2 Timothy 1:1-18

How we should Encourage each other to do God’s Work

2 Timothy

Ian Mackervoy

About this letter

The writer and to whom he wrote

At the end of the book of Acts, the *apostle Paul was still in prison in *Rome. When he came out of prison, he went to *Macedonia (1 Timothy 1:3). After that, he travelled to other places. While on these journeys, he wrote the first letter to Timothy. Timothy was then in the city of Ephesus. Timothy was the leader of the church there. Later Paul was again in prison in *Rome. It was from there that he wrote this second letter to Timothy. Timothy was still in Ephesus.

Timothy was the son of a *Gentile father and a *Jewish mother. His mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois, both believed the *gospel of Christ (2 Timothy 1:5). They and Timothy probably became Christians when Paul first went to the town of Lystra (Acts 14). All the Christians in Lystra and in the church in the town of Iconium said good things about Timothy.

When Paul came the second time to Lystra, he asked Timothy to join his team (Acts 16:1-3). Timothy became a close friend and helper of Paul. He went with Paul as he travelled to many places. Then Paul appointed Timothy to lead and look after the church at Ephesus.

When and where he wrote

The first time that Paul was in prison in *Rome was about AD 60. He was there for two years. Then he travelled again and he went to *Macedonia. He may have travelled as far as Spain before he went back to *Rome. He was in prison again and soon after that the *Emperor Nero had him killed.

Paul wrote this second letter to Timothy from prison just before he died. Paul knew that the time of his death had come (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

The *Emperor Nero killed himself in the month of June AD 68. Paul asked Timothy to come to him before winter (2 Timothy 4:21). So, the date of the letter could not be later than AD 67.

Why he wrote

Paul wanted to see Timothy again. He thinks about him as his own son (2 Timothy 1:4). Paul is lonely and the prison is cold. He urges Timothy to try to come before the winter (2 Timothy 4:21). He asks Timothy to bring the warm coat that he had left in the town of Troas. He also wants Timothy to bring his books and *papers (2 Timothy 4:13).

In the court for the first time, he had been successful. But all his friends except Luke had left him (2 Timothy 4:11; 2 Timothy 4:16). Although he had succeeded that time, the *Romans would not set him free. He expects that they will soon kill him (2 Timothy 4:6).

Paul writes to encourage Timothy in his Christian life. He urges him to be strong in what he believes. Timothy must use the gifts that God has given to him. He must *preach the *gospel and teach the truth.

Contents of the letter

This letter is much more personal than the first one. Paul urges him to be strong in his belief in the *Lord (1:1-7). He should not be ashamed of the *Lord or of Paul. He must be prepared to suffer for the *gospel (1:8-2:13).

As he had done in the first letter, Paul warns against the false teachers (2:14-19). Timothy must be a noble servant of Christ (2:20-26). In the last days, people will do awful things (3:1-9). But Timothy must continue to do what he has learned and knows. He must do what the *scriptures say (3:10-17). He must *preach the *gospel because it is urgent that people hear it (4:1-5).

Paul then talks about his own life and what he expects to happen (4:6-8). Then he asks Timothy to come and he tells him about his situation (4:9-18). He ends the letter with greetings to his friends and asks the *Lord to bless Timothy (4:19-22).

Plan of the letter

Greetings and prayer for Timothy	1:1-2
Paul thanks God	1:3-5
Words to encourage Timothy	1:6-14
Attitudes to Paul	1:15-18
Appeal to be strong and to suffer	2:1-13
How to deal with what is false	2:14-26
Evil persons in the last days	3:1-9
Continue in what you have learned	3:10-17
*Preach the *gospel and teach the truth	4:1-5
Paul is ready to die	4:6-8
Personal words to Timothy	4:9-18
Final remarks and greeting	4:19-22

Chapter 1

Greetings and prayer for Timothy (1:1-2)

v1 This is from Paul, an *apostle of Christ Jesus. God chose me to be an *apostle. He sent me to declare the promise of life, which we have in union with Christ Jesus. v2 Timothy, whom I love as my own son, I pray for you to God our Father and to Christ Jesus our *Lord. I ask that they will give you grace, *mercy and peace.

Verse 1 Paul is an *apostle of Christ Jesus. The *Lord sent him to be his agent. He gave to Paul the authority to speak for him. Paul became an *apostle because God chose him for the task. That task was to tell people that they could have a new life. God has promised to give that life to all who believe in Christ Jesus. Those who trust in Christ will live with him. And that life will never end.

Verse 2 Timothy probably first believed in Christ because of what Paul taught. Timothy travelled with Paul and helped him in his work. Paul says that as a son works with his father so Timothy worked with him (Philippians 2:22). Their friendship was very close because of what they believed. That is why Paul calls Timothy his son. He was very fond of him. And he loved him as a father loves his son.

