2 Timothy chapter 02

The Second Letter to Timothy

CHAPTER 2 The Self-Discipline of the Man of God

2:1-13—The Need for Steadfastness and Dedication

Verse 1: "Thou therefore, my son, be strong": The link with the preceding verses in chapter 1 is made by the very strong therefore. In view of the example of men like Onesiphorus on the one hand and all them "of Asia" on the other, and of the precious nature of "the deposit" entrusted to him, Timothy had a clear and unmistakable duty. Perhaps the translation, "it is for you then", comes near the meaning. The power and sharpness of the exhor­tation is, in a manner characteristic of Paul, softened by the term of endearment.  For the expression  "my son",  see notes on 1  Timothy 1:2 and 2 Timothy 1:2.

"Be strong" is literally "be strengthened (continually)", a favourite idea of the Apostle Paul's. Abraham "waxed strong through faith" (Romans 4:20, RV) and the Ephesians were exhorted to "be made powerful in the Lord, and in the power of his might" (Ephesians 6:10, margin).

"In the grace that is in Christ Jesus": It is this phrase, however, which helps us to penetrate more deeply into Paul's meaning. It is not that Timothy is to acquire greater grace, if that were possible, but that through the grace given him in Christ he will have the necessary strength to do the work which is his respon­sibility as a servant of the Lord Jesus. As Paul put it in 1 Timothy 1:12, he that had counted him faithful, putting him into the ministry, also "enabled me", or "gave me the strength", using the same verb as here.

Perhaps the most powerful commentary of all, however, is in 2  Corinthians 12:9. Afflicted by some thorn in the flesh, Paul earnestly besought the Lord to remove it, thinking no doubt that his work would be better, his ministry more effective, if he were free from this burden. Strength and power do not find their source in freedom from pain, from problems or any of the other things to which the flesh is heir: ' 'My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.'' And "the power of Christ" would "rest upon" him (Gk. 'overshadow', like the cloud in the wilderness), if he gloried in his infirmities (2 Corinthians 12:10).

Verse 2: "The things that thou hast heard of me": The Apostle is convinced that his own course is nearly run (4:6-7) and that he will no more take up the task of preaching and teaching in the ecclesias. It is possible that he feels that Timothy could also be threatened with persecution or his ministry be cut short. So the Apostle is ensuring that there is a true "apostolic succession"— not a continuous line of men ordained by the successive trans­mission of a gift of ordination by the laying on of hands, but a passing on of the "deposit" of sound apostolic teaching. Timothy has a sound grasp of the faith: he must not only guard it, be strong in it, but also pass it on.

It is not so much general instruction in the Christian faith which is in question here. "What you have heard of me" is the apostolic Gospel itself, one important element of which is recalled to Timothy's attention in verse 8. There had been numerous at­tempts to vary this Gospel, notably in Galatia, in Corinth and in Ephesus itself. Paul had guarded it jealously: Timothy and his successors must do the same.

The Witness

"Among many witnesses": It has been pointed out that there are six ways of interpreting the original Greek phrase diapollon marturon, according to whether one understands dia to mean 'by', or 'in the presence of, or whether "witnesses" can include such things as the miracles by which the the Lord "confirmed the word with signs following".

Four of these interpretations need not detain us here. It is tempting, however, to link this passage with 1 Timothy 6:12, where Timothy is described as having made his public con-fession "before many witnesses", and assume that Paul had previously instructed him in a similarly public way. This view seems strengthened by the references to the witness "of the prophecies which went before on thee" and "the presbytery", or eldership of Ephesus in 1 Timothy 1:18 and 4:14.

This author's preference, however, is for the view that gives the meaning of dia as 'with the attestation of. Paul is reminding Timothy of the fact that his Gospel could always be checked by the independent testimony of other authorities—the Scripture, the Lord's own disciples, or perhaps Timothy's own mother and grandmother, for example—so that not only the accuracy of his words but the interpretation of his teaching could be verified. For Paul was not preaching the gospel of "experience", although his experiences were all true to the nature of the Gospel message and its outworking in the believer. He proclaimed the historical facts about the Lord, set against the background of the prophetic testimony of the Old Testament, and witnessed personally by "above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep" (1 Corin­thians 15:3-7). Neither Paul nor an angel from heaven, and certainly not the other-teachers of Ephesus, had the right to make the Gospel into anything different (2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:6-9; 1 Timothy 6:3).

"The same commit thou to faithful men": The foregoing is seen to be doubly relevant in the light of this commandment to pass on what had been preserved. The noun for the "good deposit" (pages 201, 221, 245) comes from the same root as the verb "commit". The whole question of "succession" and the preser­vation of the Truth as a sacred trust is based upon a sound Scriptural principle.

God did speak directly to His people in a voice from heaven at Sinai and there were generations who heard the authoritative voice of the prophets, usually calling them to repentance. But throughout most of Israel's long history the spiritual education of successive generations should have been carried on by those who had "these words which I command thee ... in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently (the Hebrew word means 'to whet' or 'keep sharp') unto thy children . . . and when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son . . . the LORD commanded us ... and it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God" (Deuteronomy 6).

It cannot be too strongly emphasised today, especially in view of the growing tendency to attempt to base discipleship upon "an experience" and make the Gospel something purely sub­jective, that Divine teaching is a solemn charge to keep, with its own power to stimulate our obedience and deepen our reverence. If the Word makes no impact upon our hearts, we should be in no better case though we did hear the voice direct from heaven.

''Who shall be able to teach others also": The importance of faithfulness in those to whom the Word is committed is seen to be paramount. It is one of the main themes of these Letters, as we see in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. The spiritual health of the ecclesia, today as then, will depend greatly upon the fact that there are in it those "apt to teach". The manner of their teaching could be as important as the content: both the Word and the pupil should be "in their heart". Or, as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 4:14-17 (the reference to Timothy's role should not be overlooked):

"For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not may fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me. For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church."

The Good Soldier

Verse 3: "Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ": The soldier's calling demands great personal courage and endurance, but he is not alone. He is but rarely called upon to fight in isolation, for his individual actions are part of a battle or campaign to be viewed as a whole. So he must have a sense of esprit de corps, that sense of community, in which the service of a captain and honour of a cause transcend all personal feeling or ambition.

This sense is clearly brought out here in Paul's second use of the verb sunkakopathein, discussed in the note on 2 Timothy 1:8 (page 239): Timothy was to take his share of the rough treatment and hardships which are a minister's lot, and of which Paul's current plight was a good example. But there were two sides even to the question of hardship: to take one's share in it was also to receive great comfort and encouragement, to be part of a brother­hood in which the fellowship of suffering was the prelude to a fellowship of glory and rejoicing (1 Thessalonians 2:19; 2 Corin­thians 1:5, etc.).

It may come as a surprise to discover that this verse is the only one in the whole of his writings in which Paul uses the word "soldier". His metaphors taken from the soldier's life and service are frequent, however, and it will be convenient to give separate consideration to them for the light they cast upon the discipline Timothy is being urged to accept: see Essay 31, "Paul's Use of Military Metaphor", page 286.

Verse 4: "No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life": The disciple, then, like the soldier, has already in effect made the sacrifice of his life. He is wholly concerned with exercising himself unto godliness to the limit of his capacity (Romans 12:6-8). Also, like the soldier, he has neither the need nor the desire to be entangled in the things the Gentiles seek after, "for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Matthew 6:31-33). The verb "entangled" is used once more in Scripture, again with reference to worldly things which defile (2 Peter 2:20).

