2 Timothy 1: I Know Whom I Have Believed, Even in Uncertainty

Introduction

"God was there, God is there, and God will be there. And that is the security we have, we Christians." With these words Manuel Jubete opens the second study of the 2026 convention of the Église Franco-Espagnole Le Phare. He preaches in Spanish, in place of a guest pastor who could not come, and he already sees a lesson in that: the organizers were sure of his presence, and that certainty changed.

We live in times of insecurity. In France, on that very day, there is a general strike; in Spain, the situation is no better. Young people cannot find a good job or a place to live, and older people wonder whether they will receive their pension. Christians ask questions too: Is God really with me? Have I been born again? Can I lose my salvation?

The preacher mentions the film Jesus Revolution, about a Christian movement that began in the United States at the end of the 1960s, close to the Reto ministry that he himself joined. In it, a young man who will become a pastor is tormented by a question: "Is this real? Will what I am experiencing last?" For Manuel Jubete, these uncertainties touch all of us, whether we are Christians or not.

Starting from 2 Timothy 1:6-14, and especially verse 12, the preacher shows where the believer's security rests: today, tomorrow, and by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

Message Outline

1. Paul Writes from a Prison Cell

Recalling the beginnings of the work in France, the preacher stresses that God gave "many evidences" that they had to come: the church is here "out of obedience to God." Despite the difficulties, God has been faithful.
Paul writes this letter from prison in Rome, probably in chains, abandoned by many friends and coworkers. He knows his end is near. According to tradition, he will be beheaded: as a Roman citizen, he could not be crucified.
He addresses Timothy, his son in the faith, who is then the pastor of the church in Ephesus. Timothy is not as young as we imagine: he would be between 45 and 50 years old. But he still needs advice, confirmation and encouragement.
Reading between the lines, Timothy seems somewhat timid, inclined to be ashamed of the Gospel and of Paul himself. Hence the exhortation: "Fan into flame the gift of God," because God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power, love and self-control.
In this situation, Paul writes: "I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me" (verse 12). The text speaks of a present, of a future, and of what upholds everything: the Holy Spirit who dwells in us (verse 14).
"This is not something unreal, it is not a fantasy. It is a life with Christ, in Christ, upheld by the power of the Holy Spirit."

2. Today: Your Security Has a Name

Paul does not lean on what he has experienced, nor on his years of service, nor on what he has suffered. "The security we have, we believers, has a name. And that name is Jesus Christ."
God saved us and called us "not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace" (verse 9). "We are not that important. God uses us, of course, but what matters is him, do not forget it."
Our foundation is the grace of God, his mercy, his goodness. "If you see human merit in us, reject it." What people should see in us is a little or a lot of Christ.
Our confidence is not in those who govern. The preacher half-jokes about the election period in Spain, then reminds us that every era is difficult.
Do not look at Christ as a mere historical figure: hold on to what he did on the cross, where he took your place, and to the promises he leaves: "The righteous shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17), and we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed (Hebrews 10:38-39).

3. Justified by Faith, Sanctified Every Day

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). God's righteousness is not a rule for measuring sins: it is a gift from God.
Justification is the act of God by which he declares righteous the sinner who believes in Christ, and this faith rests on Christ's redeeming work on the cross.
The illustration: you commit a theft, you are arrested, and the prosecutor asks for one month in prison and a 1,000 euro fine. The judge examines the case and says: "Pardoned." But Christ goes further: he is the one who serves the month in prison and pays the 1,000 euros. Our part is to believe.
Sanctification has three stages: we are declared holy when we believe; it will be perfect and eternal in heaven; and in between, there is a daily process in which the Holy Spirit, with our cooperation, makes us more and more like Christ.

4. A Faith Built on the Self Is Fragile

The Bible invites us to examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5), but in the light of the Word. If we compare ourselves with others, we always pick someone who does a little worse than we do.
Many believers live with these questions: "Do I pray enough? Do I read enough? Have I behaved well enough this week to please God?"
"It is good that you examine yourself, but be careful with your self. Because a faith built on you, a faith built on the self, is generally a very fragile faith." Our faith can be powerful because the one in whom it rests is powerful.
Paul said: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20), and "forgetting what lies behind, I press on toward the goal" (Philippians 3:13-14). Our self must decrease every day.
"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Romans 8:15-16). The Spirit does not give fear; he bears witness: "You are my son, you are my daughter, you belong to me." This is neither imagination nor a passing emotion.
Young people who want to marry, students wondering where they will live, parents worried about their children's future all have uncertainties. But it is one thing to have uncertainties, and another not to be sure of the one in whom you have believed.

