No spirit of fear
This week's study is on 2 Timothy 1:6-14:
These verses come in the second letter from Paul to Timothy. He's talking about the faith of Timothy's family and then transitions to talking about being bold in faith. Christians were being persecuted and it would have been natural for Timothy to have gotten cold feet about being an open Christian. Paul is sharing his experience with persecution and puts things in perspective.
The bit about laying on hands probably refers to Timothy receiving the Holy Spirit and a call to ministry. He's received something divine, and that's something he should nurture and keep. With the Holy Spirit, he's something more than himself.
Paul says that God didn't give us a spirit of fear. We were created in God's image, and God doesn't cower in fear. We see fear in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve had eaten from the forbidden fruit. But in God's work it has no place. When he gives us his Holy Spirit, he's not going to do it to make us hide and be ineffective. If we nurture that gift, quite the opposite will happen.
Paul says instead that the Spirit we are given is one of power, love, and self-control. God has unlimited power. He has broken even the power of death. He has the power to heal, and the power to grant us eternal life. He has the power to forgive sin. Even when we lose, we still win because of his power.
When we have fears, we can compare them to God's power. Do we fear death? Through God's power we will live eternally. Do we fear not being good enough? God's power has forgiven all sin. Do we fear sickness? God can heal anything, and even if we remain sick until we die it's only still a tiny sliver of eternity. Our weakness is made strong through God's power. Paul was tortured, possibly killed or nearly so, taken prisoner, and kept under lock and key and still managed to influence most of what was the civilized world at the time. We have access to power, and it is enough power to dwarf any of our fears.
The Holy Spirit is also a spirit of love. Jesus was tortured, humiliated, and killed out of love for us. As we are influenced by God's love, we can't help but feel that same love for mankind. Is being thrown in jail too high of a price for helping someone in need? How about torture? Execution? These were real questions Timothy had to weigh, and Paul had been there before. When you weigh those "what if" fears against God's love, they seem silly and small.
And the love goes deeper. When we face hardship, it's often because of God's love for us that we do so. We gain skills and maturity and personality traits that we will keep for eternity. And if we end up martyred, we gain a piece of glory for eternity too. Paul tells Timothy to accept his share of suffering for God's work.
We also are given a spirit of self-control. If you were in Jesus' place, and people were torturing and insulting you, still reeling from a betrayal by one of your closest friends, and you were about to be killed, would it be easy for you to ignore the unlimited power at your disposal and just take it like a man? Our selves are the things we often need the most control over. Emotions (not just fear), the effects of exhaustion and pain, appetites and desires (it's Lent when I write this), and the pride of our ego can all require a lot of self-control since nobody else is going to control us effectively in those areas.
The self-control is what Paul is talking about when asking Timothy to face his fears. The power and love only become manifest in the context of self-control. You could love someone and have the power to save them, but if you can't keep yourself from running away, it's no good. I've seen so many bad, impulsive decisions that people have made against all common sense, all because they didn't have enough self-control.
Paul summarizes it perfectly: "hold to the standard of sound words that you heard from me and do so with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Protect that good thing entrusted to you, through the Holy Spirit who lives within us." For a Christian who is living in a world that is unsafe for Christians, who is being asked to not run away and hide, the best thing he can do is take hold of the faith and love that come from Jesus and to protect that connection to the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
Most of us aren't living in places where Christians are dragged off and killed, like in Paul and Timothy's day. But there are still things that can provoke fear that takes us off course, and these verses apply just as much to those situations as to those where we are in physical danger. We should take care to nurture that connection we have with God, and to do so with love and faith.
Because of this I remind you to rekindle God’s gift that you possess through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me, a prisoner for his sake, but by God’s power accept your share of suffering for the gospel. He is the one who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not based on our works but on his own purpose and grace, granted to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now made visible through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus. He has broken the power of death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel! For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher. Because of this, in fact, I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, because I know the one in whom my faith is set and I am convinced that he is able to protect what has been entrusted to me until that day. Hold to the standard of sound words that you heard from me and do so with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Protect that good thing entrusted to you, through the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
These verses come in the second letter from Paul to Timothy. He's talking about the faith of Timothy's family and then transitions to talking about being bold in faith. Christians were being persecuted and it would have been natural for Timothy to have gotten cold feet about being an open Christian. Paul is sharing his experience with persecution and puts things in perspective.
The bit about laying on hands probably refers to Timothy receiving the Holy Spirit and a call to ministry. He's received something divine, and that's something he should nurture and keep. With the Holy Spirit, he's something more than himself.
Paul says that God didn't give us a spirit of fear. We were created in God's image, and God doesn't cower in fear. We see fear in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve had eaten from the forbidden fruit. But in God's work it has no place. When he gives us his Holy Spirit, he's not going to do it to make us hide and be ineffective. If we nurture that gift, quite the opposite will happen.
Paul says instead that the Spirit we are given is one of power, love, and self-control. God has unlimited power. He has broken even the power of death. He has the power to heal, and the power to grant us eternal life. He has the power to forgive sin. Even when we lose, we still win because of his power.
When we have fears, we can compare them to God's power. Do we fear death? Through God's power we will live eternally. Do we fear not being good enough? God's power has forgiven all sin. Do we fear sickness? God can heal anything, and even if we remain sick until we die it's only still a tiny sliver of eternity. Our weakness is made strong through God's power. Paul was tortured, possibly killed or nearly so, taken prisoner, and kept under lock and key and still managed to influence most of what was the civilized world at the time. We have access to power, and it is enough power to dwarf any of our fears.
The Holy Spirit is also a spirit of love. Jesus was tortured, humiliated, and killed out of love for us. As we are influenced by God's love, we can't help but feel that same love for mankind. Is being thrown in jail too high of a price for helping someone in need? How about torture? Execution? These were real questions Timothy had to weigh, and Paul had been there before. When you weigh those "what if" fears against God's love, they seem silly and small.
And the love goes deeper. When we face hardship, it's often because of God's love for us that we do so. We gain skills and maturity and personality traits that we will keep for eternity. And if we end up martyred, we gain a piece of glory for eternity too. Paul tells Timothy to accept his share of suffering for God's work.
We also are given a spirit of self-control. If you were in Jesus' place, and people were torturing and insulting you, still reeling from a betrayal by one of your closest friends, and you were about to be killed, would it be easy for you to ignore the unlimited power at your disposal and just take it like a man? Our selves are the things we often need the most control over. Emotions (not just fear), the effects of exhaustion and pain, appetites and desires (it's Lent when I write this), and the pride of our ego can all require a lot of self-control since nobody else is going to control us effectively in those areas.
The self-control is what Paul is talking about when asking Timothy to face his fears. The power and love only become manifest in the context of self-control. You could love someone and have the power to save them, but if you can't keep yourself from running away, it's no good. I've seen so many bad, impulsive decisions that people have made against all common sense, all because they didn't have enough self-control.
Paul summarizes it perfectly: "hold to the standard of sound words that you heard from me and do so with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Protect that good thing entrusted to you, through the Holy Spirit who lives within us." For a Christian who is living in a world that is unsafe for Christians, who is being asked to not run away and hide, the best thing he can do is take hold of the faith and love that come from Jesus and to protect that connection to the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
Most of us aren't living in places where Christians are dragged off and killed, like in Paul and Timothy's day. But there are still things that can provoke fear that takes us off course, and these verses apply just as much to those situations as to those where we are in physical danger. We should take care to nurture that connection we have with God, and to do so with love and faith.
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