A Study of 2 Timothy: Week 3

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Week 3 Day 1

Pray: Lord, You are my Rock and my Redeemer. Today, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight. (Psalm 19:14) Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I thank You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify Your name forever. For great is Your steadfast love toward me; You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. Amen (Psalm 86:11-13).

Read: Today’s assignment is simple. Read through the book of 2 Timothy looking for instructions. Underline all the instructions using a pencil.

Apply: This week’s memory verse is 2 Timothy 3:17 “so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” Below, write last week’s memory verse (3:16) from memory and then add 2 Timothy 3:17.

Week 3 Day 2

Pray: Father in Heaven, As I study Your Word today, make me to know Your ways. Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day long. Amen (Psalm 25:4-5).

Read: Today you are going to list all of the instructions. In the attached pdf you will find a chart labeled “2 Timothy Instructions” (I love charts). List the instructions in the first column of the chart. Don’t forget to include the reference and use the exact words of Scripture. However, try to list only the instruction and not any additional surrounding text. Leave the right column blank; we will look at it tomorrow. I’ve done 2 Timothy 2:3 as an example below.

Example:

What instructions does Paul give Timothy?	Why and How is he to accomplish it?
2:3 Suffer hardship with me

Apply: Jesus said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him” (John 14:21). Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it (Luke 11:28). Prayerfully read over your list of instructions and ask God to show you one (or more) of these that you need to work on this week and write the instruction on one side of a notecard.

Week 3 Day 3

Pray: Our Father, Blessed be Your name forever and ever, to You belong all wisdom and might. You change times and seasons. You remove kings and set up kings. You give wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. You reveal deep and hidden things. You know what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with You. (Daniel 2:20-22).

Read: Have you ever given a child an instruction and had them ask “why?” There are two very different attitudes in which this question can be asked. One attitude comes from defiance and distrust; the other comes from a genuine desire to know the reason why. Quickly read Luke chapter one and contrast the way Mary and Zechariah each asked the question “How?”

Today, in a humble desire to obey the instructions God has given, we are going to be asking “Why?” and “How?”

Read through the book of 2 Timothy and when you get to each instruction look for clues that will answer “Why?” and “How?” This means you will be looking for the results of obedience, the consequences of disobedience, and the means by which the instruction will be accomplished in our lives. Look for terms like “for,” “therefore,” and “because.” Look for the answers in the verses before and after each instruction.

Write the “Why” and “How” in the right-hand column of your “2 Timothy Instructions” chart. I have done 2 Timothy 2:13 as an example for you.

Example:

What instructions does Paul give Timothy?	Why and How is he to accomplish it?
Suffer hardship with me (2:3)	How? As a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2:3) Not entangling himself in the affairs of everyday life (2:4). As an athlete, competing according to the rules (2:5). As a hard-working farmer (2:6). Why? So that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier (2:4). To win the prize (2:5) To be the first to receive his share of the crops (2:6).

Apply: The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). It is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Yesterday you wrote an instruction on one side of a notecard. On the opposite side of that card, write the “Why” and/or “How” that correlates with that instruction. Keep this notecard in your pocket and when you are tempted to disobey the Word of God, take out your sword.

Week 3 Day 4

Pray: Lord, thank you that we have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator, letting the Word of Christ dwell in us richly. (Colossians 3:5-16)

Read: The book of 2 Timothy strongly contrasts the godly versus the ungodly.

First, read the book of 2 Timothy and mark the characteristics of the godly with a blue star and mark the characteristics of the ungodly with a red “x” (alternately you could highlight the characteristics of the godly in blue and the ungodly in red). When looking for characteristics of the godly read the text carefully. Look for terms such as “us,” “those who are chosen,” “those who call on the Lord,” and “the Lord’s bond-servant.”

Next, list the characteristics of the godly and ungodly in the chart labeled “The Godly vs. the Ungodly” (see the attached pdf).

If you have time, read Romans 6:1-23 and Romans 8:1-6.

Apply: The Lord knows those who are His own and everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. (2 Timothy 2:19 and 21). Read over your chart of the godly and the ungodly. As believers He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14). You are called to “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:20-24). What do you need to put off today?

Week 3 Day 5

Pray: Begin your study in prayer. Ask Him to bring to mind a specific Scripture you should pray today.

Read: Today, I want to be sure you didn’t miss the rich truths waiting for you in 2 Timothy regarding the godly and ungodly. So, answer the following questions, be sure to read each verse listed and answer each question completely, using the words of Scripture.

What is the ungodly’s relationship to the truth (remember God’s Word is truth, John 17:17)? (2:18, 2:25, 3:5, 3:7, 4:3-4)
What is their spiritual state (2:26, 3:8)
How do the ungodly conduct their lives? (3:2-5)
What will the ungodly’s future look like? (3:9, 3:13)
How have the godly been saved? (1:9, 2:10)
Who indwells us? (1:14)
What kind of spirit have we been given? (1:7)
What should we follow and pursue (2:22, 3:10-11)
How do we work? (1:8, 2:21, 3:17)
What can we expect here on earth (3:12)
What will our future look like? (2:10-12, 4:8)

Apply: Spend time in prayer and then in the space provided write a summary of what God has taught you in this study. What specific things have changed in your life since you began three weeks ago. What do you plan to do differently as you move forward?

Once you are finished, go share it with someone.

Thank you for studying with us. I thank God for you and I am praying for you, mindful of your sincere faith. So kindle afresh the gifts God has given you, for God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, but join in suffering for the Gospel according to 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 granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. (2 Timothy 1:3-10).

Keep Going: This was our last day of study. But there is so much more we can learn from the book of 2 Timothy. If you were writing this study, what would you do next? What questions have you asked and still not found the answers to? Below are some ideas of what you can do next. Why not just keep going?

Mark “salvation” and ask the 5 W’s and an H. List what you learn. (also, look for the words “saved” and “knowledge of the truth.”
Mark “ashamed” and ask the 5 W’s and an H. List what you learn.
Mark “endure” and ask the 5 W’s and an H. List what you learn.
Mark “power” and ask the 5 W’s and an H. List what you learn.
Mark “believe” and ask the 5 W’s and an H. List what you learn.
Mark “faith” and ask the 5 W’s and an H. List what you learn.
Mark “talk, quarrels, chatter” and ask the 5 W’s and an H. List what you learn.
Use a Strong’s concordance (or app) to look up the Greek definitions of each of your repeated words or any word you weren’t sure what meant.
Use a Strong’s concordance (or app) to do a word study of each of the attributes listed in 2 Timothy 1:7
Use a Strong’s concordance (or app) to do a word study of each of the behaviors listed in 2 Timothy 3:10-11
Use a map to locate Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra (3:11) and use cross referencing to see if you can find what happened there.
Several other people have been mentioned in this book. Use cross referencing to gather any additional information the Bible gives us about them.
The book of 2 Timothy refers to “on that day” and “in the last days” (1:12, 18; 4:8). Use cross referencing to determine what point in time Paul is referring to.
Make a map of Paul’s missionary journeys and locate the places referend to in the book of 2 Timothy.
2 Timothy 2:4-6 refers to a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer. Use a Bible dictionary to gather insight into these three occupations and their significance.
Consider any verse you still do not understand. Ask God to lead you to answers within His Word. Remember 2 Timothy 2:7 “Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” It’s the Lord Who gives understanding.

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*All Scriptures are quoted from the ESV unless otherwise noted.