ENTRUST TO RELIABLE PEOPLE

2 Timothy 1:15-2:7

Key Verse 2

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others

Introduction

In this passage, Paul talked about those who deserted him and Onesiphorus who supported him to the last moment. He also encouraged Timothy to be strong in the grace and entrust the gospel to others who are reliable and qualified to teach. He also told Timothy to be a good soldier of Christ and a hard working servant. We can learn how we can be powerful and useful servants of God who can do the ministry of God faithfully.

1. Read verses 15-18. What happened to Paul in the province of Asia? (15). How did Onesiphorus support Paul? (16-18) What is Paul’s blessing for him? (18a)

1-1. Read verses 15-18.

You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.

1-2. What happened to Paul in the province of Asia? (15).

Everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes

- His close co-workers deserted him. They didn’t want to continue to suffer with Paul.

- Paul might have been suffering by himself. It must have been a very lonely battle.

- He does not say that they had turned away from the gospel of Christ

- Rather he said that they had turned away from him, they had turned their backs upon him, and disowned him in the time of his distress.

1-3. How did Onesiphorus support Paul? (16-18)

May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains,.. he searched hard for me until he found me….. You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus

· Onesiphorus: For he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chains

- He refreshed Paul and was comforted, not once or twice, but often.

- He was not ashamed of his chains. He was not ashamed of him, withstanding the disgrace he was now under. He looked for Paul very diligently, and found him.

- He looked for opportunities to do good for him.

1-4. What is Paul’s blessing for him? (18a)

May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day

- Paul asked the Lord’s reward for Onesiphorus’ support for him.

- God remembers those who support God’s servant who is serving His mission.

- Those who shows mercy to others will receive mercy from the Lord

- How Paul returns his kindness. Paul repays him with his prayers: The Lord give mercy to Onesiphorus.

- That he may find mercy in that day, in the day of death and of judgment, when Christ will account for all the good things done to his members, as was done to himself.

- We need desire no more for our happiness other than to find the mercy of the Lord in that day, when those that have shown no mercy will have judgment without mercy.

- We will want mercy in that day; looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

- We are to seek and ask for the mercy of the Lord, who is the giver

- The best thing we can seek, either for ourselves or our friends, is that the Lord will grant to them that they may find the mercy of the Lord in that day, when they must pass out of time into eternity, and exchange this world for the other, and appear before the judgment-seat of Christ: the Lord then grants unto all of us to find His mercy on that day.

2. Read verses 2:1-2. How did Paul encourage Timothy? (1) What did Paul instruct Timothy to do with the things he had heard? (2)

2-1. Read verses 2:1-2.

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

2-2. How did Paul encourage Timothy? (1)

be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus

- We should be strong to carry the mission that God gave us.

· Those who have work to do for God must strengthen themselves.

· As our trials increase, we need to grow stronger and stronger; our faith needs to grow stronger, our resolution stronger, our love for God and Christ to grow stronger.

· There is grace in Christ Jesus; There is enough grace in Christ for all of us.

· We must be strong in this grace; not in ourselves, in our own strength, or in the grace we have already received, but in the grace that is in him.

- There is a limitation to our own strength: “Be strong, not confiding in your own sufficiency, but in the grace that is in Jesus Christ.”

- When Peter promised rather to die for Christ than to deny him he was strong in his own strength; had he been strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, he would have kept his standing better.

· Where there is the truth of grace there must be a laboring after the strength of grace.

· As a father exhorts his son, so does Paul exhort Timothy, with great tenderness and a warm heart.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 reads,

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2-3. What did Paul instruct Timothy to do with the things he had heard? (2)

the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others

· Timothy must train up others to succeed him in the ministry of the gospel. This is raising up disciples who can succeed their teacher’s work.

· Timothy must instruct others, and train them up for the ministry, and so entrust to them the things which he had heard; and he must also ordain them to the ministry.

· Two things he must look for in ordaining ministers:

- Reliable people with their fidelity or integrity who are faithful and will sincerely aim at the glory of God, the honor of Christ, the welfare of souls, and the advancement of the kingdom of God. He didn’t need to find smart men, popular men, strong men, easy men, perfect men, or good-looking men; Paul told him to look for faithful men.

- Qualified to teach others -their ministerial ability. They must be able to teach others.

· The things Timothy was to commit to others—what he had heard of the apostle among many witnesses; he must not deliver any other thing besides what Paul delivered to him and others he had received of the Lord Jesus Christ.

