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2 Timothy
Chapter One
2 Timothy 1
The Second Epistle to Timothy has a very peculiar
character. It is the expression of his heart, who out side Palestine had, under
God, founded and built the assembly of God on earth, and it was written in
sight of its failure, and its departure from the principles on which he had
established it. God remained faithful; His foundation was sure and immovable;
but the work committed into the hands of men was already enfeebled and
decaying. The consciousness of this state of things, which moreover betrayed
itself in the way in which the apostle himself was then forsaken oppressed his
heart; and he pours it out into the bosom of his faithful Timothy. By this
means the Spirit instructs us in the solemn truth, that the church has not kept
its first estate, and sets before us the ways of safety for those who seek God,
and desire to please Him, in such a state of things as this.
The apostle John gives the history of the fall of the assembly here
below, and of its judgment, and that of the world likewise. He also sets before
us a life which, apart from all questions of the assembly's condition, abides
ever the same, which renders us capable of enjoying God, and makes us resemble
Him in His nature and character.
As a witness John was to remain until the Lord came: but
Paul sees for himself the ruin of that which he had built and watched over so
faithfully. He had spent himself for the assembly, accomplishing that which was
behind of the sufferings of Christ; and he had to see that which he had so much
loved (which he had cared for even as a mother cherishes her nursling which he
had planted as God's plant on the earth) grow feeble as to its condition and
testimony in the world, depart from the source of strength, and become corrupt.
What a painful experience! But it is that of the servant of God in all ages and
in all dispensations. He sees indeed the power of God acting to plant the
testimony on earth, but he sees that men soon fail in it. The house inhabited
by the Holy Ghost becomes dilapidated and in disorder. Nevertheless (and we
love to repeat it with the apostle) the sure foundation of the Lord abides for
ever. Whatever may be the condition of the whole company, the individual is
always to depart from all iniquity, and to maintain, by himself if need be, the
true testimony of the name of the Lord. This can never fail the faithful soul.
In view of the mixture and confusion which began to shew
itself in the assembly, the apostle's comfort was founded on these two
principles, while remembering and joyfully availing himself of the communion
and faithfulness of some precious souls. He had such as Timothy and
Onesiphorus, amid the afflictions of the gospel and the sorrow of being
forsaken by so many who were seals to his testimony before the Lord.
The apostle begins by taking the ground of grace and of
individual life-which never changes in essential character-outside church
privileges. Not that these had changed; but he could no longer connect them
with the general body on earth. He calls himself here an apostle according to
the promise of eternal life which is in Christ Jesus. It is not merely the
Messiah, it is not the head of the body, it is the promise of life which is in
Him.
Paul addresses his dearly beloved son Timothy, whose affection he
remembers. He desired greatly to see him, being mindful of his tears, shed
probably at the time when Paul was made prisoner, or when he was separated from
him on that occasion, or when he heard of it. It is the confidence of a friend
that is speaking to one whose heart he knew. We see something of this, but in
the perfection that was peculiar to Himself, in Jesus on the cross, in that
which He said to John and to His mother. A similar form would have been
unsuitable in Paul. The affections of men shew themselves in and by their
wants, the wants of their hearts; those of the Lord by His condescension. With
Him all is in itself perfect. With us it is only by grace that all is in its
right place. But when separation to service in power, which knows but that, is
over, nature according to God has its right place. In the consecrated meat
offering that was to be made with fire, honey had no place.
Verse 3. The apostle does not speak any longer of the
high character of his work, but of his personal position rightly felt according
to the Spirit. He had served God, following in the steps of his forefathers,
with a pure conscience. In every way he was a vessel made unto honour. For more
than one generation his ancestors were distinguished for a good conscience; and
personal piety, founded on the truth, shewed itself in the service of God. Paul
was not here e# pressing a judgment as to the inward condition of each
generation: it was their character. He calls to mind a similar fact with regard
to Timothy, in whose case however personal faith is referred to, known to Paul
himself, so that the bond, though of personal feeling, was christian. [1]
Judaism, as to its outward obligations, is totally absent; for the father of
Timothy was a Greek, and the marriage of his Jewish mother was unclean
according to the law, and would have rendered Timothy also unclean and deprived
him of Jewish rights; and in fact he had not been circumcised when an infant.
Paul did it, which was also not according to the law, unless Timothy had become
a proselyte. Both heathens and their children were excluded, as we read in
Nehemiah. Paul's act was above the law. Here he takes no notice of it; he
leaves the Gentile father out of sight, and speaks only of the personal
unfeigned faith of Timothy's mother and grandmother, and that of his beloved
disciple himself.
The state of the assembly was only an additional occasion
for the exercise of his faith, and for his zealous activity of heart and
courage. Difficulties and dangers multiplied on every hand; the unfaithfulness
of Christians was added to all the rest. But God is none the less with His
people. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of
a sound mind, so that the Lord's labourer, the man of God, he who kept himself
in communion with God in order to represent Him on the earth, was to stir up
the gift that was in him, and (as the apostle expresses it with admirable and
touching force and clearness) to endure the afflictions of the gospel according
to the power of God. Here, in the case of Timothy, the apostle could make
mention of a special gift of the Spirit, which had been conferred upon Timothy
through the laying on of hands. In the First Epistle he had spoken of the
prophecy which had called him or pointed him out for the possession of this
gift, and told us that it had been accompanied by the laying on of the hands of
the elders; here he tells us that the laying on of his own hands was the means
of bestowing it upon him.
