Original Meaning
Forceful Words About Hardship (2:1–7)
FOLLOWING THE EMPHATIC “you,” verse 1 continues with the word “then.” This causes the reader to reflect on the exhortations and events referred to in chapter 1 and leads to the exhortation to “be strong.” The words “in the grace” may refer to the sphere of Timothy’s ministry, which indeed is “in Christ Jesus.” But it can also be an instrumental construction, in which case the grace of Christ enables Timothy to be strong. In either case, it recalls Titus 2:11–14 (written earlier than 2 Timothy), where Paul informs what the grace of God “teaches us.”
Verse 2 may seem an unexpected intrusion into the flow of thought. But the need for what Paul teaches and commands to be passed on by Timothy (and Titus) pervades the Pastoral Letters. In this case Paul does not refer to a direct command or written instruction but to his teaching as heard by Timothy and other “witnesses.” The NIV phrase “in the presence of many witnesses” can also be translated “through many witnesses” (cf. NRSV). The problem with this rendering, however, is the implication that Timothy did not hear the teachings himself.
Perhaps the idea expressed here is confirmation by witnesses. Fee suggests that it was “attested to” by a number of people, “a needed emphasis in light of the many defections at Ephesus.”1 The word “entrust” is from the same root as the word translated “what I have entrusted” in 1:12 and “deposit” in 1:14. The teachings of Paul are something valuable that require “reliable” people to care for it and pass it on. The NIV “men” is unwarranted in the context, since the Greek word used (anthropos) is a generic term.2
The people to whom Timothy is to entrust Paul’s teachings must also be “competent” (hikanos). “Competent” is probably a better translation than the NIV‘s “qualified,” since, although hikanos can have that meaning, it raises questions of qualifications that cannot be answered from this passage, unless it simply refers back to the quality of faithfulness. Perhaps the thought is similar to that of didaktos, which describes the ability to teach required of elders (1 Tim. 3:2; see comments). That need not imply that these people are elders, as Knight has assumed.3
It is understandable why these instructions appear in a passage about being strong and enduring hardship. It would be natural for Timothy to use his strength and gifts to continue confronting heretics and wrestling with problems, but it is sometimes more difficult to train and motivate others to carry on one’s work. With Paul’s impending execution, however, the instruction of others might weigh heavily on his mind. His reference to entrusting a deposit in 1:12, 14 immediately prior to this point in his letter may have triggered the thought in Paul’s mind of instructing others to carry on after Timothy, which he expressed as soon as he had an appropriate context.4
The three images in verses 3–6 appear elsewhere in Paul, but with different emphases. The military image here has to do not with warfare but with disciplined obedience; the athletic image deals less with success and more with conformity to the rules; the agricultural image stresses hard work.
The military image is introduced by the instruction to “endure hardship with us.” The verb used here also occurs in 1:8 (“join with me in suffering”; see comments) and the basic verb “to suffer” appears in 1:12. But the verb kakopatheo, as used here, has to do with being in distress. A related noun conveys the idea of misery or suffering, while another related noun describes “laborious toil, perseverance.”5 The NIV is justified, therefore, in translating the verb in the context of 2:3 as “endure hardship” rather than “suffer” (as in NRSV and NLT).
Verse 4 is clear in its insistence on devotion to duty and to one’s commanding officer over against succumbing to diversions that may interfere with military duty. By Paul’s time the Roman empire had long since secured its dominance, but to maintain the borders was a continuing task. The military forces were everywhere, and rapid troop movements were made possible by the famous Roman road system. Soldiers were especially concentrated at the far-flung borders, where insurrections were especially likely. This meant extensive training. There could be no weakening of resolve, skill, or strength. Daily discipline was enforced; diversions could not be tolerated. Because of the extensive distribution of the troops, Paul’s image of the soldier’s devotion was immediately recognizable and impressive.
Paul writes elsewhere about athletic competition, especially in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27. In that passage the emphasis is on personal training and discipline; here it is more on keeping the rules. Both are with a view to winning. Athletic contests were popular and highly valued in the Greco-Roman tradition. Cities were proud of their arenas, and winners were highly honored. We may be used to deliberate fouls and displays of personal flaunting in sports today, but keeping to the rules was expected in Paul’s day.
