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Tag: 2 timothy

2 Timothy 2 – Strong Teachers Charge them before God
More than thirty years earlier the Apostle Peter preaching on Pentecost had charged all Israel to accept JESUS as both God and Christ:

“This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses…

And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying,

“Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

Acts of the Apostles 2:32,40 ESV – Peter preaching on Pentecost ~AD 30

You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses,

commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Second Letter of Paul to Timothy 2:1-2 Christian Standard Bible

The Elected Saints (among the Gentiles)

By the grace of God, Paul — that is, Saul of Tarsus — was commissioned by Christ on a road to Damascus to fulfill his election as the Apostle to the Gentiles.

It had been some thirty years ago and Timothy, who had first met Paul in Lystra and followed the Apostle is now a pastor to the church at Ephesus.

Be Strong in the Lord

Paul points to Christ, writing:

Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 2:3 CSB

The Apostle had enlisted Timothy in the service of Christ back in Lystra.

No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the commanding officer.

2 Tim 2:4 CSB

In his humility and citing other witnesses Paul has pointed to Christ whom he serves as well. Certainly a soldier of Jesus Christ, risen from death, will be strong in the word given directly to the Apostle who enlisted his service.

Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

2 Tim 2:5

If ever there was a zealous follower of the rules it would be Paul, that is, Saul. And the Apostle had even insisted on circumcising Timothy (though not other gentiles) to fulfill the Lord’s purposes among the Jews.

Remember that Timothy’s absent biological father was Greek, but his grandmother had been a faithful Jew and his mother a Christ-follower.

Why does the Apostle use these two illustrations and the work of the farmer which follows?

Paul has written to the saints in Corinth:

To the Jews.. I became as one under the law–though not being myself under the law–that I might win those under the law.

To those outside the law (that is, Gentiles) I became as one outside the law.. but under the law of Christ–that I might win those outside the law. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

1 Corinthians 9 excerpt CSB

The Apostle with whom Timothy also traveled to Corinth also writes words likely recalled now in Ephesus:

I do all these things because of the gospel, so that I can be a participant in it.

Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize?

So run to win. Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.

1 Corinthians 9:24-25 NET

Paul will return to this before the close of this final pastoral epistle.

The Gospel for the Elect

Remember that Jesus Christ,

of the seed of David,

was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains;

but the word of God is not chained.

Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy 2:8-9 NKJV

As the Apostle nears the finish line of his race into the gentile world of the Roman Empire, Paul’s encouragement of Timothy as pastor of the elect Ephesian saints builds up a key church in a city of a quarter-million people, the third largest in the Empire.

Clement of Alexandria, second largest city in the Empire, would be an important convert in the second century of our Lord Jesus Christ and of course Rome remained the Empire’s largest metropolitan area.

For the Sake of Salvation of the Elect

WHY do all these early Christian saints endure persecution, martyrdom and rejection by the vast majority of those in the cities in which they preach?

Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:10 NKJV

Among the millions of souls surrounding the Apostles and martyred saints in Rome, Ephesus, Corinth and throughout the Empire, Paul encourages pastors in what Christ Himself has promised in the salvation of the elect — believing Jew or pagan Gentile.

The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. – Gospel of John 14:19

if we endure, we will also reign with him;

So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. – Gospel of Matthew 19:28 NKJV

if we deny him, he also will deny us;

but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 10:33

if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven… – Matthew 24:35-36a

Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy 2:12-14 ESV – quoting the Gospels and other Scripture

Choose this day who you will follow

24:15 וְאִם רַע בְּעֵינֵיכֶם לַעֲבֹד אֶת־יְהוָה בַּחֲרוּ לָכֶם הַיּוֹם אֶת־מִי תַעֲבֹדוּן אִם אֶת־אֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר־עָבְדוּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר מֵעֵבֶר הַנָּהָר וְאִם אֶת־אֱלֹהֵי הָאֱמֹרִי אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם יֹשְׁבִים בְּאַרְצָם וְאָנֹכִי וּבֵיתִי נַעֲבֹד אֶת־יְהוָה׃ פ
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You may recognize my Heading from Joshua's challenge to the Elect to remember the LORD of their Salvation. 