The apostle reminds him of this proof of power and
reality in his ministry (and in that of Paul himself), in view of this period
when its exercise was more difficult. When all is prosperous, and the progress
of the gospel is remarkable, so that even the world is struck with it, the work
is found to be easy, in spite of difficulties and opposition; and-such is
man-even in consequence of this opposition one is bold and persevering. But
when others, Christians even, forsake the labourer, when evil and the
deceptions of the enemy come in, when love has grown cold, and, because one is
faithful, prudence takes alarm, and desires a less forward walk, to stand firm
in circumstances like these, to persevere in the work, and maintain one's
courage, is not an easy thing. We must possess Christianity with God, so that
we know why we stand fast: we must be ourselves in communion with Him, in order
to have the strength necessary to continue laboring in His name, and the
sustainment of His grace at all times.
God then has given us the Spirit of power and of love and
of a sound mind; the apostle had received such a position from God, that he had
been able to bestow on Timothy the gift needed for his service but the state of
spirit and soul which could use it was part of the inheritance of every
Christian who leaned really on God. Nor was he to be ashamed either of the
testimony, which was losing outwardly its onward current in the world, nor of
Paul who was now a prisoner. How precious to possess that which is eternal,
that which is founded on the power and on the work of God Himself! There were
indeed the afflictions of the gospel, but he should take part in them and not
shrink, enduring according to the power of God. God has saved us, has called us
with a holy calling, not according to our works, as though any thing depended
on man, but according to His own purpose and His grace given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began. This is the sure and immovable foundation, a rock for
our souls, against which the waves of difficulty break in vain, shewing a
strength which we could not resist for a moment, but shewing also their total
powerlessness against the purpose and work of God. The efforts of the enemy
only prove that he is without strength, in the presence of that which God is,
and of that which He has done for us. And the apostle identifies his ministry
with this, and the sufferings he was undergoing. But he knew whom he had
believed and his happiness was safe laid up with Him.
That which we have to seek is the power of the Spirit, in
order that we may realise this gift of God by faith, and that we may abide, as
to our hearts, as to our practical faith, in the sense of our union with
Christ, upon this immutable foundation, which is nothing less than the
immutability and the glory of God Himself. For His purpose has been manifested;
that purpose, which gave us a place and a portion in Christ Himself, was now
manifested through the appearance of that very Christ.
It is no longer a nation chosen in the world to display
in it the principles of the government of God, and of His ways in
righteousness, in patience, in kindness, and in power, on the earth (however
unchangeable His counsels, however sure His calling), as manifested in His
dealings with regard to the people whom He called.
It is a counsel of God, formed and established in Christ
before the world existed, which has its place in the ways of God, outside and
above the world, in union with the Person of His Son, and in order to manifest
a people united with Him in glory. Thus is it a grace which was given us in
Him, before the world was. Hidden in the counsels of God, this purpose of God
was manifested with the manifestation of Him in whom it had its accomplishment.
It was not merely blessings and dealings of God with regard to men-it was life,
eternal life in the soul, and incorruptibility in the body. Thus Paul was
apostle according to the promise of life.
While Christ Himself was alive, although life was in Him,
this purpose of God was not accomplished with respect to us. The power of life,
divine power in life, was to manifest itself in the destruction of the power of
death brought in by sin and in which Satan reigned over sinners. Christ then in
His resurrection has annulled death, and by the gospel has brought to light
both life and incorruptibility, that is to say, that condition of eternal life
which puts the soul and the body beyond death and its power. Thus the glad
tidings of this work were addressed to all men. Founded in the eternal counsels
of God, established in the Person of Christ, the work necessary for its
fulfillment being accomplished by Him, possessing a character altogether
outside Judaism, and the mere government of God in the earth, Paul's gospel was
unto all men. Being the manifestation of the eternal counsels and power of God,
having to do with man as lying under the power of death, and with the
accomplishment of a victory that placed man beyond that power, and in an
entirely new condition which depended on the power of God and His purposes, it
addressed itself to man, to all men, Jews or Gentiles without distinction.
Knowing Adam dead by sin and Christ alive in the power of divine life, he
announced this good news to man- deliverance, and a totally new state of
things.
It was to proclaim this gospel that the apostle had been
called as a herald. It was for this he suffered, and, in the sense of what had
caused it, was not ashamed to suffer. For he knew whom he had believed; he knew
His power. He believed in the gospel that he preached, and therefore in the
victorious power of Him in whom he believed. He could die with regard to the
life that he had received from the first Adam, he could be dishonoured and put
to shame in the world and by the world: life in Christ, the power by which
Christ had won a place for man outside the condition of the first Adam, life as
Christ now possesses it was not touched thereby. Not that life had not been
there before, but death and he that had the power of death were not overcome,
and all was dark beyond the closing tomb: a lightning flash might pass across
the gloom, adequate ground be laid for the just conclusion of the Pharisee, but
life and incorruptibility were not brought to light but in Christ and His
resurrection.
But this is not all which is here expressed. The apostle
does not say " in what I have believed," but " whom:" an
important difference, which places us (as to our confidence) in connection with
the Person of Christ Himself. The apostle had spoken of the truth, but truth is
allied to the Person of Christ. He is the truth; and in Him truth has life, has
power, is linked with the love which applies it, which maintains it in the
heart and the heart by it. "I know," says the apostle, " whom I
have believed." He had committed his happiness to Christ. In Him was that
life in which the apostle participated; in Him, the power that sustained it,
and that preserved in heaven the inheritance of glory which was his portion
where this life was developed.
