2 Timothychapter 2
26 verses · Paul, by tradition · AD 66 or 67 · Paul's letters
if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
Introduction
Paul, by tradition, Paul's letters, 2 Timothy Overview.
Paul writes this chapter as an old soldier writing to a younger one who must carry on after him. Timothy had to hand on what he had learned, face hardship, and deal with men in the church who loved to argue. The chapter teaches through pictures that every reader of the time knew from daily life. Listen for the three workers near the start and for the household vessels near the end. Listen too for a short saying in balanced lines, which the church may already have been reciting. Read it as a manual for a servant of the Lord.
Context
- Who
- A young leader tempted to argue with the wrangling men in his congregation
- What
- Paul's second charge to Timothy, to be strong and endure hardship, followed by instructions on handling the word and on dealing with those who oppose the truth.
- Where
- Written from prison in Rome to Timothy at Ephesus, where Hymenaeus and Philetus were spreading their teaching.
- When
- About AD 66 or 67 on the traditional dating, in Paul's last imprisonment.
- Why
- To prepare Timothy to pass on the gospel, to suffer for it without giving up, and to answer false teaching without quarrelling.
Historical context
Three working pictures carry this chapter, and every hearer knew all three. A Roman soldier on service was legally barred from ordinary business and trade; his whole life belonged to the man who enlisted him.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
An athlete at the Greek games swore an oath that he had trained for ten months under the rules, and a competitor who cheated was flogged and disqualified in public. The crown was a wreath of leaves, worth nothing and worth everything.
A farmer worked land he often did not own, and the custom was that the man who did the labor took the first share of the crop. All three pictures say the same thing: reward follows the rules and the sweat, not the wish.
The great-house picture at the end is domestic. A wealthy household kept gold and silver vessels for guests and honored occasions, and rough clay and wooden ones for slops and daily chores. The vessels were sorted by what they had been used for.
Significance
Timothy was in a church full of arguing men, and this chapter tells him to stop feeding it, no word battles, no foolish speculations, because they only spread. That was hard advice for a man whose critics were loud.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
The named error, that the resurrection had already happened, tells us what the arguments were doing to people. Two men had been persuaded that the body no longer mattered, and their teaching was eating outward like gangrene.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Soldier, Athlete, Farmer: Endure
2 Timothy 2:1-2
be strong in the grace: Verse 2 sets out the relay, entrust these to faithful men who will be qualified to teach others as well. Four generations run from Paul to Timothy to faithful men to their hearers.
2 Timothy 2:1
“Thou therefore - In view of the fact stated in the previous chapter, that many had turned away from the apostle, and had forsaken the paths of truth. Be strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus; - compare the notes at Eph 6:10. The meaning is, Be strong, relying on the grace which the Lord Jesus only can impart.”
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
2 Timothy 2:1
“Being strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus may be understood in opposition to the weakness of grace. Where there is the truth of grace there must be a labouring after the strength of grace. As our trials increase, we have need to grow stronger and stronger in that which is good; our faith stronger, our resolution stronger, our love to God and Christ stronger.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
faithful men: Paul hands on what he taught in public, before many witnesses, as Theophylact stresses, and nothing held back for a few. Matthew Henry names two marks: faithfulness and the ability to teach. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown link the word entrust to the deposit of 1:14.
2 Timothy 2:2
“Two things he must have an eye to in ordaining ministers:--Their fidelity or integrity ("Commit them to faithful men, who will sincerely aim at the glory of God, the honour of Christ, the welfare of souls, and the advancement of the kingdom of the Redeemer among men"), and also their ministerial ability.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Timothy 2:3-4
Join me in suffering, like a good soldier: The soldier opens three pictures from ordinary life, soldier, athlete, and farmer, each teaching Timothy about ministry. A soldier refrains from entangling himself in civilian affairs, in order to please the one who enlisted him.