(Remember that this successor[יְהוֹשׁוּעַ] of Moses has a name [yᵊhôšûaʿ] meaning: "Jehovah is salvation" — iēsous, the Greek name for Jesus having the same Hebrew root.)
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Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

.. “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ..

“Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served…

“And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, …

But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Joshua 24 excerpt NKJV

PAUL now encourages young Timothy — the Apostle builds up pastors and saints to follow until the Day of Jesus Christ.

Remind them of these things, solemnly charging them in the presence of God..
Second Letter of Paul to Timothy 2:14a LSB

Many commentators cite the importance and difficulty of these key verses in 2 Timothy 2:10-13. We will close this section with these observations for your consideration (IF you are among the remnant elect saints of this Common Era):

God must be sovereign in our salvation precisely because we are neither willing nor able to choose salvation for ourselves.

John MacArthur – THE DOCTRINES OF GRACE

Why did the world hate Christ?

.. Earlier in John’s gospel, Jesus explained,

“The world … hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil” (7:7)

Fallen man does not want to be confronted with the true nature of his heart, he doesn’t want to face his inherent wickedness.

He has to find a way to tolerate and excuse himself from the guild he naturally faces each day.

So he falls back on his most dominant sin, pride, and imagines a version of himself that can escape condemnation. He spins a web of delusions, convincing himself that he is truly good and noble—anything to distract from the fact that his deeds are evil.

ibid. pp 7-8

It was true in Ephesus and Rome in the first century AD; it is true in this twenty-first century of the Common Era in Rome and in every other city.

Salvation in God alone

“It’s a well established reality that the doctrine of election is disturbing to many people,” observes MacArthur.

He continues, “Numerous ministry leaders, pastors, and major authors harbor animosity toward the doctrine of election.”

ibid. pp 55,56

Note a later idolatry and heresies which crept quickly into the churches with false teaching seeking to include men as only interpreters of Scripture and intercessors for active sin through memories of saints gone before.

MacArthur cites numerous Scriptures besides those here [2 Timothy 2:10]

ibid. 68-

Before we return to a brief MacArthur outline from this section from his commentary on 2 Timothy, note his QUOTE of Martin Luther introducing this section on:

DIVINE ELECTION:

NO MAN CAN BE THOROUGHLY HUMBLED UNTIL HE KNOWS THAT HIS SALVATION IS UTTERLY BEYOND HIS OWN POWERS, DEVICES, ENDEAVORS, WILL, AND WORKS, AND DEPENDS ENTIRELY ON THE CHOICE, WILL, AND WORK OF ANOTHER, NAMELY, OF GOD ALONE.

MARTIN LUTHER

2 Timothy – NEXT in our outline

An overview Outline of 2 Timothy [Kress Biblical Resources] follows Paul’s brief prologue (2 Tim 1:1-2) with an extended section we have just completed:

Persevere in the ministry and be unashamed to suffer for the gospel (1:3-2:13)

The following extended section we will follow next pivots on 2:14.

Proclaim the truth and be unashamed to confront error (2:14-4-8)

John MacArthur in his NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY OF 2 TIMOTHY outlines this section of Paul’s second letter to Timothy:
- The Elements of a Strong Spiritual Life [2 Tim 2:1-7]
- Motives for a Sacrificial Ministry [2 Tim 2:8-13]
- The Danger of False Teaching [2 Tim 2:14-19]
- and completing 2 Tim 2 – An Honorable Vessel
Remember

Paul’s pivotal imperatives of this section of the Apostle’s second pastoral epistle.
- BE STRONG – v.1
- CONSIDER – v.7
- REMIND – v. 14 (our pivotal hinge today)
- AVOID, ABSTAIN, FLEE, PURSUE, REFUSE
  - ALL next in Paul’s commands to Timothy.
MACARTHUR NT COMMENTARY 2 TIMOTHY, p. 55

Looking for some more Apostolic controvery?

