[And] I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me power, that he has counted me faithful, appointing to ministry him
Paul breaks off in his letter to Timothy to thank the Lord, and the thanks is personal. He names three gifts in one breath: strength, the verdict "faithful," and a place in the Lord's service.
Thanks Directed to Christ Himself
Paul thanks a named Person for power He put inside him. He also remembers what he was when the call came.
Paul's heart glows with thanksgiving to our Lord for the inward power given to him. He was not only called to be a saint but appointed to service, because Christ considered him faithful. This was made far greater by another thought never to be forgotten — what he was when the call came. Before this he had been a blasphemer, a persecutor and an insulter… The Lord did indeed account him faithful, and this from the day of his conversion, a chosen vessel to bear His name before Gentiles and kings and sons of Israel.
Here Paul speaks straight to the Lord Jesus, as he does elsewhere.
In 2 Corinthians 12:8 the apostle Paul asked the Lord three times about the thorn in the flesh that was given to him. Again, in 1 Timothy 1:12, he thanked Christ Jesus our Lord.
Strength That Came From Outside Him
Paul was a trained, educated man, and none of that produced the change. The power for his work came from outside him.
Power for his ministry had come from Christ Jesus our Lord, for He had counted Paul faithful… This was no work of human education or careful training, but the powerful intervention of the pure grace of God. In fact, he was already a well trained, educated man, set in determined opposition to the very name of Jesus. Only a revelation from heaven made the difference, and the very best that the flesh can produce is broken and crushed before the name of Jesus.
Counted Faithful by Grace, Not by Record
The words "judged me faithful" are startling from a man once set in determined opposition to the name of Jesus. Grace saved him first, and then the same grace passed that verdict.
Sovereign grace had not only saved the apostle; having saved him, it counted him faithful and appointed him to the ministry of the truth.
The Word Behind "Appointing"
The word behind "appointing me to his service" is worth a pause. The same word runs through other passages, and each one names God as the one who acts.
In 1 Timothy 1:12, "Putting me in the ministry," the word is tithemi — to place. The same word is used in Acts 20:28, "the Holy Spirit has made you overseers," and in 1 Corinthians 12:18, where God set each of the members in the body as it pleased Him. It is worth noting that every one of these passages refers to God's act, whether it is putting the apostle into the ministry, placing elders over the church at Ephesus, or setting all the various members in the body according to His pleasure.
What This Settles About All Service
If Christ did the placing, no one else can. This holds for all Christian service, not just Paul's.
No one but the Lord Christ can put a man into the ministry, just as no one but He can give spiritual gift. It is completely impossible for anyone to be a minister of Christ unless He calls him and fits him for the work.
The same writer names the only alternatives:
The Lord Christ alone can put anyone into the ministry and enable him to fulfil it. Otherwise, either a man puts himself into the ministry, or his fellow man does it. Both are equally opposed to the mind of God.
Summary
- He strengthened — Christ gave the power for the work. Training and background produced nothing; heaven's intervention produced everything.
- He counted — grace passed the verdict "faithful" on a man whose record argued the opposite, and passed it from the day of his conversion.
- He placed — the word means to set. Scripture uses it for elders set over a church and for members set in the body. In every case God is the one who acts.
- He alone — Christ calls and fits His servants. No man can install himself, and no group of men can install him.
- So: thanks — strength, a verdict, a place: all three came from Christ. Paul's answer is not pride in office but thanks aimed straight at Him.