A Short Word Study 

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;

but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

I have always loved this verse as it tells me once again, of God’s love.

God doesn’t give us a spirit of fear. It’s us who bring the fear upon ourselves.

Some time back, I began to investigate the Greek words used in this verse

and jotted down some notes that lay dormant on my desk

for quite some time.

So, if you are not interested in the Greek meaning of

words in the Bible, then stop reading right here or you’ll be

bored to tears. I find it interesting to understand and look into

the meaning of words used in the Bible, as a lot of the time,

they are not at all like we use them in present day language,

and a verse can take on a totally different meaning.

So, in saying that, if you’re still with me, read on.

In looking over the words in this verse in II Timothy,

I found that the word ‘fear’ here, is only used this one time in the Bible.

The Greek word here for fear, is Deilia.

It literally means timidity. So, not a fear of the unknown,

but a lack of courage, or confidence.

The Greek word Deilos, is used 3 times as fearful, having the meaning

of faithless and fainthearted.

Matthew 8:26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful,

O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea;

and there was a great calm.

Mark 4:40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful?

how is it that ye have no faith?

And then we move on to the word Spirit.

This word in the Greek is, Pneuma. Yes, it has to do

with wind and breath but it also has the meaning

in this context of the rational soul and the mental disposition.

Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit:

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The word power here in II Timothy, is the Greek word

Dunamis. Now of course, straight away, we can hear the

word dynamite in this word. This word means a force,

a miraculous power, might and strength.

Mark 13:26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming

in the clouds with great power and glory.

So, God gives us dynamite power! And dynamite from

God has got to be better than any earthly dynamite out there!

But God not only gives us power, but He gives us love.

Now anyone who has ever done any looking into Greek words

will know about the Greek words for love. And here is this verse,

It is speaking of the Greek word Agape.

Affection. Benevolence. Charity.

The highest form of love. The love that God has for man.

The unconditional love that God has for us.

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this,

that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Then we move on to a particularly favourite phrase

of mine, a sound mind.

Oh, how I want a sound mind at all times.

The word mind here is sophronismos.

Which literally means discipline and self-control.

It is only used one time in the Bible.

There are other words used meaning being

of a sober mind. But used like it is here in

this verse, as a sound mind, is only found once.

So, in saying all this, I paraphrased this verse

for my own personal understanding and came up with this.

For God hath not given us the mental disposition of timidity and faithlessness,

but of might, strength and force, affection, charity, unconditional love,

self-control and discipline.

So, we have here another promise of God

to hold to in our times of trial.

He has given us power and unconditional love

and a sound mind. God doesn’t give us fear.

Not even a breath of fear.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;

but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.