1 Timothy 1:2
2 Unto Timothy, [Timotheos] my own [gnesios] son [teknon] in [en] the faith: [pistis] Grace, [charis] mercy, [eleos] and peace, [eirene] from [apo] God [theos] our [hemon] Father [pater] and [kai] Jesus [Iesous] Christ [Christos] our [hemon] Lord. [kurios] KJV-Interlinear
2 to Timothy, my true child in
the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord. NASB
This letter is written
to Timothy.Timothy means dear to God,
or one who honors God. By this
attribute and through Pauls
personal descriptions, we can know that Timothy was a very devout and well
prepared man.
Child, gnesios, means a legitimate child born to parents that are
married, as opposed to a child that is illegitimate.
In faith, is a term
representative of the whole of Christian doctrine.
Therefore by this
reference, we know that Timothy was born into faith, and has grown up in his spiritual
life in a legitimate fashion.Most
probably his recent education came, in recent times, through the teaching from Paul.
However, we do know
that Timothy s parents had a hand in his upbringing, and that Timothy was
raised from his youth, by the scriptures of the Old Testament, 2 Tim 3:15. Remember that at this time in history, the
New Testament, as we know it, did not exist.
In any case, Timothy
was a well prepared man, because of his legitimate studies of the scriptures,
and not from illegitimate sources or from a lazy attitude toward the
scriptures, or from empty pursuits of superficial phrases and such.
Grace,
mercy and peace, sum up the totality of Gods plan for every human being.
The plan began with Gods grace, which is Gods favor. This is the sense of Gods kindness, generosity,
compassion, pleasing manner, contentment, or benevolence, all of which point
toward the ultimate prosperity and completeness toward the recipient.
Mercy, is Gods grace in action. Words of kindness are nothing if they are not
followed by action.And Gods mercy represents the sum total of His provision, both
in time and in eternity.And as we can
look into the night sky and see the vastness of the universe before us, which
was all created as the environment for our life and for our history, then this
represents the magnitude of Gods provision for each one of us individually. This is how important you are to God.
And peace, is the
ultimate goal of the completion of ones life. Peace is the fullness of ones
growth, understanding, wisdom, security, meaning and purpose, prosperity, and
happiness.The
completion in every sense of the word, of your life.
The ultimate goal of a persons life does not, repeat, does not, come through
wishing or hoping, by singing songs or reading pleasant verses. It comes to you through work, spiritual
work.And that comes to you through a
daily study of the Bible, by academic preparation, and by no other means.
In contrast, the ultimate
lazy person, the illegitimate person, is one who will not pursue doctrine in a
legitimate fashion.That is a four
letter word, work. It is far easier to
sit back and do nothing, except that which you want to do, things that exclude
a daily commitment to a study.
The legitimate pursuit
makes you a legitimate child.The lazy
pursuit makes you the bastard or illegitimate child. The legitimate child is the recipient of Gods
favor, the illegitimate child is not.
And note here, that we
are contrasting not believer and unbeliever, but legitimate believer verses the
illegitimate believer.The one who
pursues their spiritual life in the correct fashion, verses the one who pursues
their emotions, or good feelings, or other path of their own design, but yet
calls themselves spiritual, when they are not.
From God the Father,
and Christ, both persons mentioned link this policy and plan to its only legitimate
source, God, as well as linking both members of the Godhead, as co-equal. Jesus Christ is God.
God the Father is the
father to all of creation in that it was His plan that governs all of creation,
Acts 17:28-29.And he is the Father to
all believers who have been adopted into His family, Matt 5:45, 1 Peter 1:3, 1
John 5:1, 3:1-2.
Jesus Christ is the
source and procurer of peace, Luke 2:14, 19:38, 42, John 14:27, 16:33, Acts
10:36, Rom 5:1, Eph 2:17.The Father
provided for it in the original plan, and Christ secures it through His work
and through doctrine.
And you receive it by
means of your legitimate pursuit of doctrine within the environment of your spiritual
life.
And so we close yet
another year, with our collective celebration on this Thanksgiving
holiday.We celebrated ours a bit early
as the boys were back on leave a week ago, but have now re-deployed into Iraq
and Afghanistan respectively.We are
thankful for the many things that we have received in our life, and we are exceptionally
thankful to all of you, who have faithfully supported this study over these
many years, that has allowed me to write and provide it to folks around the world,
so that they will have an opportunity in completing their lives, by Gods grace.
And now to Him who is
able to keep you from falling and to present you without blemish before the
presence of His glory, with exceeding joy.
To the only wise God, even Jesus Christ, to whom be
glory and majesty, dominion and power, both before time, now and forever. Amen.
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