In his greeting, Paul asks God the Father and the *Lord Jesus to give Timothy grace, *mercy and peace. Grace means all the benefits that God gives. He gives them to those whom he loves. No one deserves them. God blesses those who do not deserve it. That is what grace is. *Mercy is the love of God as he helps those in need. It is the kindness of God. The peace of God is an inner quiet and calm. God puts this in the hearts and minds of those who trust him. It makes us feel calm and well inside. We do not stop feeling like this when bad things happen.

Paul thanks God (1:3-5)

v3 I am grateful to God for you. I serve him with a clean conscience, as my *ancestors did. I always remember you in my prayers, as I pray to him night and day. v4 When I remember how you cried, I really want to see you. That would make me very happy. v5 I remember your *faith because it is so real and sincere. Your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice first had this kind of *faith. Now I am sure that you have it too.

Verse 3 When Paul writes a letter, he usually starts by giving thanks to God. Here he expresses his thanks as he thinks of Timothy. Perhaps he is remembering how Timothy had first come to believe in Jesus Christ. He is grateful to God for all that Timothy has meant to him from that time until now.

Paul served and *worshipped God. In this, he followed what his *ancestors had done. As *Jews, they had *worshipped and served the one true God. He does not regard the *worship of God by the *Jews as bad. But it is not complete because they do not believe in the *Lord Jesus.

Before he believed in Christ, Paul had a clean conscience. He believed that he was doing what God wanted him to do. He tried to keep all of the law of God. He did much that was wrong. But he did not know then that it was wrong. Now he knows the *Lord Jesus and he has *repented of all those acts.

When Paul prays to God, he always prays for Timothy. It was his habit to pray to the *Lord at night and in the morning.

Verse 4 Most likely, when Paul last parted from him, Timothy was sad. Probably, he cried a little. As Paul thought about it, he had a strong desire to see Timothy again. It was sad when they parted. But it would be a great joy to Paul if they could meet again.

Verse 5 Something had reminded Paul about the kind of *faith that Timothy had in the *Lord. It was so sincere and real. Paul thanked God that he had given such *faith to Timothy. Paul thanked God for all that he had done in Timothy’s life.

The thought of Timothy’s *faith reminds Paul of Timothy’s family. Both Timothy’s grandmother (Lois) and his mother (Eunice) had the same real *faith in God. They put their trust in the *Lord before Timothy did. Paul could see that Timothy believed in the *Lord Jesus. He believed just as they did. His *faith is as genuine as theirs was.

Words to encourage Timothy (1:6-14)

v6 For this reason, I remind you to make full use of the gift that God gave to you. God gave you that gift when I put my hands on you. v7 Now what God has given to us does not make us cowards. But it does give us power, love and control of ourselves. v8 So do not be ashamed to speak about our *Lord. Do not be ashamed of me in prison for the *Lord. Do be ready to suffer for the *gospel with the power that God gives you. v9 God has saved us and he chose us to be his holy people. We did nothing to deserve this. It is by God’s own purpose and grace. He provided it for us in Christ Jesus before he made the world. v10 We can know the grace of God now. Christ Jesus came to show it to us and to save us. He has overcome death and brought us life. This life is perfect and it will never die. We receive this truth by the *gospel. v11 For this good news, God has appointed me an *apostle, to *preach and to teach it. v12 That is why I am suffering as I am. But I am not ashamed. That is because I know in whom I trust. I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have given to him. v13 Follow the pattern of the true words that I taught you. Do this with the *faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. v14 What God has given to you is good. You must keep it safe. Guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Verse 6 Paul knows that Timothy has a sincere *faith. So Paul reminds him to use the gift that God gave him. He thinks about this gift as a fire inside Timothy. He wants Timothy to fan that fire into a flame. Timothy had not used that gift enough. Paul is urging him to be more eager to use it.

God had given Timothy this special gift. It was a gift from the Holy Spirit for the work of God. The gift was like a powerful tool for Timothy to use in the task that God had given him.

We do not know when God gave Timothy this gift. It could have been when Paul first asked him to join him in his travels (Acts 14:23). But it is more likely when Paul and the *elders appointed him to lead the church in Ephesus (1 Timothy 4:14). The Holy Spirit gave this gift to him as Paul laid his hands on him.

Verse 7 When God calls a person to do a task, he makes that person able to do it. Timothy was a quiet and shy man. But God had appointed him to lead the church at Ephesus. So, God gave him all that he needed to do the task.

The gift of the Holy Spirit of God would not cause him to be afraid. Instead, it would make him bold. He need not be shy or afraid to use his authority in the church.

