People have often delved into scripture and historical texts
to try and understand Paul, formerly the Pharisee called Saul who persecuted
the Christians and now is their greatest exegete. They wonder if he was married or had children
and if so where are they? I know for certain that Paul had at least three sons
and their names were Timothy (1 Timothy 1:2,18; 2 Timothy 1:2, 2:1), Titus
(Titus 1:4), and Onesimus (Philemon 1:10).
He may have had more but these we know of from his writings because he
says so.
I can hear you right now saying that these weren’t true sons
but sons in the faith. Perhaps you can
tell me what it takes to be a true son of a father, spiritual or
otherwise? I was born in Seattle,
Washington to Robert and Helen Staab. At
18 years of age I left home and joined the military. At 21 years of age I became a Christian and
joined Riverside Faith Temple church in Riverside, California. From February 1979 until his homegoing in
2005, Apostle Joseph L. Sims was my spiritual father. That means that for 18 years I lived with my
parents and for 26 years I lived with my father in the Gospel.
I may not have lived in his home but I worshipped and grew
and matured in his church. For much of
that time my natural parents were alive and if you asked would have said they
had the utmost respect for Joseph Sims.
I can’t even begin to tell you how much he meant to me and how much
being received into his family touched my heart. There was a Thanksgiving when I was called
because they wouldn’t begin dinner until my family showed up. We were a part of their family now.
Don’t ever let someone tell you that you are ONLY a son or
daughter in the spirit or in faith. You
cannot put ONLY and in the faith together in the same sentence. Children in the faith are eternal and will
bow in honor to their spiritual parents before God in Heaven. I have called him at three in the morning
with problems and have been chastened right along with his natural sons for my
random acts of stupidity. I may have
been chastened for these more than they were.
I used to have a hard head.
You say, “I’ll bet you weren’t in his will,” and you would
be wrong. The day he passed away I came
to his home to pay my respects and God gave me my inheritance. The force of it nearly dropped me to my knees
when I crossed the threshold of his home.
It was so powerful that I sat at the dining room table and watched the
front door for Bishop McGinnis who I knew would arrive soon. As he crossed the threshold he too stumbled
and nearly fell. Another son received
his inheritance.
Do I expect a portion of his property or bank accounts when
Apostle Bea goes home to be with the Lord?
Of course not. Natural
inheritance is for natural children. I
do however expect his natural sons to receive their portion of his spiritual
inheritance. I expect it and have been
praying for it as well. They are my
brothers and I love them as the family they are. Their children are my nieces and nephews and
mine are theirs. Just the other day my
daughter told me she missed grandpa Sims.
I know what she means.
Family is much more than blood. Family is spirit and commitment and
love. It will be there for you through
thick and thin, even when you have alienated yourself from everyone around you;
family will take you in, help you up and dust you off. Family IS faith.
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of
God our Savior, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; 2 Unto Timothy, my
own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Paul was an apostle of Jesus by the commandment of God our
Savior. Those two are the same
person. You could have said, “From: Paul
the Apostle, by commandment of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To: Timothy my very own son in eternal
faith. I pray you receive God’s grace
during hard times, mercy when things get too close and peace which passes all
understanding. May you receive these
things fully and completely from God who is our Father and Jesus who is our
Lord and Savior. This I pray as your
father and apostle in the faith.
3 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I
went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other
doctrine,
“Tim, about those
Ephesians. I know how much you wanted to
travel to Macedonia with me and I am proud of you for volunteering to stay in
Ephesus to continue the work. It is a
difficult town but we have given them some good doctrine and I need you to make
sure they don’t backslide into that mess they used to believe.”
The reason I spoke about Paul and Timothy this way is that
for all practical purposes this letter has been written to you by one of your
fathers in the Gospel and it applies to the town and ministry God has called
you to. Good doctrine is of vital
importance to your life in Christ.
Without it your heart might as well beat when it feels like it or your
breath could just come around occasionally.
It’s like that. There are too
many half-baked freeologians who feel that God’s Word means whatever they need
it to. God created our universe with His
Word. He lives and interacts with us
according to His Word. If He is not free
with it or if He doesn’t take liberties against it then we have no right to.
