CHAPTER 1

(A.D. 66)

INTRODUCTION

¹Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the Will of God (the Office of the Apostle carries the leadership of the Church, and does so by a special Message given to the Apostle, which in Pauls case was Grace), according to the Promise of Life which is in Christ Jesus (Life, and more particularly Eternal Life is found only in Christ Jesus, and comes by means of the Cross),

²To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, Mercy, and Peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord (all made possible by the Cross).

TIMOTHY

³I thank God, Whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience (in effect, says he was seeking to please God even while he persecuted the Church through ignorance), that without ceasing I have remembrance of you in my prayers night and day (in this we see the depth of this mans prayer life);

⁴Greatly desiring to see you (Paul was in prison in Rome when he wrote this Epistle, his last), being mindful of your tears (Timothy was probably present when Paul was arrested the second time, and transported to Rome for his final imprisonment), that I may be filled with joy (knowing his time was short, he desired to see Timothy);

⁵When I call to remembrance the unfeigned Faith that is in you (he recalls the time he first met Timothy, and the young man was invited to join his Evangelistic team [Acts 16:1-3]), which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that is in you also (proclaims here a tremendous heritage).

THE CHARGE

⁶Wherefore I put you in remembrance that you stir up the Gift of God (refers to the entirety of the Call of God upon Timothys life), which is in you by the putting on of my hands. (This doesnt mean Paul bestowed this Gift upon young Timothy, but that he verified what he knew to already be there.)

⁷For God has not given us the spirit of fear (refers to a disposition of the mind; the Apostle is telling the young Evangelist not to fear); but of Power (could be said, the spirit of Power, for such comes from the Holy Spirit), and of love (again, given by the Holy Spirit), and of a sound mind (a spirit of self-control, all made possible by the Holy Spirit, Who demands that we ever keep our Faith in the Cross [Rom. 8:1-2, 11, 13]).

⁸Be not thou therefore ashamed of the Testimony of our Lord (the Christian, instead of being ashamed of his profession of Faith, must before the world show fearlessly that its Hopes and its Promises are his most precious Treasure), nor of me His prisoner (even though Paul was a prisoner in a Roman cell, he in no way considered himself a prisoner of Nero, but rather of the Lord): but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the Power of God (actually means to take ones share of the ill-treatment, which will always be accompanied by the Power of God, which gives us Grace to stand the test);

⁹Who has saved us (through what He did at the Cross), and called us with an Holy Calling (we didnt call Him, rather He Called us), not according to our works (Salvation is by Grace through Faith, not of works [Eph. 2:8-9]), but according to His Own Purpose and Grace (refers to the reason and the means), which was given us in Christ Jesus (through what He did at the Cross) before the world began (the Cross of Christ is the very first Doctrine of the Bible, actually foreordained before the foundation of the world [I Pet. 1:18-20]; consequently, every true Doctrine is built on the Foundation of the Cross, or else its not true),

¹⁰But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ (everything is wrapped up in Jesus and what He did at the Cross), Who has abolished death (the wages of sin is death [Rom. 6:23], thus when Jesus atoned for all sin on the Cross, this removed the means of death, i.e., spiritual death), and has brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel (the Gospel is the Cross, which made life and immortality possible, and will see its total fulfillment at the coming Resurrection):

¹¹Whereunto I am appointed a Preacher (to Preach the Gospel), and an Apostle (of Grace), and a Teacher of the Gentiles. (Although the Apostle also preached to the Jews, his major thrust was ever to the Gentiles, whose Salvation the Cross made possible.)

¹²For the which cause (to establish the Church) I also suffer these things (imprisonment, etc.): nevertheless I am not ashamed (proclaims the fact that some were ashamed of Paul, regarding his imprisonment): for I know Whom I have believed (refers to the Lord Jesus Christ), and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. (This refers to the soul with all its immortal interests.)

¹³Hold fast the form of sound words (forms the correct Doctrine, which is Jesus Christ and Him Crucified), which you have heard of me (refers to the fact that the Lord gave Paul the meaning and understanding of the New Covenant, which is the Cross [Gal. 1:11-12]), in Faith and Love which is in Christ Jesus. (Anytime Paul uses the phrase, in Christ Jesus or one of its derivatives, without exception, he is speaking of what Christ did at the Cross.)

¹⁴That good thing which was committed unto you (presents in such simple words the single most important thing in the world, the Gospel of Jesus Christ) keep by the Holy Spirit (has the help of the Holy Spirit respecting the purity of the Message) which dwells in us. (He is constantly present and, therefore, constantly available!)

¹⁵This you know, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me (one of the most sorrowful trials the great hearted Paul had to endure in the agony of his last witnessing for his Lord was the knowledge that his name and teaching were no longer held in honor in some of these Asian Churches so dear to him; this turning away was a turning away from the Cross); of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. (How sad that these two would be placed in the Sacred Texts, not in the realm of faithfulness, but rather faithlessness!)

ONESIPHORUS

¹⁶The Lord give Mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus (from the terminology, it seems this man had died a short time before); for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain (once again, it seems many Believers were, in fact, ashamed of Paul and his situation, but not Onesiphorus):

¹⁷But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me.(This man, so kind to the great Apostle, will be among those at the final Judgment to whom the Saviour will say, I was in prison, and you came unto Me [Mat. 25:36].)

¹⁸The Lord grant unto him that he may find Mercy of the Lord in that day (speaks of the Judgment Seat of Christ, which will commence after the Rapture of the Church; only Believers will be there; as well, it will not involve sin, for that was handled at Calvary, but rather our motives, etc.): and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, you know very well. (It seems this man had ever been a help to Paul. Therefore, his name will be proclaimed forever on the pages of Sacred Writ.)