
Then, on the sound mind. Now, the word sound mind is translated variously in different translations. Some actually translate it as self-control.
I'm curious, what does the New American Standard translate that for? Discipline. Self-control, dis-missed, is a thought. Anyone have a different translation that has a different word there? Discipline, self-control.
The King James and the New King James both use the term sound mind. The Greek word is also translated elsewhere as sensible. Now, sensible can mean, in terms of the way you think, and therefore rendered a sound mind.
Or it can mean in behavior, that you behave in a sensible fashion. That your behavior is governed by good sense, rather than by impulse. Which would be like being disciplined or self-controlled.
A person who is governed by good sense must do so by suppressing appetites and impulses that are not sensible. And therefore, being sensible in terms of behavior requires self-control. And therefore, the word in the Greek means sensible.
Translators could choose sound mind or discipline. As various options as far as how Paul means to apply that term. The Spirit of God is said to have a positive effect on our soundness of mind.
The Bible says in Ephesians 4.23 that we are to be renewed in the spirit of our mind. And of course, a very similar sounding verse in Romans 12.2 says, You are not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. This renewing process is by the Holy Spirit.
How do we know that? Well, because of the word transformed. In Romans 12.2, where it says, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, this word metamorphosized is found in only one other place in the epistles. And that is in 2 Corinthians 3.18, where Paul says, We are being transformed or metamorphosized from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
So this word metamorphosized in Romans 12.2 is found also in 2 Corinthians 3.18. Both speak of a transformation of our character. In Romans, it is associated with the transformation of our thinking processes. In 2 Corinthians, the thinking processes are not singled out for attention, but the development or the sanctification of our character from glory to glory is mentioned.
And it is said to be through the Spirit of God. So the Spirit of God changes our character. The Spirit of God does give us a new mind, or a different mind.
After all, in Romans 8, Paul says that those who are in the Spirit mind the things of the Spirit, that they are spiritually minded. And those who are in the flesh mind the things of the flesh. They are carnally minded.
So the mind of the person who is governed by the Spirit of God is definitely in a different condition than the mind of the person who is in the flesh. That is in Romans 8, verses 5 and 6. Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. Those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
To be carnally minded is death. To be spiritually minded is life and peace. Romans 8, verses 5 and 6. If on the other hand we understand sound mind in 1 Timothy 1, 7 to mean discipline or self-control, which is preferred by some translators, there is a parallel to that too in Romans 8. And that is in Romans 8, verse 13.
In Romans 8, verse 13 it says, For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Notice, if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body. Putting to death the deeds of the body is the opposite of simply indulging the lusts of the flesh.
And to deny the lusts of the flesh for reigning your life is discipline. It is self-control. And Paul indicates that this is accomplished through the Spirit.
So we could find in 2 Kings, James, or with the other translations, in what Paul means when he says the Spirit of a sound mind or sensibleness, it could be that he is speaking of the work of the Spirit to change the way we think, or the way we discipline ourselves and overcome impulses of the flesh toward doing evil. In any case, either would be agreeable with other passages. Even both ideas would be found in Romans 8. And maybe both are implied.
It is possible that sensible means sensible in the way we think and in the way we act. At any rate, the Spirit of God is invaluable to the Christian because of the things that we receive. Love, power, and all that we really need for life in Godliness, as it turns out.
Verse 8, 2 Timothy 1.8. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner. There we first learn that Paul is in prison. He is a prisoner now.
But share with me in the sufferings of the gospel according to the power of God. Now, the power of God is what Timothy needs if he is going to make this death-defying visit to Rome. Paul says, don't be ashamed of me.
Don't stand aloof from me just because I happen to be in a humiliating and dangerous situation. Some have stood aloof. Some have forsaken me.
But don't be like them. Don't be ashamed of my situation or of my chains. Come and participate with me in the sufferings of the gospel.
Not in your own strength, but by the power of God. And he's already mentioned the power of God in verse 7. That's through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a spirit of talent.