Likewise, Paul refers elsewhere to the right of the Lord’s servants to receive financial gain from their work (cf. 1 Tim. 5:17–18; see also 1 Cor. 9:7–14). But the message of this passage is that when the (eschatological) rewards are bestowed, priority should be given to those who have worked the hardest. The word “first” is part of the imagery and should “not be pressed in regard to Timothy’s situation.”6 This image of the farmer, like the other two, is well chosen. Unlike countries today with their urban sprawl, everyone in Paul’s day knew the image of the hardworking farmer. No farm machinery lessened their arduous work. All three analogies, like Jesus’ parables and parabolic sayings, require reflection, so Paul tells Timothy in verse 7 that the Lord will give him insight.
Bridging Contexts
WITH GOOD REASON this section is frequently quoted and preached on. It is straightforward, positive, and graphic. It includes illustrations from common life, doctrine, and a memorable “trustworthy saying.” There is a series of imperatives that summarize Timothy’s responsibilities: “Be strong” (v. 1), “entrust” (v. 2), “endure hardship with us” (v. 3), “reflect” (v. 7, referring back to the illustrations of vv. 3–6), and finally “remember” (v. 8). Because Christian ministry and witness will always require the elements of strength and endurance mentioned in this passage, it calls for the attention of Christians in every age and place.
Principles. Embedded in this passage are at least two important principles. (1) The sound teaching Timothy has learned from Paul is to be passed on to those capable of transmitting it to other generations. This is the lifeline of Christianity. It has been said that Christianity is only one generation away from extinction. While that is improbable, it is theoretically true in that unless the life, faith, and teachings of vital Christianity are actively committed to the next generation, Christianity could become a footnote of history (cf. Jesus’ question in Luke 18:8).
(2) Serving Christ is hard work, requiring total commitment. That is the message of the military, athletic, and agricultural images. However great the power of the Holy Spirit, unless Christians are wholly dedicated to the Lord and personally committed to his work, the channels through which the Holy Spirit wants to work will be clogged and atrophied. The fact that Paul urges Timothy in verse 7 to “reflect on what I am saying” and that he needs God-given “insight” into it show that these teachings require more than superficial assent.
Paul’s gospel. As elsewhere, Paul follows his personal exhortations about commitment with a reference to doctrine, in particular the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ, the descendent of David the King. He goes so far as to call this “my gospel,” because he is committed to it, serves it, and to a large extent has fashioned its contours. Because of his passion for this gospel and the Savior for whom he suffered and was imprisoned, he once again refers to his own experience and to the importance of endurance.
The closing “trustworthy saying” is sobering, because we could infer from it that if we do not fulfill the conditions (e.g., dying with Christ), we will not live with him. In fact, we can look to verse 10 and ask whether there are those who would not receive salvation if Paul or others had not “endure[d] everything for the sake of the elect.” But this passage is not so much intended to raise such questions as it is to spur Christians on to faithfulness.
The importance of faithfulness. In the centuries before the advent of media resources that keep us informed of the activities of preachers and other Christian leaders around the world, most Christians knew only of the ministry of their pastor and other local servants of God, such as Sunday school teachers and parish nuns. Occasionally, perhaps, the ministry of some missionary, bishop, or itinerant preacher came to their attention. People revered those local men and women of God, whose saintly lives one would expect to be rewarded by God, though also in such small circles, any “warts” were also evident.
Today, by contrast, the average Christian hears much about of many talented figures across the continent and overseas who have reputations for extraordinary gifts and ministries. But we have little personal knowledge of these giants. Whether a person is a parish priest, the head of an international organization, or the feisty host of a Christian talk show, each one stands before the God who alone can look on the heart. We have little ability to judge who is truly obeying him from the heart, discarding worldly enticements. We do not know who is truly faithful, who is playing according to God’s rules privately as well as publicly, and who actually works hard in all conditions, under sun and rain, cultivating the soil of the church and fostering the growth of Christians. It is possible to preach, lead, and give out information and opinion without necessarily being inwardly spiritual or effectively bringing others along in their faith.
