2 Timothy 1 1 2 Paul is writing a personal letter to Timothy, and not to a church. This is his goodbye letter to his close helper and son in the Lord 3. I thank the God of my forefathers (who I also serve with a clear conscience) as I remember you in my prayers night and day. How could Paul's conscience be clear after what he did to the Christians? Acts 9:1 Only Christ can take away such evil and the accusations of the devil about Paul's past. 4. I would be so happy to see you again, even while I am remembering your tears. See 1 Peter 4:10, 1 Timothy 4:14. 7. For God has not given us a spirit of fear but a Spirit of power and a Spirit of love and a healthy mind. The fear of man is a trap. Proverbs 29:25 8. Do not be ashamed of being a witness for our Lord, and do not be ashamed of me as His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the Gospel with the strength that God gives you. Paul is saying that his situation is all part of being in ministry. 9. Because He saved us from all evil and called us to live a life that is set apart not because of anything we have done but for His own plan, which was given to us in Christ before time began. God has a plan for our lives. The more we learn about His plan for us, the more we see that our own plans are not the best. The original words here say that death has been disarmed or cancelled. Notice that Paul does not say, I hope or I think maybe, but he says, I am sure! Hitler and Stalin did not follow healthy teaching and killed millions. Men who are in prison now for murder did not follow healthy teaching. 14. Take good care of the treasures that were given to you by the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us. Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old. Matthew 13:52 15. I am sure you know that all those who are in Asia have turned away from me. Phygelus and Hermogenes are two of them. It is likely that these men were asked to come and be witnesses at Paul's trial but were too afraid to come. 16. May the Lord have mercy on the house of Onesiphorus. Many times he has encouraged my heart and he was not ashamed to find me as a prisoner in the Mamertine prison. 17. But when he was here in Rome he went to a lot of trouble to find me, and he finally did find me. People did not want to say where Paul was for fear that they would be arrested also. Remember that these things were happening as Nero had just burned the city of Rome and blamed it on the Christians. The city may have still been smoking from the fire and Christians were being hunted. This shows us what a job it was for Onesiphorus to find Paul. 18. May the Lord have mercy on him on that day and you know how many ways he helped me when I was in Ephesus also. The original words here could be translated as: he fully did the work of a deacon. |