“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)
Second Timothy, Part 2
“To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (2 Tim. 1:2).
The apostle Paul thought of Timothy as a true and dear son, and addressed him that way. He had picked him up as a ministerial assistant several decades before this, when Timothy was probably around sixteen-years-old. He begins with a triune benediction — grace, mercy, and peace — and offers this in the name of the Father and the Son. The Spirit is not mentioned by name, but it is not as though He is excluded from Paul’s concerns. Someone once said that when doing theology, you always have to say everything every time — lest someone suspect you of heresy. But this is obviously not possible; Paul only mentions grace, mercy and peace here, but not faith, hope and love. What’s the deal?
Not everything that is said has to be said. The Spirit is the one who proceeds from the Father and the Son both, and we see from our text that Paul pronounces a blessing on Timothy that comes from the Father and the Son — Christ Jesus our Lord. The Spirit is here in the fruit He brings, which in this case is identified as grace, mercy, and peace.