2 Timothy 2:13
in 2 Timothy 2if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
if we are faithless, he abideth faithful; for he cannot deny himself.
KJV
If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
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This verse in 2 Timothy 2
Commentary
21 notes on this verseA commentator
Athanasius of Alexandria296–373
Discourses Against the Arians 2.10 · Written before 373.
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.
This site's exposition
This is a trustworthy saying
on 2 Timothy 2:11-13
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.
This site's exposition
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.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
The only thing the Almighty cannot do is what he does not will, in case anybody should consider it was very rash of me to say that the Almighty "cannot" do something. The blessed apostle said it too, "If we do not believe, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself." But it is because he does not wish to that he cannot do it, because he cannot even have the will to. Justice, after all, cannot have the will to do what is unjust, or wisdom will what is foolish, or truth will what is false.
A commentator
Augustine of HippoA Sermon to Catechumens on the Creed 1.2 · Written before 430.
proposed
God is all-powerful, and, since he is all-powerful, he cannot die, he cannot be deceived, he cannot lie, and, as the apostle says, "he cannot disown himself." Very much he cannot do, yet he is all-powerful. It is because he cannot do these things for the very reason that he is all-powerful. If he could die, he would not be all-powerful. If he could lie, if he could be deceived, if he could deceive, if it were possible for him to do an injustice, he would not be omnipotent. If it were in him to do any of this, such acts would not be worthy of the Almighty. Absolutely omnipotent, our Father cannot sin.
What then meaneth, "Can do nothing of Himself"? That He can do nothing in opposition to the Father, nothing alien from, nothing strange to Him, which is especially the assertion of One declaring an Equality and entire agreement. But wherefore said He not, that "He doeth nothing contrary," instead of, "He cannot do"? It was that from this again He might show the invariableness and exactness of the Equality, for the expression imputes not weakness to Him, but even shows His great power; since in another place Paul saith of the Father, "That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie" (Heb. vi. 18): and again, "If we deny Him - He abideth faithful," for "He cannot deny Himself." (2 Tim. ii. 12, 2 Tim. ii. 13.) And in truth this expression, "impossible," is not declaratory of weakness, but power, power unspeakable. For what He saith is of this kind, that "that Essence admitteth not such things as these." For just as when we also say, "it is impossible for God to do wrong," we do not impute to Him any weakness, but confess in Him an unutterable power; so when He also saith, "I can of Mine own Self do nothing," His meaning is, that "it is impossible, nature admits not, that I should do anything contrary to the Father."
And to show this, he has added, "If we believe not, He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself": that is, if we believe not that He rose again, He is not injured by it. He is faithful and unshaken, whether we say so or not. If then He is not at all injured by our denying Him, it is for nothing else than for our benefit that He desires our confession. For He abideth the same, whether we deny Him or not. He cannot deny Himself, that is, His own Being. We may say that He is not; though such is not the fact. It is not in His nature, it is not possible for Him not to be, that is, to go into nonentity. His subsistence always abides, always is. Let us not therefore be so affected, as if we could gratify or could injure Him. But lest any one should think that Timothy needed this advice...
A commentator
Philoxenus of Mabbug13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 2 -- On Faith · Written before 523.
proposed
Faith is that which is not a name only, nor is it even voice or speech; but it is that which sheweth itself by the true examination of the soul, and by the sure and certain stability of the thoughts, and it denieth not itself, …
13 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
If we are faithless, he remains faithful. He cannot deny himself. If we are faithless, he remains faithful. If we are faithless concerning that he rose from the dead, or that he is God, he remains faithful, that is, true. For having said that he …
The Medieval Church4 voices
Since the first principle, by the very fact that it is first, is supreme, whatever it has it has in the highest degree; therefore it is necessary that it be most righteous. Since therefore in rendering retribution it acts according to righteousness—just as it cannot …
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
From the observance of the law a man becomes reverent, faithful, devout, pious, meek, chaste, generous, truthful, content with his own possessions — that is, liberal in heart and undefiled in mind. On the contrary, from the transgression of the law a man becomes an …
If we believe not, if we expel faith from our hearts, he continues faithful, i.e., he keeps his own faith; hence a believer remains in his faith, because faith is nothing less than partaking of or clinging to the truth. But he is the truth …
If we do not believe, He suffers no harm from this; He is true. He is unchangeable, whether we deny Him or do not deny Him. That is, He cannot not exist. His nature is not such that He could turn into non-existence. He exists …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful,.... The Syriac and Ethiopic versions read, "if we believe not him".