Timothy, if you are afraid to come, God will give you the power to do what is against your nature. Come and participate and endure sufferings with me by God's power. Don't be ashamed of the gospel.
The very issue for which Paul is probably in prison is for preaching the gospel. That might make some people at that time want to distance themselves from the gospel. The way you distance yourself from someone that you're ashamed of.
He says, don't be ashamed. Don't distance yourself. Don't be aloof from the gospel, even though it's that very thing that may put you in prison with me.
Don't be ashamed of me. Don't be aloof from me, even though association with me might also put you in prison. This word, ashamed, appears three times in this chapter.
He tells Timothy not to be ashamed of the gospel out of Paul. Later in verse 12 he says, for this reason I suffer these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed.
And then later when he talks about Onesiphorus, a good man, of whom we know nothing except what Paul says here. It says in verse 18, the Lord grants him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that day. And you know very well, not that verse, I'm sorry.
Verse 16, the Lord grants mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and he was not ashamed of my shame. He tells in verse 17 how Onesiphorus had arrived in Rome to see Paul and he diligently sought him out, though at great personal risk. The very thing that he's telling Timothy to do.
He says that Onesiphorus wasn't ashamed of my shame. Therefore don't you be ashamed of me, the prisoner of the Lord. So ashamed here has to do with, if a person is ashamed in the sense that it has to do with their being not willing to associate with the humiliating circumstances that Paul is in.
And he says, Timothy, don't be ashamed. Onesiphorus was not ashamed and I am not ashamed, he says in verse 12. Okay, verse 9, after he's mentioned God, he cannot help but go into somewhat, you know, how Paul is about this.
He says, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling. Not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. Now this expression, before time began, is not the greatest possible translation.
The way it is worded may give the impression that time and eternity are separate entities. And there is, you know, time as we know it, the succession of events measurable, may be something that began at a certain time and will end at a certain time. There are, in fact, those Christian philosophers who believe that's exactly the case.
C.S. Lewis, for example, believes that time and eternity are separate realms. And following Lewis, I think an awful lot of Christians have held that view too. Actually, Plato first taught that and Augustine, if I'm not mistaken, also taught that.
And Lewis has popularized it. And it may be true, we don't know if it's true. The Bible doesn't teach it clearly anywhere.
If this translation is to be preferred, before time began, that would give strong support to the notion that time had a beginning and that there were things that happened before time began. And if they're not in time, they must be in eternity. And that we would make, therefore, a distinction between time and eternity.
The problem is with the translation. Now, the NIV, surprisingly, follows the King James fairly closely in translating this. Because I think the NIV just says, before the beginning of time.
And in this, both the King James and the NIV are not very close to the original, because the original literally says, before time is eternal. That God gave us this grace in Christ Jesus, before time is eternal. Now, obviously, that expression is difficult.
What does before time is eternal mean? Obviously, the NIV and the King James believe that that means before the beginning of time. Some translators prefer ages ago, or from ancient times, or something like that. So, we can't be sure that the strange expression, which occurs here and also occurs in Titus chapter 1, verse 2, where it says, In hope of eternal life, which God who cannot lie promised before time began.
Or, the same expression, before time is eternal. Titus 1-2 and here, in 1 Timothy 1-9, are the only two places this expression is found. We can't be sure that it is teaching a beginning to what we call time.
Although, before times certainly may sound a little bit like that, which is a little bit of a contradiction. But then, adding the word eternal only makes it sound grammatically strange. It may mean that eternity, or the realm of the eternal, is or existed before times.
In which case, that would again support the notion that time and eternity are separate entities. Although, we cannot be too dogmatic, and there are many Christians who object to the suggestion that time and eternity are not... That there is no time in eternity. You know the concept.
You've heard people say, you know,
In eternity, it's all just the eternal now. And, the problem with that is, of course, the suggestion is that there is no time with God. He lives in the realm of eternity, and therefore there's no past, present, or future for him.
