I was talking to the builder this week
Hearing about what was going on
He talked about how the brick peers
Were meticulously placed, precisely the same distance apart
Even though it’s not really necessary that they be
The floorboards there were 300mm thick, normally they’re 22mm
It was a sound structure, it needed to be with those heavy pews
And the footings they are laying for new floor
Are being constructed so they can take the weight of 300 people at
Foundations can be sound, providing the most options
For what you will eventually build on something
But the quality of the materials that you build with
Will determine the strength of the structure and the load it can bear
I wonder how strong you feel you are
How do you go carrying a heavy load
Where do you find strength, what do you with weakness
Try harder or try and hide it?
We began our series last week in 1 Timothy, looking at God’s building
Not the church as a physical building but a spiritual community
Having established that the foundation of the church should be Jesus
We consider the strength of a church, what makes a strong church
Having contrasted sound foundation with weak ones
Paul is going to unpack in more detail God’s building materials
As he outlines the origin and nature of the churches strength
Last week we say Paul’s affirmation of Timothy’s leadership
He directed Timothy to address some wayward teachers
Here he provides a personal example of where his strength is found
And contrasts his example with the example set by the other teachers
Those in Ephesus he’s asked Timothy to silence
Are people that Paul can personally relate to
His story is not too dissimilar to theirs
They aren’t beyond hope, but the very people that God can work in
Paul’s confident of this because he’s personally experienced it
Paul is intimately aware of the way God’s changed him
He’s earnestly thankful, and clearly focused
About the extent and reason for God’s work in his life
This clarity empowers him to live with purpose
It provides strength against doubts and resistance
And it drives the encouragement and direction he has for Timothy
God who strengthened Paul has also appointed Timothy
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
As Paul moves into his personal testimony, his dependance on God
Is shown in his thanks and acknowledgement of God
God’s the source of his strength, from God’s initial call to his ministry,
to the gifts he’s received and strength that enables him to use them
If you look at v12 in isolation it can seem a bit facetious
Like some award recipient , I’m so grateful you considered me worthy
But in light of his own personal evaluation from v13
How can he suggest that God considered him trustworthy?
Well it seems that Paul doesn’t claim to be worthy in himself
As though he had earned the status and appointment
But rather that by God choosing and appointing him
The God renders him worthy for the task
And that’s what so completely baffles Paul
And is at the heart of his personal testimony
Paul points out how especially gracious and powerful God is
God had decided to choose Paul, even though
He was a blasphemer, noticeably seen in his rejection
Of the early Jesus followers who claimed Jesus divinity
He was a persecutor, in that he hunted down those early Christians
And violent seen in Acts when he approved of Stephen’s death
Despite his obvious failings, God counted him trustworthy
Paul is overwhelmed at the magnitude of God’s grace shown to him
And the point of this conversion is the point with all conversions
That God’s mercy and grace changes people,
So here Paul is holding up his own life as an example
An example of how God’s mercy and grace has strengthened him
And that God has done this work in Paul’s life
Because of the work that God has planned for Paul to complete
The task that Paul was commissioned by God for was extreme
To be an apostle to the Gentiles, to take the word out to new areas
The strength Paul would find to complete that task
Would come from the breaking and rebuilding that God completed
Breaking as admits being guilty, different from just not perfect v14
the withholding of deserved punishment, have mercy your honour
Paul says he was shown mercy because he acted in ignorance
It’s not as a defence, I didn’t know it was a clearway
Paul isn’t saying that he deserved mercy because he was ignorant
Paul is pleads for mercy because that’s what guilty people need.
