Paul continued to encourage Timothy to remain faithful to his calling to motivate him to persevere in his ministry.
"In this first section the subject particularly dealt with is the question of service and rewards."20
2:1 Paul's charge in this verse is a general one. Specific responsibilities follow. On the basis of what he had already written Paul urged his son (Gr. teknon, lit. child, an affectionate term) to let Christ's grace empower him. The present tense of the Greek passive imperative endunamooindicates the need for continual dependence on God. One does this as he or she walks in submission to the Spirit of God and in harmony with the will of God. God then can and will provide strength.
2:2 As Paul had passed the torch of ministry on to Timothy, so now Timothy should do so to other men who gave evidence that they too would be faithful. These should instruct others who would follow them.
"Faithfulness negatively consists in their not losing, neglecting, ignoring, or falsifying (like the false teachers mentioned in this letter) what Paul has said, and positively consists of their handling accurately the word of truth' (2:15).
"Since the task committed to these faithful ones is that of teaching others also, it is certain that they are the same group of whom Paul wrote in 1 Timothy, the presbyters who work hard in word and teaching' (5:17), and also in Titus, the presbyters/overseers who are holding fast the faithful word that is in accordance with the teaching' so that they are able both to exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict' (1:9)."21
This discipling process involved instruction in the truths of the faith and companionship in ministry. The reference to "witnesses"would have reminded Timothy of Paul's bold preaching on many occasions. It would have encouraged him to renew his commitment to Paul's life-changing gospel and to Paul personally.
"This is the true apostolic succession of the ministry: not an uninterrupted line of hands laid on which extends back to the apostles themselves so that all ordinations which are not in that line are null and void; but a succession of true apostolic doctrine, the deposit of what we still hear from Paul in his writings, this held by us in faithful hearts with competency to teach others the same things. The apostle did not evidently expect the future teachers of the church to produce new or different teaching."22
2:3-4 Paul's long ministry with Timothy had included many hardships. Now as Timothy looked forward to training other younger men he could expect more of the same. Paul urged him to submit to difficulties as a good soldier.
The apostle used three illustrations to help Timothy appreciate the logical consistency of this exhortation (cf. 1 Cor. 9:7, 24).
The first illustration is the soldier. Paul's emphasis in this illustration was on the importance of remaining free from entanglement with other lesser goals and activities while serving the Lord. This is something about which Paul had previously warned Timothy (1 Tim. 6:3-16; cf. Matt. 13:22; Luke 8:14). Obviously Paul did not mean that a minister should always give all of his time to preaching and teaching to the exclusion of any tent-making activities. He meant that he should not let other duties drain off his energies or interests or divert him from his primary responsibilities as a Christian soldier. As a soldier must be single-minded in his purpose, rigorous in his self-discipline, and unquestioning in his obedience, so must every soldier of Christ.
"Paul's appeal shows the importance of developing an ability to distinguish between doing good things and doing the best things. Servants of Christ are not merely to be well-rounded dabblers in all types of trivial pursuits. They are tough-minded devotees of Christ who constantly choose the right priorities from a list of potential selections."23
2:5 The second illustration, the athlete, emphasized the need to minister according to the rules that God has prescribed. To do this we must minister with proper motives, with purity of life, and obedience to all of God's will to win His approval.
". . . competitors at the Olympic Games had to swear an oath before the statue of Zeus that they had been in strict training for ten months (Pausanias, Graec. deser.v. 24. 9)."24
As an athlete must deny self, endure hardship, and persevere to the end, so must every spiritual athlete.
2:6 The illustration of the farmer, Paul's third, emphasized the toil necessary if one wants to enjoy the fruits of his or her labors.25A farmer must continue to sow seed and water it if he or she wants to harvest its fruit. Likewise the farmer for Christ must plant and nourish the gospel seed if he or she eventually expects to reap the fruit of God's Word in the lives of people.
All three illustrations imply dogged persistence and hold out the prospect of reward for the faithful.
2:7 Paul encouraged Timothy to meditate on what he had just written knowing that the Lord (probably God the Father, cf. Eph. 3:2-4) would help him see the wisdom of his words. Paul's illustrations yield many practical lessons as one meditates on them.
"The apprehension of spiritual truth is not primarily a matter of mental acumen but of spiritual teachableness."26
Paul proceeded to undergird his appeal to suffer hardship with the examples of Jesus (v. 8) and Paul (vv. 9-10).
2:8 The greatest example of suffering hardship for a worthy purpose, of course, is Jesus Christ. Paul urged Timothy to meditate on His example too. This is the only place in this epistle where Paul arranged Jesus' names in this order (cf. 1 Tim. 6:3, 14; Titus 1:1; 2:13; 3:6). He probably did so to stress Jesus' humanity.
Paul may have intended his references to Jesus' resurrection and lineage to provoke meditation on our Lord's vindication and reign following His sufferings. Jesus was the culmination of a line of rulers whom God's enemies consistently opposed and persecuted. The record of Jesus Christ was part of the gospel Paul preached and the gospel Timothy was in danger of neglecting (1:8). Paul could call the gospel "my gospel"because God had entrusted it to him.
"The perfect tense of the participle for raised' suggests that Paul was stressing the result of Christ's resurrection, the demonstration of his lordship (Rom 1:4), rather than the fact of the resurrection. . . .
"Second, the mention that Christ descended from David' shows that Christ has messianic qualifications and is the heir to the glorious promises of God for David. . . .