"That he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier" (RV): To abstain from worldly pursuits is now seen to be no negative attitude—an asceticism which is an end in itself, sometimes called in modern parlance "the hair-shirt mentality", that leads a man to make himself uncomfortable for the sake of it. The soldier's life was in itself a career, appropriately known as being "in the Services", with the positive aim of his being & good soldier. His allegiance was not to some faceless corporate body but directly to his commanding officer, to whom had often been committed the task of raising a legion for a specific campaign. So Timothy was "a good soldier of Jesus Christ", who was "the captain of (his) salvation" (Hebrews 2:10).

The Spiritual Athlete

Verse 5: "And if a man also strive for masteries": The "masteries" were the athletic games (RV) which were a prominent feature of Greek city life. For a more detailed note on Paul's use of the athletic metaphor, see on 1 Timothy 4:8 and 6:12 and Essay 21 (pages 127, 210). In introducing this theme here the Apostle is not merely offering another example of the kind of self-discipline which the Lord's servant must be prepared to exercise: he is adding a further dimension to it, as will become apparent from the second half of the verse. It is true that by the first century, following a trend similar to that observed in modern Olympics and other sporting events, there were "professional" sportsmen as well as those amateurs who had been the ideal of the earlier Greek city-state. However, the general principle Paul cites would be applicable to either class of athlete.

"Yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully": The soldier com­mitted himself to a certain way of life upon enrolment; the athlete had to keep to a certain code of practice throughout the whole of his training and competition. There were similarities between the soldier's discipline and the athlete's self-denial during his training period, and the competitor in the major games, at Olympia, Corinth or Delphi for example, had to take an oath that he had conducted himself well throughout the long months of preparation before he was allowed to compete on the appointed day.

Then he had to run, wrestle or display his skill strictly accor­ding to the rules and might even be disqualified after victory if subsequent enquiry revealed some irregularity. There was a spirit of fair play to be cultivated and shortcomings were treated as acts of disloyalty to the athlete's code. Certain tricks, stratagems and the taking of mean advantage were completely barred. So Timothy is being exhorted to faithfulness and loyalty during the exercise of his ministry, above all in his careful handling both of the Gospel committed to him and of "those that oppose them­selves" (see 2:25). Otherwise he would "run in vain" (Galatians 2:2; cf. Matthew 7:21-23).

The message has relevance to us today. No plea of "the service of the truth" can be entered as a justification for sharp practice, flouting of authority, evasion of just dues or taxes, plagiarism of another's work, discourtesy or any other works of the flesh by which the world seeks to advance its own causes.

The Spiritual Husbandman

Verse 6: "The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits": So the figure changes once again. "Husbandman" is a "oncer", though its related word, "husbandry", is used in 1 Corinthians 3:9 for the preacher's work of labouring together with God. The emphasis here is on laboureth. The idle, lazy farmer who is afraid of hard work can never expect a harvest. The diligent, on the other hand, has above all else and beyond everyone else, an incontestable right to enjoy the fruit of his labour. The labourer in the Gospel will be blessed of God and is entitled to some recompense in respect (and perhaps in the first century, at least, some measure of support) from those for whom he works. See Romans 1:13, Philippians 1:22 and 1 Timothy 5:17,18.

So, says Spicq (Les Epitres Pastorales), "there is a progression to be observed in service and reward: first there is renunciation (as when one dedicates himself to the noble career of military service); keeping the rules laid down (like the athlete); perseverance in the work (with the characteristic zeal of the farmer); secondly, in this way, when one pleases God, he will be crowned by Him, and will be among the first to share the benefits of His Kingdom".

Verse 7: "Consider what I say": Perhaps "Think out my meaning" conveys the best sense. Paul has given only a brief outline, although the principles are clear enough. There are deeper impli­cations, and applications of the principles in practice, which could prove difficult or delicate, and these Timothy must work out for himself.

"For the Lord shall give thee understanding in all things" (RV): This encouragement confirms the interpretation just given above. "Understanding" is in fact right judgement, and we may com­pare its use here with Colossians 1:9-11:

"(We) do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding: that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work,  and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness."

2:8-13—The Exhortation Continued

Verse 8: "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of David" (RV): Verse 7 was in effect an aside, after which Paul resumes his exhortation: Timothy is to take as his inspiration and example the Lord himself, supreme pattern of faithful service, endurance (Hebrews 12:2) and suffering, and the first to enter into the great reward: God raised him from the dead. The historical event, which is the heart of the Gospel, is the source of strength and endurance as well as of comfort (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18) for all who follow his steps. The order of words—Jesus before Christ—appears nowhere else in this epistle, and this is probably because the whole phrase, "Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of David", is a brief statement of faith, quoted from some early catechism (Essay 5, page 49), in which the Davidic descent and Divine Sonship of the Lord Jesus were set out.

This was "according to my gospel" {see. also Romans 2:16; 16:25; 1 Timothy 1:11), since Paul was always at pains to "persuade them concerning Jesus, both out of the Law of Moses, and out of the prophets" (Acts 28:23). The theme of our verse is well expressed in Romans 1:1-5:

"The gospel of God (which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures), concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: by whom we have received grace and apostleship ..."

So once again we are reminded that "morality" and the Christian life, that is, the life of the disciple, are based upon fundamental doctrines about the purpose of God in Christ, doctrines which are expressed in easily remembered phrases to be kept in mind at all times.

Verse 9: "Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds": The foregoing statement, indeed the whole of Paul's exhortation, is now reinforced by this reference to his own case. It was for the preaching of the facts about Christ's nature and resurrection (which is the significance of his "wherein" here) and for no other reason that he was suffering "even unto bonds". The two words for "suffer trouble" and "evil doer" are "oncers" for the Apostle. The play upon words of kakopatheo  ('evil-suffer') with kakourgos ('evil-doer') brings out the humiliation Paul endured by being condemned as a common criminal, a pestilent, seditious fellow (Acts 24:5), because he preached righteousness and peace. He bore it bravely and never allowed himself to be deflected from his purpose; but that does not mean that he did not feel it keenly, as we can gather from such passages like 1 Corinthians 4:13: "Being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring {peripsema) of all things unto this day."

The peripsema was the dirt scraped from an athlete's body after he had been massaged with olive oil!

Again, Paul was following his Master, who "endured the cross, despising the shame" (Hebrews 12:2). The only other use in Scripture of the word kakourgos ('evil-doer') is in Luke 23:32,33,39. The Lord was "numbered among the transgressors", being crucified between two "malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left".

"But the word of God is not bound": This is almost a cry of triumph; for the spirit of it see that earlier letter written from prison, Philippians 1:12-14. 

Suffering and Fellowship

Verse 10: "Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes": We are now given a deeper insight into the heart and mind of the Apostle. From the time when he heard with a sense of shock the voice of Jesus declare, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest" (Acts 9:5), Paul had realised that the service of Christ was the service of his brethren also, and that in imparting to them "not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us" (1 Thessalonians 2:8), he was fulfilling his ministry. He travailed in birth again,  "until Christ be formed" in them (Galatians 4:19), and was gentle amongst them "as a nurse cherisheth her children" (1 Thessalonians 2:7). His joy and hope, his crown of rejoicing, would be to stand side by side with them "in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming. For ye are our glory and joy" (verses 19,20). All this lies behind this profession in 2 Timothy 2:10.

But is there something more? There is a distinct impression to be gained from the Scriptures that there is a certain measure of tribulation for the saints to endure before the Lord comes. It is as though the "sufferings of Christ" are something more than that which Jesus himself endured: the "body of Christ", which is the church, fellowships the sufferings, or takes its share of them, as they will fellowship the glory to be revealed. It is clearly stated that there is a "time appointed", and that for the elect's sake the days will be shortened; otherwise "there should no flesh be saved" (Matthew 24:22). In the Revelation, the cry of the souls under the altar—"How long, O Lord, holy and true . . . ?"—is answered by the command that they should rest "until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled" (6:9-11). A similar thought is expressed in Colossians 1:23-24:

"I Paul am made a minister; who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind (RV, lacking) of the afflic­tions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church."

