2 Timothy 2:1–13

2:1 “You then” connects this verse to what Paul has just said at the end of chapter 1. Paul’s logic is as follows: “Because of the work you have to do in Ephesus and because of Onesiphorus’s exemplary, unashamed example, Timothy, you must be strengthened.” The “strengthening” is in the passive voice—the strength Timothy needs is not something he can give to himself. It is something that must be given to him from the outside. It is understood that the agent of the strengthening is God. The means of the strengthening is the grace to be found only in Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 3:5).

2:2 Timothy needs strength in order to carry out the work of gospel ministry, the work to which every pastor has to give himself. In a broader sense, this is the work to which every Christian must give himself or herself, because it is nothing less than the expansion of Christ’s kingdom through the propagation of the gospel. The church grows and people are added to the number of the saved as Christians hand on the faith to the next generation. Paul is particularly concerned with Timothy’s duty to pass on the gospel. But notice that this text has four generations in view:

1. 1st generation = Paul (“from me”)
2. 2nd generation = Timothy (“what you have heard”)
3. 3rd generation = Timothy’s disciples (“entrust to faithful men”)
4. 4th generation = Timothy’s disciples’ disciples (“others”)

Timothy’s ministry has a source and a goal: its source is the apostolic gospel contained in Scripture, and its goal is to pass on that message to the coming generations. Timothy is to reproduce himself in disciples who follow his teaching. And those disciples are to reproduce themselves in the disciples who follow their teaching.

2:3 Timothy needs strength for ministry mainly because such work necessarily brings opposition. Sometimes this opposition results in suffering for the sake of the gospel. Timothy must, literally, “suffer together” (Gk. συγκακοπάθησον) with Paul if he is to be a faithful pastor. Suffering is a command, not an option, and it is shared. As Paul has already testified in this letter, he himself is suffering, and he is simply exhorting Timothy to follow in his footsteps. Even in this, Paul is not the trailblazer; Jesus is. Jesus suffered, and his disciples must share in his lot.

Timothy must suffer as a “good soldier of Christ Jesus.” This is the first of three images illustrating the commitment that Timothy must exhibit. These three images each tell us something about what is required of one called to suffer for the sake of the gospel.

2:4 The soldier illustrates single-mindedness. A soldier does not get “entangled in civilian pursuits”; he does not get distracted by things unessential to his mission. One commentator puts it this way: “The soldier’s goal is to ‘please’ or satisfy the wishes of the commander, who expects nothing less than complete attention to duty so that the military objectives will be accomplished.”¹

2:5 The athlete illustrates discipline to compete according to the rules. Paul’s readers would be familiar with athletic contests such as the Isthmian Games in Corinth or the Olympic games in Olympia. Competing “according to the rules” refers either to the rules of the individual contests or perhaps to the ten months of training necessary to qualify for the games. In any case, the point is clear: the only way to win the prize is to compete according to the rules.

The analogy to the Christian faith is simple. There is a “rule” when it comes to following Christ. One of the rules of following Christ is the willingness to suffer for him (Matt. 16:24). Anyone unwilling to endure this is unable to be his disciple. No one can receive the victor’s crown if he will not be faithful in suffering.

2:6 The farmer illustrates hard work. If a farmer refuses to wake up early and put his shoulder to the plow, he will have no crop to harvest. To have no harvest is to have no share in the reward. Lazy people make bad farmers. They also make bad Christians. If someone would follow Christ, he must have a dedicated work ethic, a commitment to the task at hand. Anyone willing to undertake austerity and industry will have “the first share of the crops”—which in this case indicates fruitfulness.

2:7 “Think over what I say” is a command urging Timothy to consider carefully the analogies of verses 4–6. The word translated “think” (Gk. noei) does not denote mere passing interest but rather urges Timothy to “think over with care” or to “consider” (BDAG). This is the same term used in the Olivet Discourse to invite readers to “understand” the innermost meaning and implication of Jesus’ prophecy (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14). It is this kind of insight that Paul wishes for Timothy to have regarding his words, “for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” The “Lord” in this case is likely God the Father rather than God the Son.² As elsewhere, it is the Father who gives understanding and insight into spiritual things (cf. Prov. 2:6 LXX; Matt. 16:17; Eph. 3:2–4). Accordingly, Paul grounds his command on the guarantee that the Lord will help Timothy understand all of the implications of these illustrations of single-mindedness, discipline, and hard work.

2:8 Paul commands Timothy to “remember” because this will be the means by which Timothy is strengthened to endure through suffering. Paul wants Timothy to remember specific things about Jesus:

(1) Jesus is raised (“risen from the dead”). “Risen” is in the perfect tense; for Paul, Jesus’ resurrection is not merely a past event but has results continuing into the present (cf. 1 Cor. 15:4, 12). The perfect tense indicates that Jesus was not only alive in the flesh when he appeared to his apostles in the upper room but also remains alive and in the flesh as seated at the right hand of the Father.

(2) Jesus is King (“the offspring of David”). The phrase is literally “the seed of David,” connecting directly to 2 Samuel 7:12–13, in which God promises to raise up the “seed” of David to rule over a kingdom that will last forever. This “seed” of David will be God’s own Son (cf. Gal. 3:16, 19). By remembering this, Timothy can remain single-minded.