And yet, throughout the scripture, we read of God doing things before he did something else. Some spiritual things, heavenly things. Which, I mean, the language of time is used, whether in a confession to our limited term of reference, or because it's really so, that there's a progression of events, even in God's activities in heaven.
And if there is, then that's what we call time. A succession of events, one happening before another, and one happening after another. So, I am a little suspicious of the notion that God lives in the eternal now, in a realm called eternity, that is not relevant to time at all.
But, it may be true we simply don't have enough data of scripture. I just want to point out that if you have a translation of this verse that gives support to that notion, that support is probably due to a not very exact translation of the Greek expression, which is really the four times eternal. Not a major point of importance, but it may be the sum.
Now, interesting, verse 9 actually is a very good Calvinist verse. Because it says that God has called us, not according to our works, possibly meaning not according to anything we have done, but according to his own purpose and grace. And of course, the Calvinist view is that God elected us and called us, not with reference to anything we have done or would do, but simply by God's own sovereign, unexplained purposes, and by his sovereign grace.
And that he gave us this grace and this calling before time began, or if we don't even accept that translation, certainly from ancient times before we were ever born, he gave us this grace. Now, as you know, I have felt that the pastoral epistles are one of the wealthiest sources of non-Calvinistic statements. And it's interesting, and it shows the very nature of the Calvinist Arminius today, that some strong, seemingly Calvinist statements can appear in the same epistles as some strong non-Calvinist statements.
And I certainly think, for instance, that chapter 2, verse 12 of this epistle is a strongly anti-Calvinist statement, where it says, if we endure, we shall reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. Denying Christ will mean that he will deny us, and Paul includes himself in that proposition, we.
So, I mean, here's an interesting thing. We also find it to be true in other places, where some of the strongest Calvinistic statements are found, we also find some of the strongest Arminian statements. The book of John, for example, and the book of Romans, those two books are sources for a large number of statements in favor of Calvinistic propositions.
In John, Jesus said, all that the Father gives me will come to me, and whosoever comes to me I will by no means cast out. And words like that have been used a great deal by Calvinists. Yet, it's also in John that Jesus says, you are the branches, and any branch that does not abide in me will be cut off and cast into the fire.
Which does not sound like it supports eternal security or perseverance of the saints necessarily. Likewise, Romans is thought to prove Calvinism. Romans, chapter 8, nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ, it says there.
And yet, it's also in Romans, chapter 11, that it says that we are branches grafted on by faith into God's olive tree, and if we don't continue in faith, we'll be cut off, just like the unbelieving Jewish branches were. So, I mean, it's an interesting phenomenon, that the nature of this controversy is such that you don't just have one book that teaches one of these doctrines, another book that seems to be in conflict with it, but the doctrines are strongly supported, both sides can just find their story support from the same books, in some cases. And what that tells me is that we don't have one author who's got strong Calvinist leanings and another one who has strong Arminian leanings, but that the truths that the Calvinists are trying to lay hold of and that the Arminians are trying to lay hold of must somehow be harmonious, more than is evident on the surface.
I mean, this seems like these are contradictory things. The idea that Paul, in these various places, in the Gospel of John, for example, could contain some of the strongest statements on both sides suggests that one thinker, with one homogenous theological viewpoint, could embrace both of these concepts, and therefore there must be the truth lying somewhere in, you know, there must be something to both of them. And our task, and it's not a simple one, by the way, is to find out where the truth lies, and it must be a truth that accommodates all of the facts.
And we've talked about this before, we don't have time to go into it now, but certainly anyone who wants to take an arrogant Arminian position is going to have to look pretty hard at 2 Timothy 1.9, because it seems to suggest that God's calling of us is not based on what we have done, but what God's purpose in His sovereignty and grace to do, and He purposed to call you in the ancient ages before you ever were a twinkle in your mother's eye. So, it's obvious that foreknowledge and predestination and election are implied in this. Though, I would stress that when he says, not according to our works, this does not necessarily support unconditional election, though some might use it that way.
