THE first epistle of Paul to Timothy is a confidential communication concerning the church as the house of God. It contains practical and important instructions as to the order which is to be maintained in this house. Pure doctrine, pure worship and a faithful ministry are the leading thoughts of this pastoral letter.

The second epistle is the last Paul wrote. In this second epistle the church as the house of God is no longer mentioned. Instead of this we read of "the great house" in which are vessels to honor and some to dishonor and the believer is urged to purge himself from the vessels of dishonor. The great house is the prophetic picture of the professing church, which is the house in disorder. It is prophetic. What was to come in Christendom down to the days in which we live is foretold in this epistle.

Chapter 3:16. "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God is manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." These are the facts connected with the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. His incarnation is mentioned first. Then comes "justified in the Spirit." It tells us once more that the Lord Jesus Christ walked on earth in the Spirit of holiness, that, after having offered Himself by the eternal Spirit, He was raised from among the dead also by the operation of the Spirit (Rom. 8:11).

Chapter 4:l. "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and the doctrines of demons." Here the Spirit of God shows "things to come" as promised by our Lord. He revealed through Paul the fact that as this present age proceeds and nears its close, a falling away will take place, and the apostates will give heed to seducing spirits and the doctrines of demons. How abundantly this prediction is verified in our times is known to all. These are the only two references in the first Epistle to Timothy in which the Holy Spirit is mentioned.

2 Tim. 1:7. "For God has not given us the Spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind." Let us not overlook the "sound mind." Many are not manifesting a sound mind, but are given to an enthusiasm as to spiritual things, fanaticism, if not worse, which is of a carnal origin. The Holy Spirit in the believer is not the Spirit of fear, but power, love and a sound mind are His marks.

2 Tim. 1:14. "That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Spirit who dwelleth in you." The preceding verse speaks of holding fast the form of sound words. This expression is a striking argument for verbal inspiration. The truth of God is conveyed in the very words of God by the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2). It is to be held fast in faith and in love. It does not mean a certain creed put together by man, but the whole truth of God as revealed by Him. And whatever good thing is committed unto the believer, in the form of a gift, must be kept by the energy and power of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in the believer. What we have received, the knowledge of the form of sound words and the gift imparted, must be used. "In proportion as we do not care to communicate to others the things which we have received, we shall find their power over our own souls diminishing and their sweetness also."

These are the only two passages in which the Spirit of God is referred to in the second epistle to Timothy.

In the Epistle to Titus the Holy Spirit is mentioned but once. In chapter 3:5-6 we read, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which is shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour." The believer born again is born of the Spirit. He is also shed upon us abundantly, as the gift, to be in and with the believer. The renewing of the Spirit does not mean, as it has been explained, another coming of the Spirit to the believer's heart, or a greater measure of the Spirit. But it means that He works in the believer, communicating daily, if He is unhindered, all that is ours in Christ. He takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto us. It is in this way He renews us and keeps us in the real enjoyment of the salvation which we have, and the redemption of the future "the hope of eternal life."