2 Timothy 2:1-2 ESV
“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”
Paul said these words to Timothy, but do they have
application to our lives, as well? Are we not to make disciples of Christ of
people throughout the world, teaching them to obey our Lord’s commandments (New
Covenant)? Are we not to exhort and encourage one another daily so that none of
us may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin? And all the more as we see the
Day approaching? And aren’t we supposed to stir one another up to love and good
works? And to teach and admonish one another in all wisdom?
Aren’t we given spiritual gifts for the building up of the
body of Christ to maturity in Christ and to encourage one another in our walks
of faith? And for the common good? And hasn’t God arranged the members in the
body, each one of them, as he chose? And can we say that we don’t need any of
the body parts? No! For God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to
the parts that lack it, that there may be no division in the
body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one
member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice
together.
And aren’t we all to be speaking the truth in love to one
another so that none of us are led astray by human cunning and craftiness in
deceitful schemes? And so that we can all grow up in every way into him who is
the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by
every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly,
makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love? Yes! We are to be
doing all these things. This isn’t just for men or for pastors.
[Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-21; Col
3:16; Heb 3:13; Php 2:1-8; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet. 2:9; 1 Pet. 2:21; Matt.
5:13-16; Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Acts 26:18; Rom. 10:14-15; Jn. 4:31-38; Jn.
13:13-17; Jn. 14:12; 1 Jn. 2:6]
Now, according to the Scriptures, women are to teach women
and children, and men are to teach men. Women are not to be in positions of
rule and authority over men nor to teach men in positions of authority over
men. But that doesn’t mean that men can’t learn from women. They can. For that
is why we have spiritual gifts to minister to the whole body of Christ. And
both males and females will prophecy in these last days, and I don’t mean
future telling, but they will proclaim the word of the Lord in ways which are
relevant to where we are in the world today, and which are practical and which
are applicable to our daily lives.
Now, with regard to Timothy, this was more of a one-on-one
or a one on however many men he was discipling situation between him and the
faithful men to whom he was to entrust with the teachings of the Scriptures so
that they would be able to teach others also. And this should be done men with
men and women with women. But this isn’t always possible, especially in our day
and time when so many are not serious about their walks of faith. But there are
other avenues of getting out the word to people, such as on the internet and on
social media.
2 Timothy 2:3-4 ESV
“Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.”
There isn’t anything here that is specific only to Timothy
or that can’t be applied to the rest of us who have trusted in Jesus Christ to
be Lord and Savior of our lives. For, as followers of Jesus Christ, Jesus is
our commanding officer. And we are to serve him with our lives. And we are all
to share in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, becoming like him in his
death. And we are all in the Lord’s spiritual army.
So, the counsel here is for all of us. We are to share in
suffering as good soldiers of Christ Jesus. And we will suffer opposition and
persecution and rejection when we are truly following our commanding officer
and we are doing what he commands us to do, and especially if we are sharing
the truth of the gospel and if we are dispelling the lies being taught by
people in their deceitful scheming.
But then we are not to get entangled in civilian affairs
since our aim should be to please the one who enlisted us. But now this is
somewhat open to interpretation with regard to these “civilian affairs.” I see
a lot of Christians promoting certain politicians and standing strong on their
political platform and rebuking anyone strongly who opposes them. I sense that
classifies as civilian affairs, and it borders on making humans our gods, too,
and it definitely shows much stronger loyalties to human beings than what most
Christians show loyalties to Jesus Christ.
2 Timothy 2:5-7 ESV
“An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.”
Now this can be a controversial issue, especially since so
many people today are teaching that, since we are not under the Old Covenant
that we don’t have to follow any rules anymore. But the Scriptures don’t teach
that. All throughout the New Testament we are told that we must obey our Lord’s
commands (New Covenant) and that if we do not obey him that we don’t love him
and we don’t know him, and we do not have eternal life in him.
And all throughout the New Testament we have instructions in
what we should and should not do. And if we do certain things, that will end in
death for us. But if we do certain other things, that will end in eternal life.
Mainly if sin is what we obey, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord
are not what we obey, and we do not put them into practice, then we will not
enter the kingdom of heaven, regardless of what we may have professed with our
lips. For obedience to Christ is required as believing faith.
By Mark Altrogge
You are beautiful
beyond description
Too marvelous for
words
Too wonderful for comprehension
Like nothing ever
seen or heard
Who can grasp Your
infinite wisdom?
Who can fathom the
depth of Your love?
You are beautiful
beyond description
Majesty, enthroned
above
And I stand, I stand
in awe of You
I stand, I stand in
awe of You
Holy God, to whom
all praise is due
I stand in awe of
You
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