Structure in 2 Timothy 1 – Part 4

In this series we are looking at how structure can help us observe more in the text.  You can get caught up by clicking on the links below.

Yesterday we looked at the first structural marker in 2 Timothy 1:6, the next marker is temporal, “afresh”.  Paul is telling his apprentice to rekindle his spiritual gifts.  The implications of this are important for us.

One implication may be that our gifts can fade.  That raises several questions:

• What would cause one’s spiritual gifts to fade?
• Could one’s gifts fade to the point of uselessness?
• What does one do to rekindle one’s gift?

These questions arise from observing the temporal marker but the next few are questions that come to mind from other passages of Scripture that may help me to understand what is going on here:

• How does abiding in Christ impact one’s spiritual gifts?  Is the implication here that Timothy was not abiding?  (John 15:5)
• Is there a connection here between Paul’s issue in 2 Corinthians 12:7 – 10 and Timothy’s need to rekindle his gift?

I do not have answers to these questions.  I may never have.  That is not the point.  By asking them I am forced to consider things that I may not otherwise consider.  Plus I find that asking questions I see other things that I would not have otherwise observed.

There is one more marker in verse 6 I want to investigate but I will save that for tomorrow.

Posts in this series:
The Influence of Structure
Structure in 2 Timothy 1
Structure in 2 Timothy 1 – Part 2
Structure in 2 Timothy 1 – Part 3