5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.

Sometimes it is a bit daunting to think of talking directly to the creator of the universe– our natural instinct is to prefer a mediator instead, rather than speaking with an all powerful being. What is wonderful about Jesus, is that while he is still part of the Trinity and thus fully God, he also fills that role of mediator. He is someone who understands us, who has “been there” in a way. And unlike human mediators, we know that he is directly in tune to God so our pleas will definitely be heard through him.

Verse seven is very encouraging to those of us who are Gentiles (not Jews) because Paul reminds us that he cares about telling the truth and teaching us just as much as his own people.

18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Paul reminds Timothy of his responsibility, and that a lot of people are counting on him to make the right decisions and be a beacon of good in the darkness. It was a difficult position to be in, and easy to falter, so Paul chose to use martial terms to describe the young man’s path. These are not literal– “war a good warfare” doesn’t mean pick up a sword and run about with it, rather he is encouraging Timothy to stand strong for what is right and good no matter what other people do or say.

He points out two people– Hymenaeus and Alexander, who apparently gave way to temptation and derision. Paul tells Timothy that they did not keep the faith and ignored their conscience. As a result, he was forced to sternly rebuke them in an extremely serious fashion. This is a “don’t let this happen to you” moment as Paul warns against the evils of losing faith. He gives the parallel of a shipwreck– a few wrong decisions in navigation can send the ship smashing onto rocks and its crew drowning. We too, if we stop listening to our conscience and do whatever we feel like at the time, can lose direction and smash into rocks as well. In the third Star Wars prequel– Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, a young man starts making a few wrong choices that turn him from being a mostly good person into the evil Darth Vader. It doesn’t take much, so pay attention to your conscience and keep the faith!

12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Paul takes some time to comment about how he used to be like the people described in the previous verses– arrogant and prosecuting over wrongly interpreted details of the law. He comments that he was granted mercy, so he is explaining to Timothy that there is hope for the group he needs to correct. Instead of simply walking up to them and giving a lecture, Paul gives the young man a practical example to use in instructing the wayward group. It is one thing to speak in an abstract way, but to this day priests will often bring in stories and examples to illustrate the teaching of a homily. Paul gives his own conversion to demonstrate how a proud person who thought himself rather clever when it came to the law was saved by “the grace of our Lord” and was given the faith and love he needed to break through his pride and turn to good works.

He humbly acknowledges that he too made a lot of poor decisions, but that his life showed the patience that God has with each of us. He pauses to glorify God in a genuine outpouring of praise. After thinking of his own redemption, this is a beautiful example of the proper response each of us should have when thinking of all the Lord has done, “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” There have been many songs and chants made with these words, and I am sure you have heard at least one of them. It is always lovely to see them in context of the Scripture to which they belong.