God Has Not Given Us A Spirit Of Fear: Spiritual Warfare Part 1.

2 Timothy 1:7
7″For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power (Dynaméōs) and of love (Agapéō) and of a sound mind “(Sōphronísmoū).”

In these last days prior to our Jesus calling us out of this world, the battle in the heavenlies is growing and will continue to grow more and more intense. You and I need to be fully equipped so as not to be fearful or overwhelmed by all the evil goings on. We need to be in our right minds and we do that by leaning on God’s word, taking comfort from His promises to us, and keeping our eyes on Jesus and His finished work.

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Memorizing Scripture.

Memorizing scripture is a very important practice to keep God’s word and promises forefront in our minds and hearts. This particular verse is one of my favorites.  It is such a powerful, comforting promise from our loving heavenly Father. Whenever I am afraid or worried or when cares and concerns creep in, I can mutter it under my breath and be reminded Who’s really in charge of me and my family.  He’s got EVERYTHING that concerns me under control.

I really wanted to commit this verse to memory.  Sadly, every time I would call it to mind, I would forget which word came first.  Then, after studying it closely, it hit me:  God gave us the power of trinity in this one short verse!  It has now taken on a whole new meaning and I will ALWAYS remember it!

Illuminating Greek.

Here’s what I discovered:  The word in Greek for fear is in this verse is “Deíllas,” which means “Timidity, reticence, cowardice.”  That’s the devil right there! Those things certainly aren’t meant to be our heritage. No way!

Church, Jesus died to give us His complete Shalom. This is a very rich Hebrew word, which means so much more than simply peace of mind. You may choose to read all about it by following the link below:

https://emmausroadministries.international/2020/03/27/shalom-%d7%a9%d7%9c%d7%95%d7%9d/

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It is in the original Greek of this verse where you find the secret to the REAL power behind the words in this verse!  Let’s dig in!

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The Father.
The word for power, “Dynaméōs,” is derived from “Dunamís: [miraculous] power, might, strength.”  This is the same word used to described Jesus at the end of Matthew’s gospel, sitting at the “Right hand of power.”  And Who is at His left hand?  The Father!  “Dynaméōs” is the Father! 😊 

The Son.

The word for love in this verse is “Agapéō,” which means “benevolence, good will, esteem,” derived from “agapé,” which means “sacrificial love.”  That’s Jesus, Who gave His life for us!  John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this; that He lay down His life for His friends.”

The Holy Spirit.

So far, we have the Father and the Son in this one verse.  How about the Spirit? Aha!  Finally, we come to this word: “Sōphronísmoū.” It is translated as “Sound mind,” meaning literally, “Self-control, self-discipline, prudence.”  Recognize those qualities?  They are all the gifts of the Spirit!  This word is describing our inner teacher Who is the Master StoryTeller of this amazing book.

So there you have it, Church.  Wonderful provision from our loving Heavenly Father Who has given us everything we need:  Power, love, and a sound mind!  Keeping all those things in mind will ensure for all of us what our Father so dearly wants to bequeath to us.

For God has NOT given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind. ♥️

You may follow the link below to part two to continue this series:

Mind Games: Spiritual Warfare Part 2.