WWUTT 588 What Are You Appointed For?

It is by the ministry of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ that you are brought to saving faith. The apostles, preachers, evangelists, they have been given to prepare you for this work of ministry when we understand the text.

This is When We Understand the Text, a daily study of God's Word that we may be filled with the knowledge of His will. For questions and comments, send us an email to whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com.

Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky. Today we will finish up that paragraph that we've been studying the last couple of weeks out of 1 Timothy 2 verses 1 -7. Paul writes to his servant Timothy,. First of all then I urge, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified, in every way.

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. I am telling the truth, I am not lying, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and in truth. So do you have this paragraph memorized yet? You know, there are some times as a preacher where I will have been on a particular section for a certain period of time and I'll wonder if everybody's gotten bored with that section, whether it's teaching through the podcast or preaching from a particular part of the Bible in a series that I'm in or something like that.

The Testimony Given at the Proper Time

But Paul said to the Philippians, Philippians 3, 1, to write the same things to you is no trouble to me, and it is safe to you. It's no problem for me at all to go over this again. I could even preach the same message that I preached yesterday, and there could be something that will grab you today that you didn't hear the day before.

So it's no trouble for me to go through these things again, and it is certainly safe for you. So I hope that you have learned much from First Timothy 2, 1 through 7 as I made the decision to come back this week and focus on a few more of these words, not brush past it too quickly.

So even yesterday, I kind of went through the remainder of verse six rather rapidly and didn't focus on the section where Paul said that this is the testimony given at the proper time. So we focused on ransom, but what about that part that comes after the comma?

So Paul says that Christ gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. Well this testimony given at the proper time, that's a reference that Paul has made in other places as well.

So for example, in Galatians 4, 4, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son born of woman, which we are remembering in this season, in this Christmas season now, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons.

All of these things were prophesied in the Old Testament, and it's now during this age in which Paul is writing that God brought this about in the fullness of time. The ministry of Christ paying the ransom for those who would believe in him.

In Ephesians chapter one, we have it said there as well, that God has made known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him, things in heaven and on earth.

That's Ephesians 1, 9, and 10, and what's also being said in that particular passage is that there's more to come, which Christ is going to bring about in the fullness of time. So there was a period of time in which God brought about those things which were prophesied in the Old Testament, and yet there are other things prophesied that have not yet come to fulfillment which we are awaiting in Christ, and all those who remain steadfast in him who endure to the end will be saved.

We also have it said by the Apostle Paul to the Romans in a couple of places, like Romans chapter three, that all of these things were done to show his righteousness at the present time, justification through Jesus Christ, so that God might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Christ.

Romans 5, 6, for while we were still weak at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. So all of these things have happened in God's good timing, and as the ministry of the ransom that was paid through the cross of Christ is being proclaimed, Paul says that this testimony was given at the proper time.

And so at the present time that Paul is serving as an apostle, this is that time that God is designated for the gospel to go out through all the world. And so for this, he says in verse seven, I was appointed a preacher and an apostle.

Preacher and Apostle

So what is a preacher? Let's talk about preacher and apostle here. What's a preacher? You might say, well, it's someone who preaches. Ha ha, very good. You get a gold star. But what does it mean to preach?

It means to proclaim or make known a message. And remember, Paul said that this is the testimony given at the proper time. The gospel of Jesus Christ. And it's and it's for that he was made a preacher to proclaim that message.

And an apostle, Paul says now the role of apostle is a little bit different than a preacher. I'm a preacher, but I'm not an apostle. An apostle is a person who is a carrier of the word of Christ himself.

So yes, he preached the message of Christ, but he also carried the very word of Christ. Whatever Paul said when he was teaching the word of God, it was as though what he was saying was God's word itself.

So just as the as the prophets in the Old Testament would speak to the people a word from the Lord and whatever Elijah said or whatever Elisha said or Samuel said or Moses said on and on down the line, the prophets that we have mentioned for us in the Old Testament, when they said, thus saith the Lord, what came from them was the word of God.

It's the words that God told them to say. So what Paul preaches as an apostle is the word of Christ. It's the words that Christ told his apostles to say. And sometimes that word was what Jesus actually said in his earthly ministry.

But there were other times in which the Holy Spirit gave an apostle exactly what Christ wanted the apostle to say. So there were a couple of different ways that the apostle received that message. It was either by the ministry of Christ during the time of his earthly ministry, or it was a message that was given to him by the Holy Spirit at that particular time.

Either way, it was the working of the Holy Spirit through the words of the apostle that they delivered to the people. So Paul is preaching the message of the gospel, but he is also administering the word of Christ that he was told to deliver.

