Gospel Coalition live blog 3: John Piper, pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minn.
Text: 2 Timothy 1:1-12
Main point of this passage (not most important point, but main point: the point from which the rest of the argument flows): Paul to Timothy — keep feeding the white hot flame of God’s gift in you, namely, the gift of unashamed courage in speaking openly of Christ and to suffer for the Gospel.
Where does the main point come from?
As an aside: Pastors must show their people the text. They must unpack the text, not point to themselves or bring glory to themselves.
Paul exhorts Timothy to fan into flame the gift God had given him. Fan the white hot flame. Jesus spits lukewarm preachers out of his mouth. Keep on feeding the white hot flame (v. 6).
What do you fan into flame? The gift of God. If Timothy fanned this gift into flame, it will burn. If he did not, it would not. And Timothy’s feeding of the flame is dependent on God’s grace.
The gift God gave Timothy was unashamed courage. In particular, God gave Timothy unashamed courage in speaking openly and suffering well (vs. 7-8).
How does Timothy get the gift of this power? Through the laying on of hands (v. 6). The laying on of hands involved the elders laying hands on Timothy and praying for God to come. As they did this, Paul said to Timothy, God is giving you unashamed courage to speak of the Gospel only and suffer well. And Timothy probably cried. This crying is probably what Paul was referring to when he said he remembered Timothy’s tears (v. 4).
Is it the point only of this paragraph or the whole book?
14 instances in the book when the main point is reiterated: 1:16, 2:3, 2:9, 2:10, 2:12, 2:15, 2:24, 3:1, 3:10, 3:12, 4:5, 4:6, 4:7, 4:16.
This is the main point of the book. If you want an easy life on the path of least resistance, don’t go into ministry. And if you are single, don’t marry a woman who wants this kind of life. Find a woman who is willing to suffer alongside you for the sake of the Gospel.
How does Paul intend for us to feed the flame of God’s white hot gift in us?
How do we get God’s power? In 2:1, Paul tells Timothy to be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. So how do we get God’s grace? All 13 of Paul’s epistles begin with “grace to you” and all 13 of them end with “grace with you.” Paul believes that as people read his apostolic word, grace is given to them through the word. And as the reading of the epistle is finished, Paul says grace be with you, the grace that comes through the word.
God’s Word bestows His grace. God’s Word is the grace. As we listen to God in His Word, He continues to fan into flame the gift He has given us. God gives grace and power through His Word.
How do we feed the flame of white hot courage? You feed it by giving heed seriously, deeply, meditatively and contemplatively — with faith — to God’s Word.
Let’s do it
How do we do these things?
When Paul spoke to Timothy, he spoke as a spiritual father to a man whose father was not a Christian. This seems clear from Paul’s reference to Timothy’s mother and grandmother with no mention of his father.
We need not be ashamed because the Gospel is powerful. God is powerful. He is powerful to guard until that day what He has entrusted to us.
The most important sentence of the passage (not the main point, but the most important point): God has saved and called us not because of our works, but because of His own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the world began (vs. 9-10).
The grace of God — a grace that saved you, called you and makes you powerful — this grace was given to you not when were you converted, but before the world began. Timothy’s name was written before the foundation of the world in the Book of Life of the Lamb who was slain. God had decided to make you courageous, Timothy, before the stars were made.
This reality should put steel in the spine of the minister who is tempted to wimp out. God gave grace to stand unashamed of the Gospel in the face of suffering to His people before the world began.
The power behind what a minister does, behind what a Christian does, does not come from anything that he does, thinks, feels or wills. It is not according to works, but according to God’s purpose and grace, that a minister has power to act, that a Christian has power to live.
Ministers give your people this truth.