[0:00] Now as we begin this second letter to Timothy, we mentioned previously, just before beginning the reading of it, that this is, of course, the last letter that we have of Paul's writings.
[0:13] There may have been others that he wrote and that he described, but this is all we've got in terms of what is preserved unto us. So in one sense, this is the last voice, as it were, from the prison, the last of the apostles or the active apostles at work here writing.
[0:33] We don't know exactly when Peter wrote his epistles. We don't know whether they may have post-dated or pre-dated Paul's or whatever the case may be. All that we know is this is the last of Paul's writings.
[0:45] And it is almost certainly very shortly before he was martyred, before he was executed. And it's not unfitting that the last letter that we have is to have what he describes as his dearly beloved son, Timothy.
[1:01] So we have Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life, which is in Christ Jesus. Now, two things here right away in this first verse.
[1:12] First of all, because he is facing the fact of and the serious possibility of death, of martyrdom, and the fact that it is the promise of life itself is very much before his eyes.
[1:25] This is the thing that is what he's holding on to. The promise of life in all its fullness. If he isn't holding on to this, it's all been for nothing. And one says, as he wrote to the Corinthians, if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we have all been most miserable.
[1:41] But he has this hope of glory, this hope, the promise of life, which is in Christ Jesus. Now, perhaps significant, perhaps not entirely, you'll notice the inversion of Jesus Christ and then Christ Jesus.
[1:56] And it is reckoned by most commentators that where the first thing, Jesus, is emphasised, first of all, it's an emphasis on the person and work of Jesus in the days of his earthly ministry.
[2:09] Whereas when the focus is reversed, when it's Christ Jesus, the focus is upon his eternal messiahship. The promise of life which is in Christ Jesus.
[2:20] In other words, now enthroned in glory. An apostle of Jesus Christ, it is the Christ whom he was persecuting in the person of his followers who appeared to him on Damascus Road.
[2:33] And that is partly how he claims the status of an apostle, because he has seen the risen Christ. An apostle, Jesus Christ, by the will of God, according to the promise of life, which is in Christ Jesus.
[2:45] So there's a little detail there of the one being, perhaps we might say an emphasis on the earthly ministry of Jesus, although it's the risen Christ that appears to him.
[2:55] And then the eternal messiahship of Jesus, therefore Christ Jesus. That's the eternal focus now. To Timothy, my dearly beloved son.
[3:06] Now, slight, slight little distinction here between how he addresses him in 2 Timothy and how he addressed him in 1 Timothy. In 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 2, you'll notice it says, To Timothy, my own son in the faith.
[3:19] And some commentators disagree to whether or not this is a closer, more intimate description in 1 Timothy. Whereas, as we'll see in 2 Timothy, there's perhaps just a slight suggestion that Timothy is not quite as close in with Paul as he once was at one stage.
[3:38] It's not that Paul thinks that Timothy is about to be part of faith, but certainly that he seems perhaps to be a little bit more timid, a little bit more distant, a little bit more cool perhaps towards Paul than he might once have been.
[3:53] My dearly beloved son, Paul's love for Timothy is not in doubt as far as Paul is concerned, although he can't say for certain now what Timothy feels about him.
[4:05] My dearly beloved son, grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Again, the eternal Messiahship of Jesus. I thank God, whom I serve for my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day.
[4:24] So, first thing, to emphasize how dear Timothy is to him and how constant he is in his own petitions. Now, Paul, if he's stuck in prison, yes, he's able to write a wee bit, but there's not an awful lot of other ways in which he can exercise his faith other than through prayer.
[4:43] So, he is constantly in prayer, as he says, by night and by day in his prison cell. He has some visitors who assiduously make their way to him, who do make the effort to meet with him or to be with him and perhaps supply some of his needs.
[4:58] But prayer is the one thing he is still free to do. Perhaps write some letters, I didn't know this one, of course, and some others, but the fact is he's no longer free to evangelize, he's no longer free to testify publicly, but he can pray.
[5:16] And prayer, of course, is a work. I thank God whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience. We don't be clear here as well, and it's linked in, in a sense, with what we read also in verse 5.
[5:29] Paul is emphasizing here that there is a continuity of purpose and of focus and of devotion from the Old Testament church continuously on to the new.
