***** 1 timothy 1:12-14

1 Timothy 1:12–14 (NRSV)

12 I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

The man of God gets wound up thinking about the grace and glory of God. Paul is instructing young Timothy on the proper use of God’s law that is given to show sinners their sin and reveal their need for the Savior. In verse 11 Paul had reminded young Timothy that the gospel has been entrusted to us and we must never abuse the gospel or misuse the gospel in any way. The Holy Spirit of God inspires Paul to give thanks to God right in the middle of his sermon. There is never a bad time to praise God. We are directed to give thanks to God for Who He is and for what He has done! Christian’s should be the most thankful people in all the world. People should daily hear thanksgiving from our lips and see thanks living in our lives.

Praise and adoration should flow from our lips because it has filled our hearts. I tell you why there is not more praise in church and with the people of God! We are not thankful for Jesus and what He has done! God not only desires our praise and thanksgiving, but God deserves our praise and thanksgiving. The apostle Paul gave young Timothy and the church a great example of praise and thanks that we should learn from and follow! Paul had joy in his heart and praise for his Father!

Paul declared his thanks to the Christ and his testimony to the church. Christian’s are to give God thanks always. I want to challenge the people of God to daily and diligently live lives of thanksgiving, sing songs of thanksgiving, and give words of thanksgiving to Jesus Christ our Lord. Are we a thankful people? Does thanksgiving permeate our lives? Does your life show that you are grateful and thankful for the Savior and salvation? This passage gives us some reasons that God should be thanked.

I. The praise given to God. (12–13)

A. Because He has enabled us. (12)

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,”

Paul was in a sense of awe for what God had done for him. Paul knew how to direct his praises and to Whom he should direct his praises. The Lord deserves our praise and thanksgiving because Jesus has enabled us. Notice, Paul says that he thanks Christ Jesus our Lord! From that use of “I” we can deduct that thanksgiving and praise is personal! You cannot praise the Lord for me and thank the Lord for me and I cannot praise the Lord and thank the Lord for you. But when a child of God filled with the Spirit of God will give thanks to God others are encouraged and helped! Paul’s thanks to Jesus would have encouraged Timothy and it has encouraged so many saints down through the years. That is why it is so important for you and I to give Jesus Christ thanks.

Paul had personal and purposeful praise and thanks for the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank: charis, khar’-ece; the word means “grace, kindness, favor.” This word used here means “to have constant gratitude to.” The words “I thank” are literally translated, “gratitude I am having.” The present tense of the word tells us that praise and thanksgiving must be ongoing and not something that we use to do! D. Edmond Hiebert wrote, “It is not a passing expression of thanks but the revelation of a constant attitude of gratitude.” How is your attitude? Do you have constant gratitude toward Jesus? Paul had personal, purposeful, and pointed praise and thanksgiving? He gave thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord! Paul recognized that Jesus was Timothy’s Lord as well as his. God receives His praise when Jesus Christ is magnified and glorified.

Paul gave the Lord Jesus thanks because He enabled Paul to do what he did! Paul recognized that he could do nothing in and of himself. God has enabled those who belong to Him to bring praise to Him. Enabled: endunamoo, en-doo-nam-o’-o; from Greek (en) and Greek (dunamoo); to empower enable, (increase in) strength (-en), be (make) strong. The verb form means “to cloth with or furnish with.” This word is in the aorist tense in the Greek language which indicates that Paul is pointing back to the time when he received the strength that was imparted to him by the Lord Jesus. The same root word was used of Jesus when He told the disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. When the Holy Spirit came upon them they were clothed with and furnished with power to serve Jesus.

Warren Wiersbe wrote, “God not only entrusted the Gospel to Paul, but He enabled Paul to minister that Gospel. When someone obeys God’s call to serve, God always equips and enables that person.”

Whatever we do may we do it for the glory of God and the praise of the Lord Jesus Christ! Serving in Nursery! Preaching the gospel! Vacation Bible School! Giving of our time, talents, and our treasures! God gets the thanks because He has enabled us! William Barclay said, “Paul had long since discovered that Jesus Christ never gives anyone a task to do without also giving the power to do it. Paul would have never said: ‘See what I have done,’ but always ‘See what Jesus Christ has enabled me to do.’ No one is good enough, or strong enough, or pure enough, or wise enough to be the servant of Christ. But, if we give ourselves to Christ, we will go forward not in our own strength but in the strength of our Lord.” Are you thankful that God has enabled you?

We are to thank Him because He has enabled us.

We also learn that we are to thank Him:

B. Because He has entrusted us. (12b)

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,”

We are to give thanks to Jesus because He has enabled us and He has entrusted us. Paul declares to Timothy that it was Jesus that entrusted him to serve. Counted: hegeomai, hayg-eh’-om-ahee; to lead, i.e. command (with official authority); figurative to deem, i.e. consider:—account, (be) chief, count, esteem, governor, judge, have the rule over, suppose, think. This word means “to consider carefully a course of action and to take into account the various issues at stake.”