God’s servants are judged for their faithfulness, not for their accomplishments. Who of the preachers among us has not uncomfortably heard compliments about our sermons, while being conscious of our flaws and “feet of clay,” or heard others lauded for their sermons when we are aware that they also share our sinful humanity? The sharper our swords or the more finely tuned the amazing computers of our brains, the more real is the temptation to think in terms of our accomplishments rather than of personal spiritual diligence and faithfulness.
This passage deals with the seriousness of our commitment to Christ. Note that eternal life is not dependent on our faithfulness in Christian service; the Lord remains faithful (v. 13). However, the place a Christian will have in the future reign of Christ is dependent on one’s endurance for him. Jesus himself said, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven” (Matt. 10:32–33). The word rendered “disown” (or “deny”) in that passage is the same as the one translated “disown” here in 2 Timothy 2:12. However distant the possibility may be that any given Christian may disown the Lord or become unfaithful to him, that possibility is left open here. Assurance comes in the last lines. Even if we prove unfaithful, the Lord will be faithful to his own promise, his covenant sealed with his own blood. Thank God for the commitment of Christ to us (v. 13) that undergirds this whole passage!
“Christian Unbelief” was the title of a talk I once heard on the subject of the tendency of Christians to assent mentally to certain doctrines but not believe them to the extent that they change their lives. It can also describe the attitude of those who have read verses 11–13, but have assumed that even if they do not follow Christ as diligently as others do, they will have an equally blessed future reigning with Christ. If Scripture means anything, it means that there will be a difference. This series of conditions and consequences teaches that there are consequences.
It is regrettable that, for a good part of the twentieth century, liberals, who did not believe in the authority of the Bible, nevertheless emphasized Christian ethics; whereas evangelicals, who were stronger in their faith in the biblical text, tended to neglect its teachings on ethics.9 A comparable statement may be made regarding Christians’ responses to this passage. Even though it has a poetic flavor and employs images, it contains teachings that accord with other biblical statements—as, for example, Jesus’ words concerning losing our lives for his sake and being rewarded for what we have done, when the Son of Man comes in glory (Matt. 24–25).
Contemporary Significance
DISCIPLING AND MENTORING contemporary believers. The contemporary Christian has advantages over those of prior generations in that helps for the Christian life are available on all sides. Christian bookstores are stocked with devotional and motivational works. Christian magazines, websites, and small groups are among the resources available to help us in our daily lives. Whereas Timothy had little to read besides Paul’s personal letters, possibly an early form of the Gospels, and whatever Old Testament Scriptures were available to him, we have armloads of books and CDs.
The vivid imagery of verses 1–7 has been taken up and expanded in contemporary writings. The same is true for doctrinal works and books on apologetics and Christian evidences to support faith. In contrast, first-century citizens of Ephesus would have had little to help affirm and support their faith. The affirmation of verse 8, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David,” would have been especially valuable to them. Today Christians can help one another immensely by recommending and sharing books and other materials on the basics of the faith. Christians need to gather consciously resources about their faith and proactively declare the truths about Christ and the gospel.
What young Timothys today need especially is personal mentoring, but not merely mentoring in the sense of giving information and offering guidance. Too often that becomes a means of control and the reproduction of ourselves in the other, accompanied by all our agendas and opinions. We may think that we have discipled or mentored a person when they adopt our outlook on things, pray like we do, witness like we do, and, if it is a pastoral relationship, preach like we do. (The word “clone” comes to mind.)
That is not what Christian discipling and mentoring are about. To mentor a Timothy means to be available, to spend time with him or her, and to seek to facilitate rather than to control the use of that person’s distinctive gifts. An athlete runs the race alone, but does so after months and perhaps years of training and encouragement. And not only the coach, but other friends and family may have a part in that encouragement along the way. In Paul Timothy had a person who was close to him, who listened and understood him, who recognized his individual giftedness, and who had confidence in him.
Faithful evangelism. It is awesome in the true sense to think that around the world today are Christians in all strata of society and in diverse ethnic groups who are faithful to the Lord. Some are people with little education and only a basic knowledge of the gospel but who put many of us to shame by their faithfulness to the Lord in incredibly difficult circumstances.