(3) Jesus is truly taught (“as preached in my gospel”). When Paul refers to “my gospel,” he is inviting Timothy to remember that Christ himself had appointed Paul to be an apostle. The way Paul preaches Jesus is the standard for preaching Jesus. Those who preach a Jesus that does not match up with the one Paul preached are in the wrong (cf. 2 Cor. 11:4).

2:9 The antecedent of “for which” is the “gospel” in verse 8: the gospel is the reason for Paul’s suffering (cf. 1:12). This also indicates that Paul’s suffering in prison is current at the time of his writing. Even though Paul is enchained, however, the “word of God” is not. As elsewhere, the “word of God” is the gospel (cf. 1 Cor. 14:36; 2 Cor. 2:17; 4:2; Eph. 6:17; Col. 1:25; 1 Thess. 2:13). This gospel word is alive and active and cannot be restrained by prisons or chains: “The word of God is not bound.” This verb is in the perfect tense, indicating that the gospel has not been bound in the past and is not bound now. The gospel word is the power of God unto salvation, and it is not subject to the weaknesses and limitations of the ones carrying it. They can be imprisoned; God’s word cannot be.

2:10 To “endure” means to “maintain a belief or course of action in the face of opposition” (BDAG, s.v. ὑπομένω). In the Greek text, “endure” is modified by two prepositional phrases: “On account of this, I endure on account of the elect.” It is crucial to notice how the “on account of” statements connect Paul’s endurance both to what comes before verse 10 and to what comes in the latter half of verse 10. The ESV correctly renders “on account of this” as “therefore.” Paul endures suffering because the word of God is not bound (v. 9). His own apparently sad situation is no limitation on the word of God, which continues to go forth in power. Paul’s confidence in the word motivates him to endure suffering faithfully.

He also suffers “for the sake of the elect.” This second basis for Paul’s endurance is not unrelated to the first; in fact, the two must be understood together. “On account of” is a prospective basis for Paul’s endurance—that God’s chosen people (“the elect”) might hear the gospel and be saved and inherit eternal life (i.e., “eternal glory”); hence the ESV’s “for the sake of.” Because the word of God is not bound, Paul does not shrink back amid his suffering.

2:11 The phrase “the saying is trustworthy” appears several times in the Pastorals (cf. comment on 1 Tim. 1:15). Here it seems to introduce a gospel word that has the earmarks of an early Christian hymn, which is why the ESV indents it like poetry on the page. The trustworthy (or “faithful”) saying is this:

for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he also will deny us;

13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself.

Notice the word “endure” in verse 12, which links the hymn to Paul’s word concerning endurance in verse 10. The verbal connection shows that Paul intends the truths conveyed in this hymn to be further grounds for endurance through suffering.

Some commentators interpret “died with him” as a reference to martyrdom—those who have physically died for the gospel just as Jesus physically died. But that is probably not what Paul has in mind here. It is more likely that Paul has in mind the same kind of “dying with” Christ that he refers to in Romans 6:8–11. That passage speaks not of the believer’s own physical death but of his union with Christ’s death and resurrection. Believers are joined to Christ by faith and through the Spirit. Their union with Christ results in his death’s counting for them: he died as their representative and substitute. In that sense believers have “died with him,” and this is likely what Paul has in mind here as well. All Christians are joined to Christ’s death through faith. If we have died with him, we will also live with him—we will know new life now through the Holy Spirit.

In the same way, believers will also live with Christ. “Live” is in the future tense, which may anticipate the believer’s future resurrection from the dead. Believers have new life in the present through the Holy Spirit. But the future life is a physical resurrection that will be just like Jesus’ resurrection (cf. Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 15:20–23).

2:12 The key term in this verse is “endure,” which as noted above means to “maintain a belief or course of action in the face of opposition.” The suffering that Paul has endured (v. 10) is the lot of every faithful Christian in the face of trials. “Endure” is present-tense, probably implying that ongoing endurance is the key. “If we are enduring” would be the sense, indicating that perseverance is the condition for blessedness in the age to come. In this text, such blessedness refers specifically to reigning with Christ in the age to come. Failure to endure certainly means that one will not reign. As the old saying goes, there is no crown without a cross. As it was with Christ himself, so it is also with those who would come after him.

The text also warns that if we deny him now in the face of opposition, he will deny us at the judgment. This warning resembles what Jesus himself said about those who deny his lordship: he will deny them at the judgment (cf. Matt. 10:33; Luke 12:9). To be denied at the judgment is the ultimate devastation, but such is the cost of a definitive and unwavering denial of Christ.

2:13 Some interpreters define “faithless” as “without faith.” On this view, “faithless” describes a condition of settled unbelief. As a result, God’s faithfulness here must refer to his faithfulness to punish those who do not believe (2 Thess. 1:8). There is, however, a better way to understand this term. “Faithless” is not a condition of settled unbelief but refers to temporary unfaithfulness after which one might be renewed again to repentance. Thus God’s faithfulness refers to his unwillingness to give up on his people even though their holiness is not as consistent as it should be. In that sense, God is faithful even when his people are not.