First Baptist Lenoir City

Leadership in the Lord’s Church “Fearless to the End” (Message Five_

II Timothy 1:1-14

John Hunn, Senior Pastor

I. The Beginning of the End - vv. 1-2

1. The Apostle of Jesus Christ -

2. The Will of God -

3. The Life of Christ -

4. The Son in the Faith -

5. Three Virtues of the Gospel - This is powerful. This is personal. This is piercing. This is how to kill pride. *GRACE; MERCY; PEACE – Paul, known as Saul when we meet him in Acts 7, was not gracious, was not merciful, was not a man of peace (Acts 7:54-8:3). Jesus confronted Saul. Jesus converted Saul. Jesus changed Saul. Saul would never be the same again (true of you?)

6. Do you receive or reject God’s offer of grace, of mercy, of peace? Do you love it? Do you live it?

II. 4 Elements of a Fearless Life: vv. 3-7 (There are over 800 phobias)

a. The Favor of God -

b. The Earthly father-figure - Paul first had Barnabas (then he led)

c. The Heavenly Father-figure -

d. The 8 Forces of a Sincere Faith - opposite of fake faith, phony faith, hypocritical faith, veneer faith, shallow faith, selfish faith, pompous faith (look at me), proud faith. Genuine faith produces humility. Genuine faith produces holiness. Paul knew this well. Genuine faith made Paul a fearless man!

e. The Power of gratitude -

f. The Power of servanthood -

g. The Power of precious saints -

h. The Power of a clear conscience -

I. The Power of prayer -

j. The Power of tears -

k. The Power of fellowship -

l. The Power of affirmation -

m. The Power of power - over fear, of love, of self-control (sound man)

III. The Shift in Tone (6) - “Therefore” (The right response to his father in the faith; Tone is also ongoing testimony)

1. Don’t be ashamed - v. 8a

2. Do share - v. 8b

3. Delight in Jesus - vv. 9-11

I. The Beginning of the End - vv. 1-2

1. The Apostle of Jesus Christ -

2. The Will of God -

3. The Life of Christ -

4. The Son in the Faith -

5. The Virtues of the Faith -

a. GRACE: Saving grace & Strengthening grace - The first is faith in God’s forgiveness (Eph. 2:8-10); The second is how God forges our faith (Col. 2:6-7); We are called to GROW IN THE GRACE & THE KNOWLEDGE OF OUR LORD JC (II Peter 3:18).

b. Divine mercy - daily mercy from Lamentations 3:22-23 (context of the destruction of his city) - Jesus uttered wonderful words of mercy from the cross; Mt. 5:7

c. Positional peace & Practical peace - Romans 5:1-2; Phil. 4:6-7; Positional peace never changes; Practical peace is ever changing; A permanent peace and a peace that passes understanding!

II. 4 Elements of a Fearless Life: vv. 3-7 (There are over 800 phobias)

1. The Favor of God -

2. The Earthly father-figure - Paul first had Barnabas (then he led)

3. The Heavenly Father-figure -

4. The 8 Forces of a Sincere Faith - Saving faith can influence us, but it cannot be transferred to us.

5. The Power of gratitude -

6. The Power of servanthood -

7. The Power of precious saints -

8. The Power of a clear conscience -

9. The Power of prayer -

10. The Power of tears -

11. The Power of fellowship -

12. The Power of affirmation -

A Review of Ephesians 1:1-14

We have received a spiritual blessing, that is, our salvation through Jesus Christ

Our salvation comes by the grace of God, not by any worth that we might bring to the table. God chose us before the foundation of the world, with the purpose of making us holy and blameless, demonstrating that we did nothing to contribute to our salvation, and God provided the sacrifice we needed to be saved and sanctified.

Out of God’s great love for us, he planned our adoption into his family. We now have sonship or daughtership and God as our Father. This demonstrates God's love for us, our value in Jesus Christ, and the promise of an inheritance.

Also, in 1:7-10 we say the redeeming purpose of God. Through the overwhelming graciousness of God, he redeemed our lives through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Then he promises us an inheritance that is sealed and kept by the Holy Spirit. 

1. Paul is celebrating all God has done in the church of Ephesus.

Ephesians 1:15–16 

Giving thanks is a common theme in Paul’s letters to other believers. His letters often start with warm greetings and gratitude for the work of the church or God’s work in them.

For these things, Paul gives thanks in his prayers, but Paul doesn’t pray ordinary prayers.

TWO REASONS PAUL GIVES FOR GIVING THANKS:

The faith of the Ephesian Church in the Lord Jesus.

Paul was not the first person to bring the good news of Jesus to Ephesus, but he found a small group of believers there already, and he found they needed further teaching and a baptism that included the Holy Spirit. 

The change in the Ephesian church was so radical that it led to riots in Ephesus. Throwing away their idols. 

Paul also had been away from these believers for some time, and now is in prison, so he is hearing updates of their faith.

