The Spirit of...

Wolf eels, which grow to be approximately six feet long, live in the cold waters of the northern Pacific Ocean in rocky dens on the sea floor. They have large, almost human-size eyes and formidable teeth, which give them a fierce appearance.

It is no wonder that for years, many marine scientists and divers believed them to be predatory and vicious. A recent discovery, however, has debunked that myth forever. Wolf eels actually use their long, sharp teeth to crack the shells of mollusks in order to get the meat inside. They do not bother humans at all. In fact, they are so docile that some have even played with the divers who studied them.

Something that looked fearful turned out not to be worthy of fear at all. Appearances can be deceiving, especially in spiritual matters. Peter was fine until he put his eyes on the waves at his feet and allowed the seeming impossibility of walking on water to rule his belief.

1 Charles F. Stanley, On Holy Ground (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999), 9.

Fear of what might be is crippling believers today. What of COVID? What of BLM? What of the elections?

In his second letter to preacher boy, Timothy, the Apostle Paul spends some time encouraging him to step up to the battle of truth to which he was called. In our passage this evening, we find Paul talking about Timothy’s disposition. The term “spirit of” was not talking about a living spiritual entity, but rather a mindset. God has equipped the believer with truth and fruits of the Holy Spirit. He no longer needs to have the spirit of fear or a disposition of fear. In Christ the believer has the spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind.

Believers are not Given the Spirit of Fear

2 Timothy 1:7 KJV

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

The word “spirit,” used with “fear,” is best understood as referring to a disposition of the mind, thus, a spirit of fear. “Fear” is deilia (δειλια), “fearfulness, timidity.” 1

1 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 118–119.

Romans 8:15 KJV

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

He was a professional thief. His name stirred fear as the desert wind stirs tumbleweeds. He terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line for thirteen years, roaring like a tornado in and out of the Sierra Nevada’s, spooking the most rugged frontiersmen. In journals from San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the danger of the frontier.

During his reign of terror between 1875 and 1883, he is credited with stealing the bags and the breath away from twenty-nine different stagecoach crews. And he did it all without firing a shot.

His weapon was his reputation. His ammunition was intimidation.

A hood hid his face. No victim ever saw him. No artist ever sketched his features. No sheriff could ever track his trail. He never fired a shot or took a hostage.

He didn’t have to. His presence was enough to paralyze.

Black Bart. A hooded bandit armed with a deadly weapon. What was his deadly weapon? One word, it was FEAR!

Fear has prevented many Christians from experiencing the blissful happiness that Jesus is defining in the beatitudes. Fear of death, fear of failure, fear of God, fear of tomorrow – and the list goes on and on. Fear’s goal is to create a cowardly, joyless soul. He wants you to take your eyes off the mountain peak and settle for the dull existence of the flat lands.

And by the way, remember Black Bart? As it turns out, he wasn’t anything to be afraid of, either. When the hood came off, there was nothing to fear. When the authorities finally tracked down the thief, they didn’t find a bloodthirsty bandit from Death Valley; they found a mild-mannered druggist from Decatur, Illinois. The man the papers pictured storming through the mountains on horseback was, in reality, so afraid of horses he rode to and from his robberies in a buggy. He was Charles E. Boles – the bandit who never once fired a shot, because he never once loaded his gun.

Paul Harvey’s The Rest of the Story; (New York, NY: Bantam, 1977) Page 117

Believers are Given the Spirit of Power

2 Timothy 1:7 KJV

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

1. dunamis (δύναμις, 1411) is (a) “power, ability,” physical or moral, as residing in a person or thing; (b) “power in action,” as, e.g., when put forth in performing miracles. It occurs 118 times in the NT. It is sometimes used of the miracle or sign itself, the effect being put for the cause, e.g., Mark 6:5, frequently in the Gospels and Acts. In 1 Cor. 14:11 it is rendered “meaning”; “force” would be more accurate. Cf., the corresponding verbs, B, 1, 2, 3 and the adjective C. 1, below. See abundance, deed, might, power, strength, violence, virtue, work.1

1 W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996), 2.

1 Corinthians 2:4 KJV

And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

force of character, which if not natural, may be inspired by consciousness of a divine appointment,1

1 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 119.

