Sunday 27C, Proper 22C. Epistle

Good things entrusted to us. 1:6-14

Introduction
It seems that Timothy was one of those people who are easily overwhelmed by circumstance; someone easily debilitated by fear. Certainly that was how Paul saw him and so in the opening section of this his second letter to Timothy, Paul does his best to bolster him up so that he will no longer be made ineffective by fear. Paul chooses to strengthen him with objective reality, with truth. Truth sets us free, it gives us strength to face the battles of life; truth gives us confidence.

The passage
v6. Timothy had received a special endowing/equipping of the Spirit for his service to Christ. This gift, this infilling of the Spirit, is given to all who give their lives to Jesus. Through this infilling, Timothy received gifts suitable for a ministry of the Word. This was confirmed by a prophetic word, 1Tim.4:14, and was accompanied by the laying on of hands (prayer visibly expressed). Therefore, as far as Paul is concerned, Timothy should exercise these gifts.
v7. The endowment of this charisma, this infilling of the Spirit, involves an infusion of the very character of God. It doesn't promote shrinking-fear, rather i] power - an alliance with unseen forces; ii] love - impassioned devotion to Christ which overwhelms all self pleasing; iii] self-discipline - the mastery of self-needs.
v8. With such a powerful gift, Timothy should faithfully exercise his ministry. When we rest on the power of the indwelling Christ we have little to fear.
v9. Paul now directs Timothy to consider what Christ has done for him. Christ has rescued us from an eternity without God and has chosen us to share his likeness - to be holy. None of this is of our doing, rather, it is the product of God's intention for creation and as such is an act of undeserved favour toward us. All this came to us through the gospel and was set aside for us within God's purpose, even before time began.
v10. But now, the gift of eternal divinity does not just exist in the mind of God, but in reality. We have gained deity through the gospel because Jesus has destroyed death and ushered in immortality.
v11. Paul has a similar ministry of the Word, and like Timothy, is suffering because of it.
v12. Paul has faced the pressures and troubles caused by gospel ministry, but he remains confident in God's power, ability and intention to look after all that he has entrusted to Him. Paul trusts the Lord for his future place in eternity. The mansions are even now being prepared for the faithful.
v13-14. As far as Paul is concerned, the answer for Timothy, in the face of the uncertainties of life, is a simple one: Hold fast to gospel truth; hold fast to the summary/outline of propositional revelation, that good deposit, that revelation of Divine truth; hold fast to the truths passed on by Paul and the other apostles; hold fast in the strength of the Spirit; hold fast, and drive out fear.

The flight of fear
In this second letter to Timothy, Paul encourages his young assistant to live the Christian life and exercise his gifts. Just get in and do it and don't shrink from it. "Do not be ashamed", says Paul. "God did not give us a spirit of timidity." This was true for Timothy; it is true for us. Here is Paul's advice:
Affirm the indwelling presence of Christ. Timothy had the power to live for Christ, for he had received the infilling of the Spirit. "I remind you" says Paul, "to fan into flame the gift of God." As believers, we have received the powerful presence of the Spirit of Christ in our lives. We are touched by his indwelling presence. Yet, we can forget that Christ stands with us through life. We can forget to draw on his resurrection power. So, we too need to be reminded to fan into flame the indwelling presence of Christ, to release his infilling power.
Follow the example of the great ones of faith. Here was Paul, a "prisoner", "suffering for the gospel." Yet, he says of himself, "I am not ashamed". Instead of defeat or melancholy, a feeling we have all experienced when life has finally gotten us down, Paul is filled with confidence. He does not have a "spirit of timidity". The reason is simple, Paul knows whom he believes in, and he is confident that Christ can guard his life until the day of eternity. Paul may die in prison, but eternity is still his.
Rest on God's grace. This grace of God is found in Christ; it was revealed in Christ - in his life and particularly in his resurrection. Grace is the substance of the gospel message. What does this kindness of God entail? The substance of God's grace is the gift of "life", of "immortality", "given us in Christ". With such an amazing gift, how can we fear.
Rely on the abiding truths of scripture. Unlike the mass of humanity, Timothy is not without a manual for living; he has the "sound teaching" of Jesus Christ; he has the "deposit" "entrusted" to him. Having this clear guide to life, along with the promise of eternity, can only but give confidence and drive fear away. We are actually in a better position than Timothy, for we have the New Testament as well as the Old Testament.
Paul's advice to Timothy can be ours, such that we can use it as an instrument to overcome the debilitating effects of fear.