And so he is an apostle in that sense, and that is an authoritative role. For to reject the word of an apostle was to reject the word of Christ himself. There are times in which Paul appeals to his authority as an apostle.

Like with the Thessalonians, for example, we read in our previous study at the end of 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, Paul said, if there is anyone who does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person and have nothing to do with him that he may be ashamed.

Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother, because it was important for the Thessalonians to understand if you're rejecting the word of an apostle, you're rejecting the word of Christ. And so I really tremble for those teachers out there who will say something to the effect of, hey, whatever the apostle Paul said, it's not what Christ said.

And I just, oh, man, I can't believe you just said that. Did you not see what Paul said in a place like in 2 Thessalonians? If you disregard what he says, it's the same as if you disregarded what Christ himself had said.

And that's not an authority that Paul abused. He was a humble man. You look at all of the craziness that he went through for the gospel of Jesus Christ. And he kind of makes reference to that even here in this verse, 1 Timothy 2, 7, when he says, I'm telling the truth, I'm not lying, and that he is a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

This for Timothy would have called to his attention all of the things that Paul endured and went through for the sake of the gospel, beatings, shipwrecks, even being put to death once, he was stoned and yet survived it.

All of the craziness that Paul went through and even the stress that he endured, which he talks about in 2 Corinthians, that he would be or would experience anxiety for those to whom he had delivered the gospel.

And it seemed that they had received it. And yet he would experience a turmoil in his soul for their sake, that they would not just have heard the gospel and believed it in a moment of time, but that they were still enduring in it.

When Paul couldn't be there with them to to see that they were enduring in the gospel that they heard. But as he traveled to another place and to another place, he would experience this this burden in his soul for for those who had heard the gospel, that they would endure in it.

Listen to what he says here in 2 Corinthians 11. I'm going to read this whole chapter. Paul says, I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me, for I feel a divine jealousy for you.

Since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one that you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super apostles. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge. Indeed, in every way, we have made this plain to you in all these things.

So one of the things that Paul talked about in the previous chapter is how he was weak in speech. And there were some in the Corinthian church that looked down on him for that because he wasn't as bold a speaker as somebody like Apollos, for example.

And there were some other men who claimed to be apostles. In fact, they claim to be even greater apostles than Paul was. And that's who Paul refers to sarcastically as super apostles. So I go on here to verse seven.

Paul says, or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted because I preached God's gospel to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you.

And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.

And why? Because I do not love you. God knows I do. And what I am doing, I will continue to do in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission, they work on the same terms as we do.

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.

Their end will correspond to their deeds. I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do accept me as a fool so that I, too, may boast a little. What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would, but as a fool.

Since many boast according to the flesh, I, too, will boast. For you gladly bear with fools being wise yourselves, for you bear it, if someone makes you slaves of you or devours you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or strikes you in the face.

To my shame, I must say we were too weak for that. But whatever anyone else dares to boast of, I am speaking of a fool. I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I.

Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one. I'm talking like a madman with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings and often near death.

Five times I received at the hands of the Jews, the 40 lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked a night and a day. I was adrift at sea on frequent journeys in danger from rivers, danger from robbers.

Danger from my own people. Danger from Gentiles. Danger in the city. Danger in the wilderness. Danger at sea. Danger from false brothers in toil and hardship through many a sleepless night in hunger and thirst, often without food in cold and exposure.

And apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches who is weak. And I am not weak. Who is made to fall and I am not indignant. If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

The God and father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. At Damascus, the governor under King Eretus was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me. But I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

So what Paul is mentioning here as he goes through a testimony of the things that he has endured for the gospel of Christ, he's saying that what he is is testifying of his own experiences. They're true.

He really went through these things. He really endures this for the sake of the gospel. He doesn't even get paid for what he's doing to display that his foremost passion are the souls that he ministers to.

And what he does and what he proclaims to is the truth. And he's not lying. So he is contrasting himself with those who are the false apostles, the super apostles. They're lying, but Paul's not lying.

And so it was even in the same kind of time frame that these things are going on, that Paul shares this with Timothy in first Timothy two, seven. I am telling the truth. I am not lying. There are others who are liars and deceivers, but that isn't Paul.

And he mentioned that earlier, too, kind of contrasting himself with somebody like Hymenaeus and Alexander, who was mentioned at the end of chapter one. And at the start of chapter one, he mentioned certain persons that have swerved from the gospel and wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law.

But they don't understand what they're saying or the things about which they make confident assertions. But that's not Paul for the mission of Paul that he says should also be the mission of Timothy of Timothy is love, is love for others.

