PAUL – WHO I BELIEVE IS THE GREATEST CHRISTIAN IN THE BIBLE!
John the Baptist the greatest (Matt 11:11).
But not in HALL OF FAME in Hebrews 11
Who was? Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel “& the prophets”
Jesus also mentioned Daniel, Jonah & Lot (plus) Abraham and Moses. And continually quoted the Law & Prophets
INTERESTINGLY NO ONE FROM THE N.T.
WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE?
My favourite is The Great Apostle Paul!
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith” (Philippians 3: 4-9).
Paul’s list of sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 – “. . . in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. 24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness”.
2 Corinthians is the fourth book Paul wrote. It was written from Macedonia in the autumn of 57 A.D. during his third missionary journey. It is believed that Paul’s conversion occurred in 36 A.D. and his death in Rome in 68 A.D. That would indicate a ministry of some 32 years. Since 2 Corinthians was written in 57 A.D. and recorded sufferings Paul had endured up to the time of the writing, the list would encompass the first 21 years of Paul’s 32-year ministry, but would not include the last 11 years of his life and work.
PAUL (formerly SAUL):
Born AD5 Tarsus a Roman city in S.Turkey
A Tentmaker by trade (Acts 18 : 1-3)
Converted AD36 Road To Damascus Syria
Saw Jesus then &also again in 1 Cor 15:8
Aged 30 at conversion – 32 year ministry
Executed Martyred Rome AD 68 aged 62
Wrote 14 epistles (all ending with “grace”)
21 epistles in NT but Peter, James, John & Jude shared 7 - Paul had 14 to himself!!
NOT PERFECT – He rowed with his great friend Barnabas in Acts 15:36-41 – so badly they never met again HOW SAD!!
COULD NOT ALWAYS HEAL such as Trophimus (2 Tim 4:20), Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:27), Timothy (1 Tim 5:23), and also himself (2 Cor 12: 7-9)
“My grace is sufficient for thee for my power is made perfect in WEAKNESS ” (vs 9) was always Paul’s watchword and he concluded all his 14 epistles with salutations of “grace”.
Paul wrote his last 7 epistles from a Roman prison in his final two years before his decapitation (same as John The Baptist) in AD67.
He died a martyr and thankfully was spared hearing of the destruction of Jerusalem’s Temple in AD70.
To me, these last 7 letters are my pinnacle of the NT (Eph, Phil, Col, 1 &2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon). In them we get such gems as:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence” (Eph 1: 3-4).
“And God has raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6).
“You have become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Eph 2: 21-22). PARADISE RESTORED AS WHEN JESUS WALKED IN THE GARDEN WITH ADAM AND EVE!
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Phil 1: 21-23).
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness” (Col 2: 9-10)
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col 2: 14-17).
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col 3: 1-4).
FINISH WITH PAUL TO TIMOTHY
For the final section of this study I want to concentrate on Paul’s letters to Timothy, who he described as:
“My dear son in the faith” (1 Tim 1:2),
and also “I have no one like Timothy” (Phil 2:20).
In fact Paul mentions Timothy in no less than 6 of his epistles!
There is no doubt that Paul loved Timothy very much, like the son he never had.
Timothy was a teenager when he met Paul. His family lived in Lystra so he was a Galatian. His father was a Greek man; we know nothing of his faith. But, Timothy’s mom and grandmother were faithful Jewish women who taught the Old Testament scriptures to this boy they loved so much (Acts 16:1; 2 Timothy 1:5).
As the women heard Paul preach, they believed in Jesus, and so did Timothy. Timothy probably watched as an angry mob threw stones at Paul and left him for dead (Acts 14:8-20).
Yet, he also knew Paul survived. When Paul came back to Lystra a couple of years later on his second journey, Paul invited Timothy to travel with him.
Timothy helped Paul to establish churches at Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea (Acts 16:1 – 17:14). When Paul left Berea to go to Athens he left Timothy and Silas behind, but later sent word for them to join him (Acts 17:13-15). Timothy was sent to Thessalonica to strengthen the faith of believers there (1 Thessalonians 3:1-2).