Of power (δυνάμεως). Found in all the Pauline Epistles except Philemon. In Pastorals only here, ver. 8, and ch. 3:5. Not used by our writer in the sense of working miracles, which it sometimes has in Paul. Here, the power to overcome all obstacles and to face all dangers. It is closely linked with the sense of παρρησία boldness.1

1 Marvin Richardson Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, vol. 4 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887), 290.

The Spirit of Power that we receive is not like the human power that we recognize as strong. It’s a power unlike anything we can do on our own.

A young man growing up in the wrong part of Houston became a bully. He would get in fights in school, in the neighborhood, and began mugging people to get spending money. He even beat up people just for the sake of doing it.

He learned to box, and became pretty good at it. He began to make a lot of money and could have almost anything he wanted. One day, during his training session for an upcoming bout, he heard his mom talking to his sister on the telephone about his favorite nephew. The young boy had had a seizure and now lay in a coma in the hospital. Doctors said he would probably die, but that if he came out of the coma he wouldn’t be able to move his limbs, or speak, or do any of the human functions we consider part of living.

He ran into the room where his mom was on the phone and shouted, “Momma, call the hospital and tell those doctors to give him the best of everything. Tell them I’ll take care of all the bills, to fly in the best doctors from wherever they have to. Tell them who I am, and that I’ll take care of everything — whatever it costs.”

His mom spoke to the doctors, and then told him, “Son, you’re just going to have to pray.”

He realized then how grave the situation was. When someone tells you the only thing you can do is pray, things are looking pretty bad.

Then it hit him. All of his money, his fame, his influence, his friends — none of that could solve this problem. It was out of his hands, out of the doctor’s hands, out of everyone’s hands. For the first time, he was totally powerless.

And for the first time, George Foreman dropped to his knees and prayed.

He wasn’t sure God existed, but he knew that when all else failed, people prayed. He asked God, if he really existed, to help his nephew. Then he got back in bed. A few seconds later, he got back on his knees and offered to give up all his wealth if God would heal his nephew. Then he got back in bed again. A few seconds later he got back on his knees a third time and got angry at God for letting this happen to his nephew, a child who hadn’t experienced life yet. George told God to take his life instead. Let the boy live and take George’s life instead.

The next morning George’s sister called from the hospital. His nephew had woken up and could move his eyes, but the doctors said he wouldn’t ever walk again.

She called later that day, and the boy had begun moving his toes. The next day the boy was talking, and a week later he was on his way home, “walking, talking, and back to normal.” The doctors had no logical explanation. But George Foreman knew God had just given him a miracle.

Three months later in March 1977, George Foreman died in his locker room after fighting Jimmy Young. He collapsed in a heap, and entered what he describes as “a deep, dark void, like a bottomless pit.”

In his book, God in My Corner — A Spiritual Memoir, George wrote “I knew I was dead, and that this wasn’t heaven. I was terrified, knowing I had no way out. Sorrow beyond description engulfed my soul, more than anyone could ever imagine. If you multiplied every disturbing and frightening thought that you’ve ever had during your entire life, that wouldn’t come close to the panic I felt. …

“ I screamed with every ounce of strength in me, ‘I don’t care if this is death. I still believe in God.’

“Instantly, what seemed to be like a giant hand reached down and snatched me out of the terrifying place. Immediately, I was back inside my body in the dressing room.”

George accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and devoted himself to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. He realized his human power, his money, his prestige, were worthless in the next life, and meant to be used as tools to lead others to Jesus during this one.

