2 Timothy 2:1-2: Be Strong in the Grace
2021-12-18
Being Strong in the Lord Means Not Being Strong in Yourself
Given the propensity to fear and to avoid affliction, Timothy is told to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” For the Christian, what does it mean to be strong? To be strong in His grace is that you are not strong in yourself. You are trusting wholly on Christ’s strength. Consider some of these:
Deuteronomy 31:6-7: Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.
Deuteronomy 31:23: And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.
Joshua 1:6: Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
Joshua 1:9: Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Joshua was commanded to be strong and courageous because the LORD was with him, He promised that He would be with him, and He swore an oath that He was going to perform all that He said He would. The LORD promised us even greater things in Christ. How much stronger and more courageous should we be? We are “...more than conquerors...” (Romans 8:37) because He has overcome.
1 Chronicles 28:10: Take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it.
1 Chronicles 28:20: And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
David told Solomon to be strong in the LORD because He would continue with Solomon throughout the entire process of building the Temple. He would also accomplish our salvation beginning to end: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
2 Chronicles 25:8 But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down.
When Amaziah king of Judah went off to battle, the prophet told him that God will establish the outcome. God establishes the outcomes of our battles also.
2 Chronicles 32:7-8: Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
Isaiah 35:4: Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
When Sennacherib’s troops surrounded Jerusalem, Hezekiah was told to be strong in the Lord. They rested in the Lord; they trusted in the Lord per the words of Hezekiah. A miraculous destruction came upon the Assyrians. Do you trust completely in the Word? You are strong in Him.
Daniel 11:32: And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
Those in the end times will do exploits for the Lord and be strong because they “know their God.”
Haggai 2:4: Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts
Even with a Temple that was inferior to Solomon’s, and almost was an afterthought, God tells Zerubbabel and Joshua to be strong, because He is with them. When we fall short, He tells us to be strong, because He is with us.
1 Corinthians 16:13: Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
Paul told the Corinthians to act like men and be strong, but only after they “stand fast in the faith.” To be a man is to trust in Christ, not some foolish bravado.
Ephesians 6:10: Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Paul told the Ephesians to be strong in the Lord and in His power. After this, he describes the armor of God, all of which are things that come from God to protect us.
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul talks about some infirmity that was purposely allowed by God to keep him humble. With such humility and weakness, God’s power becomes apparent.
Remember Gideon’s army; God whittled it down to 300 men so that it was clear that God performed the miraculous defeat. The weakness of man is used by the strength of God. Recognize that for every weakness, God can manifest Himself in a mighty way.
Lastly, we read: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Our death with Christ allows Him to do anything through us.
Invest Your Time in the Right People
The things that Timothy heard of Paul, whether directly or by others, should be taught to others. As Timothy had a role of appointing elders in churches, he took from the things he learned and passed it on to others, who would in turn pass it on as well.
The use of the phrase “many witnesses” is unusual. Perhaps because of the large number of people that no longer want to associate with Paul due to his imprisonment may have caused people to undermine his teaching or influence among the churches. When I think of witnesses, I think of those who testify in a court case about what they have seen. If this is the case, many have seen how the Lord had used Paul, and have learned from his teaching.
The things Timothy had learned should pass on to “faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” They should be both willing and able.
First, the people he should invest in should be faithful. They do what they say they do. If you spend a lot of time with someone who is not going to use the knowledge, it is a waste of time.
Also, they shall be able to teach others. They have ability to learn, communicate, and emulate the teaching. If you invest in someone who is willing, but cannot, learn, this also is a waste of time. It is not about hurting feelings; it is about being wise with your time to get the most return on investment.
We should want to spread the knowledge and skills that we have. We should just be wise with whom we invest our time.
To remember the previous verse, this must be done in the Lord’s strength. To bear fruit that will last, it must be Him working through us, and not us working in our own strength.