Power, Love and a Sound Mind

2 Timothy 1:6–14

6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: 11 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. 13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

Introduction

2nd Timothy is one of the four Epistles written by the Apostle Paul that are distinct from every other letter written in the New Testament. These four letters (1st and 2nd Timothy, Titus & Philemon) are Pastoral letters written to individuals.

This is their form and function, they are Personal, and they are Pastoral.

We contrast these four Epistles with the NINE letters that are before these four, and the NINE letters that come after these four; They are all Doctrinal and they are corporate.

The first nine given to Gentile Christian Churches, to teach them the truth of their faith and how they should live.

The last nine (including the book of Revelation) are given distinctly to the Hebrew Christian Churches, to teach them the truth of their messiah and to prepare them to endure the trials to come.

These four pastoral letters are centrally located between the two pillars of letters to the Gentile and Hebrew Churches, and are for the benefit of PERSONAL INSTRUCTION.

Now, because they are known as “Pastoral Epistles”, it does not mean they are written for the benefit of pastors alone. Certainly there is a role there, yet the personal application specifically to men is difficult to ignore.

In this second letter Paul identifies the Character of the Holy Spirit manifesting itself in four distinct ways, and we will conclude our consideration of the Spirit of God with this sermon today.

The four ways have one negative aspect; telling What the Spirit is NOT, and three positive aspects; Stating with clarity what he is.

The verse we will have as our focus in verse 7;

 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

PRAY

 

NOT OF FEAR

 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Timothy was a young man relatively speaking, indeed anyone under the age of 50 were considered unworthy of being given the title of teacher in the Ancient Greek world. 

The Philosopher Plato, in his volume simply titled The Republic, none would be considered experienced in the maters of life and wisdom under the age of 50 years. 

This was not necessarily the case in the Hebrew culture, but Timothy was a Greek and not a Jew, well, at least half Greek (Acts 16:1) and because that half was his father, he was treated as a gentile.

As such, he is likely to have had some anxiety to formally enter into the ministry to which he was called.

There are times when we have a natural fear of attending to those things the Lord has called us to attend to and that fear most frequently has nothing to do with any physical harm. It often has