God Gives Strength

God Gives Strength (1 Timothy 1:12-20)

Paul probably wrote to Timothy soon after arriving in Macedonia.

The church at Ephesus had problems and apparently Paul couldn’t 
stay to address the problems, so he left Timothy as his representative.

He is writing to give him additional instructions 
about supervising the churches in the area of Ephesus.

Question: 
What problems did they have?
- When Paul was in prison in Rome, 
  Ephesus became a center of false teaching.

Note: (Acts 20:29-30)
- Several years earlier, Paul said that spiritual frauds 
  would come into the church, distort the Gospel, 
  and try to lead people away from the truth.
- Since his prediction came true, and since he was needed in other
  places, Paul needed Timothy to deal with the false teachers.
  Note: Timothy also needed to provide instructions on church order.

Note: 
Timothy needed encouragement and written authority 
to carry out the difficult tasks he was given 
(hence, the letter from Paul).


1 TIMOTHY 1

VERSE 1:
Paul began his letter by asserting his authority, 
“an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God”.

Note: 
He needed to do this in response to the false teachings that were being
spread throughout the city; he also needed to establish the credentials
of his representative, Timothy.


VERSE 2:
“my true son in the faith” 
- An indication that Paul probably led Timothy to Christ.
 Note: 
 More than likely this happened on his first missionary 
 journey when he was in Lystra for awhile.

Note: 
When Paul returned to Lystra two years later, he was 
so impressed with Timothy’s spiritual progress, that 
he asked him to join the missionary party (Acts 16:1-3).
Question: 
What would others say about our spiritual 
development after a two year period?

Note: 
Timothy soon became one of Paul’s most trusted 
and dependable co-workers in spreading the Gospel.
Question: 
How dependable and trustworthy are we?


VERSES 3-4: 
Paul got right to the point: 
Timothy was to deal with these false teachers.

Paul pointed out that these false teachers were spending 
way too much time on “myths” and “genealogies” 
(which promoted speculation, instead of the work of God).


VERSES 5-7: 
Paul identified the false teachers 
as self appointed teachers of the law.

God’s Command:
- Related to love, from a pure heart, 
  a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

False Teachers:
- Wandered away from the faith and trying to teach 
  about the law without fully understanding its purpose.


VERSES 8-11: 
Paul points out the purpose of the law:
- To reveal man’s sinful condition, so that they will realize the 
  sinfulness of their heart, and come to Jesus for His grace and 
  forgiveness.

- It did not interfere with the message of salvation.

- It magnifies the light of God’s grace.


VERSES 12-13: 
Paul was amazed and thankful that the Lord 
considered him faithful and enlisted him into His service.

Paul was chosen to serve not because of his knowledge 
or abilities, but because of his faithfulness.

Paul identified his pre-conversion lifestyle in the harshest terms.
“violent” 
- An arrogant person who inflicted pain on others out 
  of delight in seeing them suffer (the intent was to 
  not only injure others, but humiliate them as well).


VERSES 14-16: 
Paul:
- Born in Tarsus (today – southwest Turkey).
- Parents were from the tribe of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5).
- Named Saul after Israel’s first king 
  (who was also from the tribe of Benjamin).
- Trained in the tradition of the Pharisees 
  (strict in observing the laws of Moses).
- Trained by a famous rabbi, Gamaliel (Acts 22:3).
  Note: 
  This probably accounts for his zeal for the law. 
  This intensity caused him to vigorously oppose the early Christians.
  Examples: 
    (Acts 8:1) – He approved the stoning of Stephen.
    (Acts 9:1-2) – He took the lead in persecuting Christians.

- In spite of his wicked behavior, 
  he received mercy from the Lord (Verse 14).
  Mercy – God not giving us what we deserve.
  Grace – God giving us what we don’t deserve.

Verses 12-13:
“acted in ignorance and unbelief”
- Paul was not trying to excuse his actions, or reduce his guilt;
  he was sincere in believing he was serving God when he persecuted the 
  church. 