At the same time, many Christian organizations are working to facilitate the transmission of the truth from one generation to another. The work of the Navigators is well known, a ministry that from its inception sought to implement verse 2 in an organized way. It is a verse that can be applied not only to “one-on-one” transmission of biblical truth, but also to the larger, more complex ministry of churches, missions, and educational institutions like seminaries. Strong seminaries do not guarantee vital churches, but they do educate men and women who, if they are spiritual and faithful to the Lord, can lead churches in the proper direction. Sloppy theology and professional expertise that lack heart and wisdom, however, are not going to accomplish the task.
Whether, then, we do it personally, corporately, or institutionally, Christians need to be consistently obedient to these verses in order to provide for successive generations of disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. The most successful evangelistic outreach will last only a generation if we do not diligently teach others “to obey everything” Jesus commanded (Matt. 28:20).
Monitoring results in a mobile society. At the same time as information is so widely available about our faith, our relationships with those with whom we share it are often more superficial than used to be the case. People move with greater frequency. Employment situations rapidly change. Younger generations move out rather than live in extended families (in spite of the number of young adults who are tending to stay at home until marriage). Our occasional contacts with people are fleeting, such as with fellow passengers on an airline flight. Therefore, those who are hardworking farmers in the imagery of verse 6 may never know on this earth whether seeds they have planted have taken root and grown. If we endure hardship for the sake of the elect (v. 10), we may not know whether our efforts have been rewarded in changed lives.
There is, therefore, a strong eschatological dimension to this passage. Faithful Christians may not see the results or reap its rewards until heaven. We must depend all the more heavily on the promises of this passage as well as respond in faith to its commands. Perhaps the reader of this commentary, like the author, has had the joy from time to time of learning how a word of witness, a conversation, a sermon, or perhaps something written in years previous had a significant effect on someone’s life.
I received a phone call at supper time some time ago that began with the words, “I won’t take time away from your dinner, but I want to thank you for the articles you wrote in Decision magazine.” The caller was a neighbor who had previously showed little interest in spiritual things. A remarkable story followed about a desire that had surfaced several times over her lifetime to get to know God. One episode involved eagerly receiving Decision magazine, only to store it away for a more convenient time. Eventually, in her retirement, she took out the magazines and unexpectedly came across my articles. She had no idea that my wife and I had been praying for her. A few years after that, we—and then they—moved away. Had these moves taken place before she found the articles, we may not have known this side of heaven what God had done in her life.
1. Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 241.
2. Knight (Pastoral Epistles, 39) assumes from 1 Tim. 2:12 that only men could teach: “Their task was 'to teach' an audience that included the entire church, a task forbidden to women because of the men in the audience (1 Tim. 2:12; cf. 1 Cor. 14:34ff.).” He assumes three things: that the audience was the whole church, that women could not do this, and that the recipients of the teaching here in verse 2 were “presbyters/overseers.”
3. Ibid.
4. Hanson (Pastoral Epistles, 128–29) observes, “We certainly have here a doctrine of succession, but it is succession in teaching rather than succession in authorized office.” He then quotes 1 Clement on apostolic succession (chs. 42, 44) and, holding that Clement wrote “perhaps 15 or 20 years” after an unnamed author wrote the Pastoral Letters, seeks to show that the short period of time between the two writings saw a development in thought toward apostolic succession. (Hanson thinks that the Pastorals were written around 100–105.)
5. See LSJ, 862. Verse 4 is clear in its reference to devotion to duty and one's commanding officer over against succumbing to diversions that could interfere with military duty.
6. See Knight, Pastoral Epistles, 395.
7. For a discussion and rejection of the martyrdom interpretation see ibid., 403.
8. Other occurrences of this verb in the Pastoral Letters are in 1 Tim. 5:8; 2 Tim. 3:5; Titus 1:16; 2:12. For further material and references to other literature on arneomai see TDNT, 1.469–71; EDNT, 1.153–55; NIDNTT, 1.454–56.
9. Carl F. H. Henry's work, The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1947), was an exception to this generalization.
