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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadVernon McGee Thru The Bible: 55 - 2 TIMOTHY
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WRITER: Paul
DATE: A.D. 67
The following is a probable calendar of the events of Paul’s life during his last years:
A.D. 58 Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem.
A.D. 61 His arrival in Rome.
A.D. 61-63 His first Roman imprisonment.
A.D. 64-67 His release. He writes 1 Timothy and Titus, probably from Macedonia.
A.D. 67-68 His arrest and death. He writes 2 Timothy prior to his death in Rome.
KEY VERSES:
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2Ti_2:15)
Preach the word; be diligent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. (2Ti_4:2)
Key words are “ashamed” (2Ti_1:8, 2Ti_1:12) and “endure” (2Ti_2:3).
THEME: Loyalty in days of apostasy.
1. Loyalty in suffering (Chapter 1)
2. Loyalty in service (Chapter 2)
3. Loyalty in apostasy (2Ti_3:1 — 2Ti_4:5)
4. Loyalty of the Lord to His servants in desertion (2Ti_4:6-22)
REMARKS:
Webster’s definition of apostasy is: total desertion of principles of faith. Apostasy is not due to ignorance; it is a heresy. Apostasy is deliberate error; it is intentional departure from the faith. An apostate is one who knows the truth of the gospel (doctrines of the faith).
In 2 Timothy, Paul speaks of the ultimate outcome of gospel preaching. The final fruition will not be the total conversion of mankind, nor will it usher in the Millennium. On the contrary, there will come about an apostasy which will well-nigh blot out “the faith” from the earth. This is in complete harmony with the startling word of Christ, “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luk_18:8). This is not in keeping, of course, with a social gospel which expects to transform the world by tinkering with the social system. These vain optimists have no patience with the doleful words of 2 Timothy. Nevertheless, the cold and hard facts of history and the events of the present hour demonstrate the accuracy of Paul. We are now in the midst of an apostasy which is cut to the pattern of Paul’s words in remarkable detail.
Although the visible church has entered the orbit of awful apostasy, the invisible church is on its way to the epiphany of glory.
SPECIAL FEATURE: “Swan Song” of the Apostle
The deathbed statement of any individual has an importance that is not attached to other remarks. This is what lends significance to 2 Timothy. It is the deathbed communication of Paul; it is his final message. It has a note of sadness that is not detected in his other epistles. Nevertheless, there is the overtone of triumph, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course….” Paul writes his own epitaph in 2Ti_4:6-8. The epistle is very personal — there are twenty-five references to individuals.
OUTLINE:
I. Afflictions of the gospel, Chapter 1
A. Introduction, 2Ti_1:1-7
B. Not ashamed, but a partaker of affliction, 2Ti_1:8-11
C. Not ashamed, but assured, 2Ti_1:12-18
II. Active in service, Chapter 2
A. A son, 2Ti_2:1-2
B. A good soldier, 2Ti_2:3-4
C. An athlete, 2Ti_2:5
D. A farmer, 2Ti_2:6-14
E. A workman, 2Ti_2:15-19
F. A vessel, 2Ti_2:20-23
G. A servant, 2Ti_2:24-26
III. Apostasy coming; authority of the Scriptures, Chapters 2Ti_3:1 — 2Ti_4:5
A. Conditions in the last days, 2Ti_3:1-9
B. Authority of Scriptures in the last days, 2Ti_3:10-17
C. Instructions for the last days, 2Ti_4:1-5
IV. Allegiance to the Lord and of the Lord, 2Ti_4:6-22
A. Deathbed testimony of Paul, 2Ti_4:6-8
B. Last words, 2Ti_4:9-22
(“The Lord stood with me.”)
COMMENT:
I. Afflictions of the gospel, Chapter 1
A. Introduction, 2Ti_1:1-7
2Ti_1:1-2 — See notes on 1Ti_1:1-2.
2Ti_1:3 — This is another name to add to the prayer list of the apostle Paul.
2Ti_1:4 — “Greatly desiring” is longing. Paul had a deep affection for Timothy, his son in the faith.
2Ti_1:5 — Timothy had a godly grandmother, Lois, and a godly mother, Eunice. His father was a Greek, and it is not known whether or not he was in the faith.
2Ti_1:6 — See 1Ti_4:14.
