2 Timothy 1:6 Why I put you in remembrance that you stir up the gift of God, which is in you by the putting on of my hands. The letter is a striking but thoroughly natural mixture of gloom and brightness... The thought which specially oppresses (the apostle) is "anxiety about all the Churches" — and about Timothy himself. Dark days are coming. False doctrine will be openly preached and will not lack hearers; and utterly un-Christian conduct and conversation will become grievously prevalent. And, while the godly are persecuted, evil men will wax worse and worse. This sad state of things has already begun; and the apostle seems to fear that his beloved disciple is not altogether unaffected by it. Separation from St. Paul or the difficulties of his position may have told on his over-sensitive temperament, and have caused him to be remiss in his work, through indulgence in futile despondency. The words of the text strike the dominant chord of the Epistle and reveal to us the motive that prompts it. The apostle puts Timothy in rememberance "that he stir up the gift of God which is in him." Again and again he insists on this and similar counsels (see vers. 8, 14, 2:8, 15, 3:14). And then, as the letter draws to a close, he speaks in still more solemn tones of warning (2 Timothy 4:1, 2, 5). Evidently the apostle is anxious lest even the rich gifts with which Timothy is endowed should be allowed to rust through want of use. Timidity and weakness may prove fatal to him and his work, in spite of the spiritual advantages which he has enjoyed. The apostle's anxiety about the future of the Churches is interwoven with anxiety about the present and future conduct of his beloved delegate and successor. (A. Plummer, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. |
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