· He was to commit them as a trust, as a sacred deposit, which they were to keep, and to transmit pure and uncorrupt unto others.

2 Timothy 1:13-14 reads,

What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

• Again God gave ministry to Timothy, not for him to keep, but for him to pass on to others. An essential part of his work as a pastor was to pour into others what God had committed to him.

• Timothy was not to teach others his own particular ideas or theories, but simple Apostolic doctrine and example (the things that you have heard from me). What was poured into him by Paul, he was responsible to pour into others.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 reads,

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

• This job of training leaders was so important that it could not be restricted to Timothy alone. Those whom he had trained must also be given the job to teach others also.

3. Read verses 2:3-7. How did Paul instruct Timothy to become a good soldier of Jesus Christ? (3, 4) How can we receive the victor’s crown in our spiritual race as an athlete would in a physical race? (5) Why should we work hard like a farmer? (6) How can we receive insight into all this? (7)

3-1. Read verses 2:3-7.

Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. 5 Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

3-2. How did Paul instruct Timothy to become a good soldier of Jesus Christ? (3, 4)

Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.

· All Christians are soldiers of Jesus Christ; they fight under his banner against his enemies, for he is the captain of our salvation.

· The soldiers of Jesus Christ must approve themselves good soldiers, faithful to their captain, resolute in his cause, and must not give up in fighting until they win a complete victory.

· They must endure hardness and suffering that we must expect in the battle in this world, and bear it patiently when it comes, and not be moved by it. We must keep our integrity as soldiers of Christ.

· Soldiers must not entangle themselves in the affairs of this world.

- A soldier should not get entangled in civilian affairs that he may attend to his captain’s orders.

- If we have given ourselves to be Christ’s soldiers, we must be loosely attached to this world.

- We have many things to do in this world and we must employ ourselves in the affairs of this life while we are here. But we must not become entangled with those affairs, so as by them to be diverted and drawn aside from our duty to God.

· The great care of a soldier should be to please his general; so the great care of a Christian should be to please Christ, to approve ourselves to him. The way to please him who has chosen us is not to entangle ourselves with the affairs of this life more than what is necessary to support the ministry. Our involvement should be to the extent that we wouldn’t be hindered from fighting the spiritual battle.

• A soldier has to give up both bad things (pride, independence, self-will), and good things (his home, his family). Nevertheless, if a soldier is not willing to give up these things, he is not a soldier at all.

• The soldier can’t ask if something is good or bad for those who are not soldiers; he must give up anything that gets in the way of being a good soldier or serving his commanding officer. A faithful soldier does not have the right to do anything that will entangle him or make him less effective as a soldier.

but rather tries to please his commanding officer.

Joshua 5:13-15 reads,

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” 15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

3-3. How can we receive the victor’s crown in our spiritual race as an athlete would in a physical race? (5)

Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules

· For an athlete, it is critical to race according the rules of the game.

· We must see to it that in carrying on spiritual warfare we are running by the rules, that we observed the laws of war.

· In doing that which is good we must take care that we do it in a right manner, that our good may not be spoken of as evil.

· To win the victory we should master our sinful nature first, our own lusts and corruptions. Those who do so shall be crowned at last, after a complete victory is obtained.

3-4. Why should we work hard like a farmer? (6)

The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.

· The hard working farmer is the first to partake of the fruit. If we want to gain the prize, we must run the race.

· We must first do work as a hard working farmer does, with diligence and patience, before we are partakers of the fruit; we must do the will of God, before we receive the promises, for which reason we need patience.

• Unlike the soldier and the athlete, there is nothing glamorous about the work a farmer does. It is often tedious, boring, and unexciting. The nation’s best farmer really isn’t a celebrity. But he must work hard just the same before God!

3-5. . How can we receive insight into all this? (7)

Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

· It is God who gives understanding. If he who gave revelation in the word does not give understanding in a person’s heart, we cannot perceive anything by our human effort alone.

Conclusion

It is so encouraging to have coworkers who provide support. We need to make all effort to support each other in serving God’s work. We should be strong and continue to do God’s work. In order to do this, we must be truly strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. We need to raise up disciples who can teach others the gospel of Jesus and word of God. As Christians we should be good soldiers of Jesus who are fully committed to Jesus and to the mission He has for us. As Christians we should also work diligently, persistently, and patiently as a hard working farmer does.

One word “Entrust to reliable people”

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