The Sketch of What the Apostles Handed Down To Us

206 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 1:13, 14, “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 14 That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. (2 Tim 1:13,14) It's all about Jesus and the Gospel and Paul makes that point clear here to young Timothy. Tap into the power of the Holy Spirit Timothy! Use that power to not deviate from the pattern of sound words that Paul has handed down to the church through his own encounters with Jesus and the Word! With faith in Christ and the fruit of love that comes with it, stick to the guns of the gospel and the doctrine of Christ! To be sure, there would be attacks on the doctrine of Christ. There have been attacks on the doctrine of Christ, and there will continue to be attacks on the doctrine of Christ. So Paul reminds Timothy to hold fast (don't let it get away from you) the pattern ( the word means sketch or outline) of the sound (perfectly healthy) words that Timothy has heard from Paul. What is this sketch of doctrine that is so important to Timothy and the church? It is the creed, concerning what we must believe about Jesus. This creed of the early church was sketched out for Timothy in 1Ti 3:16 “And without controversy (don't argue about this) great is the mystery of godliness: (Great is the mystery of Christ!) And here it is. Here is the sketch! “God was manifested in the flesh, (Immanuel, God with us, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary) Justified in the Spirit, (By His death at the hands of Pontius Pilate and subsequent resurrection from the dead! Seen by angels, (Seen by His messengers, the Apostles and over 500 other witnesses) Preached among the Gentiles. Believed on in the world, This risen Christ would appear to His messengers and give them the charge to preach the Gospel to the world, and then He was received up in glory.” This was the pattern, the sketch that the church must adhere to as it concerns Jesus. There has been some filling in of that sketch through the years, (what the church now calls the Apostles Creed or the even more detailed Nicene Creed) but the basic doctrine concerning Christ has not changed and must not change. This sketch goes a long way in defense of the Gospel from false teachers, and we in the church ought to remind ourselves of it often and hold fast to it!