Encouraged by this hope and committing himself to Jesus,
he had endured all things for Him, and for those who were His; he had accepted
all suffering here, he was ready to die daily. His happiness, in the glory of
that new life, he had committed to Jesus; he laboured meanwhile in affliction,
sure of finding again, without being deceived, that which he had committed to
the Lord, in the day when he should see Him and all his sorrows ended. It was
in the expectation of that day, in order to find it again at that day, that he
had committed to Him his happiness and his joy.
Moreover, his own career would soon be finished; his eyes
therefore turn towards Timothy for the welfare of the assembly here below. He
exhorts him to be steadfast, to hold fast the truth, as he had taught it to him
(it was the testimony of the Lord), but the truth in its realisation by faith
in Christ, and according to the power of love that is found in communion with
Him. It is this which, as we have seen, the apostle had realised. The truth,
and living grace in Jesus, in faith and in love, which gave it its power and
its value-these are, as it were, the pivots of strength and faithfulness at all
times, and especially for the man of God, when the assembly in general is
unfaithful.
Truth as it was taught by the apostles and expressed by
them, the manner in which they presented the truth, "the form of sound
words," is the inspired expression of that which God was pleased to
reveal; and that, in all the relationships in which the truth is linked
together, in all its different parts, according to the living nature and power
of God, who is necessarily its centre as He is its source. Nothing except
revelation could be this expression. God expresses everything as it is, and in
a living way; and by His word all exists. He is the source and the centre of
all things. All flow from Him-are in relation with a living Person, namely
Himself, who is their source, from whom all hold their existence. This
existence only subsists in connection with Him; and the relationship of all
things to Him, and between themselves, is found in the expression of His
mind-in that measure at least in which He puts Himself in relation with man in
all these things. If evil comes in, as regards will or its consequences in
judgment, it is because this relationship is broken; and the relationship that
is broken is the measure of the evil.
Thus we see the immense importance of the word of God. It
is the expression of the relationship of all things to God; whether as regards
their existence--that is, creation-or with respect to His counsels; or even as
to His own nature, and the relationship of man with Him, and the communication
of life received from Him, and the maintenance of His true character. It comes
from heaven as did the living Word, reveals what is there, but adapts itself,
as the living Word did, to man here, directs him where there is faith here, but
leads him up there where the living Word is gone as man.
The more we consider the word, the more we shall see its
importance. Analogously to Christ the living Word, it has its source on high,
and reveals what is there, and is perfectly adapted to man down here, giving a
perfect rule according to what is up there, and, if we are spiritual, leading
us up there: our conversation is in heaven. We must distinguish between the relationship
in which man stood as child of Adam, and as child of God. The law is the
perfect expression of the requirements of the former, the rule of life to him;
it is found to be to death. Once we are sons of God, the life of the Son of God
as man down here becomes our rule of life. "Be ye imitators of God as dear
children, and walk in love as Christ hath loved us."
In His nature, as the author of all existence, and the
centre of all authority and subsistence outside Himself, God is the centre of
all, and the upholder of all. As to His counsels, Christ is the centre, and
here man has a peculiar place; wisdom's good pleasure was eternally in Him, and
all is to be under His feet. In order that the nature and the counsels of God
should not be separated (which indeed is impossible, but what was in His
counsels in order that it might not be), God became man. Christ is God made
manifest in flesh, the Word made flesh. Thus the divine nature, the expression
of that nature, is found in that which is the object of His counsels, that
which forms their centre. Thus Christ is the truth-is the centre of all
existing relationships: all have reference to Him. We are, through Him, for
Him, or we are against Him: all subsist by Him. If we are judged, it is as His
enemies. He is the life (spiritually) of all that enjoy the communication of
the divine nature; even as He sustains all that exists. His manifestation
brings to light the true position of all things. Thus He is the truth. All that
He says, being the words of God, are spirit and life; quickening, acting
according to grace, judging with regard to the responsibility of His creatures.
But there is yet more than this. He is the revelation of
love. God is love, and in Jesus love is in action and is known by the heart
that knows Him. The heart that knows Him lives in love, and knows love in God.
But He is also the object in whom God is revealed to us, and has become the
object of entire reliance. Faith is born by His manifestation. It existed
indeed through partial revelation of this same object, by means of which God
made Himself known; but these were only partial anticipations of that which has
been fully accomplished in the manifestation of Christ, of the Son of God. The
object is the same: formerly, the subject of promise and prophecy; now, the
personal revelation of all that God is, the image of the invisible God, the One
in whom the Father also is known.
Thus faith and love have their birth, their source, in
the object which by grace has created them in the soul: the object in which it
has learnt what love is, and with regard to which faith is exercised. By Him we
believe in God. No one has ever seen God: the only begotten Son, who is in the
bosom of the Father, He has revealed Him.
Truth is thus revealed, for Jesus is the Truth, the
expression of that which God is, so as to put all things perfectly in their
place, in their true relationships with God and with each other. Faith and love
find the occasion of their existence in the revelation of the Son of God, of
God as a Saviour in Christ.
But there is another aspect of the accomplishment of the
work and of the counsels of God, which we have not yet spoken of: that is, the
communication of the truth and of the knowledge of God. This is the work of the
Holy Ghost, in which the truth and the life are united, for we are begotten by
the word. It is divine energy in the Deity, acting in all that connects God
with the creature or the creature with God. Acting in divine perfection as God,
in union with the Father and the Son, the Holy Ghost reveals the counsels of
which we have spoken, and makes them effectual in the heart, according to the
purpose of the Father, and by the revelation of the Person and work of the Son.
