II Timothy 2:1

“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus,”

Paul writes ‘You then’ or ‘You therefore’ (NASB) as he just referenced how “everyone from the province of Asia has deserted me…” (1:15) 

It was only Onesiphorus who visited him in jail (1:16). Paul knew that Timothy would remember him from their time together in Ephesus (1:18).

Paul affectionately refers to Timothy as ‘my son’. Paul was an apostle and a preacher and an evangelist but he also was a ‘disciple maker’. He had personally invested into Timothy over many years and their bond was like a father and a son. 

Now in this context Paul charges his spiritual son to be ‘strong in grace’.  The same grace that he wrote to the same church in Ephesus that saves you. 

Ephesians 2:8

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—” 

This is Paul’s last letter to Timothy and there is a sense of urgency that he does not miss ‘the gift of the grace of God in Christ Jesus’. Yes it saved him – but more than that. This grace now strengthens him and empowers him for the work of ministry.