5. Tomorrow: He Is Able to Guard What You Have Entrusted

Prison, abandonment, approaching death: everything could have seemed in vain, but nothing took away Paul's faith. "He is able. Not me, not Paul." He is the one who upholds us, and we are in his hands.
Jesus says: "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:28-30).
"He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). God began your story and he will finish it: God does not fail to finish what he started.
We were sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14). The seal marks ownership. The guarantee is like a deposit that secures what you will one day receive.
God's children stumble, and God leads them to repentance. Hebrews 11 lists imperfect people: Abraham lied, Moses lost his temper, Samson fell. A theologian (the preacher is thinking of Owen) calls the unregenerate sinners and the regenerate imperfect people.
"They finished the road. They finished the race." God bore witness to them, because their faith rested on the God who upheld them.

6. Warnings Are Like Road Signs

This security does not allow us to live as we please. Jesus says: "Abide in me" (John 15:4), which implies that some do not abide. We have come to share in Christ "if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end" (Hebrews 3:14). Paul himself feared being "disqualified" after preaching to others (1 Corinthians 9:27).
"God's promises are true and faithful. But his warnings are true too." They are not there to steal our joy or our salvation, but to keep us from discouragement and indifference.
The illustration: on the road, a "dangerous curve" sign does not announce an accident and does not forbid you to drive. It tells you: be careful. The person who overtakes in a no-passing zone and drives at 160 instead of 130 sooner or later ends up in an accident. It is the same in the Christian life.
Our security is not only in a prayer said one day, or in the fact that someone prayed for us at a convention: it is in him. We fear God with reverence, attentive to his warnings, because we want to be faithful to him.
Our sign on the road is Hebrews 12:2: "looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith." Christ begins, Christ completes.

7. Follow the Sound Words and Guard the Deposit

"Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus" (verse 13). Since arriving in France and being converted more than 40 years ago, the church has wanted to stand firm by holding fast to the Word of God.
It is a heritage handed down from generation to generation: Moses to Joshua, Paul to Timothy. "Many of us are advancing in age. Others will take our place."
The preacher gives a warning to the Franco-Spanish church: a little leaven leavens the whole lump (Galatians 5:9). "Your security will not be so much in what I can tell you, but in what I can tell you that God says." Everyone has the duty to check against the Word.
Two examples: movements that baptize only in the name of Jesus, whereas Jesus says to baptize "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19); and meetings where people are promised gold teeth. "Is there any case in Scripture where people prayed and gold teeth appeared? I have not found a single one." These doctrines he puts "in quarantine."
"By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you" (verse 14). There is an order: God guards first (verse 12), then he asks us to hold fast and to guard, but by the Holy Spirit. "Apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5) concerns the work of God and eternal things.
"We are not saved because we hold on by our own strength. We are saved, and we can be in ministry, because he upholds us." If God is for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?
The final appeal: if you have never put your trust in God, today is the time to believe. Draw near to Jesus, rely on his promises, not on your feelings. If you have grown cold, God is waiting for you and watching from afar to see you return. If the fire of the Spirit has gone out, ask him to fan it into flame again.

Key Takeaways

The believer's security has a name: Jesus Christ. It rests neither on our experiences, nor on our merits, nor on those who govern.
Justification is an act of God received by faith; sanctification is the daily work of the Holy Spirit in us.
A faith built on the self remains fragile; a faith built on Christ can be strong, because he is powerful.
God finishes what he began, and the warnings of the Bible are road signs that keep us alert on the way.
Holding fast to sound doctrine and guarding the deposit can only be done by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

Personal Application

What does your security rest on today: on your track record, on your efforts, or on the one in whom you have believed?
Do you keep asking yourself, "Do I pray enough, do I read enough?" What changes for you when the Spirit bears witness, "You are my child"?
Which warning of the Word do you tend to treat with indifference, like a sign you no longer look at?
When you hear a new teaching, do you take the time to check it against Scripture before receiving it?
Has the fire of the Spirit grown cold in your life? What keeps you from asking God to fan it into flame again this week?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Paul mean by "I know whom I have believed" in 2 Timothy 1:12?

For Manuel Jubete, Paul leans neither on his experiences, nor on his years of ministry, nor on what he has suffered. His security has a name: Jesus Christ. Paul writes from a prison, abandoned by many and close to death, and he remains sure that God is able to guard his deposit until that day.

What is the difference between justification and sanctification?

Justification is the act of God by which he declares righteous the sinner who believes in Christ, on the basis of his work on the cross. Sanctification is a process: through the Holy Spirit, and with our cooperation, God makes us more like Christ every day. It will be perfect in heaven.

If believers are secure in Christ, why does the Bible give warnings?

The preacher compares these warnings to a dangerous-curve sign on the road. The sign does not announce an accident and does not forbid you to drive: it asks you to be attentive. God's promises are true, and so are his warnings, and they keep us from indifference and discouragement.