I have said, divine energy, not as a theological definition-which is not my
object here-but as a practical truth, for while attributing all that regards
the creature to the Father (except judgment, which is entirely committed to the
Son, because He is the Son of man) and to the Son the immediate action in
creation and on the creature, wherever it takes place, is attributed to the
Spirit.
The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters when
this earth was formed; by His Spirit the heavens were garnished; we are born of
the Spirit; sealed with the Spirit; holy men of God spake by the Spirit; gifts
were the operation of the Spirit distributing to whom He would; He bears
witness with our spirits; He groans in us; we pray by the Holy Ghost, if that
grace is bestowed upon us. The Lord Himself, born as man in this world was conceived
by the Holy Ghost; by the Spirit of God He cast out devils. The Spirit bears
witness of all things, that is to say, of all truth in the word:-the love of
the Father, the nature and the glory of God Himself, His character, the Person
and glory and love of the Son, His work, form the substance of His testimony,
with all that relates to man in connection with these truths. The Spirit's
witness to these things is the word, and-produced by means of men-takes the
shape of the truth formally set forth by revelation. Christ is the truth, as we
have seen, the centre of all the ways of God; but what we are now speaking of
is the divine communication of this truth; and in this way it can be said that
the word is the truth. [2] But,
although communicated by means of men, so that it takes a form adapted to man,
its source is divine; and He who has communicated it is divine: He of whom it
is said, he shall not speak of himself (that is to say, from Himself-apart from
the Father and the Son). Consequently the revelation of the truth has all the
depth, the universality of relationship, the inseparable connection with God
(without which it would not be truth, for all that is separate from God is
falsehood) which truth itself possesses-necessarily possesses--because it is
the expression of the relationships which all things have to God in Christ;
that is to say, of God's own thoughts, of which all these relationships are but
the expression. It is true that this revelation also judges all that is not in
accordance with these relationships, and judges according to the value of the
relationship that is broken with regard to God Himself, and the place which
this relationship has in His mind. [3] When
this word is received through the quickening work of the Holy Ghost in the
heart it is efficacious; there is faith, the soul is in real living practical
relationship with God according to that which is expressed in the revelation it
has received. The truth-which speaks of the love of God, of holiness, of
cleansing from all sin, of eternal life, of the relationship of children-being
received into the heart, places us in real present living relationship with
God, according to the force of all these truths, as God conceives them and as
He has revealed them to the soul. Thus they are vital and efficacious by the
Holy Ghost; and the consciousness of this revelation of the truth, and of the
truth of that which is revealed, and of really hearing the voice of God in His
word, is faith.
But all this is true in the revealed word before I
believe in it, and in order that I may believe in it--may believe in the
truth-although the Holy Ghost alone makes us hear the voice of God in it, and
so produces faith. And that which is revealed in it is the divine expression of
that which belongs to the infinite on the one side, and is expressed in the
finite on the other; of that which has the profoundness of the nature of God,
from whom all proceeds, with whom and with whose rights all is in relationship
but which is developed-since it is outside God-in creation and in the finite.
The union of God and man in the Person of Christ is the
centre-we may say (now that we know it) the necessary centre of all this, as we
have seen. And the inspired word is its expression according to the perfection
of God, and (we bless God for it, as the Saviour is the grand subject of the
scriptures, " for," said He, " they testify of me ") in
human forms.
But this word, being divine, being inspired, is the
divine expression of the divine nature, persons, and counsels. Nothing that is
not inspired in this way can have this place-for none but God can perfectly
express or reveal what God is-hence infinite in what flows in it; because it is
the expression of, and connected with, the depths of the divine nature and so
in its connection infinite, though expressed in a finite sense, and so far
finite in expression, and thus adapted to finite man. Nothing else is the
divine expression of the divine mind and truth, or is in direct union with the
unmixed source, even though it sprang from the same source. The immediate
connection is broken; that which is said is no longer divine. It may contain
many truths, but the living derivation, the infinite the union with God, the
immediate and uninterrupted derivation from God, are wanting. The infinite is
no longer there. The tree grows from its root, and forms one whole; the energy
of life pervades it-the sap which flows from the root. We may consider one
part, as God has set it there, as a part of the tree; we may see the importance
of the trunk; the beauty of the development in its smallest details, the
stateliness of the whole, in which the vital energy combines liberty and
harmony of form. We see that it is a whole, united in one by the same life that
produced it. The leaves, the flowers, the fruit, all tell us of the warmth of
that divine Sun which developed them, of the gushing inexhaustible stream which
nourishes them. But we cannot separate one part, be it ever so beautiful, from
the tree, without depriving it of the energy of life and its relationship with
the whole.
When the power of the Spirit of God produces the truth,
it develops itself in union with its source, whether in revelation or even in
the life and in the service of the individual; although in the two latter cases
there is a mixture of other elements, owing to the weakness of the man. When a
man's mind apprehends the truth, and he seeks to give it a form, he does it
according to the capacity of man, which is not its source; the truth as he
expresses it, even were it pure, is separated in him from its source and its
totality; but, besides this, the shapethat a man gives it always bears the
stamp of the man's weakness. He has only apprehended it partially, and he only
produces a part of it. Accordingly it is no longer the truth. Moreover, when he
separates it from the whole circle of truth in which God has placed it, he must
necessarily clothe it in a new form, in a garment which proceeds from man: at
once error mixes with it. Thus it is no longer a vital part of the whole, it is
partial, and thereby not the truth; and it is in fact mixed with error. That is
theology.