Is Paul then saying here (2 Timothy 2:10) that just as the Lord was conscious (especially in Gethsemane) that the weight of responsibility for the salvation of his disciples rested upon his shoulders, so Paul realises that "the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory" is somehow brought nearer for the elect as he faithfully endures? If so, then that alternative translation of 2 Peter 3:12 (RV margin) may well be correct, which declares that by our earnest desire and prayer we can somehow "hasten the coming of the day of God".

2:11-13—A Faithful Saying

Verses 11-13 constitute the fourth "Faithful Saying" of the Pastoral Epistles. For a general statement on this characteristic of the Letters see Essay 5, pages 49-51. This saying we shall discuss separately in Essay 32, pages 289-292.

2:14-21—Opposing False Teachers

Verse 14: "Of these things put them in remembrance": Paul now turns

to the practical aspect of the foregoing exhortations in the then contemporary ecclesial situation in Ephesus. Like Moses in Deuteronomy he is constantly urging the necessity of keeping certain things in remembrance, if spiritual disaster is to be avoided. So Timothy is to keep on remembering (the verb is a continuous command). Often we avoid repetition of necessary exhortation, on the ground that it has been said (or written!) once before, but the whole tenor of Scripture in the Law, the prophets and the apostles is against us. Against us too is the example of the Lord himself who, remembering our frame, gave us a weekly memorial feast "until he come". Such exhortation was to be Timothy's regular practice also.

"These things" are the positive doctrinal statements of "my gospel" which Paul has just set forth. The sound method of them he now describes both positively and negatively. The importance of method is emphasised by the solemn "charging them before (RV,  in the sight of) the Lord" (pages 17-19, 41). As we have already seen, it was partly through lack of sound method that the other-teachers corrupted the faith, "missing the mark".

"That they strive not about words to no profit": For logomachiai, 'word-battles', see 1 Timothy 6:4 (page 180). The other-teachers indulged in controversy, and the man of God had to guard against getting involved in that kind of theological discussion which is in the end purely verbal, and has little or nothing to do with Scrip­tural truth. No good comes of it: indeed, it can produce positive evil—"to the subverting of them that hear" (RV).

The word for "subverting" is the noun katastrophe, which scarcely needs translating! It is a "oncer" for Paul, and possibly in the New Testament, although some manuscripts give it as the original word in 2 Peter 2:6: Sodom and Gomorrah were con­demned "with an overthrow". In Matthew 21:12 and Mark 11:15 the verb katastrepheo is applied to the overthrow of the money­changers' tables. We can see the force of the word: it is the exact opposite of edifying, or building up, for the effect of controversy is—catastrophicl

This constant warning needs to be kept before the Brotherhood today as much as throughout the first century. It is a sad fact that in some controversies or schisms the issues have centred on the use or avoidance of certain words or phrases, or of "additional clauses" to an original statement of belief. In attempts to resolve the difficulties sometimes a simple positive statement of belief has proved acceptable only if it could be translated back into the traditional ambiguities it was seeking to avoid. All this can have, and has been proved to have, a demoralising effect upon ecclesial work and worship. It is not often that we find words of the Latin Fathers to be appropriate sources of quotation, but those of Augustine are so apposite here that they should not be missed: "To strive with words is to take thought not for the way in which error is to be conquered by truth but for the way your own speech can be preferred to that of your opponent."

Approved of God

Verse 15: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God": Happily there is now, as there was in Ephesus, a remedy, if we are willing to apply it to ourselves. The exhortation of this verse is a personal one, since all reformation begins with leaders whose example is worthy of being followed: "Take heed to thyself and to thy teaching. " "Continue in these things" was the message, "for in doing this thou shalt save both thyself and them that hear thee" (1 Timothy 4:16, RV).

Bible study is, of course, a basic necessity for the servant of the Lord. It is right that we should bring to it all the skills and aptitudes which any student would bring to an intellectual pur­suit. Even so, it is not the depth of academic knowledge of the Word which counts, although we may profit from the labours of those whose capacity is in these things. It is the quality of one's meditation that produces spiritual insight and understanding, and this is not the province solely of the academic or the intellectual. All who "love thy law" can make it their "study all the day" (Psalm 119:97).

But the exhortation of verse 15 is not so much concerned with knowledge as with effort, as is evident from all other uses of the verb spoudazo: "I also was forward to do" (Galatians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 8:17); "endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit" (Ephesians 4:3; also 1 Thessalonians 2:17 and 2 Peter 1:15); "Do thy diligence to come shortly" (2 Timothy 4:9,21; also Titus 3:12; 2 Peter 1:10; 3:14; 2 Corinthians 8:22); and "Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest" (Hebrews 4:11).

"Shew thyself is literally 'Stand before'; Timothy was to "appear in the presence of God", as when the infant Jesus was presented before the Lord (Luke 2:22) or the saints are presented "holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight" by the blood of Christ (Colossians 1:22; also verse 28).

There is here, as in the "charge before the Lord", the idea of a keen sense of responsibility in the full knowledge of the judge­ment to come, when the quality of discipleship will be righteously assessed. "Approved", or dokimos, implies testing and trying (James 1:12) and therefore "acceptable"—"acceptable to God and approved of men" (Romans 14:18). The negative of the word is adokimos, 'a reprobate', like one who could even preach to others yet be himself found "a castaway", not able to endure the searching scrutiny of Him in whose service he had claimed to be labouring (1 Corinthians 9:27); the figure is actually taken from the idea of a herald summoning athletes to a race to which he was not himself equal. See also Matthew 7:21-23.

"A workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth": The "workman" is in fact an agricultural labourer, and so the thought of verse 6 is taken up with a slightly different emphasis. The use of "labourer" in the sense of preacher and teacher of the Gospel comes from Luke 10:7—"For the labourer is worthy of his hire." See also 1 Timothy 5:18 (pages 162, 163). It is not merely that the "workman" has no need to be ashamed of his calling, that is of the Gospel (Romans 1:16); he will have no need to blush with shame at the poor quality or deficiency of his work, like the servant who hid his talent in the ground (Matthew 25:26). Although the former sense has many parallels in the New Testament besides Romans 1:16—such as 2 Timothy 1:8; Hebrews 2:11; 11:16, and seems to be almost a direct reference to Luke 9:26, "Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words"—it is the second sense which best fits our context.

Verse 16: "But shun profane and vain babblings'': The Apostle shows the sharp contrast between "the word of truth" of verse 15 and the "empty voices" of the other-teachers. See the note on this and the word "profane" on pages 24, 201.

"For they will increase unto more ungodliness": Timothy is to shun rather than debate with the empty talkers; for controversy develops controversy and they would "progress" only in the direction of ungodliness—asebeia, the opposite of eusebeia, which is the mark of the true believer (page 58). There is a deliberate irony in Paul's words, since the other-teachers claimed to be progressives, but the end of their progress was ungodliness! A parallel idea is found in 2 John 9: "Whosoevergoeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ hath not God (RV)."

The Cancerous Word

Verse 17: "And their word will eat as doth a canker": Consistent with the medical metaphor for the "soundness" of the body of Christ and of the doctrine which keeps it so (page 46), false teaching is said to be like a malignant disease. We have already noted the passage in 1 Timothy 6:4-5 (page 180), where one who consents not to wholesome words is described as sick about questions and strifes about words. Here, however, the erroneous teaching is described as having taken hold and there is grievous danger that it will spread. The Biblical "oncer", gangraina, has been translated as "cancer", but the Revised Version "gangrene" is not only nearer the sound but also the sense of what Paul wrote. It will eat or "find pasture" in all directions. The only other New Testament use of the word nome is for the pasturing of sheep in John 10:9, but in ordinary Greek it was a common medical term for "the consuming progress of mortifying disease", as well as for "the devastating progress of fire".

