2 Timothy 1.5-Paul Thanked the Father For Timothy Because of Timothy's Sincere Faith Which His Grandmother and Mother Demonstrated Before Him
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday February 10, 2015
Second Timothy: Second Timothy 1:5-Paul Thanked the Father For Timothy Because of Timothy’s Sincere Faith Which His Grandmother and Mother Demonstrated Before Him
Lesson # 8
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. (NASB95)
“For I am mindful” is composed of the following: (1) noun hupomnēsis (ὑπόμνησις) (2) verb lambanō (λαμβάνω).
The verb lambanō means, “to cling to” since it pertains to having a strong emotional attachment to something indicating that Paul made it his habit of thanking the Father for Timothy because he “clung to” the remembrance of Timothy’s sincere faith.
The participle form of the verb is a causal participle meaning it answers the question as to why Paul made it his habit of thanking the Father for Timothy when he made it his habit of bringing him into remembrance during his intercessory prayers for his disciple, friend and delegate.
The noun hupomnēsis means “memory” since it pertains to the image or impression of one that is remembered and here it refers to Paul’s “memory” of Timothy’s sincere faith.
“Of the sincere faith” is composed of the following: (1) definite article ho (ὁ), “the” (2) adjective anupokritos (ἀνυπόκριτος), “sincere” (3) noun pistis (πίστις), “faith.”
As was the case in First Timothy 1:5, the noun pistis here in Second Timothy 1:5 refers to Timothy’s post-conversion faith in the Word of God and specifically Paul’s apostolic teaching.
The adjective anupokritos is modifying the noun pistis and is used to describe Timothy’s post-conversion faith in Paul’s apostolic teaching as being sincere.
The dative second personal singular form of the personal pronoun su means “you” referring of course to Timothy and is the object of the preposition en which means “in” since it functions as a marker of a state or condition indicating that this sincere faith is existed in the state of being in Timothy.
The definite article functions as a substantiver meaning it nominalizes (i.e. converts to a noun) and conceptualizing the prepositional phrase ἐν σοὶ.
It functions as a possessive pronoun and should be translated “your” indicating that this sincere faith is Timothy’s possession.
Second Timothy 1:3-5 is a long sentence.
The thought here in Second Timothy 1:5 is connected to the first statement in Second Timothy 1:3.
As we noted the first statement here in verse 5 is presenting the reason for the first statement in verse 3.
However, it is difficult to see this thought without inserting the first statement in verse 3 into the translation of verse 5.
“Which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice” is indicating that the same sincere faith in the Word of God which Timothy possessed also lived in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice.
“And I am sure that it is in you as well” advances upon the first statement in the verse that Paul gave thanks to the Father because he clung to the memory of Timothy’s sincere faith in the Word of God.
“I am sure” is the verb peithō (πείθω), which means “to have confidence in” or “to be convinced of” something since it pertains to being persuaded or sure of the truthfulness or validity of something.
Therefore, this verb denotes that Paul is expressing his confidence that a sincere faith in the Word of God lives in Timothy.
It indicates that Paul was convinced that a sincere faith in the Word of God lived in Timothy.
Second Timothy 1:5 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. (My translation)
The apostle Paul presents the reason why he made it his habit of expressing gratitude to the Father in prayer for Timothy.
He made it his habit of expressing gratitude to the Father for Timothy because he clung to the memory of Timothy’s sincere faith.
He also mentions Timothy’s sincere faith in First Timothy 1:5.
This reference to Timothy’s sincere faith here in Second Timothy 1:5 does not refer to the moment when Timothy exercised faith in Jesus Christ and was declared justified by the Father.
But rather it refers to Timothy’s post-conversion faith in Paul’s apostolic teaching since Paul is speaking of Timothy’s condition at the time of writing.
He says that he thanked the Father for Timothy because he clung to the memory of the sincere faith in Timothy which speaks of Timothy’s condition at the time of writing when Timothy was of course serving God and the body of Christ.
Also the emphatic clause at the end of verse 5 makes clear that Paul was convinced of Timothy’s sincere faith was presently living in him.
The perfect tense of the verb peithō is a “perfect with a present force” which emphasizes Paul’s state of confidence at the time of writing that a sincere faith in the Word of God resides in Timothy.
We must also remember that Paul is attempting to exhort Timothy to remain faithful to his apostolic teaching in the face of many already deserting this teaching.
Furthermore, the adjective anupokritos “sincere” is used in reference to the commands to love God and one’s fellow human being and believer, which is indicated by its usage in First Timothy 1:5 where it is used in relation to love.
This sincere faith means that Timothy loved God and his fellow human being without hypocrisy.
The reference to Timothy’s sincere faith indicates that his love for the Lord and the body of Christ originated from a faith in the Word of God and was sincere since obeying the commands to love God and one’s neighbor or fellow believer is the direct result of exercising faith in the Spirit’s teaching in the Word of God.
It indicates that Timothy’s post-conversion faith in Paul’s apostolic teaching is sincere in the sense that Timothy did not merely talk about loving God and his fellow believer but rather he demonstrated it through both his words and actions.
Thus, Paul is saying that Timothy’s love for God and his fellow believer was without hypocrisy.
This interpretation in Second Timothy 1:5 of the phrase “sincere faith” is supported by Paul’s use of this expression in First Timothy 1:5 since the latter relates faith to love.
In Second Timothy 1:5 the apostle Paul mentions Timothy’s grandmother and mother and in particular he mentions that they too exercised a sincere faith in the Word of God and specifically his apostolic teaching.
The apostle mentions these two women in order to encourage and motivate Timothy to follow their example and remain faithful to his apostolic teaching in the face of adversity.
If you recall, Timothy’s mother was Jewish and a Christian along with his grandmother (2 Tm. 1:5) but yet his father is described as a Greek (Acts 16:1) and thus would have belonged to the small elite class of Lystra who had been educated in the Greek language and culture.
There is no reference to his father being a believer hence he would have been considered a heathen by both Jews and Christians.
This mixed marriage would have been viewed by Jewish law as illegal and would have been opposed by the Christian church (cf. 2 Cor. 6:14) if his mother married him after her conversion.
Even though Timothy’s mother married a Gentile he was considered a Jew by the Jews and was therefore liable to be circumcised.
In Jewish law, a child takes the religion of its mother; so Timothy should have been circumcised and raised a Jew but in Greek law the father dominates the home.
The absence of any personal allusion to the father in Acts or the Epistles suggests the inference that he must have died or disappeared during his son’s infancy.
The care of the boy thus devolved upon his mother Eunice and her grandmother Lois.
Under the training of Eunice and Lois, Timothy’s education was emphatically Jewish.
2 Timothy 1:5 speaks of the sincere Jewish faith of Timothy’s grandmother Lois and of his mother Eunice, and 2 Timothy 3:15 speaks of Timothy’s early instruction in the Hebrew Scriptures.
His mother Eunice is identified as a Jewess as well as a Christian believer in Acts 16:1 who had probably believed on the Lord Jesus Christ during Paul and Barnabas’ first visit to Lystra (Acts 14:20-23).
Timothy’s mother and grandmother obeyed Paul’s apostolic command in Ephesians 6:4 to bring up children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Christian women demonstrate their love for their children by training them in the Word of God.
In Ephesians 6:4, Paul taught Christian fathers to bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord and so since a Christian woman is under husband’s authority, she like her husband must obey this command as well.