In the truth there is, when God expresses it, love,
holiness, authority, as they are in Him the expression of His own relationships
with man, and of the glory of His being. When man gives it a shape, all this is
wanting and cannot be in it, because it is man who shapes it. It is no longer
God speaking. God gives it a perfect form; that is to say, He expresses the
truth in words of certainty. If man gives it a form, it is no longer the truth
given of God. Therefore to hold fast the truth in the form God has given it,
the type, the shape in which He has expressed it, is of all importance: we are
in relationship with God in it according to the certainty of that which He has
revealed. This is the sure resource of the soul, when the assembly has lost its
power and its energy, and is no longer a sustainment to feeble souls; and that
which bears its name no longer answers to the character given it, in the First
Epistle, "the pillar and support of the truth. [4] The
truth, clear and positive truth, given as a revelation from God in the
words-clothed with His authority-by which He has given the truth a form,
communicating the facts and the divine thoughts which are necessary for the
salvation of men, and for their participation in divine life-this it is which
we are to hold fast.
We are only sure of the truth when we retain the very
language of God which contains it. By grace I may speak of the truth in all
liberty, I may seek to explain it, to communicate it, to urge it on the
conscience, according to the measure of light and spiritual power bestowed upon
me; I may endeavor to demonstrate its beauty, and the connection between its
various parts. Every Christian, and especially those who have a gift from God
for the purpose, may do this. But the truth which I explain and propose is the
truth as God has given it, and in His own words in the revelation He has made.
I hold fast the form of sound words, which I have received from a divine source
and authority: it gives me certainty in the truth.
And here it is important to remark the assembly's part
when faithful. She receives, she maintains the truth in her own faith; she
guards it, she is faithful to it, she is subject to it, as a truth, a revelation,
which comes from God Himself. She is not the source of the truth. As an
assembly she does not propagate it-does not teach it. She says " I
believe," not "believe." This last is the function of ministry,
in which man is always individually in relationship with God by means of a gift
which he holds from God, and for the exercise of which he is responsible to
God. This is all-important. Those who possess these gifts are members of the
body. The assembly exercises her discipline with regard to all that is of the
flesh in them, in the exercise or apparent exercise of a gift, as in all else.
She preserves her own purity without respect of persons as to their outward
appearance, being guided therein by the word (for this is her responsibility);
but she does not teach, she does not preach.
The word goes before the assembly, for she has been
gathered together by the word. The apostles, a Paul, those who were scattered
abroad by the persecution, a thousand faithful souls, have proclaimed the word,
and thus the assembly has been gathered out. It has been said that the assembly
was before the scriptures. As regards the written contents of the New
Testament, this is true; but the preached word was before the assembly. The
assembly is its fruit but is never its source. The edification even of the
assembly, when it has been gathered together, comes direct from God, through
the gifts which He has bestowed; the Holy Ghost distributing to each according
to His will.
The scriptures are the means which God has used to preserve
the truth, to give us certainty in it; seeing the fallibility of the
instruments by whom it is propagated, since revelation has ceased.
If at the beginning He filled certain persons with His
Spirit in such a way that error was excluded from their preaching, if besides
this He then gave revelations in which there was nothing but His own word, yet
as a general rule preaching is the fruit of the Holy Ghost in the heart, and
its spirituality is only in measure, and there is the possibility of error.
Here, whatever may be the power of the Spirit's work, we have to judge. (See
Acts 17:11; 1 Cor. 14:29) Farther on we shall see that in forming this
judgment, it is the scriptures which assure those who are led of God.
We have thus in the ways of God respecting this subject
three things closely united, yet different: ministry, the assembly, and the
word of God, that is, the written word; when it is not written, it belongs to
the order of ministry.
Ministry-as regards the word, for this is not the only
service-preaches to the world, and teaches or exhorts the members of the
assembly.
The assembly enjoys communion with God, is fed, and grows
by means of that with which its different members supply it. It preserves, and,
in its confession, bears witness to the truth. It maintains holiness, and, by
the grace and presence of the Holy Ghost, enjoys mutual communion; and, in
love, cares for the temporal need of all its members.
The written word is the rule which God has given,
containing all that He has revealed. It is complete. (Col 1:25) It can, because
it is the truth, be the means of communicating the truth to a soul: the Holy
Ghost can use it as a means; but at all events it is the perfect rule, the
authoritative communication of the will and the mind of God, for the assembly.
The assembly is subject, is to be faithful, to have no
will. It does not reveal, it maintains by its confession, it watches over that
which it has, it does not communicate; it has received and is faithfully to
keep. The man directs, that is, Christ: the woman obeys, and is faithful to her
husband's thoughts-at least ought to be so (l Cor 2): this is the assembly. The
oracles of God are committed to her. She does not give them; she obeys them.
The minister is bound individually to the same faithfulness.
This we understand; and in our epistle we have especially to do with this
individual responsibility. That which the assembly is in this respect is
revealed in the first epistle. (Chap.3:15) Here it is the individual who is to
hold fast this form of sound words which he has received from a divine source,
for such the apostle was, in his apostolic function, as an instrument. Neither
Timothy nor the assembly could frame such a form of sound words; their part was
to hold it fast, having received it. And here, as we have said, however
unfaithful the assembly may be, the individual is bound to be faithful and
always to be so.
