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ToBeLikeHim.com Return to Timothy Series Timothy Series 2nd Timothy 2:2 John Baugh Making
Disciples – The 2nd Timothy 2:2 Model 2 Timothy 2:2 (New American Standard
Bible) 2The things which you
have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to
faithful men who will be able to teach others also. There may be no more significant
verse that Paul wrote in support of discipling than 2 Timothy 2:2. In
addition to being an evangelist and church builder, Paul was a master
disciple maker who modeled a lifelong commitment to discipling others to
Christ Jesus (Luke, Titus, Timothy, Priscilla and In this statement, Paul
shows: ·
Demonstration of his discipled Life
in Christ to the one he was discipling - Timothy (the things & the
presence) ·
The transmission of the way and the
life (the Gospel message) to others (Timothy’s hearing the word spoken by
Paul - the witness or seeing of Paul’s
life in action – the emphasis on a
chain of reproduction (Paul, Timothy, faithful men, others) ·
Teaching of the discipling concept,
scripture, lifestyle (entrust and teach the things you have heard from me) ·
Value of being with the disciple
and having the disciple with you (many witnesses). ·
Wise investment of discipling
effort (entrust to faithful men) ·
Goal of reproduction into future
generations (able to teach others also) Four Generations of
Disciples in Paul’s Statement to Timothy:
When Paul wrote these
words to Timothy, where was his heart? The placement of
emphasis in Greek may be determined by tense and placement. In the statement
made by Paul, one word carries major emphasis. This word indicates where
Paul’s hopes and desires for the discipling process lay. He knew that special
truth had been committed to (invested in) him, not just for his benefit, but
so that he could invest it in others. And that is where he placed his
emphasis in the statement to Timothy. The Greek word with
major emphasis in 2nd Timothy 2:2 is the word we translate as
“others also”. Paul’s heart, the place
that he was most concerned, was not with Timothy, the man he had invested so
heavily in for between 14-18 years (praying with, teaching, working
alongside, modeling the life of commitment to the discipling process). He
knew the things he had transferred to Timothy (the things heard before many
witnesses) and was confident he had made the required commitment in Timothy.
Neither was his heart with the ones that Timothy was discipling. If Paul’s
work with Timothy was effective (and he believed it had been) then Timothy
would also pass on Christ Jesus to those he had chosen to disciple. Paul’s
heart lay with the ones who would come as the result of the discipling work
of the “faithful men” Timothy selected. In all likelihood, these were people
that Paul would never know. It would not be fair to
pass by the “faithful men” Paul mentions without looking at them for a
moment. What would Paul consider o be a faithful man? Most likely the
faithful men would have been men like Timothy. They would have been men who
were righteous, with habits and discipline that made them worthy of
investment (since no one wants to place their investment of time, effort and
resources in a shaky position). The word faithful has great meaning. It indicates
someone who can be trusted to remain true to their calling, someone who can
be trusted to stay the course and finish the race. A faithful person will
continue on even when things are difficult. They go forward even when the one
sending them is no longer present. You can count on a faithful person. You
can put your faith in them. And so, Paul wanted Timothy to find men of
faithfulness, who were worthy of his investment of time and effort. Paul’s Interesting Words: 2The things which you
have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to
faithful men who will be able to teach others also. ·
Things – (What things?) 1 - God’s Holy word – the scriptures. 2 -
Christ’s life (the Gospel). 3 - Christ’s teachings - The truth and the light for
all men, given to show us the way out of darkness. 4 – Application – The way
that leads to eternal life. ·
Heard from me – Paul was involved
in Timothy. His involvement was personal, not second hand. It was life to
life. This emphasizes the way of Gospel transmission (speaking, entrusting,
teaching) and the reception of the Gospel message (hearing, accepting,
learning) ·
In the presence of many witnesses –
Paul was never ashamed of the Gospel of Christ and of sharing it with others.
