PASS IT ON

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

2 Timothy 2:2

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

False teaching had infiltrated the church in Ephesus and the Apostle Paul was aware, even though in prison more than 5,000 miles away in Rome. As we have seen in his first letter and this second letter, Paul exhorts Timothy, his ministry partner and pastor of the Ephesian church, to eradicate the attempts to distort the good news of Jesus and preserve the sanctity of the Gospel message, the message Paul had planted with the church when it was established.

Now, as we read in the first chapter of 1 Timothy, there were multiple teachers bringing false hood which included the introduction of “myths and endless genealogies” which constituted nothing but “meaningless talk” and stirred up “controversial speculations” instead of “advancing God’s work” that was grounded in faith (Vv. 3-4, 6). This means that Timothy was outnumbered and there was a need for more reliable, trustworthy teachers who would join with their pastor to uphold the purity of the true Gospel which was very fundamental as stated by Jesus, the One God sent to save mankind:

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

God intended for His plan of salvation to be simple and to the point so it wouldn’t be difficult to understand. No one would require a deep theological education to comprehend or share the good news of how God would rescue and deliver anyone who would simply place their belief in Jesus, His one and only Son who came and took away the sin of the world (John 1:29). 

It was this message that the Apostle Paul brought to Ephesus when he launched the Christian church in Ephesus, the church that he now entrusted to Timothy’s care and spiritual leadership. And so as we look at the second verse of 2 Timothy 2, we find Paul providing the Ephesian pastor guidance regarding the way forward to help combat those who were trying to introduce false doctrines into the church. Look again at his words here:

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

Here, we find Paul giving Timothy some simple guidance:

You can’t do this all by yourself.

The call was to cultivate and grow more qualified teachers in the Ephesian congregation, teachers who would bring the legitimate Gospel to the Christ believers without compromise. If the Great Commission was to succeed, more Gospel-trained instructors would be needed to help promote proper discipleship. Paul had trained Timothy and now Timothy had the opportunity to pass on that Gospel training to others.

This call is just as true today for any and all Christian churches. For if the church is committed to making disciples as it should be, then there will need to be qualified teachers in place to lead classes and share the inerrant word of God with others, especially how all of scriptures are centered on His salvation plan through His Son Jesus Christ.  

God passed His word to His people through the scriptures. Ministers of His Word have passed on His Word through the ages, equipping and qualifying Christian believers to assist in the Gospel effort. And those qualified teachers have in turn educated others so they might pass on the good news of Jesus to others who need to know of Him and be saved by Him.

Ask yourself why the Gospel message has made it through more than 2,000 years to be just as vibrant and alive as ever and you will learn how the power of the Holy Spirit, moving within the hearts of Christ believers has passed on the knowledge and understanding of God’s saving grace through Jesus His Son from generation to generation to generation...and will continue to do so until that day when He sends His Son back to judge creation.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.