2 Timothy 2:3
“Thou therefore endure hardness,.... "Or afflictions"; as in 2Ti 4:5. The same word is used there as here, and properly signifies, "suffer evil"; and means the evil of afflictions, as persecutions of every kind, loss of name and goods, scourging, imprisonment, and death itself, for the sake of Christ and the Gospel: as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
2 more voices on this verse
2 Timothy 2:3
“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ - Such hardships as a soldier is called to endure. The apostle supposes that a minister of the gospel might be called to endure hardships, and that it is reasonable that he should be as ready to do it as a soldier is. On the hardships which he endured himself, see the notes at 2Co 11:23-29. Soldiers often endure great privations.”
2 Timothy 2:3
“All Christians, but especially ministers, are soldiers of Jesus Christ; they fight under his banner, in his cause, and against his enemies, for he is the captain of our salvation, Heb. ii.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
civilian affairs: John Wesley and Adam Clarke point to Roman practice, where a soldier on service took up no civil trade. Yet Paul made tents himself, as Acts 18:3 records. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown conclude that the verse forbids only the work that entangles a man and crowds out his service.
2 Timothy 2:4
“No man that warreth,.... Who is a soldier, and gives himself up to military service, in a literal sense: the Vulgate Latin version, without any authority, adds, "to God"; as if the apostle was speaking of a spiritual warfare; whereas he is illustrating a spiritual warfare by a corporeal one; and observes, that no one, that is in a military state, entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; with civil affairs, in distinction from military ones.”
4 more voices on this verse
2 Timothy 2:4
“Where is Christ, the King? In heaven, to be sure. In this direction it behooves you, soldier of Christ, to direct your course. Forget all earthly delights. A soldier does not build a house. He does not aspire to the possession of lands. He does not concern himself with devious, coin-purveying trade.… The soldier enjoys a sustenance provided by the king. He need not furnish his own nor vex himself in this regard.”
Basil of Caesarea · written before 379 · An Introduction to the Ascetical Lifepatristic
2 Timothy 2:4
“Paul himself worked at tent-making (Ac 18:3). Therefore what is prohibited here is, not all other save religious occupation, but the becoming entangled, or over-engrossed therewith.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 Timothy 2:4
“That - Minding war only, he may please his captain. In this and the next verse there is a plain allusion to the Roman law of arms, and to that of the Grecian games. According to the former, no soldier was to engage in any civil employment; according to the latter, none could be crowned as conqueror, who did not keep strictly to the rules of the game.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 Timothy 2:4
“No man that warreth entangleth, etc. - It is well remarked by Grotius, on this passage, that the legionary soldiers among the Romans were not permitted to engage in husbandry, merchandise, mechanical employments, or any thing that might be inconsistent with their calling. Many canons, at different times, have been made to prevent ecclesiastics from intermeddling with secular employments. The who will preach the Gospel thoroughly, and wishes to give full proof of his ministry, had need to have no other work. He should be wholly in this thing, that his profiting may appear unto all.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Timothy 2:5-6
competes according to the rules: The athlete does not receive the crown unless he competes according to the rules, a warning against shortcuts. It returns at 4:8, where the crown of righteousness follows a race finished.
2 Timothy 2:5
“And if a man also strive for masteries - As in the Grecian games. See this favorite illustration of Paul explained in the notes at 1Co 9:24 ff. Yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully - In conformity with the rules of the games. See Grotius, in loc.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Timothy 2:5
“What is the world but a sort of arena of continual strife? Wherefore also in the Apocalypse the Lord says, "To him that overcometh will I give a crown of life;" and Paul says, "I have fought a good fight;" and in another place, "No man is crowned except he strive lawfully." He who institutes this combat is Almighty God.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Letter 43patristic
hardworking farmer: The farmer is the third picture and the one closest to a teacher, as Theophylact observes. Labour comes first and fruit after, as Matthew Henry reads it. Bonaventure applies it to the preacher, who must first be fed by the word he gives to others.
2 Timothy 2:6
“The husbandman that laboureth - That is: The husbandman must first till his ground before he can expect a crop; and he must till it according to the proper rules of agriculture, else he cannot have a crop. The combatant must fight and conquer, and fight according to the laws of the agones, before he can be crowned; so the Christian minister must labor in the spiritual vineyard, and labor too under the eye and according to the direction of his Master, before he can expect that crown of righteousness that fadeth not away.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Consider what I am saying: Paul leaves the application of the three pictures to Timothy, Consider what I am saying. The reason, the Lord will give you insight into all things, makes insight into Scripture and ministry a gift sought from God. The verse closes the three pictures and opens the gospel summary that follows.
