BIG IDEA:
5 PERPETUAL PRIORITIES FOR A MAN OF GOD TO ENSURE A
SUCCESSFUL MINISTRY
I. KEEP FLEEING MATERIALISM
"But flee from these things, you man of God"
Pres. tense -- continuous action
Kent: "The designation ’man of God’ is one often employed of prophets (e.g. I Sam. 2:27), characterizing the individual as belonging to God and representing Him… Timothy is reminded that the minister (as is every Christian) is a man who belongs to God, rather than one whose heart is possessed by desire for wealth."
Gromacki: "The imagery conveyed by the command to flee is that sinful practices are chasing the believer constantly. To avoid being caught, the believer must develop and maintain moral stamina. Joseph fled the enticements of Potiphar’s wife (Gen. 39:12), But David fell into the immoral trap of his own making (II Sam. 11:1-4). The imperative indicates personal accountability for successful obedience or sinful
disobedience."
II. KEEP PURSUING CHRIST-LIKE CHARACTER
"and pursue":
(Some view as three pairs)
A. "Righteousness"
B. "Godliness"
Gromacki: "The word denotes general piety and holy conduct. It stresses devotion to
God through worship and reverence."
C. "Faith"
D. "Love"
E. "Perseverance"
F. "Gentleness"
III. FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF THE FAITH
"agonize the good agony"
Gromacki: "The verb connotes strategy, strength, and stamina."
Wuest: "The verb is in the aorist imperative, referring to a single act rather than a
process. It refers to the habitual act of fighting the good fight, but takes no note of the process, rather emphasizing the result."
IV. POSSESS ETERNAL LIFE TO THE FULLEST -- CAPTURE THE FLAG
"take hold of the eternal life"
Kent: "He is to live in the light of his great possession. He is to make it practical in daily life. For the one who has really laid hold on eternal life, earthly treasures do not seem so important."
complete appropriation
A. Consistent with your Calling
"to which you were called"
B. Consistent with your Testimony
"and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses"
V. PERSEVERE IN OBEYING THE WORD OF GOD
A. Witnesses to the Charge
1. God the Father -- Gave you a Good Start / Sustains you
"I charge you in the presence of God who gives life to all things"
2. Christ Jesus -- Modeled a Good Finish
"and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate"
Gromacki: "He thus declared and defended the truth of God’s redemptive purpose even though He knew that He would be delivered to be crucified. He is subsequently
identified as ’the faithful and true witness.’ (Rev. 1:5; 3:14)."
B. Purity of the Charge
"that you keep the commandment":
Hiebert: "The entire truth of the Gospel which he has confessed and which he has been commissioned to preach and to defend is here unified under the singular noun
’commandment.’ It is his duty constantly to be preserving it as a priceless treasure…"
1. "without stain"
2. "or reproach"
C. Duration of the Charge
"until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ "
Bassler: "Here it is the second coming that is called an epiphany … emphasizing the fact that that event, which constitutes God’s decisive intervention on behalf of the faithful, will make manifest the divine glory of the risen Jesus (Titus 2:13)."
(:15-16) DOXOLOGY
A. Sovereign of the Universe -- Eternal Dominion
1. He Will Accomplish His Plans in His Timing
"which he will bring about at the proper time"
2. He is the Unique and Benevolent Sovereign
"He who is the blessed and only Sovereign"
Gromacki: "Both He and His sphere of authority are marked by happiness and prosperity. Since He is blessed, He can impart His blessedness to those who meet the spiritual qualifications of His reign. The Beatitudes all begin with this same word (Matt. 5:3-11)."
3. He is Over All Authorities
a. "King of kings"
b. "Lord of lords"
Gromacki: "The basis of the charge is found within the purposes of the sovereign God of the universe. Since God controls the events of time, which will ultimately end in Christ’s appearing, Timothy had to recognize that he would eventually be accountable to Him for the obedience to the Pauline charge."
B. Immortal, Transcendant and Invisible -- Maximum Honor
1. Immortal -- "who alone possesses immortality"
Bassler: "While Greeks and Romans claimed immortality for their heroes and emperors … this doxology insists that God alone is untouched by death."
2. Transcendant -- "and dwells in unapproachable light"
3. Invisible -- " whom no man has seen or can see"
C. Blessing
"To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen."
* * * * * * * * * *
DEVOTIONAL QUESTIONS:
1) When have we found ourselves trying to Flee without trying to Pursue … or trying to Pursue without being careful to Flee? Compare Paul’s other analogy to putting off the old man and putting on the new man. You can never be growing effectively unless you are doing both sides of the equation.
2) How can we more fully appropriate the eternal life which we already possess? How can we lay hold of it in a more tangible fashion? Why do some believers seem to stall out at a certain level in their Christian experience?
3) Are we actively looking for the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ?
4) How are we able to more effectively worship God as we understand more about His person and His basic nature? What does the sovereignty of God mean to me? His immortality? His transcendance? His invisibility???
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