Original Meaning
Reasons for Enduring Hardship (2:8–13)
VERSE 8 MOVES from analogy to history. Whatever encouragement Timothy may receive from verses 1–7, it is the resurrection of Christ, the promised messianic descendent of David, that provides the strongest motivation. Picking up the references to suffering and imprisonment in 1:8 and the reference to chains in 1:16, Paul refers in 2:9 to his own suffering in chains “like a criminal,” but adds that “God’s word is not chained.” This recalls the ending of Acts, where in spite of his imprisonment Paul preached “without hindrance” (Acts 28:31).
Paul turns in verse 10 to his own willingness to endure anything necessary “for the sake of [dia] the elect” (see 1 Tim. 5:21 on the “elect angels”; Titus 1:1 on “the faith of God’s elect”). The words that follow, “that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory,” have elicited discussion. The whole concept of election stands to the side of the present passage, because Paul’s emphasis here is not on the matter of election, predestination, and the sovereignty of God, but on the need to facilitate the salvation of the elect. However one may address the matter of election, the conversion of a person involves the faithful ministry of the saving gospel.
Paul’s question in Roman 10:14—“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in…. And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”—is relevant here. The words “with eternal glory” are unusual in that they combine a word (“eternal”) that refers to God only once in the Pastoral Letters (1 Tim. 1:17) and five times to the believer’s eternal life (see 1 Tim. 1:16; 6:12; 2 Tim. 2:10; Titus 1:2; 3:7) and another word (“glory”) that, apart from this passage, only refers to glory of God (1 Tim. 1:17; 3:16; 2 Tim. 4:18). The present verse leads into the “trustworthy saying” of verses 11–13 since living and reigning with Christ involves participation in his eschatological glory.
The “trustworthy saying” (v. 11) is one of five in the Pastoral Letters (see comments on 1 Tim. 1:15; see also 3:1; 4:9; Titus 3:8). The present saying is the only one that can be called poetic. The structural features are obvious, particularly the “we”…”him” pattern and the protasis (“if”) and apodosis (consequence) alternation. The repeated “with” (representing the verbal prefix syn) occurs in three of the first four verbs. The use of the word “endure” in verse 10 is apparently the trigger that causes Paul to include verse 12a (with no syn). The other verbs allude to biblical teachings about dying and raising with Christ (esp. Rom. 6:3–11) and participation with Christ in his coming reign (Matt. 19:28; Rev. 5:10; 20:6; 22:5).
While verse 11 can have overtones of martyrdom, the fact that in the Romans passage just cited Paul has already written strongly about spiritual identification with Christ in his death, the spiritual allusion is the most natural reference.7 Given the fact that this saying is clearly intended as an encouragement to endure in view of all that has preceded it in 1:8–2:10, the words about dying and living also have a hortatory force. That is to say, Paul is not merely stating a spiritual or theological fact; he is calling on the reader to experience what it means to die with Christ.
Paul is not simply thinking of something historical, though it is based on the historical death of Christ, and certainly not of something physical, for we have not actually been put to death. Rather, there is a personal identification with Christ in his death, portrayed in baptism, that is supposed to mark the end of the sinful kind of life we previously lived. But this calls for a conscious “dying” with Christ: “In the same way, count [or consider] yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11). If 2 Timothy 2:11 deals with the kind of death and life referred to in Romans 6, the future tense “we will also live” refers to our present life in Christ (cf. Rom. 6:8).
In verse 12 the endurance is, by its very nature, lifelong. The reigning is not something of a spiritual nature in this life, but is eschatological. The word “disown” is a possible translation of the Greek arneomai, but since we tend to use it with regard to a parent disowning a son or daughter, it could give the wrong impression. The Greek word also means “to deny, refuse” or simply “to say no”; “repudiate” may be a proper translation here. Most of the occurrences of this word are in the Gospels, where we can find help for understanding its meaning here. In Mark 8:34, for example, Jesus teaches that we should deny ourselves, and verse 38 speaks of being ashamed of Christ and of his words.
This background is useful in understanding the transition from Paul’s words about being ashamed in 2 Timothy 1:8, 12, which, in turn, provides background for 2:12. First John 2:20–23 pointedly connects lying and rejecting the truth about Christ with denial. We know from 1 Timothy 5:8 and Titus 1:16 that denial can be expressed in actions even when it is not articulated. Either speech or action is possible here in verse 12. It is therefore striking that while Christ will repudiate the person who repudiates him, verse 13 tells us that if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot repudiate himself.8 More important, we can conclude from verse 13 that not only will our Lord not deny us in words, but also he will not disown us in deeds. This fact forms the basis (gar) for his continuing faithfulness toward us even if we are faithless.