This therefore is what we have to do: the truth which is
set before us is the inspired word we are (and I am) to hold fast, in the form
in which it is presented to us. I am to hold it fast, not merely as a
proposition, but in union with the Head, in faith and love, which are in Christ
Jesus. Strength to fulfill comes from above. For here another point is brought
before us. The Holy Ghost has been given indeed to the assembly; but a period
of unfaithfulness is here contemplated. (Ver. 15) He has been given to the man
of God, to each Christian, and to each servant with reference to the service
appointed him. By the Holy Ghost we are to keep the good thing that has been
committed to us. In days like those, this was the duty of the man of God; and
in our day, things have gone much farther. Possessing the promise of life, and
forsaken by the mass of Christians, he is to hold fast the truth in the words
in which it has been expressed by divine authority (this is what we have in the
word, and not merely doctrine: people may say that they have the doctrine of
Peter and Paul, but they cannot say that they have their words, the form of the
truth as Paul and Peter gave it, elsewhere than in their writings); and he is
to hold it fast in faith and love, which are in Christ. Moreover he is to keep,
by the power of the Holy Ghost, the substance of the truth, that which has been
given us as a treasure-the deposit of divine truth and riches, which has been
given us as our portion here below.
In verses 15-18 we find that the mass had quite turned
away from the apostle, so that the affection and faithfulness of one became
very precious to him. What a change already since the beginning of the gospel!
Compare the Thessalonians, the Ephesians: they were the same people (for
Ephesus was the capital of what is here called Asia) among whom Paul had
preached, so that all Asia had heard the gospel; and see how they had all now
forsaken him ! We must not however suppose that they had all abandoned the
profession of Christianity; but their faith had become weak, and they did not
like to identify themselves with a man who was in disgrace with the
authorities, who was despised and persecuted, a prisoner-a man whose energy
brought reproach and personal difficulties upon himself. They withdrew from
him, and left him to answer alone for himself. Sad result of spiritual decline!
But what sentiments should animate the man of God at such a moment? He must be
strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Christ was not changed, whatever
the case might be with men; and he who suffered from their desertion could,
without being discouraged, exhort his beloved Timothy to persevere steadily in
the word. Nor do we find anywhere the man of God called to more full and
unhesitating courage than in this epistle, which is the testimony of the
failure and ruin of the assembly.
[1] It
is indeed the basis of the exhortation of verse 6. When the faith of so many is
giving~ way, he turns to the personal confidence which his heart had in
Timothy, nourished up through grace by the atmosphere he had lived in.
[2]
Hence also it is said (l John 5), " the Spirit is truth."
[3] This
is true as regards guilt. But God, being perfectly revealed, and that in grace
as the Father and the Son, our apprehension of the ruin in which we are, goes
deeper fart than the sense of guilt as the breach of previously existing
relationships. We were guilty according to our place as men. But we were
"atheos", without God in the world, and (when God is known) this is
awful. The beginning of Romans treats the question of guilt; Ephesians 2, the
sate we were in; John 5:24 briefly resumes grace as to both. The relationship
now is an entirely new one, founded on purpose, redemption, and our being
children of God.
[4] The
doctrines or dogmas of scripture have their importance and their adaptation to the
simplest soul in this, that they are facts, and so objects of faith, not
notions. Thus Christ is God, Christ is man, the Holy Ghost is a Person, and the
like, are facts for faith realized in the simplest soul.
── John Darby《Synopsis of 2 Timothy》
2 Timothy 1
Chapter Contents
Paul expresses great affection for Timothy. (1-5) Exhorts
him to improve his spiritual gifts. (6-14) Tells of many who basely deserted
him; but speaks with affection of Onesiphorus. (15-18)
Commentary on 2 Timothy 1:1-5
(Read 2 Timothy 1:1-5)
The promise of eternal life to believers in Christ Jesus,
is the leading subject of ministers who are employed according to the will of
God. The blessings here named, are the best we can ask for our beloved friends,
that they may have peace with God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Whatever good we do, God must have the glory. True believers have in every age
the same religion as to substance. Their faith is unfeigned; it will stand the
trial, and it dwells in them as a living principle. Thus pious women may take
encouragement from the success of Lois and Eunice with Timothy, who proved so
excellent and useful a minister. Some of the most worthy and valuable ministers
the church of Christ has been favoured with, have had to bless God for early
religious impressions made upon their minds by the teaching of their mothers or
other female relatives.
Commentary on 2 Timothy 1:6-14
(Read 2 Timothy 1:6-14)
God has not given us the spirit of fear, but the spirit
of power, of courage and resolution, to meet difficulties and dangers; the
spirit of love to him, which will carry us through opposition. And the spirit
of a sound mind, quietness of mind. The Holy Spirit is not the author of a
timid or cowardly disposition, or of slavish fears. We are likely to bear
afflictions well, when we have strength and power from God to enable us to bear
them. As is usual with Paul, when he mentions Christ and his redemption, he
enlarges upon them; so full was he of that which is all our salvation, and
ought to be all our desire. The call of the gospel is a holy call, making holy.
Salvation is of free grace. This is said to be given us before the world began,
that is, in the purpose of God from all eternity; in Christ Jesus, for all the
gifts that come from God to sinful man, come in and through Christ Jesus alone.