2 Timothy 2:7
“Consider what I say; - see the notes at 1Ti 4:15. The sense is “Think of the condition of the soldier, and the principles on which he is enlisted; think of the aspirant for the crown in the Grecian games; think of the farmer, patiently toiling in the prospect of the distant harvest; and then go to your work with a similar spirit.” These things are worth attention.”
2 Timothy 2:8-9
raised from the dead: Paul reduces the gospel to two facts, raised from the dead and descended from David, the resurrection and the promised King's descent held together. Verse 9 sets the paradox: Paul is chained like a criminal, yet the word of God cannot be chained.
2 Timothy 2:8
“Remember that Jesus Christ - The apostle seems to say: Whatever tribulations or deaths may befall us, let us remember that Jesus Christ, who was slain by the Jews, rose again from the dead, and his resurrection is the proof and pledge of ours. We also shall rise again to a life of glory and blessedness. According to my Gospel - The false teaching of Hymeneus and Philetus stated that the resurrection was past already. Paul preached the resurrection from the dead; and founded his doctrine on the resurrection and promise of Christ.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
2 Timothy 2:8
“With a nature issuing from such fountal sources, and an order gradually descending to the birth of Christ, what else have we here described than the very flesh of Abraham and of David conveying itself down, step after step, to the very virgin, and at last introducing Christ,-nay, producing Christ Himself of the virgin?”
Tertullian · written before 220 · On the Flesh of Christpatristic
2 Timothy 2:8
“Rather as Greek, "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead." Remember Christ risen, so as to follow Him. As He was raised after death, so if thou wouldest share His risen "life," thou must now share His "death" (2Ti 2:11). The Greek perfect passive participle, implies a permanent character acquired by Jesus as the risen Saviour, and our permanent interest in Him as such.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the word of God cannot be chained!: John Gill recalls the charges laid against Paul at Acts 24:5, a troublemaker and a ringleader of a sect. John Chrysostom answers with a picture: a sunbeam cannot be bound or shut in a house, and neither can preaching. The teacher sat in prison while his teaching flew abroad.
2 Timothy 2:9
“Wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer,.... As a malefactor, as if guilty of some capital crime; an enemy to the law of Moses, a pestilent fellow, a mover of sedition everywhere, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, Act 24:5. The Ethiopic version renders it, "as a thief".”
for the sake of the elect: Paul endures all things for the sake of the elect, so that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The elect here are those God will yet call through the word that verse 9 declares unchained.
2 Timothy 2:10
“For the elect’s sake - For the sake of the Gentiles, elected by God’s goodness to enjoy every privilege formerly possessed by the Jews, and, in addition to these, all the blessings of the Gospel; the salvation of Christ here, and eternal glory hereafter.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Timothy 2:11-13
This is a trustworthy saying: The trustworthy saying runs four lines, and the first two join dying and enduring with Christ to living and reigning with Him. The third, if we deny Him, He will also deny us, sets the Lord's warning at Matthew 10:33 in creed form.
2 Timothy 2:11
“The apostle says that even we shall reign together with Christ in the kingdom of Christ. "If we are dead with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign with him." But we by adoption, he by power; we live by grace, he by nature.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · On the Holy Spirit 3.20.157patristic
1 more voice on this verse
2 Timothy 2:11
“It is a faithful saying - Or, rather, that which he was about to say was worthy of entire credence and profound attention; see the notes at 1Ti 1:15. The object is to encourage Timothy to bear trials by the hope of salvation. For if we be dead with him - see the notes at Rom 6:8. We shall also live with him - This was a sort of maxim, or a settled point, which is often referred to in the Bible; see the Rom 6:3-5 notes; Joh 11:25 note; 1Th 4:14 note.”
we will also reign with Him: The second line joins endurance now to reigning later. Albert Barnes reads it as the members treated as the Head is treated, and points to Romans 8:17. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown add that reigning with Christ is more than being saved, citing Romans 5:17.
