As
Paul the apostle continued his final words to Timothy his “dearly
beloved son”, he reminded him “Jesus
Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to”
his “gospel”, and
“Wherein” Paul
suffered “trouble, as an evil doer, even
unto bonds” he was still pleased because
“the word of God is not bound”.
Paul was chained to a guard while sitting in a Roman prison as he
dictated these final words to Timothy, and in chapter two and verse
ten of this last letter to him, Paul shared why he “endured
all things” where we read:
Therefore
I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may
also
obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
The verse begins,
“Therefore I endure all things for
the elect's sakes,...” Paul
began with the word, “Therefore”
which is a conclusion word that draws our attention to what was
stated before it. In this case Paul's conclusion is based upon the
fact that the “word of God is not
bound”
even though he is. He continued, “I
endure” or
“remain, do not recede, abide and do not flee” “all
things”
which refers to “each, every, any, all,
the whole, everyone and everything” “for
the elect's” which is the Greek phrase
“eklektos eklektos” and
means “the picked out, chosen and selected one by God to obtain
salvation”. This repeated word further means “the best of its
kind or class, excellence, preeminence, and is applied to certain
individual Christians”. Paul added the word,
“sakes”
which means “the ground or reason by which something is or is not
done, on account of, because of and for this reason”. It was
because of the “elect's
sake”
that Paul was able to remain and not flee from the “trouble”
he endured even though it meant he was in prison for sharing the
gospel of Jesus Christ.
The verse goes on to
say, “...that
they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with
eternal glory.” Paul
then gave the reason he was willing to “endure
all things for the elect's sake”,
“that they”
which is referring to the “elect”
“may also obtain”
which is the Greek phrase “tygchanō
kai tygchanō” and
means “hit the mark, reach, get, become master of and have a chance
for” “the salvation”
or “deliverance, preservation and safety” “which
is in”
which means “that is by, with and within” “Christ”
or “the anointed one and Messiah”
“Jesus”
whose name means “Jehovah is Salvation” “with
eternal”
which means “without beginning and end, that which always has been
and always will be, never to cease and everlasting” “glory”
or “splendor, brightness and majesty”. When we use our
imaginations, we can almost hear Paul's excitement as he shares this
reason and motivation for enduring the hardship of trouble and being
bound.
When
we meditate upon Paul's words, we can sense his strong love and
devotion to the “elect”
as he shared these words. His desire was that those chosen by God
would “obtain the salvation”
which he also enjoyed. If we think about this long enough, he was
generationally referring to us. Paul endured great trouble and chains
so this letter could be written to Timothy, and now we have the
privilege to study and ponder his words. While we allow this thought
to penetrate our minds, let us remember the Holy Spirit of God
inspired Paul's words in this letter, and when we consider that He
was involved, how much more should we understand that the “trouble”
we face in our lives may be for the sake of another “elect's
sake”
whom we may or may not know. May the Lord bring His truth and
understanding to our hearts and minds.
Next
time Paul tells Timothy how “if we die with”
Jesus, “we will also live with him”,
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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