Lesson for March 16, 2022
The Book of II Timothy
Chapter 2:1-13
Verses 1-7
“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.”
Paul was about to depart this life for Heaven, and he realized it. Therefore, Paul knew that it was essential that men with the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher be identified and trained by spiritually mature pastors like Timothy. It was Timothy’s job to identify men with the gift of pastor-teacher and teach them the principles of grace. Among many witnesses means that Timothy had been a part of Paul’s traveling seminary for a number of years and understood the academic discipline necessary to be a pastor-teacher.
The Greek word for entrusted is “paratithemi,” which means to make a deposit. Among Timothy’s congregation in Ephesus, there may have been some men who had the gift of pastor-teacher (faithful men). Therefore, as he was teaching doctrine to all the members of the congregation, he was also preparing these men for the pastorate (making a deposit of doctrine). For male believers who possess the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher, the local church is a classroom for that individual so that “a deposit of doctrine” can be made in their souls in preparation for teaching it.
Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus refers to self-discipline and uses a military analogy. The Greek word for suffer hardship is “kakospatheo,” which means to endure evil. Evil is Satan’s system for causing suffering in the lives of believers. Paul suffered at the “hands of Satan” and was now facing his own death. Therefore, he was passing the “torch of teaching” to Timothy. Since Paul and Timothy were involved in the Angelic Conflict, Paul used a military analogy of being a good soldier of Christ. (II Corinthians 12:7-10)
No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. Being a good soldier means avoiding the distractions from the details of life. All good soldiers of Jesus Christ must be self-disciplined in the consistent study of Bible doctrine. The Greek word for entangles is “empleko,” which means to weave in. In other words, entangles means to become involved in doing anything that would prevent you from studying God’s Word consistently.
Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. Now, Paul used a sports analogy. The Greek word for competes is “athleo,” which means to contend or to wrestle. The Olympic games were very popular in the Roman Empire. The serious athlete who competed in any of the events of the games in the Roman world had to comply with the rules of the games or be disqualified. The rules demanded a lot of self-discipline and the regulation of their lives. Like an athlete, believers are to follow the Protocol Plan of God, which means the strict adherence to correct doctrinal procedures as outlined in Scripture.
The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. Paul’s final analogy was a hard-working farmer. As a farmer, a person must have a lot of self-discipline if he is going to reap the reward of a healthy crop. When a farmer disciplines himself and does not become distracted from the task at hand, he receives a reward – a healthy, bountiful harvest. For believers who deposit (plant) accurate Bible doctrine in their souls, the harvest (reap the reward) comes as a result of the proper application of that doctrine.
Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
Consider means to concentrate. Therefore, it means to be concentrating on what you have been taught. Timothy was instructed to concentrate on the doctrine that he had learned under the teaching ministry of Paul. When studying the Bible, believers must be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to understand what is being taught. (John 14:26; 16:12-15; I Corinthians 2:9-14; James 1:21-25; I John 2:27)
Verses 8-13
“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the Word of God is not imprisoned. For this reason, I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, and with it eternal glory. It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”
Remember Jesus Christ is a command to be occupied with Christ, which is Divine Viewpoint Thinking. The Resurrection sets Jesus Christ apart from any other person who people worship, religious or otherwise. Without the resurrection of Christ, we have no salvation and no hope of eternal life. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is definitive proof that He is the Son of God, and that spiritual and physical death have been conquered. For those who place their trust in Him, He guarantees them eternal life.
Descendant of David emphasizes Christ’s Jewish royalty as a descendent of King David and the fulfilment of the Davidic Covenant. The Davidic Covenant is found in II Samuel 7:4-16. This unconditional covenant was given to David, and he was promised a royal linage, a throne, and a kingdom. It is this covenant that establishes forever the line of David through which the Messiah (Christ) would come. The promises of this covenant guarantee five things: 1) David will have a son to succeed him as king 2) David will have a child and his child will build the Temple 3) His Son’s (Christ’s) kingdom will be established; a prophecy regarding the Millennium 4) His royal throne will be established, which is a reference to the Messianic rulership of Christ during the Millennium 5) the disobedience of Israel will not cancel God’s promise to David, even though the nation would be disciplined. This David Covenant was confirmed in Psalms 89:3-4,34-36, and many other passages. Christ’s physical death did not hinder the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant because He rose from the dead and will return to earth at the Second Coming to set up His kingdom on earth.
