Bible Commentaries
2 Timothy 4

Verses 1-8

Paul Explains Timothy’s Spiritual Journey to Those in Divine Service - After giving Timothy a warm greeting (2 Timothy 1:1-2) Paul immediately begins to exhort Timothy to fulfill his divine calling while using himself as an example of a faithful minister of Christ Jesus. He does this by basing his exhortation and charges upon the spiritual journey that every minister of God must complete. This spiritual journey begins with the foreknowledge of God the Father, justification through Jesus Christ the Son, and the sanctification of the Holy Spirit that will one day bring us into glory in Heaven. Timothy’s spiritual journey began before his birth with the foreknowledge of God the Father, who called him, saved him and imparted into him spiritual gives that must be stirred up (2 Timothy 1:3-18). Paul then exhorts him to be strong in the Lord in order to deliver sound doctrines to faithful men (2 Timothy 2:1-14). Paul next reflects upon Timothy’s divine calling from the perspective of being a faithful servant of Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:15-26). Paul then reflects upon the part of the journey called perseverance, in which Timothy is exhorted to continue in what he has been taught (2 Timothy 3:1-17). Finally, Paul focuses upon the future glorification that awaits every faithful minister when they enter into Heaven. Based upon this future hope Timothy is exhorted to preach the Word in all seasons (2 Timothy 4:1-8).

Thus, Paul begins this charge to Timothy by having him look back on the faithfulness of his mother and grandmother in training him up in the Holy Scriptures. Paul will conclude by having him look towards eternity as he describes the crown of righteousness for those who are faithful. Thus, Paul draws a broader picture of Timothy’s life in which his temporal earth-life is but a moment.

Outline - Note the proposed outline:

1. Justification by Faith thru Divine Foreknowledge 2 Timothy 1:3-18

2. Sanctification by Holy Spirit: Indoctrination 2 Timothy 2:1-14

3. Sanctification by Holy Spirit: Divine Service 2 Timothy 2:15-26

4. Sanctification by Holy Spirit: Perseverance 2 Timothy 3:1-17

5. Glorification 2 Timothy 4:1-8

Analogies of a Minister of Christ - Note the illustrations used by Paul to Timothy in this passage of Scripture: the soldier (2 Timothy 2:3), an athlete (2 Timothy 2:5), the husbandman (2 Timothy 2:6), the workman (2 Timothy 2:15), a vessel (2 Timothy 2:21), a servant (2 Timothy 2:24).

Verses 9-22

Conclusion We find the conclusion to 2 Timothy in the final passage of this Epistle. In 2 Timothy 4:9-22 Paul gives Timothy some final instructions on making preparations to come to him as quickly as possible. These instructions are mixed with the final greetings that are typical of the Pauline epistles.

2 Timothy 4:9 Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:

2 Timothy 4:9 Comments - Paul’s desire to see Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:4 moved him later to request that he make all effort to come see him in the closing passage of this epistle.

2 Timothy 4:9, “Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:”

2 Timothy 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

2 Timothy 4:10 “Crescens to Galatia” Comments - Eusebius (A.D. 260 to 340) tells us that Crescens was sent to Gaul. [36] However, 2 Timothy 4:10 says that he was sent to Galatia. Webster tells us that the word “Gaul” was the Anglicized form of “Gallia”; he says the term “Galatian” refers to “Galatia or its inhabitants. -- A native or inhabitant of Galatia, in Asia Minor; a descendant of the Gauls who settled in Asia Minor.”

[36] Eusebius writes, “As to the rest of his followers, Paul testifies that Crescens was sent to Gaul;” ( Ecclesiastical History 3.4.9)

Thus, we can see that the terms “Gaul” and “Galatia” referred to the same group of people in ancient history, so that there need be no contradiction in Eusebius' statement with the Holy Scriptures.

