 Good morning everyone and welcome to our first class and study of 1st and 2nd Timothy, Titus and Philemon. Some interesting books in the Bible that we'll be studying, Apostle Paul's Letters, 2 Timothy, 2 Titus and Philemon. So what is your idea when you think about 1st and 2nd Timothy, when you think about Titus and Philemon? Or what comes to your mind when you think about Apostle Paul's Letters, 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon? Any thoughts, any ideas? Yeah, I'll just share my thoughts. I think Timothy is a book that encouraged me when I was young, when I came to ministry. And we see Paul encouraging Timothy a lot just because you're young. I don't think you can do it. So that's one of the books that I keep always reading when I'm dumb. And Titus I think it talks more about doing good to others and all that's what I remember. I think Philemon is a book that most Christians avoid because I think it's just a chapter or something, which even I avoided a lot. But I think even that has a lot of things to learn from about it. So it's just my thoughts. Thank you, Jeffina. Anyone else would like to share your thoughts on what comes to your mind when you think about 1st Timothy, 2nd Timothy, Titus, Philemon? Yes, Lubega. I think those four books, I can group them in two. First of all, I can say they are all personal books written by Paul to those three people. Number two, I can group them in two. One is the three pastor's handbooks, which a pastor or an apostle must go with in order to direct a church. The other one is the smaller one is like an intercessor book, the one of Philemon, whereby Paul was putting himself in a minor but almost the same shoes like the Christ for us as Christians. I'll post it at that. Thank you. Thank you, Lubega. Anyone else? I think more like golden standards for ministers, what we need to watch ourselves and how so many instructions for that and which is really important for people getting into ministry. Okay. Thank you, John Paul. Okay, so thank you for your thoughts, your inputs. First Timothy, second Timothy and Titus are often referred to as pastoral episodes, because these are letters written by apostle Paul to individuals that is Timothy and Titus, rather than specifically to churches at a specific location as compared to Ephesians, the book of Ephesians or episodes of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. So basically it's written to individuals and it's then to churches and also it contains instructions and advice on pastoral care, how to take care of people and also leadership in the Christian community, leadership in the context of a church. So it's more personal letters and of course these letters would be read out to the churches at well because it had certain instructions for the church, but more specifically for individuals regarding pastoral care and also church administration. So if those of you who are interested in becoming pastors, all of you who are already into a pastoral role, a church administration, these are good books of the Bible to read and meditate and to learn from which is not just Paul writing the specific time to specific churches in specific places, but also can minister to us, can also teach us and we can also follow some of these principles in our churches, in our calling as pastors and where God has placed us. Okay, so before we study the first book, first Timothy, we'll just pause for the word of prayer. So can one of you please lead us in prayer please? Anyone? Yes, go ahead, Jefina. Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you under the name of Jesus. We thank you for this day. Thank you for the new subject that you have given us the new semester and as we are learning these episodes, God, God, I just pray that you help us to open our mind and heart and listen to one and apply it in our life, God, so that we can be a blessing to the people. We can lead them towards your kingdom. We can be a good shepherd that leads the sheep to the pastures and who searches for the lost ones, God, I just pray that Jesus, every instruction will be inscribed in our heart so that we can live for your glory forever and ever. Thank you, Pastor Selina and Jehans, I bless you in the name of Jesus and I give all my classmates into your hearts, help us to have good wife, I thank you throughout the session and may it all be done for your glory and Jesus, in my prayer. Amen. Thank you, Jefina. So we'll study Paul's letter to Timothy, first Timothy, so just an introduction to the book of Timothy, first Timothy. Paul is writing this letter to Timothy, whom he has left as an overseer to oversee the churches in a specific place, so which place is that? Any idea? Timothy is overseeing the churches at which place? Ephesus. Ephesus, yes. So Timothy is left, Paul leaves Timothy to oversee the churches at Ephesus and he's writing first and second Timothy to Timothy who is in this place of importance of spiritual responsibility and he's giving him further instructions on things that need to be done there or he's received news back from Timothy, maybe Timothy has written to him, told him of all the challenges that he's facing, the difficulties, maybe he had questions and hence Paul is writing to Timothy. Now we just look at briefly at the background to know how Paul and Timothy met, what is the relationship between Paul and Timothy. So any idea when Paul met Timothy and what is the relationship that they share? I think Paul met Timothy at a place they call Restra with his mother and grandmother, I hear the names of Lewis, I mean Eunice and I don't recall them very well, but his father was a Greek and I remember that Paul took him for circumcision because he wanted to minister with the Jews. Let me