[5:42] It is not entirely clear, we might say, exactly at what point the Old Testament church, which, if you remember, of course, was the people of Israel, the people of the Jews, and such as within that number were devout and faithful, we must take as being the genuine church of Jesus Christ.
[6:02] Outwardly, of course, that church consisted of all the Jewish people, but, of course, that's not to say every single one of them was amongst the elect, but there would have been the devout, the faithful, the diligent, those serving the Lord day and night faithfully within the people of Israel there, just as in the New Testament church, there were those who were outwardly belonging to the church, but not necessarily all that diligent in their love for the Lord.
[6:28] So there is a seamless continuity, is what Paul is implying, between the Old Testament and on into the new, as far as the faithful are concerned.
[6:39] Now, of course, it's not entirely certain, as we say, exactly at what point you could see, when there's a certain amount of overlap, just a little interesting diversion here, if we go into the early chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, then we might say, well, you know, all the early apostles, all the other apostles, in fact, were Jewish.
[6:58] To begin with, they're starting off in the temple, in Solomon's porch, they're all sharing everything they have, but they're all Israelites, they're all pretty much Jerusalem-based. At what point do you say that these particular Jews, worshipping the Messiah and so on, are, you know, different from those who are still, perhaps, carrying on the sacrifices in the temple, because we read in Acts chapter 6, that a great number of the priests were obedient to the faith.
[7:24] So, where do we define, where do we distinguish between the church, as it was still faithfully following the outward ordinances, and then post-crucifixion, is it only the apostles?
[7:37] Or have they got that 120 number that met with them, you know, on the day of Pentecost and so on? Where do we say that the church has moved, has changed from being simply the Old Testament Jewish people, onto the New Testament ones?
[7:53] When does it stop being all the Jewish people waiting for the Messiah? Well, I would suggest to you, and this is just as an aside, that there's a point at which we could say that the church has, in a sense, shrunk down to just being the believers now in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah.
[8:13] Because remember, up until the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, there would have been those who were genuinely waiting for the Messiah, genuinely seeking, but maybe they just weren't completely sure, maybe they weren't absolutely certain.
[8:26] They didn't know, perhaps, all about Jesus of Nazareth, and so on. But we read in Acts chapter 5, after the death of Ananias and Sapphira, we read in verse 11, Now that would imply now that all the church, and going through the Old Testament motions and so on, they are probably not going to be too terrified of the fact that Ananias and Sapphira have dropped dead.
[8:59] But those who are with the apostles, those who are praying to him and waiting upon the Lord Jesus Christ as the Messiah, who are now completely convinced that Messiah has come, this is the good news, this is the forgiveness of sin, is to go out to all the world.
[9:15] This would now imply that only those who are with, as it were, the apostles, who are following with their doctrine, with their teaching, only they now constitute the church.
[9:26] There has been a shrinkage of the church, if you like, a tightening up. It's no longer just all the Israelite people, and the believers amongst them, in the one God, Jehovah.
[9:36] Now, it's confined to the apostles and their followers. All the church. Acts 5, verse 11. It's just a thought, just a thought, but I would suggest to you that's one point at which it contracts.
[9:48] But Paul says, even within that contraction, there is a continuity. There's a continuity from the old into the new. And he emphasizes this point at various stages in the Acts of the Apostles.
[10:00] If we take some examples. Acts 23, verse 1. Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
[10:12] Now, he knew he'd been a Pharisee before. He had studied the scriptures. He knew the law. He knew all the different regulations. And so, he'd been diligent in his outward observance. When he became a Christian, that didn't sort of become just something to be slung away.
[10:28] He became rather that, that was the preparation. That was, as he says to Galatians, the schoolmaster to bring him to Christ. When you have graduated, let's say, in, I don't know, molecular chemistry or something like that, you don't then say, see all that stuff I learned in first year, basic science and how to do a boons and burn and all that.
[10:50] That was all just rubbish. You don't say it was rubbish. You say that that was the initial stage, and then you learn a bit more through your, through whatever your standard grades or equivalent there is, and then into higher, and then into university, and then onto your postgraduate studies, and so on.
[11:04] The one led onto the other. You don't dismiss it as rubbish. And Paul doesn't dismiss as rubbish, all that he learned before, and all the fathers, and all the law, and the prophets. It was all building up to, and leading up to the coming of Christ.