He does not say, not according to our faith. If he said, not according to our faith, then it would seem to mean, you know, God had found nothing in us to explain why He would choose us. But it does not occur in our works, and throughout the epistles, that is the pastoral epistles especially, there is a stress on good works, in terms of righteous behavior and righteous acts.
And even the Arminian would agree that, though God did choose us because He foresaw that we would have faith, He did not choose us because of any good works we had done. So, that is agreeable, depending on what you understand by, not according to our works. An Arminian could agree with that, and say, it's true, it wasn't because of our good works that God called us, it's because of His grace, we all acknowledge that.
But the Arminian would say, there is something we did, there is something in our activities that influenced God to choose us, and that is that He foresaw that we would believe the gospel. And the Calvinists would say, no, that's not a factor. So, it's an interesting dilemma.
Verse 10. Continuing from the statement that God has given us this in Christ Jesus before time began, it says, but has now revealed, in contrast to before time began, now, He has revealed it by the appearance of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to life through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things.
Nevertheless, I am not ashamed,
for I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him until that day. Or, the King James Version says, until that day. Now, Paul stresses in verse 10 again, life and immortality.
This word, immortality, is a pretty rare one in the New Testament. He has used it, though, in 1 Timothy, where he also stressed life and immortality. In 1 Timothy 6.13, 1 Timothy 6.13, Paul says, I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things.
And then down in verse 16, 1 Timothy 6.16, speaking of Jesus, it says, who alone has immortality. So, in that little section in 1 Timothy 6.13-16, there is a stress on God giving life to all things, and Him presenting immortality. Now, also here in 2 Timothy 1.1, he says, God, according to the promise of life, and now in verse 10, He has brought immortality and life to life.
Since then, He says, has brought life and immortality to light. It's like, it was there, but no one saw it before Jesus had to turn on the light to show it to us. There were people in the Old Testament who experienced life and immortality.
Certainly, there were saved people who had eternal life in the Old Testament. But, it was never very clearly discussed in the Old Testament. The Old Testament is not very explicit in describing what happens to people after they die.
Both heaven and hell are fairly shady concepts in the Old Testament. It did not seem to be part of God's concern to reveal these matters in the Old Testament. But in Christ, in the Revelation of Christ, there is a great deal of information given about the immortal state of man and eternal life and so forth.
There is a very clear dichotomy in terms of emphasis on these points between the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament is mainly concerned with promising physical blessings, physical benefits, long life, prosperity, and so forth to those who are godly. And the great threat of the Old Testament to the wicked is that they are going to die.
In the New Testament, however, the great concern is eternal. It is better to enter into life maimed or blind than to be whole and be cast into the lake of fire. And the eternal issues are much more brought to light in the New Testament than in the Old.
They were in existence in the Old Testament, just like demons and the devil were in existence in the Old Testament, but are hardly mentioned. I'm sure that demons were as active in the Old Testament as they were in the New. But we read of them frequently in the New Testament and seldom in the Old.
And certain spiritual issues, though they were realities in the Old Testament, they were not brought to light. But Jesus, through the revelation he has given us, has brought certain things to light that were somewhat hazy in the shadows before, like life, eternal life and immortality. Now, in that connection, verse 10 says that Jesus has abolished death.
The word abolished there in the Greek is katardeo. One of the few Greek words I know. Katardeo, one reason I know it is because in some of my special interests there are some verses that use this word where its interpretation is important.
Katardeo means to reduce to inactivity or to render inactive. Katardeo means to reduce to inactivity or to render inactive. But by implication it may mean a variety of things.
Some translators in this case would like to use the word annul. He has annulled death, as if to cancel the death sentence, as it were. But the interesting thing is that the Bible says elsewhere that he has done the same thing, katardeo'd the devil.
Katardeo'd? Exactly as you would expect. K-A-T-A-R-G-E-O K-A-T-A-R-G-E-O This word is used in Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 14 where it says that Jesus has destroyed him that had the power of death, even the devil. The word destroyed is katardeo'd there.
