Study:
2 Timothy 1:3-8 (NET)
1:3 I am thankful to God, whom I have served with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, when I remember you in my prayers as I do constantly night and day. 1:4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 1:5 I recall your sincere faith that was alive first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I am sure is in you.
1:6 Because of this I remind you to rekindle God’s gift that you possess through the laying on of my hands. 1:7 For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control. 1:8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me, a prisoner for his sake, but by God’s power accept your share of suffering for the gospel.
Notes:
1. Paul remembered Timothy in his prayers constantly... night and day. Paul was a man of prayer, he took time for it, he made it a priority. He also seemed to put a lot of focus on others in his prayers. Night and day he prayed for others and spent time with the Lord in prayer. I want to be like that. Lord, help me to make prayer a priority in my life.
2. Paul longed to see Timothy, he cared for him, remembering his tears, which seems to be a personal note, and I’m not sure what that refers to. But, Paul was a relational man. He had deep meaningful relationships with people, and here paul says that he would be filled with joy to see Timothy. He also was not afraid to call people out... he held Timothy, his dear friend, accountable to stirring up his gift, and not being fearful or timid, but powerful and full of love, and not ashamed of the Gospel. This is definitely something I need to work on, is my willingness to call people out. Help me in this Lord, as much as I hate asking that, because I’m sure you will give me an opportunity to do that now... :-)
3. Paul calls Timothy to account “Because of this”, because of what? Because of his sincere faith... He’s saying, “Timothy, I know you have a sincere faith, because of that, I encourage you to live it, remember the gift you have, remember the power of the spirit, and be bold!” He’s saying, “I know you want to follow Christ, I know that’s where your heart is, You desire His glory and kingdom. Because of that, I want to remind you...” A good way to start a confrontation with a brother, remind them first that you know they desire to follow Christ, and that they have a good heart there, then remind them about the thing you need to confront them on.
4. What does Paul remind Timothy? To rekindle the gift given him, to not be timid and fearful, but be full of power and love and self-control, which are not our possessions, but are given us by the Spirit. He says to not be ashamed of the testimony about Christ or Paul, but by God’s power to accept the sufferings that may come his way by doing the right thing and by being bold in his faith. This is a lesson I really need to learn in my heart. I get so scared of what people will think. I don’t live with the knowledge of the Spirit’s power living in me... I forget that He lives inside, and gives me power, love and self-control when I need them... Help me with this, Lord.
5. How do these three things apply to being bold in the gospel? Power: Being bold and stating the truth, letting the Spirit speak through you and convict the person. Love: an understanding and non-judgmental heart, kindness and love even when they disagree or harm or threaten to harm you. Self-Control: not getting angry, not responding violently, not speaking out of your own ideas, but letting the Spirit speak.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
New Series - 2 Timothy
I've decided to do something new for a little bit, and go through a book of the Bible... I'll show the scripture verse, and then my notes on it. These are just my thoughts and observations, but I would love to hear anyone else's as well!
So, here's the first one! The bible translation used for this is the NET bible, available for download from http://www.bible.org. I highly recommend checking this translation out, as it includes all the translators notes, over 60,000 of them to assist in understanding why they translate certain words and phrases the way they do.
Study:
2 Timothy 1:1-2
1:1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to further the promise of life in Christ Jesus, 1:2 to Timothy, my dear child. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord!
Notes:
1. Paul was an apostle by the will of God, not his own will. He did not decide he wanted to be an apostle, and work really hard to get there, he was placed there by God. - I need to remember this, my life, work, and especially ministry are not things that I am to set personal goals for, or try hard to achieve my own standards for, they are things that are to be determined solely by my relationship with God. I need to find out where he wants me to be, What He wants me to be, Who He wants me to be, and be those things through Him. Not of my own strength, because that robs Him of the Glory, and my business on this earth should be about giving God the glory. Lord, help me to remember this and to do it.
2. Paul was chosen and placed as an apostle of God to further the promise of life, or in NKJV “According to the promise of life” - could be either way because of the structure of the greek sentence(see NET note at bible.org), so the translation is either that he was placed as an apostle to spread the news of the promise of life in Christ, or by the promise of life... not sure where to go with that one. Is the promise of life the Spirit, which makes Paul an Apostle by His working? Or is it that his apostleship gives him the purpose of furthering the promise of life in Christ? Either works.... But, if it is by the promise of life, and that refers to the Spirit, it is a reminder that God will bring about His purposes by His strength, not ours, in those who are willing to allow Him to.
3. Why did Paul ask for or bestow “Grace, Mercy, and Peace” on Timothy from God and Jesus? Peace is understandable... he wanted Timothy to have the peace of God, the peace which passes understanding. Grace, I can say that I believe that that is because we need grace every day, not because we are sinners, Christ died for our sin once and for all, but Grace is more than just a covering for sin, that was a one-time act. Grace is the bestowing of God’s favor on us, “unmerited favor”.. it includes strength, love, the Spirit, and everything we need to live in Christ. Mercy, that’s a tough one, is he asking for Mercy for the times Timothy sins? Is he asking mercy for his past sin? No. Is he asking God just to deal mercifully with Him? I think that may be it. We need God to be merciful toward us every day... we need Him to not carry out just judgment on us every day.
So, here's the first one! The bible translation used for this is the NET bible, available for download from http://www.bible.org. I highly recommend checking this translation out, as it includes all the translators notes, over 60,000 of them to assist in understanding why they translate certain words and phrases the way they do.
Study:
2 Timothy 1:1-2
1:1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to further the promise of life in Christ Jesus, 1:2 to Timothy, my dear child. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord!
Notes:
1. Paul was an apostle by the will of God, not his own will. He did not decide he wanted to be an apostle, and work really hard to get there, he was placed there by God. - I need to remember this, my life, work, and especially ministry are not things that I am to set personal goals for, or try hard to achieve my own standards for, they are things that are to be determined solely by my relationship with God. I need to find out where he wants me to be, What He wants me to be, Who He wants me to be, and be those things through Him. Not of my own strength, because that robs Him of the Glory, and my business on this earth should be about giving God the glory. Lord, help me to remember this and to do it.
2. Paul was chosen and placed as an apostle of God to further the promise of life, or in NKJV “According to the promise of life” - could be either way because of the structure of the greek sentence(see NET note at bible.org), so the translation is either that he was placed as an apostle to spread the news of the promise of life in Christ, or by the promise of life... not sure where to go with that one. Is the promise of life the Spirit, which makes Paul an Apostle by His working? Or is it that his apostleship gives him the purpose of furthering the promise of life in Christ? Either works.... But, if it is by the promise of life, and that refers to the Spirit, it is a reminder that God will bring about His purposes by His strength, not ours, in those who are willing to allow Him to.
3. Why did Paul ask for or bestow “Grace, Mercy, and Peace” on Timothy from God and Jesus? Peace is understandable... he wanted Timothy to have the peace of God, the peace which passes understanding. Grace, I can say that I believe that that is because we need grace every day, not because we are sinners, Christ died for our sin once and for all, but Grace is more than just a covering for sin, that was a one-time act. Grace is the bestowing of God’s favor on us, “unmerited favor”.. it includes strength, love, the Spirit, and everything we need to live in Christ. Mercy, that’s a tough one, is he asking for Mercy for the times Timothy sins? Is he asking mercy for his past sin? No. Is he asking God just to deal mercifully with Him? I think that may be it. We need God to be merciful toward us every day... we need Him to not carry out just judgment on us every day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