Most of the medical expressions attached by Paul to the teaching of error are equally strong; for example, cauterisation in 1 Timothy 4:2 (page 123) and defilement and infection in Titus 1:15 (page 365). From the vigour with which Paul pursues his theme in all three epistles we can gauge both the danger to which the ecclesias in Ephesus and Crete were exposed and the urgency with which the Apostle sought to promote their spiritual health.

Once again there are lessons for us. True Scriptural teaching has both a moral and a saving power. The dangers of error are likewise twofold: it can easily spread, carrying moral con­sequences, and it can destroy a vigorous corporate spiritual life. This sound teaching never does, and we may well ask ourselves, in these days of innovation and reaction, whether present trends in either direction promote the health of the whole community or not. For Paul has yet more to say on this and related topics in what follows.

"Of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus": Of Philetus nothing is known except what is recorded in these verses. Hymenaeus was probably the ringleader, since he had been cast out by Paul (1 Timothy 1:20), but appeared to be continuing his activities with damaging effect. Had Alexander, associated with him earlier, returned to the fold? The situation in Ephesus at this time was evidently very critical indeed.

The Path of Error

Verse 18: "Who concerning the truth have erred": The Revised Version, "men who (hoitines, 'the kind of people who')", brings out the point that Paul is citing these two men as examples of the behaviour he has in mind, and underlines an important truth already discussed (page 21), but worth repeating here.

From a Scriptural point of view, error is not always that which stands out as an obvious denial of the truth, although it may even­tually lead to it and is in any case the same in principle. It quite frequently contains some truth, but not all truth—"the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth"—and, to use Paul's words, "misses the mark" (astoched), or fails to get the point of what God has said. Hence the very strong "swerved aside" and "turned aside" of 1 Timothy 1:6. It is like the serpent reasoning of Genesis 3: it begins with "Hath God said?" (verse 3), replies with a blend of what God actually did say, toned down a little, and some additional words based upon human opinion, and is eventually prepared to accept the exact opposite of the Divine Word (verses 3-4).

"Saying that the resurrection is past already": At first, no doubt, the teaching of Hymenaeus and Philetus seemed plausible, or even setting forth a "higher" view of the life in Christ. After all, Paul himself had taught that at baptism there is a resurrection to newness of life in the moral sense, and that one begins to live fully and in the spirit for the first time:

"... that like as Christ was raised up from the dead . . . even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:1-11)

"Even when we were dead in sins (God) hath quickened us together with Christ . . . and hath raised us up together.'' (Ephesians 2:5-6)

"Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest . . . and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly ..." (Ephesians 5:14-15)

"And ye are complete in him . . . buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." (Colossians 2:10-13)

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are
above." (Colossians 3:1)

The list of Scriptures on this topic, even in brief selection, is impressive: of course one cannot deny that the focal point of the Christian hope lies in the resurrection. If one leaves it at that, then, it could be that the resurrection is indeed past already. Moreover, it might be argued with great force in the first century (as indeed today), such a doctrine is much more palatable for religious contemporaries—it was even, to use one of the twentieth century "in words", relevant to the thinking of the day.

For intellectual culture was the religion ("a form of godliness") of the thinking people, who felt themselves liberated from the crudities of pagan ritual. For them the material world was essen­tially evil, and the progressive liberation of the spirit from the body was the highest ideal, to be pursued until the happy consum­mation when the immortal soul was set free from the body altogether. Further, with such a teaching the ecclesia could win over some of the Hellenistic Jews as well, followers of the teachings of Philo of Alexandria, for example. He considered that the translation of Enoch (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5) was the equivalent of an ascent to a higher degree of moral existence, a doctrine which found widespread acceptance among the Gnostics of the second century.

"Not knowing the Scriptures ..."

It was all so logical and consistent, even "Scriptural", and one could neatly fit "the coming of the Lord" into the scheme—had not he himself promised, "If any man love me, he will keep my words . . . and we will come unto him" (John 14:23)—and the Kingdom of God as well. And further—if the resurrection from sin to holiness, from ignorance to knowledge has already past, why concern oneself with sin any more (Romans 6:1)? Or on the other hand, being "in the resurrection" (Matthew 22:30), perhaps one should forbid to marry? Or command to abstain from meats (1 Timothy 4:3; 2 Timothy 3:1-5)?

How greatly did they err, "not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God" (Matthew 22:29)! The Apostle Paul did not fear the ridicule he excited by proclaiming the resurrection of the dead to the "masters of them that know", the intellectual and cultured court of the Areopagites (Acts 17:32), to whom for all their knowledge, the living God of purpose and of judgement remained unknown. Their knowledge was no saving knowledge in which the righteousness and power of God was revealed. They lived in "the times of this ignorance" (verse 30).

There can be no doubt as to what Martha and Mary under­stood by the resurrection of the dead, when they declared of their brother Lazarus, already four days in the tomb: "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day". Nor was the sign that Jesus did before the open tomb intended to symbolise a purely moral resurrection. Equally there was no confusion in Paul's mind when he declared:.

"Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen . . . your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins." (1 Corinthians 15:12-17)

And lest there should be any doubt at all as to what he under­stands by "resurrection", he adds,

"Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead . . . afterward they that are Christ's at his coming".  (verses 18-23)

It is true that some in Corinth and Thessalonica may not have grasped the full implication of the preaching of the resurrection at first. But after such forthright explanation, or the "I would not have you to be ignorant" of 1 Thessalonians 4:13, there was no longer any cause for uncertainty. There was certainly no excuse for proclaiming (for the logos and the legontes of 2 Timothy 2:17-18 indicate that the new doctrine was being actively promulgated) such a pernicious teaching which "overthrew the faith of some".

Confidence and Reassurance

Verse 19: "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure": Immed­iately Paul sounds a note of confident assurance with a most emphatic "nevertheless", the only time in his writings he ever uses this particular Greek word. In the Ephesian ecclesia, as in the Brotherhood today, when it became necessary to point to dangerous trends, or seek to recall to fundamentals which have either been lost sight of or become submerged beneath the weight of practical problems, brethren and sisters became discouraged. How can the Brotherhood survive, if its distinctive character is being lost or it is splitting itself into factions as every man does that which is right in his own eyes?

Some well-meaning brethren and sisters urge us not to com­ment on problems of morality, unsound teaching, strifes and tension in the Brotherhood, even in an attempt to help, improve or edify. No doubt many in Ephesus thought the same, and Timothy may well have been overwhelmed at times at the magnitude of the problems confronting him, had the Apostle's words been all warning, without balancing exhortations of the most positive kind. We today need his confident "Nevertheless".

For as in the "faithful saying" of verses 11-13 (RV): "If we are faithless, He abideth faithful: For he cannot deny himself.''

Paul emphasises that the consummation of God's purpose does not depend upon the quality of the believers' lives, as was seen in the case of Israel: the LORD God of hosts always left a remnant, and there were 7,000 men in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:14-18; Isaiah 1:2-9).

The mention of the foundation shows that what is under consideration is "the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground (margin, stay) of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). The Apostle's use of this metaphor is nearly always in connection with the ecclesia itself. Even where it is applied to Christ, it is always concerned with activity in the house of God. Thus, "ye are God's building ... for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Corin­thians 3:9-11); "Now therefore ye are ... of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone .... in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:19-22). It is the Divine character of the work which gives it stability in contrast to the unstable views of the other-teachers. As Isaiah says regarding the stable foundation:

"Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste (or be put to shame)."  (Isaiah 28:16)

The word for "laid", 'established', is placed in the most em­phatic position in Paul's statement, offering a strong contrast to the katastrophe, the subversive work of the errorists (verse 14).

