What is the spirit of love (2 Timothy 1:7)?

If the Lord, through His apostle, summons Timothy to more diligent service, He also draws his attention to the source of his power. "For," continues the apostle, "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (1 Tim. 1:7.) The first clause, which might be rendered the spirit of "cowardice," reveals Timothy's especial 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 strive; but be gentle unto all, apt to teach, patient" (1 Tim. 2:24), he must be also as bold as a lion in the defence of the truth, and in maintaining the honour of his Lord. Timothy is therefore taught that the spirit God gives is not one of fear or cowardice, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

These are three remarkable words, and they require a little examination. First, it is a spirit of power; for if God bestows gift, He gives also the power to exercise it; that is, it should be added, if there is the state of soul for its use. It is indeed of the last importance to remember the connection between state of soul and the power of the Spirit. The gift may abide even in one who is unfaithful or indifferent, bait 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. This is the apostle's point: "God," he says, "has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power." If therefore the servant, and Timothy was to learn it, is animated with fear or timidity, he should know that this is not the spirit God gives, for His Spirit is one of power. These two things are to be noted - the source of the power, and the character of the spirit given. Moreover, the spirit is also "of love." The apostle follows in this the same order as in 1 Corinthians. In 1 Cor. 12 he speaks of spiritual manifestations in the assembly; and, at the end of the chapter, of workers of miracles, gifts of healing, and speaking with tongues - all of which are connected with displays of power, And then in the nest chapter he proceeds to speak of love, teaching that if anyone spoke with the tongues of men and angels, and had not love, he would become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal; for in truth divine power can only be wielded by the Spirit, through a divine nature, for of this it is that love is the expression. The flesh, man's sinful nature, can never be used in the Lord's service; and thus power and love - divine, holy love - can never be dissociated. There will also be, as a consequence of love, a sound mind,* or, as it has been translated, "a wise discretion;" for when governed by the Spirit of God, the servant will always exhibit 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. E. D.

And the Spirit, who communicated the gift and who dwells in every child of God, is not a spirit of fear. If, therefore, we give in to our own fears, we are not walking in the Spirit, for He is the Spirit "of power, and love, and of a sound mind." Observe how power and love are connected here: there is no weakness in the Spirit of God, but love is the very energy by which His power is exercised. "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, who is given unto us" (Rom. 5:5). The more positive and full the expanding of the heart in love toward others, the more will the liberty and power of the Spirit be in evidence, with calm courage of faith. And He is the Spirit of a sound mind also, for it is He who brings everything to its proper, sober level; who makes all to take its place in consistent balance with all else. If our minds are otherwise, it is because we do not allow Him His proper control over us. Of course the flesh is still in a believer, and he may be mentally unbalanced, but this stems from the old nature, not from the new. The Spirit is still the Spirit of a sound mind, and in certain areas where the knowledge of Christ is concerned, this will be evident even in a believer who in other respects suffers mental aberrations. It is a great mercy this is so; but a believer should seek in every respect to allow the Spirit of God such liberty and control that it will be manifest in every department of life. This is itself a great preservative of the mind's condition, though one could not suppose it to be a guarantee against physical infirmity and deterioration, which ofttimes affects the brain too, the brain being physical, the mind not so.

Verse 8 shows that God's marvellous provision of verse 7, the living presence of the Spirit of God, is not to be considered as operating independently of the exercise and cooperation of the individual. But a due consideration of the fact of such provision will certainly render one unashamed of the testimony of the Lord. The exhortation not to be ashamed has a most solid basis. There is no right reason for fear: therefore we are perfectly entitled to dismiss it totally. In any real sense, no believer is ashamed of the Lord Himself; but the danger is present that he might be ashamed of His testimony, or ashamed of identification with one suffering for His sake. Timothy needed his mind stirred up as to these things, and he is not alone as regards such a need. He is encouraged to "suffer evil along with the glad tidings, according to the power of God." If the gospel is held in contempt of men, let me be willing to share this by fullest fellowship with it. It was thoroughly this for which Paul suffered, and not at all as an evildoer: therefore fellowship with Paul was fellowship with the pure gospel of God.

(V. 7). Having spoken of gifts that are special to the individual, the Apostle passes on to remind Timothy of the gift that is common to all believers. To some, God gives a special gift for the ministry of the word; to all His people He gives the spirit of power, and of love, and of wise discretion. It would hardly seem that the reference is to the Holy Spirit, though the gift of the Spirit is implied. It is rather the state and spirit of the believer that is the result of the work of the Holy Spirit and therefore partakes of the character of the Spirit, as the Lord said, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” By nature Timothy may have been timid and retiring in disposition, but the Holy Spirit does not produce the spirit of cowardice, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. In the natural man we may find power without love, or love degenerating into mere sentiment. With the Christian, under the control of the Spirit, power is combined with love, and love expressed with a wise discretion.

As we have seen, Timothy, like his Old Testament prototype, was of a shrinking disposition. So the aged apostle impressed him to stir up the gift of God which was in him by apostolic delegation (that gift was in the realm of responsibility. There is a gift from God in the gracious administration of the Lord which is not subject to our effort). The apostle went on to say that the spirit of fear (lit. cowardice) which was liable to dominate as in the case of Timothy was not God-given. God gives the spirit of power, love and of wise discretion (2 Tim. 1:6-7) so that we may effect the service which He has put in our responsibility. It is well to observe that power is intimately associated with love. Indeed all manifestation of power is contingent on our being imbued with love for the souls of saved and unsaved alike. Moreover, love is the connecting link between power and wise discretion. How often the exercise of power is marred by the lack of discretion on the part of the servant of the Lord. We may safely leave their effective conjunction in the efficiency of love.

