50. The Grace of the Lord Which Superabounded
with Faith and Love in Christ

If there were no grace of God, none of us could have faith and love in Christ. It is a wonder that we can believe in Jesus and love Him whom we have never seen. If we were threatened and persecuted unto martyrdom, we still could not deny that we believe in Jesus and love Him. This is a result of superabounding grace. It is not a small thing for a sinner to believe in Christ and to continue in loving Him. Many clever and wise people have been convinced, subdued, and eventually caught by the Lord’s superabounding grace. One day when John Nelson Darby was over eighty years old, he stayed overnight in a hotel. Before going to sleep, he said, “Lord Jesus, I love You.” This story nearly brought me to tears. It is marvelous that an old man, staying in a hotel, would say, “Lord Jesus, I love You.” To love Jesus is a wonder. To love Jesus is a miracle of the superabounding grace.

The Lord’s grace superabounded with faith and love in Christ to the apostle Paul for his dynamic and excellent salvation that he might be one of the greatest apostles (1 Tim. 1:14). According to Paul’s history in the New Testament, he was Saul of Tarsus, a strong and very knowledgeable person opposing Jesus. One day he changed from opposing to believing and loving. This was because the grace of the Lord was superabounding to him to make him an apostle. The three “T” books—1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus—are on the apostleship, and an apostle is produced by the superabounding grace of the Lord.

51. The Grace with Timothy That Enabled Him
to Guard the Deposit and Turn Away
from Profane, Vain Babblings and Antitheses
of What Was Falsely Called Knowledge,
Not Misaiming concerning the Faith

First Timothy 6:20 and 21 speak of the grace with Timothy that enabled him to guard the deposit. Timothy had received the deposit of God’s grace, mainly through Paul and his teaching. Something had been deposited into Timothy. Now Timothy needed to guard it by the grace.

By this grace he was also enabled to turn away from profane and vain babblings and antitheses of what was falsely called knowledge. The words antithesis and knowledge were used by Paul to describe the Gnostic teachings. The Gnostics thought they were men of wisdom. They tried to convince people by antithesis, that is, by contrasting and comparing two things. At Paul’s time the Gnostic teachings in the way of antitheses were prevailing. They called that their knowledge, but Paul said it was falsely called knowledge. This took away some believers. This is why Paul charged Timothy to turn away from this knowledge of the Gnostics’ antitheses, not misaiming concerning the faith.

52. The Grace according to Which God Had
Saved the Apostles and Called Them with a Holy
Calling and Which Was Given to Them in
Christ Jesus before the Times of the Ages

Second Timothy 1:9 says that grace was given to the apostles before the times of the ages. It was the same with us. Ephesians 1 says that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (v. 4). Before the times of the ages, God chose and predestinated us, so we received grace then.

53. The Grace Which Is in Christ Jesus
and in Which Timothy, One of the Younger
Co-workers of the Apostle Paul, Was Empowered
in the Degradation of the Church

In 2 Timothy 2:1 Paul told Timothy, “You therefore, my child, be empowered in the grace which is in Christ Jesus.” While the church was degrading, Timothy was empowered to stand against that degradation. He could do this by the grace which is in Christ Jesus.