2 Timothy 1 (ESV) · OmniBible

1Chapter

Greeting

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,
²To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You

³I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. ⁴As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. ⁵I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. ⁶For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, ⁷for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
⁸Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, ⁹who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, ¹⁰and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ¹¹for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, ¹²which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. ¹³Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
¹⁵You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, ¹⁷but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me— ¹⁸may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.

2Chapter

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

¹You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ²and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. ³Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. ⁵An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. ⁷Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
⁸Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, ⁹for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! ¹⁰Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. ¹¹The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; ¹²if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; ¹³if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

A Worker Approved by God

¹⁴Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. ¹⁵Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. ¹⁶But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, ¹⁷and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. ¹⁹But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
²⁰Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. ²¹Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
²²So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. ²³Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. ²⁴And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, ²⁵correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

3Chapter

Godlessness in the Last Days

¹But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. ²For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, ⁴treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. ⁶For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, ⁷always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. ⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. ⁹But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God

¹⁰You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, ¹¹my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. ¹²Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it ¹⁵and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

4Chapter

Preach the Word

¹I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: ²preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. ³For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, ⁴and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. ⁵As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
⁶For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Personal Instructions

⁹Do your best to come to me soon. ¹⁰For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. ¹¹Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. ¹²Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. ¹³When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. ¹⁴Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. ¹⁵Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. ¹⁶At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! ¹⁷But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. ¹⁸The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

¹⁹Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. ²⁰Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. ²¹Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.
²²The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

Study

Chapter 1

CSB

CHALLENGE AND TACTICS

CHALLENGE: “You’re a Christian because you grew up in a Christian home or nation.”

TACTIC EMPLOYED: Genetic Fallacy

This challenge says your religious views are an accident of birth and therefore are not objectively, universally true. However, the conclusion that religion cannot be true does not follow from the fact that you are likely to adopt the religion of your surrounding culture. Religions make claims about history and the world. To judge whether these claims are true, we examine history and the world. The question of where a religion arose has no bearing on whether or not it corresponds to reality. So when someone challenges your beliefs in this way, explain that they are making the genetic fallacy. What counts is evidence, not place of origin.

ESV

Exhortation to Endurance for the Gospel. Paul’s thanksgiving (1:3–5) leads directly into strong exhortations to Timothy (1:6–14; 2:1–13) with an intervening paragraph that provides positive and negative examples of his exhortation (1:15–18). In light of his imminent death, Paul urges Timothy to continue in faithfulness for the sake of the gospel in spite of hardship.

ESV

Opening. Paul opens this letter in the standard way. But as he awaits death, he reminds Timothy that the purpose of his apostleship has been to proclaim the gospel, the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus.

ESV

Thanksgiving for Timothy’s Sincere Faith. In typical Pauline fashion, this letter opens with thanksgiving to God for the recipient. Paul notes that both he (“my ancestors”) and Timothy (“your grandmother … your mother”) have a heritage of faith.

ESV

constantly in my prayers night and day. Timothy is on Paul’s mind and in his prayers throughout the day, every day (see 1 Thess. 5:17 and note).

ESV

A Call to Bold Endurance in Ministry, Part 1. Verse 6 marks a shift from the opening thanksgiving to Paul’s first exhortation to Timothy, a passionate challenge to continue following in Paul’s footsteps (cf. 3:10–11). There is a clear connection between the call for Timothy to “not be ashamed … but share in suffering for the gospel” (1:8) and Paul’s statement that for the gospel “I suffer. … But I am not ashamed” (v. 12). The call for Timothy to follow Paul’s example is central in this letter (see 3:10–11).

ESV

fan into flame the gift of God. Paul does not explain what this gift is (see note on 1 Tim. 4:14), which allows the principle here to be seen as applicable to all kinds of spiritual gifts. Such gifts tend to fade in strength when they are not used and encouraged. The laying on of my hands may refer to Timothy’s ordination. This passage focuses on Paul’s part in that event, whereas 1 Tim. 4:14 mentions the involvement of “the council of elders.”

CSB

Paul encouraged strength and confidence in God, since cowardice before nonbelievers might thwart gospel witness. His words do not contradict the familiar imperative to “fear” the Lord (Lv 25:17; Dt 6:2,13; Mt 10:28; Lk 12:5; 1Pt 1:17).

ESV

spirit. Probably the Holy Spirit. fear. The Greek (deilia) in extrabiblical literature refers to one who flees from battle, and has a strong pejorative sense referring to cowardice. Boldness, not cowardice, is a mark of the Spirit (see Prov. 28:1; Acts 4:31).

ESV

These verses summarize the gospel for which God’s servants suffer. They are a reminder of the power of God on whom Christians rely. Paul’s exalted language suggests he is also arguing that such a glorious message is worthy of their suffering. Paul contrasts works, which do not save, with God’s purpose and grace, which brings life. God, who saved us … our Savior Christ Jesus. In the Pastoral Epistles, Paul often describes both God the Father and God the Son as Saviors of their people (cf. 1 Tim. 1:1; 2:3; 4:10; Titus 1:3–4; 2:10; 2:13 [and note]; 3:4, 6).

ESV

Paul suffers (as I do) because of his current imprisonment and impending death. Guard … what has been entrusted to me (Gk. tēn parathēkēn mou, “my deposit”) means either that God will guard the gospel, which has been entrusted to Paul, or that God will guard Paul’s life (“what I have entrusted to him,” see esv footnote). Either way, it is this confidence in God that prevents Paul from being ashamed. Cf. note on v. 14. His boldness arises not from self-confidence but from God-confidence (cf. 2 Cor. 3:5). until that Day. See 1 Cor. 3:13; 2 Tim. 1:18; 4:8; Heb. 10:25; and notes on Amos 5:18–20; 1 Thess. 5:2–3.

ESV

sound words. See note on 1 Tim. 6:3.

ESV

the good deposit entrusted to you. The gospel in the fullest sense, the entire content of the Christian faith. Cf. note on v. 12.

ESV

Examples, Positive and Negative. Paul supports his exhortation of vv. 6–14 with concrete examples of some who have endured well and others who have not—a common technique in both ancient and modern exhortation.

ESV

Asia was the Roman province in which Ephesus, Timothy’s current place of service, was located. all … turned away from me. Key people who could have supported Paul, perhaps in his arrest and imprisonment, failed to do so, and so it appeared as if “all” had deserted him (cf. 4:16, a reference to a more specific event). There is no further information about Phygelus and Hermogenes. These details highlight the low situation in which Paul found himself and probably help explain why Timothy, the faithful one, was such a source of joy for Paul (see 1:3–5).

ESV

Onesiphorus is an example of faithfulness, in contrast to those who abandoned Paul. Paul prays, therefore, that the Lord will grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, and that Onesiphorus himself will find mercy on that Day (see note on v. 12).