Since the verb apisteo (v. 13) can mean to disbelieve or to be unfaithful or disloyal, opinions differ as to its meaning here. But its meaning must be in contrast to what God is. He is pistos, which cannot mean believing (God does not “believe”) but “faithful.” Thus the NIV translation (“if we are faithless”) is correct. In summary, verse 13 affirms God’s consistency and integrity. Although human beings may not keep faith with God, he will not break faith with us because he cannot be inconsistent with himself. It is difficult to know with certainty what Paul has in mind when he speaks of God’s faithfulness. Is it being faithful to his people, to his own righteousness, or to his judgments? Since all three are true and supported throughout Scripture, we do not lose any truth by leaving this question open here. What is most striking is that the saying of verses 11–13 concludes with a magnificent statement about God’s character: He cannot repudiate himself!
Bridging Contexts
WITH GOOD REASON this section is frequently quoted and preached on. It is straightforward, positive, and graphic. It includes illustrations from common life, doctrine, and a memorable “trustworthy saying.” There is a series of imperatives that summarize Timothy’s responsibilities: “Be strong” (v. 1), “entrust” (v. 2), “endure hardship with us” (v. 3), “reflect” (v. 7, referring back to the illustrations of vv. 3–6), and finally “remember” (v. 8). Because Christian ministry and witness will always require the elements of strength and endurance mentioned in this passage, it calls for the attention of Christians in every age and place.
Principles. Embedded in this passage are at least two important principles. (1) The sound teaching Timothy has learned from Paul is to be passed on to those capable of transmitting it to other generations. This is the lifeline of Christianity. It has been said that Christianity is only one generation away from extinction. While that is improbable, it is theoretically true in that unless the life, faith, and teachings of vital Christianity are actively committed to the next generation, Christianity could become a footnote of history (cf. Jesus’ question in Luke 18:8).
(2) Serving Christ is hard work, requiring total commitment. That is the message of the military, athletic, and agricultural images. However great the power of the Holy Spirit, unless Christians are wholly dedicated to the Lord and personally committed to his work, the channels through which the Holy Spirit wants to work will be clogged and atrophied. The fact that Paul urges Timothy in verse 7 to “reflect on what I am saying” and that he needs God-given “insight” into it show that these teachings require more than superficial assent.
Paul’s gospel. As elsewhere, Paul follows his personal exhortations about commitment with a reference to doctrine, in particular the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ, the descendent of David the King. He goes so far as to call this “my gospel,” because he is committed to it, serves it, and to a large extent has fashioned its contours. Because of his passion for this gospel and the Savior for whom he suffered and was imprisoned, he once again refers to his own experience and to the importance of endurance.
The closing “trustworthy saying” is sobering, because we could infer from it that if we do not fulfill the conditions (e.g., dying with Christ), we will not live with him. In fact, we can look to verse 10 and ask whether there are those who would not receive salvation if Paul or others had not “endure[d] everything for the sake of the elect.” But this passage is not so much intended to raise such questions as it is to spur Christians on to faithfulness.
The importance of faithfulness. In the centuries before the advent of media resources that keep us informed of the activities of preachers and other Christian leaders around the world, most Christians knew only of the ministry of their pastor and other local servants of God, such as Sunday school teachers and parish nuns. Occasionally, perhaps, the ministry of some missionary, bishop, or itinerant preacher came to their attention. People revered those local men and women of God, whose saintly lives one would expect to be rewarded by God, though also in such small circles, any “warts” were also evident.
Today, by contrast, the average Christian hears much about of many talented figures across the continent and overseas who have reputations for extraordinary gifts and ministries. But we have little personal knowledge of these giants. Whether a person is a parish priest, the head of an international organization, or the feisty host of a Christian talk show, each one stands before the God who alone can look on the heart. We have little ability to judge who is truly obeying him from the heart, discarding worldly enticements. We do not know who is truly faithful, who is playing according to God’s rules privately as well as publicly, and who actually works hard in all conditions, under sun and rain, cultivating the soil of the church and fostering the growth of Christians. It is possible to preach, lead, and give out information and opinion without necessarily being inwardly spiritual or effectively bringing others along in their faith.