"The memory of Christ cloaked with resurrection power and messianic dignity is an inspiration for Christian service."27
"The Davidic Messiah who suffered and was raised from the dead is the very essence of Paul's gospel."28
2:9 Paul, too, was willing to suffer hardship for the gospel. He had done so all his Christian life and was presently in prison because of it. The Greek word translated "criminal"(kakourger) is a strong one and occurs only in Luke 23:32, 33, and 39 elsewhere in the New Testament. There it describes the criminals crucified with Jesus. Under Nero's persecution non-Christians viewed Christians as serious criminals. Timothy needed to remember that the Word of God was just as powerful to change lives as ever. Its power was as great as it ever was even though its champion defender was in chains. Therefore Timothy should continue to proclaim it.
2:10 Because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation Paul was content to endure anything so long as this message went forth.29He had been the chief suppresser of the gospel (Acts. 22:4; 26:9-11). Now he was its chief promoter. He had been the greatest oppressor of the saints. Now he was the most greatly oppressed of them.
"While the majority of the commentators understand the elect' to refer to the unregenerate who have not yet believed (but certainly will), there is good reason to understand the term in this context as a virtual synonym for a regenerate saint. First of all, in everyusage of the term applied to men, in the New Testament it alwaysrefers to a justified saint. Conversely, it neverrefers to someone who was elect in eternity past but who has not yet entered into the purpose of their election, justification. . . . It is best to understand by the elect' Timothy and the faithful men of v. 2. Timothy is being exhorted to suffer in his ministry to the faithful men just as Paul has been imprisoned for his ministry to the elect.' The idea of Paul suffering for the sanctification and growth of the churches is a common New Testament theme, and is easily seen in this passage as well.
"Here then are saved people in need of salvation! The salvation in view is necessarily sanctification or, perhaps, more precisely, victorious perseverance through trials (1:8; 2:3, 9)."30
To encourage Timothy further to endure hardship Paul cited a commonly accepted and used quotation that encouraged believers to remain faithful to their Christian profession (cf. 1 Tim. 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; Titus 3:8). It may have been part of a baptismal ceremony, a hymn, or a catechism. It consists of four couplets, two positive and two negative. Each one represents a condition Paul assumed for the sake of his argument to be real, not hypothetical, since each is a first class condition in the Greek text.
"Each protasis (the if' clause) describes an action of a believer."31
2:11-13 The first couplet (v. 11) is a comforting reminder that since the believer died with Christ (Col. 2:20; 3:1, 3) he or she has also experienced resurrection with Him to newness of life (cf. Rom. 6:2-23, esp. v. 8).32This seems to be a better interpretation than the one that views this statement as a reference to dying as a martyr.33The first class condition and the aorist tense of the verb synapethanomen, translated "died,"argue for the former view.34
The second (v. 12a) is also a comfort. If the believer endures temptations to apostatize, he or she will one day reign with Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 4:8; Rev. 3:21; 5:10). While all Christians will reign with Christ in the sense that we will be with Him when He reigns, the faithful will reign with Christ in a more active sense (cf. Matt. 10:33; Luke 12:9).35The Bible seems to teach that there are degrees of reigning (cf. Luke 19:11-27; Rev. 2:26-27; 3:21). The idea that all Christians will remain faithful is true to neither revelation nor reality (cf. Luke 8:13; 1 Tim. 4:1; Heb. 3:12; cf. 2 Tim. 4:4).36
The third couplet (v. 12b) is a warning. If the believer departs from following Christ faithfully during his or her life (i.e., apostatizes), Christ will deny him or her at the judgment seat of Christ (Matt. 10:33; Mark 8:38; Luke 12:9; cf. Luke 19:22; Matt. 22:13). The unfaithful believer will not lose his salvation (1 John 5:13) or all of his reward (1 Pet. 1:4), but he will lose some of his reward (1 Cor. 3:12-15; cf. Luke 19:24-26). To deny Christ clearly does not mean to deny Him only once or twice (cf. Luke 22:54-62) but to deny Him permanently since the other three human conditions in the couplets are permanent.
"Denial of Christ manifests itself in various ways in the NT. It can consist in denying his name (Rev. 3:8) or faith in him (Rev. 2:13). It can thus take the form of forsaking or repudiating the Christian faith and its truths, particularly the truth concerning Jesus. In doing so one personally denies Christ (and the Father, cf. 1 Jn. 2:22-23). The denial can also manifest itself in the moral realm. Some may profess to know God, but by their deeds deny him' (Tit. 1:16; cf. 1 Tim. 5:8)."37
"In that great roll call' in glory, when the medals' are given out, we will lose our reward if we disown His name."38
The fourth and final couplet (v. 13) is another comforting reminder that if the believer is unfaithful to God Christ will still remain faithful to him or her.39The present tense of the Greek word translated "faithless"denotes a continuing attitude. Christ will not renege on His promises to save us (cf. 1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13; 2 Cor. 1:18-20; 1 Thess. 5:24; et al.) even though we may go back on our commitments to Him (1 John 5:13).40Christ's faithfulness to us should motivate us to remain faithful to Him (cf. Luke 22:31-32; John 21:15-22).
The point of this quotation is that Christians should continue to endure hardship and remain faithful to the Lord in view of what Jesus Christ has done and will do.41
Some interpreters believe the references to denying the Lord and being denied by him refer to unbelievers. However, there is nothing in the context to indicate that Paul had unbelievers in mind. On the contrary he used "we"and "us,"which without further explanation would naturally include Paul and Timothy. In the context Paul made frequent references to the judgment seat of Christ (1:12, 18; 4:8). This whole epistle constitutes an exhortation for Christians to remain faithful to the Lord in view of that coming event.
