“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:1).
As we open our study of the Biblical book of 2 Timothy, it’s important to note how Paul the Apostle began this letter: “From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God…” (NET).
This tells us that Paul did not win his position through personal effort. He did not secure his role as an Apostle by virtue of his skills or talents. Paul did not inherit this responsibility nor was it conferred upon him by a human agency. Instead, Paul’s calling came through the sovereign will of God. That calling will serve as the foundation for all that follows within this letter.
This greeting is also in keeping with several of Paul’s other New Testament letters…
“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle…” (Romans 1:1).
“Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God…” (1 Corinthians 1:1).
“Paul, an apostle– sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father…” (Galatians 1:1 NIV).
Since Timothy was surely aware of Paul’s Apostolic authority, this may indicate that Paul intended this letter to reach a larger audience right from the beginning. Thus, other readers would benefit from a reminder that God had ordained Paul to speak with authority as His commissioned representative.
We should also note that Paul referred to “…the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus” in this introduction. This serves to illustrate the balanced teaching that characterized Paul’s message of salvation in Christ. For instance, compare this statement with a portion of Paul’s message to the church in the ancient city of Corinth…
“Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction” (2 Corinthians 13:10).
While Paul undoubtedly preferred to edify his listeners with “…the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,” he did not neglect to use his authority for corrective purposes when necessary. We’ll see another example of this balanced approach later in 2 Timothy chapter two…
“…a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26).