God by his Spirit gives power to all who need it. He gives them the power to do what he asks them to do. Timothy can be the leader that God wants. He can be that leader with the power that God gives. The gift of God provides the strength of character that he needs.

In the church of God, the leader serves the people. Those who have authority must use it with love. They must love God and his people. It is difficult for us to love like this. But the gift of God is love. So then we can love as God intends us to love.

Paul also says that the gift of the Spirit brings with it the control of our minds. He makes us able to control our thoughts and actions.

Verse 8 God gave to Timothy a gift of power and love and control of the mind like that. So he should tell other people about the *Lord. He should not be shy or afraid to do this. Paul does not suggest that Timothy was not doing this. But he wants to encourage him to be bold. He must not be ashamed to confess that he belongs to the *Lord Jesus Christ.

He must not be ashamed to say that he is a friend of Paul. Paul calls himself the *prisoner of the *Lord. He was in prison because he believed in Christ. He was in prison because he served Christ. He was there because God allowed it. Paul served the *Lord Jesus and *preached the *gospel. That is the reason that he suffered.

Timothy must be ready to suffer, as Paul did, for the *gospel. In this, he would share with Paul and other Christians and with Christ himself. He can take his share of suffering by the power that God will give him. All who suffer for Christ can depend on God to give them strength. He will give them the strength that they need.

Verse 9 God uses his power on behalf of those who trust in him. He has already shown this because he has saved them. He has rescued his people from their *sins. He has freed them from the death that *sin brings. He has given to them a new life. He chose them to be his people. He wants them to live as those who belong to him. They should be clean and pure and holy as he is.

God did not save us because of what we had done. We can do nothing that could earn for us this *salvation. God did not choose us because we were good. And he did not choose us because we had done the right things. The *scripture says that all of us have *sinned (Romans 3:23). He saved us because he decided to do so. God in his grace blesses those who do not deserve it.

He gave us the benefits of his grace in Christ Jesus. By the *Lord Jesus, we can receive the grace of God. It comes to us as we are in union with Christ by *faith.

God planned and did this before time began. That was even before he made the world. Before we had *sinned, God had the remedy for *sin.

Verse 10 The grace of God, the remedy for our *sin, was there in Christ before time began. But until the *Lord Jesus came, we failed to see it. Now Christ Jesus has come. He lived on earth as a human being. He died to take away our *sins. God raised him from the dead. He has shown us the grace of God. He saves all who will believe in him from their *sins.

When God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he defeated death for us. Therefore death is not the end for those who believe in the *Lord. Jesus gives to them a new life now. Their bodies may die but death has no power over their life. After death those who belong to the *Lord will live with him. The *Lord will make them perfect and they will live. And they will never die.

This is the good news that Paul and Timothy *preached. Those who receive this *gospel and give themselves to the *Lord will know the grace of God. They will know that God forgives and removes their *sins. They will have that new life and be sure of the future life beyond death.

Verse 11 God sent Paul to declare this good news. He describes this task by three functions. Christ chose Paul to be an *apostle. He sent Paul with the authority to speak for him. As an *apostle, Paul set up churches and looked after them. He would *preach the *gospel and bring people to believe in Jesus Christ. He would teach them and train them in the truth.

Verse 12 God had sent Paul to declare the *gospel of Christ and he did it. That was the cause of his suffering. He suffered and was in prison because he *preached this good news.

Paul was not ashamed to be in prison or to suffer. He knew that it was for the *Lord Jesus that he suffered. To him it was an honour to suffer for the *Lord. He is not ashamed of the *gospel. He is not afraid to speak for the *Lord. Paul knows the *Lord. That is the reason why he is not ashamed. He trusts God. And he knows that God will never fail him.

God is able to protect and keep safe what Paul has given to God. Paul is convinced about that. He does not say what he has put into the care of God. But he had given himself to the *Lord. He trusted God for his own life both now and for the future. He depended on God for his work as he taught the *gospel.

God will keep Paul and his work until that day which is to come. Paul is confident about that. That day is the period after the *Lord Jesus comes to judge everybody. Then all who belong to him will give an account of their lives to the *Lord Jesus.

Verse 13 Paul had taught Timothy the truth about God and the *Lord Jesus. He had told Timothy how Christians should behave. He had shown him what Christians ought to believe. All that Paul taught was correct and true. God sent Paul for this purpose to declare what was true. All of this was a pattern for Timothy to follow. He must preserve and guard the truth of these words of Paul.

These true words are a pattern of what Timothy should teach. He must not merely repeat what Paul said. This is because that was not complete in all the details of the truth. But it forms the base on which Timothy should express the truth.

Timothy should not just follow the words. He must do so with *faith and love. *Faith and love are ours when we belong to Christ. We have to know Christ Jesus as our *Lord before we can have this *faith and love. The only way to keep the truth is to both live and speak it with *faith and love.

