SECTION 2. Paul Exhorts Timothy To Be A Good And Faithful ‘Workman’ And To Remember Jesus Christ, Risen From The Dead And Of The Seed of David, Who Has Obtained Salvation For His Own (2.1-18).

In this passage Paul now seeks to bolster Timothy’s faith and courage, pointing him to his hidden resources, and calling on him to serve faithfully and truly, remembering the One Whom they proclaim. At the same time he must remember that Paul himself suffers as his commitment to Christ requires, so that Timothy must also himself be prepared for the same possibility. Meanwhile he is to concentrate on the truth of the Gospel and be a careful student of the word, avoiding being sidetracked into useless discussions.

We should note that Timothy’s timidity can be rather overdone by commentators. Any normal young Christian man who bore Timothy’s responsibilities would have needed this kind of encouragement, however strong their faith. And we should note that Paul is equally concerned that he not be caught up in the false teaching. But there is no real suggestion that he was in danger of being so. Paul is simply seeking to prevent any possible problems in the future by dealing with them before they can occur. He would not want Timothy to fall short because he himself had failed to give the positive guidance that was necessary in the present.

The passage is in the form of a chiasmus as follows:

Overall Analysis.

• a You therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (1).
• b And the things which you have heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit you to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also (2).
• c Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus:
  No soldier on service entangles himself in the affairs of this life, That he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier. And if also a man contends in the games, He is not crowned, unless he has contended within the rules. The husbandmen who does the work Must be the first to partake of the fruits.

  Consider what I say; for the Lord will give you understanding in all things (3-7).

• d Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my gospel (8).
• e In which I suffer hardship resulting in being put in bonds, as a criminal, but the word of God is not bound (9).
• f Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory (10).
• g Faithful is the saying (11a)
• f For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him, if we endure, we will also reign with Him (11b-12a).
• e If we deny Him, He also will deny us, if we are faithless, He abides faithful, for He cannot deny Himself (12b-13).
• d Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them in the sight of the Lord, that they do not strive about words, to no profit, to the subverting of those who hear (14).
• c Give diligence to present yourself approved unto God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth (15).
• b But shun profane babblings, for they will proceed further in ungodliness, and their word will eat as a gangrene does, of whom are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who concerning the truth have erred (16-17).
• a Saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some (18).

Note that in ‘a’ Timothy is to be empowered (endynamited) in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, enjoying His present resurrection power (Philippians 3.10), in contrast in the parallel to those who say that the resurrection is past already and those whose faith has been overthrown. In ‘b’ Timothy is to commit ‘the things which you have heard from me among many witnesses’, to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also, while in the parallel he is to shun the false teachings of others. In ‘c’ he is to be a good soldier of Christ Jesus and a hardworking vinedresser, and in the parallel he is to be a workman who does not need to be ashamed. In ‘d’ Timothy is to remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, and of the seed of David, in accordance with Paul’s message, and in the parallel he is to put others in remembrance, charging them in the sight of the Lord, that they do not strive about words, to no profit, to the subverting of those who hear. In ‘e’ Paul describes his suffering hardship resulting in his being put in bonds, as a criminal, because he refuses to deny his Lord, and in the parallel if we do deny Him, He also will deny us, although if we are ‘faithless’, and yet truly His, then He abides faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. In ‘f’ Paul endures all things for the elect’s sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory, while in the parallel if we have died with Him, we will also live with Him, if we endure, we will also reign with Him. In both cases endurance is required. Central in ‘g’ is the ‘faithfulness’ of the saying that follows.

The passage now splits up into smaller sections.

Paul Encourages Timothy To Find His Strength In The Unmerited Favour And Compassion Of Christ And To Respond By Genuinely Obedient Service (2.1-7).

After first of all pointing out to Timothy his resources in Christ the emphasis in the first part of this passage is on being faithful, strong and enduring. For the very purpose of the provision of the resources by Christ is in order to enable an obedient response from His people. All the riches of the unmerited favour and compassion of Christ Jesus are available to each Christian, through which he or she can be empowered (endynamited) for what lies ahead if they will but look to Him and trust Him. But in response they must be faithful, obedient and hardy, and ready to steadfastly endure.

