2 Timothy 1

1 – 2

Paul, an apostle by God's assignment according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus to Timothy, my beloved son. Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Jesus our Lord.

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.

Much has been said about Timothy being full of fear and constantly sick. This is called proof-texting or using one verse to build a weak idea on. Maybe Timothy was there when Paul was arrested and could not hold back his tears? A close friend is allowed to have some tears when his best friend is about to be executed.

5. I remember how real your faith is. That faith was first in your grandmother Lois, and then in your mother Eunice, and I am sure it is in you also.

Timothy's family also taught him the Scriptures. 1 Timothy 3:15

6. Because of this faith I remind you to stir up the gift that God gave you when we ordained you and I laid my hands on you.

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.

Since God does not send us a spirit of fear then we know it has to be coming from the devil. A sudden attack of fear is one thing but a continued feeling of fear is definitely a demonic attack.

Do not be afraid of an attack of sudden fear. Proverbs 3:25

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.

10. It is only after our Savior Jesus was revealed that God's plan has been seen. He has taken away the weapons of death and has brought eternal life and light through the Gospel.

The original words here say that death has been disarmed or cancelled.

O death, where is your sting? O hell, where is your victory? 1 Corinthians 15:55

11 - 12

For which I was given the job as a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. It is because of this Gospel that I am now suffering, but I am not ashamed because I know the One in whom I have put my confidence and I am sure that the things I have deposited with Him are safe in His hands until that day.

Notice that Paul does not say, “I hope” or “I think maybe,” but he says, “ I am sure!”

One of the most important steps in the Christian life is to deposit (like in a bank) every situation into the Lord's hands, and then leave our hands completely off of that situation.

13. So keep my words in your mind as an example of healthy teaching that was given to you in the faith and the love of Jesus.

Hitler and Stalin did not follow healthy teaching and killed millions. Men who are in prison now for murder did not follow healthy teaching.

The only way for men to escape from evil is to find something solid to build their lives on. There is nothing more solid than God's words.

14. Take good care of the treasures that were given to you by the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us.

A mature Christian stores up treasure of things that he has learned from the Scriptures. He brings them out of his treasure chest when he needs to use them.

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.

Some Christians may have been afraid to tell Onesiphorus for us where the where he could find Paul, in case they got in trouble. Paul was in the Mamertine prison, which is a hole in the ground that can still be seen in Rome.

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.”

The fact that he was in Rome means that he returned to Ephesus. Paul knew that he would soon be killed and most likely asked Onesiphorus to immediately bring this letter to Timothy.