Greeting and Thanksgiving for Timothy's Faith
Study note
Paul identifies himself as an apostle by God's will, sent to proclaim the promise of life in Christ. He addresses Timothy as his dearly loved son and gives thanks for him with constant prayer. Paul remembers Timothy's tears at their parting and longs to be reunited. He recalls the sincere faith that first lived in Timothy's grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice, a powerful testimony to the multi-generational transmission of faith through faithful family members.
1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus because God chose him to be one. God sent me to tell everyone about the promise of life that is found in Christ Jesus. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my dear son: may grace, mercy, and peace come to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I thank God for you, Timothy. I serve him with a clear conscience just like my ancestors did. Every time I pray, day or night, I think about you. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
4 I keep remembering the tears you cried, and I want so badly to see you again so I can be filled with joy. Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
5 I think about the genuine, honest faith you have. That same faith first lived in your grandmother Lois and then in your mother Eunice, and I am completely sure it lives in you too. When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
Fanning the Flame of God's Gift
Study note
Paul urges Timothy to stir up the gift of God received through the laying on of Paul's hands. The famous declaration follows: God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. Timothy must not be ashamed of Christ's testimony or of Paul as a prisoner, but should share in suffering for the gospel by God's power. Paul grounds this call in God's eternal purpose: he saved and called us not according to our works but according to his own grace, given before time began and now revealed through Christ, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
6 Therefore I am reminding you to fan into a bright flame the gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
8 So do not be embarrassed to talk about our Lord, and do not be embarrassed about me being in prison for him. Instead, be willing to suffer for the good news, with the strength God provides. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
9 He saved us and gave us a special calling to live for him. He did not do this because of anything we did to earn it, but because of his own plan and grace. He decided to give us this gift through Christ Jesus before time even started. Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
10 And now he has revealed it through the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus took away the power of death and opened the door to life that lasts forever through the good news. But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
Guarding the Gospel and Faithful Friends
Study note
Paul affirms his own unwavering confidence despite suffering, declaring he knows whom he has believed and is persuaded that God can guard what has been entrusted to him. He charges Timothy to hold to the pattern of sound words heard from Paul, guarding the good deposit through the Holy Spirit. Yet the pain of abandonment surfaces: all in Asia have turned away from Paul. In contrast stands Onesiphorus, who was not ashamed of Paul's chains but diligently searched for him in Rome and refreshed him, a model of faithful friendship in dark times.
11 God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this good news to people everywhere. Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
12 That is the reason I am going through all this suffering. But I am not embarrassed about it at all, because I know the one I have put my trust in. I am fully convinced that he has the power to guard everything I have handed over to him until the final day. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
13 Take the true teaching you heard from me and hold on to it tightly. Live it out with the faith and love that come from being in Christ Jesus. Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
14 Guard the precious truth that God gave you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives inside us. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
15 You already know that everyone in the province of Asia turned away from me. Phygellus and Hermogenes were among them. This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.
16 May the Lord show special kindness to Onesiphorus and his whole family. He lifted my spirits over and over again. And he was never ashamed that I was locked up in chains. The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain:
17 When he arrived in Rome, he searched hard until he tracked me down. But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me.
18 May the Lord give him mercy on the final day. You know better than anyone how much help he gave me back in Ephesus. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.