Analysis.

• a You therefore, my child, be strengthened (empowered) in the grace which is in Christ Jesus (1).
• b And the things which you have heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit you to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also (2).
• c Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus (3).
• d No soldier on service entangles himself in the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier (4).
• c And if also a man contend in the games, he is not crowned, unless he has contended lawfully (or ‘in accordance with the rules’) (5).
• b The husbandmen who labours must be the first to partake of the fruits (6).
• a Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in all things (7).

Note that in ‘a’ Timothy is to be empowered in Christ Jesus, and in the parallel he is to receive understanding from the Lord. In ‘b’ he is to establish and train a group of teachers to labour in God’s vineyard, and in the parallel it is the vinedresser who labours who must be the first to partake of the fruits. In ‘c’ he is to endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ, and in the parallel he must compete in accordance with the rules (which include enduring hardship). Centrally in ‘d’ he is to be totally taken up with the things of Christ.

2.1 ‘You therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace which is in Christ Jesus.’

Paul speaks to Timothy as basically ‘my dear son’ (‘my child’ is an affectionate term which can be used by an older person of someone below forty). And he calls on him to be empowered in the grace (unmerited favour) which is in Christ Jesus. Because Timothy is ‘in Christ Jesus’ all the resources of Christ Jesus (the suffering Saviour) are at his disposal, as Jesus promises to deal with him, not on the basis of His merits, but on the basis of His own compassion and mercy (thus ‘in grace’). His promise is that He will freely provide him with all necessary strength and power, as he will all who are ‘in Christ Jesus’. But Timothy must in return be willing to accept it ‘by faith’, trusting Him to keep His promise and himself acting on it, going forward into possible future hardship with full confidence in the Lord.

‘Therefore.’ This looks back to the behaviour of Onesiphorus. He had been strengthened in the grace which is in Christ Jesus, which is why he fearlessly sought out Paul when he could so easily have excused himself and given up. Timothy is to follow his example.

2.2 ‘And the things which you have heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit you to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.’

And in the course of this he is to train Bible teachers for the future. Paul has given Timothy solid training in the traditions of the Gospel, and he has testified to him of his own experience of seeing the resurrected Christ, and of what the Lord had said and done. Furthermore, Timothy had also heard it in front of ‘many witnesses’, many of whom, if not all, would have been eyewitnesses to the life of Jesus. The church laid great stress on the unique Apostolic witness - John 15.27; Acts 1.8, 22; 2.32; 3.15; 5.32; 10.39, 41; 13.31; 1 Peter 5.1, for they had testified of both Jesus’ life and resurrection as eyewitnesses and would have confirmed what Paul had been saying (compare 1 Corinthians 15.3-10). Later Paul was specifically incorporated among these ‘witnesses’ by the risen Jesus Himself (Acts 26.10). Thus at the time when Acts was written, possibly not long before Luke was called on to attend on Paul in his prison (4.11), the term ‘witnesses’ held this special meaning (it was, of course, occasionally used otherwise, but not of witnesses to the Lord Jesus). To be a witness in this sense was no small thing. It is apparent from this how careful the early church were to preserve the true tradition, and to ensure that it was based on eyewitness testimony. Paul is thus not talking here just about his own teaching. He is speaking of the teaching of the whole Apostolate, as backed up by those who along with them had literally been disciples of Jesus, and had been witnesses to His life, death and resurrection.

We should note that there would really have been no point in the mention of ‘many witnesses’ here had Paul not felt that it greatly added to the authority of what he, as an Apostle, was saying, and for such ‘witnesses’ to provide such an addition to his authority it required men who would be seen as in some way ‘Apostolic’ and knowledgeable and certainly independent of his own teaching. Witnesses whom he had himself taught would hardly have been seen as greatly adding weight to his words. We should note in this regard that Paul had had great respect for the fact that, in accordance with the teaching of Jesus, the Apostles were, through the Holy Spirit of truth (John 14.26; 15.26; 16.13), to be seen as the final source of doctrine, for he had deliberately gone up to Jerusalem in order to confirm that what he taught agreed with them (Galatians 2.2). And he had probably taken Timothy with him. This last fact of presenting what he believed and taught before the Apostles also condemns the suggestion that the early church were not interested in statements of faith, for a statement of faith was certainly present at that meeting, and it confirms that they (or certainly Paul), had suitably formulated their doctrines. It would be pedantic to suggest otherwise.

