For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power, and of love, and of wise discretion.
The Setting
Paul writes his last letter from a Roman prison to Timothy, a naturally timid servant, at a time when many were turning away from the truth (2 Tim. 1:15). Having just told him to "fan into flame the gift of God" (v. 6), Paul now explains what kind of spirit God has actually given — raising the question: how can a fearful man stand firm in a day of decline?
Not a Spirit of Cowardice
The word translated "fear" really means cowardice, and it touched Timothy's particular weakness.
The first clause, which might be rendered the spirit of "cowardice," reveals Timothy's special weakness. He evidently was a man, like Jeremiah, of a timid, shrinking spirit — one who only with difficulty, unless under the sway of the Holy Spirit, could face dangers and opponents. But while the servant of the Lord "must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil" (chap. 2:24), he must also be as bold as a lion in the defence of the truth, and in maintaining the honour of his Lord.
And this word is not for Timothy alone. The brothers note that while verse 6 applied especially to him, verse 7 "applies to us all" — God has not given us a spirit of cowardice. It flows from the Spirit who dwells in every believer:
That is not the Holy Spirit exactly, but it could not be apart from His indwelling. The indwelling Spirit imparts to us this three-fold character, apart from which we cannot stand in the evil day... Power without love might be ruthless, and love without the sound mind might be weakness.
Power
If God gives a gift, He also gives the power to use it — but that power is tied to the state of the soul.
The gift may remain even in one who is unfaithful or indifferent; but the power to use it will not be present unless its possessor is walking in dependence upon God, unless he lives in the acknowledgment that power is outside of himself, and in the realization of his own utter weakness.
For whatever we have to do, or whatever we may have to bear in this world, we can always count on abundance of power from on high... The power is His, but this power is exercised on earth by means of His servants.
Love
Power alone could be misused. God joins it with love, because divine power can only be wielded through the divine nature, of which love is the expression.
It is not mere power, which might be used for the destruction of His beloved saints; it is the spirit also of love — love that sacrifices itself for the good of its objects, and counts that sacrifice an unspeakable privilege... It does not hesitate to reprove, rebuke, and exhort; but it prefers to encourage, comfort, console, and intercede on their behalf.
A Sound Mind
The phrase can be translated "wise discretion" — a healthy mind, freed from self-interest, kept in quiet control before God.
When governed by the Spirit of God, the servant will always show divine wisdom in his work, and be kept in quiet control and subduedness in the presence of God. He will know when to speak and when to be silent, when to be in season and when to be out of season; for he will be maintained in communion with the mind of his Lord.
Mawson illustrates it from the healed demoniac, found "sitting at the feet of Jesus... in his right mind" (Luke 8:35):
You could not have a better illustration of a sound mind than that... It is the touch of the great Physician and His word that heals the mind. The sound mind thinks soberly; the man who has it is not puffed up by his knowledge; he puts Christ first, and considers His glory and not his own interest.
Summary
- Cowardice excluded: "Fear" here means cowardice — a shrinking timidity that God has not given, so it must never govern His servant, however hard the day.
- For all believers: Though addressed to timid Timothy, this verse applies to every Christian, as the fruit of the indwelling Spirit.
- Power in dependence: God's power is real and abundant, but it works only through those who walk in dependence on Him, conscious of their own weakness.
- Love directs power: Power without love would be ruthless; love spends itself for others and expresses the divine nature through which alone power can be used.
- Sound mind balances both: Wise discretion — a healthy, sober, Christ-centred mind — knows when to speak and when to be silent, keeping the servant in communion with his Lord.