Appeal to be Strong and to Suffer (2:1-13)
v1 You then, my child, be strong with the help of Christ Jesus who is kind to you. v2 You heard what I taught you. And there were many people present with us. Give this same message to those whom you can trust to teach other people. v3 Take your share of suffering, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. v4 A soldier on duty should not be involved with the affairs of this life. His aim is to please the person who chose him to be a soldier. v5 An athlete who runs in a race will not win the prize if he does not obey the rules. v6 The farmer who does the hard work ought to have the first share of the crops. v7 Think about what I say and then the Lord will help you to understand all things.
v8 Jesus Christ was of the family of David. Remember that God raised him from the dead. This is what I preach in the gospel. v9 Because of this good news, I suffer and I am in chains like a criminal. But no one can bind the word of God. v10 I suffer all these things for those whom God has chosen. I suffer so that they also may have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus. With him, they will share his life and glory that will never end.
v11 These words are true: ‘If we have died with him, we shall also live with him. v12 If we do not give up, we will also govern with him. If we refuse him, he will also refuse us. v13 If we do not believe, he will remain true. He cannot deny who he is’.
Commentary
Verse 1 Paul tells Timothy to be strong but not with just natural strength. This is the power to live the Christian life. Timothy can only get this power by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. This grace is the kindness of Christ. He gives strength to those who ask him for it. With the help of Christ, Timothy will be strong.
Verse 2 Paul had taught Timothy the truth about God. He had shown him what Christians should believe. He had taught him how Christians should live. There were many other Christians there when Paul taught these things. These are witnesses to all the truth, which Paul spoke.
Timothy’s task was to preach the gospel and to teach the truth in the church at Ephesus. Now Paul says that Timothy must select those whom he could trust. He must train them in the truth. Then they too will be able to spread the message and teach other people.
Verse 3 The Christian life is like a war. This is because there are enemies who fight against it. All followers of Christ must be prepared to suffer for what they believe. So Paul tells Timothy to join with him and other Christians and take a share of the suffering. He must serve Christ as a good soldier fights with the army. But Christians do not fight against people. The fight is against the forces of evil.
Verse 4 A soldier in the fight needs to concentrate on the task. He must not let anything disturb him or stop him. He must put all of his efforts into the fight. His aim is to please the one for whom he is fighting.
Like soldiers, Christians should work hard to do what the Lord wants. They should not get involved with things that would prevent them from doing this. Their main purpose in life is to please the Lord whom they serve.
Verse 5 Anyone who wants to run in a race must train hard. To have a chance of winning they need to be very fit and strong. Then in the race, they must obey the rules. The winner receives the crown, which is the prize. This is not the crown of a king but a crown of success. People made it from leaves and put it around the neck of the winner. To win that crown was a great honor.
Paul is saying that the Christian life is like a race. Those who believe should train hard. They should accept the discipline of the Lord. This is so that they can do what he wants. But in this race, there is not only one winner. God promises the crown of life to all who love and trust him to the end of their lives (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10).
Verse 6 A good farmer has to work hard. He has to prepare the ground and sow the seed. He has to make sure that the plants have enough water. And he has to clear the weeds. Then the harvest comes when he gathers the crops. He has done all this work for the owner of the farm. As his reward, he should have the first share of the crop.
Christians, like the farmer, should work hard to do what the Lord wants. The results of that good work will be like a harvest. The Lord will bless those who have worked well for him. This may be in this life. But the Lord will give rewards to them in the life that is the future.
Verse 7 Timothy is to think about the soldier, the athlete, and the farmer. He should learn the lessons that we can learn from each of them. They each show how a Christian should live and work for the Lord. As Timothy thinks about these things, the Lord will help him to understand.
The soldier needs discipline to win the fight. His chief aim is to please his officer. The athlete must train himself if he is to win the race. He must obey all the rules. The farmer has to work hard if there is to be a good harvest. So Christians must have this kind of attitude to do the tasks that the Lord has given them.
Verse 8 Jesus Christ was and is God. But, although he was God, he was born as a man. He was born to Mary who was of the family of David. This shows that he was the Messiah. He was the one whom God had promised to send.
What Paul writes here is similar to what he wrote in Romans 1:3-4. There he wrote that the Holy Spirit declared Jesus to be the Son of God. He did this when God raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus is the Son of God. Timothy is to remember, not a dead Christ, but the living *Lord. Jesus suffered and died. But now he is alive. This should encourage Timothy, as he will have to suffer for Christ.
The fact that Jesus Christ died and rose again is the heart of the gospel. This is the good news that Paul preached.
Verse 9 Paul urged Timothy to preach the gospel. And he urged him to be ready to suffer for doing so. He writes about his own experience. He preached the good news of Jesus Christ and he had to suffer because of it. He was now in prison and in chains. He had not done any crime. But he suffered as if he were a criminal.
Paul was no longer free but that did not stop the spread of the gospel. No one can bind up the word of God. It is free to go wherever God sends it.
