Paul the
apostle desired for Timothy his “son in the faith” to be
fully equipped to be the pastor and overseer of the church located in
Ephesus. Part of his equipping was that he “give attendance to
reading, exhortation and doctrine”. In chapter four and verse
fourteen of his letter, Paul told Timothy to “neglect not the
gift that is in you” where we read:
Neglect
not the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy,
with the
laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
The verse begins,
“Neglect not the gift that is in you, which was given to
you by prophecy,...” As Paul
continued his exhortation to Timothy, he told him, “Neglect
not” or “do not make light
of, be careless with or negligent toward” “the gift”
which is the Greek word “charisma” and means “a favor
with which one receives without any merit of his own, the gift of
divine grace, the gift of faith, knowledge, holiness and virtue”
“that is in you” or “by, with, among and through you”.
Paul continued, “which was given” or “bestowed, granted,
supplied and furnished” “to you by prophecy” which means
“a discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the
purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or
comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden”. Paul knew
there was a gift within Timothy to share “Divine” purposes of
God, and he did not want Timothy to take lightly the “charisma”
which was within him.
The verse continues,
“...with
the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.” After
instructing Timothy not to neglect his gift, Paul continues with how
his gift was received, “with the laying on” or
“after the imposition” “of the hands”
which literally means “by the help or agency of any one or
by means of any one” and refers to
literally the putting and placing of hands upon another person to
transfer the “might, activity and power of God” “of
the presbytery” which is the
Greek word “presbyterion” from which we get the English word
“Presbyterian” and refers to “body of elders, presbytery,
senate, council of the Jewish elders and the elders of any
body (assembly) of Christians”. In other words, the elders who were
over Timothy laid their hands upon him and in a sense transferred to
him the gift or “charisma” that was within him.
While we
meditate upon these words from Paul, we may wonder why Timothy would
be inclined to “neglect” his gift in the first place. Paul
obviously felt it necessary to encourage and remind Timothy
concerning his gift and even have him recall where he received it in
the first place. Perhaps we have some “gift” or “charisma”
the Lord Jesus has given to us, and we need to be reminded of when
and by whom that gift was given. Let us allow Paul's challenge to
Timothy be ours as well that we not “neglect” our “gift”
or “charisma” which the Lord has given to us to use in His
kingdom.Let us pray, “Lord Jesus, we make ourselves available for
your use, and help us not to make light of the “gifts” you
have given to us”.
Next
time Paul tells Timothy to “meditate upon these things”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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