Greeting
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You
3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to1 a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,2 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.3 13 Follow the pattern of the sound4 words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
Footnotes
[1] 1:9
Or with
[2] 1:9Greek before times eternal
[3] 1:12Or what I have entrusted to him; Greek my deposit
[4] 1:13Or healthy (ESV)
Category: Scripture
Warning Against False Teachers
3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship1 from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
Footnotes
[1] 1:4
Or good order (ESV)
;
18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
(ESV)
;
A Good Servant of Christ Jesus
6 If you put these things before the brothers,1 you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive,2 because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them,3 so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Footnotes
[1] 4:6
Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters
[2] 4:10Some manuscripts and suffer reproach
[3] 4:15Greek be in them (ESV)
Timothy and Epaphroditus
19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s1 proven worth, how as a son2 with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.
(ESV)
Timothy Joins Paul and Silas
16:1 Paul1 came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers2 at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.
(ESV)
1;Corinthians 4:14-17
Categories
Going Deeper
Stephen 8.17.24
In Acts 6:1-15, we read about the elders’ selection of the seven deacons. Stephen was highlighted above the rest as a man “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.” While we don’t know about Stephen’s family or past, we know he worked hard to make converts among other Jews. While many Jews were converted, opposition arose from members of the Freedmen’s Synagogue. They tried to debate Stephen but were always defeated. Thus, they decided to bring false charges against him, and Stephen was arrested and put on trial before the Sanhedrin. It was here that he was falsely accused of speaking against the law of Moses and against the temple.
Acts 7 is the record of Stephen’s telling what could be the most detailed and concise history of Israel and their relationship to God of any others in Scripture. God inspired him to speak without fear while rightly accusing Israel of their failure to recognize Jesus as the one true Messiah by rejecting and murdering Him, as they had murdered Zechariah and other prophets and faithful men throughout the generations. Stephen’s speech was a direct indictment against Israel and their failures as the chosen people of God who had been given the law, the holy things of God, and the Messiah, and they messed it up.
As you can imagine, this was not well-received by the Jews. Throughout his speech, he continually reminded them of their ongoing rebellion and idolatry, in spite of the mighty works of God to which they were eyewitnesses. He was thereby accusing them with their own history, which only irritated them until they did not want to hear any more. They set up to stone him for what they considered was blasphemous talk according to the law of Moses, which states the sin of blasphemy deserves death—usually by stoning (Numbers 15:30-36). Stephen was also charged with speaking against the temple. He pointed out that the tabernacle and temple of the Old Covenant were only types and symbols of God’s heavenly temple and that, in the New Covenant, the types have been replaced with the reality (vv. 44–50).
In Acts 7:54-60 we read, “Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
Stephen is about to be executed for his faith, and he raises his eyes to heaven, and verse 55 says he was filled with the Holy Spirit, and what does he see? “But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.” (Acts 7:55-57)
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
-Stephen is praying here! And by the power of the Holy Spirit what Stephen knew with his mind became real in his heart. He saw Jesus standing at God’s right hand.
– At the very moment while an earthly court was condemning him, he realized that the heavenly court was commending him. In other words, he was experiencing the covering of the gospel in a crazy moment of pain.
At that moment, he got an extremely vivid, powerful sight of what he already knew intellectually, which was that in Christ we are beautiful in God’s sight and free from condemnation (Col. 1:22). The Spirit took that intellectual concept and electrified Stephen’s entire soul, mind, heart, and imagination with it.
In his yielding to God by the power of the Holy Spirit, Stephen was able to exhibit the new humanity that God was creating.
-He had courage.
-He forgave his oppressors.
-He faced his accusers not just with boldness, but with calmness and joy!
-He was living spiritual renewal.
May we follow Stephen’s example to preach truth boldly despite the consequences. May we trust in God to the very end, as each of us, His adopted ones, will be taken up into glory with our risen King. Lord, our lives are yours. Do with them what is best for your eternal plan and glory.
By His grace and for His glory
Joshua “Shepherd” Kirstine
Soldiers For Jesus MC
Chaplain Council
SFJbible.com