2 Timothy 2:12
“If we suffer, we shall also reign with him - The meaning is, that the members will be treated as the Head is. We become united with him by faith, and, if we share his treatment on earth, we shall share his triumphs in heaven; see the notes at Rom 8:17. If we deny him, he also will deny us; - see the notes at Mat 10:32-33.”
He remains faithful: Barnes rules out one reading, that the line promises salvation to those who go on in sin, since verse 12 has just said the opposite. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown hold both edges together, comfort for believers and a warning to those who fall away. His faithfulness holds whatever we do.
2 Timothy 2:13
“If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful - This cannot mean that, if we live in sin, he will certainly save us, as if he had made any promise to the elect, or formed any purpose that he would save them; whatever might be their conduct; because: (1) He had just said that if we deny him he will deny us; and, (2) There is no such promise in the Bible, and no such purpose has been formed.”
4 more voices on this verse
2 Timothy 2:13
“If we believe not - That is, though some believe not, God will make good all his promises to them that do believe. He cannot deny himself - His word cannot fail.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 Timothy 2:13
“Now the so-called gods of the Greeks, unworthy of the name, are faithful neither in their essence nor in their promises. They do not abide everywhere. The local deities come to nought in the course of time and undergo a natural dissolution.… But the God of all, being one really and indeed and true, is faithful, who is ever the same.… He is ever the same and unchanging, deceiving neither in his essence nor in his promise.”
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · Discourses Against the Arians 2.10patristic
2 Timothy 2:13
“If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful,.... The Syriac and Ethiopic versions read, "if we believe not him".”
2 Timothy 2:13
“THIS is one of the five faithful sayings which the Apostle mentions. All those faithful sayings are weighty and important. I suppose that they may have come into the possession of the Church by having been uttered by some of those Prophets who were raised up to cherish the infancy of the Church, such as Agabus and the daughters of Philip and others. These may have been some of their more remarkable sayings which laid hold upon the minds of good men; were quoted by the preachers and teachers and so became current throughout the Church.”
Handle the Word Straight; God's Foundation Stands
avoid quarreling over words: Timothy is to remind the believers of these things, the gospel summary just given, charging them before God to avoid quarreling over words. Such quarrels are disputes over terms rather than substance, bring no profit and end by leading the listeners to ruin.
2 Timothy 2:14
“Of these things put them in remembrance,.... Meaning either his hearers, or those to whom he was to commit the things he had heard of the apostle, and who must expect to suffer afflictions, and endure hardships, for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel; wherefore to remind them of the above sayings might be of use and comfort to them. This clause is wanting in the Arabic version.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Timothy 2:14
“That they strive not about words - Words, not things, have been a most fruitful source of contention in the Christian world; and among religious people, the principal cause of animosity has arisen from the different manner of apprehending the same term, while, in essence, both meant the same thing. All preachers and divines should be very careful, both in speaking and writing, to explain the terms they use, and never employ them in any sense but that in which they have explained them.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
accurately handles the word of truth: The standard is God's approval rather than the hearers' applause. The Greek behind accurately handles means to cut a straight line, a road builder's or a plowman's word. It is applied to handling Scripture without twisting it.
2 Timothy 2:15
“TIMOTHY was to divide rightly the Word of God. Every Christian minister must do this if he would make full proof of his ministry and if he would be clear of the blood of his hearers at the Last Great Day. Of the whole 20 years of my printed sermons, I can honestly say that this has been my aim—rightly to divide the Word of Truth. Wherein I have succeeded, I magnify the name of the Lord. In which I have failed I lament my faultiness.”
4 more voices on this verse
2 Timothy 2:15
But it is God's work to dwell invisibly by his spirit and by the Spirit of Christ in those whom he judges it right to dwell. Whereas it is our task, since we try to confirm faith by arguments and treatises, to do all in our power that we may be called "workmen who need not to be ashamed, handling rightly the word of truth."