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.
If we be false to him, he will be faithful to his threatenings: he cannot deny himself, cannot recede from any word that he hath spoken, for he is yea, and amen, the faithful witness. Observe, (1.) Our being dead with Christ precedes our living with him, and is connected with it: the one is in order to the other; so our suffering for him is the way to reign with him.
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.
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.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
This impossibility is not one of infirmity, but of infinite power and majesty. Also, indirectly, comfort is suggested to believers, that He is faithful to His promises to them; at the same time that apostates are shaken out of their self-deceiving fancy, that because they change, Christ similarly may change. A warning to Timothy to be steadfast in the faith.
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. Such golden sayings were minted into proverbs and passed from hand to hand, enriching all who received them. To the saints they became "familiar in their mouths as household words" and were specially named faithful or true sayings. No doubt the Apostle Paul gave his endorsement to many of these holy proverbs, but five of them he has encased in the amber of Inspiration and handed down for our special note. Perhaps it may interest you to notice them as they occur. The first one, probably the best one, is in the First Epistle of Timothy, first chapter, and the 15th verse, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." I can suppose that the good news was frequently conveyed by humble-minded Christians to the outside world in that short and compact form—"Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners,''" so that it was commonly known to be a saying among Christians. It was the way in which those who could not preach a sermon and, perhaps, could scarcely compose a sentence for themselves, learned the pith and marrow of the Gospel and had it in a concise and simple form for instructing others.
If we believe not - Should we deny the faith and apostatize, he is the same, as true to his threatenings as to his promises; he cannot deny - act contrary to, himself.
The words behind it
10 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| εἰ | ei | if | G1487 → | 508 times |
| ἀπιστοῦμεν, | apistoumen | we are faithless, | G569 → | |
| ἐκεῖνος | ekeinos | He | G1565 → | 260 times |
| πιστὸς | pistos | faithful | G4103 → | 67 times |
| μένει· | menei | remains; | G3306 → | 118 times |
| ἀρνήσασθαι | arnesasthai | to deny | G720 → | 33 times |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| ἑαυτὸν | he'auton | Himself | G1438 → | 322 times |
| οὐ | ou | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| δύναται.¶ | dunatai | He is able. | G1410 → | 207 times |
εἰif
eiG1487 →508 times
ἀπιστοῦμεν,we are faithless,
apistoumenG569 →
ἐκεῖνοςHe
ekeinosG1565 →260 times
πιστὸςfaithful
pistosG4103 →67 times
μένει·remains;
meneiG3306 →118 times
ἀρνήσασθαιto deny
arnesasthaiG720 →33 times
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
ἑαυτὸνHimself
he'autonG1438 →322 times
οὐnot
ouG3756 →1664 times
δύναται.¶He is able.
dunataiG1410 →207 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Numbers 23:19God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 15:29
Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”
- James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- Malachi 3:6
“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
- Hebrews 6:18
Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
- Titus 1:2
in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
- 1 Samuel 15:29
Through
2 Thessalonians 3:3But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 1:9
God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Timothy 4:18
And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
- 1 Corinthians 1:9
Through
1 Thessalonians 5:24The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.
it leads to
- Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 23:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
About 2 Timothy
This page draws on 18 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Athanasius of Alexandria, Discourses Against the Arians 2.10; Augustine of Hippo, SERMONS 214.4; Augustine of Hippo, A Sermon to Catechumens on the Creed 1.2; Bonaventure, Breviloquium, Part 7; Bonaventure, Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1453: “Eternal Faithfulness Unaffected By Human Unbelief” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on John 38; John Chrysostom, Homily on 2 Timothy 5; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, COMMENTARY ON 2 TIMOTHY; Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 2 -- On Faith; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 2 Timothy and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 2 Timothy.