2 TImothy 1:1-14 Questions 4-6

 4. Why is it crucial that God "saved" and "called" us not because of anything we have done? (1:9).

1:9 tells us 3 more things about our salvation and calling:

• It leads to "holly calling". The "call" of God to salvation is at the same time a call to holiness, not a call to complacency. The truly called will strive for true holiness.
  
• It is "because of his own purpose and grace".Titus 3:5 says, "he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy", and Eph 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.". We do not merit salvation. It is all of grace. Even the faith needed to save is a gift, not earned. Because "no one may boast", no one will get glory except the gracious One who saves.
• It is "given us in Christ Jesus before the ages began" - it preceded our existence (c.f.Eph 1:4 "even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him"). While this does not definitely exclude the 'foreknowledge' view of salvation (God looking into the future to see who would choose Him), the emphasis is on Divine sovereignty and Divine action.
  

This doctrine of Divine election and predestination is crucial because of at least 3 things:

1. It gives glory to God and not to us, hence our worship is undivided.

2. What is gained partly by our works can be lost partly by our works. Divine predestination leads to full security and confidence in God even through suffering.

3.It leads to and undergirds holy living as a consequence of salvation, not as a means to achieve salvation.

5 a). How does Paul explain the "promise of life" (1:1) in v.10?

The "promise of life that is in Christ Jesus" can be equated with the effect of the "gospel" as laid out in vv 1:9-10. "Life" is contrasted with "death", which has been "abolished". This is first a reference to spiritual life, but ultimately it is a reference to eternal life that follows.("immortality").

5. b) Why is it important for us to focus on this promise?

The promise allows us to entrust ourselves to God even through death. Our deaths are not meaningless. It tells us about death and the way we are to face it, as well as of our eternal state/destiny after death. This removes fear and superstitious beliefs (Hos 13:14, 1 Cor 15:55-56 "Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?”. There is no need to
"grieve as others do who have no hope".(1 Thes 4:13)

6. a) What deposit is God supposed to guard? (1:12)

Remember our previous discussion here.

The "deposit" may refer to the gospel that God has left with Paul and will guard, or the life and ministry Paul has left with God, which He will guard. Either is theologically possible, but I think that the former is more likely. Tit 1:3 ("and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;") also supports the former interpretation.

6. b) What good deposit is Timothy supposed to guard? (1:14)

This may refer to his 'sincere faith'(1:5), his gift (1:6), or to Paul's teaching (1:13). It may refer to the theological content of the gospel. Paul may be saying to Timothy that his Christian heritage is a blessing and that it should be valued.

Why does God guard the treasure in v.12 and Timothy guard the one in v.14?

 I would say that each party will do only what each party is able to do. We cannot guard ourselves (ultimately) or the gospel (ultimately). We can only be faithful to the gospel through Divine power. There is a balance of human responsibility and Divine sovereignty.

Question for thought and discussion:
How has Jesus "destroyed death"? (1:10)

The passages given are "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith." (Ro 3:23-25), "For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹ But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. ²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Ro 6:20-23) and "¹⁴ Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery." (Heb 2:14-15)

So Jesus destroyed the death we deserved because of our sin by His own death, taking our place to face the wrath of the Father.

Why are "power, love and self-discipline"(1:7) important for those who want to serve God?

Love is needed to deal with people. Divine power is needed for effectiveness. Self-discipline is needed to stay undistracted and focused. My observation is that, any 2 of these, wielded without the 3rd, makes for an incomplete ministry, I asked, "which of these is lacking in your life and ministry" and we had a nice time of sharing :)

Mt 25:14-20 is the Parable of the Talents. With respect to "fanning into flame" (1:6) and "guarding" (1:16) these verses then counsel us that appropriate and zealous use should me made of what God has given us. So we must ensure that our spiritual gifts, opportunities and life lessons are used to advance the cause of the Kingdom.