Paul expressed in last week’s passage just how joyful he was to see Timothy’s sincere faith. In this week’s passage, he expands on that comment, giving us a deeper glimpse into Timothy’s ministry.

Take a look at the passage in 2 Timothy 1:6-7:

This passage is an often quoted passage, focusing on the difference between the spirit of timidity and the spirit of power. This is usually quoted to encourage someone to be bold in regards to their faith, encouraging them to speak out about God and what he has done and will do.

However, that’s only a portion of the truth contained in these two verses. Yes, Paul is encouraging Timothy to be bold. But there is much more going on here.

Last week, we saw Paul express joy for Timothy’s sincere faith. Now, he reminds Timothy to “fan into flame the gift of God.” This is directly connected to the previous verses, evidenced by the clause “for this reason.” This is an unusual expression for Paul to use, occurring only here in all of his letters. It indicates that his thought here is directly connect to what he has just said.

He encourages Timothy to “fan into flame” the gift he received from God. The tense used here in the Greek is a present infinitive, and can mean to either “kindle anew” or “keep on fanning into flame.” The second idea makes the most sense here. Paul isn’t suggesting that Timothy needs anything further than the gift from God that he has already received, or that it has dwindled and needs refreshed. Rather, Paul is simply encouraging Timothy to continue steadfastly in his faithfulness to God and in his ministry to him.

This gift from God occurred at the laying on of hands that Timothy experienced when he was commissioned for ministry, referred to in 1 Timothy 1:18 and 4:14. This emphasizes Timothy’s authority to the Ephesian church, since Timothy was expected to share this letter with the whole body.

Though the word here is the same word used for the spiritual gifts (charisma), this isn’t necessarily referring to a miraculous gift, but rather to Timothy’s ministry, and God’s equipping him specifically for that service. This is a powerfully personal moment from Paul to Timothy in this letter, indicating just how close they were.

Paul then gives Timothy a three fold description of how his ministry is to operate, after a single negative description.

Not of timidity…

This conveys the idea of cowardice. Through the two letters we have from Paul to Timothy, we can see something of Timothy’s temperament. Even though we don’t see too much signifying that Timothy was too timid, Paul knew him much better than we can see here. He states, that because of God giving us his Spirit, Timothy has no reason to live in a spirit of cowardice, and there is no place for it in his ministry. While most English translations pose this as “spirit,” meaning an attitude or characteristic, the Greek is much more specific, giving the idea that Paul is referring to the Holy Spirit here, far deepening the meaning of this passage.

 But of power…

This does not mean that Timothy needs to present a powerful personality in his role as a minister. It means instead that Timothy must be bold in his exercise of authority. Timothy faced some difficult circumstances in his leadership at Ephesus, facing some false teachers. His leadership must be assertive, and would be so because it was by the power of the Holy Spirit that he could minister there.

Of love…

Love is a common characteristic for all believers, and is found throughout almost all of the New Testament. John especially equates love with being a follower of Christ. But perhaps no one knew as much about the love inspired by faith as Paul did, when he write 1 Corinthians 13. This too, is Spirit enabled.

And of self-discipline…

This term occurs only here in the whole New Testament, although derivatives are seen in Paul’s first letter to Timothy. The idea here is simple. There was no way Timothy could exercise discipline over others if he had not first mastered it in his own life. Once again, this isn’t simply something Timothy could do on his own; it is only possible with the Holy Spirit’s help.

These gifts are all three evidence of the Holy Spirit in Timothy’s life. Without the Spirit’s involvement, nothing is really possible. Paul expresses this reality to Timothy, encouraging him to continue to stay strong in his faith and service.

We need to take this to heart as well. When we only quote a portion of this to encourage others, we miss a significant point. No, God did not give Timothy, or us, a spirit of timidity. He gave us his Spirit, and with it comes power, and love, and self-discipline. To focus only on one of the three misses the point. Power without love is tyrannical. Power without self-discipline is as well. Love without power or self-discipline is weak and useless. And self-discipline without love or power is only self-gratifying.

All three work together, with the Spirit’s involvement, to help us serve God to the best of our ability.

Of the three attributes listed here, which is your strongest? Which is your weakest? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.