4 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies,
which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.
Let the games begin.
Fables – Mythos – From which
we get the word myth, story, a lie. The
idea that this planet is alive and a Gaia spirit lives inside it is one example
of devilish myths that will destroy your eternity. Reincarnation is another myth. Endless genealogies – aperantos genealogia – Believe it or not we have religions even
today who refuse to acknowledge that those who missed God in the past are past
our help. They actually believe you can
pray in great great uncle Hitler by tracing his genealogy and praying him
through. Jesus made it clear by coming
through pagans, prostitutes and other undesirables that God wasn’t concerned by
your past but by your commitment to His future.
You can’t fix your family tree by going backwards, only by going forward
toward the mark of our high calling.
Notice how it says these myths and genealogies cause more
questions? God said you will know the
truth and the truth will MAKE you free.
The truth answers questions.
There are no contradictions to God’s Word, only hidden truths that
diligent scholars and prayerful mature saints and insightful leaders will uncover. The insights will NEVER contradict the
scripture we already understand. Those
who want God to be in their image make up all kinds of false doctrines to fit
their worldviews.
Truth edifies, builds up and makes you free. Lies keep you in bondage even as you were
before Christ came. Truth can be painful
at times. We don’t like to look in a
perfect mirror to see sin, strengths, weaknesses and imperfections. Everyone would like to see themselves as a
perfect saint who never sins and never falls short. Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the
Father making intercession for us because you are not without flaws. Don’t try to make God or His Word into your
image just because His image is perfect and uncomfortable. Accept His image, work on your own and seek
truth. Bit by bit, line by line and step
by step He will perfect you.
5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure
heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
If you take the commandments of God and heap them all into a
huge pot they will all boil down and condense into this one commandment. Love one another out of a pure heart having a
pure conscience and genuine faith. If
you nag people in church or out of church to change their ways and don’t
earnestly love them, you are the chiefest of sinners. Why?
Because 1 Corinthians 13 says you are a miserable noisemaker.
You must love them in spite of their flaws and guess
what? It takes faith because faith is
the substance of things hoped for and evidence of God’s move in their life that
you still can’t see. In addition, faith
is motivated by and obtains its power from love. God is love.
God is faith. You can’t fake
faith because you must love the sinner to have faith. If you hate that sinner like some pastors seem
to then you lack faith in at least two ways.
You lack faith because you don’t love the other person, and you lack
faith because you don’t believe God will answer your prayers and continue to
work on their life and eternal destiny.
If you ask yourself whose sin is greater I would have to say the one who
knows to do right and does not. That
would be you the saint of God. Love
them.
6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto
vain jangling;
We touched on this briefly and 1 Corinthians 13 makes it
even more clear. If you have neither
love nor faith then you are a brass gong or grating cymbal. You may be someone with a lot of presence but
it is the presence of a badly played instrument, irritating and loud. We are required to love and be gracious. Satan is busy on the earth. We are not supposed to spend all day trying
to figure out what he is up to. God
already knows and if we submit to the loving Spirit of God we will know the
truth in due season. Someone once said,
“We are not called to be fruit inspectors but to love.”
7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding
neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
Ignorance of the true nature of God is rampant on the
earth. It’s even worse in the church
because we are supposed to know better.
We are required to love those who despitefully use us and persecute us
and say all manner of evil things against us.
Do you? I have had a lot of
opinions ground into powder over the years.
God has never led me to believe I am free to do what I want in the grace
of God that is in Christ Jesus. Some
preach it though. I have never thought I
was free to hate someone because of their lifestyle or beliefs but I have done
it. Thankfully I have grown past that
point but so many in Christ have not. I
didn’t stop hating or believing idiotic things because someone had a better
argument than I did. I stopped through
study of God’s Word and being willing to change my opinions at the drop of a
well taught scripture.
To do that I have to recognize that others might just know
more than I do. I have learned truth
from babe’s in Christ who understood something better than I did. That might be a humbling experience but
better to be humbled by the truth than by an angry God.
