“Deliberately Diverse” represents the opinions of a group of Taylor friends who never completely agree about anything but enjoy diverse discussions.
Tradition suggests that Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy was written shortly before Paul’s death in Rome while Paul was imprisoned. Timothy was a young pastor from Lystra (in modern-day Turkey). His mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois, were Jewish Christians, while his father was Greek.
Paul met Timothy during his second missionary journey and was so impressed that he took Timothy along as a traveling companion and coworker.
Paul often referred to Timothy as his “true son in the faith” and as his “beloved child,” showing their close relationship.
In that letter, Paul says to Timothy, “For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.”
In Greek, those gifts from God are dynameōs, agapēs and sōphronismou.
For the spirit of power (dynameōs), think dynamo or dynamic. The spirit of power Paul refers to is the potential or inherent capacity, not just to do something but also the power that accomplishes feats beyond human capacity.
You have probably heard the word agape, which is translated as love. In Greek, it refers to a deep, selfless and unconditional affection and benevolence that is a willful act of commitment to the wellbeing of another, rather than being based on feelings or attraction.
It is seen as a choice of the will, an act that prioritizes universal compassion and acceptance. It is something we might understand better as a verb than a noun. It is an action rather than a feeling.
Then we come to sōphronismou, which is sometimes translated as selfdiscipline, but might better be understood as a sound mind. The word is deeply connected to the concept of virtue in Greek philosophy. Philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle considered it a core virtue.
A person possessing this virtue is said to have a sound and disciplined mind, harmonizing their desires and actions with reason.
God gives us the spirit of power which allows us to do what might seem to be beyond our human capacity.
God gives us the spirit of love which allows us to act towards others with a commitment to their well-being rather than to our own.
God gives us the spirit of sound mind which allows us to harmonize our desires and actions with reason.
These three gifts of the spirit are what we aspire to when we say we are Christ-followers, or that we are living in Christ.
Pierce is vicar of St. James’ Episcopal Church in Taylor and can be reached at [email protected].
