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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
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
Three Years in Ephesus with Tears
Paul has just sent for the Ephesian Elders and is about to address them as at the conclusion of his third missionary journey as the Apostle departs for Jerusalem.

a brief Epistle from Paul to Ephesus

For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. – Acts 20:26 LSB

Serving the Lord with humility and tears

ACTS on Mission – ἀπόστολος – *apostolos – a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders..
+ in a broader sense applied to other eminent Christian teachers
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The *apostles' tearful departure from Ephesus -

Let us recall so many close relationships of those brothers and sisters of the church at Ephesus and especially their elders who have travelled to see Paul once more. 

Remember also the several men and women sent out to the Church who now travel with the Apostle Paul as these apostles will now set sail back toward Antioch and Jerusalem.
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Acts of the Apostles 20:

18 And when they had come to him, he said to them,

“You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews;

how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable,

solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks

about repentance toward God

and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s farewell message to the Ephesians at Miletus – Acts of the apostles 20:18b-21- LSB

Ephesus, of course, was a key Roman port on the Aegean and entry into Asia (Asia Minor or Turkiye).

Jews from European capitals like Rome resided in nearly every port connected to the far-reaching Mediterranean ruled by Roman commerce and Legions under the command of the Caesars.

Three centuries earlier Asia Minor had been Alexander’s Macedonian route east to the Babylonian and Persian cities the Jews knew all too well.

Greeks of Asia Minor

This map shows the vast empire conquered by Alexander the Great in red highlight. The extent of the empire is an approximation of 320 BC.
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In winter 334–333 B.C. Alexander [the Great had] conquered western Asia Minor, subduing the hill tribes of Lycia and Pisidia, and in spring 333 B.C. he advanced along the coastal road to Perga.. [eventually defeating King Darius of Persia].
- Source https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-the-Great
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solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks

Without reiteration of the great cultural divisions previously addressed (by the Council of Jerusalem) we affirm that the Gospel remains the same for all men and women, namely:
- about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
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The Apostle Paul continues in his testimony to the Ephesian Elders:
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And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that chains and afflictions await me.

Paul does NOT say to the Ephesian Elders that he has met them in Miletus, a place away from their home church, to avoid previous problems.

The Apostle affirms that just as he had been called on his first mission to them, so too Paul is now called toward Jerusalem to endure more suffering in the Name of Jesus Christ.

And in the Apostle’s usual humble manner he assures them.

But I do not make my life of any account nor dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.
Acts of the Apostles 20:24 LSB

The Apostle Paul now proceeds with his most personal exhortation of these beloved Ephesian leaders by speaking his greatest concerns for the Ephesians once he has departed.

Remember our Three Years together
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Let us briefly hear as obedient subjects of the Authorized Kings James Version of the Acts of the Apostles:
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Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
ACTS 20:28-29 AKJV – Paul’s passing of the baton of leadership to the Ephesian elders

Indeed, the HOLY GHOST has made YOU, the LOCAL BISHOPS of your flock..

.. to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. [LSB]

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock..
ACTS 20:28a LSB

And where will the Church first encounter these ‘savage wolves,’ which the LSB calls these predatory preachers of false gospels?

.. and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.
ACTS 20:30 LSB

“Therefore be watchful, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.
Acts 20:31 LSB – Paul to the Ephesian elders

I commend you to God

And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified.

Paul’s benediction and blessing are most gracious. The Apostle begins by commendation (note the full meaning linked & outlined here).
- to place down (from one’s self or for one’s self) with any one
  - to deposit
  - to intrust, commit to one’s charge
The Apostle then sets forth his own example of these past three years:

[AKJV] 33 I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. 34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.

“In everything I showed you that by laboring in this manner you must help the weak

and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said,

‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Acts of the Apostles 20:35 Legacy Standard Bible – Paul’s parting words to the Ephesian elders at Miletus
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The Ephesian elders gathered at Miletus with Paul and the missionaries of his third journey must have pictured the apostles' departure at hand.
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And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more.
Acts of the Apostles 20:37-38a – New King James Version

And they accompanied him to the ship.

Talk of JESUS .com
March 23, 2024