Hi Y'all! I couldn't wait any longer to get started today! This is the first thing that I have found that I like so much that I do it all afternoon! What could be more time useful than reading and studying His word? Praise God!
10. But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
11. Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
12. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Verse ten starts, "but is now made manifest." What is made manifest? Well, it does not make sense if you only read verse ten. But if you read verses eight and nine first then it makes sense. Lets do a little review here, in verse eight Paul says to not be ashamed, in verse nine he is talking about Jesus saving us and calling us with a holy calling, not according to our works but by his own purpose and grace which was given to us by Christ Jesus before the world began. So then, verse ten says that it is now made manifest. What is now made manifest? The fact that God is saving us, and has called us! The next thing that Paul covers in this sentence is what it is made manifest by. "But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ." So, the fact that God is saving us and called us, is made obvious by the appearing of Jesus Christ our Savior!
What did Jesus do? And, how is it made obvious that God saved us and called us? The second part of the verse says, "who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." It says that Jesus did those things. So it is clear what Jesus accomplished by dying for us on the cross, he "abolished death," and he "brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." And now, how. How is it made obvious that God saved us and called us? Paul says the answer at the end of that verse! "...to light through the gospel." In God's word, the Bible, it is made obvious! I hope that made some sense to y'all, that was a really hard verse!
In the next verse Paul tells Timothy what he is; what he is appointed to be. Paul says, "whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles." Who appointed Paul to these positions? God or man? God. Dictionary.com defines appointed in many ways, but one is "pre-determined." So, in other words, Paul was "pre-determined" or "predestined" by God to be a preacher, apostle, and a teacher. In Acts 9:15, right after Paul's conversion, we read, "But the Lord said unto him (Ananias), Go thy way: for he (Paul) is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel." Next we are going to do some questions and answers about these three positions. Please don't read my answers until you think of yours. :)
Preacher. What is the first thing you think of when you think of a preacher? I think of the pastor of a church. Why? Because he preaches the word of God on Sunday mornings to his congregation. So, Paul was a preacher, he taught the people at the cities he went to about God.
Apostle. What is the first thing you think of when you think of an apostle? I think of the twelve disciples of Jesus. Why? The first reason is because the Bible calls them apostles; the second reason is because an apostle is someone who is sent out to preach the gospel, and the disciples went to many different cities to preach God's word. Apostle is "a title borne by persons sent on foreign missions." So really, are missionaries and apostles the same thing? No, the name missionary is given to a person who is "sent by a church into an area to carry on evangelism or other activities." (I do not fully agree with this definition, because I think that you can be sent out by God alone, for example, Corrie Ten Boom is counted as a missionary, but she was not sent out by a church, she just ministered to people whenever she was near people who would listen.) But it can also mean someone who is sent out on foreign missions. So, the title of missionary means that you are sent to minister to others. The title of apostle means that you are sent out to a foreign place to tell others about God. Yet, they are really quite similar.
The last one is teacher. What is the first thing you think about when you think of a teacher? I think of a school teacher. Why? Because they teach people things; such as, math, reading, science, etc. But that was not the kind of teacher Paul was, he did not go from city to city teaching people how to read, write, and do arithmetic; he taught people about God, he told them to turn away from their sins and live lives for the glory of God! And some did, and the ones that became Christians, Paul encouraged in the faith, and taught them more about God and Jesus. He even wrote them letters, the books of Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians were all written to the Christians of the different cities he ministered in.
Lastly, verse 12. In this verse Paul again tells Timothy that he is suffering for Christ, but not to be ashamed of him. He starts out by saying, "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed." That is just like what he was saying in verse eight! So, Paul once again states he is not ashamed to suffer for Christ. Paul goes on to write, "for I know whom I have believed." In the other version I am using it puts it as, "for I know him in whom my belief is fixed." So it is clear that Paul knows who he believes in, and he is so sure that it is "fixed," it is sure, it will never move. Wow! Paul's belief in God is so great that it is immovable and unchangeable! Do you have faith in God like that? That is something to think about!
Paul goes on to say, "and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." Or in the other version, "and I am quite certain that he is able to keep safe what I have entrusted to him until the last day comes." So, once again Paul shows the strength of his faith in God. Paul says that he is "persuaded" and "quite certain" that God will keep it safe. But, what is it? What did Paul entrust to God? His work and his life. He simply put his career, and his entire life into God's hands to do as He saw fit. Incredible. He just said, "God take it. Take my work and my life, and do with them as you wish. They are yours, I give everything to you." Wow! Can you do that? Do you trust God enough to place everything in His hands? Paul had amazing faith!
The very last part of verse twelve is, "...against that day," or "...until the last day comes." What does he mean by the last day? Does he mean the end of his life? or the end of the world, when Jesus comes back? I am not sure of that. It really could mean either one. What are your thoughts on this?
That's it for now. :) I hope y'all are enjoying reading this, and that I am making some sense!
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