[11:18] I have lived in all good conscience before God, until this day, there is continuity between what he had learned, and believed, and trusted in before, and what there is now.
[11:30] Acts 24, verse 14, But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law, and in the prophets.
[11:46] In other words, Paul is making the case, which he does repeatedly, which, of course, the unbelieving section of the Jewish people nowadays, probably might, may or may not dispute, that the Old Testament scriptures, in their entirety, point to the Messiahship of Jesus Christ.
[12:04] And of course, there are some scriptures, which simply do not get read, in the synagogues nowadays, partly because they would appear to point, too clearly, to Jesus and Nazareth.
[12:15] This I confess, and after the way they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law, and in the prophets.
[12:25] There is a continuity. You cannot say, oh, well, the church begins, in Matthew chapter 1, the New Testament church, New Testament Christians, that Old Testament doesn't matter.
[12:36] Yes, it does. It is a continuity, it is the preparation, it is the root, from which the tree itself grows. Likewise, we go on into chapter 26, the Acts of the Apostles, see in verses 6 and 7.
[12:50] Now I stand and am judged, for the hope of the promise, made of God unto our fathers, unto which promise, our twelve tribes, instantly serving God, day and night, hope to come, for which hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.
[13:07] In other words, he's saying, there's inconsistency with my accusers, because I'm the one standing, on the foundation, of the law, and the prophets, and the fulfilment, of all that they have said.
[13:19] They're the ones going against it. Acts chapter 28, in verse 20, likewise, when he, when in his first captivity, he invites the leaders of the Jews, to visit with him, and he says, for this cause thereof, have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you, because that for the hope of Israel, I am bound with this chain.
[13:40] You see, all of the Jewish people, were waiting for the Messiah. Where the Nazarenes, differed from, say the Essenes, or the Sadducees, or the Pharisees, or the Zealots, or whatever, is that they believed, Messiah had come.
[13:54] They believed, Messiah had not only been prophesied, but that prophecy, those prophecies, all of them were fulfilled, in Jesus of Nazareth. And in his coming, to Jesus of Nazareth, there is seen to be, a continuity.
[14:08] To take a, take a denominational example, for it, if you were to say, buy a copy of, say the Free Presbyterian Magazine, or something, you might well there, find sermons, or articles, under the name, of long deceased, even Church of Scotland ministers.
[14:24] But if you were to say, well my goodness, Church of Scotland ministers, yes, but you would go back, and find, well it's Samuel Loverford, or Murray McChain, or something like that. And it's okay, to have these people in, because, the Free Presbyterian Church, for example, would see a complete continuity, between these faithful, covenanters, and then, pre-disruption fathers, and faithful, reformed, evangelical, on through the, disruption free church, and then on into, 1893 and so on.
[14:51] They don't have a problem, about quoting these, Church of Scotland was, from long ago, I mean, we don't have a problem, about quoting, free church people, from pre-1893, because they would see, a continuity, between the two, and the three, and likewise, and it's not entirely wrong, to do so.
[15:09] So likewise, Paul sees continuity here, that when I serve, from my fathers, well that I thank God, when I serve, from my fathers, with a pure conscience, that without ceasing, I have a remembrance, of thee, my prayers, night and day.
[15:24] Greatly desiring to see thee, we'll come to that, in just a minute, but I want you to see, the link between, verse three, and verse five. We mentioned, when we first looked, at Timothy, the person, the character, how he had been, grounded, in what must, at that time, have been, only the Old Testament, scriptures, by his grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice.
[15:46] And we know this, because in chapter three, for example, at verse 15 and 16, we're told, that from a child, thou hast known, the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee, wise of the salvation.
[15:57] Now, the New Testament, of course, had not been written, at the time, when Timothy was a child. The gospel accounts, had not been written, the letters of Paul, had not been written. The only scriptures, in which he could have been, grounded, from childhood, were the Old Testament, scriptures.
[16:12] The law, and the prophets, and the Psalms, and so on. And who is going to, ground him in it? Yes, he could have been sent, to the synagogue, to learn a certain amount, from the rabbis there. But it will have been, his grandmother, Rose, and his mother, Eunice.
[16:25] His mother, Eunice, would have been, a wee bit of a black sheep, in the family, because she had married a Greek, and otherwise a pagan. But she had, nevertheless, continued to bring up, her boy, in the Jewish faith.
