2 TIMOTHY 3 [†]But understand this, that y in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2[†]For people will be z lovers of self, a lovers of money, b proud, b arrogant, abusive, b disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 c heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, d not loving good, 4treacherous, reckless, e swollen with conceit, f lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5[†]having the appearance of godliness, but g denying its power. h Avoid such people. 6[†]For among them are i those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7always learning and never able to j arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8[†]Just as k Jannes and Jambres l opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, m men corrupted in mind and n disqualified regarding the faith. 9[†]But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, o as was that of those two men.
10[†] p You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11[†]my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me q at Antioch, r at Iconium, and s at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet t from them all u the Lord rescued me. 12[†]Indeed, all who desire to v live a godly life in Christ Jesus w will be persecuted, 13[†]while x evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and y being deceived. 14[†]But as for you, z continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15[†]and how a from childhood you have been acquainted with b the sacred writings, c which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16[†] d All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17[†]that e the man of God may be complete, f equipped g for every good work.
2 TIMOTHY—NOTE ON 3:15 to make you wise for salvation. Scripture can lead to the “knowledge of the truth” (2:25; 1 Tim. 2:4). It has the power to bring its readers to faith (cf. James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23). This is in direct contrast to the false teaching which, as stated throughout the letter, leads only to useless disputes and ungodliness.
2 TIMOTHY—NOTE ON 3:14 from whom you learned. This could refer to Paul but may also refer back to Timothy’s mother and grandmother (1:5), especially since 3:15 mentions the teaching he received in childhood (see esv footnote on v. 14).
2 TIMOTHY—NOTE ON 3:9 Another note of encouragement similar to 2:19. In spite of the current success of the false teachers, they will ultimately fail.
2 TIMOTHY—NOTE ON 3:8 Jannes and Jambres are the names given in early extrabiblical Jewish writings to the Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses in Ex. 7:8–13. In these writings, these men became key symbols of opposition to God’s truth. Though their names do not appear in the OT itself, they would be familiar to Timothy and other Jews; identifying the opponents with these archetypal enemies of God’s truth would have significant rhetorical power. corrupted in mind. Again false teaching is cast in terms of deficient thinking (see note on 2 Tim. 2:26). This is why divine aid is necessary for coming to the “knowledge of the truth” (2:7, 25–26). disqualified regarding the faith. In spite of their claims, these people do not have saving faith, since they oppose the gospel both in their teaching and in their living (see Titus 1:16).
2 TIMOTHY—NOTE ON 3:6 women, burdened with sins. Due to their guilt from their past, these women are particularly susceptible to both the asceticism (promoting artificial self-denial; see 1 Tim. 4:3) and the antinomianism (teaching that all sorts of sins are really acceptable; see 2 Tim. 3:2–4) set forth by the false teachers.
2 TIMOTHY—NOTE ON 3:12 will be persecuted. Suffering is an expected element in Christian living (see 2:3; see also John 15:18–21; 16:33). The actual “persecution” may be less when there has been more Christian influence on the laws and cultural values of a society, but the unbelieving world will always remain deeply hostile to the gospel.
2 TIMOTHY—NOTE ON 3:5 Paul uses a common technique, emphasizing an item in a list (vv. 2–5) by placing it either first or last and expanding upon it more than the other items in the list: while Paul and Timothy’s opponents have the external appearance of godliness, they do not have its real essence. Power means the present, effective working of God in and through believers’ lives (see note on Acts 1:8). “Godliness” (Gk. eusebeia) means genuine piety, including holiness, reverence, faith, and love and devotion to God. In 2 Tim. 1:7, Paul linked “power” to the presence of the Holy Spirit, and this power enabled perseverance through suffering (1:8; see 2:1) and faithful defense of the gospel (1:14). The people referenced in 3:1–9 claim to know God, but their lives are devoid of the work of the Spirit, which would have resulted in holiness, perseverance, and effectiveness in advancing God’s kingdom. Avoid such people. This is the only command in vv. 1–9. This avoidance most likely involves excommunication. Although there may appear to be a contradiction between this and the exhortation in 2:24–26, the point in 2:24–26 is to seek the repentance of such people. In 3:5, however, Paul envisions those who remain obstinate and states clearly that there comes a time when such people must be excluded from Christian fellowship.