God’s servants are judged for their faithfulness, not for their accomplishments. Who of the preachers among us has not uncomfortably heard compliments about our sermons, while being conscious of our flaws and “feet of clay,” or heard others lauded for their sermons when we are aware that they also share our sinful humanity? The sharper our swords or the more finely tuned the amazing computers of our brains, the more real is the temptation to think in terms of our accomplishments rather than of personal spiritual diligence and faithfulness.
This passage deals with the seriousness of our commitment to Christ. Note that eternal life is not dependent on our faithfulness in Christian service; the Lord remains faithful (v. 13). However, the place a Christian will have in the future reign of Christ is dependent on one’s endurance for him. Jesus himself said, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven” (Matt. 10:32–33). The word rendered “disown” (or “deny”) in that passage is the same as the one translated “disown” here in 2 Timothy 2:12. However distant the possibility may be that any given Christian may disown the Lord or become unfaithful to him, that possibility is left open here. Assurance comes in the last lines. Even if we prove unfaithful, the Lord will be faithful to his own promise, his covenant sealed with his own blood. Thank God for the commitment of Christ to us (v. 13) that undergirds this whole passage!
“Christian Unbelief” was the title of a talk I once heard on the subject of the tendency of Christians to assent mentally to certain doctrines but not believe them to the extent that they change their lives. It can also describe the attitude of those who have read verses 11–13, but have assumed that even if they do not follow Christ as diligently as others do, they will have an equally blessed future reigning with Christ. If Scripture means anything, it means that there will be a difference. This series of conditions and consequences teaches that there are consequences.
It is regrettable that, for a good part of the twentieth century, liberals, who did not believe in the authority of the Bible, nevertheless emphasized Christian ethics; whereas evangelicals, who were stronger in their faith in the biblical text, tended to neglect its teachings on ethics.9 A comparable statement may be made regarding Christians’ responses to this passage. Even though it has a poetic flavor and employs images, it contains teachings that accord with other biblical statements—as, for example, Jesus’ words concerning losing our lives for his sake and being rewarded for what we have done, when the Son of Man comes in glory (Matt. 24–25).
Contemporary Significance
DISCIPLING AND MENTORING contemporary believers. The contemporary Christian has advantages over those of prior generations in that helps for the Christian life are available on all sides. Christian bookstores are stocked with devotional and motivational works. Christian magazines, websites, and small groups are among the resources available to help us in our daily lives. Whereas Timothy had little to read besides Paul’s personal letters, possibly an early form of the Gospels, and whatever Old Testament Scriptures were available to him, we have armloads of books and CDs.
The vivid imagery of verses 1–7 has been taken up and expanded in contemporary writings. The same is true for doctrinal works and books on apologetics and Christian evidences to support faith. In contrast, first-century citizens of Ephesus would have had little to help affirm and support their faith. The affirmation of verse 8, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David,” would have been especially valuable to them. Today Christians can help one another immensely by recommending and sharing books and other materials on the basics of the faith. Christians need to gather consciously resources about their faith and proactively declare the truths about Christ and the gospel.
What young Timothys today need especially is personal mentoring, but not merely mentoring in the sense of giving information and offering guidance. Too often that becomes a means of control and the reproduction of ourselves in the other, accompanied by all our agendas and opinions. We may think that we have discipled or mentored a person when they adopt our outlook on things, pray like we do, witness like we do, and, if it is a pastoral relationship, preach like we do. (The word “clone” comes to mind.)
That is not what Christian discipling and mentoring are about. To mentor a Timothy means to be available, to spend time with him or her, and to seek to facilitate rather than to control the use of that person’s distinctive gifts. An athlete runs the race alone, but does so after months and perhaps years of training and encouragement. And not only the coach, but other friends and family may have a part in that encouragement along the way. In Paul Timothy had a person who was close to him, who listened and understood him, who recognized his individual giftedness, and who had confidence in him.