[16:36] He wasn't circumcised, at that point. But he had learned, the scriptures. He had been grounded. He had been influenced, by the godly faithfulness, the devout fidelity, of his grandmother, and his mother.
[16:50] This is as far back, as Paul knows how to go, as far as Timothy is concerned. He said, when I served, for my forefathers, with a pure conscience, and you, Timothy, have served, as far back, as faithful devotion goes.
[17:03] Your grandmother, and your mother, and now, I trust also in you, as well. I am persuaded. Notice the, slight lack of certainty there. I am persuaded in thee also.
[17:15] The fact that he mentions it, as dwelt, first, past tense, in thy grandmother, Lois, and thy mother, and this, implies that they are probably, now, pre-deceased, Timothy.
[17:27] They're probably dead, at this stage. However, that's the point he wants to make. He serves from his forefathers, and Timothy continues to serve, in the footsteps, as it were, of his godly, mother, and grandmother.
[17:40] So, back to verse four. Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy. Now, it's not a case of really, wouldn't it be great, if we could meet up Timothy?
[17:52] You know, why don't we arrange a time and a place? Paul is in prison. He is, going to be, probably, executed very, very soon. He's already been tried, and condemned, by Nero.
[18:04] So, he is not in a position, to go out, and meet Timothy, or to go to Ephesus, or wherever Timothy might be at this stage. This is, effectively, a plea, for Timothy, his beloved son, to come to him, to come to him, and to meet with him, to spend a little time with him, to see him, if at all possible, before it is too late.
[18:27] And this is something, of course, which he spells out, also, at the very end of the letter, verse 21 of chapter four. Do thy diligence, to come before winter. And you, you'll excreteth thee, impudence, and linus, and so on.
[18:41] He wants Timothy to come. He says, The cloak that I left, that draws with carpets, verse 13 of chapter four. When thou comest, bring with thee. So, it's a plea, but it's almost an instruction.
[18:54] Timothy, you've got to come. Of all people, I want to see you, once more, before I die. partly because, of my love for you, as my dearly beloved son.
[19:05] But as we will see, as the letter unfolds, partly also, because he wants to strengthen, Timothy's faith. He knows the faith is genuine. He knows it is real.
[19:17] He knows it is part of, but it's a wee bit, perhaps, on the timid side. I am persuaded, it is in thee also, I aspire. Wherefore, because I am persuaded.
[19:30] It's in it, I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up, the gift of God, which is in thee, by the putting on of my hands. Paul knows, that at the time, when Timothy was consecrated, both to a follower of the Lord, and also set apart, to the particular work in Ephesus, he mentions in 1 Timothy, about with the laying on of the hands, of the presbytery, in chapter four, and verse 14.
[19:55] But, this isn't, with my hands, but by, the putting on of my hands. So the apostle, has been the instrument, of conveying, something of the gifting, the anointing, of the Holy Spirit, onto young Timothy, here.
[20:12] And as he is set apart, for this work, the apostle, has laid his hands upon it. And the Holy Spirit, has we might say, used probably a channel, through which he has flown.
[20:23] And he has received, with this symbolic, putting on of his hands, the anointing, of God's Spirit. The gift of God, which is in me, by the putting on of my hands.
[20:34] Now, Timothy has the gift. He has the gift, but it needs to be stirred up. It needs to be exercised. Just like, for example, you may have a natural talent, for music. You may be, say, a brilliant violinist.
[20:47] But if you go a few weeks, without practicing, then you'll get rusty. You may have a great talent, but it's sport. But if you don't stay, on top of your game, then you'll get out of the way. Your talent, your skills, will become less sharp.
[21:00] You'll get a weave, it out of shape, and so on. So even with the talent, even with the gift, it must be worked on. It must be honed. Stir up the gift of God, which is in me.
[21:12] Timothy, in other words, you've got great giftings. You've got great anointings. You've got great ability, which other men might love to have, but you've actually got it. So stir it up.
[21:24] I will just give you by the putting on of my hands. For, now, verse 7, the for is linked in with the wherefore, verse 6. Wherefore, I put thee in remembrance, to stir up the gift of God, for, because.
[21:39] Why? Because God has not given us the spirit of fear. Now there's an instant give away. Because, why does Paul even mention this? You know, the spirit of fear. Unless he has reason to think that poor Timothy is afflicted with a spirit of fear.