NEXT – We’ll address these warnings against false doctrine.

Talk of JESUS . com

Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel
January 19, 2026
2 Timothy 1 – For this Gospel I was appointed
For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher,

Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy 1:11 RSV

Paul’s Gospel of God and Christ

The Apostle has begun his final pastoral epistle with encouragement of young Timothy as his beloved son appointed to continue in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

From Personal Sonship to Apostolic Responsibility for the Gospel

Paul also identifies some of who fall away from Christ and others who remain faithful. (It remains a pattern for the ages.)

What is Paul’s Gospel?

εὐαγγέλιον

euangelion

Paul has written to the Romans, faithful saints in the city in which the Apostle is imprisoned and awaiting death:

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel G2098 of God,

Romans 1:1 KJV

To the Corinthian saints Paul writes:

.. for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. G2098

1 Corinthians 4:15b KJV

and

But if our gospel G2098 be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

2 Corinthians 4:3 KJV
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We could point to additional epistles of Paul to the saints of various churches. 
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Paul refers to the GOSPEL 74 times in 68 verses in ‘The Pauline Epistles.’

God’s Divine plan now revealed in Christ

That’s the Apostles’ NEW Good News!

In Paul’s earlier pastoral letter to Timothy the Apostle had written:

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine,

1 Timothy 1:3 RSV
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Certain saints supposedly committed to Christ had already wavered away from the Gospel Paul taught. 
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Now we know that the law is good, if any one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane..

and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God

with which I have been entrusted.

1 Timothy 1:8-11 excerpt RSV

I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ; and this will be made manifest at the proper time by the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see.

To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:14-16 RSV – charge of the Apostle Paul to Timothy

Paul worships God and Christ, pointing to the promise of the eternal mystery now revealed in the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.

Paul’s Gospel of SALVATION in JESUS

manifested by the appearing of our Savior

join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us

and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works,

but according to His own purpose and grace

which was given to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,

but now has been manifested by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus,

who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

2 Timothy 1:8b-10 LSB

Jesus is now revealed as our Savior and it is death from which He has saved us.

This is the gospel of Jesus as our saviour which Paul emphasizes throughout this last pastoral epistle to Timothy and saved saints of the Church.

2 Timothy Commentary

Retain the standard of sound words

Hold to the standard of sound words that you heard from me and do so with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus

2 Timothy 1:13 New English Translation

Hold fast the form of sound words…

2 Tim 1:13a KJV

Retiens dans la foi..

LS

Retén la forma

SE

1:13 ὑποτύπωσιν ἔχε ὑγιαινόντων λόγων

Retain – echō is the word Paul uses.

The Apostle has used [ὑποτύπωσις]hypotypōsis in his first epistle as well:

Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern G5296 to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

1 Tim 1:16 KJV

And again Paul states here:

Hold fast the form G5296 of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

2 Tim 1:13 KJV

His outline [or pattern] here is for Timothy and any pastor who will follow in the authority of Christ Jesus — the Apostolic faith which Paul, Peter and others have echoed.

RETAIN THIS, insists Paul.

Preachers, Apostles and Teachers

This self-discipline [v.7] to which the Apostle has already pointed requires preachers and teachers to retain this pattern of Paul.

Therefore do not be ashamed of either the witness about our Lord or me His prisoner..

2 Tim 1:8a LSB
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a brief reminder about apostles, preachers and teachers.. and then, saints:
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An Apostle is ‘sent out’ or set apart under the Authorithy through God and Christ.

IF you address your preacher standing in a pulpit going nowhere but the stage of their church as Apostle So-and-so, you miss the Apostolic authority Paul calls for preachers and teachers to retain as our pattern in Christ Jesus.

Paul points out that he was appointed [tithēmi ] to all these responsibilities. He is an apostle, a preacher and teacher.

The Church often used a symbolic laying on of hands for such offices, but the true sign is of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of Almighty God.