pause it at that. Thank you, Lubega. Anyone else? What's the relationship that Paul shared with Timothy? Okay, Jeffina says spiritual father. He was like a father-son relationship. Yes, the father-son relationship, yes, was mentoring him in the father-son relationship. So we look at how, just like Lubega said, but we look in detail of how Paul meets Timothy. You know, during his first missionary journey, you know, Paul left Antioch, Paul was part of the church at Antioch, which is modern day Syria. And he goes along with Barnabas and they traveled to the regions of Galatia. So Galatia is basically modern day Turkey. And they traveled through the cities of Lystra, Derby and Iconium. They preach the word of God, they teach God's word in the synagogue, in the commonplace marketplace. And the established church is there in the region of Galatia, that is Lystra, Derby and Iconium. And then, you know, they traveled back to Antioch from where they began their first missionary journey. Okay, so this happens during AD 44 to AD 46. And we can read about this in Acts chapter 13, chapter one versus Acts chapter 14 to verse 28. Now, this is the first missionary journey of Paul. And during Paul's second missionary journey, which was from AD 49 to AD 52, you know, which lasted about three years. During this time, you know, Paul and his team, they visit, go back to the places that they had gone to during the first missionary journey that is in Galatia. And also they go to several places in Asia Minor and Europe, preaching, teaching the word of God, doing mighty science miracles and wonders, establishing churches. And then Paul comes back to the regions in Galatia where he had gone during his first missionary journey. He comes to Derby and then Lystra. And Paul notices a very young man, Timothy. Okay, and Timothy had a good reputation among the people. You can read this in Acts chapter 16, verses one to five. So there were, there might have been many young people in this regions, but I think the Holy Spirit specifically causes Paul to notice Timothy and also because of the good report that he had. And Timothy must have been about, you know, 17 years of age at that time. And Paul notices Timothy and he identifies, you know, him as somebody who had the potential to do ministry, to be part of his team, a potential leader in the future who, you know, Paul can mentor, can train, can build up in the faith. And so Paul takes on Timothy, just like Lubega said, you know, Timothy's father was Greek and his mother was Jewish. And, you know, all the believers in that region spoke very well of Timothy. That was an added plus point why Paul takes him on, but I just believe that it's a Holy Spirit just, you know, speaking to Paul to take him on. To nurture and build him because of the calling that God had on Timothy's life and the potential that he had to be a future, you know, capable spiritual leader to handle great responsibility. And that's how we see Paul leading, leaving him in a strategic and a very important place like Ephesus. Okay. So Paul takes on Timothy and he has him circumcised so that Timothy will be able to minister to the Jews. And we know that during the early days of Paul's ministry, there was this, you know, this whole issue of circumcision of those who were going to minister, they had to be circumcised. But later on, you know, when Paul presents it to the council, the Jewish council, the leaders, the apostles, they all unanimously say it's not necessary for them for those in ministry to be circumcised. And I'm sure that's the Holy Spirit, again, leading them in anonymously to make this decision. But we see that Paul has him circumcised so that, you know, Timothy will be able to minister among the Jews to the Jews because the churches specifically had a great number of Jewish population, those who had become Christians, those who had accepted Christ. And we see that Timothy travels along with Paul to minister along with him and to just learn from him and to observe Paul so that, you know, later on, he can take on greater responsibilities. Okay. During his second missionary journey, we see, you know, Paul just makes a brief stop at the seacoast of Seacoast town of Ephesus, which is the west coast of modern day Turkey is Ephesus in Paul's time. And today it's the west coast of modern day Turkey. So Paul, we see, preaches in the synagogues at Ephesus, but he does not stay very long at Ephesus because of his plan to go to Jerusalem. And so he leaves Aquila and Thessila, you know, at Ephesus and he moves on to Jerusalem. But during Paul's third missionary journey, which was between AD 53 to AD 58, Paul comes back to the city of Ephesus, and he spends a good three years of his time in Ephesus, something that he usually never does, spending so much of time in just one place, you know, but he spends most of his time, his third missionary journey in the city of Ephesus and powerful things and wonderful ministry that has been established during his three years here at Ephesus. Now Ephesus was a very important city in Asia Minor. It was very, very famous. First of all, it was famous because it was a port city, right? So a lot of trade and commerce that goes on because of the port city. And it was one of the greatest metropolis in Asia Minor. And it was also famous for this temple of Diana. The temple of Diana was very famous in Ephesus. It was one of the largest buildings that existed at that time. And it was one of the seven wonders of the world. So the temple housed this statue of this multi-breasted goddess, Diana, which the people at Ephesus believed, you know, fell from the sky. Okay. So even though it was a very important port city and a lot of trade and commerce, it was also steeped in