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Rightly Dividing the
Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15
WWW. 2Tim215.Net
Established November 2008 Published Weekly on Friday
For
this is good and acceptable in the
sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men (and
women) to be saved, and to come unto
the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:3-4).
***
Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service
of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.
For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me (2:17-18).
Paul holds up the
faithful service of the Philippian saints for all to see and likens his
ministry among them to a drink offering.
Their voluntary sacrificial service to God may be compared to an O.T.
drink offering or libation. It was a sweet
savor offering well pleasing to God (Leviticus 1:3; Romans 12:1-2; Philippians
2:5).
The Philippians were
being persecuted and suffered because of this, but this is not unusual for the
true Believer. Paul informed them this
was SOP (standard operating procedure):
“For unto you it is given in the behalf
of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to (what) suffer for his
sake” (Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 3:11-12).
In this we learn God
the Father did not promise any believer a “Rose Garden.” Tribulations
of all sorts will come our way, but Paul tells us in Romans 5 how we’re to
respond to suffering in our life: “And
not only so, but we glory in tribulations (tribulo, to thrash, to beat. Severe affliction; distresses of life;
vexations. In Scripture, it often
denotes the troubles and distresses which proceed from persecution) also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And
patience, experience; and experience, hope:
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost (Spirit) which is given unto us.”
For which cause
we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is
renewed day by day. For our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory; (2 Corinthians
4:16-17; Romans 1:8; 2 Timothy 2:10).
God gives us His
grace and the strength to overcome every trial in our lives and the ability to
fulfill His perfect will during them (2 Timothy 2:3).
********
Please
open your Bible at Philippians 2:19-24.
But I
trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus (Timothy) shortly unto you,
that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. For I have no
man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek
their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s. But ye know
the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the
gospel. Him therefore
I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. But I trust in
the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.
We
know from previous studies Paul loved the Philippians and wanted to travel to
Philippi to be with them:
I thank
my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you
all making request with joy, (Philippians 1:3-4).
For God
is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ (Philippians
1:8).
Therefore,
my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in
the Lord, my dearly beloved (Philippians
4:1).
Paul had a very close and loving relationship with the Philippian
church. He wanted to be there to
fellowship with them, and assist all the saints with their spiritual growth:
And
having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for
your furtherance and joy of faith; (Philippians 1:25).
There were several church related issues that needed to be
addressed, one being their disunity: I beseech Euodias, and beseech
Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord (Philippians 4:2).
Obviously, a problem existed between these two women. The Bible doesn’t tell us what the problem
was and to be honest that information is not necessary it only serves to feed
the gossipers in the church. What we do
know is Paul encouraged them to reconcile their differences or “to be of the same mind.” He wanted to be in Philippi with them, but he
was a “prisoner of Christ Jesus” in
Rome. This is where Paul’s co-worker Timothy enters the picture, so to
speak.
Timothy is so
much more than just a name on a Bible page.
But unless you opt to “Dig Deeper” into this book, you’ll be like the
people who read right over his name without so much as a “by your leave,” but that’s
not Bible study. The true student of
God’s Word searches the scriptures for information. This includes knowledge of Timothy and his
accomplishments in serving the Lord and our Apostle Paul faithfully. So, we’re going to take the time do that very
thing.
The Bible reveals Paul and Timothy were very close. How close?
Paul referred to him as “my own son in the faith:”
Timothy was one of the best known of Paul's companions and
fellow-laborers. He was one of Paul's
own converts.
In 1 Corinthians 4:17, Paul described him as his beloved and faithful son in the Lord.
In 1 Timothy 1:2, Paul wrote:
Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace,
mercy, and peace, from God
our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
In 2 Timothy 1:2 he addressed him as "Timothy my beloved child."
Timothy was most likely a native citizen of either Lystra or
Derbe, cities Paul visited and evangelized.
Paul led him to the Lord during his first missionary journey, when he
visited these two cities (Acts 14:6). There’s
biblical evidence in the book of Acts showing Lystra may have been Timothy’s home
(Acts 16:3, 20:4) but nothing definitive.
In 2 Timothy 3:10-11, Paul mentioned Timothy had fully known the
persecutions and afflictions which came upon him at Antioch, at Iconium, and at
Lystra. When Paul revisited Lystra
during his second missionary journey, he discovered Timothy had become a reliable
laborer for the Lord and a church leader (Acts 16:1-2).