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Against Celsus 5.1patristic
2 Timothy 2:15
“A workman that needeth not to be ashamed - Either of unfaithfulness or unskilfulness. Rightly dividing the word of truth - Duly explaining and applying the whole scripture, so as to give each hearer his due portion. But they that give one part of the gospel to all (the promises and comforts to unawakened, hardened, scoffing men) have real need to be ashamed.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 Timothy 2:15
“Study to show thyself approved unto God - Give diligence 2Pe 2:10, or make an effort so to discharge the duties of the ministerial office as to meet the divine approbation. The object of the ministry is not to please men. Such doctrines should be preached, and such plans formed, and such a manner of life pursued, as God will approve. To do this demands study or care - for there are many temptations to the opposite course; there are many things the tendency of which is to lead a minister to seek popular favor rather than the divine approval.”
2 Timothy 2:15
“Study--Greek, "Be earnest," or "diligent." to show--Greek, "present," as in Ro 12:1. thyself--as distinguished from those whom Timothy was to charge (2Ti 2:14). approved--tested by trial: opposed to "reprobate" (Tit 1:16). workman--alluding to Mt 20:1, &c. not to be ashamed--by his work not being "approved" (Php 1:20).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 Timothy 2:16-18
irreverent, empty chatter: Such talk will spread like gangrene, a medical word for flesh eaten away. Hymenaeus and Philetus carry one such teaching, that the resurrection has already occurred. It folds the future bodily hope into a spiritual experience already complete.
2 Timothy 2:16
“They did not deny the resurrection (for that had been boldly and avowedly to confront the word of Christ), but they put a corrupt interpretation upon that true doctrine, saying that the resurrection was past already, that what Christ spoke concerning the resurrection was to be understood mystically and by way of allegory, that it must be meant of a spiritual resurrection only.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
spread like gangrene: Gangrene is the death of flesh that spreads over the whole body unless it is stopped, as Albert Barnes explains the Greek word. John Gill draws the lesson that such talk must be dealt with quickly. Hymenaeus appears also at 1 Timothy 1:20.
2 Timothy 2:17
“And what they now write proceeds not from any regard for the truth, as I said before, but rather they do it as in mockery and by an artifice, for the purpose of deceiving men; that by sending about their letters they may engage the ears of the people to listen to these notions, and so put off the time when they will be brought to trial; and that by concealing their impiety from observation, they may have room to extend their heresy, which, `like a gangrene,' eats its way everywhere.”
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · To the Bishops of Egypt 1.5patristic
2 more voices on this verse
2 Timothy 2:17
“And their word will eat as doth a cancer,.... Or "gangrene", which gnaws and feeds upon the flesh, inflames and mortifies as it goes, and spreads swiftly, and endangers the whole body; and is therefore to be speedily taken notice of, and stopped. It is better rendered "gangrene", as in the marginal reading, than "cancer". "The word "gangrene" is Greek (g), and is derived by some authors from the Paphlagonian "gangra", a goat; it being the character of a goat to browse the grass all around without shifting.”
2 Timothy 2:17
“And their word - The word, or the discourses of those who love vain and idle disputations. Will eat as doth a canker - Margin, “gangrene.” This word - γάγγραινα gangraina - occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It is derived from γραιω graiō, γραινω grainō, to devour, corrode,” and means “gangrene” or “mortification” - the death of a part, spreading, unless arrested, by degrees over the whole body. The words rendered “will eat,” mean “will have nutriment;” that is, will spread over and consume the healthful parts.”
the resurrection has already occurred: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown think these men twisted Paul's words on rising with Christ in baptism (Romans 6:4, Colossians 2:12) into a merely spiritual raising. Ambrosiaster and Theodoret report another form, that the resurrection happens as children are born. Either way the bodily hope was gone.
2 Timothy 2:18
“Who concerning the truth have erred - They had the truth, but erred or wandered from it, saying the resurrection was already past, and thus denying the resurrection of the body, and, by consequence, future rewards and punishments; and this necessarily sapped the foundation of all religion: and thus the gangrene had, in reference to their unhappy votaries, a rapid and unchecked operation.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
2 Timothy 2:18
“They "wrested" (2Pe 3:16) Paul's own words (Ro 6:4; Col 2:12) "to their own destruction," as though the resurrection was merely the spiritual raising of souls from the death of sin. Compare 1Co 15:12, where he shows all our hopes of future glory rest on the literal reality of the resurrection.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
God’s firm foundation stands: Against Hymenaeus and Philetus, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing a seal in two halves. The Lord knows those who are His names God's knowledge of His people. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity answers profession with a holy life.