2 TIMOTHY—NOTE ON 3:2–5 This “list of vices” vividly describes the negative impact of those who were opposing Paul and Timothy. The list begins and ends with references to misplaced love—i.e., people who are lovers of self, lovers of money (v. 2), and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (v. 4).
2 TIMOTHY—NOTE ON 3:11 Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra are cities Paul visited on his first missionary journey (Acts 13–14), prior to Timothy joining him during his second journey (Acts 16:1). Since Lystra was Timothy’s hometown (Acts 16:1–2), he was probably aware of what happened to Paul on this first journey. Thus Timothy would have known from his earliest awareness of Paul that suffering had been a central part of Paul’s work. From them all the Lord rescued me does not mean that God kept Paul from experiencing any harm in these instances, for in Lystra he was stoned and left for dead (Acts 14:19–20), and it is possible that Timothy even witnessed this. Instead, Paul is probably referring both to the fact that the Lord preserved him from death so that he could continue preaching, and to the Lord’s work in Paul’s heart to keep him faithful even in suffering. See 2 Tim. 4:18.
2 TIMOTHY—NOTE ON 3:1–9 Description of the False Teachers. This paragraph opens by signaling a contrast from the previous paragraph (“but”). Although Paul hopes that some false teachers will repent, he does not want to give an unrealistic picture of the situation. While God may grant repentance to some, it is also clear that opposition will continue.
2 TIMOTHY—NOTE ON 3:17 That (in the sense of “in order that”) refers back to the preceding verse (v. 16), indicating the purpose of Scripture for the believer. man of God. Both the OT background of this phrase (see esv footnote and note on 1 Tim. 6:11–12) and the context show that Paul is thinking specifically of Timothy as his delegate and a leader over the church (see 1 Tim. 1:3–4; 6:11). While this verse applies generally to all believers, Paul’s specific focus here is the preparation of Timothy to continue in his task when Paul is no longer present. equipped for every good work. In a broad sense this includes everything that God calls a believer to do. But, in a specific sense, this also supports the doctrine of the “sufficiency of Scripture,” that is, the idea that the truth contained in Scripture is sufficient in all matters pertaining to doctrine and moral behavior. Although there are no commands outside the Bible that apply to all of God’s people, this does not exclude individual guidance by the Holy Spirit on how to apply the universal commands of Scripture in particular situations (cf. notes on Gal. 5:16; 5:18).
2 TIMOTHY—NOTE ON 3:16 All Scripture would refer first to the OT but by implication also to at least some NT writings, which by this time were already being considered as Scripture (see 1 Tim. 5:18 and note; 2 Pet. 3:15–16 and note). Breathed out by God translates a Greek word (theopneustos) that does not occur in any other Greek text (biblical or otherwise) prior to this letter. Some therefore suggest that Paul coined this term from words meaning “God” and “breathed,” which is certainly possible. The term stresses the divine origin and thus the authority of Scripture. Paul does not point to the human authors of Scripture as inspired people but says that the writings themselves (“Scripture,” Gk. graphē, “writing,” which in the NT always refers to biblical writings) are the words spoken (“breathed out”) by God. Whereas it seems that Paul and Timothy’s opponents stressed certain aspects or portions of Scripture (e.g., genealogies, 1 Tim. 1:4; cf. Titus 3:9), Paul stresses the authoritativeness of all of Scripture. The divine origin of Scripture is the reason for its power to convert (2 Tim. 3:15) and its usefulness in training (v. 17). Because Scripture comes from God himself, “all” of it is profitable in a range of ways, ultimately leading to righteousness.
2 TIMOTHY—NOTE ON 3:1 Paul’s reference to the last days (Gk. eschatais hēmerais) puts the present evil situation in solemn eschatological (or “end times”) perspective. As Acts 2:17 indicates, “the last days” began with the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost (see also note on 1 Tim. 4:1). Thus Paul’s prediction of times of difficulty that will occur in “the last days” is already beginning to be fulfilled, even in the present situation.
2 TIMOTHY—NOTE ON 3:13 The false teachers will “progress” from bad to worse (see 2:16). Those doing the deceiving are themselves deceived.