2 Timothy 1.11-The Gospel was the Purpose for which Paul was Appointed a Herald, an Apostle and Teacher
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday March 3, 2015
Second Timothy: Second Timothy 1:11-The Gospel was the Purpose for which Paul was Appointed a Herald, an Apostle and Teacher
Lesson # 16
2 Timothy 1:3 I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day, 4 longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity 10 but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. (NASB95)
“For which” is composed of the preposition eis (εἰς), “for” and the relative pronoun hos (ὅς), “which.”
The relative pronoun hos means “which” and refers to the genitive neuter singular form of the noun euangelion (εὐαγγέλιον), “the gospel,” which appears at the very end of verse 10 which is indicated by the fact that the former agrees with the latter in gender (neuter) and number (singular).
This relative pronoun is the object of the preposition eis which functions as a marker of purpose meaning that it is marking the gospel as the purpose for which the apostle Paul was appointed by God, thus, the gospel was the purpose for which Paul was appointed by God as a herald, an apostle and teacher.
“I was appointed” is composed of the following: (1) verb tithemi (τίθημι), “was appointed” (4) pronoun ego (ἐγώ), “I.”
The personal pronoun ego, “I” refers of course to Paul and is used for emphasis by Paul because he wants to remind Timothy that despite his imprisonment, he is doing the will of God.
The verb tithemi means “to appoint” in the sense of assigning someone to a particular task, role or function in life and is used here of the Lord Jesus Christ appointing Paul to be a herald, an apostle and teacher of the gospel and this appointment originated with the Father in eternity past.
“A preacher” is the noun kērux (κῆρυξ), which speaks of Paul’s ministry as that of being a herald of Jesus Christ and in relation to the unsaved since didaskalos is used exclusively by Paul in his writings of a gift given to the church (1 Corinthians 12:28, 29; Ephesians 4:11).
“An apostle” is the noun apostolos (ἀπόστολος), which refers to the office of an apostle, which was given by the Lord Jesus Christ to only thirteen men and refers to the temporary spiritual gift of apostleship that held maximum authority in the church.
“A teacher” is the noun didaskalos (διδάσκαλος), which describes Paul’s ministry as that of educating Christians through communication of the Word of God regarding the character and nature of the Lord and His ways and will.
Second Timothy 1:3 I make it my habit of expressing gratitude to God (the Father), whom I make it a habit of serving with a clear conscience as the forefathers, when I always make it my habit of bringing you into remembrance during my intercessory prayer requests during the day as well as during the night. 4 Consequently, I greatly desire to see you when I remember your tears in order that I would become filled with joy. 5 I make it my habit of expressing gratitude to God (the Father) because I have clung to the memory of your sincere faith which first lived in your grandmother Lois as well as in your mother Eunice. Indeed, I am convinced that it lives in you. 6 For this reason, I want to cause you, at this particular time, to remember to continue making it your habit of exercising with enthusiasm the spiritual gift originating from God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God (the Father) by no means gave each and every one of us a Spirit who produces cowardice but rather power as well as divine-love and in addition self-discipline. 8 Therefore, do not permit yourself to be ashamed of the Lord’s testimony or me, His prisoner but rather I solemnly urge you to accept your share of suffering for sake of the gospel in accordance with the power produced by God. 9 The one who saved each and every one of us. Indeed, the one who effectually called each and every one of us by means of an invitation to privilege which is holy. Never because of our meritorious actions but rather because of His own gracious predetermined plan which was brought into existence for the benefit of each and every one of us in association with the Christ who is Jesus before eternal ages. 10 But now has been revealed by means of the appearing of our Savior, Jesus, who is the Christ. On the one hand, He broke the power of (eternal) death while on the other hand He made fully known (eternal) life by revealing it as well as immortality through the proclamation of the gospel 11 for which I myself was appointed a herald as well as an apostle and in addition a teacher. (My translation)
The apostle Paul declares that the proclamation of the gospel was the purpose for which the Lord Jesus Christ appointed him as a herald, an apostle and teacher.
That the Lord Jesus Christ personally appointed him is clearly indicated by Paul’s statement in First Timothy 1:12.
