Day 1
2 Timothy 1:1.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
The book of 2 Timothy is a continuation of Paul’s advice to this young pastor-bishop called Timothy, whom he regarded as his son in the faith. He was not only a son, but he was also a co-worker. They had been together in the church of Ephesus, but now Paul leaves him in Ephesus to deal with some challenges that were there in the church. There were some difficult leaders in the church that needed to be sorted out for the church growth to continue.
Between 1 st and second Timothy letters it seems Timothy struggled for some time, however, Paul went back to Ephesus. Paul suffered a great deal of harm from Alexander, one of these leaders in Ephesus church, before he was once again imprisoned and taken to Rome. He expected that this time he would be tried and executed. So, on this second imprisonment, Paul wrote to Timothy to ask him to come to Rome quickly.
And things in Ephesus had not gone as Paul or Timothy expected. Paul had ordered both Alexander and Hymenaeus to step down from the leadership, as should have happened, but they were continuing to oppose Paul. Others had joined them, and they were still misdirecting people into a corrupted version of the faith that stressed debate and dissension rather than purity on objectives.
Have you met people like that in the church, who just like arguments? They do not see the central role of the church as being evangelism and discipleship; they also think that debate is part of it.
Day 2
2 Timothy 1
2 To Timothy, my dear son:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
You can therefore see the young pastor Timothy cannot have had a good time. He must have felt discouraged. Maybe we should also say he was intimidated. So, Paul, in writing the letter, has all this at the back of his mind. And he is clear that the pastor must insist on people staying faithful to the true message, even if in the process somebody could even kill him. But if you have chosen to be a church leader, you must fight for the faith’—pure faith. Don’t allow its corruption.
Isn’t that then the reason why in the letter, Timothy is reminded that in the days when Jesus was on earth, He was the Lord not just saviour? And then he says, before Jesus comes the second time, there will be also many, many problems. And some of them is what he was getting in his church’—for example, false teachers. These are people who know the truth, but would like to teach something different. Some are just treacherous and insincere people. But in the process, when that happens, the people who insist on the true faith will suffer persecution from such brothers. And in all that, they are trying to move the people from the true faith of God to the “new thing” they want to teach.
It is in this letter, then, that Paul is asking Timothy to remember the true gospel message. It is central. It is simple. He reminds him: the message is Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. And he points out that the sacred writings that Timothy has known since he was a child are not changing. And that they are God-breathed; they are inspired by God. You can’t start teaching something different from what is in the Scriptures. And if you insist on it, it will not help the church and the pastor in progressing God’s work’—the good work that He started.
You know, you can therefore see why, right in 2 Timothy chapter 1, it starts by saying:
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Isn’t that a good opening as he writes this letter to a pastor who is going through a difficult, difficult time. So, he wants you to know, “I am the one writing, I, Paul.” Who is Paul? An apostle. That’s what he describes himself as: an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.
When he says, “I’m an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,” you know, this introduction is quite standard for Paul, even in his other letters. That’s the way he introduces himself. It’s a way of declaring that his calling is to be an apostle. But that calling is not by a person; it’s actually God who has called him. He says, “an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.” It’s God who has willed it that Paul would become an apostle.
So, Paul does not owe allegiance to some appointing authority in Rome or some appointing authority in Jerusalem. He says, “It’s God who has appointed me.” And I think that’s very important to know. But number two, he is not an apostle because he wanted to’—that it was not an ambition to become a bishop or apostle, so I became one. No. So it’s not man’s choice; it’s not his choice. It’s really God’s will.
Day 3
2 Timothy 1
3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers
Maybe that’s what we need to ask every church leader: Do you see yourself as people choice a result of elections that were held in your church? Do you see yourself as being where you are because of some appointing authority that appointed you’—some bishops, some apostles? Or do you see God as the one appointing you, although He actually used these other earthly institutions? Can you say with Paul, “I, a pastor of Jesus Christ, by the will of God”? Is that what you see yourself as?
You know, it’s very clear that Paul was appointed for a reason, a plan. And he played it in a big way in the establishment of the New Testament church, because his calling was to reach the Gentile world with the message of Jesus Christ. That’s why he’s an apostle. An apostle was somebody who is like an ambassador from God to the Gentile world. You know, that’s a very important role for him to understand. No wonder he did not see Rome as the end game; he wanted to go to Spain after Rome. You will notice he says in the book of Romans also. So, it’s important to see he saw himself as one who has been appointed by heaven to send the message to the uttermost parts of the earth.
Everyone’—not just Paul’—needs a calling. You need to find out what is your calling. And once you know what that calling is, please fulfill it. Because that’s God’s will for the church, God’s will for you.
But there’s another thing that this verse tells us: that this idea, “I, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus.” What does that mean? This is a very unique statement compared with the greetings we normally get in other letters of Paul.