Note: 
Paul’s conversion (and new faith) 
proved that God’s grace was successful in changing him.

As Paul thought about his own life, he expressed a doctrinal truth 
(that was trustworthy and deserved full acceptance).
- Jesus came into the world to provide redemption for sinners.
  Note: This is the heart of the Gospel message.

Paul looked at himself as the worst of sinners.
- This was not false humility.
- Since he violently persecuted Christians, 
  he felt that made him worse than any other sinners.

He tried to keep the letter of the law, 
but many believers suffered from his persecutions.

Question: 
Do you think Paul wondered how he 
could make things right for those he persecuted?

Question: 
What can we learn from Paul’s conversion?

- We should never give up hope of others surrendering their lives 
  to the Lord (even when they seem so far from making that decision).

- No one can be too rebellious to receive God’s grace.

- We should continue to pray for the salvation of others 
  (none should be considered as hopeless).

- No matter how bad a person may be, when they genuinely repent, 
  they may become strong soldiers in the Lord’s ministry.

- Paul’s conversion shows how much patience the Lord will 
  exercise in order for sinners to have the opportunity to repent.
  Question: 
  Do you think God’s patience is different for different people?


VERSE 17: 
As Paul thought about God’s mercy, he started praising Him.

He referred to God as:
- Eternal (without beginning or end).
- Immortal (undying).
- Invisible (unable to be seen by mortals).
- The only God (these 3 qualifications 
  separate Him from any, and all, man-made gods).


VERSES 18-19: 
Paul knew the damage false teaching could cause, 
so he returned to the subject of Timothy’s challenge in the church.

Note: 
Sound doctrine is stressed in the scriptures.
(1 Timothy 4:1-2, 6:20-21, 2 Timothy 1:13-14, 4:1-5, Titus 2:1)

“instruction” - He is referring to what he described in verses 3-7.

“keeping with the prophecies” 
- This may be referring to a time when Timothy was 
  ordained for this spiritual ministry (see 1 Timothy 4:14).

Paul wanted Timothy to realize that confronting spiritual frauds 
and false teachers required a continuous effort; 
it was not just a one-time conflict.

He gave Timothy advice for sustaining his efforts:
1. Hold firmly to his Christian faith 
   - Trust in God to provide the strength he would need.
   - Always know that God is in control.

2. Keep his conscience clear.
   - Do not compromise the principals and morals he had been taught.

Note: 
Apparently the false teachers neglected these two areas, which 
resulted in their falling into a compromising view of the Gospel.


VERSES 19-20: 
Paul mentioned two men who failed to maintain their spiritual integrity.
Alexander 
- A fairly common name (not sure who he is).

Hymenaeus 
- Probably the same person mentioned in 2 Timothy 2:17-18.
- He denied the resurrection and claimed it had already happened.

Paul turned these two men over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
- This was probably some type of church discipline 
 (such as removing them from the church fellowship).

- The purpose was to remove their destructive behavior 
  from the church and hopefully bring them back to the Lord.
  Note: 
  Sometimes we take things for granted until they 
  are removed; then we have a renewed desire for them.
  We can imagine that when these two were removed from
  the fellowship of the church, they had a renewed 
  desire to be restored with the church family.


SUMMARY:
- Just like Timothy, we should all hold on to our faith; 
  don’t compromise it to fit our lifestyle or desires 
  (people are good at justifying what they want to do).

- God has tasks for each of us to do.

- All tasks will have their challenges.

- Humility is a great character trait 
  (it acknowledges that we can do nothing 
  without the strength God provides).

- If God could be that patient with Paul and save him, 
  then no one is beyond hope.

- We need to continually pray for those who seem unreachable.

- We also need to pray for those who cause problems in the church.

- We should be grateful that the Lord has saved us; 
  our gratitude should lead us into areas of service for the Lord.

- Whatever God asks us to do, He will enable us to do. 
  He doesn’t want failure in His ministry; 
  He wants us to be successful in whatever He calls us to do.