The Apostolic Constitutions, a collection of ecclesiastical law that is believed to have been compiled during the latter half of the fourth century, gives us a list of the earliest bishops. This ancient document states that there was a man by the name of “Crescens” who became the bishop of the churches in Galatia. There is little doubt that this is referring to the same individual. [37]

[37] The Apostolic Constitution says, “Now concerning those bishops which have been ordained in our lifetime, we let you know that they are these…Of the churches of Galatia, Crescens.” ( Constitutions of the Holy Apostles 7.4.46)

2 Timothy 4:10 Comments - In 2 Timothy 4:5, Paul exhorts young Timothy to finish his course. Then Paul uses himself as an example in verses 6-8 of one who has fulfilled his divine calling. Here in verse 10, Paul gives Timothy another example. This time, Timothy sees a person who has failed in his calling, in stark contrast to the life of Paul.

2 Timothy 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

2 Timothy 4:11 Comments Paul’s statement in 2 Timothy 4:11 regarding John Mark “for he is profitable to me for the ministry” seems to allude to the fact that this young man was profitable as an assistant during Paul’s early years of ministry (Acts 12:25; Acts 13:5), but he proved unprofitable by abandoning Paul and Barnabas during their first missionary journey (Acts 12:25; Acts 13:5; Acts 13:13). In his old age, Paul seems to redeem his support and love towards John Mark.

2 Timothy 4:12 And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus.

2 Timothy 4:12 Comments - If the assumption by many scholars is true, that the time of writing of the three Pastoral Epistles is close together, then we can refer to Titus 3:12 and suggest that Paul sent Artemas to Crete and Tychicus to Ephesus. Paul would not have pulled Timothy away for any length of time without placing a faithful person in his place. The references to Tychicus in the New Testament reveal that he was a very faithful and trusted servant to Paul, having delivered two of the Prison Epistles to Ephesus and Colossi.

Titus 3:12, “When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter.”

2 Timothy 4:13 The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.

2 Timothy 4:13 “but especially the parchments” Comments - Robert Gundry has suggested that Paul’s request to Timothy to bring the parchments may not be limited to Old Testament writings. These documents may have included his certificate of Roman citizenship for his trial, records of Jesus’ life and teachings, etc. [38]

[38] Robert H. Gundry, A Survey of the New Testament, revised edition (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House), 310.

2 Timothy 4:13 Comments - William Tyndale spent the last winter of his life in a cold, damp prison because of his crime of translating the Holy Scriptures into English. During this imprisonment of 1535-36, he wrote a letter to a superior requesting much the same items that Paul is requesting in this verse. Paul was also writing a letter just before the last winter of his life, perhaps A.D. 63-64, asking for warmer clothing and his books. Note this letter from the hand of William Tyndale, discovered in the middle of the 1800’s, which also reveals to us the environment in which Paul wrote his last epistle, and perhaps all of his prison epistles.

“I believe, right worshipful, that you are not unaware of what may have been determined concerning me. Wherefore, I beg your lordship, and that by the Lord Jesus, that if I am to remain here through the winter, you will request the commissary to have the kindness to send me, from the goods of mine which he has, a warmer cap, for I suffer greatly from cold in the head, and am afflicted by a perpetual catarrh, which is much increased in this cell; a warmer coat also, for this which I have is very thin; a piece of cloth, too, to patch my leggings. My overcoat is worn out; my shirts also are worn out. He has a woolen shirt, if he will be good enough to send it. I have also with him leggings of thicker cloth to put on above; he has also warmer night-caps. And I ask to be allowed to have a lamp in the evening; it is indeed wearisome sitting alone in the dark. But most of all I beg and beseech your clemency to be urgent with the commissary, that he will kindly permit me to have the Hebrew Bible, Hebrew grammar and Hebrew dictionary, that I may pass the time in that study. In return may you obtain what you most desire, so only that it be for the salvation of your soul. But if any other decision has been taken concerning me, to be carried out before winter, I will be patient, abiding the will of God, to the glory of the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ; whose Spirit (I pray) may ever direct your heart. Amen” [39]

[39] F. F. Bruce, The Books and the Parchments (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1963), 9-10.

We see clearly in both statements by these two men of God a passion for the Holy Scriptures despite the sufferings of the physical body within these cold prisons. For William Tyndale, it was a desire to complete the full translation of the Old Testament, which he has partially completed. For Paul, it was a passion to know Christ and to present Him from the Holy Scriptures.

