Reminder: This is probably the last of Paul’s writings chronologically. Again, Timothy is in Ephesus as the resident Apostle. Any day now a large number of folks from Jerusalem will come streaming into the area, fleeing a Jewish rebellion in Jerusalem against Rome. But Paul is back in Roman custody, and this time it’s a far less privileged situation. Instead of house arrest, Paul is actually in prison. And this time it wasn’t an imperial courtesy to the Sanhedrin, but a rising intolerance of Rome itself for Christian religion. If anything, Paul’s first passage through the imperial courts marked him as the leading representative of Christian leadership; they didn’t forget.
At first glance, it would not appear that the first chapter offers any doctrinal statement. However, Paul reaffirms divine election in a way that most people don’t catch. Aside from the formulaic greeting in the first few verses, Paul appeals to his successor Timothy to remain faithful despite the dire news of Paul’s situation.
Some ambitious souls in the Christian community there in Ephesus used news of Paul’s second arrest as an excuse to discredit him and reassert their own agendas. We could guess that there was still a lot of pressure from Judaizers on one side, and pagans on the other, not to mention the nascent Gnostics. At any rate, there’s no doubt the heat is on Timothy, so Paul encourages him to stand strong.
Then, in verse 9 Paul rests his appeal on the sheer trustworthiness of divine election. If God has called us, He will ensure we do not fail His mission. Most western minds approach the whole question of election from the wrong direction. They look for a discussion of individual salvation as the whole matter. While that concept is included, Paul is clearly influenced by the broader Hebrew concept of election, which emphasizes the whole question of human existence.
Paul repeatedly wrote about the Mystery of the Gospel. It’s a complex teaching that assumes we exist to prove God is just in His discipline of Satan and various powers in the Spirit Realm. Humanity is not at all the center of Creation; we are at best accessories after the fact. The whole point of divine election is not us, but His reputation among a host of beings far above our level, and not just angels.
This is good news. He needs us to make His case, so He’s determined not to let us fail. All we really need to do is hang on for the ride and we’ll experience joy unspeakable in this life. His glory is always in our best interest. For Timothy, all it requires is the resolve to cling to what Paul has taught him and see the hand of God smash those who, knowingly or not, serve His enemy’s purposes.
Of course, it also means eternal glory with Him, but there’s an awful lot of glory going on in the here and now. On the one hand, Paul mentions two fellows embarrassing the Lord, but then praises Onesiphorus, who crawled through the Roman prison system to find Paul and do what he could for him. Should we imagine that Onesiphorus found it drudgery? No, this man was full of joy unspeakable, too.
Election is our confidence to fight and not surrender to the enemies of God.