"Having this seal": There is a double seal or inscription on the Lord's foundation, a device used to mark both ownership and authenticity. There was a seal set upon Christ's tomb for the former purpose (Matthew 27:66) and there are frequent references to the second in the New Testament:

"Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ ... is God, who hath also sealed us."  (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

"And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith." (Romans 4:11)

"For the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 9:2)

Seals, foundations and inscriptions are linked together in the Apocalypse, for "the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (21:14).

"The Lord knoweth them that are his": With this skilful citation, taken with only the change from "God" to "the Lord" from the Septuagint version of Numbers 16:5, Paul illuminates his whole thesis about the false teachers. They were murmurers and disputers, they sought to draw away disciples after them and to overthrow what God had established. They were, therefore, like Korah, Dathan and Abiram, "gainsayers" who became the very Scriptural types of the heretical or schismatic teachers (see the Epistle of Jude). The ultimate "catastrophe", however, was not the frustration of God's purpose with Israel, but that in which they themselves suffered. They were "sinners against their own souls" (Numbers 16:38), and in their judgement, which was the Lord's and not man's, the Lord revealed those "who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him" (16:5).

Departing from Iniquity

"Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord (RV) depart from iniquity": The second "seal" further extends the reference to Korah, Dathan and Abiram. "Naming the name" is an Old Testament expression for professing allegiance to someone, as in Joshua 23:7,8:

"Neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow down your­selves unto them: but cleave unto the LORD your God"; and Isaiah 26:13:

"O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name."

To use the Name lightly was contrary to a fundamental commandment of the Lord's covenant, and was punishable by death (Leviticus 24:16).

In the New Testament to "call upon the name of the Lord" is synonymous with belonging to the church of the living God, as a survey of the usage of the Acts alone would show. Paul himself had been converted while in the very act of persecuting "them which called upon this name" (Acts 9:14,21), to be himself baptized and wash away his sins, "calling on the name of the Lord" (22:16; see also 7:59). The world-wide brotherhood were those "that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:2).

To depart from iniquity, to come out and be separate, were constant exhortations for the believers in Christ as for the people of God in older times. The renunciation of sin in all its forms had on occasion to be marked by a physical separation from the rebellious sinner, of the kind seen in the incident from which Paul is now drawing his exhortation. The Lord revealed those who were His: they were those who had obeyed the words of Moses to the congregation: "Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins" (Numbers 16:26,27). Thus, with what had evidently become a proverbial saying (compare with Matthew 7:23 and Luke 13:27), Paul reinforces his instruction as to what Timothy should shun and to what he should pay earnest heed in order to discharge the responsibility of his office.

We too can take our lessons and our comfort: to deny a funda­mental principle of the faith is closely linked Scripturally with sin; the faithful believer, however, rests upon the foundation laid by God Himself, and bears the Divine seal upon his teaching and the uprightness of his life.

Verse 20: "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth": The "but" introduces a possible objection to the full acceptance of the foregoing. If the house of God is so well-founded, with a doctrinal and moral stability, how can there be in it those who fall into error and sin? The Apostle's answer is in the form of a parable.

The human aspect of the church of God is like a great house which contains all kinds of utensils, of varying quality and different uses. The simile has to be of a great house, since few everyday dwellings contained vessels of gold and silver. Like all parables, one must not press the analogy too far: the point lies in the general drift and not in the detail. For this parable has not the same intent as the simile with the body (1 Corinthians 12:14-27), since the body has an organic unity, and the apparently trivial or less honourable "member" is still a vital, integral part without which the whole cannot function.

"Some to honour, and some to dishonour": The thought in this verse is nearer to that of Romans 9:21-23, which distinguishes between "vessels of wrath, fitted to destruction", or "vessels unto dishonour", and "vessels of mercy . . . unto honour"; though even here the theme is God's prerogative of mercy and judgement and not an explanation of the presence of good and evil in one community (see Lamentations 4:2). In short, this passage in Timothy is the only occasion where Paul directly expresses the thought that the ecclesia embraces bad members as well as good, as part of the necessary discipline of the corporate life. It is a different version of the Lord's parable of the Gospel net which brought in both good and bad fish, which would not be finally separated out until the day of judgement (Matthew 13:47-50: com­pare also the parable of the wheat and the tares, verses 24-30).

Holy Vessels

Verse 21: "If a man therefore purge himself from these": At first sight Paul is counselling Timothy simply to keep clear of the vessels for dishonourable use. While it might indeed be a stern duty to cast out men like Hymenaeus and Philetus, as Paul himself had done (1 Timothy 1:20), the topic of this verse is rather what one must do to be a vessel unto honour, which is to avoid taking the path trodden by the other-teachers. So we are taken back to verse 16: "Shun profane and vain babblings" which lead in the direction of ungodliness; and to verse 19: "Depart from iniquity", that is, in the context of Numbers 16, depart from men like Korah, Dathan and Abiram and hom all their works. "Purge" (ekkathairo) is used once more by Paul in the same sense, in 1 Corinthians 5:5-7. See also Isaiah 52:11:

"Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, ye that bear the vessels of the LORD. "

"He shall be a vessel unto honour": The quality of such a vessel is threefold:

1. It is "sanctified", a holy vessel set apart, like the vessels in the
   tabernacle, exclusively for the service of the Lord as was the
   Master himself: "And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that
   they also might be sanctified through the truth" (John 17:19);
2. It is "meet for the master's use", a typically Pauline expression,
   since in the New Testament it is he alone who uses the word
   euchrestos. Mark was "profitable to me for the ministry" (4:11),
   and  Onesimus was profitable to  both Philemon  and Paul
   (Philemon 11), while the words of the false teachers were to
   no profit;
3. The vessel was also "prepared unto every good work". So the true
   servant has the duty to equip himself for his task by self-
   discipline and application of the gifts which God has given
   him.

Verse 22: "Flee also youthful lusts": Abandoning imagery the Apostle takes up the thought from verse 15, combining it with those of 1 Timothy 4:12 ("Let no man despise thy youth ...") and 6:11 ("Flee . . . follow after ..."). It was the Psalmist's plea that the Lord should "remember not the sins of my youth" (25:7), but we must be careful not to assume from the word "lusts" here that Paul is referring to weaknesses and passion in a general sense, with the added assumption that old age is free from them. It is the youthful lusts to which he alludes, passions to which a younger man might easily yield in the situation in which Timothy found himself.

It was no time for giving way to impulse or ill-considered action, for displaying impatience, engaging in disputes, following after novelty or showing the wrong kind of ambition for leader­ship. All these are opposed to what he should "follow after" (RV)—"righteousness", in the broadest Old Testament meaning of that which is right in God's eyes; "faith", implying both faithfulness and adherence to the faith; "charity", with all the overtones of 1 Corinthians 13—patience, humility and judge­ment—and "peace", which is the ideal state produced by all the other virtues. The "youthful lusts" only lead to the "strifes" of verse 23.

Verse 23: "But foolish and unlearned questions avoid": See pages 180, 181. We today are not free from the tendency to discuss, and sometimes insist upon answers to, questions to which there is no final Scriptural solution, or which do nothing to further our understanding of the great and fundamental truths of our calling.

2:24-26—The Servant of the Lord

Verse 24: "And the servant of the Lord must not strive": The Lord's servant {doulos, 'bondman') has indeed a struggle to maintain; the good soldier of Jesus Christ has to war a warfare; but it is against error and not against people. Uncompromising as his attitude must be towards false doctrine, his aim is not to vanquish but to restore those who have been deceived by it. Remarkably, as experience shows, this attitude is extraordinarily difficult to main­tain, human nature being what it is. "Zeal for the Truth" seems often to be accompanied by a spirit of harshness and intolerance on the part of those who claim to have it. A consideration of the Scriptural basis of Paul's instruction to Timothy on this matter will, therefore, be an important guide for our own conduct.

