Deepfake - Part 1 [Notes]

Deepfake is a four-week series through the four chapters of 2nd Timothy. Just as AI-generated “deepfakes” can look real but aren’t, we live in a world full of ideas, beliefs, and value systems being presented to us as true and for our good, when in reality they are false and destructive. In this letter from the apostle Paul to Timothy, his son in the faith, Paul warns and encourages him to hold on to the truth in a world full of lies and deception. Though “deepfakes” are all around us, we can confidently stand on God’s unchanging Word.

Pass on the Truth
• 2 Timothy 1:1-2, Greeting 

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, for the sake of the promise of life in Christ Jesus: To Timothy, my dearly loved son. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
— 2 Timothy 1:1-2 (CSB)

First Timothy, Second Timothy, Titus: We now turn from the Thessalonian letters, which are among the earliest Pauline letters we possess, to three epistles that most likely date from the very end of Paul’s life: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. These three are sometimes called the Pastoral Epistles. The term, coined in the 18th century, is fitting for two reasons. First, all three letters show pastoral concern for their recipients, Timothy and Titus. Second, all three deal with pastoral matters involving the care of souls and the orderly conduct of God’s people in the church as well as in the world.
— Encountering the New Testament, p. 321

Occasion for Writing: Paul’s second imprisonment would have been the occasion for writing 2 Timothy, in which Paul alludes to his chains (1:8, 2:9). Shortly after writing 2 Timothy, Paul apparently suffered death by beheading during persecutions instigated by the “degenerate madness” of the Roman emperor Nero.
— Encountering the New Testament, p. 321

I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, when I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day. Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and now, I am convinced, is in you also. Therefore, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power,, love, and sound judgment.
— 2 Timothy 1:3-7 (CSB)

Paul went on to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek. The brothers and sisters at Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him.
— Acts 16:1-2 (CSB)

Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
— 2 Timothy 2:13-15 (CSB)

So don’t be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me his prisoner. Instead, share in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God. He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. This has now been made evident through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. For this gospel I was appointed a herald, apostle, and teacher, and that is why I suffer these things. But I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to guard what has been entrusted to me, until that day.
— 2 Timothy 1:8-12 (CSB) 

Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who lives in us. You know that all those in the province of Asia have deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he diligently searched for me and found me. May the Lord grant that he obtain mercy from him on that day. You know very well how much he ministered at Ephesus.
— 2 Timothy 1:13-18 (CSB)

“May the Lord bless you and protect you; may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.”
— Numbers 6:24-26 (CSB) 

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