2 Timothy 2:19
“But the foundation of God - His truth and faithfulness. Standeth fast - Can never be overthrown; being as it were sealed with a seal, which has an inscription on each side: on the one, The Lord knoweth those that are his; on the other, Let every one who nameth the name of the Lord, as his Lord, depart from iniquity. Indeed, they only are his who depart from iniquity.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
2 Timothy 2:19
“He cannot be honored with the name Christian, who dishonors by iniquity, Christ, the Author of the name. Blandina's refreshment amidst her tortures was to say, "I am a Christian, and with us Christians no evil is done" [EUSEBIUS, Ecclesiastical History, 5.1]. Apostasy from the faith is sure soon to be followed by indulgence in iniquity.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Cross references
2 Timothy 2:19
A Vessel Fit for the Master's Use
2 Timothy 2:20-21
vessels of gold and silver: A large house holds vessels of gold and silver and also of wood and clay, a picture of the mixed visible church. Verse 21 makes it a charge: if anyone cleanses himself of what is unfit, he will be a vessel for honor.
2 Timothy 2:20
“But in a great house - Such as the church, it is not strange that there are not only vessels of gold and silver, designed for honourable uses, but also of wood and of earth - For less honourable purposes. Yet a vessel even of gold may be put to the vilest use, though it was not the design of him that made it.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
2 Timothy 2:20
“But in a great house - Here the apostle carries on the allusion introduced in the preceding verse. As the foundation of God refers to God’s building, i.e. the whole system of Christianity, so here the great house is to be understood of the same; and the different kinds of vessels mean the different teachers, as well as the different kinds of members.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Timothy 2:20
“ONE of the most serious calamities which can befall a Church is to have her own ministers teaching heresy. Yet this is no new thing—it has happened from the beginning. Paul and Peter and James and John, in their Epistles, had to speak of seducers in the Churches, even in those primitive days, and ever since then there have arisen in the very midst of the House of God those who have subverted the faith of many and led them away from the fundamental Truths of God into errors of their own inventing.”
a vessel for honor: The verse puts the change within the vessel's reach. Theophylact draws from it that being gold or clay turns on the will, against the Manichaeans who made it a matter of nature. John Damascene draws the other side: the one who refuses the cleansing stays a vessel for common use.
2 Timothy 2:21
“The infinite God, remaining changeless, assumed flesh and fought with death, freeing us from suffering by his own suffering!… He himself has bound the strong man and plundered his goods—that is, us, who had been abased in every manner of evil—and made us vessels fit for the Master's use, the use of our free will being made ready for any good work.”
Basil of Caesarea · written before 379 · On the Holy Spirit 8.18patristic
1 more voice on this verse
2 Timothy 2:21
“If a man . . . purge himself from these--The Greek expresses "If one (for example, thou, Timothy) purify himself (so as to separate) from among these" (vessels unto dishonor). sanctified--set apart as wholly consecrated to the Lord. and meet--Some oldest manuscripts omit "and." the master's--the Lord's.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Flee from youthful passions: The command pairs flight and pursuit, Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. A young minister's temptations are answered by chasing something better in their place.
2 Timothy 2:22
“Flee also youthful lusts - Not only all irregular and sensual desires, but pride, ambition, and, above all, the lust of power, to which most men will sacrifice all other propensities, their ease, pleasure, health, etc. This is the most bewitching passion in the human heart. Both in Church and state it is ruinous; but particularly so in the former. Timothy was now between thirty and forty years of age, the very age in which ambition and the love of power most generally prevail.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
2 Timothy 2:22
“Flee also youthful lusts,.... Meaning not lusts of uncleanness, lasciviousness, and filthiness; nor any of those follies and vanities which the youthful age usually lusts and desires after, to which Timothy was not inclined; but such lusts as are apt to prevail with young ministers of the Gospel, such as vain glory, popular applause, seeking to have the pre-eminence, contentions with, and contempt of others, and the like.”
