Things Worth Remembering

KEY VERSE: “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.”—II Timothy 1:6

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: II Timothy 1:1-7; 3:10-17

AS A very young man, Timothy was commissioned to teach in the church. His talent for doing this was recognized not only by Paul, but also by other elders who, by the sign of laying on of hands, had authorized him so to do. This action was referred to in I Timothy 4:14 as the “gift … given thee … with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery [elders].” The previous verse tells us this gift included “public reading of the scripture, … exhortation, and … teaching.”—vs. 13, NEB

Associated with the acceptance of such responsibilities there were always certain evident gifts of the Holy Spirit necessary in those times for a full understanding and effective expression of the truth by one selected to teach.

Lest Timothy be hesitant in the exercise of these talents, Paul says he was writing to stir up these special God-given gifts of the Spirit, with the reminder that “God bath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.”—vs. 7

These can be properly thought of as received from God in that they are obtained as outgrowths of the work of his Holy Spirit in the lives of his people. Paul, in calling them God’s gifts, contrasts these evidences of his favor with the spirit of fear, which he stresses does not come from God. Satan is the great instigator of fear. Peter indicates that he uses fear as a tool for maintaining control over the minds of men.

He likened Satan to a lion on the hunt, which characteristically roars for the purpose of striking fear in its victim, virtually paralyzing the animal and rendering it incapable of resistance or escape. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (I Pet. 5:8) Through the Devil’s distortions, even God has been turned into an object of fear. Satan’s attacks upon the Lord’s people are often attempts to bring fear into their lives—fear of human weakness; fear of God’s punishment; fear of affliction—all designed to turn them aside from a course of faithfulness in the narrow way.

The apostle penned these words to Timothy from a dungeon in Rome. He felt quite sure that he would soon be executed, and so he wrote, “Watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. For I am ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. … Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: for Demas hath forsaken me. … Only Luke is with me.”—II Tim. 4:5-11

It is obvious that Paul felt quite alone; all that were in Asia, he said, were turned away from him. (II Tim. 1:15) He felt a great need for Timothy to be with him now, and to have assurance that he would be ready to carry on with the ministry after his death. In verse eight he beseeched Timothy, “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partakers of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God.”

It would take great courage for Timothy to make the long journey, and danger-fraught visit to one who sat in prison condemned to die by the Emperor Nero. He would expose himself to possible jeopardy of his own life from the Roman authorities, as well as no doubt incur the disfavor of those brethren who through fear had forsaken Paul.

It is against this backdrop of events that Paul reminds Timothy that the spirit of fear is not of the Lord. Instead, the Lord gives strength, the spirit of power—power to overcome the barriers of space and circumstance that stood between them; he gives the spirit of love, which would motivate the sacrifice Timothy would make on Paul’s behalf. And also from God comes the spirit of a sound mind, which at that time dictated the crucial need for their urgent meeting.

The Lord gives strength through his providences, through guardian angels, and by directly imbuing with power those who in their own strength alone would falter. He sheds his love abroad in the heart (Rom. 5:5), and makes it possible to bring into captivity “every thought to the obedience of Christ.”—II Cor. 10:5

It was in the strength and power of these gifts that Paul entreated Timothy to make that long, perilous journey to see him one last time. We need not be told that Timothy was there.

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