8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it
lawfully;
The next verses list all the people the law will speak
to. The law is like a guardrail on a
mountain road. It might block your view slightly
but it will also keep you from crashing into the valley below. The driver of an automobile must learn how to
control the vehicle and obey the rules of the road. Those rules aren’t to keep him from having
fun or enjoying the drive but to keep him safe while driving next to others and
their automobiles. If he or she is
unable to possess their own vessels it really doesn’t matter what the rules
are, they couldn’t obey them anyway. If
they do know how to keep themselves under subjection then the rules keep them
in line with the multitudes around them and there are no collisions on the
highway.
You might say, “I want to learn to fly.” The training and rules for flying are an
order of magnitude higher than the rules for driving. We say, “Lord, I want to soar in the heights
with you!” God looks at your life and
says, “Son or daughter, learn how to walk on the footpath without tripping up
your neighbor and then learn how to drive your car safely first. Once you have learned that we’ll give you some
lessons to fly higher. First you will
fly with your pastor or church leader in the pilot’s seat. When you have learned how to fly their plane
their way you may be ready to fly your own plane solo. Don’t try to bypass the steps or you might
miss something vital.
Remember, a fall from great height can destroy you and those
who are below you looking up. They may
not have enough wisdom to get out of your way and protect themselves from your
fall.
9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous
man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for
unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for
manslayers, 10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind,
for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other
thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; 11 According to the glorious gospel
of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
Get a dictionary or a Hebrew / Greek concordance and look up
the words above if you are unsure what those sins are. We saints of God might look at the sins
listed above and say, “Thank God I’m not a sinner like these are.” Be very careful. Jesus spoke of the Pharisee who said, “God I
thank you I am not like these sinners (Luke 18:10-14).” He was so full of his own righteousness that
he was unchanged by prayer. The sinner
prayed, “Lord forgive me my sins,” and went home forgiven. You might say that the Pharisee was without
sin but we know better don’t we? All
have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23).
12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled
me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
Notice that Paul gave God the glory for enabling him. God struck Nebuchadnezzar stupid for seven
years because he took credit for all of Babylon. Whatever power or ability you have is a
direct result of your relationship to God.
I have tried to write without the anointing before. It’s not pretty. In Paul’s mind he had one redeeming
characteristic, he was faithful. Before
his conversion he was a faithful persecutor and after he was equally faithful
for Christ. Because of this faithfulness
God was able to use him in ministry. You
could depend on Paul to be true to his understanding of God’s Word. God made sure he had an opportunity to get
away and draw close intellectually and spiritually. When he returned he hit the ground running.
13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and
injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
Notice Paul doesn’t pull any punches when he describes
himself. He doesn’t come out and say,
“These sins aren’t all that bad so God corrected me and put me back on the
payroll.” His sins were enormous,
perhaps even worse than Judas’. Judas
was ignorant and zealous for Israel more than for God Himself. He would have followed Jesus to the death in
battle. Paul was a highly trained priest
of God who ought to have known better than to persecute the coming Messiah. He and his priestly kin should have know
enough to understand the mission of our Lord.
In fact, had the Pharisees known who Jesus was we would have all missed the
Gentile blessing. God had to keep them
in ignorance to give us an opportunity to come to God. Still, I wonder how many of us in the Gentile
church are guilty of this same arrogance.
14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with
faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
Well I guess so.
Consider that Jesus looked at someone who was actively destroying His
church and saw a great gift for the fledgling body. God says, “My grace is sufficient for you, my
strength is made perfect in weakness.” Before you ever say God will never save a
Hitler or some other terror from history or future, be careful and pray. Jonah and other Jews were not pleased by the
grace of God toward their enemies. They
always wanted destruction and terror to their enemies. While the Jews are God’s chosen ones, He
loves the whole earth. Faith works by
love and love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all
acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I
am chief.
This is a saying faithful to the Word of God and His stated
purpose on the Earth. It is not only
acceptable but worthy and acceptable.
Jesus came to save sinners. If
you are a sinner, Jesus came to save you.