Paul, remember, has been imprisoned. ..number one. Then he’s released. Now he has been imprisoned a second time. And he’s actually back in Rome. And he’s waiting for execution. From what he says in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 6, he really is expecting to be executed sooner rather than later. Therefore, this “promise of life” is especially important for a man who is waiting to be killed.
Day 4
Luke 1:35
The angel answered, ‘”The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God
So, just listen again. Who is writing this letter? Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God. But you must remember it is “in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus”‘—that I will not die any earlier than the timing that will allow me to do what God has called me to do. He’s not living under the fear of death. He is aware he can go any time; but until then, he will have accomplished what God intended him to have accomplished. Because there’s a promise of life so you fulfill what God has called you to do.
Of course, the Bible doesn’t give us the details about why he’s thinking like that. But you can see he enjoyed some liberty for some time before re-arrestment. He was re-arrested and now that break must have given him time to do ministry even in Ephesus where Timothy was. Unfortunately, by the time he’s writing 2 Timothy, he’s back in prison.
You know, those who travel to those Bible lands as tourists tell me that you can go to Rome today and you can actually be shown where they say Paul was finally imprisoned’—really just a cold dungeon, a cave in the ground. Of course, all you see are bare walls and a little hole in the ceiling where food was dropped down. There were no windows. It was just a cold little cell that would have been especially uncomfortable when it came to winter.
But he still is talking about the promise of life even in this condition. He is saying, “I am an apostle in keeping with the promise of life that God has given me.” So, you can see that helps you to see the conditions by the time Paul is writing the letter. And soon after he wrote his letter, church history tells that he was condemned and executed in Rome at the command of the Emperor Nero. But you can see in the letter, Paul is sensing this could happen soon.
So, 2 Timothy, then is not only the last letter we have from the hand of Paul; there is also a note of urgency and passion we might expect from a man who knew he would soon be executed. So, he wants everybody to know you don’t have all the time. If God has given you a calling and there is something specific for you to do, there is a promise of life for the period you need to accomplish it. But you must do it today rather than tomorrow.
Day 5
1 Corinthians 12:3
Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘”Jesus be cursed,'” and no one can say, ‘”Jesus is Lord,'” except by the Holy Spirit.
Who is the letter addressed to?
It is addressed to “Timothy, my beloved son.” And I think that is very important. That term, “son,” is not that Paul was the biological father of Timothy; he was the spiritual father of Timothy. Maybe we should spend a moment explaining this. Because a lot of pastors are asking people to call them “fathers,” but they never led the person to the Lord. He is even a pastor who applied to work with him, but he wants to be called father by the elder who interviewed him. Paul was a different type of a mentor. He is the same one who would say, “Follow me only as I follow Christ.” So, this modern fatherhood is not similar to any other fatherhood in the bible. It needs to be a fatherhood in God. So, he says, “Who is writing? I, Paul. Who am I writing to? To Timothy, my dear son’—a son I love.” You must then understand that in that case, Paul accepts him as a son, his spiritual father. But he knows who his real Father is heaven.
But isn’t it good to know that you have your physical family’—and you must respect it. the Bible requires that, “Honor your father and mother”‘—but you also have your spiritual family, and you must also show respect to your spiritual mentors. But they, in turn, must show they love you, but they must also show that your real allegiance is not to man, but to God.
And therefore, although congregation might be calling you father, they don’t expect you to guide them in every instance and demand that they do only what you say. It is that you direct them to the real Father in heaven, who is the one who will give them direction’—not the pastor, not the apostle. But it’s important that in that vision, there must be boundaries that the son cannot allow the father to cross. And there must be boundaries that the father cannot allow the son to cross.
You know, even in the other Jewish culture, the idea of disciples was not very strange’—having people whom you are training and whom you are mentoring. But you do so in order to help them to follow God, to know God. And you do so with a pure heart, not in the self-righteousness of the Pharisees. So yes, the letter is written to a beloved son who recognizes that God has used Paul to place him where he is.
But I think the next thing is: What does he pray that this son of his gets? Three things: Grace, mercy, and peace. These are things you can’t get anywhere else, only from God. And you can’t get them from Paul either. That’s why Paul is praying grace, mercy, and peace from God, not from Paul.
One of the great preachers of the past, C.H. Spurgeon, used this 1 Timothy 1 and verse 2 and also Titus 1:4 to show that ministers need more mercy than even others. So, this pastor, Timothy, needed a lot of mercy. And so Paul is very clear about this: the need for grace and mercy, especially for the pastors, but also for the whole Church of Christ. Whether he’s writing to the Romans or Corinthians or Galatians or Philippians’—all of them’—this is something he wishes for them: grace and mercy and peace. And why is he compelled to do that? Because he knows this pastor, under a lot of attack, will need them. Only God could give him the grace and the peace and the mercy to survive the attaches.
