Be Strong in Grace
1 You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace l that is in Christ Jesus. 2 What you have heard from me m in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful n men who will be able to teach others also.
3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. o 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the commanding officer. 5 Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer ought to be the first to get a share of the crops. p 7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead q and descended from David, according to my gospel, 9 for which I suffer to the point of being bound like a criminal. But the word of God is not bound. 10 This is why I endure r all things for the elect: s so that they also may obtain salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. t 11 This saying is trustworthy: u
For if we died with him, v
we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign w with him;
if we deny him, he will also deny us;
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny himself.
An Approved Worker
14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to fight about words. x This is useless and leads to the ruin of those who listen. 15 Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth. y 16 Avoid irreverent and empty speech, since those who engage in it will produce even more godlessness, z 17 and their teaching will spread like gangrene. Hymenaeus a and Philetus are among them. 18 They have departed from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, b and are ruining the faith of some. c 19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, bearing this inscription: d The Lord knows those who are his, ,e and let everyone who calls on the name f of the Lord turn away from wickedness. g
20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, h but also those of wood and clay; some for honorable use and some for dishonorable. ,i 21 So if anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable, he will be a special instrument, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. j
22 Flee k from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, l along with those who call on the Lord m from a pure heart. 23 But reject foolish and ignorant disputes, because you know that they breed quarrels. 24 The Lord’s n servant must not quarrel, o but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient, 25 instructing his opponents with gentleness. p Perhaps God will grant them repentance q leading them to the knowledge of the truth. 26 Then they may come to their senses and escape the trap of the devil, r who has taken them captive to do his will. s
D. Second appeal: Teach others (2:1–7). 2:1–2. Paul solidifies his appeal to Timothy with an emphatic, “You, therefore, my son” (2:1a). The positive, flip side of Paul’s earlier negative warning against timidity (1:7) lies here in his “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2:1b). In these verses Paul comes to the point: Paul has taught Timothy so that Timothy can teach others, who in their turn can teach still others (2:2). Timothy must fortify himself to fortify the church in Ephesus so that it can be a self-sustaining community, particularly if he is to leave there so that he can come to Paul in Rome to comfort him.
2:3–7. Paul appeals to three familiar Hellenistic metaphors (cf. 1 Co 9:7, 24): soldier (2:3–4), athlete (2:5), and farmer (2:6). Soldiers are loyal, athletes know their game, and farmers work hard. Crisply, Paul exhorts Timothy to apply these truths to his situation (2:7): Listen to me! Care about those who need you! Get to it!
E. Remember Christ Jesus (2:8–13). 2:8–10. First and last, the church’s message is “Jesus Christ, risen from the dead” as the initiator of a new age, and “descended from David” as the sum of all God’s promises in the past (2:8). God reclaims the whole universe through Christ and does so by way of Israel’s story.
2:11–13. Paul hopes that Timothy will let his life take the same shape as Jesus’s and Paul’s. To that end, he invokes one of the Pastoral Epistles’ five “trustworthy” sayings (2:11; cf. 1 Tm 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; Ti 3:8). Verses 11–13 are matchless in their poetic or hymnlike quality. Union with Christ in his death will bring life with him in resurrection (2:11; see also Rm 6:8): now a cross, later a crown (2:12a; cf. Mt 19:28). However, if on the last day we deny Christ, he will deny us (2:12b; see also Mt 10:33). Paul likely is remembering those who have abandoned him in prison (2 Tm 1:15; 4:10). Others have abandoned Paul’s teaching (2:17–18). Paul fears the sum of their careers will amount to a fatal denial of Christ himself.
A. Why to resist false teachers: Their influence is corrupting (2:14–21). 2:14–17. Paul continues his discussion from 2:2 about how to train leaders. It is they especially who must learn that “fight[ing] about words” will only bring ruin to “those who listen.” The warning against quarrelsomeness is important. Paul does not want his militant call (cf. 1 Tm 1:18 and 2:4) to be taken the wrong way.
2:18–21. Paul believes it is critical to handle the word of truth correctly when it comes to the timeline of redemption (see also 1 Corinthians). It is folly of the worst sort to believe that you have arrived at your final goal when you are still merely on the way. Thus, it is a fatal error to teach—as Hymenaeus and Philetus do (2:17)—that the only resurrection that is to take place has already happened (2:18).
B. How to resist false teachers: With mature gentleness (2:22–26). 2:22–23. The command to flee “youthful passions” is probably aimed, in the first place, at sexual temptations (2:22). (The Greek term translated “passions” Paul elsewhere associates with sexual sin; see Col 3:5; 1 Th 4:5.) Intriguingly, Paul notes that individual purity of heart (see Mt 5:8) is experienced in the fellowship of “those who call on the Lord.” However, 2:23 suggests Paul’s greater concern is that Timothy might overcompensate for his youthful timidity by responding to his opponents with an immature harshness.
2:24–26. Given the severity of Paul’s words about the peril in which the false teaching places the church, it is worth noting that Timothy is to conduct his campaign for the truth with a gentleness that keeps the door open for his opponents to repent. Secure in his ability to teach, Timothy is to show kindness to all, friend and foe alike (2:24). He is to resist the temptation to be quarrelsome with or resentful of his opponents. The effect of a mature and measured response will be to give God room to grant repentance (2:25). Timothy needs to lead with what Paul calls elsewhere “the meekness and gentleness of Christ” (2 Co 10:1) and leave the convicting to God himself.