He has reduced the devil to inactivity. Here it says he has reduced death to inactivity. Now, it's very interesting that both death and the devil still are active.
If you don't believe it, go step out in front of a freight train. You'll find at least that death is still alive and well, as it were. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 15 26, in 15 26 of 1 Corinthians, Paul is talking about the resurrection.
He's talking about eschatology. He's talking about the end. And he says, everyone's resurrected in their own time.
First Christ, later, afterwards, those who are his at his coming. After that is the end. When Christ will have offered up all things to his father and so forth.
Then it says, for the last enemy to be destroyed, katardeo'd, will be death. Now, the interesting thing there is that Paul is looking at the resurrection as the ultimate destruction or katardeo'd of death. Yet here, he's speaking of in the past tense.
Christ is already katardeo'd of death. Now, it seems like Paul can't make up his mind. What is his theology on this? Did Jesus render death inactive already? Or is that going to happen at the resurrection, as is implied in 1 Corinthians 15 26? Well, obviously, both are true in different senses.
But Jesus, the Confessor of the Cross, has not yet really been manifest in history. But it has been manifest to us in our experience. Just like we have not yet seen the appearance of the new heaven and the new earth.
But, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. That's 2 Corinthians 5 17 tells us. And in Hebrews chapter 6, we're told that Christians are those who have already tasted of the powers of the world to come.
The world to come hasn't come, but we have already tasted of the power of it. That's in Hebrews 6, probably verse 4 or 5, I don't remember exactly which verse. Now, there are certain things that Jesus accomplished and purchased, which will be revealed and universally known.
At a certain point in the future. But for us, as individuals, we have already experienced the powers of that world to come. We have already become a new creation.
We have already stepped into it.
It's already ours, in Christ. It will be universally realized at a later date.
Likewise, the destruction and the annulling and the rendering inactive of death. And the devil, by the way. It is eschatological when we say that when Jesus comes, he's going to throw the devil in the lake of fire.
And he's going to bring the new heavens and the new earth. But we can say, in a sense, since eschatology has already broken into our own experience in Christ. The age to come has already been tasted of by us.
That for us, death is already dead. For us, the devil is already rendered inactive. Not that he can't do any good, but we have the power to counteract everything he may try to do.
It's as good as if he were inactive. And the same thing is true of death. It's not that we won't physically die, but death really doesn't hurt us.
Because it's just the coronation into our reigning with Christ forever. So, there's a sense in which the things Jesus accomplished in destroying death and destroying Satan and rendering them inactive, it's true already in our experience. But it's not universally realized or manifested yet.
That will be later. Just like when Paul says in Romans 8 that the whole creation groans and travails, awaiting the time when the sons of God will be manifested. Yes? As individuals, then we don't have an over-realized eschatology, rather than as a unified corporate body, we could have an eschatology.
Say it again. Say it again. As individuals, then we would have the potential to have an over-realized eschatology.
Our experience would say, yes, we think that's happening. But as a universal... Not yet. Right.
Hear the not yet or... Exactly. It's the now and not yet. The already and the not yet is really how many scholars like to talk about eschatology.
There's a sense in which the spiritual dimension of that is already realized by those who have come into Christ. The not yet part is that which where the entire universe will become a reflection of these realities. At this point, only our lives are reflections of those realities.
But they're not manifest universally until Jesus returns. Eric? Does 1 John 3 use the word katargaia? Katargaia, this person's uncatholic past that he might destroy? I don't believe katargaia is there. I wish it were.
But I've done some work studies on katargaia, and I don't recall that being one of the verses that it appears in. I'm afraid I don't have the Greek text in front of me or else I could say it's right over there. But I think I could say it's not katargaia.
You can check that later if you'd like. I will say this, though. This already and not yet stuff.
In Romans chapter 8, it talks about the creation growing and prevailing, waiting for the time that it will be delivered from corruption. And it says, in Romans 8, 18, and 19, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing, or the manifestation of the sons of God.
