2 Timothy 2:23

This is the third time Paul is warning about this kind of chatter. Here he calls them foolish, ignorant controversies. It is certainly foolish and something that would be foolish to talk about. In addition, the controversies are missing something in such a way that makes them ignorant. It's as if these controversies are like a person and holding certain qualities of a person that describe what the controversies are. Either way, these controversies aren't good and he mentions how they breed quarrels. It's not a simple mention, but he reminds them, saying that they know this about these controversies. They already know it breeds quarrels, so they should listen to what Paul is saying and avoid them.

2 Timothy 2:22b

So, we are to flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. I like how Paul also mentions other people. This thing is what those who call on the Lord from a pure heart do. We are to do this along with them. We're not in this alone. There are others to encourage us and spur us on. In addition, we can also encourage and spur others on.

2 Timothy 2:22

Since cleansing from what is dishonorable will allow one to be a vessel for honorable use, we are to now flee youthful passions. What's interesting is that it doesn't just end at fleeing youthful passions. Not only are we to flee youthful passions, but also we are to pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. It's not that we simply drop and run away from "bad things" like youthful passions, but we are to move towards something else, like righteousness.

2 Timothy 2:21

The cleansing from what is dishonorable allows one to be a vessel for honorable use. It seems as if it is almost too easy or too simple. All you need to do is to cleanse yourself from what is dishonorable. However, the fact of the matter remains simple; to be rid of what is dishonorable is to be honorable. Paul goes on to say more about a vessel for honorable use, which is one that is set apart as holy. I imagine something new and special that you may be afraid for breaking or getting dirty. Sometimes people may have this feeling for something that is special or something that is new. We can be like that being one who cleanses himself from what is dishonorable. What's also interesting about honorable vessels is that they are useful to the master. This seems to imply that dishonorable vessels are not useful. At the very least, they are certainly not as useful as honorable vessels. They are useful and ready for every good work. To not be cleansed from what is dishonorable may keep a vessel from certain good works that it could be used for. I guess that means it's important to be ready and cleansed from what is dishonorable.

2 Timothy 2:20-21

Paul starts talking about vessels. Paul also talks about vessels in Romans 9, where he talks about election and the sovereignty of God. The point here in 2 Timothy is first about the fact that there are not only vessels for honorable use but also for dishonorable use. Some households may have had gold or silver items that were certainly better and honorable to be used. However, the things made of wood or clay weren't honorable and perhaps considered cheap and easily thrown away. Paul seems to relate people to these vessels, and that cleansing from what is dishonorable can make them into a vessel made for honorable use.

2 Timothy 2:19b

The Lord certainly knows those who are his. However, Paul also adds that those who call upon the name of the Lord are those who abstain from wickedness. It certainly is reassuring that the Lord knows those who are his; however, keeping from wickedness is something important that followers of Christ do. This certainly isn't by our power, but by his. We cannot save ourselves, and it is only by grace, through faith, that we are saved. To merely trust and hope that the Lord knows who are his, while at the same time, continuing to grow in wickedness would be to fool yourself.

2 Timothy 2:19

Why would Paul mention who this is upsetting the faith of some, and also mention how the Lord knows those who are his? Those two things seem to contract one another. If the Lord knows those who are his, it seems to imply that God will keep his own. However, Paul was talking about Hymenaeus and Philetus who are upsetting the faith of some. Perhaps those whose faith is being upset are not necessarily those who are his. Or, perhaps God will keep them even though their faith is being upset. In light of what is going on with these people who quarrel about words and deal with irreverent babble, these two truths are what Paul gives at the end of hope and encouragement. The fact that God knows those who are his is quite reassuring. It's not as if God has forgotten or lost those who are his own. God is more than able to keep his own, and he does keep his own. It's not as if people swerving from the truth are enough to topple over those who are known by God. This doesn't mean we shouldn't be wary or deal with these problems; however, it certainly is encouragement for the believer.

2 Timothy 2:18

These two people who have made shipwreck of the faith are ones who have swerved from the truth. What they are doing is saying that the resurrection has already happened. Clearly, Jesus has already been raised by this point, so this is not what they're referring to. I'm not quite sure what they are referring to, but perhaps it has something to do with the resurrection of the believer. Either way, they are preaching something that is false. What's worse is that they are upsetting the faith of some. This is clearly an example of what Paul was talking about earlier. Quarrelling about words does no good and results in the ruin of the hearers.

