The Sure Foundation
"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure." (2 Timothy 2:19)
The
preceding verses of this section of 2 Timothy are replete with warnings
about the damage that could be done through "babblings" and cancerous
words. But God is unshaken by whatever man might do. "He is the Rock,
his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and
without iniquity, just and right is he" (Deuteronomy 32:4).
"I am the LORD, and there is none else," Isaiah joyfully quotes (Isaiah 45:6). "I am the LORD, I change not," the prophet Malachi is told (Malachi 3:6), and there is "no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17) in the God of creation. God's sovereign will is absolute: "The word of our God shall stand for ever" (Isaiah 40:8). "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure" (Isaiah 46:10).
We
who are the twice-born, and thus the children of God, can stand firm
and steadfast in the knowledge that He who is "sure" is the One who is
working in us "to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). He has adopted us as His children "by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will" (Ephesians 1:5).
It is no random act of capricious fate that has secured us.
It is the sure foundation of the great Creator God. It is His divine
power that has "given unto us all things that pertain unto life and
godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and
virtue." That calling rests on "exceeding great and precious promises"
that enable us to participate in the "divine nature" and escape the
awful "corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:3-4).
Sing Praise To The Lord
Mark Chandler
Vessels of the House
"But
in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but
also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour." (2 Timothy 2:20)
The
"house" referenced here by Paul to young Timothy is the "house of God,
which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the
truth" (1 Timothy 3:15).
In the Old Testament, the tabernacle and temple were the dwelling place
of God and the center of worship led by a high priest from the tribe of
Levi.
Now, we are members of the Lord's "house" (Hebrews 3:6) and are like "lively stones" that are being "built up a spiritual house" (1 Peter 2:5), led by Jesus, who is the "high priest over the house of God" (Hebrews 10:21).
This
"great house" has many "vessels" in it of different values. Some are
"honorable" instruments (vessels of high value) that serve in the New
Testament economy in some parallel function to that of the vessels of
the inner court of the tabernacle and temple. Those instruments of gold,
silver, and brass (Exodus 25; 2 Chronicles 4) each played a part in the liturgical worship, designed as part of the "schoolmaster" to teach us about the law of God (Galatians 3:24). The more public and formal the use, the more valuable the vessel. The most valuable were set closest to the Holy of Holies.
There are also vessels of "dishonor" in the great house. The tabernacle and temple had "earthen" vessels for certain functions (Leviticus 14).
These were expendable—necessary, perhaps, for some short-term need, but
not valuable. Since the church now functions as the "pillar and ground"
of the truth, the "honorable" vessels are expected to purge themselves
from that which is "dishonorable."
Sing Praise To The Lord
Mark Chandler
Walking in Truth
"I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father." (2 John 4)
This beautiful metaphor, "walking in truth," is found only in the two one-chapter epistles of John—here in our text, and in 3 John 3 and 4. This principle should indeed characterize our daily lives, since our Lord and Savior is Himself "the truth" (John 14:6), the Word of God which we believe is "truth" (John 17:17), and the Holy Spirit who indwells our bodies is the very "Spirit of truth" (John 15:26).
The
New Testament also uses other characteristics of the Christian life
under this figure of walking. When a person is born again through faith
in Christ and testifies of this by following the Lord in baptism, he or
she is said to be raised to "walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4).
Then,
since the Holy Spirit has come to indwell our bodies, to comfort,
guide, and constrain us as needed, we are exhorted to "walk in the
Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). Furthermore, we are commanded to "walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us" (Ephesians 5:2).
This is not erotic love, of course, or even brotherly love, but
unselfish "agape" love that sacrifices its own interests for the needs
of others.
There are still more such exhortations. "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time" (Colossians 4:5). Furthermore, we are to "walk in the light, as he is in the light" (1 John 1:7).
All
of these and other similar admonitions can be summarized as simply
following the example of Christ. "He that saith he abideth in him ought
himself also so to walk, even as he walked" (1 John 2:6). "He that followeth me," said Jesus our Lord, "shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12).
Sing Praise To The Lord
Mark Chandler