If you are a Christian, Jesus came to save your enemies, friends and
loved ones whether you like it or not. You
might be a terror to the church or an example of good works. Either way, Christ came to save you and
deliver you from death. No matter how
sweet and kindly you are, without Jesus you are a filthy blood soaked rag. God isn’t looking for good conduct, He
demands perfection. Perfection comes
through the blood of our Savior Jesus.
16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me
first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them
which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
One day I might do a study of ‘first partakers.’ You can be a first partaker of God’s mercy or
grace, or a first partaker of His wrath.
Ananias and Sapphira were first partakers of his judgment for
lying. He couldn’t have the church
thinking He was a chump who doesn’t know what is going on in men’s hearts. They lied to the Holy Spirit and died for
it. I absolutely believe that God
punishes sins even now, though it might not be as immediate and final as what those
two received but I promise your lies and falsehoods do not go unnoticed or
unpunished.
In Paul’s case he was the first partaker of God’s mercy
toward sinners. He absolutely deserved
to have a tree fall on his head and be cast into Hell for his actions toward
the church of Christ. Notice it says
that God’s actions toward him were a pattern to be followed. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and
forever. Why bother write this down for
Him? Then again, why write it down for
us? We can’t forgive sins can we? Oh yeah, in Christ we can. Well, we can’t show mercy can we? You have to be greater than the one you are
forgiving to show mercy. That’s right,
greater is He that is in me that he that is in the world.
It would appear we don’t have any excuse. If God the Father and God the Son and God the
Holy Spirit are all gracious and longsuffering then we the children of God must
be as well. Brethren, we must follow
Christ’s example. He went to the grave
in complete control of the situation (John 10:17-18; Matthew 26:52-53). If the weapons of our warfare are not carnal
then we must stop using those carnal weapons.
They often get in the way of our sacrifice.
17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the
only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
How great is this description of God. He is eternal, He always was. He is immortal, He will never die and never
end. He is invisible; he is not made up
of matter which can be seen but of Spirit.
God is the ONLY wise God. There
is no other. Notice it says to Him be
honor and glory for ever and ever. Who
glorifies God? We do. Scripture says that all things will pass away
including this planet we live on and this universe we live in. Nevertheless, those who serve and worship the
Lord will remain. He is worthy of our
worship and we are made eternal to serve and love Him as He served and loved us
for an example.
18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according
to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a
good warfare;
Paul was a good father who prepared his children for the
world that was coming. Even if we aren’t
called to defend ourselves with guns, we are still entering into warfare and
God expects us to be proficient at it.
In this case the admonition to develop good skills at warfare didn’t
just come from Paul but from the Lord Himself.
He had been prophesied to concerning this warfare. It’s one thing to have a loving conscientious
father who doesn’t expect much from you but in this case Paul himself placed
this burden upon Timothy’s shoulders.
Very often mother's let their children get away with too much but father’s
are supposed to help the men become men.
19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some
having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
You have to hold your faith.
It must occupy a powerful portion of your energies and you should know
that you know that you know that God will not embarrass you by failing to honor
your faith. Your service to God must be
in good conscience, not for greedy gain or the temporary benefit of money. I absolutely agree that the workman is worthy
of his hire but that places the responsibility upon those who hear to decide
that the word they have received is a blessing and ought to be honored by your carnal
increase. If you do what you do strictly for financial gain then you have
become shipwreck in your faith. It ought
to compel you to serve God regardless.
20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have
delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.
I’ve met these two before.
Their names were different, but I remember they accused us of trying to
cheat them and of not loving with the love of God while they themselves talked
about us like we were dogs and then lied against us. Perhaps you have met them too. God says to turn this type over to Satan for
the destruction of flesh so they might learn how not to blaspheme and speak
evil against you and the Lord. Many of
them become magnets for other angry non-saints who do not want to hear about
self sacrifice and love. This type of leadership
they can often lead the sheep astray to perdition; the blind leading the blind.
Take care beloved. God expects great things of us and empowers us to make it happen. Trust Him and great things will happen.
Honor those who have blessed you to grow in grace.
Bishop J
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