2 Timothy 2:23-26
foolish and ignorant speculation: The servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing. The goal is restoration, that God may grant them repentance, so that they escape the snare of the devil.
2 Timothy 2:23
“But foolish and unlearned questions avoid; - see the notes at 2Ti 2:16; compare the notes at 1Ti 1:4, 1Ti 1:6; 1Ti 4:7. The word “unlearned,” here, means “trifling; that which does not tend to edification; stupid.” The Greeks and the Hebrews were greatly given to controversies of various kinds, and many of the questions discussed pertained to points which could not be settled, or which, if settled, were of no importance. Such has been the character of no small part of the disputes which have agitated the world.”
must not be quarrelsome: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown set this beside Jude 3: the servant contends for the faith without being contentious. Albert Barnes allows calm debate held in the right spirit. Cyprian cites the verse against those who would rather defend their own error than accept a truth another holds.
2 Timothy 2:24
“And the servant of the Lord - Referring here primarily to the Christian minister, but applicable to all Christians; for all profess to be the servants of the Lord. Must not strive - He may calmly inquire after truth; he may discuss points of morals, or theology, if he will do it with a proper spirit; he may “contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints” Jud 1:3; but he may not do that which is here mentioned as strife.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Timothy 2:24
“But it happens, by a love of presumption and of obstinacy, that one would rather maintain his own evil and false position, than agree in the right and true which belongs to another. Looking forward to which, the blessed Apostle Paul writes to Timothy, and warns him that a bishop must not be "litigious, nor contentious, but gentle and teachable." Now he is teachable who is meek and gentle to the patience of learning.”
Cyprian · written before 258 · Epistle LXXIIIpatristic
God may grant them repentance: Repentance is named as God's gift, and Augustine pressed that point against Pelagius. So gentle teaching serves a hope that rests on God. Matthew Henry notes that Paul prescribes instruction for those in error, and he sets it against fire and faggot.
2 Timothy 2:25
“In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves,.... To the truth; resist it and deny it; or contradict some other tenets and principles of theirs, or the Scriptures, which they themselves allowed to be the word of God, and the rule of faith and practice, and so are self-convinced and self-condemned. These are to be instructed, being ignorant, and in a tender and gentle manner, though very perverse and obstinate.”
2 more voices on this verse
2 Timothy 2:25
“In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves - That is, those who embrace error, and array themselves against the truth. We are not to become angry with such persons, and denounce them at once as heretics. We are not to hold them up to public reproach and scorn; but we are to set about the business of patiently “instructing them.” Their grand difficulty, it is supposed in this direction, is, that they are ignorant of the truth. Our business with them is, “calmly to show them what the truth is.” If they are angry, we are not to be.”
2 Timothy 2:25
“The superior should not administer a rebuke to wrongdoers when his own passions are aroused. By admonishing a brother with anger and indignation, he does not free him from his faults but involves himself in the error.… Nor should he become vehemently angry even when he himself is treated with contempt. When he sees such treatment inflicted upon another, he should again show himself indulgent toward the sinner; but more than that, he ought, in the latter case, to manifest displeasure at the wrong done.”
Basil of Caesarea · written before 379 · The Long Rules, Q.50.Rpatristic
come to their senses: Albert Barnes explains the rare word as waking sober after drunkenness, as captives come back to a right mind. The last clause is hard to construe. Adam Clarke sets out several English renderings, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the Greek for taken captive means caught alive.