So Timothy is to seek out ‘faithful men’, men of unfeigned faith (1.5), and hand over the true tradition to them, so that they too may in their turn pass it on to others without alteration, as being the teaching of the Apostles. Here was provision for the continuation of the church and its solid Apostolic teaching until the Lord comes. Note that it is not a question of them being ‘bishops’, but of being men of faith and trustworthy. The Apostolic tradition was to be passed on by passing on the ‘whole truth’ (which has now become the New Testament), through men of faith. It was not something that could be subsequently altered and expanded on, it was to be passed on complete as it was. This was in fact how the early church saw it for in the end the canon of Scripture was finalised on the basis of what they at least thought were Apostolic writings

2.3 ‘Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.’

He is also, like Paul himself, to face up to any hardship to come as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. The Lord’s army is on the march, the comforts and entanglements of home life have been left behind, and he must be ready to face both physical shortages and danger, and spiritual battles. He must especially recognise that such a life will often result in hardship and require perseverance and endurance, something that he must take on himself without regret because he has become one of Messiah’s chosen conscripts. And such a life is also required to be a life of discipline and obedience, and of keeping the weapons of their warfare constantly ready for battle (Ephesians 6.10-18).

Paul knew well some of the hardships of a soldier’s life first hand from the soldiers to whom he was manacled. Did he count as one of those hardships that, whether they liked it or not, they no doubt had to listen to the Gospel from him time and again? Hopefully for some it would turn out to their good, but for many it was probably seen as a great trial. For other references to the soldier-like nature of the Christian life see for example Romans 6.13; 7.23; 1 Corinthians 9.7; 2 Corinthians 6.7; 10.4-6; Ephesians 6.11-18; 1 Thessalonians 5.8; 1 Timothy 1.18; 6.12. See also Philippians 2.25; Philemon 1.2

2.4 ‘No soldier on service entangles himself in the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier.’

Verse 4-6 now give three examples of what is required of those who follow Christ. The first requires commitment and sacrifice. The second requires commitment and obedience. The third requires commitment and hard work. So the lesson about enduring hardship is applied. A soldier has to go forward ready for anything. He must lay aside all earthly entanglements, which in this case means all ‘the affairs of this life’. His one aim must be to please Him Who has chosen him to be a soldier. In future if he does anything connected with this world it must be for Him, not with eye-service as a man-pleaser, but as serving Christ and doing the will of God from the heart (Ephesians 6.6). It is a call for total commitment, and a demand that from now on everything be looked at in a new way. And it applies to all Christians. There are no exemptions. We have all been signed on.

‘The affairs of this life.’ This cannot mean literally that Christian leaders are not to do any secular work for Paul himself acted as a tentmaker in order to pay his way. The point with a soldier is that he leaves secular life and does not allow anything to get in the way of his efficiency as a soldier. Thus the same applies to a Christian leader. He must look on secular life as something that is not for him, and must thrust away anything that might hinder him in fulfilling his Christian responsibilities. All else must be subservient to properly fulfilling his ministry, and in that light the things of this life must count for nothing. His eye must be singly set on being the very best that he can be in the Lord’s service. Even in his recreation he must ask, is this genuinely making me better capable of serving God?

‘That he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier.’ His aim must at all times be to please his commander-in-chief, and no less so when the Commander-in Chief is present all the time.

2.5 ‘And if also a man contend in the games, he is not crowned, unless he has contended lawfully (or ‘in accordance with the rules’).’

The second principle is the principle of obedience. He must also follow the example of contenders in the Games, by contending in accordance with the rules. Commitment does not mean that we follow our own ideas. God has laid down His rules in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). We must therefore read them and follow them, although as Paul tells us elsewhere, they are all summed up in the commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’ (Galatians 5.14). For if we do not obey His words then there will be no crowning, and no reward. Jesus demands that we live a full-orbed Christian life. In other words we cannot pick and choose but we must live wholly in accordance with His word.

