Does
God Promise to Heal My Destructive Thought Patterns in 2 Timothy 1:7?
2 Timothy 1:7 is often used by Christians to support the notion that
God enables the Believer to overcome destructive thought patterns, negativity,
depression, phobias and the like. This
verse is used to encourage Christians that God has enabled them to be free from
nervous breakdowns and all manner of mental ailments. Basing one’s study merely on the etymology of
the word might lend a person to interpret this verse, in this manner. The word does come from the Greek word sophron; which in turn is from sozo, meaning to save. Add to that the Greek word phren,
or mind, and you have literally "a saved mind" or "a sound
mind". But is this so?
Paul’s second letter to Timothy was written to encourage Timothy to remain steadfast in his
calling as a Christian minister “in the face of threats and difficulties (1:8,
13; 2:1, 3, 5, 15; 3:1, 10–14; 4:1–5). The false teaching mentioned in the
earlier letter is again in view (2:16–18).”[1]
Timothy is going to have to face up to that potential conflict and
confrontation and not ignore it. This
verse comes with this portion of Paul’s letter:
Exhortation
to Endurance for the Gospel (1:3–2:13)
Thanksgiving for Timothy’s sincere faith (1:3–5)
A call to bold endurance in ministry, part 1 (1:6–14)
Examples, positive and negative (1:15–18)
A call to bold endurance in ministry, part 2 (2:1–13)[2]
Thanksgiving for Timothy’s sincere faith (1:3–5)
A call to bold endurance in ministry, part 1 (1:6–14)
Examples, positive and negative (1:15–18)
A call to bold endurance in ministry, part 2 (2:1–13)[2]
The Immediate Context:
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into
flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of
power and love and self-control.
8 Therefore
do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but
share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved
us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his
own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which
now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who
abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which
I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is
why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed,
and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been
entrusted to me. 13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that
you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the
Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
Because of Timothy’s faith and spiritual heritage, Timothy is pressed
to “fan into flame” the recognized gift that God has given him; probably
recognized through his ordination. Is it possible that Timothy by nature is fearful
and therefore Paul is compelled to encourage him? It has been concluded that he is called to
ministry and therefore timidity is inconsistent with such a Divine
mandate. So Paul makes an assertion: “for God gave us a spirit not of fear
. . ..”[3] “God has not given us a spirit of "timidity" (deilia,
"cowardice," only here in the NT), but rather a spirit of
"power" (dynamis), of "love" (agape) and of
"self-discipline" (sophronismos, "self-control,"
only here in the NT).”[4]
In lieu of fear, when God calls His
servant to ministry He grants as gifts “power and love and self-control”.
English Text
Comparison:
|
ESV
|
NASB
|
KJV
|
AMPLIFIED
|
|
“for God gave us a spirit not
of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
|
“For God has not given us a
spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”
|
“For God hath not given us the
spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
|
“For God did not give us a
spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear),
but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and
well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.”
|
“The word sophronismos is one of those
great Greek untranslatable words. Someone has defined it as “the sanity of
saintliness” . . . Sophronismos is that divinely given self-control which makes
a man a great ruler of others because he is first of all the servant of Christ
and the master of himself.”[5]
Conclusion
The gift of sophronismos
given to “us” (the Christian worker) and it is the ability to use discretion, prudence;
and not to act rashly or hastily. Rather than knee-jerk, off-the-cuff,
reactionary decisions and statements, the gift enables one to exercise sound
judgement and sober responses. It is
not, in itself, a promise to restore minds that have been afflicted by destructive
patterns or mental health problems. This
is not to say that God doesn’t care about such things. Nor is it to say that the Bible is silent regarding such difficult and debilitating matters.
The point is that Paul is encouraging a somewhat fearful Gospel minister
who will face opposition as he guards the Gospel truths he has been entrusted
to. What aid can he expect from the
Spirit of God when confronting false doctrine?
God in His mercy will grant to that Christian worker Divine power and
authority. He can trust God to enable
him to love that person to whom he or she is in conflict with; and he can also rest in the promise that in the midst
of that intimidating crisis God will give him clear, rational, sober thought.
[1] Believer’s Study
Bible. 1991 (W. A. Criswell, P. Patterson, E. R. Clendenen, D. L. Akin, M.
Chamberlin, D. K. Patterson & J. Pogue, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (2 Ti 1:1).
Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[2] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (2336). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[3] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version. 2001 (2 Ti 1:7a). Wheaton: Standard Bible
Society.
[4] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:2
Timothy/Exposition of 2 Timothy/II. Thanksgiving (1:3-7)/B. God's Gift to
Timothy (1:6, 7), Book Version: 4.0.2
No comments:
Post a Comment