Our Pattern

Our pattern is, of course, "the meekness and gendeness of Christ", as is suggested by the title Paul ascribes to Timothy in this passage. For although he frequently describes himself and his associates as "servants of God", or "servants of the Lord Jesus Christ", the expression "the servant of the Lord" is surely intend­ed to take Timothy, and us, back to the prophet Isaiah and his sequence of passages about the Lord's Servant:

"Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry {strive nor cry, according to Matthew 12:18), nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench; he shall bring forth judgment unto truth." (42:1-3)

"He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities." (53:11)

The work of the Lord Jesus Christ being the salvation and not the destruction of men, his life of redemptive love culminated in a redemptive sacrifice of himself.

"But be gentle unto all men": The gentleness here referred to is not merely descriptive of the demeanour of the Lord's servant: it suggests also the calming effect which he has upon those who are the objects of his care. Paul could have exercised his apostolic authority with asperity and brusqueness, but preferred an entirely different approach: "But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children ... As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children" (1 Thessalonians 2:7-11).

An Important Qualification

The qualification "unto all men" reminds us once more of "the spirit of ... a sound mind (self-control)" (2 Timothy 1:7) that is so difficult to acquire, yet it is the part of all true disciples to exercise in their relations with others: "If ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?" (Matthew 5:46-47). Moreover, it is evident that "strifes" and "word-battles" cannot develop far unless there are two parties willing to enter into dispute.

"Apt to teach, patient": As we have already seen, patience and the ability to teach others were important qualifications for Timothy and for all who aspired to eldership (1 Timothy 3:2,3; pages 87-91). The word for "apt to teach", didaktikos, gives us the English word 'didactic', which usually bears the meaning of 'having the manner of a teacher', with slight overtones of 'authoritarian' rather than of 'skilful in his art'. No such nuance lies in the Greek word (unique in Scripture to the Letters), for the knowledge to be imparted is about a way of life—doctrine in the sense already discussed (page 46). Such a teacher is not so much "ready to teach out of his profound knowledge as skilled in the art of Christian teaching, which makes no use of sarcasm, but seeks every means of making the truth he is setting out acceptable, without despising the ignorant, or becoming impatient with those who fail to understand" (Spicq, Les Epitres Pastorales).

The patience here referred to goes beyond ordinary forebearance: it is literally 'ready to suffer wrong', and so, in this context, 'when the argument waxes violent and tempers are becoming frayed, able to listen patiently without answering back heatedly'.

Verse 25: "In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves": Meekness is an inward disposition which gives rise to the outward demeanour of the Lord's servant, and it is worth considering in some detail the emphasis laid on it in the New Testament, especially in times like ours when faction and strife threaten our unity (see Essay 33, "The Meekness of the True Disciple").

"Those that oppose themselves" is a form of the verb which indicates that the opponents were constantly placing themselves in opposition to Timothy. It is important to realise this, since he was dealing not with the weak brother or with the occasional lapse in conduct or failure in understanding, but with the habitual opponent always coming up with ignorant enquiries as a means of self expression. Such behaviour serves to highlight the meekness and gentleness of the Lord's servant: "patient continuance in well-doing" is not easy. Instructing the (willingly) uninstructed, informing the uninformed, to reproduce a little of Paul's play upon words here, can be a wearisome task.

"If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth": Timothy is now reminded once more of the purpose of his opposition to the other-teachers: it goes beyond the preservation of the ecclesia to the possible salvation of the heretics themselves. This idea is consistently set forth in the New Testa­ment, including these Letters, although this passage contains the fullest statement of it. See for example, "That they may learn not to blaspheme" (1 Timothy 1:20, page 39), and 1 Corinthians 5:3-5 with 2 Corinthians 2:4-11 (RV), noting especially the words, "lest by any means such a one should be swallowed up with his overmuch sorrow". Note also the danger of persistent refusal to acknowledge true repentance in others, revealed in the words of verses 10,11: "For your sakes have I forgiven it in the person of Christ; that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan" (RV).

This goes closely with what follows in the Timothy passage we are considering.

A Clear Message

For the obvious message of these passages to us is that "in giving the Truth the benefit of the doubt" in difficult cases, we have a duty to speak plainly about the issues involved, but with sympathy and understanding—"considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted" (Galatians 6:1)—in an effort to restore. Such restoration God will effect if it is His will. After all, the whole process of salvation is a gift of God's grace and we should do our utmost to see that we place no barrier in the way of others receiving what we stand so desperately in need of ourselves.

The attitude of some in the first century towards the Gentiles was that none of them could be saved: yet the apostles rejoiced over them with the words: "Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life" (Acts 11:18). And even now, while the world is sinking deeper into the evil which merits the judgements of God, He "is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). We must beware, therefore, of writing off those whom God may in fact receive: the final judgement depends upon "the acknowledging of the truth". We must indeed exercise ecclesial discipline (we reserve Titus 3:10-11 for more detailed considera­tion), but the restoration of the offender or the opponent is the principal aim. They, however, have their own necessary part to play in the process.

For  a further  discussion  of "The Acknowledging  of the Truth", see Essay 34.

Restoration to Life

Verse 26: "And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil": The Revised Version margin gives "return to soberness" as the literal Greek for "recover themselves". Although it is a New Testament "oncer", the root idea appears in 4:5—"Watch thou", or "Be thou sober"—and in 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8 and especially 1 Corinthians 15:34: "Awake to righteousness" or (RV margin) "Awake out of drunkenness righteously". Faction and strife are therefore seen to be moral not intellectual problems. Hence the apostolic emphasis upon the moral qualities of the teacher who has to work for the rehabilitation of the other-teachers. They have to be encouraged to come to their senses.

"The snare of the devil" is of course the desperate state into which man falls when he follows the mind of the flesh rather than of the spirit. As we see from 2 Corinthians 10, our warfare is against "imaginations" opposed to God, and what has to be brought "into captivity to the obedience of Christ" is "every thought". If sin gains the ascendancy, it takes its captives until "even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate" (Titus 1:15-16).

The metaphor of the snare is a consistent one, especially in the New Testament, and refers to the deceitfulness of the sin in which a man suddenly finds himself embroiled, or the judgements of God which come upon men heedless of their departure from God, and for the evil devices of the wicked against the man of God. The "snare of the devil" occurs twice in these Letters, here and in 1 Timothy 3:6 (page 96), there significantly enough in the context of the qualifications for eldership, though with a different emphasis.

"Taken captive by him at his will": The Authorised Version translation suggests that both "him" and "his" apply to the devil, and it is just possible to interpret the grammar in that way. The difficulty then becomes a Scriptural one. The vivid, forceful verb for "take captive" is literally 'take alive', a "oncer" in the New Testament except for Luke 5:10—"And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shall catch men"—a reference of course to the saving power of the apostolic preaching which brought to life those who were "taken" by it. Even allow­ing for strong personification and interpreting the devil's will as being "the will of the flesh", the metaphor of "taking men alive" would be entirely inappropriate with such a context. But when we consider the whole thrust of the argument here—Paul is not writing in Classical Greek anyway—we see that he is in effect saying that those who repent and acknowledge the truth have their thoughts once more brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. It is they who are "taken alive" by the Lord's servant unto the will of God. The "acknowledging of the truth" and "the will of God" are then seen as parallel ideas, and the former opponents come to accept both.

ESSAY 31 Paul's Use of Military Metaphor

IN 1 Corinthians 9:7 and 2 Corinthians 10:3, Paul likens his apostolic ministry to a warfare, or more strictly, a period of active service. It is the word also used for "soldiers" in Luke 3:14, thereby revealing to us that it was soldiers on active service who brought their query to John the Baptist. He told them that their "works meet for repentance" consisted in avoiding "their calling's snare"—excessive violence and grumbling at the pay for which they had contracted their service.