Saints are not a special group of believers but all of God’s believers. Throughout the OT and NT, the Hebrew and Greek words for saint are used to refer to believers.

Psalm 16:3, Psalm 34:9, Acts 9:3, Romans 1:6–7, Romans 8:27

The love of the Ephesian Church toward all the believers.

In this area of Asia Minor or what we would call Turkey - The churches depended on generosity between each other.

Philippians 4:10–23 

HOW DO WE AS BELIEVERS SHOW LOVE TO ONE ANOTHER?

Taking care of one another.

Giving to one another - benevolence, blessing box, and helping hands ministry

Disaster relief

Montana and Vermont

Guatemala - homes, churches, and now a crusade

India - the church was built to be dedicated.

2. Remember to whom we are praying.

Ephesians 1:17 

The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory . . . 

Again, Paul is using this title of God and Jesus that emphasizes their relationship. Piper points out that Jesus's connection to God in this way reminds us that Jesus is our mediator. Jesus makes it so that we can approach God - or the throne of Grace. 

The Father of Glory - the only time Paul uses this exact wording but what does it mean? Father of Glory?

1 Corinthians 2:8, Romans 6:4

Many people struggle with this concept of God being at the center - and being worthy of worship. But there is none greater than God. Our lives should reflect his glory.

3. What is Paul asking God to do for the Ephesians Church?

Ephesians 1:17-19
Similarly, Colossians 1:9–11

That God would give them . . . The spirit of wisdom . . . And of revelation . . . in the knowledge of him,

This wisdom is more than just factual knowledge but a sense of understanding how to apply what we know from the Bible about Jesus and our calling to live a holy life.

2 Timothy 1:7 

And it is how God has revealed Himself to us through His word so we can know him. General revelation v. special revelation.

. . . Having the eyes of your heart enlightened . . . 

Open the eyes of my heart as compared to what happened in the Garden of Eden. 

2 Corinthians 4:4–6, Romans 1:21–22, Romans 2:1–5, Colossians 3 

. . . That you may know . . . 

The hope to which he called you

The riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints

The immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe

4. By God’s Power He is at work in our lives, in creation, and in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 1:19–23 

His Great Might.

He worked in Christ :

Resurrection Power

Philippians 3, Job 19:25, Romans 8:34, 1 Peter 1:3, John 11:25–26 

Sovereign Power

Ephesians 3:20, Hebrews 10:12–14 

Paul uses language that refers to OT passages:

Isaiah 40:25–26, Psalm 147:4, Psalm 8 

From Adam to Israel to the 2nd Adam - God is at work bringing all things back in order under the Lordship of Christ and as head of the church. 

LAST QUESTION: HOW DO WE PRAY THIS PRAYER? Ephesians 1:15-23. No Ordinary Prayers: The Greatness of God in Paul’s Prayer

We have known Paul’s thoughts on Timothy long before II Timothy was written. They had a long and strong relationship - long and strong fellowship - long and strong mentorship.

Listen to what Paul called Timothy in previous letters: called…

“well spoken of” when Paul met him in Acts 16

“his helper” in Acts 19

“doer of the work of the Lord” - I Corinthians 16

“our brother” - Corinthians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Philemon, Hebrews

“my beloved” again in I Corinthians

“fellow worker” in Acts & Romans

“faithful worker” in I Corinthians

“servant of Christ” in Philippians

“my true child” in I Timothy

“bearer of good news” in I Thessalonians 3:6-7

Part of the new team - Paul, Silas, Timothy - in I & II Thessalonians

The best word on Timothy is found in Philippians 2:19-24

As open the letter to the Ephesians, we can jump right into it without much introduction and through the leading of the Holy Spirit, we we will be so blessed by the power and beauty of this letter. But we would probably prefer at least some background information to use as on ramp tonight to the book of Ephesians.

Paul is and in the early church fathers is recognized as the author of Ephesians. Practically speaking is one of the Epistles, a letter to the church similar to Galatians, Philippians and Colossians. It most similar to Colossians and some modern scholars have used those similarities to question whether or not Paul is actually the author of Ephesians. For full disclosure, the debate of Paul’s authorship rises over a few issues that some scholars have made a big deal over.

Some of the early copies of Ephesians that we have do not have the name “Ephesians” in the title.

It was likely an encyclical letter - sent to all the churches.

We know Paul used an amanuensis and copies of the letter were made at the time of writing the original.

Many of the copies we have do include the title Ephesians. 

The letter seems to read more generically to the church and does not focus on some specific controversy or rebuke such as in Galatians or the Corinthian letters.

It seems like a fake argument to me. Paul wrote letters to the churches based of the needs of those churches. His emphasis on the unity between Jews and Gentiles through the cross of Christ would have been specific to Ephesus but was probably a very common theme in many of the Greek and Roman communities where Paul preached the Gospel.

Colossians has similarities to Ephesians in a way that some insist the author of Ephesians leaned on Colossians to write Ephesians.

