2Ti 1:4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
2Ti 1:5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
2Ti 1:6 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.

The Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy to “stir up” the “gift” given unto him by the teaching of the scriptures, from Paul unto Timothy, and Paul knows that Timothy has the ‘doctrine’ of godliness within him, and he exhorts Timothy to ‘put into practice’ that “unfeigned faith,” which is a product of the selfless love of Christ. And it is the selfless love of Christ that would be the driving force within Timothy to be able to be not “ashamed of the testimony of our Lord,” and that he may be a “partaker of the afflictions of the gospel.”

2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2Ti 1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

Therefore, when Timothy would “call to remembrance” the selfless love of Christ, and the doctrine which is according o godliness, he would not place the emphasis on what he suffered, or upon the “afflictions of the gospel” that would eventually come his way, but he would place the emphasis upon the ministry, and his main focus would be upon walking in the selfless Love of Jesus Christ, just as Paul himself displayed, and also taught Timothy. And this type of selfless love of Christ was designed to “not give us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

2Ti 1:11 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
2Ti 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

And one would have to ask; what is Paul wanting Timothy to do here? Why does he have to “stir up” the doctrine of selfless love for God the Father, and His Word, and His Son? Timothy was teaching the gospel, and exhorting the saints, but when it came to the “sufferings of Christ,” Timothy was NOT “Adorning” the godly desire, and selfless love of the Whole Armor Itself; which is the Word of God. He had “tears,” and was “ashamed,” he was filled with “fear” within his inward Man instead of being filled with what Paul taught him.

2Ti 1:13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 1:14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
2Ti 1:15 This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.
2Ti 1:16 The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain:

Therefore, part of being who God called us to be in Christ is accepting, and using “the gift” that is given in the behalf of Christ unto us, and that is not only His Word, but “knowing the fellowship of His sufferings” and being partakers of the afflictions of the gospel, but the only way this is done, is when we follow what His Word says alone, and when we hear contrary doctrine from those who are in error, give them the “testimony” of our Lord Jesus Christ, it doesn’t matter who they are, this is why Paul ‘named’ so many false teachers in the two Epistles, he wanted to warn Timothy, so he could warn the saints about the ‘teachers’ who were trying to ‘shipwreck’ the faith of the saints in Christ. We also ought to “hold fast the form of sound words,” and “keep that” which is also “committed” unto us who desire to “live godly.”

Php 1:28 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
Php 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
Php 1:30 Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

Finally, if the Lord’s Apostles, and all the saints taught somewhere in a deserted area away from the Pharisees, and stayed ‘out of sight,’ would they have been persecuted unto death? The answer is; no, would the gospel had been still preached? Would they have established saints in edifying doctrine? The answer is yes, but what vital component of godliness would they have been lacking? That is, declaring The Father, and His Word, And His Son in the face of the adversary’s attempt to wipe out, and discredit, and counterfeit God the Father, His word, and His Son from the hearts and minds of man today, But the bad thing is, this is what takes place with us today when we think it’s ‘not our place’ to say anything to them who are weak in the faith. Some might ask; “so you want me to go and turn friends into enemies,” this is why we see in Romans 12:14-21 tell us about the ‘enemies’ around us when we learn the selfless love for our Father, and others in the Body, and why Paul tells the Galatians “am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” Timothy had an issue, and we do this today: he placed too much emphasis upon pleasing other men, and himself, instead of pleasing “him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”

2Ti 1:16 The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain:
2Ti 1:17 But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me.
2Ti 1:18 The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.
Rod Jones