‘Lawfully, in accordance with the rules, in a correct style.’ The rules for the Games not only required men to compete fairly and honestly, but they also required men to swear that they had trained properly for the event and had been properly disciplined in readiness for it. Christians must thus have the same dedication as athletes in preparing themselves for His service by spiritual exercise and a determination to do what is right. And they must then fulfil those responsibilities in total righteousness.

2.6 ‘The husbandmen who labours must be the first to partake of the fruits.’

The third principle is the principle of hard work. Living by faith is not to be an easy option. It is the one who does the hard work who expects to benefit first from the fruit. When the harvest comes he is the first to be rewarded. He can pick it even while it is on the tree. Then he benefits from the sale of the remainder. Timothy must therefore expect, and delight in, hard labour in his Christian service so that fruit may result, which he may enjoy when he hands it over to his Master, and is the first to hear His ‘well done, good and faithful servant’. In labouring in this way he can be confident that with God’s help there will be fruit, for just as the husbandman/vinedresser/farmer works hard and depends on God for the right weather, so must the Christian leader work hard trusting in God for the heavenly rain. God alone can send the rain, but the workman can ensure that the soil is ready in order to achieve the best results (compare also John 4.36-38).

Some have compared this with 1 Corinthians 9.10-11, but it is doubtful whether that thought is in mind here. Here the eye is mainly on the final reward.

2.7 ‘Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in all things.’

Now let Timothy consider (think over, understand) all that Paul has said, opening himself to the Lord’s guidance, for the Lord’s promise is that through the Scriptures He will give us understanding of all that is required (3.14-15; compare 1 Corinthians 2.11-16).

As we look at these three examples they remind us of how we should be living. Note for example how none of the people mentioned would have been put off by the rain or bad weather. The soldier would still have dug in or continued marching, the athlete would have continued with his training or his race, the farmer or vinedresser would have continued with his work. They would not even have hesitated or thought about it. Nor would they have expected others to show them favours. They would have known that they bore the responsibility for success themselves, and would have buckled down to the task. They would also have put all their efforts into accomplishing what they were seeking to achieve, going forward, training, disciplining themselves, labouring, for their eye was on the goal, the soldier’s on winning the war and on his marshal’s baton, the athlete’s on the tape and the laurel crown, the farmer’s on the coming harvest. These things would have taken up all their thoughts. How much more then should we be like this, who look not at the things which are temporal, but at the things which are eternal (2 Corinthians 4.18)

Paul Calls On Timothy To Keep His Eyes Firmly Fixed On Christ (2.8-14).

In view of the urgency of the times and the dangers that loom ahead Paul tells Timothy (and us) to remember Jesus Christ as the Risen One and as the Davidic Messiah, Who is the essence of the Gospel that he proclaims, and through Whom those who are His chosen ones may obtain salvation and enjoy eternal glory. Nevertheless this hope makes demands on us and reminds us that if we confess Him before men, He will confess us, but if we deny Him, He will deny us (compare Matthew 10.32-33). It is incumbent therefore on Timothy to constantly remind all Christians of these things and not get involved in secondary arguments which are of no real profit to anyone.

Analysis.

• a Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my gospel (8).
• b In which I suffer hardship unto bonds, as a criminal, but the word of God is not bound (9).
• c Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory (10).
• d Faithful is the saying: For if we died with him, we shall also live with him (11).
• c If we endure, we shall also reign with him (12).
• b If we shall deny him, he also will deny us, if we are faithless, he abides faithful, for he cannot deny himself (13).
• a Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them in the sight of the Lord, that they do not strive about words, to no profit, to the subverting of those who hear (14).

Note that in ‘a’ Timothy is to remember Jesus Christ and His resurrection and status and in the parallel the church is to be called on to remember the same. In ‘b’ Paul’s courageous confession of Christ is emphasised, and in the parallel the warning of the consequences of denying Christ is described. In ‘c’ Paul is enduring all things so that God’s elect may benefit eternally, and in the parallel endurance results in eternal benefit. Centrally in ‘d’ is the call for us to die with Christ and live with Him.