And as there is so clear a prospect of eternal happiness by faith in Him, who
is the Resurrection and the Life, let us give more diligence in making his
salvation sure to our souls. Those who cleave to the gospel, need not be
ashamed, the cause will bear them out; but those who oppose it, shall be
ashamed. The apostle had trusted his life, his soul, and eternal interests, to
the Lord Jesus. No one else could deliver and secure his soul through the
trials of life and death. There is a day coming, when our souls will be
inquired after. Thou hadst a soul committed to thee; how was it employed? in
the service of sin, or in the service of Christ? The hope of the lowest real
Christian rests on the same foundation as that of the great apostle. He also
has learned the value and the danger of his soul; he also has believed in
Christ; and the change wrought in his soul, convinces the believer that the
Lord Jesus will keep him to his heavenly kingdom. Paul exhorts Timothy to hold
fast the Holy Scriptures, the substance of solid gospel truth in them. It is
not enough to assent to the sound words, but we must love them. The Christian
doctrine is a trust committed to us; it is of unspeakable value in itself, and
will be of unspeakable advantage to us. It is committed to us, to be preserved
pure and entire, yet we must not think to keep it by our own strength, but by
the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us; and it will not be gained by those
who trust in their own hearts, and lean to their own understandings.
Commentary on 2 Timothy 1:15-18
(Read 2 Timothy 1:15-18)
The apostle mentions the constancy of Onesiphorus; he oft
refreshed him with his letters, and counsels, and comforts, and was not ashamed
of him. A good man will seek to do good. The day of death and judgment is an
awful day. And if we would have mercy then, we must seek for it now of the
Lord. The best we can ask, for ourselves or our friends, is, that the Lord will
grant that we and they may find mercy of the Lord, when called to pass out of
time into eternity, and to appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 2 Timothy》
2 Timothy 1
Verse 3
[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;
Whom I serve from my forefathers — That is, whom both I and my ancestors served.
With a pure conscience — He always worshipped God according to his conscience, both before and
after his conversion One who stands on the verge of life is much refreshed by
the remembrance of his predecessors, to whom he is going.
Verse 4
[4] Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be
filled with joy;
Being mindful of thy tears — Perhaps frequently shed, as well as at the apostle's last parting with
him.
Verse 5
[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 that in thee
also.
Which dwelt — A
word not applied to a transient guest, but only to a settled inhabitant.
First —
Probably this was before Timothy was born, yet not beyond St. Paul's memory.
Verse 6
[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.
Wherefore —
Because I remember this.
I remind thee of stirring up — Literally, blowing up the coals into a flame.
The gift of God —
All the spiritual gifts, which the grace of God has given thee.
Verse 7
[7] For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love,
and of a sound mind.
And let nothing discourage thee, for God hath
not given us - That is, the spirit which God hath given us Christians, is not
the spirit of fear - Or cowardice.
But of power —
Banishing fear.
And love and sobriety — These animate us in our duties to God, our brethren, and ourselves.
Power and sobriety are two good extremes. Love is between, the tie and
temperament of both; preventing the two bad extremes of fearfulness and
rashness. More is said concerning power, 1 Timothy 1:8; concerning love, 2 Timothy 2:14, etc.; concerning sobriety, 2 Timothy 3:1, etc.
Verse 8
[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;
Therefore be not thou ashamed — When fear is banished, evil shame also flees away.
Of the testimony of our Lord — The gospel, and of testifying the truth of it to all men.
Nor of me —
The cause of the servants of God doing his work, cannot be separated from the
cause of God himself.
But be thou partaker of the afflictions — Which I endure for the gospel's sake.
According to the power of God — This which overcomes all things is nervously described in the two next
verses.
Verse 9
[9] 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,
Who hath saved us — By
faith. The love of the Father, the grace of our Saviour, and the whole economy
of salvation, are here admirably described.
Having called us with an holy calling — Which is all from God, and claims us all for God.
According to his own purpose and grace — That is, his own gracious purpose.
Which was given us —
Fixed for our advantage, before the world began.
Verse 10
[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:
By the appearing of our Saviour — This implies his whole abode upon earth.
Who hath abolished death — Taken away its sting, and turned it into a blessing.
And hath brought life and immortality to
light — Hath clearly revealed by the gospel that
immortal life which he hath purchased for us.
Verse 12
[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.
That which I have committed to him — My soul.
Until that day — Of
his final appearing.
Verse 13
[13] Hold
fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love
which is in Christ Jesus.
The pattern of sound words — The model of pure, wholesome doctrine.
Verse 14
[14] That
good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth
in us.
The good thing —
This wholesome doctrine.
Verse 15
[15] This
thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom
are Phygellus and Hermogenes.
All who are in Asia —
Who had attended me at Rome for a while.
Are turned away from me — What, from Paul the aged, the faithful soldier, and now prisoner of
Christ! This was a glorious trial, and wisely reserved for that time, when he
was on the borders of immortality. Perhaps a little measure of the same spirit
might remain with him under whose picture are those affecting words, "The
true effigy of Francis Xavier, apostle of the Indies, forsaken of all men,
dying in a cottage."
Verse 16
[16] The
Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was
not ashamed of my chain:
The family of Onesiphorus — As well as himself.