[21:55] That there is this timidity, this perhaps cruelness, this anxiousness to stay out of the way of trouble, to keep his head down a bit, not to stand up for Paul or with Paul and just all the people that are melting away from him in Asia.
[22:09] Just let them go with it. But God has not given us the spirit of fear. Now there's two ways you can recognise this. One is, or understand this, one is, you know, if you've got fear, it's not from God.
[22:23] God doesn't give the spirit of fear. God gives up power and love and sound of mind. So if you've got it, it's not from God. He hasn't done that. The other thing you might, if you're going to press the point, is to say, look, whoever this comes from, this spirit of fear, if it's not from the Lord, what is the source of it?
[22:42] You know, if you're going to have fear that isn't the fear of the Lord, then there's only ultimately one source of that. If we fear God, we don't have to fear anything else. Fear the Lord and you've got courage against everything else.
[22:55] But God has not given us the spirit of fear in general. And that's why you have to stir up this spirit, this gift of God that was put with our name on our hands.
[23:05] For because God is not given us the spirit of fear, but rather the spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind. You can afford to love rather than stoop to hatred because you've got the power.
[23:19] You are able to face down your enemies because God has equipped you with power and you're able to love them because you can pity them in their lost state. And of a sound mind, because you're not just going to be swept aside by every little wind of doctrine and every little sort of flavor of a month changed, a sound mind recognizes the truth of God as it is in Christ Jesus.
[23:41] A sound mind sees that all the facts of science and of creation and providence all fit together into that which the Lord has revealed of himself.
[23:53] The revelation that the Lord has made of himself through creation, through providence, through scripture and through the person of Christ. They all fit together perfectly.
[24:04] And the sound mind recognizes that. The sound mind is from God. The power of God's spirit is from him. The love is from him for God is love but not the fear.
[24:18] God has not given us the spirit of fear. So Timothy, don't have that fear in your heart, he's saying. And this implies that he suspects that there is that fear but he is reminding him of what God has to do.
[24:31] He's given you power. He's given you that strength of love. He's given you the sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord and all of me his present.
[24:43] Now notice how this word shamed. Ashamed goes hand in hand with fear. Fear and shame are two sides of the same coin you might say almost because where there is fear there is shame as well and vice versa.
[25:00] We fear to be shamed. And there would be shame to an extent in the danger to which being known as a Christian would expose you in Rome or perhaps an emphasis as well.
[25:12] If you're known to be associated with a prisoner convicted of a capital crime who is likely to be executed then you might come under suspicion as well. If you try visiting him then perhaps they'll lock you up too.
[25:24] You just don't know. So there is danger and there is perhaps a tendency to want to hide away to not want to know the prisoner of the Lord.
[25:35] Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord nor of me his prisoner but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.
[25:47] There's that word power again. Power going hand in hand with partaker. You see most people if they are afraid and if they are shying away from the danger or the threat of persecution or be incarcerated or locked up with Paul or whoever else it might be they shy away and they shrink into the background through fear of what might happen to them because they hope to preserve a little bit of peace.
[26:14] They hope to be kept safe. They hope not to get into trouble. But what often happens is they get caught anyway. They get caught and maybe they recant or they're saying we can't have the gospel or deny Christ or else we're going to torture you.
[26:27] So they do it. They'll do it and they get tortured anyway or they get executed anyway because the devil is the father of lies. You cannot believe any promises that he makes and he promises you'll be spared and it's okay just deny Christ or just recant of this faith and you'll be spared.
[26:45] But they don't get spared and they'll probably just get executed or tortured anyway. So there is no benefit in timidity. There is no benefit in fear because the devil is a liar and those who follow him are liars and the powers of this world are under his power.
[27:03] So be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord not of me his prisoner but be a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.
[27:14] Be equipped with the power he has given. Face down the enemy resist the devil he will flee from you if you have the power of God in you which he has given.