Discussion
1. What fears affect the worth of your Christian walk?
2. What was Timothy afraid of?
3. What was Paul's advice to Timothy?

Textual notes Abbreviations, Bibliography

Background
Although there is no firm evidence, it is generally argued that Paul was released from his imprisonment described in Acts 28 and was then later re-arrested and taken to Rome to stand trial. So, this letter was probably written during his final stay in prison. Paul is alone, except for Luke, and he longs to see Timothy again. We would expect a sense of regret and self-pity, but instead Paul delivers a word of encouragement to his brother Timothy. Of course, as the reader well knows, the authorship of this letter is in doubt, none-the-less these notes proceed on the assumption that the letter was penned by Paul the apostle.

An illustrative introduction to the subject of Fear
It is probably true that most of us are effected by fear to some degree. Some people certainly show it less than others, leaving us with the impression that there are those who are fearless. Yet, the truth is probably that some can hide or control their fear better and so give the impression of being fearless. The chances are that the huff, puff and bluff of the seemingly fearless character hides a rather scared little person. A fearless front doesn't necessarily mean a fearless character. No, fear is a real part of our daily existence - bluff or no.
The most disturbing end-product of fear is that it tends to debilitate us. It drains us of psychic energy. It destroys the effective application of energy. We so easily find ourselves debilitated by fear.
What is fear? Fear can be defined as an uncontrolled nervous energy brought on by a perceived inability to control existing or future circumstances.
As children, our parents' control of the environment tends to blunt the pressure of chaos. In our growing years, fear is related to our own self confidence/self worth. If our parents have tended to undermine our self worth by constant criticism, then we will tend to feel that we haven't the ability to handle life's situations. A lack of self confidence will tend to promote fear. As we pass through puberty, our increased awareness of chaos naturally increases our fears, but as we develop the ability to handle life's situations, our confidence increases and our fears subside. As we pass middle age, our waning strength gives us less confidence to handle the pressures from within and without. Our fears grow larger and we tend to reinforce our need for self-confidence by developing security hedges, e.g., superannuation, investments, health insurance, .....
So, fear is very much related to self confidence. If we are confident in our ability to handle the circumstances before us, then our fear of those circumstances will be minimal. Our self confidence will depend on how well we handled similar circumstances in the past, or how we handle situations generally. Abilities, which are very much the product of education, both formal and life experience, will determine the level of confidence we have to handle the situation.
The trouble is, a Christian has extra factors to cope with and these can very easily increase the fear level. There are the hard words of Jesus, ideals that we daily fall short of. Then there is the difficulty of supporting our faith with at least some visible evidence. Christianity often seems like a mystery beyond our grasp. So life issues, because of their immediacy, take precedence over the more intangible "spiritual" issues. Fears for our welfare and security often cloud our view of "the way".
Fear debilitates. We know how to live for our Lord, but so often we do nothing and watch lost opportunities pass us by. How then can we stave off fear, how can we control it? Confidence comes in the successful doing of things. Once we have achieved an objective, successfully negotiated a life situation, made the grade, it is then that our self confidence grows and fear subsides.
I have to say my own son taught me this lesson. He was affected by claustrophobia, as I am. When life's circumstances press in on us we feel the need to escape. My mother, to this day, will not get into a lift, and there is no way I am getting into an aeroplane.
My son Paul took up sky diving and one day I asked him why he tackled such an extreme sport? His answer turned me on my head. "If I can overcome that fear, then everything else is a breeze." A wise head on young shoulders.

Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons

2 Timothy

Notes