2.8 ‘Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my gospel,’

Timothy is called on to remember Jesus Christ, both as the One Who has risen from the dead, and thereby has been designated the Son of God with power (Romans 1.4), and as the Davidic Messiah Who will rule over the everlasting Kingdom (2 Samuel 7.13, 16; Isaiah 55.3; Ezekiel 37.24-25) . The idea of the resurrection is central to Paul, and lies behind all his teaching. Compare especially 1 Corinthians 15; but it is central throughout his letters. The fact that He is risen is the guarantee of the future for all who are His. It also indicates that the flesh has risen with the spirit. Both have been glorified. Less prominent, but still important is that Jesus is the Davidic Messiah (Romans 1.3), although usually it is the Messiahship (Christhood) that is mainly emphasised by Paul (‘Christ Jesus’, ‘Jesus Christ’) rather than the Davidic angle. This demonstrated that Jesus was truly born of man (of David) and was so as the coming fulfiller of all the Old Testament promises. Here Paul’s purpose is to bring out:

• 1). That Jesus Christ is truly man in the flesh, born of the seed of David (see Romans 1.3).
• 2). That He is thus the promised Coming King spoken of in the Scriptures (e.g. Isaiah 9.5-6; 11.1-4) Who will come to the throne of God to receive Kingly Rule (Daniel 7.13-14).
• 3). That He truly died, and was buried, so that He could rise again (compare 1 Corinthians 15.3-4).
• 4). That He is now risen from the dead as the conqueror of death and offerer of life to His own (1 Corinthians 15.20-23).

Note how by its emphasis on Jesus’ true humanity, His death in the body, and His resurrection in the body, this hits at the heart of any heresy that puts an emphasis on any ‘heavenly experience’ which is not firmly conjoined with human fleshliness. In Paul’s mind the Good News and flesh are firmly linked, and Jesus Christ Himself was firmly rooted in fleshliness (John 1.14), and was raised in the body. Man also is therefore to be saved as he is, as a human being, and not by rejecting his association with fleshliness.

But in recognising the relevance of these words in combating the Ephesian heresy, we must not lose sight of their positive message, and that is:

• 1). That we must fix our eyes not on a religion or a religious organisation, but on a person, the person of Jesus Christ.
• 2). That Jesus Christ is the risen One with all the implications that lie behind that of the defeat of death and the guarantee of a future hope (1.10; 1 Corinthians 15.20-28).
• 3). That as the risen One He can offer men life and hope, and empower them with the power of His resurrection (1.7; Philippians 3.10-11).
• 4). That because He lives we can live as well (John 14.19).
• 5). That as the seed of David He is the fulfilment of all the Old Testament prophecies concerning the future Coming King (e.g. Psalm 2; 110; Isaiah 9.6-7; 11.1-4; Ezekiel 37.22-28; Daniel 7.13-14; etc.).
• 6). It is all this that is the Good News.

‘According to my Gospel.’ Compare Romans 2.16; 16.25. This is a typical Paulinism, and by ‘my Gospel’ he is clearly indicating some kind of primitive summary of faith which he had formulated, at least in his head, by the time he wrote Romans. However the phrase ‘of the seed of David’ has suggested to some that here, as in Romans 1.4, he is citing from an ancient creed which has been generally agreed, probably by the Apostles. Thus we have further confirmation that Paul’s Gospel is the same as that of the other Apostles.

2.9 ‘In which (or ‘in whom’) I suffer hardship unto bonds, as a criminal, but the word of God is not bound.’

And it is because of this Gospel (in which), or because he is in Christ Jesus (in Whom), and for no other reason that he is at present suffering hardship, that is, roughing it, in his manacles as though he was an evildoer. At his previous trial he had made known to the judges the full message of the Gospel (41.17) and that time he had been released. And he was now here because he had insisted on proclaiming the same message and serving the same Christ Jesus. But the fact that he is suffering ‘as a criminal’ suggests that the charge against him was not that he was a Christian. Possibly he was being blamed for pubic affrays that had arisen as a result of his preaching, or for incendiarism with regard to the fire in Rome which was blamed by Nero on the Christians because most people thought that he himself was responsible, or it may simply have been because he was the leader of an unauthorised society (all societies were strictly regulated lest they ferment rebellion).