Faithful evangelism. It is awesome in the true sense to think that around the world today are Christians in all strata of society and in diverse ethnic groups who are faithful to the Lord. Some are people with little education and only a basic knowledge of the gospel but who put many of us to shame by their faithfulness to the Lord in incredibly difficult circumstances.
At the same time, many Christian organizations are working to facilitate the transmission of the truth from one generation to another. The work of the Navigators is well known, a ministry that from its inception sought to implement verse 2 in an organized way. It is a verse that can be applied not only to “one-on-one” transmission of biblical truth, but also to the larger, more complex ministry of churches, missions, and educational institutions like seminaries. Strong seminaries do not guarantee vital churches, but they do educate men and women who, if they are spiritual and faithful to the Lord, can lead churches in the proper direction. Sloppy theology and professional expertise that lack heart and wisdom, however, are not going to accomplish the task.
Whether, then, we do it personally, corporately, or institutionally, Christians need to be consistently obedient to these verses in order to provide for successive generations of disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. The most successful evangelistic outreach will last only a generation if we do not diligently teach others “to obey everything” Jesus commanded (Matt. 28:20).
Monitoring results in a mobile society. At the same time as information is so widely available about our faith, our relationships with those with whom we share it are often more superficial than used to be the case. People move with greater frequency. Employment situations rapidly change. Younger generations move out rather than live in extended families (in spite of the number of young adults who are tending to stay at home until marriage). Our occasional contacts with people are fleeting, such as with fellow passengers on an airline flight. Therefore, those who are hardworking farmers in the imagery of verse 6 may never know on this earth whether seeds they have planted have taken root and grown. If we endure hardship for the sake of the elect (v. 10), we may not know whether our efforts have been rewarded in changed lives.
There is, therefore, a strong eschatological dimension to this passage. Faithful Christians may not see the results or reap its rewards until heaven. We must depend all the more heavily on the promises of this passage as well as respond in faith to its commands. Perhaps the reader of this commentary, like the author, has had the joy from time to time of learning how a word of witness, a conversation, a sermon, or perhaps something written in years previous had a significant effect on someone’s life.
I received a phone call at supper time some time ago that began with the words, “I won’t take time away from your dinner, but I want to thank you for the articles you wrote in Decision magazine.” The caller was a neighbor who had previously showed little interest in spiritual things. A remarkable story followed about a desire that had surfaced several times over her lifetime to get to know God. One episode involved eagerly receiving Decision magazine, only to store it away for a more convenient time. Eventually, in her retirement, she took out the magazines and unexpectedly came across my articles. She had no idea that my wife and I had been praying for her. A few years after that, we—and then they—moved away. Had these moves taken place before she found the articles, we may not have known this side of heaven what God had done in her life.
1. Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 241.
2. Knight (Pastoral Epistles, 39) assumes from 1 Tim. 2:12 that only men could teach: “Their task was 'to teach' an audience that included the entire church, a task forbidden to women because of the men in the audience (1 Tim. 2:12; cf. 1 Cor. 14:34ff.).” He assumes three things: that the audience was the whole church, that women could not do this, and that the recipients of the teaching here in verse 2 were “presbyters/overseers.”
3. Ibid.
4. Hanson (Pastoral Epistles, 128–29) observes, “We certainly have here a doctrine of succession, but it is succession in teaching rather than succession in authorized office.” He then quotes 1 Clement on apostolic succession (chs. 42, 44) and, holding that Clement wrote “perhaps 15 or 20 years” after an unnamed author wrote the Pastoral Letters, seeks to show that the short period of time between the two writings saw a development in thought toward apostolic succession. (Hanson thinks that the Pastorals were written around 100–105.)
5. See LSJ, 862. Verse 4 is clear in its reference to devotion to duty and one's commanding officer over against succumbing to diversions that could interfere with military duty.
6. See Knight, Pastoral Epistles, 395.
7. For a discussion and rejection of the martyrdom interpretation see ibid., 403.
8. Other occurrences of this verb in the Pastoral Letters are in 1 Tim. 5:8; 2 Tim. 3:5; Titus 1:16; 2:12. For further material and references to other literature on arneomai see TDNT, 1.469–71; EDNT, 1.153–55; NIDNTT, 1.454–56.
9. Carl F. H. Henry's work, The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1947), was an exception to this generalization.