How strongly he addresses the Corinthian saints about the sin in their midst! In the second epistle he rejoices, and gives them every possible credit for the zeal his first had awakened in them. Many more instances might be brought forward. Truth is truth; yet truth, ministered at the wrong time and place, may do injury to souls. Meat given to a babe might choke it. May we all have spiritual wisdom to help and not hinder those around us. We remember one, who has gone to be with the Lord, saying, “The great thing is to help souls where they are.” Christians with knowledge and not wisdom do a great deal of harm. A wise person without much knowledge, on the other hand, can be of wonderful service. Paul tells the shrinking Timothy that “God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7). The power without the love might lead me to be overbearing, and seek to rule my brother’s conscience. The love might degenerate into that which is merely human, and lead me only to give out that which would tickle the ears and please the fancy. But the sound mind keeps everything in its place.

But if it is wholesome to be impressed with our own nothingness, it is necessary that we should rise to the dignity of Christian; position for the Spirit we have received is one "of power and of love and of a sound mind." Mark the three distinct characteristics, truly potent for good when blended, but inadequate when one or other is absent. For everything is duly balanced in the ways of God. There is a series of checks and counter-checks. We may illustrate it by a consideration of the conditions essential to the healthy condition of the human frame, viz., a due inter-subordination of the various functions. No intelligent person can deny that there are such analogies in God's methods in things natural and spiritual. They only but greatly err who from analogy would assert identity. So we have the conjunction of love with power, of a sound mind with both. For power and love without the concomitant of a wise judgment would be as a noble ship impelled by favouring wind and tide but bereft of helm. Power and a sound mind without the incentive of love will lack all that has value in God's eyes, and be as worthless as the "sounding brass and tinkling cymbal." Lastly, love and a sound mind may and do fail of effect if there be a lack of energy and zeal. But with love (the love of God shed abroad in the heart) as the motive, with God-given energy as the more active principle, not without a weighing of all things in the balances of the sanctuary, surely then the "man of God" will be "thoroughly furnished unto every good work" (2 Tim. 3:17).

The man of God must not allow himself to be hindered in the diligent cultivation and exercise of his gift, though everything seems to look dark and forbidding, for "God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and of a sound mind." Here we have "God" again introduced to our thoughts, and that, too, in a most gracious manner, as furnishing His man with the very thing he needs to meet the special exigence of his day — "The Spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Marvellous combination! Truly, an exquisite compound after the art of the apothecary! Power, love and wisdom! How perfect! Not a single ingredient too much. Not one too little. If it were merely a spirit of power, it might lead one to carry things with a high hand. Were it merely a spirit of love, it might lead one to sacrifice truth for peace' sake; or indolently to tolerate error and evil, rather than give offence. But the power is softened by the love; and the love is strengthened by the power; and, moreover, the spirit of wisdom comes in to adjust both the power and the love. In a word, it is a divinely perfect and beautiful provision for the man of God — the very thing he needs for "the last days" so perilous, so difficult, so full of all sorts of perplexing questions and apparent contradictions. If one were to be asked what he would consider most necessary for such days as these? surely he should, at once, say, "power, love, and soundness of mind." Well, blessed be God, these are the very things which He has graciously given to form the character, shape the way, and govern the conduct of the man of God, right on to the end.

But God has not given to us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind. 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. It is the life and spirit of Jesus Christ in us. I have no doubt that we need power and love and the sound mind in every sphere of Christian life. Power without love might be ruthless, and love without the sound mind might be weakness. But I would emphasize each of them in its own special sphere. We need the sound mind in our individual lives. What is the meaning of it? It is a wise mind, a discreet mind. A brother was telling me today, as we discussed it, that it was a healthy mind, and I quite agree with that. The natural mind, always dominated by a sinful self-interest in one form or another, is not a sound or healthy mind; it cannot wisely discriminate between good and evil. The Gadarenes came out of their city to see what had happened to the demoniac whose name was Legion.

But God hath not given to us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind. 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. It is the life and spirit of Jesus Christ in us. I have no doubt that we need power and love and the sound mind in every sphere of Christian life. Power without love might be ruthless, and love without the sound mind might be weakness. But I would emphasize each of them in its own special sphere. We need the sound mind in our individual lives. What is the meaning of it? It is a wise mind, a discreet mind. A brother was telling me today, as we discussed it, that it was a healthy mind, and I quite agree with that. The natural mind, always dominated by a sinful self-interest in one form or another, is not a sound or healthy mind; it cannot wisely discriminate between good and evil. The Gadarenes came out of their city to see what had happened to the demoniac whose name was Legion.

In the second epistle to Timothy, the apostle gives a word that is very helpful, "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7). I think Timothy felt there were tremendous difficulties to face. All the Christians in Asia had turned away from Paul, and from heavenly truth, and this he doubtless felt. He was inclined to be downhearted, and therefore the Spirit of God, through Paul, reminds him of what His special character was in such a day of difficulty, when He says, "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." These are the sentiments with which the Holy Ghost fills the bosom of the Christian, and to this Paul adds, in the fourteenth verse," That good thing which was committed to thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwells in us." It is by the Holy Ghost alone we can keep that which God has committed to us. Everything turns on the way in which we treat the indwelling Spirit, individually, and the ever-abiding Spirit in the midst of the assembly, collectively.