a lot of cultic worship, a lot of sexual immorality because of this goddess Diana. And I think there was a lot of work that needed to be done in the port city of Ephesus and also witchcraft was kind of very dominant and prominent in this place. But even as Paul spends a good three years in this place, powerful things happen in this place. A powerful ministry that compared to any other place in the Old Testament happens here in Ephesus. Unusual miracles take place through Paul and people are able to see the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Demon possessed people are delivered. And there's a big shift in the city from the practice of witchcraft to people who were in witchcraft, who moved to their faith in Jesus Christ. So there was a great turning of souls to the Lord Jesus Christ. Basically, there was an important event that happened. You know, the seven sons of Kiva, you know, they tried, they were doing witchcraft and it did not work out. And we see that, you know, it was a failed attempt. And because of that, you know, the failed exorcism attempts by the seven sons of Kiva and they were beaten back in blue by the demons themselves and they ran out naked and this word spread across Ephesus. And when people saw this, you know, many of them into exorcism and witchcraft, sorcery, all of them turned away from black magic, from witchcraft and scrolls of witchcraft that, you know, a lot of money were all burnt up. That was a kind of revival. That was a powerful change that happened, a turn of events that happened in the city of Ephesus. And we see that Paul, you know, during his three years, he, the first three months he's, he preaches in the synagogues at Ephesus. And there were people who were so hard hearted who did not believe in Jesus Christ, who spoke evil of Paul and the Lord Jesus Christ and, you know, turned people against Paul, and hence Paul withdrew from teaching and preaching in the synagogues. And, you know, he reasoned or he taught every day in the School of Tyranus, the Tyranus Hall, and he continued ministering here for the rest of the three years. And, you know, during this time when he was having this so-called Bible school in this Hall of Tyranus, you know, the School of Tyranus, he trained many future leaders. You know, like Aristaques, Sikandis, Gaius, Timothy was one of them who he also trained here. Tychicus, Erestes, Philemon, Epapharis, so we see Philemon was from the church of Colossae. He had a church meeting at his home. Epapharis was somebody who went and established the church at Colossae. So all of these men who later on went on to be prominent important spiritual leaders, taking on huge responsibilities, you know, were trained in this school. And also, you know, Paul raised up many elders and overseers to shepherd or to shepherd the flock, to shepherd the believers at the churches at Ephesus. So we know that during Paul's time, there was not just specific church buildings, but there were many house churches. And also, you know, theologians tell us that, you know, many of them who were part of this School of Tyranus where Paul was preaching and teaching for almost three years, you know, many of them, along with Paul's co-workers, they went throughout Ephesus and the regions surrounding Ephesus. And, you know, that is, that we read in Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3, the regions along Ephesus, which is Smyrna, Pergamus, Titeria, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. So all of these seven churches that, you know, are spoken of in Revelation chapter 2 and Revelation chapter 3. Theologians say that it was these churches that were established during Paul's three-year ministry at Ephesus where he trained so many leaders. And all of them who were part of this Bible school, you know, went along with Paul's co-workers through the regions along Ephesus. And, you know, they raised up many churches, they raised up many believers. So all of these seven churches that are mentioned in Revelation chapter 2 was three might have been established during this time. So powerful work was done during these three years. And we see later on towards the end of his third missionary journey, you know, Paul on his way to Jerusalem also meets with the elders from the churches at Ephesus at Miletus. And here Paul delivers a powerful message to the elders. He basically reminds them of, you know, of false teachers that will come up against them. He's already telling them much in advance. This is nine years before he writes First Timothy. He's already meeting the elders during this end of his third missionary journey and he's telling them how to be careful, how to build a church. And, you know, we see later on, nine years later on, the church was still battling with a lot of false teachers, ravenous wolves that he calls them as. But he already speaks to them, he already warns them, he already teaches them, tells them, you know, when he meets them at Miletus, the elders of the churches at Ephesus. Okay. Now, after his third missionary journey, Paul visits Jerusalem, and Paul, we see was imprisoned, sentences area, he was there for two years. Then he's taken to Rome and imprisoned there for another two years. Okay. It was during his, after the time of his first Roman imprisonment, that, you know, theologians say that some theologians say, you know, that he goes, he was in house arrest, of course, not like the second imprisonment where he was not in house arrest. So the first imprisonment when he was in house arrest allowed him to meet people, and during this time he wrote the prison epistles, Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians, and Philippians. Okay. Now following his first house arrest or his first