2 Timothy 2:17-18

Not much is known about these two people. Hymenaeus is also mentioned in 1 Timothy as one who has made shipwreck of the faith, along with Alexander. Here in 2 Timothy, Hymenaeus and Philetus are given as examples of people who have gone astray from the truth. This is probably related to worldly and empty chatter, something I'm guessing Hymenaeus and Philetus did. Perhaps what Paul is suggesting about worldly chatter is so unbelievable that it needs an example. Maybe unbelief isn't the issue, but providing an example helps support the point that is being made. It certainly doesn't lead anywhere good, so I guess it is something certainly needing further emphasis, like an actual example.

2 Timothy 2:16-17

There is a kind of talk that leads to more ungodliness. This type of talk is worldly and empty chatter. What's interesting is that Paul compares it to gangrene. Gangrene is a disease when large amounts of body tissue dies. This unprofitable talk will spread in such a way. It will be fast, since gangrene spreads at an alarming rate. For some reason, even though this chatter is clearly not good, people find a need to talk about it, and it spreads quickly. Gangrene certainly is deadly, since it is the death of tissue. Consuming your life with chatter like the type Paul refers to here will be deadly for you. As Paul already said, it will produce more ungodliness. There is also no cure to gangrene. Well, by that I mean that back then, there was no cure that would allow you to save the dead tissue. The cure was amputation. Nowadays, there are other cures, such as restoration of the blood flow which may reverse the affects of the gangrene. In the same way, this worldly chatter must be cut off. A note in my bible also translates the word to cancer. Either way, it still remains that this worldly, empty chatter spreads fast, is "bad", and needs to be cut off.

2 Timothy 2:15-16

What does it mean to rightly handle the word of truth? Well, Paul is warning Timothy against quarrelling about words. He is to avoid irreverent babble. To rightly handle the word of truth it to be careful to not waste your words or get involved with things that are not profitable like irreverent babble or quarrelling about words. Doing such a thing does no good and it leads to more and more ungodliness, which is the opposite of what the word of truth does. It's interesting how the word of truth is contrasted with the way words are wasted on unprofitable things. I am reminded of what James says about taming the tongue. It is quite dangerous, so we are to carefully guard how we use it and what we say.

2 Timothy 2:15b

Paul is telling Timothy about being approved and a worker. However, this is all begun by the instruction to present yourself to God as approved. There is a way in which Timothy is to present himself to God. Presenting yourself before someone brings the notion of appearing before a king or an audience. We may make ourselves look good or nice or the best we can be as we come before the eyes of others. It is particularly special when coming before a person or people of prominence. God is the highest and there is none higher. Coming before God is something special to say the least. However, we are in the presence of God and he is all seeing and all knowing. We are in the presence of God, and Paul brings up the presence of God in the previous verse. This makes me think that the instruction to present oneself before God as approved is not a one-time deal. This is something that happens constantly and repeatedly. We are to always do this and be this way, and not only sometimes.

2 Timothy 2:15

Paul tells Timothy to do his best to present himself to God as one approved. My question is this: what does it mean to be approved? The footnotes in my bible say, "that is, one approved after being tested". This isn't a study bible, but merely an ESV that typically has short notes on the translation of a word or a limited number of scripture references. In my confusion and quest to find the answer, I forgot to simply continue reading. Paul describes what it means to be approved. Timothy is to be a worker who has no need to be ashamed. Near the beginning of this letter, Paul talks about being ashamed. Paul says to not be ashamed of the testimony about the Lord, nor of Paul, who was a prisoner. I am reminded of a John Piper sermon on Romans talking about being ashamed. He presented a number of different ways in which people may be ashamed of something. One example was that of a boy who brags about how fast he can run. Then, he sets up a race against a new boy in the neighbourhood for all to see and he loses. However, one approved has no need to be ashamed. Paul is not ashamed and refers to him who he has believed. We serve and boast in a Lord who will not let us down. There is nothing in him that we need to be ashamed about. The world may try to shame you because of the Lord, but there is no need. He will not let us down.