Preachers

kēryx is the same word Peter used of Noah calling him, ‘a preacher of righteousness.’ It’s a noun meaning: a herald or messenger vested with public authority.

You’ll recognize Paul’s point from its verb meaning to preach or proclaim.

From that time Jesus began to preach G2784 and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Gospel of Matthew 4:17 LSB

and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed [ G2784] in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

“You are witnesses of these things.

Gospel of Luke 24:46-48 LSB – Jesus to the Apostles just prior to His ascension

Paul reminds Timothy:

That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.

2 Timothy 1:12 NLT

Teachers

διδάσκαλος – in the NT one who teaches concerning the things of God, and the duties of man

“A disciple is not above his teacher^G1320, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher^G1320, and the slave like his master.

Gospel of Matthew 10:24-25a LSB
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And a reminder that mathētēs is any student or disciple of a teacher. 

Slave is doulos which we often gently translate, servant. 

And again the significance of the teacher (whether Paul or Jesus or a teaching Elder of your church) is that relationship — 

 of Teacher-Student or Master-Servant — kyrios - the same word often used for the Lord JESUS points to the authority of God. 
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“You call Me Teacher G1320 and Lord ^G2962; and you are right, for so I am.

Gospel of John 13:13 LSB – Jesus to His Disciples

a duty of the saints and pastors

Now if any one says that we need not direct men how or what they should teach, since the Holy Spirit makes them teachers, he may as well say that we need not pray, .. or that the Apostle Paul should not have given directions to Timothy and Titus as to how they should teach others.

And these three apostolic epistles ought to be constantly before the eyes of everyone who has obtained the position of a teacher in the Church.

ON CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE – AD 397 & 426 – translated JF Shaw, book IV, ch xxxiii excerpt – ST. AUGUSTINE of Hippo

Augustine, an elevated father of the early Church, presents sound reasons why all saints of Christ ought to dutifully follow their teachers and why all pastors can only lead their sheep of Christ’s pasture in diligence of prayer, obeying the Holy Spirit and keeping in Scripture, including these pastoral epistles.

Guard the Truth

guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.
Second Epistle of the Apostle Paul to Timothy 1:14 RSV
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* SUMMARY OF THIS GOSPEL:
Christ alone is the good shepherd...
Christ’s sheep know only Christ’s voice 
and follow it.
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God knows well who are his as Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:19:
“Howbeit the firm foundation of God standeth, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his.”

It is not a congregation of Christ that strives for the honor of this world and desires to be esteemed great in the eyes of the world…

~ AD 1520 – Sermons of MARTIN LUTHER – a theologian, Catholic priest, reformer and former Augustinian friar – Vol 3, Pg 340 [translated Lenker]

NEXT: 2 Timothy 2 – STRONG Teachers and FALSE Preachers
January 15, 2026
II Timothy i beloved son of Paul
Τιμοθέῳ ἀγαπητῷ τέκνῳ

χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς καὶ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν

To Timothy, my dearly beloved son:

Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Timothy 1:2 KJV

Timothy, beloved son of an Apostle

Paul is about to send Timothy out as his continued Apostolic voice to a next generation of faithful believers.

Paul’s final Epistle from Rome is little different from that of Peter, also sent from prison prior to their forthcoming executions.

“Dearly BELOVED..”
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Do any recognize the greeting of such intimately connected believers so joined in Christ Jesus? 
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This is how Paulos, a Jew of Cilicia, addresses his Galatian gentile protege Timotheus —

Greek by heritage of his father (apparently deceased or absent) and raised Jewish by the faith of his Grandmother Lois and convert mother, Eunice (as we detailed in our Introduction) —

as his SON, a beloved and chosen adoptive son — not just an exceptional student and faithful follower.