Roman imprisonment, that is in AD 63 and 8 to AD 67, you know, Paul takes along with him Titus. And I think Timothy, they travel to Crete where Paul briefly ministers at Crete and he feels a need for a good leader. So he leaves back Titus at Crete, and then Paul, you know, travels along with Timothy to Ephesus, and he sees they do some work over there. And Paul sees the need for a good spiritual leader, somebody who is capable, because Paul has, you know, been burdened about the church that Ephesus and he, you know, he already nine years before he travels again and leaves Timothy there at Ephesus. Nine years before itself he is so burdened that he is, he has called all of the elders of the church's Ephesus at militias and he's teaching them, he's imparting to them, he's telling them about the false teachers. And then maybe he's gone there and he sees that, you know, things haven't changed. It's kind of worsened and there's a lot of church administration that needs to be done. Excuse me. A lot of church administration that needs to be done, a lot of things that needs to be followed up and he, he thought, you know, it's best to leave somebody responsible, a spiritual leader. And who else then? Timothy who's been with him all these years, who he's mentored, he's taught him. Timothy has seen his way of life and he thought he's the best person to oversee the churches at Ephesus. Though Timothy was very young, the work responsibility must have been really great, very challenging. But, you know, Paul was confident that Timothy would, you know, do what was required there to build the churches at Ephesus. And Paul knew that if he does not leave a prominent spiritual leader there, you know, the churches of Ephesus would disintegrate in terms of all the false teaching and all the confusion that was happening there at Ephesus. Okay. Now Paul leaves Timothy at Ephesus and travels on and then most likely he goes to Macedonia where maybe he hears from Timothy, Timothy is feeling the challenge, very great. Maybe Timothy is saying, Hey Paul, I want to come back. I'm missing you or whatever, you know, or I'm too young for this thing. I'm just 30 years and there are leaders who are much older to me. How do I tell them? What do I tell them? There's so much of a problem. So Paul would have heard about the challenges Timothy might be going through. Paul would have read Timothy's letter and hence he feels the importance to encourage Timothy. And so he writes first Timothy to Paul who is at Ephesus and Titus who he has left at Crete. Of course, during his second Roman imprisonment during his last days, he writes his last episode which is to his beloved son in the faith at his second Timothy. Okay. So Timothy, we already have seen a little bit about just a little bit about Timothy. You've already heard in the background information that I gave. Timothy was very young when Paul picked him up, must be 17, 18 years old and he's been serving with Paul learning and he might have been 34 years when Paul leaves him in charge at Ephesus. So good the number of years that Paul has mentored him, taught him. Timothy has seen his way, Paul's way of life, way of doing ministry. And so Paul knew it was time for Timothy to take on this challenge. Also, maybe the Holy Spirit's guidance for Paul to leave Timothy at Ephesus. And Ephesus may have been some water headquarters for all of the other churches that were started during Paul's missionary journey. When he spent a good three years there at Ephesus, you know, the third missionary journey. And the churches that we started is Smyrna, Pergamot, Titeria, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. So it was not just the house churches, the many house churches that were meeting at Ephesus that Timothy had to oversee, not just encounter the false teachers, not just, you know, work alongside with the elders that were already there. Or the Jews who were giving, you know, had their own Jewish fables, genealogies, mythologies that they brought into the church, the circumcision that they were trying to bring in and forcing it upon the gentile believers. But he also had these other regions surrounding Ephesus. So this is a huge responsibility, a lot of responsibility for this young man, Timothy. So Paul feels the need to encourage him and hence he's writing First Timothy from Macedonia to Timothy. Okay, so that was the introduction to First Timothy, also briefly, also to Titus, and also very brief for the Book of Second Timothy. Any questions? Anyone would like to say anything, any queries, any questions you'll have? Anything? All of you there with me? Yes, no? We are here, we are here. Okay, thank you, Lubega. Thank you, Zealotoli. Okay, thank you, Rosalind. We'll begin our study of First Timothy. Okay, so can somebody please read First Timothy chapter one versus one, we read verses one to fourteen. So maybe a couple of you can read, or two of you can read seven verses each. First Timothy chapter one. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Saviour and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope. To Timothy, a true Son in the faith. Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. Now the purpose of the commandments is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience and from sincere faith. From which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. Thank you, Rosalind. Can someone else read from verses eight to fourteen, please? First Timothy chapter one verses eight to fourteen, but we know that the law is good. If one uses it lawfully knowing this, that the law is not made for the righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinless, for the unholy and proclaim, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers. And if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust, and I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor and an insolent man, but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love which earned Christ Jesus. Amen. Thank you, Jeffina. So we'll begin our study of First Timothy chapter one verse one. So Paul is mentioning his name here and hence we know this Paul writing his, this letter to Timothy. So he's basically by mentioning his name Paul is following the letter writing customs of his day, where first the name of the writers mentioned and then the name of the reader and then greetings was given. Okay. Here Paul introduces himself as he does in other letters as well. Paul an Apostle. Okay. The Greek word for Apostle is Apostolos. So what is the meaning of the word Apostle? The sent one. The sent one. Okay. Somebody who is basically sent with orders. You know, a delegate. We can also say an ambassador, a commissioned one or a messenger. You know, or somebody who's used to be called to the office of an Apostle. Okay. So he is a sent one with in terms of, you know, a function who goes ahead and pioneers to work or advances the kingdom of God. And look at how Paul introduces himself. He says, you know, not just that he's Paul and that he is an Apostle, but he says he's an Apostle of Jesus Christ. He's Jesus Christ Apostle, which means he's saying, Hey, I have been called by Jesus Christ. Okay. I have not just been called by Jesus Christ, but I'm also equipped and I'm also sent forth as his authoritative messenger, as his delegate, as his ambassador. So I am commissioned by the mighty God, by the almighty God, okay, by God, him self. And so Paul, when he says Paul an Apostle, he's based Apostle of Jesus Christ. He's basically saying that I'm an Apostle under God's authority. Okay, not just a Apostle, because I choose the title for myself, or I love to be an Apostle. But that is what I feel I am, but he says I'm an Apostle by God's authority. That is what God has called me to be or who God has, you know, purposed me to be. God gave Paul a particular call and a function, and that was to be an Apostle. Okay. We know that God has gifted each one of us with different gifts. And each of our gifts that God has given is basically for what? The gifts that God has given is for what? To glorify him, okay. The gifts God has given us is for what? The different gifts that he's given each one of us is for what? It's a notification of the church. Yes, thank you, John Paul, for the mutual edification of the body of Christ and also to glorify God, okay. So it's important for us to discern, to recognize the gifts that God has given to us. The function that he has called us to in the body of Christ, a place of ministry to which he has called us. And we need to exercise and use our gifts accordingly, okay. Whatever is our gifts or the offices that God has called us to, you know, we must be totally and completely surrendered to his will and to his authority. And Paul says that he is not only an apostle of Jesus Christ, but he says by the commandment of God, our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope. So he's saying that his calling as an apostle is a command from God, okay. So ministry is like a command from God. It's not a matter of our convenience, but it's a command that God has given to us, which he wants us to fulfill. And even as he has given us this calling, even as he's given us this command, he gives us the grace. He gives us the ability, the anointing, the strength to help us to fulfill this command, this calling that he has given us. And he says that, you know, he's the commandment of God, by the commandment of God, our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope. So Paul mentions two persons of the Godhead. We believe in God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. And here Paul mentions, you know, in these two verses Paul is mentioning, you know, the persons of the Trinity. He's talking about God the Father, and he's talking about God the Son, that is Jesus Christ, okay. So it's important that he, he's mentioning all of these because of the doctoral, you know, problems that the churches is going through. So we see that even when Paul writes, you know, very important how he uses his word, he chooses his word. So it's important also for us to recognize all of who God is and all that he means to us. Not just to know and identify our calling, but also in the process. It is important for us to recognize, you know, who God is and also to know all that he means to us. So here Paul is saying that, you know, he's recognizing who God is. He's saying God our Savior. So he's saying God is our Savior who saved us. He is our Father, he is our hope, he is our Lord, okay. And we also know that God is our healer, our deliverer, our provider. You know, we can go on and on. So why is it important for us to know who God is? Why do you think Paul is writing in his greetings, God our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope? Why do you think he's, he's mentioning these? To know who we are in Christ, to know our real position in Christ. Yes, it's important for us to know who we are in Christ. And here basically he's writing this letter to encourage whom, Timothy, okay. So he's telling him, hey Timothy, even as I have been called by God to be an apostle and it's a commandment of God. So he's telling him, he's telling Timothy, hey Timothy, actually you are in that place. You have a calling, you know, to be an overseer over the churches and it's, I know the role is challenging. I know it's difficult, but it's a command of God. Just like for me as I look at my life as Pauli Dreyton talks about it. You know, it's