2 Timothy 2:14

Earlier, at the beginning of this chapter, Paul urged Timothy to entrust Paul's teachings to faithful men. This is who I think Paul is referring to in verse 14. They are to be reminded about what Paul is talking about and these sayings he was mentioning. It's also interesting that he first urges Timothy to remember Jesus, and now he tells Timothy to remind those men about these things. Paul adds to this, telling Timothy to solemnly charge them not to wrangle about words. Some of them may have been caught up arguing over words. This seems to imply that what they were arguing about were little things and not that important. It may have been something like semantics or the definition of an important word that they used. They may have been arguing with each other or with false teachers. Either way, wrangling with words is not a good thing. It certainly is useless and of no profit to anyone. Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians that all things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial. Wrangling with words may have been done without sin or without breaking any laws, but it wasn't beneficial. What results from it is the ruin of the hearers. Those who hear are those who suffer. Not only is it not beneficial, but it is negatively impacting those who hear. It is certainly not a good things and it shouldn't be something that they do.

2 Timothy 2:13

The saying that Paul presents in this verse seems a bit odd. Previously, the sayings seemed to match up more. Dying with him results in living with him. Endurance results in reigning with him. Denying him results in him denying us. In this verse, we read that if we are faithless, he is still faithful. I almost expect it to say that faithlessness results in him being faithless. However, that doesn't make sense either, because how could our faithlessness affect his faithfulness. Whether we are faithful or faithless, Jesus remains faithful. What we do does not cause Jesus to be faithless. This is the one we serve; Jesus is faithful. We may deny him, but he cannot deny himself.

2 Timothy 2:12

It is those who endure that reign with him. There are a number of times where it mentions how followers of Jesus will reign with him. It's not just that we're his servants or mere peasants. He truly is king of kings and Lord of lords. However, we will reign with him, which certainly is something. However, what's mentioned next is a bit on the negative side. If we deny him, he will deny us. Instead of something positive resulting from the selection statement, this is something negative. However, what do you expect from denying him? It would be weird if it said that denying him resulted in something good. If you can't even acknowledge Christ before others, why would Jesus acknowledge you before the Father? Actually, one of my fears is to deny Christ when it really matters. But, if I can't even acknowledge Christ before men in the little things, how could I ever stand in a tough situation?

2 Timothy 2:11

Paul now presents some sayings to Timothy with regards to this matter. The first is about death and life. If we have died with him, we will also live with him. This is just like what Paul writes about in Romans 6. Paul is encouraging Timothy with these words and sayings. Those who are followers of Jesus Christ are those who have died with Christ in a sense. Fortunately, that's not the end of the story. There is a promise and hope that brings encouragement that says that we will live with him.

2 Timothy 2:8-10

This verse begins with "therefore" or "for", connecting it with something previously mentioned. My first instinct is to associate it with Paul's mention of God's word being unbound. This seems natural because Paul recently finished saying how the word of God is not bound. However, it is also possible that the "therefore" is linking to Paul's first thought of the paragraph where he urges Timothy to remember Christ, referring to the gospel. Either way, Paul is urged to endure all things for the sake of the elect. He is willing to put up with whatever he has to for the sake of those whom Jesus saves. Paul already brought this contrasting idea of being bound, comparing his imprisonment to the fact that the word of God is not bound. Paul is preaching the gospel, which is unbound. It is through this gospel that people are being saved. Perhaps Paul is pointing to the fact that in this equation, the only issue is with Paul himself, who is the one that is bound. Therefore, his desire is to endure what must be endured for the sake of the elect.

2 Timothy 2:9

Paul is preaching the gospel and because of that, he is in chains as a criminal. In that time and place, you could very well be thrown into prison for preaching the gospel. I don't know about it happening in North America nowadays, but there are parts of the world where that still happens. There certainly is persecution and a tough life for all Christians, but not necessarily imprisonment. What's interesting here is that Paul talks about being in chains and then contrasts that to the word of God, which is not bound. Paul may be in prison, but that cannot happen to the word of God. In the book of Acts, we read about how the Philippian Jailer was converted when Paul and Silas were sent to prison. It's not as if being tied up can restrain the word of God.

2 Timothy 2:8b

Paul says to remember Jesus Christ. He then mentions that Jesus was raised from the dead and is a descendant of David. Being a descendant of David, he is in fulfillment of some of the Old Testament prophecies. The Messiah was prophesied to be an offspring of David. Not only are we to remember that he defeated death, but that his coming was prophesied and he fulfilled these prophecies. This was all part of a plan for which he was the best and first choice for the part. He's the only choice for the part, since no one else could fill his shoes (or sandals).

This Jesus who saves is the one who Paul preached and still preaches in his gospel. Not that Paul owns or originates the gospel, but he is referring to the one he preaches as opposed to people who preach a different and false gospel. There were people distorting the gospel, so perhaps it was important to clarify this point. This part of the gospel preached by Paul, and it is important to remember Jesus and the gospel.