Timothy's father was a heathen Greek this fact is mentioned twice in
Acts 16:1-3. His mother was a Jewess,
but he had not been circumcised in infancy, probably because his Greek father
insisted on it. Timothy's mother was
called Eunice, and his grandmother Lois. Paul mentions them by name in 2 Timothy 1:5. This
is where he speaks of the sincere faith which was in Timothy, which had dwelt
first in Eunice and Lois. It is evident that Eunice was converted to Christ on Paul's 1st missionary journey to
Derbe and Lystra, because, when he returned to these cities, she is spoken of
as "a Jewess who believed"
(Acts 16:1).
Because of Timothy’s unwavering
faith and his dependability Paul took him on his second missionary journey. We find him with Paul at Berea (Acts 17:4),
having evidently accompanied him to the cities of Phrygia, the region of
Galatia, Mysia, Troas, Neapoils, Philippi, Amphipolis, Apollonia, and Thessalonica. From Athens Paul sent a message to Silas and
Timothy at Berea to meet him in Athens post haste. There they met Paul and he sent them
immediately away to Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 3:1-3).
Paul
had left Athens before Silas and Timothy were able to rejoin him. He had continued to Corinth, Greece. When Silas and Timothy arrived in Corinth from
Macedonia, “Paul was pressed in the
Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus
was Christ” (Acts 18:5). Timothy
evidently remained with Paul during the eighteen months he stayed in Corinth, and
throughout this missionary journey to its end. From Corinth Paul wrote the Epistle to the
Romans, and he sent them a salutation from Timothy, "Timothy my fellow-worker saluteth you" (Romans 16:21).
It
was Paul’s habit when writing letters to the churches to associate with his own
name one or more of his co-workers in his opening remarks. Timothy’s name appears in 2 Corinthians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians
1:1; Philemon 1:1. We also find it
along with Silvanus’ (Silas) name in 1 Thessalonians 1:1 and again in 2 Thessalonians 1:1.
On
Paul's 3rd missionary journey, Timothy again accompanied him, though he is not
mentioned until Ephesus was reached. This
journey involved much traveling, much work, and much time. They spent two whole years at Ephesus alone. And when Paul's time there was ending, he made
plans to go to Jerusalem, after passing through Macedonia and Achaia. Accordingly, he sent on before him "into Macedonia two of them that ministered
unto him, Timothy and Erastus" (Acts 19:22).
From
Ephesus Paul wrote the First Epistle to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 16:8),
and in it he mentioned in 1 Corinthians 16:10 that Timothy was then traveling
to Corinth. After requesting the Corinthians treat Timothy with love and
respect upon his arrival, Paul proceeded to say Timothy was to return to him
from Corinth; that is, Timothy was to bring with him an updated report on the
Corinthian church’s state.
Soon
thereafter the riot in Ephesus occurred; and when it was over, Paul left
Ephesus and went to Macedonia and Greece. In Macedonia he was rejoined by Timothy, whose
name is associated with his own, in the opening salutation of 2
Corinthians. Timothy accompanied him
into Greece, where they dwelled three months.
From
Greece Paul once again focused on his trip to Jerusalem, Timothy and others
accompanying him (Acts 20:4, 21:8). Paul
and his companions eventually reached Jerusalem, where Paul was arrested and
Timothy was with him.
The
scriptures do not record the way Timothy served Paul, until he is found once
more with him during his first imprisonment in Rome. He is mentioned in three of the Paul letters at
this time, namely, in Colossians
1:1, and Philemon 1:1, in both of
these writings his designation is "Timothy
our brother," and in Philippians
1:1, "Paul and Timothy, servants of
Christ Jesus." Then in Philippians 2:19, Paul wrote “But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send
Timotheus shortly unto you (in
Philippi), that I also may be of
good comfort, when I know your state.”
By
the way, the word “shortly” in this
verse is translated ASAP in the English language. Paul intended to send Timothy to Philippi to
minister to their needs and act as a mediator should that be required just as
soon as the events in Rome ran their course.
We
know Paul was eventually released from “house arrest” in Rome, but we gather
from Paul’s second letter to Timothy he was imprisoned again, and Paul believed
on this occasion his trial before Nero would be followed by an adverse judgment
and his death. Paul wrote from The Mamertine Prison in Rome to Timothy at Ephesus,
affectionately requesting he come to him: "Give diligence to come shortly unto me" (2 Timothy 4:9). The fact that at that time, when no other
close friend was with Paul except Luke (2 Timothy 4:11), it was to Timothy he
turned for assistance and solace, closing with the request that “his own son in the faith” should come to him, to be with him in
his last hours. This reveals the tender
affection and respect they held for one another as fellow soldiers for Christ
Jesus.
(To
be continued)
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2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
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