There is a glory that will be revealed in us when Jesus returns. And the creation eagerly awaits that because it too will be released from its subjection to decay, as he goes on to explain at that time. But notice, the creation looks forward to a time when there will be a revelation of what is already true.
We are already the sons of God. But that revelation awaits the Son coming to Christ. That is, the world does not yet acknowledge we are.
John says in 1 John chapter 3, Beloved, now we are the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be. But when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Notice, we are now the sons of God, but it has not yet appeared what we shall be.
We already experience sonship, but the world does not recognize that. That will be manifested. And when it is, it will be at the coming of Christ when we are glorified in him, and where the world itself experiences total change.
So, when you talk about what Jesus did to death, it is something already accomplished at the cross. But as far as its ultimate, final destruction of death, the end of the experience of death in all the universe, that is going to be later, at the resurrection. Okay, now, verse 11, he says, To which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
This is agreeable with what he said elsewhere in 1 Timothy. For this reason I also suffer these things. What reason? Well, one, because he was appointed a preacher to the Gentiles.
That is why he suffered. But also, prior to that, he said, because God has abolished death, he has brought life and immortality back, and because of that, too, Paul is willing to suffer the things he does. He is suffering because he is a preacher to the Gentiles, but he is also willing to suffer as such, because he knows that death is really nothing terrifying to the Christian, and because he is aware and has been enlightened about life and immortality.
Therefore, he goes ahead into the dangerous situations he does, for the gospel's sake, and suffers these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed. In other words, in spite of the fact that one piece of the gospel has brought such disaster in his own life, in terms of personal comfort and liberty, that does not cause him to wish to stand aloof from it.
He still remains vehement in his preaching. The gospel is something he is not ashamed of. He has said all that, you know, in Romans 1, 16, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, because it is the power of God, and it is salvation to everyone that believes.
But he says, I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed in, whom I have believed clearly is God or Jesus or Paul. But he says, I not only believe in Him, but I know Him. I have a relationship with Him.
It is not just a theological concept that there is a God. God is not just a conclusion or a proposition based on evidence that I consider to be compelling. God is a person that I know.
I know the one that I have put my faith in. I am not putting my faith in some theological proposition. I am putting my faith in a person who I am acquainted with, a person I am in a relationship with.
I know Him. And therefore, I cannot fear, and I cannot doubt, and I cannot be pessimistic, because I know the one that I have put my trust in, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day. Now, what did Paul commit to God? Well, his own life, certainly.
His own soul he has committed to God, and therefore he could say, my own eternal welfare and salvation is in God's hands, and He will keep me safe until that day. It is also a fact that back in chapter 14 of Acts, when he and Barnabas appointed elders in every church and had to lead them, he also committed them to God. In other words, his children of the faith, his churches that he had established, were things that he had committed to God.
And he knew that he was now going to be put to death. He couldn't hold the hand of these churches and counsel them through their trials and so forth, and write more epistles to them to straighten them out. They were going to be out of his hands.
And he had committed them to God. Likewise, the church leaders that he had committed to God, some of them had already departed, but he had no reason for pessimism. He knew that the work he had done for his life was not going to be fruitless, ultimately, because he had committed it to God, and God would keep it.
God is able. He knew that God would not allow his labors to come to nothing, and history has shown that Paul's labors did not come to nothing. The Romans tried to stop him from having further influence, but his influence actually later conquered the Romans, in fact, after his own death.
And it is in the process of doing the same in many countries today, and even right here in this room, Paul's continued influence. That which he committed to God, God was able and was faithful to do to keep it. And now, by the way, this is a good verse for us, with reference to our own sense of security, as we face uncertain futures.
Whether, you know, will I survive, spiritually speaking, will my children be okay, and so forth. Whatever you have committed to God, he is certainly able to keep. And that's what he is saying.
And the more you know God, the more you will be persuaded of that fact. Persuasion is part of faith. Being persuaded that God is able to keep this is what would cause you to be at peace in the face of uncertain futures.