Hath often refreshed me — Both at Ephesus and Rome.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 2 Timothy》
Chapter 1. Guard the Good Deposit
Not a Spirit of
Timidity
But a Spirit of Power
I. Concerns for
Timothy
II. Don't Be
Ashamed to Testify
III. Praise
Onesiphorus
── Chih-Hsin
Chang《An Outline of
The New Testament》
Chapter One General Review
OBJECTIVES IN STUDYING THIS CHAPTER
1) To notice the great love that existed between Paul and Timothy 2) To examine the exhortations to faithful service given by Paul to Timothy 3) To contrast the people who abandoned Paul, with a faithful friend like Onesiphorus SUMMARY
The apostle Paul begins this letter to his "beloved son" with a prayerfor grace, mercy and peace in his behalf. Thankful to God for theunceasing memories that he has of Timothy in his prayers night and day,Paul greatly desires to see the young man. Seeing him again will bringgreat joy as Paul is mindful of Timothy's tears and his unfeigned faith(1-5). Paul's purpose in writing begins in earnest with a series of exhortations toward steadfast service. He encourages Timothy to stir up the gift of God which was in him by the laying on of Paul's hands, to not be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord nor of Paul His prisoner, and to hold fast the pattern of sound words which he had heard from Paul, keeping it by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Timothy isthen reminded of those who had forsaken Paul, but also how Onesiphorushad proven to be a true friend and brother by virtue of his courage, diligence, and service (6-18). OUTLINE
I. INTRODUCTION (1-5)
A. SALUTATION (1-2a ) 1. From Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ (1) a. By the will of God b. According to the promise of life in Christ Jesus 2. To Timothy, his beloved son (2a ) 3. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord (2b) B. THANKSGIVING (3-5) 1. Thanks offered to God by Paul (3) a. Whom he serves with pure conscience, as did his forefathers b. For without ceasing he remembers Timothy in his prayers night and day 2. Greatly desiring to see Timothy (4-5) a. For he is mindful of Timothy's tears b. For Paul himself desires to be filled with joy c. For he remembers the genuine faith that is in Timothy 1) Which dwelt first in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice 2) And which Paul is persuaded is in Timothy also II. EXHORTATION TO ZEAL AND COURAGE (6-12)
A. STIR UP THE GIFT OF GOD (6-7) 1. Which was in him through the laying on of Paul's hands (6) 2. For God has given a spirit, not of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind (7) B. DON'T BE ASHAMED (8-12) 1. Of the testimony of our Lord, nor of Paul His prisoner (8a ) 2. Share with Paul in the suffering of the gospel according to the power of God (8b-12) a. Who saved us and called us with a holy calling (9-10) 1) Not according to our works 2) But according to His own purpose and grace a) Given to us in Christ before time began b) But has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ 1/ Who abolished death 2/ And brought light and immortality to light through the gospel b. For the gospel Paul was appointed a preacher, apostle and teacher (11-12) 1) For such things he suffers 2) But he not ashamed a) For he knows Whom he has believed b) And is persuaded that He is able to keep what Paul has committed to Him until that Day III. EXHORTATION TO STEADFASTNESS AND LOYALTY (13-18)
A. BE STEADFAST (13-14) 1. Hold fast the pattern of sound words (13) a. Which he had heard from Paul b. In faith and love which are in Christ Jesus 2. Keep that good thing (14) a. Which was committed to you b. Keep it by the Holy Spirit who dwells is us B. BE LOYAL (15-18) 1. All in Asia have turned away from Paul, including Phygellus and Hermogenes (15) 2. In contrast, the example of Onesiphorus (16-18) a. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus 1) For he often refreshed Paul 2) He was not ashamed of Paul's chains 3) Arriving in Rome him 4) He also ministered to Paul in many ways at Ephesus b. May the Lord grant mercy to Onesiphorus in that Day REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE CHAPTER
1) What are the main points of this chapter?
- Introduction (1-5) - Exhortations to zeal and courage (6-12) - Exhortations to steadfastness and loyalty (13-18) 2) How does Paul describe Timothy in his salutation? (2)
- My beloved son 3) How did Paul serve God? (3)
- With a pure conscience, as did his forefathers 4) What two things came to Paul's mind when concerning Timothy? (4-5)
- His tears - The genuine faith that was in him 5) What two women had this genuine faith before Timothy? (5)
- His grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice 6) What did Paul remind Timothy to stir up? (6)
- The gift of God which was in him through the laying on of Paul's hands 7) What had God given Paul and Timothy? (7)
- Not the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind 8) What two things did Paul not want Timothy to be ashamed of? (8)
- The testimony of our Lord - Paul His prisoner 9) How has God saved us and called us with a holy calling? (10)
- Not according to our works but according to His own purpose and grace 10) What has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ?(10-11)
- God's purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ before time began 11) What two things has Jesus done according to verse 10?
- Abolished death - Brought life and immortality to light through the gospel 12) To what three functions had Paul been appointed relating to the gospel? (11)
- Preacher, apostle, teacher 13) Though Paul suffered, why was he not ashamed? (12)
- He knew Whom he had believed - He was persuaded that He is able to keep what he had committed to Him until that Day 14) What was Timothy to hold fast? (13)
- The pattern of sound words heard from Paul 15) How was he to keep that good thing that was committed to him? (14)
- By the Holy Spirit who dwells in him 16) Who had turned away from Paul? (15)
- All those in Asia - Including Phygellus and Hermogenes 17) What four good things are said about Onesiphorus? (16-18)
- He often refreshed Paul - He was not ashamed of Paul's chains - When he arrived in Rome - He ministered to Paul in Ephesus 18) What two things did Paul desire of the Lord? (16,18)
- Mercy be granted to the household of Onesiphorus - Mercy be granted to Onesiphorus in that Day
－－《Executable
Outlines》
Guard the
good deposit
Not a Spirit of timidity
But a Spirit of power
I.
Concerns for Timothy
1.
Recall tears
2.
Remember faith
3.
Remind of the gift
II.Don’t be ashamed to testify
1.
Call to a holy life
2.
The gospel of life
3.
I know and I’m convinced
III.
Praise Onesiphorus
1.
Often refresh me
2.
Help in many ways
3.
May the Lord grant him mercy
－－ Chih-Hsin
Chang《An Outline of The New Testament》