2Ti_1:7 — “Fear” is cowardice. “Power” is strength to overcome in the believer’s life. “Sound mind” is discipline. God does not intend that defeat should be the norm in Christian living.
B. Not ashamed, but a partaker of affliction, 2Ti_1:8-11
2Ti_1:8 — It takes courage to stand for Christ. Paul speaks of himself as a prisoner of Christ in reality — not of the Roman government.
2Ti_1:10 — “Who hath abolished death” is “since He has made of none effect death.” “Immortality” is incorruption.
2Ti_1:11 — Paul was a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher. “Of the Gentiles” does not appear in the better manuscripts.
C. Not ashamed, but assured, 2Ti_1:12-18
2Ti_1:12 — Paul was not ashamed of the gospel (Rom_1:16), and he urges Timothy not to be ashamed of it (2Ti_1:8). “That which I have committed unto him” should be “that which has been committed unto me.” Paul’s salvation and apostleship was a sacred trust that God could keep though He had committed it to Paul.
2Ti_1:13 — “Form” is example or type — content of sound words.
2Ti_1:14 — “Good thing” means honorable trust.
2Ti_1:15 — These two, Phygelus and Hermogenes, probably apostates, were evidently ashamed of Paul.
2Ti_1:16 — Onesiphorus was the opposite (2Ti_1:4:19).
2Ti_1:17 — He was not ashamed of the bonds of Paul.
2Ti_1:18 — Onesiphorus was a special saint who receives special mention in the Word of God.
II. Active in service, Chapter 2
In seven figures of speech, Paul describes the duty and activity of a believer.
A. A son, 2Ti_2:1-2
2Ti_2:1 — As a believer, he is called “my son” — because he is born from above.
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. (1Pe_1:23)
As a son, he is to be strong.
2Ti_2:2 — As a son he is to instruct others so that they in turn may pass the gospel on to others.
B. A good soldier, 2Ti_2:3-4
2Ti_2:3 — “Endure hardness” is to suffer hardness with him.
2Ti_2:4 — This verse has been used as an argument for clerical celibacy. However, Paul’s argument is that the emphasis should not be upon this life but on the life to come.
C. An athlete, 2Ti_2:5
“A man” means an athlete. “Strive” refers to contending in the games.
D. A farmer, 2Ti_2:6-14
2Ti_2:8 — “Remember Jesus Christ of the seed of David, raised from the dead” is more accurate.
2Ti_2:9 — “Evildoer” is a malefactor. While Paul is bound, the gospel is not.
2Ti_2:10 — Paul travailed that others might be born into the family of God.
2Ti_2:11 — “It is a faithful saying” is “faithful is the saying.”
2Ti_2:12 — This is strong language, but it reveals that Paul also believed that faith without works is dead.
2Ti_2:13 — According to the nature of Christ, He cannot accept as true one who is false. That would be tantamount to denying Himself.
2Ti_2:14 — “Strive not about words” is disputes. “To no profit” is, literally, to “nothing useful.” “Subverting” (Greek katastrophe) is a catastrophe for the hearers.
E. A workman, 2Ti_2:15-19
2Ti_2:15 — “To show thyself” is to present thyself. “A workman” evidently means a teacher (see 1Ti_5:18). “Not to be ashamed” — a worker should know the Word. “Rightly dividing” is to handle rightly.
2Ti_2:17 — Here are the names of two more apostates: Hymenaeus and Philetus.
F. A vessel, 2Ti_2:20-23
2Ti_2:20-21 — There are different types of vessels for different uses (see Jeremiah 18). The clay can decide if it will be a vessel of honor. A vessel must be clean to be usable.
2Ti_2:22 — “Follow” is to pursue.
2Ti_2:23 — “Foolish” means stupid. “Unlearned” is ignorant. “Avoid” is better translated as “refuse.”
G. A servant, 2Ti_2:24-26
2Ti_2:24 — The believer is also called a servant (bondslave). “Must not” is a moral obligation, a spiritual necessity. “Strive” — see 2Ti_2:5.
2Ti_2:25 — Attempting to teach those who oppose or are antagonistic to him. “The acknowledging” is more correctly “the knowledge.”
2Ti_2:26 — “Who are taken captive” have been held captive.
III. Apostasy coming; authority of the Scriptures, 2Ti_3:1 — 2Ti_4:5