The first Corinthians passage indicates that the soldier's every need was the responsibility of the enrolling officer, and therefore he had no need to concern himself with the things of everyday civilian life. On the other hand, as we learn from the second passage, the parallel between the soldier's and the apostle's service ends there: Paul's service may be in the world, but worldly methods are not as his disposal. The "good soldier" does not entangle himself with the affairs of this life (2 Timothy 2:3,4); he must "war a good warfare" (1 Timothy 1:18) in faith and a good conscience.

For this task he is equipped with the "whole armour of God", shunning "the weapons of unrighteousness unto sin" and using his "members as weapons of righteousness unto God" (Romans 6:13, RV margin), "the armour of light" (Romans 13:12; also 2 Corinthians 6:7; 10:4). This "panoply of God" is described in detail in Ephesians 6:11-17. The separate parts of this spiritual armour have been the subject of many an article and address and readers are no doubt aware of the aptness of the simile which each presents. It is worth adding that the disciple, like the soldier on active service, was issued with his equipment but the care and maintenance of it was his personal responsibility. The unoiled leather shield would crack and become useless, the loose-fitting shoe-strap could hinder a man, even if he had "done all", from standing or keeping his foothold (verses 13-14), and so make him vulnerable. The spiritual parallels can be easily followed through, especially when it be remembered that his feet were to have shoes "prepared by the gospel of peace".

Shouldering One's Own Pack

The "burden" of Galatians 6:5 which every man must bear for himself was the phortion, the soldier's pack or kit-bag. In it he carried the regulation issue of a cloak which served as both garment and blanket; digging tools with which he dug his allotted portion of the trench and corresponding mound every night before camping on the march; one stake for the palisade which surround­ed the camp, no detail of which was omitted lest the camp be surprised in the night; a small grinding-mill and a daily ration of corn, with which to make the evening meal after settling in camp; and any additional items he chose to carry, bearing in mind that they rested upon his own shoulder and a march was anything up to 20 miles a day—more if they were proceeding by forced marches in an emergency.

It is still true that "every man must shoulder his own pack" in the spiritual life. With how many unnecessary things or anxieties of our own devising do we diminish our spiritual fitness? And how often do we give someone else a hand with the bare, 'weights' ("burdens" in Galatians 6:2), and so fulfil the law of Christ?

A soldier's pay was usually a meagre affair, since it was in reality a supplement to the necessities of life which were provided, and there was always in prospect a share of the plunder which became his peculium or private possession (see page 392 for the slave's peculium). He did not therefore serve at his own expense (cf. the "charges" of 1 Corinthans 9:7 and the "wages" of Romans 6:23). It will be seen from this that the "service" of sin or righteousness is more closely related in this passage to the metaphors of military service than of bond service.

Keeping watch is an essential part of a soldier's duty, and severe penalties attached to failure or neglect. The reason is obvious: not only the life of the sentry but those of the whole company depend upon the alertness of those who keep vigil. The Greek words, like our word "vigil", carry the idea of keeping awake. Frequent exhortations to watch are found in the New Testament, and in Paul's writings particularly in 1 Corinthians 16:13: "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong"; and Colossians 4:2: "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving."

An interesting passage in 1 Thessalonians 5:3-10 develops the military metaphor, including keeping the watch, in a way which shows that for Paul the whole life in Christ should be watching, or keeping awake (verse 10, RV margin), and that the only sleepers were the dead in Christ. The special responsibilities of elders in the ecclesia are emphasised in the expression in Hebrews 13:17: "They watch for your souls, as they that must give account."

The citadel and the taking of captives appear in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5. The constant necessity of looking to the defences is an important Scriptural theme, and no doubt Paul is drawing as much, if not more, upon his Old Testament knowledge as upon his everyday experience of the Roman military system, close to it though he was. For him the Lord was his refuge and his strength: "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe" (Proverbs 18:10).

Captivity was something inseparable from warfare, bringing the vanquished completely under the power of the victor. How powerful, then, is the image of "casting down imaginations (RV margin, reasonings) . . . and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ"! Liberty and thought and freedom of action become completely assimilated to the mind and will of the Lord. This thought is worth meditating upon deeply, in an age where the subjective opinion is paramount and "every man does that which is right in his own eyes"—a trend which has developed within the Brotherhood as well as in the world at large.

It should be Christ who leads us in his triumphal procession (2 Corinthians 2:14-16; see the note on 1:8).

ESSAY 32 The Fourth Faithful Saying

THE use of "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" as a medium of teaching and exhortation in worship was an established practice in the synagogues, to be followed by the first century ecclesias from their inception. The evidence for this provided by the Pastoral Epistles alone is worth a study in itself.

The spiritual songs no doubt followed a pattern familiar to us today—paraphrases in metrical form and "anthems in the words of Scripture"—and the faithful saying now under con­sideration is an example of such an early Christian hymn (see also 1 Timothy 3:16 and Essay 13).

It is rendered all the more interesting when we consider that the use the Apostle is making of it is in many respects similar to our own use of poetry and hymns in our speaking and writing. We often quote them because they express in concise or figurative language, with the added qualities of metre and rhythm, thoughts which we have laboured to express in prose, and so help us to remember them or impress them on others the better. Sometimes we allude to the words of a hymn with no attempt to reproduce the metre, with added comment of our own, and end by quoting a line or two verbatim. It would seem that that is what Paul is doing here.

Songs at Midnight

From the record of his night in the Philippian gaol, we know that it was Paul's habit in joy and adversity to express himself in the singing of praises to God (Acts 16:25), a habit which was ingrained in all the people of God who felt it a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, "to show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night" (Psalm 92:1-2).

The passage under consideration was written in a Roman gaol, from which he knew there could be no release except in death. He did not spend his time in morbid preoccupation with his own miseries, however, but meditated upon the faithfulness of God and the promise of life in Christ Jesus. This promise and the need for personal faithfulness he commends to his "dearly beloved son in the faith", Timothy.

The theme of the third faithful saying, the Godly exercise and the hope on which the apostolic preaching was based, together with the suffering and the consolation it brought (1 Timothy 4:8-10, pages 127, 128), has been repeated under different figures—the striving of the athlete, the discipline of the soldier and the labour of the farmer (2 Timothy 2:1-6). Then the man under the shadow of death referred to what could well be the opening theme of the hymn: "Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead" (verse 8). He draws his comfort from the assurance of life which the Gospel brings, and also from the fact that his endurance under trial would help the elect who believed through his preaching to gain salvation in Christ Jesus.

The actual "faithful saying" which follows is in metrical Greek and is obviously direct quotation:

"For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: If we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful"— with an added comment of Paul's own, "He cannot deny himself.

Dying with Christ

How exactly this suits his mood and the burden of his exhor­tation! The allusion to dying with Christ is no reference to Paul's impending execution but to an event which had already taken place. The tense indicates completed action and the idea is that of Romans 6:8, "Now if we be dead (have died) with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him", for in faithful con­tinuance after baptism the life in Christ becomes eternal life in him. Jesus Christ of the seed of David was born to reign, and those who suffer with him, as the Apostle was suffering then, and for the same cause, will share the glory of his kingdom. Again there is allusion to Romans, this time 8:17—" . . . joint-heirs with Christ (cf. "then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs", Galatians 3:26-29); if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be glorified together.''

An Early Collection of Sayings

The reference to denial of Christ and its consequences is another evidence of the early existence of a written collection of sayings of Jesus, if not a full Gospel record. Certain it is that very many of the Master's words were known and understood, such as the saying: "Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 10:33). But the hymn ends on a note of confidence in the abiding mercy of God. The fulfilment of the promises and the gift do not depend upon human reliability. The Apostle was well aware of his per­sonal weaknesses and failures, and the expression, "If we believe not", does not refer to unbelief of the Gospel or apostasy, but to the possibility of our failure to respond or to overcome.