Verse 10 Paul is willing to suffer for the good news. That is because God saves those whom he has chosen by this gospel. So Paul is suffering for them so that they may believe in Christ Jesus.
It is true that when we accept the gospel, we choose Christ. But before we came to him, God chose us. So Jesus says, ‘You have not chosen me but I have chosen you’ (John 15:16).
Those who do accept the gospel will have salvation. They will have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus. Paul and all who believe have this salvation now. Their future life will be with Christ. And they will share the glory that he has.
Verse 11 Timothy would have known these words. They were from a Christian song or poem. Paul says that the message of these words is true.
In this part of the song or poem, ‘we’ means the Christians and ‘him’ means Christ. There are four lines. Each one shows the actions of Christians and the result or the reaction of Christ.
1. If we have died with him, we shall also live with him (verse 11)
2. If we do not give up, we will also govern with him (verse 12)
3. If we refuse him, he will also refuse us (verse 12)
4. If we do not believe, he will remain true. He cannot deny who he is (verse 13)
Death with Christ will result in life with him. Death with Christ is death to sin even as Christ died to sin. It is in the death of Christ that Christians have died with him. The death of Christ has freed them from sin. As they believe in Christ, it is as if God has put their old life into his death.
They receive a new life now. Christians should consider that they are dead to sin. And they should consider that they are alive to God. The *Lord has also promised them that as Christ rose from the dead so they will rise. They will live with Christ and never die again.
Verse 12 The life of the Christians is not an easy one. They may have to suffer many things. There will always be problems that tempt them to give up. But they must remain loyal to Christ.
Those who do remain loyal to Christ will rule with him. This looks forward beyond this present life to the life which is to come. Then those who have not given up will join with Christ as he rules as the king of heaven.
There are those who did once claim to be Christians but then say that they are not. Now they refuse to admit that Jesus is the Christ. They did not really believe in the Lord Jesus and they do not know him. They have turned away from him.
The day will come when they will have to stand before God. Then Christ will deny them. He will say that He does not know them. They will not live with him in that day.
Verse 13 There are those who did believe in the Lord Jesus but have turned away from him. Some Christians fail to trust him. But he will keep his promises to them. He will never turn away from them.
He is the Lord who does not change. He will do what he has promised to do. He is always true to his own nature. He is God.
For those who do not trust in the Lord Jesus at all, this is a serious warning. What God has said about the results of their sins will happen.
But some have believed but are weak. They may fail but this should encourage them. They may not always be true to him but he will always be true to them.
How to Deal with What is False (2:14-26)
v14 Remind them of this. With God as your witness, you must warn them not to argue about words. Because that does no good. It only ruins those who listen. v15 Be eager to show yourself as one of whom God approves. Be like a good worker who is not ashamed of his work. So teach and explain the word of truth. v16 But avoid foolish talk that has nothing to do with God. Such talk would only lead people away from God. v17 That sort of talk will spread like a disease that will not heal. Among those who talk like this are Hymenaeus and Philetus. v18 They have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection, when God will raise the dead, is past. By their false words, they are destroying the faith of some people. v19 But God has laid a firm foundation for our faith. No one can shake this strong base. God proved this with these words, ‘The Lord knows who are his.’ He added, ‘Those who say that they belong to the Lord must turn away from doing wrong things.’
v20 In a large house, there are gold and silver things for use. There are also things made from wood or earth. Some are there for special tasks. Some are for less pleasant jobs. v21 Those who make themselves clean from all those evil things, the Lord can use for special tasks. They are pure and prepared for the master to use. They are ready to do good works.
v22 Avoid those wrong desires that tempt young people. But make every effort to do what is right. Try to grow in faith, love and peace. Do this with those who with clean hearts pray to the Lord. v23 Do not join in with stupid and vain arguments. You know that they only cause fights. v24 And those who serve the Lord should not quarrel. They should be kind to everyone. They should have patience and be able to teach them. v25 They must gently correct those who oppose them. God may cause these to repent and bring them to know the truth. v26 So they will escape the trap that the devil had made for them. The devil had caught them. And he had made them do what he wanted.
Commentary
Verse 14 Timothy must remind the Christians about the true words that Paul has just written. These are what the gospel of Christ teaches. These are what Christians should believe and teach.
There were some in that church who argued about words. This was a waste of time and effort. To fight about words can have no value for anyone. It is of no use and it does no good. It could so easily be the cause of a split in the church. It could upset and damage the faith of some of the Christians.
This is such a serious matter that Timothy must warn them not to do it. He should look to God as witness to what he tells them. If they continue to fight about words, they will have to account for it to God. He will be their judge.
Verse 15 Timothy and all Christians must do their best to please God. They must work to please God and not to please other people. They must be eager to do what God wants them to do. They are his servants. And they should act as those of whom he approves. God is the judge of all that they do. He decides what is good or bad. And he decides what is right or wrong.
A good worker is not ashamed when people test his work. He knows that what he has done is of the right quality. Timothy must be like that. God has given him a job to do. He must so complete the task that God will say that it was well done.