‘But the word of God is not bound (manacled).’ In spite of the fact that he is bound, he wants Timothy to know that the word of God was not bound. It was going freely to the Roman soldiers who were manacled to him. It was going to all who visited him. It was going out in his letters, so that, although he was manacled, his words were not. It was going out through all the hundreds of thousands of Christians who were still freely proclaiming the Gospel throughout the Empire and beyond. Nothing could bind the word of God. Rome would attempt it by political means, Rome would then try it again by ecclesiastical means, but both times it failed. And whoever tries to bind it anywhere at any time they will also fail.

2.10 ‘Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.’

And why did Paul allow himself to be treated like this? Why did he not just renounce his faith and be released? It was because he was enduring whatever came upon him for the sake of the unrestrainable word of God and for the sake of those whom God has chosen for Himself from the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1.4) who would be delivered through that word. It was for the sake of God’s ‘elect’, His chosen and called out ones (compare Matthew 20.16; 24.22, 24, 31; Luke 18.7; Romans 8.33; Colossians 3.12; Titus 1.1; 1 Peter 1.2; Revelation 17.14). And it was so that they might obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus to eternal glory.

‘The salvation which is in Christ Jesus to eternal glory.’ Such ‘salvation’ is to be found ‘in Christ Jesus’, by union with Him. The word here describes the whole of the process of salvation from start to finish, the process whereby we are forgiven and reconciled to God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5.20-21), made into new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5.17), changed from glory into glory even as by the Lord, the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3.18), finally ending up in eternal glory (Colossians 3.4). And this because Christ is in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1.27; 3.4; 2 Corinthians 4.17). For once the process truly begins as a result of a person being genuinely ‘saved’, it will be carried through by our Lord Jesus Christ right up to the consummation when it becomes complete and final (although we will always be ‘the saved’ or ‘the redeemed’ even then, just as He will always be ‘the Lamb as it had been slain’). This certainty of salvation is made clear in a number of Scriptures such as, verse 13; 1.12; John 6.27; 10.27-28; 1 Corinthians 1.8-9; Philippians 1.6; Jude 1.24, but it must be emphasised that it is salvation from sin. We can only be saved if we want to be saved from sin.

2.11-13 ‘Faithful is the saying:

Paul then declares as ‘a faithful saying’, and thus one to be relied on utterly (compare 1 Timothy 1.15; 3.1; 4.9; Titus 3.8), the words of what was probably a Christian hymn, which sums up differing attitudes and responses to Christ. Such hymns would inevitably have arisen during the thirty years or so since the death of Jesus is absurd. The process was inevitable. There would always be some with inventive musical minds who would provide others with a means of worship, especially in churches without a firm Jewish background, so that they could ‘speak to one another with psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs’ (Ephesians 5.19). The problem would not be a shortage of such hymns, but that a tight control would have to be maintained so that heresy did not creep into them.

‘For if we died with him, we shall also live with him.’ This new life is both in the present and in the future, and results from ‘Jesus Christ, risen from the dead’ (2.8). The point here is that every true Christian sees himself, as a result of having responded to Christ, as having died to himself and as living to Christ (see Romans 6.3-11). This is what is symbolised in his baptism (Romans 6.3; Colossians 2.12, compare 1 Corinthians 12.13), and it is those who thus die, and receive His new life and live accordingly (Romans 6.4; Colossians 3.10), who reveal themselves to be Christians (compare Galatians 2.20). We are therefore called on to die to our old lives (Colossians 2.20; 3.3, 9-10), dying to the claims of the world (Colossians 3.2-3), and to receive through faith the benefits of His death (Colossians 2.13), as those who have by faith died with Him (Galatians 2.20; Colossians 3.3), and have ‘risen’ with Him (Ephesians 2.5-6), and have commenced walking in newness of life (Romans 6.3-11; Galatians 2.20; Ephesians 4.22-24; Colossians 3.9-10). Compare Matthew 16.24-26; John 12.24-25. Thus will we be assured of eternal life, both now (John 5.24; 1 John 5.13) and in eternity, and living with Him for ever in His glory (Colossians 1.27; 3.4; 2 Thessalonians 2.14). ‘The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and if children then heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, ‘if so be that we suffer with Him, that we might be glorified together’ (Romans 8.17).