The strict parallelism of the hymn would seem to require, "If we are unfaithful, he will be unfaithful too". But this is un­thinkable, for God is one "that cannot lie" (Titus 1:2—the word for "that cannot lie" occurs here only in all the New Testament; see page 354 and Hebrews 6:18), and His faithfulness toward us is beyond question. He is unable, as Paul himself comments, to deny His own nature. In this phrase, as in the Pastoral Epistles generally, the contrast between man's faithlessness toward God and His Word with which he has been put in trust, and God's faithfulness to man, is sharply drawn. Again there is an allusion to the Letter to the Romans: "Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?" (Romans 3:3; see also Numbers 23:19).

An Ecclesial Poet?

Who was the author of this hymn which is so accurate a summary of the words of the faith? Could it have been Paul himself, with his gift for a turn of phrase and the capacity to meditate deeply on the things of the Spirit? Or did some spiritually-minded poet of the Roman ecclesia, with deep insight into the letter Paul had written to his brethren, turn some of the Apostle's own phrases into metrical verse and present it to him when he visited them? We can only speculate.

One thing is certain: the words which Paul had used to comfort and instruct others as he went amongst them as an apostle and servant of the Lord Jesus Christ now returned to him for his own comfort and exhortation in the hour of crisis, much as the words of the Lord's prayer, no doubt ever present in his mind, lie behind his closing expression of confidence in God in 2 Timothy 4:18. This is what made his preaching so powerful and effective, and caused him to stand out as one of the few fathers among ten thousand instructors in Christ—his preaching was effective for himself and his exhortations proved valid in his own experience.

For convenience we set out the hymn and the Scriptures upon which it appears to be based in parallel:

The Hymn

For if we be dead with him, We shall also live with him: If we suffer (endure, RV), We shall also reign with him: If we deny him, He also will deny us: If we believe not, Yet he abideth faithful: He cannot deny himself.

The Scriptural Basis

Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him."  (Romans 6:8)

If so be that we suffer with him (Christ), that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17)

But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 10:33)

For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? (Romans 3:3)

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent (Numbers 23:19)

ESSAY 33

The Meekness of the True Disciple

"TAKE my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:, and ye shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:29-30). So the Master himself (Didaskalos, or Teacher, as the disciples regularly called him in the days of his flesh) is as always the great exemplar of the characteristics to be developed by his servants.

For Timothy was, in effect, being called upon (2 Timothy 2:25) to display a quality with which he was already familiar from the time he had been Paul's ambassador to Corinth: "For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church . . . For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, or in the spirit of meekness?" (1 Corinthians 4:17,20-21).

As it was, the Apostle was greatly troubled at the possible effect of his letter on the Corinthians, although as it turned out he had been guided to use the right blend of plain speaking in the matters at stake with such an obvious display of affection and concern that his words had the desired effect: "I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers" (verses 14,15).

Meekness and Gentleness

He had besought them "by the meekness and gentleness of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:1). "Admittedly I live in this world, but that does not mean I fight my battles with worldly weapons. The weapons I use for fighting are not of this world; but they are powerful in God's hands for the demolition of strongholds. With them I overthrow lofty imaginations and everything that is high and lifted up against the knowledge of God; with them I take prisoner the minds of all and force them to render allegiance to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:3-5, F. F. Bruce, An Expanded Paraphrase of the Epistles of Paul).

Such meekness is one aspect of "the fruit of the Spirit" (Gala-tians 5:23). When we follow Paul into his discussion of some of the practical expressions of these qualities, we have a perfect illustration of both the attitude of the teacher and the source of his own wisdom and knowledge: "Brethren, if a man be over­taken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man thinketh himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself . . . Let him that is taught in the word com­municate unto him that teacheth unto all good things" (Galatians 6:1-6).

This is to "walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, for­bearing one another in love", and is a major contribution towards "keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace", as befits members of "one body ... called in one hope of your calling" (Ephesians 4:2-4). Such meekness is the mark of those who are risen with Christ. Having put on Christ, they must see to it also that they "put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another ... and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body" (Colossians 3:1,12-13,15).

The spiritual teacher must be a man endowed with wisdom and knowledge which, when combined with charity, builds up rather than puffs up. His teaching, therefore, must not be "academic" in the modern—but, alas, sadly misused—sense of that word. For to be scholarly in the sense of being devoted to learning and scrupulously honest and diligent in the sifting of facts and applying them, is perhaps more important in an approach to the Scriptures than to any other form of knowledge.  Academic disciplines, as they are called, can be rightly applied to the Word of God provided that the advice of James be followed:

"Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation ('way of life') his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." (James 3:13-17)

We must beware of interpreting "first pure" in a way that nullifies the meaning of what follows. The phrase means 'above all unmixed with false motives or double  standards',  and is related to the preceding metaphor of the fountain which can only run with one kind of water.  If we receive with meekness the engrafted word (James 1:21), it is able to save our souls, and in so   saving  ourselves   we   shall  also   save   them  that   hear   us (1 Timothy 4:16).*

Perhaps the whole approach of the Lord's servant to those within and without the Brotherhood, but especially to his oppo­nents, can best be summed up by the quotation which contains the last occurrence of the word "meekness" in Scripture:

"But sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear (margin, reverence): having a good conscience (another word characteristic of the Pastoral Epistles, see page 44); that, wherein ye are spoken against, they may be put to shame who revile your good manner of life in Christ." (1 Peter 3:15-16, RV)

These words and the attitude they represent ought to be pondered, then practised by every disciple and especially by those who labour in the Word and in the doctrine.

ESSAY 34 

The Acknowledging of the Truth whether they be men of good will or not. In the Pastoral Epistles, "the acknowledging of the truth" means intimate knowledge and perception, close acquaintance and understanding, based upon humble acceptance and submission to the will of God. Remarkably Paul's expression is always used with a preposition implying motion towards: such saving knowledge and close communion with God is not a matter of instant intellectual comprehension—you come unto it.

THE rendering "acknowledging of the truth" (2 Timothy 2:25) is an attempt by the translators of the Authorised Version to give the full meaning of the words used by the Apostle—epignosis Us aUtheias. In earlier letters Paul had used both gnosis and epignosis and the verbs ginoskein and epiginoskein without any apparent distinction in the shade of meaning. In the Pastoral Epistles, however, it is the second pair, the compound words, which are preferred. Indeed, gnosis is used only once, and then in a hostile sense as "science falsely so-called" (1 Timothy 6:20). Of the three uses of ginoskein, two refer to factual knowledge and the third is a quotation from the Old Testament: "The Lord knoweth them that are his" (2 Timothy 2:19; Numbers 16:5).

As we have seen (pages 202, 223, 224), Paul is careful to distinguish between factual knowledge and the knowledge or understanding of the ways of God, which constitutes "the faith" or "the truth", and which is "salvation". His use of epignosis seems to emphasise that distinction in 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Timothy 2:25; 3:7 and Titus 1:1. The object of such knowledge is God, its content clearly to be understood (1 Timothy 2:4,5; John 17:3) and its source is also God, who has revealed it to His servants that they may proclaim it to others.

The knowledge which saves, therefore, is not gained by research or initiation, as into the mystery religions. It comes from the acknowledging of what God has revealed, and the acceptance of it into a good and honest heart. It is therefore closely linked with metanoia, 'a change of heart' or 'repentance'. So the truth of God is "worthy of all acceptation", that is, something which all men ought to receive (page 34), but their acceptance depends upon The Second Letter to Timothy