Timothy had to preach the good news of Christ and teach the word of God. He must teach the truth of God as he had learned it from the Lord and from Paul. He must not change that truth. He must not add to it or take anything away from it.
Verse 16 To argue about words is of no use at all. It is foolish and vain. There is nothing of God in it. It is against the truth of God. The only effect that it can have is to draw people away from the Lord. That is both those who say these things and those who listen to them.
It would be wrong for Timothy to argue with them. He would not be able to convince them to change their minds. He must not get involved with it. He must avoid all such talk.
Verse 17 What the false teachers say is like a disease. The disease spreads sores that eat into the body. What these teachers say is like that. It seems to eat into the minds and hearts of those who accept it. If these false ideas are allowed to spread, they will cause trouble in the church.
Hymenaeus and Philetus are two of the men who speak like this. They were, or had been, members of the church at Ephesus. Paul mentions Hymenaeus in the first letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 1:20). We know nothing about Philetus other than what Paul writes here.
Verse 18 These men have turned from the truth. They teach many things that are not true. Among these things, they say that the resurrection is past. But the Bible teaches that it is still in the future. The Lord Jesus will come again. Then those who have died as believers in him will rise from the dead. God will also raise up the rest of the people. All of them will have to come before God who will be their judge.
These men thought that when they believed they came to life again. They said that this was the resurrection. They did not believe that God would raise people from the dead. They thought that the body would remain in the grave.
Some people believed the errors that these men taught. They too were turning from the truth. The result of this would be that they would no longer trust in the Lord.
Verse 19 God has given a firm base for our faith. This contrasts with the weakness caused by what the false teachers say. The foundation of God is the true church. This is a solid foundation of truth based on the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11). God has made it and no one has the power to shake it. The truth of God and the church will last for all time.
It was the custom to write words on the foundation of a building. God has written words on this foundation. They prove that it will not fail. He owns the church and he will protect it.
Those who are loyal to the Lord show it. They show it by how they live. They show that they belong to him by not doing wrong things. They do not accept as true what the false teachers say. Those who say that they are Christians must do what is right.
Verses 20-21 In the house of a rich man, there would be a variety of pots, pans, jars and dishes. Some of these would be gold or silver. Some would be cheaper materials such as wood or baked mud. Each of them would have their uses.
In the church, there is a variety of people. They do not all have the same work to do for the Lord. But each of them should be ready to do what the master wants them to do. Some of the tasks seem to be better than other tasks. But the tasks that seem to be less pleasant are just as essential.
In the church, there are both good and bad people. Those who want to follow the Lord must not go after the false teachers. They must be clean from all that is evil. Then they will be ready to do good works. They will be fit for the Lord to use in whatever tasks he wants them to do.
The bad people are like dirty pots and pans that the master cannot use. He will throw them away as rubbish.
Verse 22 Paul refers to Timothy as a young man. In that society, a man was young up to about 40 years of age. Timothy must have been between 30 and 40 years old.
We all have wrong and bad desires. But some of these seem to be stronger in young people. Paul does not say what he meant by the wrong desires of youth. They may be such things as selfish ambitions, a lack of patience, and the urge for wrong sex. Paul may have known that Timothy had some weak tendencies. So he tells Timothy to run away from these.
Instead of these wrong desires, Timothy must pursue good things. He must be eager to do what is right. That is to do what God requires of him. He must want to please God. Timothy must trust God and put his confidence in him. He must love God and try to love other people. He must do all that he can to live in peace with all people.
All who trust in the Lord will desire these good qualities. They confessed their sins and the Lord forgave them. So, to God, their hearts are clean. Timothy must be one with them.
Verse 23 Paul tells Timothy to have nothing to do with foolish discussions. He must refuse to argue with those who question the truth. He knows that such vain arguments will lead to quarrels. These tend to divide the church and so destroy it.
Verse 24 All Christians are servants of the Lord. But here it refers to those like Timothy whom God has called to be leaders. They are the slaves of the Lord to do what he wants them to do. They must not be people who quarrel. Rather they should be gentle and kind to all. They must be pleasant even to those who attack them or are unkind to them.
The servants of the Lord must be able to teach the truth. They should try to correct those who oppose the truth. They should be patient with them even when they do wrong or evil things.
Verse 25 The attitude of the servants of the Lord must be strong but gentle. They should be humble as they teach the truth to those who oppose them. Their aim is to correct what is false. And it is to help these people to accept the truth.
Perhaps God will cause them to repent. This is a gift from God. It causes a change of heart and mind. When they repent, God will forgive them. As a result, God would cause them to know the truth.
Verse 26 As these people turn from what is false they will know the truth. They will see that the false teachers taught things that were really from the devil. It was a trap to keep them from trusting the Lord. Now, as they accept the truth, it frees them from that trap of the devil.
They had believed the lies of the devil and he had caught them in his trap. They did not know it but he was their master. He caused them to do what he wanted. Therefore they had opposed the truth that comes from God.
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