First Timothy 1:12 I continually possess gratitude to the One who empowered me, namely Christ, who is Jesus, our Lord because He considered me for Himself as faithful by appointing me for Himself for the purpose of service. (Author’s translation)
Here in Second Timothy 1:11, Paul emphasizes that he was appointed by the Lord to be a herald, an apostle and a teacher because he wanted to remind Timothy and all the churches in Asia that despite his imprisonment, he was doing the will of God.
The reason for such an emphasis is that Paul wants to reassure Timothy and all the churches in Asia that his imprisonment on behalf of the gospel is according to the will of God or in other words, when he was arrested, he was fulfilling the purpose for which God appointed him a herald, an apostle and a teacher of the gospel.
Paul mentions in 2 Timothy 1:15 two Christians who defected from his teaching and abandoned him, namely Phygelus and Hermogenes.
Thus, Paul is concerned about the pressure on Timothy and others to abandon him as well which would be tantamount to abandoning the Lord since it was the Lord who appointed him to serve them as a herald, an apostle and as a teacher.
So Paul’s statement in Second Timothy 1:11 is designed to encourage Timothy and other Christians to remain faithful to his apostolic teaching and to him personally.
Like First Timothy 2:7, the apostle Paul in Second Timothy 1:11 describes his ministry for the Lord from different perspectives.
In both verses, the noun kerux, “herald” speaks of Paul’s ministry as that of being a herald of Jesus Christ whereas apostolos, “apostle” speaks of his ministry from the perspective that he is an authoritative spokesman and witness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The noun didaskalos, “teacher” describes his ministry as that of educating Christians through the Word of God.
The term kerux, “herald” speaks of Paul’s ministry in relation to the unsaved since didaskalos, “teacher” is used exclusively by Paul in his writings of a gift given to the church (1 Corinthians 12:28, 29; Ephesians 4:11) and this would indicate a contrast with kerux, implying that the word is used in relation to the unsaved.
Apostolos, “apostle” combines the two ideas emphasizing that Paul is the Lord Jesus Christ’s authoritative messenger to both the unsaved and the saved.
So the noun kērux denotes that the apostle Paul was appointed by the Lord Jesus Christ as His messenger or envoy to proclaim the gospel to sinful humanity and denotes that he was simply a messenger of Jesus Christ who was his sovereign authority.
It also indicates that Paul’s gospel message (Romans 1:16) was absolutely essential for the unsaved since faith in the message would save them from sin, Satan and his cosmic system, spiritual and physical death, personal sins, the sin nature, condemnation from the Law and eternal condemnation.
It indicates that Paul was commissioned by the Lord to deliver the gospel message and nothing else and means that Paul stuck exactly to the words given to him by the Lord and the orders of his master, Jesus Christ.
This word also indicates that Paul was under the protection of the Lord Jesus Christ, his sovereign and in fact, any action taken against Paul would bring down the wrath of the Lord since the former is under His protection.
The term apostolos, “apostle” refers to the temporary spiritual gift of apostleship that held maximum authority in the church.
This gift was given to only twelve men and existed exclusively during the pre-canon period of the church age and is no longer existent today since all twelve men have died and went home to be with the Lord (See Matthew 10:2-4).
The twelve men who were selected by the Lord Jesus Christ to the office of apostle were Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, Simon the Canaanite, James, the son of Alphaeus, not the lesser, Thaddaeus, also called Jude, and Saul of Tarsus, also known as Paul.
The office and spiritual gift of apostleship was not appointed until after the resurrection and ascension and session of the Lord Jesus Christ (See Ephesians 4:1-16).
Distribution of spiritual gifts was authorized by the Lord Jesus Christ as a result of His death, resurrection, ascension and session, however, the actual appointment of the spiritual gift of apostleship was made by God the Holy Spirit according 1 Corinthians 12:11.
Paul was personally commissioned by the resurrected Christ to be the apostle to the Gentiles (See Acts 9:15; 22:21; Romans 11:13; 15:16; Galatians 1:15-16; 2:2, 7-9; Ephesians 3:1; 1 Timothy 2:7).
The noun didaskalos, “teacher” describes Paul’s ministry as that of educating Christians through communication of the Word of God regarding the character and nature of the Lord and His ways and will.
That the word is being used with reference to Paul’s ministry to believers is indicated not only by the word’s use in the New Testament, which we noted above but also it is used exclusively by Paul in his writings of a gift given to the church (1 Corinthians 12:28, 29; Ephesians 4:11).