Now, it says, God is able to keep that which I have committed to him until that day. The question could rightly arise, what day does he have in mind? And the natural answer that we would come to would be the second coming of Jesus, the Judgment Day. After all, he uses the same expression in verse 18, talking about Holy Sephiroth.
The Lord grant him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that day. The same expression, in that day. Paul expects, for whatever it is he has committed to God, to be preserved until that day.
He also expects Holy Sephiroth to experience God's mercy in that day. Certainly that day could mean the Day of Judgment, easily. And since he doesn't specify which day, it may be that he intends him to understand it is a day of which he has spoken and written a great number of times.
And there are, both in the writings of Paul and also in Jesus' teachings, frequent references to that day. Jesus said, in that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord. Many will say in that day, that day and that hour will come as a feast in the night.
So it seems to be an eschatological day that he has in mind. The second coming of Christ and the attendance of resurrection and judgment and so forth. And he says, I know that until that day, whatever I have, even after I die, will be held inviolable.
And when it's brought up, when the books are opened on that day, then I will be, you know, all that I've done will be still mentioned in my favor. Time will not erase those things. Now, it is also possible, that seems less likely to me, that that day may mean simply, generically, the day of a man's death.
The end of his life, the last day of his life. In other words, he'd say, I believe that my soul will be kept by God safe until death. Whereas others, have strayed from the faith under persecution or even under less pressure than that.
I'm not going to. God's going to keep me safely in the faith until the day I die. And that doesn't seem very likely to be the correct interpretation.
I think he's talking about that theologically, the second coming of Christ and the judgment. Now, verse 13, hold fast. The pattern of sound words, it's interesting, that in verse 12, he speaks of God's ability to keep things.
And yet he encourages Timothy to hold fast to them. That is that Timothy has had some role in keeping them too. It's not just, as some who put an over-emphasis on God's sovereignty would say, God alone is going to keep these things, irrespective of what we do.
Nor is it as some extreme human free will teachers would say, it's just what we do, God has nothing to do with it. But God keeps, and we have to hold on to it too. And these two ideas are found throughout the scriptures.
If God is the keeper, we are the ones who also have to be diligent to hold on to it, to keep those things too. Keep yourselves in the love of God, Judas says. Peter says in 1 Peter 1.5 that we are kept by the power of God through faith.
The faith is what we bring to the situation, the power of God is what he brings, and we are kept jointly by the power of God through faith, as by our believing. Now, hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus. Faith and love obviously are the two principal virtues that Paul emphasizes most frequently.
That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. So we have to hold fast, we are supposed to live through the power of the Spirit, not to lose sight of the truth and the sound words we've got in us. And the Holy Spirit is to be trusted to help him to do that.
This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phrygianus and Hermogenes. Now, these two men we know nothing about other than here. And that may be important in dating this too, because if they were important in the days of the book of Acts, we probably would have read of them in the book of Acts.
But these may have been men converted later than the events of the book of Acts, but now already departed from Paul. Now, when it says all those in Asia have turned from me, that's kind of scary. When you consider that Asia means Turkey, where Paul had founded a number of churches, including the church of Ephesus where this letter was sent to.
And since Timothy was in Asia, it hasn't turned from Paul. And no doubt some of those under Timothy's oversight certainly haven't turned from Paul. We should understand all those who are in Asia should be not an absolute statement, but rather there's been a general turning from Paul in Asia.
And even that might have been only temporary since we read in the book of Revelation letters to seven churches that were in Asia that some of them seem to be doing relatively well. So it may be that just at this time of crisis, some of those who had been converted by Paul, some of the churches that had been established by Paul, maybe most of them, were experiencing some serious shaking and were distancing themselves from him. Because, after all, Asia was a Roman province and if Paul was treated as a Roman criminal, it may have been pretty risky in that province to name yourself as someone associated with that man who may have been a very controversial criminal in Rome at that moment.
So some of them had no doubt denied him before men, as it were, and definitely did not wish to be associated with him. Some of those were quite jealous and homogenous about him. We know nothing else about them except their defection.
