2 Timothy 1:7 English Standard Version (ESV) for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Over the years it has been seen that some believe they possess a power that sets them above others, an entitlement. Let it be known, no one is entitled except He who sits on the throne.

I would have preferred 2 Timothy 1:7 to have read “of power to love and self control”, but I don’t get to rewrite the bible, only to understand what the Word does in me.

Apart from God my mortal flesh cannot love as described in 1 Corinthians 13. With God’s helper assisting me, I can choose to obey by faith, that He has the power to allow His love to flow through me, not so much that I actually do the loving, but that Christ can love through me.

It is something akin to fruits of the spirit. They are produced in us by the presence of the Holy Spirit in us because of who He is, not because of who we are apart from Him.

We were compared to trees early in scripture, “man is like a tree planted” we are rooted and grounded in love. The life of the tree constantly cycles from root to leaf and back to the root again. Without the love nutrient flowing through the limbs no fruit can be produced. Cut off the root and the branch dies, then the tree withers, and fails.

The lie of the enemy says that we have the power to produce fruit.

Apart from God, nothing we do has value to God.

We tend to be proud of our accomplishments but that is not true glory. Glory is the person and presence of Christ in us and if we want to have the light shine on us, we become thieves.

John 10:10 tells us who the real thief is and we should not want to be his tool.

John 14:16 English Standard Version (ESV) And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,[a] to be with you forever,

Footnote [a] Or Advocate, or Counselor

Added here are two more definitions for our helper. These are not titles but rather adjectives in what He does. How else is He known?

 In John 14:26 we learn He is the third person of the trinity of God, the Holy Spirit. “the Helper, the Holy Spirit”, “will teach” “and bring to your remembrance”. He teaches us and is our spiritual memory.

According to John 16:8 He “convict(s) the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment”. Remember we are still in the world and sin remains.

According to 1 Corinthians 3:16 He abides in us.

According to 1 Corinthians 2:11 He is the only one who knows the thoughts of God. What those thoughts are will only be revealed by the will of the Father. This is how we can have the mind of God without overburdening our finite minds.

According to John 16:13 He is the Spirit of Truth. He cannot lie. He is trustworthy.

According to 1 Corinthians 12 He is responsible for the manifestations of the Spirit in service gifts.

According to Ephesians 1:13 He seals us in Christ as both a mark of ownership and protection from evil in His indwelling place, our hearts.

According to Romans 8 He prays for us when we do not know what to say.

According to John 6:53 He quickens our dead spirit and gives us newness of life.

According to Galatians 5 He produces the fruits of the Spirit in us. “love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

2 Timothy 1:7 English Standard Version (ESV) for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.