Paul's Exhortations & Instructions to Brother Timothy 2nd Letter Volume 6

Paul tells Timothy to Never be Ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ Part 1

2 Timothy 1:8 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; KJV

The rejection of fear for Brother Timothy and for we true believers today and of every era and generation is a prelude, a prerequisite, and a preliminary fact or reality before the Gospel of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ can be declared in all its completeness and splendor. You see Timothy then and we true believers today and of every era and generation must be convinced of its singularity, that is, its one of kind nature to save the souls of sinful and lost human beings. Human beings have always had trouble with absolutes and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the ULTIMATE absolute, for it shatters and completely destroys the hope of sinful man to obtain a beautiful and peaceful life after death apart from Jesus Christ and His Gosepl, as He said with these words clearly, "Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me." (John 14:6) (Amplified Bible). These words of truth make the practice of the Buddhist wasteful, wanting, and worthless. These words of truth make the writings and teachings of the prophet Muhammad useless lies and declares Islam to be counterfeit and Allah to actually be the devil. These words of truth make Hinduism likewise a counterfeit spiritual belief and the notion of reincarnation another lie from the devil. The Apostle Paul knew that in order for Timothy and we true believers today and of every era and generation to be true to the truth, he/we had/have to surrender his/our fear to God the Holy Spirit and declare the singularity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the only hope for lost human beings, so he writes these words to him/us, "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;" (2 Timothy 1:8) (KJV).

Paul is just reiterating, repeating, or restating the very words of our Lord Jesus Christ with the first part of this verse, for it was Christ Jesus our Lord who said this, "Because whoever is ashamed of Me and of My teachings, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in the [threefold] glory (the splendor and majesty) of Himself and of the Father and of the holy angels." (Luke 9:26) (Amplified Bible). The English word 'ashamed' is translated by the Greek word epaischunomai which means basically the same as our English dictionaries definition and that is, to feel shame for something: - be ashamed feeling guilt, embarrassment or remorse. Paul was concerned that Timothy might be open to compromise the singularity of the Gospel by what he had witnessed happen to others, although he deep down knew that Timothy was real, yet he wanted to stir him up and keep him vigilant and sober against our adversary the devils onslaught. Here is what Albert Barnes had to say concerning Paul's exhortation to Timothy to be not ashamed, "Do not be ashamed to bear your testimony to the doctrines taught by the Lord Jesus. Paul seems to have apprehended that Timothy was in some danger of being ashamed of this Gospel, or of shrinking back from its open avowal (that is affirmation) in the trials and persecutions to which he now saw it exposed him."

When Paul writes 'nor of me His prisoner', he means this in a two-fold manner, first he was actually in a physical prison at the writing of this letter to Timothy for preaching and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and being unashamed in so doing, just as he declared to the Roman believers when he wrote these words to them, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) {of Christ,} for it is God's power working unto salvation [for deliverance from eternal death] to everyone who believes {with} a personal trust {and} a confident surrender {and} firm reliance, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just {and} upright shall live {and} shall live by faith." (Romans 1:16-17) (Amplified Bible). Secondly, Paul describes himself as a prisoner or captive of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ to do His will here on the earth testifying of Him always and in all places he goes, just as he declared to the Ephesian believers with these words, "For this reason [because I preached that you are thus built up together], I, Paul, [am] the prisoner of Jesus the Christ for the sake {and} on behalf of you Gentiles--" (Ephesians 3:1) (Amplified Bible). Here is what the JFB Commentary had to say concerning the prisoner Paul, "The cause of God’s servants is the cause of God Himself. Timothy might easily be tempted to be ashamed of one in prison, especially as not only worldly shame, but great risk, attended any recognition of Paul the prisoner."

Lastly, when Paul writes 'but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God', he means to encourage, embolden, and exhort Brother Timothy and we true believers today and of every era and generation to suffer or to be subjected to or to sustain attacks for standing for the truth of the singularity of the Gospel of Christ and for the unchallenged authority of the Word of God. The little English phrase 'partaker of the afflictions' is translated by the Greek word sugkakopatheō (used this one time only in the entire New Testament) which means to suffer hardship in company with: - be partaker of afflictions. Paul will elaborate or go into more specific detailed instructions/exhortations to Brother Timothy concerning him being a partaker with him in the afflictions for Christ sake and for the sake of the Gospel in the very next Chapter of this letter (2 Timothy 2:1-13). This could only be done by Paul and by Timothy and by we true believers today and of every era and generation according to or by way of or by virtue of the power (dunamis) i.e. the miraculous power, the mighty power, the force, and the strength of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit who enables every believer to stand for the Gospel, even if it be all alone. Here is what Adam Clarke had to say concerning Paul's instrcuctions to Timothy to be a partaker of afflictions with him by the power of God, "No parent could love a child better than Paul loved Timothy; and, behold! he who could wish him nothing but what was great, honorable, and good, wishes him to be a partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel! Because, to suffer for Christ, and suffer with Christ, was the highest glory to which any human being in this state could arrive. The royal way to the crown of glory, is by the cross of Christ. While thou hast no more affliction than thou hast grace to sustain thee under, thou canst have no cause to complain. And God will take care that if a faithful discharge of thy duty shall expose thee to afflictions, His power manifested in thee shall be in proportion to thy necessities. His load cannot be oppressive, who is strengthened to bear it by the power of God."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…