2 Timothy 1:8-14

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, who saved us and called us to[a] 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, 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, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 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. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

2 Timothy 1:8-14

Beginning with "therefore" in this verse, I suspect that it is referring to this God given spirit mentioned in verse 7.  Because of this God given spirit, Paul encourages Timothy to not be ashamed.  Don't be ashamed of the testimony nor of Paul himself.  It may be shameful because people try to bring shame upon those who preach Christ raised from the dead.  But it isn't something to be fearful of.  Perhaps it was shameful to be a friend of Paul who was now a prisoner.  He used to be so prominent within the Jewish world, but now he preaches Christ.  These aren't thing to be ashamed of.  Instead, the encouragement is to share in these sufferings.  How is this to be done?  Certainly not by a spirit of fear but by the power of God.  This same God is the one who saved us.  I'm not sure if Paul is talking only about himself and Timothy or of believers in general.  In any case, the truth remains the same.  Whether Paul and Timothy or believers in general, God is the one who saves and calls.

Why does God save and call?  He does so not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace.  In Ephesians 2:8-9 Paul writes about salvation by grace through faith and not by works.  Here in 2 Timothy it is similar.

Paul says something interesting here regarding this saving work: "which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began".  What does this mean?  NLT seems to think that this means a plan made long time ago: "that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus".  However, the other translations seem to say a bit more than that.  It says, "he gave us", meaning it has already been given in the past.  I'm not so sure that it's referring to "making a plan", then again, I'm only reading translations and am not a Greek or biblical expert.

Moving on, in contrast to this which took places before the ages began, it "has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus".  It happened long time ago in some sort of fashion, but it is NOW being manifested and coming to pass.  It has now been "revealed" and "fully disclosed" though it was already given in the past.

What did Jesus do?  Jesus "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel".  I am reminded about what it says in 1 Corinthians 15.

“O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57

Death is abolished.  There is no victory for death because those who are saved are no longer defeated by death.  Death isn't the end for there is everlasting life for those who believe in Jesus.  Instead, life and immortality is brought to light through the gospel.  He showed the way, which is himself.

For all this, Paul suffers.  He suffers for what Christ has done, his great saving work on the cross.  Paul is not ashamed and I guess that's part of the reason why he has encouraged Timothy not to be ashamed either.  Why is Paul not ashamed?  I really love this part: "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".  Paul knows and trusts Jesus.

So, Paul is now saying to Timothy that he should follow him.  Specifically, what is to be followed is his sound words.  This too is to be "in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus".  I take that to mean sound words that are rooted or always accompanied by faith in Jesus and love for Jesus.  This isn't the end, since Paul has a bit more to add here.  The last is to say that all this is to be done "by the Holy Spirit".  The Holy Spirit is the one by whom this is all done, not by yourself.  The Holy Spirit dwells within us.

Okay, now there's a lastly, not just this part about the Holy Spirit.  Now, the last word of this paragraph is "guard the good deposit entrusted to you".  I'm not entirely sure what Paul is referring to here.  He could be talking about the Holy Spirit, since the Holy Spirit is referred to as a deposit or guarantee in Ephesians and 2 Corinthians.  However, he could also be referring to this gift of God he was talking about earlier in this passage.  Some translators probably take this approach because of the paragraph headers.  I'd probably suspect it's that way as well.  So all this to ultimately talk about this which was entrusted to Timothy that he is to fan into flame and not be ashamed.