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evidently carried with it a social stigma and the danger of giving a public witness to a
religion that was now illicit, made the possibility of shame a real one.
At first sight it seems extraordinary that the Apostle should couple himself with the
Lord. We can well understand the need to urge Timothy not to be ashamed of his
Saviour, but at the same time to say `do not be ashamed of me either' appears to be sheer
egotism. This is not the only time he seems to push himself forward. Note the following:
". . . . . the gospel; whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of
the Gentiles" (1: 10, 11).
"Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me" (1: 13).
"All they which are in Asia be turned away from me" (1: 15).
"The things that thou hast heard of me . . . . . commit thou to faithful men . . . . ." (2: 2).
"Remember that Jesus Christ . . . . . was raised from the dead according to my gospel"
(2: 8).
"Thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering,
love, patience . . . . ." (3: 10).
"Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the
preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear" (4: 17).
This stress on self would be sheer egotism apart from the position given him by the
ascended Christ as His mouthpiece to us who are Gentiles. When Paul refers to himself
alone, he is `less than the lest of all saints' (Eph. 3: 8), and `the chief of sinners'
(ITim.i.15), and he can say with truth, "not I, but Christ" (Gal. 2: 20). But when he
speaks as the Apostle of Christ to the Gentiles, he is then the channel through which the
Lord Himself is speaking, and he writes and teaches with all His authority. When this is
understood, the constant references to himself and his ministry can be seen in their true
light and we therefore do not talk of "Pauline doctrine" as though his epistles were just
the putting forward of his own ideas.
To be ashamed of Paul and his ministry is to be ashamed of the Lord and this reminds
one of His solemn words in Luke 9: 26, "for whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of
My words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own
glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels". Alas, it is only too easy to deny, by
word or deed, the special testimony given through Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, or to
keep silence when we should speak, for fear of other believers and their attitude toward
us. May we ever be delivered from the `fear of man that bringeth a snare', and any
attitude or mode of life that can be construed as being ashamed of the glorious deposit of
truth given through Paul's prison ministry.
Timothy is now reminded that he must be ready to accept any hardship that a faithful
witness to this `good deposit' might bring:
". . . . . suffer hardship with the gospel according to the power of God" (1: 8, R.V.).
Sunkakopatheo `suffer hardship' seems to have been coined by the Apostle `to share
suffering with someone else' (compare also 2: 3). Timothy is invited to share Paul's
sufferings and this evil treatment meted out to those who determined to be faithful is a
recurring theme in this epistle (2: 9; 4: 5). Later the Apostle states, `all that would live