Day 6
Jude 1:21
keep yourselves in God”s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life
Yes, you as a Christian leader should pray for mercy, even more than anybody else. But you must also teach the people whom you are working with in your church that they also need mercy. Why do they need mercy? And what is mercy? Mercy is what you get when what you deserve is punishment but it is withheld. Then the one who is supposed to be punishing decides not to punish you. We say that man has been merciful. We Christians fail the Lord many times. We really need His mercy, where He doesn’t punish us according to our failures. Instead, He gives us mercy instead of punishment. Our shortcomings are many. Our failures are many. And in the book of James, he says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1). So, may the Lord help you to understand how desperately you require mercy, but also grace and peace.
You know, like Spurgeon says, regarding grace and peace, and I quote: “I need mercy more than any of you, so I take it from my Lord’s loving hand and I’ll trust and not be afraid, despite all my shortcomings and feebleness and blunders and mistakes in the course of my whole ministry.” End of quote by Spurgeon.
Do you realize your desperate need for mercy? Or you feel like you’re okay’—that you have lived according to God”s standards and expectations? May the Lord help you to see that grace, mercy, and peace cannot come from a human being. They cannot come from an apostle or a pastor or a mentor. Like Paul says, they come from “God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”
What is grace?
You have seen why you need mercy. But What about grace? Grace is the gift you get which you don’t deserve. I don’t know if you have seen our salvation as by grace. It’s one thing that you are sure you don’t deserve, but you have it. Like I said earlier, these things are not things you can get anywhere else. You can only get them from God because grace belongs to God. So, He is the only one who can actually give you gifts of God that you don’t deserve. It’s what you mean when you talk about grace, and you can then see why you need them.
What about peace?
That’s even more critical because there are so many things that cause you lack of peace. Your own failure causes you lack of peace. Failure of people who are working with you in ministry’—and they fail you often’—will make you lack peace. The devil’s attacks on you will make you lack peace. Uncertainties of the future will make you lack peace. But God can give peace. And this mentor is telling his mentee, “My prayer for you is that you’ll have grace, you’ll have mercy, and you’ll have peace.” Because with those three, you are likely to end up able to deal with the issues that are challenging you.
Let’s, for example, look at your need of peace. When you are peaceful, you are not likely to end up reacting emotionally to other people and causing them hurt. You can imagine there are people attacking you, but if you are at peace, you are able to answer them under control. That’s what now management science is calling “emotional intelligence”‘—ability to read your own emotions, so that you control them, and ability to understand your opponent’s emotions so that you act in line. So that when you can see he doesn’t mean what he is saying’—he has lost his emotions’—you don’t react the way he would like to provoke you to react, because you understand his emotions. That cannot happen’—emotional intelligence cannot happen’—when you yourself have lost your peace.
Day 7
Ephesians 2:8
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith’—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God’—
What about your need of Grace:
I’ve just shown you that there is nothing we get from God which we can say we really deserve. And so you actually need grace continuously.
What about your need of mercy?
You have just seen the holiness of God and our sinfulness so that many times . If He wanted to punish us, we would be permanently under punishment. So, you need mercy.
So, my prayer and hope is that all of us will see how much we need God’s peace, and God’s mercy, and God’s grace.
What an introduction to this letter: that grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord are needed by all Christian leaders if they are to serve God successfully.
But number two, do you note that Paul wants this mentee, Timothy, to understand that the three in one Godhead is a reality of the Scriptures? That he is talking about God the Father separate from God the Son. But this grace is coming from both.
People keep asking, “Where is the word Trinity written?” It’s not written. You don’t find the word Trinity in the Bible. But you find God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit mentioned together as doing something for the church. And because the same Bible tells you there is only one God, can you see why they would create the term Trinity? Because you are talking about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And yet, you are not supposed to see them as three different beings. It’s one being in three.
So, right at the introduction to this letter, Trinity is introduced. And we need to understand that and to have that. That’s why a cult that tries to separate it’—to say there is no Trinity or to say Jesus is not God’—it’s a very serious error. And whatever they are preaching is certainly not Christianity. Because the Son is co-equal with the Father and with the Holy Spirit.
So, here you are. Paul is telling Timothy, “Please understand: grace, mercy, and peace’—and that you need them. But they don’t come from God the Father alone or God the Son alone.” They come from’—listen to the verse again’—”from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”
So, I think it’s important to understand that the young Timothy needs to have the Trinity at the back of his mind. Similarly, you and me, if you are in what we call “historic Christianity,” I think you must understand that this issue of Trinity’—even if it sounds complicated to you’—is part and parcel of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.