2 Timothy 2:26
“However, different Greek pronouns stand for "him" and "his"; and the Greek for "taken captive" means not "captured for destruction," but "for being saved alive," as in Lu 5:10, "Thou shalt catch men to save them unto life"; also there is no article before the Greek participle, which the English Version "who are taken captive," would require.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
2 Timothy 2:26
“And that they may recover themselves - The construction of this verse is extremely difficult, though the sense given by our translation is plain enough. I shall set down the original, and the principal English translations: - Και ανανηψωσιν εκ της του διαβολου παγιδος, εζωγρημενοι ὑπ’ αυτου εις εκεινου θελημα. And thei rise agein fro snaaris of the debyl, of whome thei ben holde captyffis at his wille. - Wiclif. First translation into English, 1378. And to turne agayne from the snare of devell, which are holden in prison of him at his will. - Coverdale.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
How this psalm is built
The form: A charge in two halves: endurance taught through the soldier, the athlete and the farmer and sealed by a faithful saying in verses 1 to 13, then the workman who handles the word rightly in verses 14 to 26, as page classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Three workers | Verses 3 to 6 set three pictures side by side: a soldier who keeps clear of civilian affairs, a competitor who keeps the rules, and a hardworking farmer who eats first from the crop. Verse 7 then tells Timothy to consider what is said. John Wesley reads the soldier and the competitor against the Roman law of arms and the rules of the Greek games.John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on 2 Timothy 2:4. | 2 Timothy 2:3, 2 Timothy 2:4, 2 Timothy 2:5, 2 Timothy 2:6 |
| The faithful saying in four lines | Verses 11 to 13 give four lines, each opening with if we in the Berean text. Died is answered by live, endure by reign, and deny by deny. The fourth line breaks the pattern: if we are faithless, He remains faithful. Charles Spurgeon counts it among the five faithful sayings of the Pastoral letters.Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon 1453, on 2 Timothy 2:13. | 2 Timothy 2:11, 2 Timothy 2:12, 2 Timothy 2:13 |
| Vessels in a large house | Verse 20 contrasts vessels of gold and silver with vessels of wood and clay, some for honourable use and some for common use. Verse 21 turns the picture into a call, since whoever cleanses himself becomes a vessel for honour. Basil of Caesarea reads it through the work of Christ, who makes us vessels fit for the Master's use, with our free will made ready for good work.Basil of Caesarea, On the Holy Spirit 8.18. | 2 Timothy 2:20, 2 Timothy 2:21 |
How the chapter is built
5 more paragraphs on the patterns
The chapter runs in two halves. Verses 1 to 13 call Timothy to be strong and endure, with the chain of teachers in verse 2, the three workers in verses 3 to 6, the gospel in verse 8 and the faithful saying in verses 11 to 13. Verses 14 to 26 turn to the workman who handles the word rightly, with the false teachers in verses 16 to 18, the firm foundation in verse 19 and the household vessels in verses 20 and 21. The chapter closes on the Lord's servant, gentle and able to teach.
The debated reading: if we are faithless
Verse 13 is read two ways. John Wesley reads it as God keeping His promises to those who believe, whatever others do (Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on 2 Timothy 2:13). Albert Barnes holds that the line promises nothing to those who go on in sin, since verse 12 has just said the opposite (Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on 2 Timothy 2:13). Jamieson, Fausset and Brown hear both comfort for believers and a warning to those who fall away (Commentary Critical and Explanatory, on 2 Timothy 2:13). The page states each reading with its holder and settles none.
The debated reading: whose will in verse 26
The last clause of the chapter is hard to construe, because different Greek pronouns stand for him and his. Adam Clarke sets out the English renderings from Wycliffe onward (Commentary on the Bible, on 2 Timothy 2:26). Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the Greek for taken captive means caught alive (Commentary Critical and Explanatory, on 2 Timothy 2:26).
Keep studying
Studies12
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, The Pastoral Epistles.
The form and classifications
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on 2 Timothy 2:6; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon 1453, on 2 Timothy 2:13 and This site's 2 Timothy book page, src/components/book/guides/2-timothy/Book2TimothyGuide.tsx, the CHARGES table, the entry for chapter 2, "Endure hardship as a good soldier", 2:1 to 13.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND LETTER TO TIMOTHY; Augustine of Hippo, Letters 186.9.33; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17; Cyprian, Epistle LXXIII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily Concerning the Statues 16; John Damascene, The Orthodox Faith 4.19; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, INTERPRETATION OF THE SECOND LETTER TO TIMOTHY and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 2 Timothy.