Grace Thoughts
The Last Words of the Apostle Paul (Part 2)
Courtesy: Thomas Nelson
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As I mentioned in the last part of our new series:
Listen closely to the final words of a kind and loving person as they near death. You may learn something that will change your life. People, especially people who have lived a long life committed to helping other people, often have much wisdom to share. They are usually ready to share that wisdom with people ready to listen. As a wise person comes to the end of their life, their desire to share with others what God has taught them becomes stronger. They know their time on earth is short and they want to pass on what they’ve learned that is really important to know about life.
Wisdom and Experience
Paul had a lot of wisdom and experience and Timothy knew it. I have no doubt that Timothy cherished this final letter from his long-time mentor. They had been through a lot together and Timothy knew Paul’s character and spiritual wisdom.
After telling Timothy about enduring suffering and not being ashamed of the Gospel of Christ (2 Timothy 1:8-12), Paul wrote this:
Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. 2 Timothy 1:13-14
The words “hold fast” come from the Greek word eche (present imperative active), which means “retain, hold, have.” The idea is to “have and hold, implying continued possession” (Zodihates). Thus, “hold fast.” Timothy would have understood that Paul was telling him that what was to follow was of the highest importance and should be held onto for the rest of his life, not just for Timothy but for everyone he would instruct. The pure truth of the Gospel of Christ was of key importance to Paul and he wanted it to be for Timothy as well.
hypotypōsin hygiainontōn logōn is what Paul wanted Timothy to “hold fast.” The words mean “pattern, form, example, standard, outline, sketch” of “sound, healthy, sound condition, pure, uncorrupted,” “words, speech, statement.”
Which words? What speech? “… which you have heard from me …” Paul told Timothy to hold fast to the words that he (Timothy) had heard Paul speak. Timothy had listened to Paul preach, teach, and counsel for many years, so he knew to what Paul was referring. Was Paul being boastful or proud in telling Timothy to hold fast to what he had said? Not at all! Remember that Jesus Christ called Paul to take the Gospel to the Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel (Acts 9:15). Paul was guided by the Holy Spirit in what he preached and had received multiple visions and revelations about the Gospel of Christ (2 Corinthians 12:1-6). Timothy knew that what Paul said was directly from God. Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ.
Paul exhorts Timothy to hold fast the pattern of the sound words committed to him. That is, he is to hold to the doctrinal phraseology he received from the great apostle. Particular words are to be retained and used so that the doctrinal statements of the truth may remain accurate and a norm for future teachers and preachers. Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, Kenneth Wuest, Eerdmans Publishing, 1952
Unfortunately, many preachers and teachers have strayed from this admonition during the past centuries. Thus, the need to emphasize Paul’s words in 2 Timothy.
The words “in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” reference back to “hold fast.” Holding fast to doctrine is not just intellectual. It is not the dead orthodoxy of so many churches now and in the past. Holding fast to the pattern of sound words that Paul spoke and wrote is to be “in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”
Christian doctrine (teaching) is based on a living hope. Preaching and teaching the pure Word of God must be done “in that faith and love which alone comes from a life passed in communion with Christ” (Ellicott).
Paul referred to the sound words that Timothy was to “hold fast” as – “That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us” (2 Timothy 1:14). The sound teaching of God’s Word is a “good thing.” For the preacher or teacher of the Bible, it is a good thing that “was committed” to them.
The word parathēkēn is translated as “thing which was committed to you.” parathēkēn translates as “deposit committed to one’s charge or trust.” That’s what Paul did for Timothy – he entrusted the young preacher with the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which was a good thing. That’s what every preacher and teacher of the Word of God should do as part of discipling Christians – entrust them with the sound teaching of God’s Word.
One of the greatest things a preacher or teacher of the Bible can do is mentor someone who is going to teach the Word of God to others. That’s why Paul wrote this to Timothy a few verses later:
And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:2
The word “commit” is a translation of the Greek parathou, which is the idea of placing something close to a person for the purpose of entrusting them with that thing. It’s the same idea as 2 Timothy 1:14. Paul trusted Timothy to hold fast to Paul’s teaching and entrust (commit) that teaching to faithful men who would be able to teach others also.
Paul was not asking Timothy to do this work in his own power. Paul knew that the supernatural work of preaching the Gospel of Christ would necessitate supernatural power. That’s why Paul wrote – “keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.”
The word “keep” is a translation of the Greek word phylaxon (aorist imperative active), which means “guard, protect, watch.” It was a military word which spoke of “keeping an eye on” for military purposes. It was also used for shepherds keeping their eyes open and alert to guard and protect their sheep.
Christian preachers and teachers are to guard and protect the doctrines (teachings) of the Bible just like a soldier would guard and protect in a military situation. Paul made it clear on multiple occasions that Christians are involved in spiritual (supernatural) warfare. It is the job of preachers and teachers to guard and protect the truth so that Christians can engage successfully in that warfare. Pastors are the earthly “shepherds” of their churches under the supreme authority of the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
Can that be done through natural means? Absolutely not! That’s why Paul told Timothy to guard and protect sound teaching “by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.” Christian preachers and teachers must depend on the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit to do the great work of guarding the sound teachings of the Bible and the spiritual lives of the Christians they oversee.
What is the work of the Holy Spirit in this present age? Jesus told us:
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. John 14:26
But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. John 15:26
And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. John 16:8-10
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. John 16:12-14
What is the work of the Holy Spirit in this present age? Paul told us:
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Romans 8:16-17
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27
But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 1 Corinthians 2:9-13
But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. 1 Corinthians 12:7
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:5-6
Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 2 Corinthians 3:17
For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 2 Corinthians 5:4-5
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:25
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:13-14
And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Ephesians 2:17-18
… in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:21-22
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.. Ephesians 3:14-19
For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. 1 Thessalonians 1:5-7
Notice the last verse. Paul wrote that His Gospel message did not come to the Christians in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance. Also notice that even as Paul was an example to the Christians in Thessalonica, so those Christians “became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe.” That is what Paul emphasized to Timothy in the apostle’s last letter.
Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. 2 Timothy 1:13-14
Next Time
Paul’s final words to Timothy (and to us) include some honest and stark realities. We’ll look at more of Paul’s wisdom in the next part of our new series, The Last Words of the Apostle Paul.
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