The Jewish law distinguished between intentional and accidental
Paul here relates to the false teachers in Ephesus
Paul himself had done the wrong thing in ignorance
Paul had previously refuted, pursued and harmed those
Who called Jesus as Lord, he did so as service to God
He thought he was doing the right thing
Like those in Ephesus he was zealous but without knowledge
Paul then became an example of God’s grace and mercy
If God can change even a person like Paul,
Then God’s grace and mercy can extend to the opponents in Ephesus
And it’s not just change that God has the strength to do
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
Now it might seem melodramatic for Paul to say he’s the worst
But it’s all a matter of perspective,
Paul isn’t saying that He’s the worst person whose ever lived
He recognises He was doing the worst kind of thing
Pauls’ aware how wrong his orientation and response to God was
A blasphemer, persecutor is quite the opposite
Of the pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith of v5
It makes him culpable before the eternal, immortal invisible v17
Paul’s aware how this orientation to God places him before God
This wrong orientation and attitude towards God is sin
Sin separates us from God,
Sin is something that we need rescuing from
The good news is that Jesus core business was saving
It’s the reason that Jesus came into the world
It’s the work that He has completed
And the offer of salvation is now available to all people
Which Paul reaffirms by his own example in
16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Paul had been considered trustworthy v12
And so entrusted with the good news of Jesus v11
Even though he acted in unbelief 13,
God graciously poured out faith to Paul v14
So that Paul now becomes an example for those who’ll believe v16
It’s all built of the same Greek word here, about faith
And the example that Paul’s life presents to all people
Follows a harder to easier paragadim
If God’s grace could change this man, if he could have faith
Then it’s possible for anyone to believe, no one is too far gone
Paul’s life is a testimony to God’s powerful work
And Paul describes God’s immense patience
God patiently waits for sinners to turn to him in faith, to believe
To trust that He is for them and not against them
And when people make that turn towards the only one God
Then the praise, honour and glory are all His
Because we can’t turn to God until we realise how broken we are
No strength in God until we realise how weak we are without Him
And this is what Paul wants to remind Timothy of
18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well,
Paul’s testimony is to be an encouragement to Timothy
That God’s mercy and grace that strengthened & appointed Paul
Will hold Timothy well for his appointment also
Pauls validation of Timothy isn’t isolated but in line with prophecies made about him earlier, others also seeing God at work in Timothy
This encouragement comes in battle terminology
A troop entering conflict, encouragement and warning also
19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
Paul encourages Timothy to hold a good conscience
Which his opponents we later find in 4:2 have seared their own
Internal compromise eventually manifests outwardly
Timothy must hold onto his faith, to manifest a good conscience
which will translate into outward behaviour
Paul contrasts that with a couple of people he names
Those who’ve acted in ways that show a destruction of their faith
People whom he describes as being handed over to Satan in v20
Which I take as describing their excommunication from the church,
A response to their false teaching and desire to do what they want
Was to expel them from the church community
Now again this sounds a bit harsh and quite intense
But the purpose here is love
Love for God that His church maintains integrity
Love for these wandering souls, that they might return to Him
By expelling them there’s no chance of confusion
The expulsion from the church is the last resort
And it’s not a slam the door and never come back
But rather to be done out of care, as a warning sign
They’ve wandered from pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith
The aim of expulsion isn’t annihilation but restoration
Restoration that comes with a right perspective of God
A right perspective of where we stand before God
What How WHY
So….. What God is building
Faith and love in individuals
Strength that is found in acknowledgement of weakness
The strength of God’s church is found in vulnerable people
People desperately aware of their need for God
Because this is how God builds His community
Building by grace and mercy
The giving of forgiveness the withholding of judgement
Individuals receiving and being strengthened by grace and mercy
That’s what should characterise a strong church
Openness about failings and inadequacy without despair
Security not in self esteem but in personal salvation
Strength that comes from the outside in
Individuals and a community recognising their need for God
And then receiving what God provides
The church is strengthened as we permeate that
Not being scared to either admit vulnerability or receive God’s gift
Not denying sin, but also not accepting it
Not downplaying grace or abusing grace
Not claiming to deserve mercy or discounting our need for it
Why God is strengthening HIs church this way
Because He is patient.
He wants us to engage with the building project
God builds strength in relationship with us
Like a parent building a tree house with a child
Rather than just building it for them
God is strengthening His church this way
So that we’re engaged and deliver honour and glory.
We’ll do that as we realise the degree of our weakness
And the extent of HIs love and power