While I know that smarter men than me have studied these ideas in greater detail, I agree with the commentaries that take on these questions and recognize that there is no evidence, even with the shared similarities, that indicates which epistle was written first or why similar language between the letters would cause us to question Pauline authorship.

 Some of the language the author uses, vocabulary and phrases, is unique to the letter to the Ephesians.

Once again, the uniqueness of some of the phrases or theological points made in Ephesians does not require a different author. We would recognize that Paul explains the gospel from different angles and does so based on his audience which would require using different words, phrases, or even different concepts that work to explain God’s mystery of the Cross to us.

Apostleship: An Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.

Paul has the title of Apostle. An apostle by definition is “a sent one”. And this would make Paul An Apostle of Jesus Christ because Paul encounters Christ on the road to Damascus and Jesus saves him and through Ananias, gives the call on Paul’s life “he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.” Acts 9:15.

There were three qualifications to be considered an apostle in the early church. 

A disciple of Jesus.

An eye witness to the resurrection.

Called and commissioned directly by Christ.

We will discuss Paul’s calling and ministry more when we get to chapter 3.

Audience: The Church in Ephesus

In modern day Turkey, ancient Ephesus was ruled first by the Greeks and then by the Romans. Paul would have been in Ephesus under Roman rule. It was a relatively large city with all of the Greek and Roman traits; wealth, multicultural community, amphitheater, temples, idolatry, immorality, etc.

The Big Picture

Paul’s letter has been divided up into 6 chapters and there are a few different ways we can outline his letter and the main ideas that Paul was teaching.

From the Bible Project: Two Main sections C. 1-3 and then C. 4-6. 

Chapter 1-3 are much more theological, describing how we are saved or laying out for us SOTERIOLOGY. And Paul explains our unity in Christ between Jews and Gentiles. 

Chapters 4-6 Paul teaches us about the church 

Chapter 4-6 are explaining how our salvation should then change our lives, how God calls us to serve him, treat one another in the home and our community, and the spiritual resources we have in Jesus to stand firm on our faith.

One way to see how this unfolds in the book is by seeing how some of the terms Paul uses changes through the latter.

The opening of Paul’s song emphasizes the worship of God and reminds of the position of God the Father and Jesus the Son as well as the Lordship of Jesus and his office of Messiah. Paul is praising God in this Jewish way similar to the Schema - “Hear O Israel The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Through this prayer he has reminded us of the trinity with the role of the Holy Spirit coming just a few verses later.

Spiritual Blessing in the Heavenly Places - What are the spiritual blessings we are given for which Paul is giving thanks? 

We were chosen in Jesus before the world was created. PLEASE DON’T PANIC OVER THE WORD CHOSEN. 

2. We were chosen by his grace and not based on our own good works. It is obvious in the text that God chose us knowing that we need a Savior and subsequently with the plan to send the Savior all along. He did not pick us because of something we would do or because of our class or our potential. In fact it reads to me that He chose us because we are sinners and we would need a savior.

3. We are adopted to part of God’s family through Jesus. IN LOVE - The placement of this phrase could point back to “chosen” or it could point forward to predestined - either way these action are done as a result of God’s love.

4. We are blessed by this Salvation according to God’s will, by his glorious grace, and through the Beloved - Jesus Christ.

Let’s pause here for just a minute - two tracks in scripture. Chosen and whosoever will. Ephesians 1:3 and John 3:16. There is no contradiction.

We are called to witness, be missionaries - which is what Paul was doing - and while I am doing that work I know it is only Jesus that saves.

Our salvation only comes through the finished work of Jesus Christ. Jesus went to the cross and shed his blood for us. Let’s remember our Hebrews study - Jesus is the final sacrifice. He is the Lamb of God who tales away the sins of the world. But all the animals and the blood that was spilled for atonement were a shadow - an imperfect offering looking to the things ahead - until Jesus could offer the perfect, fulfilling sacrifice.

It’s out of the riches of his Grace! The imagery here is of wealth and opulence. But God does not here offer something that will rust be lavishes on us his Grace.

The idea of the mystery of God’s plan or his will has finally been revealed through Jesus Christ. Where we can understand in part through reading the prophecies of the Old Testament, we are now on the other side of the cross and see more fully - certainly not all - but the mystery of God’s plan.

We have an inheritance that comes to us through Jesus Christ. In Him! Spiritual Blessing. We are heaven bound. 

Do you remember when you were saved? Not a date or moment. Do you remember when you heard the truth? Do you remember when you believed? It is then that you were sealed.

1. Jesus gives us REST v. 30-32

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

2. Jesus shows us COMPASSION v. 33-34

 Isa. 53:6 - 

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned — everyone — to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

3. Jesus PROVIDES our needs HIS way - v. 35-41 

Mark 14:22 - And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”

John 15:5  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

4. Jesus is our source of CONTENTMENT v. 42-44

10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. 

Eccl 2:10–11.

7But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. 8More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ — the righteousness from God based on faith.

Phil. 3:7-9 (CSB)

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.