τέκνον – teknon – child or son
- Strong’s G5043 – teknon – “a child” (akin to tikto, “to beget, bear”), is used in both the natural and the figurative senses. In contrast to huios, “son” (see below), it gives prominence to the fact of birth, whereas huios stresses the dignity and character of the relationship. Figuratively, teknon is used of “children” of
- (a) God, Jhn 1:12;
- (b) light, Eph 5:8;
- (c) obedience, 1Pe 1:14;
- (d) a promise, Rom 9:8; Gal 4:28;
- (e) the Devil, 1Jo 3:10;
- (f) wrath, Eph 2:3;
- (g) cursing, 2Pe 2:14;
- (h) spiritual relationship, 2Ti 2:1; Phm 1:10.
  - (2X from the Pastoral Epistles of Paul)
- See DAUGHTER, SON.
Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

As mentioned in our introduction to Timothy, the Apostle Paul has adopted this young man of Galatia and mentored him along with others as trusted servants, sons and companions in his apostolic mission to the Gentiles.

Historical Context:

2 Timothy was likely written around AD 67, during Paul’s second imprisonment in Rome, shortly before his martyrdom. This period was marked by intense persecution of Christians under Emperor Nero. Paul, aware of his impending death, writes with a sense of urgency and finality.

Audience and Purpose:

Paul’s second letter to Timothy, left in Ephesus to oversee the church, guides both him and the broader Christian community. It encourages church leaders and believers in the face of persecution. Paul urges Timothy to protect the gospel, endure hardships, and teach sound doctrine.

source: BibleHub.org

As to the role of Timothy to the Church, we might in a later era address this esteemed son of the Apostle to the Gentiles as Bishop Timothy of Ephesus,

or possibly Arch-Bishop Timotheus of Asia.

But regardless of Timothy’s personal importance to Paul as a fellow servant of Christ and the Gospel, you can see from the definition of son above that his spiritual relationship to the Apostle and Christ’s Church stand foremost to any role of administrative authority (which he had, as did the Apostle Paul) or imaginative royal-like religious title.

and he set sail from Ephesus.

From Personal Sonship to Apostolic Responsibility for the Gospel

In the fifteen or so years since Timothy as a young man had first followed and served Paul, he has proven himself faithful, and a capable pastor (or shepherd trusted with local flocks of followers of The Way, loyal to Paul and true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands;

2 Timothy 1:6 RSV

“.. rekindle the gift of God that is within you..” – the word Paul uses here in this introduction of his pastoral epistle is: anazōpyreō

– stir up that by which the fire is kindled anew or lighted up, a pair of bellows);

Don’t you love Paul’s imagery of a fire of holiness, perhaps neglected and cooling to Christ as its last embers of your faith — REKINDLING through the Holy Spirit (received by the Apostle’s laying on of hands)?

Of course you know Paul’s word for ‘the gift of God’ – the charisma of Theos.
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Paul reminds by building up in the power of the faith already well-known in and to Timothy: 
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for God did not give us a spirit of timidity
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that is, fearfulness of cowardice 
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but a spirit of power and love and self-control.

THREE gifts of the Spirit required of pastors and the faithful of the flock of every church.
- dynamis – strength power and ability
- agapē – (not just any love, but agapē love) – affection, benevolence, good will, charity, love for the brothers and sisters of the church
- sōphronismos – The KJV translates as sound mind (1x).
  - (this you may not know and in this the saints so often find ourselves lacking)
  - an admonishing or calling to soundness of mind, to moderation and self-control
Power in the Spirit, Agape Love and a yielding of the mind to God

Paul could have easily been forgotten in his prison cell in Rome, even more distant in Europe across the Aegean — than Derbe and Antioch from Ephesus, all in Asia where Timothy remains pastoring the church.

Therefore, be not ashamed

So the Apostle writes:

Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel in the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling,

not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago, and now has manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

2 Timothy 1:8-10 RSV

The faithful and unfaithful to Paul and Apostolic faith
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Paul is about to begin an important point and reason for this second epistle (which we will study more next time), but here he lists some remembered for their works. 
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This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me,

among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain;

but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me.

The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.

2 Timothy 1:15-18 NKJV

NEXT: For this Gospel I was appointed

Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel
January 10, 2026