[27:27] So be prepared for whatever might come in terms of the afflictions be prepared for whatever attacks might come be prepared for the fact yeah okay I'm the prisoner of the Lord but I'm still here and I'm still witnessing if you end up in prison too Timothy that's not to your shame that's to your testimony that is part of the sort of battle scars the metal ribbons the wounds of a faithful soldier of Christ be partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God and you'll find it actually strengthens you because there is this power the Lord gives and has always been ready to give his people again this continuity the power that he gave to Moses in order to bring the children of Israel into the promised land and out from slavery in Egypt the power that he gave to Aaron to minister to him as the priest of God the power he gave to Joshua the power he gave to Elijah and Elisha the power he gave to the prophets to be faithful in the midst of so many discouragements the power he gave to John the Baptist to testify furiously in the face of King
[28:40] Herod and even though it cost him his life yet as Jesus said those born of women was not one greater than John the Baptist so that the testimony and the power which the Lord gives it is to make us effectual in this gospel work and if we shrink away like Timothy is perhaps tempted to do seeking our own safety seeking a weaver how long is it for how long do we actually preserve our miserable lives for if that's our great desire you get scared in the immediate wave of persecution but it's not going to spare you forever and eventually there has to be a reckoning where do you want to be when that reckoning is made do you want to be with the saints even if it's in prison as Paul says don't be ashamed of me as prisoner don't be ashamed of testimony of our Lord but rather be partake along with the power of God who has saved us and called us with a holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ
[29:50] Jesus again eternal Messiah Christ Jesus before the world began Timothy you don't have to worry about how you're going to perform when the going gets tough what you've been given it what you've got it's there from all eternity which was given to us before the world began and it's not your purpose and your plans and your ideas it's God's plan his own purpose and grace given us in Christ Jesus before the world began but is now made manifest by the appearing of our saviour Jesus Christ again notice the order Jesus before the Christ because talking now about the appearance on earth the physical arriving of Jesus Christ being raised up to minister to show this is what God is like this is what I am like he that has seen me has seen the father and so the fulfilment of the prophets is seen to be there it is seen to be alive it is seen to be active is now made manifest by the appearing of our saviour
[30:55] Jesus Christ Jesus of Nazareth who have abolished death and have brought life and immortality to light through the gospel now of course it doesn't mean that nobody will physically die of course they will but what do we mean by death when does death enter in death is separation from God that is why when God says to Adam and Eve when the day you eat of that tree you will surely die they didn't drop dead on the spot they didn't instantly pass out and expire but death entered in separation from God entered in sin had entered in but Christ has abolished that by overcoming it because death has been visited upon him with all the fullness of its power and he has absorbed it all and having absorbed it he has passed into it and through it he entered into death we might say he took death with him into the tomb and then he rose again the third day and death stayed dead because death has been abolished in Christ now as far as believers are concerned the only thing that even vaguely resembles death is the shuttling off of this mortal coil it is this physical body which eventually gives up its strength and ceases to the heart ceases to beat the blood ceases to pump the physical body may expire but we promise the resurrection body afterwards the soul of the righteous the soul of the saved the redeemed will go immediately to be with the
[32:33] Lord that's what he said to the thief on the cross remember this very day thou shalt be with me in paradise so it will go immediately to be with the Lord and of course by extension the souls of the lost will go immediately into a lost eternity and to each of these two ultimate destinations the body at the last day will be raised up the resurrection body same bodies with different characteristics to be reunited to the soul in eternity death will no more exist for those who are alive in Christ it will be the only existence for those who are outside of Christ because if Christ has abolished death there isn't any more death for his people but if it is only Christ who has abolished death then those who are outside of Christ have nothing but death to look forward to ongoing and eternal death except we be saved by the Saviour Jesus Christ is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour
[33:38] Jesus Christ who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to lie out into the open through the gospel the good news that death is overcome the good news that separation from God has been healed in Christ Jesus this breach has been bound up this ultimate curse has been expunged that the Lord himself has overcome that ultimate death and that this free offer is available to sinners everywhere including to the Romans who are about to execute Paul including to those Romans who executed Jesus remember what he said when he prayed for them father forgive them for they know not what they do so the free offer is there doesn't mean everybody will take it doesn't mean everybody will accept it but it is there for them all and it is there it is brought to light through the gospel the good news of our Lord and Saviour
[34:40] Jesus Christ this still fires Paul from his very prison cell from his vast few days across the miles to distant Ephesus or wherever Timothy is found to be at this time this is his last cry and it is still alive and on fire with the good news the gospel which brings life and immortality to light Lord willing we will continue with this first chapter when we next take it up next week so let us goodbye look