Chapter # 4 Paragraph # 2 Study # 8
Lincolnton, NC
September 11, 2005
KJV Translation:
14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
1901 ASV Translation:
14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
Notes:
- I. Paul's Instruction to Timothy Continued.
- A. He instructed him to focus upon reading, calling the people of God alongside, and teaching the people of God the content of doctrine.
- B. Then he turned to the specific means by which this instruction was to be accomplished.
- 1. There is a very large, mostly unmentioned, assumption behind this letter: the work of the Holy Spirit, without which no man can adequately fulfill the will of God.
- a. In the Old Testament every time there was a significant need, the Holy Spirit is revealed to be the ultimate cause of hope.
- b. In the Gospel, the Holy Spirit produces the Christ in order to deliberately bypass (lest we say "refuse to allow") man's contribution to the accomplishment of the task.
- c. Sin is seen in such profound terms that none of the "positive" accomplishments are seen to be the fruit of man's labor.
- 1) God, indeed, uses the evil activities of men to fulfill His desire and will (such as the death of His beloved Son).
- 2) But, when God wishes to accomplish a "morally good thing" so that the accomplishment is "good" from beginning to end, He always does it Himself in the Spirit.
- 3) The wisdom of God is so profound that He capably accomplishes "good" out of every evil, but His goodness is so profound that He alone can really accomplish "good" by producing "good" means for the "good" end that He has in view.
- d. The "ministry" of "reading, summoning, and teaching" can only really be done by the Spirit Himself. But, to do it in the sphere of our physical realm, He empowers men of this realm in whom He dwells.
- 2. Thus he tells Timothy, "Neglect not..."
- a. The word "neglect" means to treat as an object that has little to no value. It is a part of the "love" issue that assigns relative value based upon the factors involved in the mix of things that determine the value of a thing.
- b. The exhortation of the apostle is for Timothy to not relegate something to a place of "no consequence".
- 3. "...the gift that is in thee..."
- a. The text reads "the in-thee gift".
- b. The "gift" is the Spirit's special empowering to excel in the accomplishment of a certain task.
- c. Clearly, to "neglect" the Spirit's special provision would be to move into self-dependence and self-determination (deciding what is important not on the basis of gifting, but on another basis, and then depending upon one's own resources to pursue that important thing).
- 1) There are many important things. No one can address all of them.
- 2) No one should make it a major effort to address what one is not qualified to address. [The absence of a musician is not a summons to someone who has no aptitude for playing an instrument to "take up the task of learning to play".]
- 3) But, by the same token, no one who has an aptitude should "neglect" it just because it doesn't "fit my current interest"...especially if there is a current need that is going begging.
- d. 2 Timothy 1:6 is a return by Paul to this very issue.
- 4. "...which was given to you..."
- a. Clearly, no "gift" is given by God to a person to be ignored or set aside.
- b. That it was "given" means that it was to become a major focus of life's direction.
- 5. "...by prophecy..."
- a. This is a deliberate return to 1:18.
- b. In that text, "prophecy" was given to give Timothy direction regarding his life's work.
- c. The "by" ought to be translated "upon the foundation of"...the gift was not given by prophecy, but was attended by it so that its presence and function could be known. God gave the gift and sponsored the "prophecies" that would let all know that He had done this giving.
- 6. "...with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery."
- a. Again, this was not an integral part of the "giving".
- b. It was an attendant issue: the recognition by men of God that God had done something.
- 1) The "laying on of hands" was a human method of signalling agreement with another so that the other could count upon those whose hands are "lent to the task".
- 2) The "laying on of hands" produced a sense of sharing in the deeds of the "commissioned" (1 Timothy 5:22). It produced a "participation in" the actions of that one.
- c. The "presbytery" (Luke 22:66; Acts 22:5) was the association of recognized spiritual leaders [the plurality of elders in the church] whose "spirituality" was to provide them with the maturity and insight to be able to recognize the gifts of God in others.