Psalm 8:4–5 says, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.” David recognized that God had entrusted him with dominion over creation.

Paul recognized that God had entrusted him with duty in the church. Paul thanked God because He counted him faithful! Faithful: pistos, pis-tos’; from Greek (peitho); object trustworthy; subject trustful:—believe (-ing, -r), faithful (-ly), sure, true. The Lord Jesus counted Paul faithful or trustworthy! Are we trustworthy? Can the Lord count on you to do what you say you will do? What a testimony it is to be counted faithful by the Lord Jesus! The Lord is the One who places us in places of service and positions of service. We must seek to do the Lord’s work where He places us with the power that He gives to do His work. We ought to thank the Lord that He uses us in His service.

Ministry: service (especially of the Christian teacher)

This word refers to service of any kind with the thought of carrying out the commands of another. It is a great privilege to be entrusted and counted trustworthy by our Lord Jesus. This speaks of our devotion, surrender, and commitment to the Lord Jesus and His work. The Lord is all knowing so He knows who He can and cannot entrust with His service.

“Whenever anyone believes in the Lord Jesus Christ God saves him. And He saves us in order that we may serve Him.”

After working for my dad for sometime at the restaurant he began to give me more responsibility. He trained me to order the food and to close the restaurant, manage the restaurant, and count the money. He gave me some responsibilities to look after the employees and take care of the customers. I remember how I felt knowing my dad had entrusted me with the responsibilities of running the restaurant at nights. My dad would be at home and he would call and check on me from time to time and I always knew that if I ever needed help I could call on my dad.

In the service of the Lord we know that our Father has entrusted us with the responsibility of working with and for Him for His glory. He keeps His eyes on us and He checks in on us and we must always know that whenever we need Him all we have to do is call on our Father.

We are to give Him thanks because He has enabled us and He has entrusted us

We also learn that we are to give Him thanks:

C. Because He has excused us. (13)

1. Paul recalled his past condition. (13)

“although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.”

Paul reminds Timothy of his past condition and in doing so he finds reason to thank the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul is magnifying the fact that God has enabled him, entrusted him, and that God has excused him. Paul recalls his past condition as a lost man and living in direct opposition to God.

Formerly:

Notice: Paul says he was formerly these things! He no more was because Jesus saved Hi and changed him. Every born again Christian has a testimony of our former life. Every Christian has been saved by Jesus and changed by Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Listen carefully the list of what the apostle Paul was before he came to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Paul is building on the foundation to thank God and challenge the people of God to thank God. Blasphemer:

Paul was a law breaker that took the name of the Lord in vain by his actions against the Lord Jesus and His church. Thank God He saves blasphemers! Persecutor:

Paul is testifying about his former condition as a wicked and rebellious sinner. He had listed a long list of sinners for who the law was made for and he proceeds to tell Timothy and the church that he is not above those who had broken the law.

Paul is in 1 Timothy confirming what the Book of Acts records about him. Acts 9:1–2 says, “Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”

Paul in his letter to the Corinthians again confirms that he was a persecutor of the church. 1 Corinthians 15:9 says, “For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” Paul was one who tried to use physical power to destroy the church. He persecuted Jesus before he was saved.

Acts 9:3–5, it says that , “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

Paul also recalls that he was an insolent man. Insolent: an insulter, despiteful,

This word denotes insolent wrongdoing for the sheer pleasure of inflicting pain on others. Paul was a headhunter or a bully and he used his position and authority in the Jewish religious system to persecute and inflict pain on the people of God.

Paul recalls his past condition as a blasphemer, persecutor, and an insolent man.

And you know church, It is good and healthy for us to remember our past condition without Jesus Christ. It will help us to give Him praise and thanks and live faithfully for the One who died for us. When is the last time you have genuinely remember your life without Jesus? John Newton was one of the greatest preachers and hymn writers of the 18th century. We still sing his hymn “Amazing Grace.” John Newton was a wretched man and a blasphemer and ungodly man. His story is that he sank to the depths of sin as he sailed the seas in a slave-trader’s ship. When John Newton met Jesus Christ and was born again he later became a preacher of the gospel that he once mocked at!

John Newton wrote a text in great letters and fastened them above a mantelpiece of his study where he could not fail to see it everyday. The words of the text were: “Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt and the Lord thy God redeemed thee.” Later in life John Newton also composed his own epitaph which read: “John Newton, Clerk, once an Infidel and Libertine, a Servant of Slaves in Africa, was, by the Mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Preserved, Restored, Pardoned, and Appointed to Preach the Faith he had so long labored to destroy.”

John Newton never forgot who he was before he came to faith in Jesus Christ. Some of you today need to revisit and recall who you were and where you were heading without Jesus.

Paul recalled his past condition! When we recall our past condition we do not need to be hindered or depressed by it, but it should help us praise the Lord Jesus for His work of grace in us. It’ll help us to thank the Lord Jesus when we remember our past condition and from where He’s brought us from.

It is good to recall our past condition and realize that with out Jesus we would still be heading for hell. Thanks be to God for the Lord Jesus Christ!