This story verifies what I have experienced over the years of doing my own personal Bible studies. There is seldom, if ever, a convenient and comfortable time to study God’s Word. The flesh wars against us and our minds want to find something else to think about. It may be too cold or too hot. We may be too busy with work or family needs. We too, as Paul and William Tyndale, will have to pay a price each time we study the Word. It will always cost us something in this world to hear from God.

2 Timothy 4:14-15 Comments - Paul’s Warning to Timothy of Alexander the Coppersmith In 2 Timothy 4:14-15 Paul gives Timothy a personal and vivid illustration of those who oppose the truth as he has stated would happened in a number of previous verses in this epistle:

2 Timothy 2:25, “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;”

2 Timothy 3:8, “Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.”

2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;”

We do have a Jew named Alexander mentioned in Acts 19:33, who was apparently a leader of the Jewish community in Ephesus. He is mentioned in Acts because he was chosen by the Jews in Ephesus to speak to the crowd and appease their anger, but to no avail. Paul mentions a man by this name in his two epistles to Timothy. He is called Alexander the coppersmith and described as a harsh opponent to Paul’s work in Ephesus. Such a description seen in Acts 19:33 of a well-spoken Jewish leader in Ephesus fits the description of a possible opponent of Paul’s evangelist work in this city. It is very possible for this to be the same person.

Acts 19:33, “And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people.”

1 Timothy 1:20, “Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.”

2 Timothy 4:16 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.

2 Timothy 4:16 Comments 2 Timothy 4:16 is a reference to Paul’s second imprisonment and trials prior to his death. We see in this verse how fiery and frightening it must have been for his friends, even to the point of threatening their lives by associating with Christians.

2 Timothy 4:17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

2 Timothy 4:17 “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me” Comments - We can interpret 2 Timothy 4:17 to mean that during Paul’s darkest hours of fiery trials and condemnation from false lies, and when all friends had forsaken him out of fear of being themselves condemned, the Lord Jesus Christ visited him and strengthened him with words of comfort.

2 Timothy 4:17 “that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear” Comments - In 2 Timothy 4:17 Paul refers to his divine commission of taking the Gospel to the Gentiles, which the Lord spoke through Ananias at the time of his conversion in Acts 9:10-19. He felt compelled to reach all nations.

Acts 9:15-16, “But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.”

The Lord later spoke to Paul to depart and go to the Gentile nations.

Acts 22:21, “And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.”

2 Timothy 4:17 “and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion” - Comments - The statement in 2 Timothy 2:17 that “I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion,” mostly likely is a reference to Paul’s first release under Nero. Josephus records the statement of Agrippa’s servant running to tell him of the death of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, saying, “The lion is dead.” ( Antiquities 18.6.10) Thus, we have a testimony that the Roman Emperors were called a lion.

2 Timothy 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

2 Timothy 4:16-18 Comments - Paul’s Steadfastness and the Lord’s Deliverance Although 2 Timothy is generally understood to have been written shortly before Paul’s death at the hands of Nero during his second Roman imprisonment, Albert Barnes and others believe that 2 Timothy 4:16-18 is a reference to Paul’s deliverance from his first imprisonment. He understands this passage to say that during his first trial before a Roman court all of his friends forsook him, but the Lord stood with him and brought deliverance for him. The phrase “that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear” would then refer to the fact that Paul was permitted to be free once more to travel and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thus, the phrase, “and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion” would be a reference to being delivered from Nero during his first imprisonment.

