<p>2:1 <em>You therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus- </em>Having exhorted Timothy to be strengthened in the Lord, Paul speaks of how the Lord has strengthened <em>him</em> in his last court appearance (2 Tim. 2:1; 4:17). &quot;Grace&quot;, <em>charis, </em>often refers in the New Testament to the internal gift of the Spirit which is given to all believers. It was given to the Corinthians, but they were &quot;not spiritual&quot; (1 Cor. 3:1). We must allow that gift to work. Paul has urged Timothy about this elsewhere- see on 1:14. And here Paul is stating it explicitly; Timothy as all of us is to allow the strengthening process. We lack the iron in our soul to force change to any significant extent; but the way to progress is an opening to the superhuman strengthening of the Spirit which is already potentially at work in us. It's tragic that so many are so nearly there- but will not allow the Spirit to work. This can be due to pride in their own strength, and because of theological denial of the work of the Spirit.</p>