Paul recalled his past condition.

We also see in verse 13:

2. Paul rejoiced in his present condition. (13b)

“but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.”

Paul thanked God that though he was a blasphemer, persecutor, and an insolent man, he obtained mercy. Paul reminds Timothy, that we all have reason to praise Jesus and give Him thanks. In spite of all of Paul’s sins he still obtained mercy from the Lord.

Warren Wiersbe has well said, “God in His mercy did not give Paul what he did deserve; instead God in His grace gave Paul what he did not deserve.” Paul rejoiced in the fact that he had obtained mercy. Obtained mercy: to compassionate

This verb in the Greek language is passive and literally means “I was mercied.” We had nothing at all to do with obtaining mercy. We were and never will be good enough. We do not deserve mercy, but judgment! Thank God for His mercy! Thank God for His undeserved, unmerited, and unlimited mercy! When we obtained mercy it means that God will not judge us for our sins. The punishment of our sins was judged on Calvary on the Lord Jesus Christ.

As believers, we have a hope that as our strength fails, Christ reminds us of His care. The world and Satan have an unruly kingdom which to be followed will mean certain separation from God. But to be enlisted in God’s army, is to know the joy of His merciful care for us.

We have obtained God’s great mercy and that should make us thank Him everyday!

Paul rejoiced in his present condition. At one time he was under the judgment of God and now he is under the mercy of God. Paul goes on to tell us that he acted the way he did because of ignorance and unbelief.

Ignorantly:

Paul is not justifying himself here. He did not have the light and Paul thought that he was doing God a service in persecuting the church.

But When Jesus confronted Paul, on the road to Damascus Paul responded by faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. He believed and received once he was confronted by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ignorance and unbelief is no excuse before God. He expects us to repent and trust in Jesus just as Paul did.

See, Many of us have done ignorant things in the past, but none of us can refuse to believe in Jesus because of ignorance. We have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, felt the convicting and drawing of the Holy Spirit, and have had the opportunity to respond.

John Phillips wrote, “Ignorance is not a valid plea in a court of law, but under grace it is weighed and accepted as a reasonable excuse when it is offered along with a repentant, broken heart.”

We are to give God thanks because He has excused us from the penalty of sin. He has pardoned us as we have trusted in Jesus Christ the Lord. Paul recalled his past condition and that caused him to rejoice in his present condition.

We ought to give thanks to Jesus everyday for salvation full and free!

In verses 12–13 we’ve seen the praise give to God. In verse 14 we see:

II. The provision given by God. (14)

A. The bounty of the provision. (14a)

“And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”

Paul gives thanks to God for His marvelous matchless grace. God’s grace had reached down and saved Paul. He had a reason to praise the Lord. God has given to us a provision of grace. Mercy is not getting what we deserve and grace is getting what we do not deserve. We do not deserve forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God, eternal life in heaven, a relationship with Jesus.

Paul magnifies the sufficiency of God’s grace. His grace is more than enough! It is more than adequate for any sinner at any time. Exceedingly abundant:

The Bible says it was not just a measure of grace; it was exceedingly abundant grace. His grace is beyond measure. We cannot fathom it, but we thank God for it.

Paul never got over being saved! He gave thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord for His superabundant grace.

John MacArthur wrote, “The grace of God is powerful enough to redeem the worst sinner who is willing to repent.” The grace of God is sufficient.

And I want to make this clear today that no matter what sin you have committed or living in the grace of God is greater than all our sin. The Lord Jesus can save the worst of sinners. God has made perfect provision for all sin of all time as He gave His only begotten Son to die on the cross.

John 3:16 (NRSV)

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

The Lord’s grace is sufficient; it’s exceedingly abundant. We have noticed the bounty of the provision and in the last part of verse 14 we see:

B. The by-products of the provision. (14b)

“with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”

God provides us superabundant grace for forgiveness and the faith and love to live by. Paul says that faith and love are byproducts of experiencing the grace of God. The exceedingly abundant grace of our Lord will produce faith and love from God’s people. When a person trusts in the Lord Jesus they receive the bountiful grace of God and are born again into the family of God. Faith and love are characteristics of true children of God. We live by faith and we walk by faith; we talk by faith because we are in Christ Jesus.

You cannot be in Christ Jesus without faith in Christ Jesus. We have the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

Love:

We are to give God thanks for His provision of grace, faith, and love which are in Christ Jesus our Lord. When is the last time that you really gave God heartfelt thanks for Christ Jesus?

May the people of God in the house of God be a thankful people!

Paul was thankful and he praised the Lord for His provision. God had enabled Paul, entrusted Paul, and excused Paul!

Just like Paul, Paul recalled his past condition! Some of you today need to remember and recall what you were and where you were without Jesus! Paul rejoiced in his present condition. He had obtained mercy!

We need today to rejoice that we have obtained mercy. God help us to worship Him, witness for Him, and work for Him because we have obtained mercy! Thanks be to God! We need to give thanks to God!