The early Church historian Eusebius (A.D. 260 to 340) supports this view, telling us that 2 Timothy 4:16-18 is a reference to Paul's deliverance from his first Roman imprisonment and a statement of his pending death during his second imprisonment. He says that when Paul refers to being delivered from the mouth of the lion, he was referring to his deliverance from death at the hands of Nero during his first imprisonment. He tells us that 2 Timothy 4:17 is an indication that Paul was delivered from his first judgment in Nero's court in order to finish his ministry. However, Eusebius believes that 2 Timothy 4:6 is an indication that Paul foresaw his pending death at his second encounter with Nero; for he said, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.” [40] Jerome (NPN2-3) (A.D. 342 to 420) supports this view in his comments on this passage of Scripture. [41]

[40] Eusebius writes, “Thus after he had made his defense it is said that the apostle was sent again upon the ministry of preaching, and that upon coming to the same city a second time he suffered martyrdom. In this imprisonment he wrote his second epistle to Timothy, in which he mentions his first defense and his impending death. But hear his testimony on these matters: ‘At my first answer,’ he says, ‘no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.’ He plainly indicates in these words that on the former occasion, in order that the preaching might be fulfilled by him, he was rescued from the mouth of the lion, referring, in this expression, to Nero, as is probable on account of the latter's cruelty. He did not therefore afterward add the similar statement, ‘He will rescue me from the mouth of the lion’; for he saw in the spirit that his end would not be long delayed. Wherefore he adds to the words, ‘And he delivered me from the mouth of the lion,’ this sentence: ‘The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom,’ indicating his speedy martyrdom; which he also foretells still more clearly in the same epistle, when he writes, ‘For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.’” ( Ecclesiastical History 2.22.2-5)

[41] Jerome writes, “It ought to be said that at the first defence, the power of Nero having not yet been confirmed, nor his wickedness broken forth to such a degree as the histories relate concerning him, Paul was dismissed by Nero, that the gospel of Christ might be preached also in the West. As he himself writes in the second epistle to Timothy, at the time when he was about to be put to death dictating his epistle as he did while in chains; ‘At my first defence no one took my part, but all forsook me: may it not be laid to their account. But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me; that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and that all the Gentiles might hear, and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion’ -- clearly indicating Nero as lion on account of his cruelty. And directly following he says ‘The Lord delivered me from the month of the lion’ and again shortly, ‘The Lord delivered me from every evil work and saved me unto his heavenly kingdom,’ for indeed he felt within himself that his martyrdom was near at hand, for in the same epistle he announced ‘for I am already being offered and the time of my departure is at hand.’ He then, in the fourteenth year of Nero on the same day with Peter, was beheaded at Rome for Christ's sake and was buried in the Ostian way, the twenty-seventh year after our Lord's passion.” ( Illustrious Men 5)

2 Timothy 4:14-18 Comments - Paul Refers to His Persecutions, Abandonment, and the Lord’s Faithfulness If we look for an occasion of Paul being delivered back to Roman prison the second time, the passage in 2 Timothy 4:14-18 serves as a good place to speculate. We have Paul first referring to one of his arch-enemies in the area of Ephesus, a Jew by the name of Alexander the coppersmith (2 Timothy 4:14-15), who made great efforts to resist Paul’s ministry. He is probably the same person mentioned in Acts 19:33, and was apparently a leader of the Jewish community in Ephesus. He is mentioned in Acts because he was chosen by the Jews in Ephesus to speak to the crowd and appease their anger, but to no avail. Paul mentions a man by this name in his two epistles to Timothy. He is called Alexander the coppersmith and described as a harsh opponent to Paul’s work in Ephesus. Such a description seen in Acts 19:33 of a well-spoken Jewish leader in Ephesus fits the description of a possible opponent of Paul’s evangelist work in this city.

Following this warning to Timothy about his adversary, Paul immediately refers to his trial and defense, as if Alexander had something to do with his arrest. He recalls the painful experience of having everyone forsake him, but finds strength in the way the Lord stood by him and delivered him from the mouth of lions. It is possible that Paul is recalling the events around his second arrest, which may have taken place in Ephesus as a result of the efforts of Alexander the coppersmith. This passage may be referring to the occasion for Paul’s arrest.

2 Timothy 4:19 Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.

2 Timothy 4:19 “Salute Prisca and Aquila” Comments - Paul first met Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth on his second missionary journey when he established a church there. They had been banished from Rome by Claudius.

Acts 18:1-2, “After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.”

He took them with him on his way back to Antioch and left them in the city of Ephesus.

Acts 18:18-19, “And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.”