That's why we deliver the gospel. That's why we hold nothing back when it comes to the gospel that we share. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith with which Paul is saying he has.

I am telling the truth. I am not lying. And the message that he proclaims is the truth. It's not some cleverly devised myth, as as Peter also says at the start of second Peter chapter one, we did not follow cleverly devised myths, but we were eyewitnesses to his majesty.

So Paul says that he was appointed by Christ as a preacher and an apostle. And there are other places where he mentions that he was appointed as an apostle. I think I mentioned to you, oh, it was either this week or last week where Paul mentions in Galatians one fifteen that he was appointed even before he was born to be an apostle to the nations.

And at the start of first Corinthians chapter one, Paul says that he was called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. Not the only place he says that, but that's the example that I'm pulling out there.

So he says he was appointed a preacher and an apostle by Christ himself and says, I'm telling the truth. I'm not lying. There are others who claim to see visions of the Lord. They're liars. But Paul was the last of whom was to be appointed as an apostle, according to first Corinthians fifteen eight.

And that statement there closes the book on appointed apostleship. There will not be any more apostles, not even in the time of Paul. Once he was called to be an apostle, there would be no others. And then anybody even today that would call themselves an apostle, they're liars.

For Christ appointed Paul last of all. And then there would be no more apostles after him. And furthermore, he was an apostle that was appointed to be a teacher of the Gentiles. Paul went out further than anyone did, as as he mentioned there in second Corinthians eleven, all the rest of the apostles did not even travel as far as Paul did.

And he also talked about that in first Corinthians fifteen at the start of chapter fifteen. He traveled on those missionary journeys far and wide throughout the Roman Empire, using his status as a Roman citizen to be able to advance the gospel even farther, because that was what Christ appointed him to do.

Remember what Jesus said to Ananias in Acts chapter nine. Paul had or I'm sorry, Christ had appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus. Not yet, Paul. He was still called Saul. And and then Christ appeared to Ananias and said, go to the street called Straight and at the house of Judas, look for a man of Tarsus named Saul.

For behold, he is praying and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias who would come and lay hands on him so that he might regain his sight. But Ananias answered, Lord, I've heard from many about this man.

How much evil he's done to your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priest to bind all who call on your name. But the Lord said to him, go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel, for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.

And that is what Paul is saying to Timothy there, that he was appointed by Christ, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth to suffer much for the advancement of the gospel to the world. And that ministry that Christ used Paul to advance is still advancing to this day.

It's not that Paul taught during his little period of time in the first century, but what Paul wrote of a significant portion of the New Testament is continuing to be taught in the Church of Jesus Christ even now, even even through a podcast just like this.

So we are thankful for his ministry and the other apostles and that Christ has worked through these men as he has chosen in their respective times to bring about the salvation of those who were chosen from the foundation of the world.

Praise God for that. In Ephesians 411, it says he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.

So as you have received the word of the apostles through what you read in the New Testament, you are now equipped to go and do the work of ministry. So you also must share the gospel with others. You also must encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ in church, those that you fellowship with and and worship with on a regular basis.

You also must admonish one another. There are brothers and sisters in Christ you need to correct, and there will probably be times that you also need to be corrected. And in these things, when done in love, we are being built up in Christ until we are presented to him to the measure of the status of the fullness of Christ, as also talked about there in Ephesians chapter four.

The Apostles Equip the Saints for Ministry

Let's conclude with prayer. Lord God, we thank you for this ministry that was given by the apostles that we read about in the Bible. And thank you that we have the Bible, other faithful men who came along down the line and translated the Bible into other languages.

So many would be able to read the very word of God and come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Oh, what a privilege this is that I've got a Bible open in front of me here in front of a computer screen to record my voice and put it on the Internet that can be heard around the world.

What a blessing that is. And that is all your work, that you have worked in this present time to advance the gospel in such a way. And I pray that we would be faithful to it. And when it comes to technology in particular, we can we can get kind of lost in a world of of computers and gadgets and screens.

But we need to go out from our homes and we need to reach out to the world and and preach the gospel so that those would who would hear it would know that they need to turn from sin and believe in Jesus Christ, trust in him and be saved.

Thank you so much for bringing about saving faith in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. And I pray that you would convict our hearts all the more to live lives of godliness in this present age. And we pray this in Jesus name.

Amen. This is when we understand the text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. There are lots of great Bible teaching programs on the Web, and we thank you for selecting ours. But this is no replacement for regular fellowship with the church family.

Find a good gospel teaching Christ centered church to worship with this weekend and join us again tomorrow as we continue our Bible study when we understand.

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