Timothy was a trustworthy friend who carried money collected by the Philippian church to care for Paul’s needs in Corinth. During the 3 years Paul was in Ephesus teaching them about the amazing power of God, Timothy was there, too.
When Paul was first imprisoned in Rome for two years, Timothy was right alongside him much of the time unselfishly taking care of Paul’s needs. By now, Timothy was a young man of about 30 who for at least 13 years had been learning how to teach about Jesus and serve God’s people well as he watched Paul do it. Paul thought of Timothy not only as a very faithful friend but also as his spiritual son.
After Paul’s release from prison in Rome, Timothy and Paul travelled to visit friends in the churches they had founded. When they got to Ephesus, Paul recognised some men in the church were teaching error about Jesus saying that Jesus could not have been a man and God at the same time.
Paul wanted to go on to visit his friends in Macedonia, but he didn’t want to leave the Ephesian church in turmoil. So, he left Timothy to teach truth to the church there while Paul went on to Macedonia.
As an “apostolic representative, Timothy had the authority to order worship (1 Timothy 2:1-15) and appoint elders and deacons (1 Timothy 3:1-3). Paul thought he’d get back to Ephesus soon, but that didn’t happen. He was concerned about what was going on in Ephesus, so he wrote Timothy the letter called 1st Timothy around AD 64 from Rome or Macedonia.
Six of Paul’s epistles include Timothy in the salutations. The most tender and moving of Paul’s letters was his last one to Timothy. He was a prisoner in a Roman dungeon when he wrote 2 Timothy, approximately AD 67.
He knew he had a short time to live, so the letter is his spiritual last will and testament – his “dying wish” – to encourage Timothy and to request that Timothy join him during his final days of imprisonment (2 Timothy 1:4; 4:9, 21).
However, Timothy was a sickly young man and Paul encouraged him to drink some wine because of his stomach problems and his other frequent illnesses (1 Tim 5: 23).
He also wavered in his faith at times and Paul encouraged him to fan into flames the gift Paul had given him by the laying on of his hands and to cease from being timid in the Lord (2 Tim 1: 6-7).
Timothy had a hesitant reserved personality, and realising this, Paul directed Tim to be spiritually strong in the grace of God (2 Tim 2:1).
He also urged him to “flee from youthful lusts” (2 Tim 2:22), but we are sure what these were?
Because of these admonishments by the Apostle, I used to think that Timothy was a weak individual who never completed his course in the Lord?
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
How wrong I was!
That Timothy was jailed at least once in his life is confirmed for us in Heb 13:23.
And later when he saw Paul and Peter being executed by the monster NERO, he must have taken spiritual strength from the Christian battle FOR HE WENT FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH!!
Timothy was around 51 at the time of Paul’s martyrdom, but he spent a further 29 years in Christian ministry rising to the pinnacle of becoming the first Bishop of Ephesus, before he too was beaten to his eventual death aged 80, as recorded:
According to Fox’s Book of Martyrs, Timothy remained in Ephesus until AD 97. During a pagan celebration of a feast in the city, Timothy severely reproved the people in the procession for their ridiculous idolatry. This antagonised the partygoers who beat him with clubs “in so dreadful a manner that he expired of the bruises two days later.”
The apocryphal Acts of Timothy states that in the year AD97, the 80-year-old bishop tried to halt a procession in honour of the goddess Diana by preaching the gospel. The angry pagans beat him, dragged him through the streets, and stoned him to death.
CLOSE BY READING 2 TIM CHAPTERS 3 & 4 AS FOLLOWS:
2 Tim 3 (NIV) ”But mark this: There will be terrible times in the LASTDAYS. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.
10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Tim 4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Personal Remarks
9 Do your best to come to me quickly, 10 for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 12 I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
14 Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15 You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
16 At my first defence, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
19 Greet Priscilla[a] and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus.20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. 21 Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers and sisters.[b]
22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all.
Maranatha Blessings,
Nev. 
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