We find that this couple is still in Ephesus when Paul returns on his third missionary journey and writes his first epistle to the Corinthians from there. They had started a church in their home while in Ephesus.

1 Corinthians 16:19, “The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.”

In Romans 16:3, which is dated a short time later, we find them back in the city of Rome. It is possible that Paul sent them to Rome before he left Ephesus in order to help establish the church there.

Romans 16:3-4, “Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.”

Near the end of Paul’s life, while writing to Timothy from the city of Rome just before his death, we find this couple back in Ephesus.

2 Timothy 4:19, “Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.”

This story would certainly fit the Paul’s description of their sacrifices of laying down their lives in the following verse (16:4). They had returned to Rome, which was placing them in risk of their lives. They had served in Ephesus for some years until Paul returned on his next visit. Thus, the churches of the Gentiles had something to thank them for.

2 Timothy 4:19 “and the household of Onesiphorus” Comments - Note another reference to Onesiphorus in 2 Timothy 1:16, “The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain:”

2 Timothy 4:20 Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.

2 Timothy 4:21 Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren.

2 Timothy 4:21 “and Linus” Comments - Eusebius (A.D. 260 to 340) makes several references to Linus, whom he says was the first bishop of Rome after the death of Paul and Peter. [42] The Apostolic Constitutions, a collection of ecclesiastical law that is believed to have been compiled during the latter half of the fourth century, states that Linus was the first bishop of the church at Rome. [43]

[42] Eusebius writes, “After the martyrdom of Paul and of Peter, Linus was the first to obtain the episcopate of the church at Rome. Paul mentions him, when writing to Timothy from Rome, in the salutation at the end of the epistle.” ( Ecclesiastical History 3.2.1)…“but Linus, whom he mentions in the Second Epistle to Timothy as his companion at Rome, was Peter's successor in the episcopate of the church there, as has already been shown.” ( Ecclesiastical History 3.4.9)…“After Vespasian had reigned ten years Titus, his son, succeeded him. In the second year of his reign, Linus, who had been bishop of the church of Rome for twelve years, delivered his office to Anencletus. But Titus was succeeded by his brother Domitian after he had reigned two years and the same number of months.” ( Ecclesiastical History 3.13.1)…“The blessed apostles having founded and established the church, entrusted the office of the episcopate to Linus. Paul speaks of this Linus in his Epistles to Timothy.” ( Ecclesiastical History 5.6.1)

[43] The Apostolic Constitutions says, “Now concerning those bishops which have been ordained in our lifetime, we let you know that they are these…Of the church of Rome, Linus the son of Claudia was the first, ordained by Paul; and Clemens, after Linus' death, the second, ordained by me Peter.” ( Constitutions of the Holy Apostles 7.4.46)

2 Timothy 4:22 The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.

2 Timothy 4:22 “The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit” - Comments In 2 Timothy 4:22 Paul basically commends them into the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ, in much the same way that he did in the book of Acts. We find this statement at the end of all of Paul’s epistles.

Acts 14:23, “And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.”

Acts 20:32, “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.”

In a similar way that the early apostles were instructed by Jesus to let their peace come upon the home of their host (Matthew 10:13), so did Paul the apostle open every one of his thirteen New Testament epistles with a blessing of God’s peace and grace upon his readers. Matthew 10:13 shows that you can bless a house by speaking God's peace upon it.

Matthew 10:13, “And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.”

This practice of speaking blessings upon God’s children may have its roots in the priestly blessing of Numbers 6:22-27, where God instructed Moses to have the priests speak a blessing upon the children of Israel. Now Paul closes his second epistle to Timothy by restating the blessing that he opened his epistle with in 2 Timothy 1:2.

2 Timothy 4:22 “Amen” Comments - In the Textus Receptus the word “Amen” is attached to the end of all thirteen of Paul’s epistles, as well as to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, and to the General Epistles of Hebrews , 1, 2 Peter , 1, 2 John, and to the book of Revelation. However, because “Amen” is not supported in more ancient manuscripts many scholars believe that this word is a later liturgical addition. For example, these Pauline benedictions could have been used by the early churches with the added “Amen.”