He went on to win the Heavyweight Championship of the World twice. He was ordained as an evangelist in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and became pastor of a small church. He also became involved in prison and hospital ministries.

You probably know him best for the George Foreman Grills that continue to sell around the world. And he recently baptized his own 23-year-old daughter who finally decided to dedicated her own life to Jesus.

That’s God’s idea of power.

Believers Have Been Given a Spirit of Love.

2 Timothy 1:7 KJV

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Romans 15:30 KJV

Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;

The second mark of the Spirit is “love” (1:13; 2:22; 3:10; see on 1 Tim 1:5). This is one of several components characteristic of authentic Christian existence as portrayed in these letters that Timothy is especially to pursue and exhibit. It often occurs alongside “faith,” identifying the observable dimension of Christianity as service to others done in the power of the Spirit (cf. Gal 5:6; 22–23; 1 Tim 2:15 note).1

1 Philip H. Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006), 462.

1 John 4:16–19 KJV

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.

One summer night during a severe thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small son into bed. She was about to turn the light off when he asked in a trembling voice, "Mommy, will you stay with me all night?" Smiling, the mother gave him a warm, reassuring hug and said tenderly, "I can’t dear. I have to sleep in Daddy’s room." A long silence followed. At last it was broken by a shaky voice saying, "The big sissy!"

Believers Are Given the Spirit of a Sound Mind.

2 Timothy 1:7 KJV

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

88.93 σωφρονισμόςb, οῦ m; σωφροσύνηb, ης f: to behave in a sensible manner, with the implication of thoughtful awareness of what is best—‘moderation, sensibility.’

σωφρονισμόςb: πνεῦμα … ἀγάπης καὶ σωφρονισμοῦ ‘(his) Spirit … (fills us) with love and moderation’ 2 Tm 1:7. For another interpretation of σωφρονισμός in 2 Tm 1:7, see 32.34.

σωφροσύνηb: ἐν πίστει καὶ ἀγάπῃ καὶ ἁγιασμῷ μετὰ σωφροσύνης ‘in faith and love and holiness with sensibility’ 1 Tm 2:15.1

Third in the list is a quality that can be viewed from several perspectives as either “self-discipline,” “self-control,” “discretion,” “moderation,” or “prudence.” The word group to which this term belongs is also integral to the interpretation of the Christian life in these three letters, and it was a dominant feature in secular ethical thought (see 1 Tim 2:9 Excursus). It depicts the self-control over one’s actions and thoughts that prevents rash behavior and aids balanced assessment of situations. In this context, it would apply to Timothy’s appraisal of the situation of opposition and confrontation and allow him the clarity of thought necessary to trust in the invisible God despite the threats of very visible opponents.1

1 Philip H. Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006), 462.

1 Timothy 4:7 KJV

But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

Of a sound mind (σωφρονισμοῦ). N. T.o. oLXX, oClass. Not self-control, but the faculty of generating it in others or in one’s self, making them σώφρονες of sound mind. Comp. Tit. 2:4. Rend. discipline. See on σωφροσύνη, 1 Tim. 2:9.1

1 Marvin Richardson Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, vol. 4 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887), 290.

One night I was certain that I was about to become the victim of a home invasion.

Something had awakened me. I heard a strange noise and became even more alert. As I slowly looked around with my heart thumping I saw him! He was standing there looking at me. I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t think he knew I was awake, and I knew I had to act fast. I slowly tensed my muscles like coiled springs and leaped at him throwing a mighty punch!

It was amazing! I completely knocked that jacket off the chair I had thrown it on before going to bed. After I turned on the lights I felt silly.

It is amazing how our perceptions can be off. Often the things we fear might be, are nothing in reality.

We are navigating perilous times, but God has not given us a fearful disposition. He has given us a disposition that can overcome obstacles. God has given us a disposition toward love, not fear. God has given us a disposition of sober thinking. We are to be disciplined, not panicked in our responses. This is the spirit which we have been given.