Now it says, By contrast, So, Onysiphorus must have been from Ephesus, where Timothy lived. He was one of those from Asia, most of whom had turned away from Paul, and Onysiphorus was a notable example. He was not ashamed.
He came to Rome and met Paul in order to minister to him. He knew that Paul was going to need a friend, and he came to minister to him. Now, if that's true, then Paul wouldn't... We wonder, what had happened to Onysiphorus since then? Did he stay with Paul? Paul doesn't send greetings from Onysiphorus along with greetings from Timothy.
It has been suggested by many, and it seems to me very credible, that Onysiphorus may have, having come and associated with Paul, fallen into trouble himself. At the time of this writing, he may well have been imprisoned awaiting execution, or even already been martyred. We can't be sure about that, but everything Paul says may agree with that.
He speaks strictly in the past tense. He doesn't say, Onesiphorus is not ashamed of my chains, as if that's a continuing situation, but he was not ashamed of my chains, of the eulogy of a man who is now no longer with us. Certainly, if Onysiphorus had come and then abandoned Paul, Paul wouldn't have later written these positive things about him.
He came, but he's not there anymore. It's interesting that he wishes mercy on the man's household, but not on the man himself. Although later he wishes on the man himself.
But he starts off with him, May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onysiphorus, perhaps his wife and children, you could possibly deduce. For he often refreshed me. He was not ashamed of my chains.
When he arrived in Rome, he sought me and very diligently found me. And then it says, May the Lord grant him that he might find mercy of the Lord on that day. Could be almost a posthumous well-wishing for him.
If he has died, now all he has to look forward to is the day of judgment, and I trust God will show mercy and remember his loyalty on that day. For you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus. Now, there is nothing in here that compels us to believe that Onysiphorus is now dead.
But there are many questions that would arise if he is not dead, which are answered by the supposition that he is dead. That, uh, if he talks so much in the past tense, he doesn't indicate that Onysiphorus is still with him, or continuing to not be ashamed of him, and so forth. And it is therefore possible that he's telling Timothy, you know, uh, I was visited by another friend of yours, and I'm asking you to come to me now.
He was not ashamed, and I'm asking you not to be ashamed. And if Onysiphorus was now martyred in deceit, then, uh, I'm asking you to come to me now.

Series by Steve Gregg

Isaiah
Isaiah
A thorough analysis of the book of Isaiah by Steve Gregg, covering various themes like prophecy, eschatology, and the servant songs, providing insight
Introduction to the Life of Christ
Introduction to the Life of Christ
Introduction to the Life of Christ by Steve Gregg is a four-part series that explores the historical background of the New Testament, sheds light on t
Gospel of Luke
Gospel of Luke
In this 32-part series, Steve Gregg provides in-depth commentary and historical context on each chapter of the Gospel of Luke, shedding new light on i
Revelation
Revelation
In this 19-part series, Steve Gregg offers a verse-by-verse analysis of the book of Revelation, discussing topics such as heavenly worship, the renewa
Hosea
Hosea
In Steve Gregg's 3-part series on Hosea, he explores the prophetic messages of restored Israel and the coming Messiah, emphasizing themes of repentanc
Jonah
Jonah
Steve Gregg's lecture on the book of Jonah focuses on the historical context of Nineveh, where Jonah was sent to prophesy repentance. He emphasizes th
Word of Faith
Word of Faith
"Word of Faith" by Steve Gregg is a four-part series that provides a detailed analysis and thought-provoking critique of the Word Faith movement's tea
Habakkuk
Habakkuk
In his series "Habakkuk," Steve Gregg delves into the biblical book of Habakkuk, addressing the prophet's questions about God's actions during a troub
Cultivating Christian Character
Cultivating Christian Character
Steve Gregg's lecture series focuses on cultivating holiness and Christian character, emphasizing the need to have God's character and to walk in the
Ephesians
Ephesians
In this 10-part series, Steve Gregg provides verse by verse teachings and insights through the book of Ephesians, emphasizing themes such as submissio
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