Verse 14 Timothy had received all the good words that Paul had taught him. In effect, he received them from God because God has sent Paul. These words were the *gospel of Christ and what Christians should believe. Timothy had to defend and teach the truth. He must not allow the false teachers to change the truth.

Timothy could not protect the truth in his own strength. The means by which he must guard the truth is with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives in Timothy and in all who believe in the *Lord Jesus.

Attitudes to Paul (1:15-18)

v15 You are aware that all who are in Asia have turned against me. Among them are Phygelus and Hermogenes. v16 I pray that the *Lord will be kind to the family of Onesiphorus. He often helped and cheered me. He was not ashamed of me because I was in prison. v17 Rather, when he was in *Rome, he looked for me. And he looked for me until he found me. v18 I pray to the *Lord that he will receive kindness from the *Lord on that day. You know how much he did for me in Ephesus.

Verse 15 Asia here is not the continent of Asia. It was only a part of what is now the country of Turkey. And Ephesus was its capital city.

Timothy knew that many Christians in Asia or from Asia had failed to help Paul. He cannot mean that all of the Christians there had turned against him. He must have meant a group of them. Perhaps the church leaders had not sent their support for him. Or perhaps he means those from Asia who were in *Rome. He would expect them to come and help him but they did not.

Paul names two of those who failed him. They are Phygelus and Hermogenes. We do not know anything about these two men.

Verses 16-18 Paul asks the *Lord to be kind to the family of Onesiphorus. He wants the *Lord to provide for them what they need. It seems that Onesiphorus was not at home. The family stayed in Ephesus while he went to *Rome.

When Onesiphorus first arrived there, he searched for Paul. And he searched for him until he found him. This was not an easy task. There were many in prison in *Rome. He was not ashamed or afraid to be a friend of Paul. Paul was in prison and in chains. But this did not worry Onesiphorus. He often came to see Paul. When he came, he brought Paul what he needed. He may have brought food and other things. But Paul most appreciated his being there with him. He often encouraged Paul. And he cheered him when he was unhappy.

It was not only in *Rome that Onesiphorus had helped Paul. Timothy knew how much Onesiphorus had done for the church and for Paul when he was in Ephesus. Paul prays about that day when Onesiphorus will give an account of his life to the *Lord. He prays that the *Lord will receive Onesiphorus and bless him.

apostle ~ a person that God chose to lead his church; one of the 12 men that Jesus chose to be his helpers and to teach about him.
Rome ~ the capital city of the rulers at that time. They were the Romans.
Roman ~ Rome was the capital city of the rulers at that time. That which belonged to Rome was Roman.
Macedonia ~ the northern part of the modern country called Greece.
Gentile ~ a person who is not a Jew.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for the Jewish people.
Jewish ~ people or things that are from the Jews.
Jewish ~ people or things that are from the Jews.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for the Jewish people.
gospel ~ the good news that God saves people from sin by Jesus Christ.
Gospel ~ one of the four books at the beginning of the New Testament.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil; not to obey God; sins are the wrong things that we do.

New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus. It is about the things that Jesus did and taught. And it is about the church.
emperor ~ a very important ruler or king.
papers ~ important information in writing.
Roman ~ Rome was the capital city of the rulers at that time. That which belonged to Rome was Roman.
Rome ~ the capital city of the rulers at that time. They were the Romans.
preach ~ to speak out the message from God and to teach his word.
Lord ~ a title for God, or Jesus, to show that he is over all people and things.
scriptures ~ the books of the Bible.
preach ~ to speak out the message from God and to teach his word.
mercy ~ God’s love and goodness.
mercy ~ God’s love and goodness.
ancestors ~ any persons from whom the families of your father or mother come.
faith ~ trust in someone or something; belief and trust in God and in Jesus Christ his Son. The faith is the Christian religion. It is what Christians believe.
worship ~ to show honour to God with praise, thanks and respect.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for the Jewish people.
Jewish ~ people or things that are from the Jews.
repent ~ to change one’s mind and heart, to turn away from sin and turn to God. To turn one’s mind and heart away from sin is to repent.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil; not to obey God; sins are the wrong things that we do.
elders ~ older men, respected men, or leaders in the church.
prisoner ~ a person who is in prison.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil; not to obey God; sins are the wrong things that we do.
salvation ~ the result when God saves us from sin and punishment; the new life that God gives. He gives it to those who believe in the Lord Jesus.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil; not to obey God; sins are the wrong things that we do.
Lord ~ a title for God, or Jesus, to show that he is over all people and things.
faith ~ trust in someone or something; belief and trust in God and in Jesus Christ his Son. The faith is the Christian religion. It is what Christians believe.