challenging, it's difficult, but I'm in this, continuing this role in this position, you know, as an apostle, as a minister of God, because, you know, not when things are convenient, but because the command of God. And so it's, he's saying, it's important, Timothy, to remind ourselves of who has called us where he has called us, what he has gifted us with, what he has portioned us, what his purpose for us and who is he, he is God. And he's God our savior. So, you know, I think Paul is specifically mentioning God as our savior because he's trying to remind Timothy, hey Timothy, I can't save you from the ravenous wolves and all of these false teachers and all of these people who are troubling you. I know the difficulties, but God is the one who's put you there. He's your savior. He's not only saved you from your sins, but he's also going to save you from every difficulty and hardship that you are going to face. And he's Lord, you know, he's Lord over your life, he's Lord over your circumstances, he's Lord over your situation. He could have just said, and the Lord Jesus Christ, you know, and Jesus Christ. Why did he mention Lord Jesus Christ? Because you think, hey, he's Lord, he's God, he's, he's supreme. He's an authority over the place that you are in, you know, and he is your hope, you know, he's the hope in your time of trouble. So I don't know what situations we are in, in life, you know, whether we are in the secular world, we're in the ministry, we're facing challenges, we're facing difficulties. Even if you are, you know, just a homemaker facing different challenges, but it's important to remind yourself the God who has called you, the God who has given you gifts and called you to specific functions, even as you function as somebody in the church, not necessarily as an apostle or a prophet or a missionary or evangelist or a pastor, but you are just, you know, ministering in church as a, you know, in the prayer team or in the welcome team or whatever you're doing, but, you know, need to understand who this God you are serving because it's important for us to be mindful of who we are serving because when we know the nature and attributes of God, it helps us to, you know, follow through in ministry. It helps us to continue to run our race. Otherwise, we can, you know, just give up and, you know, because things get challenging, things get difficult. So Paul is basically reminding Timothy here. So I think he's just basically writing to him and saying, hey, God is our savior and he and the Lord Jesus Christ is our hope. And then Paul, you know, is in the following the letter writing customs and he's saying he's writing to whom he is writing this letter. He says, you know, Paul is writing this to Timothy, a true son in the faith. So, you know, Paul, for Paul, Timothy was his son, again, who he mentored in the faith. And he says true son in the faith and Paul mentored Timothy further his spiritual growth and in the service of the Lord. So they shared a son, father son relationship because of their common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, by using this word common, you know, it's just a basic reminder that all of us, what we hold together as a common, all of us as believers, that, you know, we are all common in one thing is our personal faith in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which binds us together as a spiritual family, you know, regardless of our nationality, the community that we come from our language, or even our doctrines that we follow, okay, which is so important for some of us and so important for the Christian community. But something that binds us all together, one common thing is that we have all personal faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And then Paul goes on to, you know, share greetings and he uses the word grace, mercy and peace in his great, in his greeting. And grace, mercy and peace are very typical words that Paul uses in his greetings, because it's an, it's kind of a blessing in the ancient world. In ancient times, in Paul's time, this was a very typical greeting or a typical blessing. And so he uses grace, mercy and peace. And we also see that, you know, Paul never changes the order of these. If you look at most of his letters, he always says grace first, mercy second and then peace. Because we know that grace is, what is grace? Unmerited favor. Thank you, John Paul. Grace is unmerited favor. And, you know, unmerited favor of God that is so completely personalized and characterized in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then peace, you know, we know this word peace is portrayed various ways in the New Testament. But peace comes as a result of what? Sorry, peace comes as a result of trusting in, in his word, okay? Peace comes as a result of our response of faith to the grace of God that is revealed in Jesus Christ. Okay? We can experience the peace that God alone can give us. You know, once we have responded by faith to the grace of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus. Okay? So he uses grace, mercy and peace. Okay? It says, from God, the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are savior. Okay? Now when Paul uses these words, God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are savior, he's basically not just using it as a formality because Paul knew that the source of grace, mercy and peace comes from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ who is our savior. Okay? So Paul's teaching us that, you know, they can neither be grace nor peace without a personal relationship with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Okay? We'll stop here and then we'll continue after the break. Thank you everyone. See you after the break.