This having died does, of course, also have in mind those who have actually been martyred, they too will live with Him (Revelation 20.4). But it does not refer exclusively to them. All who are truly His have ‘died with Him’.

‘If we endure, we shall also reign with him.’ Here we are called on to remember ‘Jesus Christ of the seed of David’, the One to Whom all dominion will be given (e.g. Isaiah 9.7; 11.1-4; compare Daniel 7.14). He is the One Who will reign for ever and ever (Revelation 11.15). And the point here is that those who would reign with Christ, both in this life and the next, must first be willing to ‘endure’ whatever is thrown at them. Some have a harder time than others but all those who would reign with Him in life (Romans 5.17; 6.14; Revelation 5.10) must also endure, and those who would share His throne in glory must first share His sufferings (compare 3.12; Matthew 5.10-12; 24.13; Acts 14.22; Romans 5.3-5; and often). As Paul elsewhere wrote to the Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians 1.4-5), ‘we ourselves glory in you among the churches of God for your patient endurance and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which you endure, which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God; to the end that you may be counted worthy of the Kingly Rule of God, for which you also suffer.’ See also Revelation 2.10, 26-27; 3.5, 21). Once having suffered with Him, therefore, we will share His throne (Revelation 3.21).

‘If we shall deny him, he also will deny us.’ This was very much a theme of Jesus Who declared that those who denied Him (by not confessing Him) would be denied before His Father in Heaven (Matthew 7.23; 10.32-33; 25.12; Luke 9.26; 12.8; 2 Peter 2.1; 1 John 2.22-23). Denial includes denying Him by not acknowledging Who He rightfully is (1 John 2.22-23), and denying Him by not seeking to live in accordance with His words (Matthew 7.13-27).

‘If we are faithless, he abides faithful, for he cannot deny himself.’ This appears to be describing those who are truly His (‘He cannot deny Himself’) but who have proved weak and faithless in their lives and testimony (compare 1.15). For these whose hearts are open towards Him in spite of their weakness He remains faithful towards them. If they have been made one with Him He will not deny them. For He knows those who are His (verse 19). However, they are promised no reward. We can compare here those described in 1 Corinthians 3.15.

It should be noted how this hymn summarises the situations described in the letter. Paul knows that he is shortly literally to die with Christ prior to receiving a crown of righteousness (4.6-8). Timothy is called on to endure (1.8, 13; 2.3) in order that he might receive his reward (1.10; 2.5, 6), along with Onesiphorus and his household (1.16-18). Hymenaeus and Philetus are of those who have denied the Lord and will in turn be denied by Him (2.17-18); Phygelus and Hermogenes are of those who have been ‘faithless’, but not finally rejected, because in spite of their weakness they are still His, and will be restored (1.15).

2.14 ‘Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them in the sight of the Lord, that they do not strive about words, which is profitable for nothing, to the subverting of those who hear.’

God’s people are continually to be put in remembrance of ‘these things’, of Jesus Christ the Risen One (verse 8), of Jesus Christ, God’s ruling King (verse 8), of the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory (verse 10), of the fact that our Saviour Christ Jesus has nullified death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel (1.10), and of all God’s requirements that we endure as good soldiers of Jesus Christ (verse 3), all as summed up in the hymn that he has just cited.

And it is these things that must possess their minds, rather than words and arguments about things which are not only not beneficial (‘profitable for nothing’), but are actually harmful (they subvert those who hear them). The seriousness with which Paul viewed this injunction comes out in his words, ‘charging them in the sight of the Lord’. The Christian is under a duty to Jesus Christ to concentrate on the essentials of the Gospel, and not to be taken up with peripheral arguments and extraneous doctrines which can divert their minds and the minds of others from Jesus Christ Himself.

The Need To Hold To The Truth And To Shun What Is False (2.15-18).

Paul now gives an example of the approach that Timothy should take, and what is to be shunned. He must use wisely the Scriptures and the tradition about Jesus, ‘the word of truth’, learning from it, and ensuring that he properly understands it, and must shun anything that adds to it the myths and ‘babblings’ of men.

Analysis.