John wrote the words “the word became flesh” and Paul lived them. Among many
witnesses (dia pollwn marturwn) is a legal term, indicating not just hearing,
but testimony of truthfulness. Paul was willing to have people testify as to
what he had shared (the Gospel). ·
Entrust – “Commit thou” (paratou) –
This word in Greek means to deposit. It is a banker’s term, indicating an
investment (a commitment) with the expectation of a return. What was the
investment? (the things Paul shared, his time given to Timothy). What was the
expected return? (Timothy, the faithful men and the others also – multiple
generations of disciples to Christ). ·
Faithful – Trustworthy, righteous,
dependable, loyal, reliable, someone you can count on. ·
Able – capable, qualified,
competent ·
Teach – to take that which has been
received and pass it on (accurately and completely) to others, so that they
understand and are able to apply that which was transmitted. Nothing has
actually been taught unless the one receiving the teaching is able to
usefully apply what has been taught after the teaching is accomplished. ·
Others, also (kai eterouv) – not
different, but in addition to - as in an endless ladder (see John 1:14,
below). Paul places his major emphasis on an endless ladder of disciples
going out toward eternity, or as Jesus indicated in his Great Commission (see
following), “the end of the age”. Paul, Timothy and the Great Commission And so Paul completed
Christ’s command through his discipling work with Timothy. He completed the
investment that Christ commanded in the Great Commission Matthew 28:18-20 18And Jesus came up and
spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and
on earth. 19"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with
you always, even to the end of the age." The 2nd
Timothy model of disciple making is “life on life” training. It is sharing
your life with another so that they will know Christ, and grow to a point of
reproductive ability, so that the process will be repeated (reproduced) in
another. It is more than teaching words and doctrine. It is also teaching the
lifestyle and commitment that go with the words and doctrine. In
understanding of the full meaning of discipleship, it is transferring Christ
like discipline, from one to another (from discipler to disciple). The John 1:14 Model of Discipling: John 1:14 14And the Word became
flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only
begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. “The Word became
flesh”. The word (God) became flesh in the person of Christ and was
transmitted to the disciples, and then became flesh in them and was
transmitted to those that they discipled, and so on, until finally (after
almost 2000 years) to us – to you and to me. The representation
looks like this: Word >>> flesh
>>> Word >>> flesh >>> Word >>> flesh
>>> Word >>> You and me Everyone who claims
salvation today can trace their claim to eternal life in a straight line of
transmission through multiple generations of disciples back to these words
from John’s Gospel. As the Word became flesh and was shared with the first believers
and was taken by them as the Word and shared with others who shared the Word
with others, we have a direct link back to Christ Jesus. From William Barkley: “It is not only a
privilege to receive the Christian faith; it is a duty to transmit it. All
Christians must look at themselves as a link between two generations…The
teacher (discipler) is a link in the living chain which stretches unbroken
from this present moment back to Jesus Christ.” I do not know how many
names are contained in my progression. I doubt that anyone can state their
chain, but most of us know at least a few links. I know that my Grandson
links to his father (and Mother and Pastor in Starkville, Mississippi), who
links to me (and my wife and a Pastor in Mountain Home, Arkansas), who links
to my father and a Pastor at Boling Street Methodist Church), who links to
his father (and a Country Church Pastor), who links … (through several
thousand links) to one of the original hearers of the Word as shared by
Christ Jesus to the first disciples. I find the similarity
to this progression (chain) and the statement made by Paul to Timothy. Paul
knew himself. He knew Timothy (and his mother and Grandmother). After that he
knew there would be faithful men, but no names were stated. Then there were
the ones where his hope and emphasis lay – the others. That is the way the
Gospel is transmitted. Even those who simply
pick up a Bible or Gospel tract and find salvation directly from God’s Holy
Word owe their salvation to the one who wrote the Gospel and to those who
assured it remained in circulation through the early church and those who
translated the Bible from Greek and committed to having it published. This line of transmission
may well be what Jesus intended when he told Simon that he (as Peter) was to
be the rock upon which the church was to be built. In the case of Simon Peter
and the Gospel of Mark, Peter was most likely the one who delivered the Word
that became flesh in the young disciple John Mark and eventually led to
Peter’s cousin Mark writing the Gospel record we know as the book of Mark. It
is not unreasonable to ask how many people have achieved salvation through
Mark’s Gospel? Would the answer by 1,000,000? Could it be 10,000,000? Might
it be even more? The simple fact is that only God knows how many times the
Word as shared by Simon Peter to become flesh in John Mark became flesh in
another through his sharing. From the Foundation of Peter to Us, Today: How does this Word to
Flesh transmission impact our lives today? Most of us have heard at least one
preacher, evangelist or Sunday school teacher say that we are always one
generation away from losing the Gospel message of life, hope and salvation.
What they are trying to share is that if our generation stops the word to
flesh transmission, everything will stop with us. It does not seem
unreasonable to ask if I allow the Word to flesh transmission to stop with
me, who will be responsible for the next one in line past me? Someone will read this
and comment, “Surely God will take care of those who would be lost if I break
the progression!” To those who bring up that question, I would ask, “What if
you and your replacement(s) all fail to honor the 2 Timothy 2:2 challenge and
John 1:14 progression? What would happen to those God intended to have you
witness” There is a story that I have used many times, but it is a favorite that is full of truths. It comes (loosely quoted) from one of my favorite books, by one of my favorite authors.
From The Master Plan of Evangelism - by Dr. Robert E Coleman After
his ascension, Christ was met by legions of angels in Heaven. They praised and praised him and then one
of them asked what plan he had placed into effect to assure his vision would
continue across the world and time, as God had desired. Jesus
looked toward the brilliance of God's throne and then told the angels,
"I have left a small band of laymen, mostly fishermen, who will take
over my vision and deliver my message to the world. I have made these laymen
"fishers of men." They will be responsible for teaching my vision
to other faithful believers, who will carry on in the same manner until the
end of time." The
legions of angels all looked at our Lord with wonder. Finally, one of them
spoke. “What an incredible vision. What if they fail?” Jesus
replied, “This is my vision. I have no other plan." Conclusion Paul had a Discipling Plan
that he shared with Timothy (me, you, faithful men, others also). Paul’s plan
fit in very well with his master’s plan and has been adopted by thousands of
Disciple Makers across the years since he first shared it with his disciple. Paul’s plan and intent
to look out past his work to people he would likely never meet this side of
heaven can be our plan, too. Copyright © 2009, by ToBeLikeHim Ministries |
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