2 Timothy 1
2 Timothy 1:
vs 1: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, for the sake of the promise of life in Christ Jesus.
Paul: Paul begins this letter to Timothy in typical Greek fashion, by announcing who is writing the letter. This is opposite what we do in English - we sign our name at the end. There is no question here that Paul is the author of the letter.
For those of you who are new to studying the Bible, or just need a refresher, Paul’s birth name was Saul, perhaps after Israel’s first King. Saul was a “Hebrew of Hebrews”- he not only had the pedigree, being born an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin… but he also had climbed the ranks to be of the top tier of religious elites, a Pharisee. Sauls list of excellencies are laid out in Phil 3:3-7. He was so zealous for Judaism that he travelled around after Jesus’ death and resurrection hunting followers of The Way, or what later became known as Christianity. He was even the one who oversaw the first Christian martyrdom, Stephen (Acts 7).
But God. Isn’t that always when the story gets good? Paul’s life took a 180 when he was literally blinded by Jesus’ glory on the road to Damascus. I love how The Jesus Storybook Bible puts it, “Saul didn’t know Jesus, so Jesus met Saul.” 3 days later, Saul was healed by the prayer of a Christian named Ananaias. With his vision fully restored, he abandoned the kingly name Saul, and adopted his Latin name, Paul, meaning “small” and “humble.” He went from the respected title of “Pharisee” to the lowly title of “apostle,” or messenger of Christ Jesus, traveling the Mediterranean world, telling everyone he could that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the one in whom we have the promise of [eternal] life (insert, mine). He went from being the one persecuting Christians to being the one persecuted for being a Christian. And all of this by the will of God- certainly not anything Paul ever foresaw, planned, or aspired to.
for the sake of the promise of life…: Ahhh…how lovely. It sounds so flowery and fluffy, but what the heck does it mean?!?! Whatever this “promise” is is the reason Paul is writing this letter to Timothy that has now been shared with millions of people over thousands of years. This is the big WHY!
Every mom knows that keeping a promise takes planning, preparing and even protecting that promise. If I promise my 3 year old a trip to the park on Thursday I have to mentally plan to have the laundry done the night before because I wont be home the next day, I prepare by checking the weather, packing snacks, pumping a bottle for the newborn, and I protect our trip by scheduling it around nap time and lunch time and any other errands we might need to attend to that day, and maybe by even saying “No” to some other appealing invitations. But because I love my daughter, and because I gave her my word, I put my promise into action: I plan, prepare and protect. And thats just a trip to the library!
God does the same, only WAY better! God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19). Of course the answer is no. God remembers his promises, He plans, prepares and protects them. And the promise He gave here was life.
We know that God was pro-life from the beginning. He created life on a grand scale and in seemingly minute ways. Right down to planting a Garden. And in that Garden he planted a seed. And that seed grew into a fruitful tree that He named the Tree of Life. It was not forbidden. Adam and Eve could have eaten from it up until the point that they sinned by disobediently eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Only then did the Tree of Life become a threat to them, as it would have sealed their souls as sinners, forever separating them from God. So God separated them from the tree. God had made a promise that He would not abandon.
While sometimes I tap my foot impatiently waiting for Him to bring this Promise of Life into full effect, the fact that He can plan, prepare and protect His promise for so many thousands of years makes my jaw drop as I stand in awe of Him even more!
From the Garden of Eden on, God did a slow reveal of all His Promise of Life encompassed, showing us how full it truly is…Are you ready for this?
God gave the promise of life…
• to Adam and Eve when He planted the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden - Eternal Life (Gen 3:22)
• to Noah who believed God and built the ark, preserving all creatures of the world - Created Life (Gen 6:18-20)
• to Abraham who was told he would be the Father of many nations - Legacy Life (Genesis 17:4-7)
• to Sarah who was told she would have a son after being barren for 90 yrs. - Family Life (Gen 18:10)
• to Abraham and Isaak by asking for an animal sacrifice, not human - Temporal life (Gen 22)
• to Isaak would represented a life of freedom by faith vs through the law - Faith Life (Gen 16; Gal 4:28)
• to Israel who was set free from Egypt and given the Promised land- Freedom in Life (Exo 32:13)
• to David for the continuance for Israel - Jewish Life (2 Sam 7:8-9)
• to children who obey their father and mother - Long life (Eph 6:2, Deut 5:16)
• in Jesus whom God raised to life from death -Resurrected Life
• to Gentiles who were have life - Adopted Life (Eph 3:6)
• to the Church, which cant be overcome by the gates of hell - Spiritual Life (Matt 16:18)
• to you, me and all those who are sealed by the Holy Spirit - Sanctified Life (Eph 1:13)
• And this is the promise that he made - to us - Eternal life (1 Jo 2:25)
This. This last promise, the promise of eternal life, is the promise Paul has in mind as he sat writing- chained to a dirt floor in a Roman prison awaiting execution. This letter would be his last. He knew the hour glass sands were slipping away. Yet he wrote, for the sake of the promise of life - eternal life - that is only realized in Christ Jesus.
And because HE lives, so do all of these promises are being kept. Not one has slipped. All are available to you. It might be hard to see or feel some of them right now, but that makes them no less real, no less worthy of your trust.
CHALLENGE: Think through these Promises today. Are there any that your mind believes but your heart doesn’t? Confess that to Your Father. Ask the Spirit to Counsel you through that, to give you the faith to own it.
Memorize the verse or another verse that reminds you of its truth and if there s any way you need to act on it, do it! Did God show you something? If so led, share it with us below!
