2 Timothy 1:1–18 (NKJV)
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, 4 greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, 5 when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. 6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, 10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12 For this reason 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 what I have committed to Him until that Day. 13 Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 14 That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. 15 This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. 16 The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; 17 but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. 18 The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.
As Paul writes this his final epistle, a sword hangs over his head. Soon he will be put to death for preaching an illegal religion—that God saves people not according to their works but by His grace given in Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light. Yet he is not ashamed of the Gospel because he knows Christ and that Christ will keep the Gospel ministry going until the Last Day in spite of hardships, persecutions, and false brethren.
He is confident in Christ because he has not been given a spirit of cowardice that shrinks back, but a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. By faith in the Gospel he preaches, Paul’s spirit—his inner man—is a spirit of power to continue the work God gave him to do and endure hardship. His is a spirit of love by which he faces the world’s hostility and endures all things for the sake of the elect. His is a spirit of a sound mind which sees all things as God teaches him to see them through the Gospel. He reminds Timothy to keep stirring up this same gift in himself so that he may continue teaching the Gospel and holding to the pattern of sound words without shame in the midst of suffering.
Paul’s words to Timothy to keep stirring up the gift given to him are for our ears as well. Timothy is to move forward, doing the work of his office which was committed to him by ordination. All Christians are to keep stirring up the gift of faith given by God in Baptism. God the Holy Spirit gives us the same spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. He makes us powerful against temptations to sin. He fills us with love toward God and neighbor. He gives us a sound mind by filling our minds with the pattern of sound words—the Gospel.
Let us pray: Give us spirits of power, love, and a sound mind, O Lord, that we may boldly confess Christ without shame in this world. Amen.