According to my gospel simply refers to the Gospel of grace which Paul was to preach to the Gentile world. Paul’s Gospel message included the facts of the resurrection of Christ and that He was the fulfillment of the promised Jewish Messiah (descendent of David).
For which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. Paul’s suffering was at the hands of the Romans by being falsely accused by the Jewish religious leaders of the criminal act of insurrection against Rome. Even though Paul was confined, the doctrine in his soul had never been imprisoned and could not be hindered. No matter what happens to believers, God’s plan continues to advance, and there is no way to stop it. Paul’s imprisonment had not stopped the teaching of Bible doctrine. Paul’s epistles are being taught just as efficiently today as they were nearly 2000 years ago. Nothing has changed. There is no way that the plan of God can be changed by the imprisonment or death of any believer.
For this reason, I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen. Paul had more pressure and more suffering than anyone of his time and very few people in history have come close to what he endured. But he did endure it because he was determined to spread the message of the Gospel, establish churches, and teach Bible doctrine. Paul was able to endure a great deal of suffering at the hands of both the Jews and the Romans because he was a spiritually mature believer and consistently applied the doctrine in his soul. (II Corinthians 11:23-28)
So that they also may obtain the salvation [deliverance] which is in Christ Jesus does not refer to eternal salvation but to temporal deliverance. The Greek word for salvation is “sotheia,” which means deliverance or preservation. The point that Paul was making was if he could endure the suffering from preaching the Gospel, which was much greater than what Timothy had endured, then Timothy could also endure suffering by using the doctrine in his soul. Believers with accurate Bible doctrine in their souls will be able to handle any suffering that comes their way by using the doctrine stored in their souls. However, a believer with no doctrine in their soul means there can be no application of doctrine in times of sufferings.
And with it eternal glory refers to the rewards for those who persistently learn and apply Bible doctrine, even in the midst of suffering for blessing. Hebrews 10:35-36, “Do not, therefore, fling away your [fearless] confidence, for it has a glorious and great reward. For you have need of patient endurance [to bear up under difficult circumstances without compromising], so that when you have carried out the will of God, you may receive and enjoy to the full what is promised.” Believers will be evaluated with regard to their response to Christ’s command to “lay up treasure in Heaven.” This is an analogy for living our spiritual lives and the eternal rewards that will be ours in eternity as a result. (Matthew 6:19-20)
It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. What this passage mentions was part of a hymn that was sung by the early church. It relates to what Paul had been teaching Timothy by way of this letter and is a lesson for every Church Age believer. The trustworthy statement is a reference to Bible doctrine. Trustworthy means faithful and statement means word or words (accurate Bible doctrine). The content of this hymn covered positional, experiential, and ultimate sanctification. Positional sanctification is “if we died with Him (positionally).”Experiential sanctification is “we will also live with Him (our daily experience).” Ultimate sanctification is “if we endure (are persistent in living our spiritual lives), we will also reign with Him (during the Millennium).”
If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. This was written to believers and is therefore not referring to eternal salvation but to the Christian life. If a believer “denies Christ” means they have rejected the Christian Way of Life, which means rejecting God’s plan. If we reject Him, He is going to deny us something at the Judgment Seat of Christ – eternal rewards. Being faithless means a believer has not used his faith to believe and apply accurate Bible doctrine, which eventually results in a life of reversionism. However, God remains faithful because “He cannot deny Himself.” The Greek word for deny is “arneomai,” which means to contradict. In other words, God’s plan for believers in the Church Age remains consistent and the rewards for believers living their spiritual lives does not change, because He cannot contradict (deny) Himself by changing the plan. God’s plan for us was a divine decree from eternity past and cannot be altered!!!