Through Love Serve One Another
Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:13-18
A word of encouragement before the church's evening prayer, Monday, April 6, 2020
Dear church, I greet you and invite you to the Word of God before our evening prayer. From the Second Epistle to Timothy, beginning with verse 13, I will read to the end of the chapter.
“Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us” (2 Timothy 1:13-14).
Let us stop here for a while. The apostle Paul warned and instructed Timothy, and you and me today, to hold fast to the sound teaching that the apostle Paul taught, and the other apostles, and our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. On this foundation, which has Jesus Christ as its cornerstone, on His teaching and the teaching of the apostles, our faith and our ministry are built. That is why we need to hold fast to the pattern of sound teaching. Because today is the age of the internet, especially during the quarantine, and we see it: a flood of all kinds of notions, teachings, and even some unsound statements has simply poured out. The Scripture says: if anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God (1 Peter 4:11). Let us hold fast to what is written in the Scripture.
And he goes on, we read from verse 15: “This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes” (2 Timothy 1:15). Timothy was in Ephesus, and Paul assumes: you know these people. Most likely they were ministers who had turned away from the apostle Paul: having learned that he was in prison in Rome, they stopped supporting him, stopped having any contact with him at all. Probably they did not even accept the teaching that the apostle Paul preached: that it has been granted to us not only to believe, but also to suffer (Philippians 1:29). We have, as it were, two sides: on the one side faith, on the other side suffering. That is what is appointed for us. The apostle Paul speaks a great deal about this. But apparently these people reasoned in their own way and, instead of supporting the apostle in his hardships, turned away from him. That happens.
But Paul writes about another man, and this is where I want to focus our attention today. Verses 16, 17, and 18: “The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often,” notice this: often, “refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day, and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus” (2 Timothy 1:16-18).
Here is a person. Today I would like to set this man before us as an example, so that we may look at this blessed example in the hard circumstances the church was going through, and the apostle Paul in particular. We see Onesiphorus, who did not turn away from Paul and served him. Tradition says that Onesiphorus formerly lived in Iconium, where Paul and the brothers often stayed with him; later he moved to Ephesus, and there, as we heard, he ministered a great deal to the apostle Paul. Timothy was a witness of this. And when he learned that the apostle Paul had been put in prison in Rome, he came to Rome and did everything he could to make his life in prison easier.
What an extraordinary, beautiful example the Word of God gives us. Onesiphorus is the man who knew that the apostle needed help; he leaves Ephesus and sets out for Rome in order to help the apostle Paul. He served the apostle Paul in deed, not in word, although words matter too; he supported him. And the apostle Paul says: the Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day, in other words, that he may receive a reward. This is an example for us, that you and I would serve one another through love. As Paul says in the Epistle to the Galatians, I want to read chapter 5, verses 13 and 14: “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:13-14). All the law! And this must be both in word and in deed, brothers and sisters. And here is Onesiphorus, a man who served the Lord. He served with what he could: he eased suffering, he visited the prison where the apostle Paul was.
The apostle Paul in this epistle told Timothy that he already knew, it had been revealed to him, that the time of his departure had come. Perhaps a few months would pass from when he wrote this, and Paul knew that he would go from this world to the Father, to God. And he speaks of the fact that there are different examples, different circumstances. And at the end of this chapter he writes these words. Let us look at chapter 4, from verse 5: “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions.” That is the teaching: do not run from affliction; endure afflictions, accept them if they come. “Do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:5-8). And we, brothers and sisters, have loved the appearing, the coming of Jesus Christ. We have come to love it by the grace of the Lord.
And further he says that there were people who did him harm in these circumstances, in prison. Instead of easing his suffering, instead of somehow helping him and serving him in love… He warns Timothy, naming Alexander the coppersmith. Verse 14: “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words” (2 Timothy 4:14-15). Verse 16: “At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!” (2 Timothy 4:16-18).
We see that there are other examples. It is one thing when people turned away; that is bad. But there are examples where people do harm instead of supporting; the very opposite. We do not know what harm this man did; perhaps he testified against the apostle Paul, this coppersmith Alexander. Tradition says that he was excommunicated from the church, but he went on doing something against the apostle Paul. But Paul speaks of something else as well: that when he had to come to his defense, that is, to appear before the judge, at that time no one came to the trial, meaning those who were there; they were afraid. “At my first defense no one stood with me.” But the Lord stood with him, the Lord! Here are the words of testimony: at that moment he testified to the Gentiles about Christ, about why he was suffering, why he had come to Rome, and this was a testimony. And he believes that the Lord delivers from all temptations and is preparing him for the Kingdom of God. And He will deliver you and me too. We will pray that the Lord would deliver us from every evil work and preserve us, and that we would follow the good example.
You know that John also writes in his epistle to Gaius, in the Third Epistle. He says there was a certain man, Diotrephes, and he also did much harm to the apostles, in particular to the apostle John, and forbade people to have fellowship with the apostles, with the man who had leaned on the breast of Jesus Christ, and he maligned them with malicious words. But look at what John says, how he instructs Gaius: do not imitate what is evil (3 John 1:11). There is evil; do not imitate it; imitate what is good, brothers and sisters. There are many examples in the Bible and in life; we know good examples to imitate. And of course the apostle Paul himself says: imitate me, as I imitate Christ (1 Corinthians 4:16). And he said: note those who walk according to the pattern you have seen in us (Philippians 3:17). And of course the chief pattern for us is Jesus Christ, who through sufferings… who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed it to Him who judges righteously (1 Peter 2:23). The Righteous Judge will sort it out, will put everything in its place.
And so let us serve one another through love, pray for one another. Can you imagine what a privilege it is that you and I can follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, in the footsteps of the apostles, in the footsteps of the prophets, and please God! This is pleasing to God. And on that Day, brothers and sisters, we will receive mercy from the Lord, when we serve one another, comfort one another, do not pour salt or vinegar on wounds, no, but oil, when we help, support, forgive. May these examples, of which there are so many in the Bible, be before us; let us imitate them and walk this way in life, the blessed, good way that the Lord has opened to us through the Word of God, through the Gospel and by the Holy Spirit. And of course Paul says to Timothy in the second chapter: be strong, my son, in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:1). We need strength, so now let us pray.
We will ask the Holy Spirit to fill us. We will pray that this coronavirus would be destroyed and that we would receive release from all these circumstances that today constrain the whole world and you and me, brothers and sisters; that we would return again to our former everyday life, a blessed everyday life, as we now see it: you can go visit people, you can go to a church meeting, you can freely go on vacation. But I think that when we return, we will no longer return the same as we were before. I believe that wise people, again, not all, but the wise, will understand; they will grasp this. So it is written: the wise shall understand (Daniel 12:10). They will understand and take it to heart, and their lives will be corrected, because we all need this, since the coming of the Lord is drawing near. Brothers and sisters, this is a knock; we hear His footsteps. He is coming, that Day is coming, brothers and sisters.
Let us pray, let us seek the face of God in this prayer. Let us plead: Lord, restore everything, and grant that Your blessing, which makes rich and adds no sorrow with it (Proverbs 10:22), would be poured out again on our land, and that we would rejoice and serve You, our God. May the Lord bless each one of us. Let us pray, let us call on the name of the Lord together, in our homes, and ask the Lord for help. Amen.
Dear Lord, bless every heart that has bowed its knees or will bow them, everyone who is praying, our dear brothers and sisters. Lord, we are dear to You, and we are dear to one another. We thank You that You have made us family, hallelujah, You have made us close to one another, You have joined us together through the blood of Jesus Christ. Glory to You! And keep on praying. We are praying, dear church, in the name of Jesus Christ.