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For this I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.
Hold the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 1:11-13 sits inside this longer paragraph.
For this cause, I remind you that you should stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. Therefore don’t be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but endure hardship for the Good News according to the power of God, who 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 before times eternal, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Good News. For this I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.
Hold the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
For this I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.
Hold the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
whervnto I am apoynted a preacher and an Apostle and a teacher of the gentyls:
for the which cause I also suffre these thinges. Neverthelesse I am not a shamed For I knowe who I have beleved and am sure that he is able to kepe that which I have committed to his kepynge agaynst that daye.
Se thou have the ensample of the holsome wordes which thou heardest of me in fayth and love which is in Iesu Christ.
Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and Apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
For the which cause I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed: for I knowe whom I haue beleeued, and I am persuaded that he is able to keepe that which I haue committed to him against that day.
Keepe the true paterne of the wholesome wordes, which thou hast heard of me in faith and loue which is in Christ Iesus.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv11–13 11 To which I have been appointed Not without…
11 To which I have been appointed Not without good reason does he so highly commend the gospel along with his apostleship. Satan labors, beyond all things else, to banish from our hearts, by every possible method, the faith of sound doctrine; and as it is not always easy for him to do this if he attack us in open war, he steals upon us by secret and indirect methods; for, in order to destroy the credibility of doctrine, he holds up to suspicion the calling of godly teachers. Paul, therefore, having death before his eyes, and knowing well the ancient and ordinary snares of Satan, determined to assert not only the doctrine of the gospel in general, but his own calling. Both were necessary; for, although there be uttered long discourses concerning the dignity of the gospel, they will not be of much avail to us, unless we understand what is the gospel. Many will agree as to the general principle of the undoubted authority of the gospel, who afterwards will have nothing certain that they can follow. This is the reason why Paul expressly wishes to be acknowledged to be a faithful and lawful minister of that life-giving doctrine which he had mentioned.
A herald, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles For the reasons now stated, he adorns himself with various titles for expressing one and the same thing. He calls himself a herald, whose duty it is, to publish the commands of princes and magistrates. The word apostle is here used in its ordinary and restricted meaning. Moreover, because there is a natural relation between a teacher and his disciples, he takes to himself also this third name, that they who learn from him may know that they have a master who has been appointed to them by God. And to whom does he declare that he was appointed? To the Gentiles; for the main hinge of the controversy was about them, because the Jews denied that the promises of life belonged to any others than to the fleshly children of Abraham. In order, therefore, that the salvation of the Gentiles may not be called in question, he affirms that to them he has been especially sent by God.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv11–13 That is, the Gospel which the Apostle preached.
That is, the Gospel which the Apostle preached.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv11–13 11 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an…
11 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
Ver. 11. A teacher of the Gentiles] His writings therefore should be the more highly prized and studied by us Gentiles, as being properly ours; like as Psa 127:1, was a song made (specially) for Solomon.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher; for the publication…
Whereunto I am appointed a preacher; for the publication of which gracious counsel and purpose of God thus made manifest by Christ’s coming, and of that life and immortality thus by the gospel brought to light, God hath appointed me as his crier;
and an apostle; and sent me immediately as his messenger to make publication of it;
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and a teacher of the Gentiles; and hath made the instructing of the heathen my peculiar province, 1Ti 2:7.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv12–13 For which cause, that is, "For the sake of…
For which cause, that is, "For the sake of the gospel, and not as an evil doer, I suffer patiently all afflictive evils, without either fear or shame, well knowing in whom I repose my faith and hope, my trust and confidence; and firmly believing that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him, my temporary life, yea, my eternal life, the life of my soul, my reward in heaven; I have committed all unto, and deposited all in God’s hand, and I am sure he is both able and willing, he both can and will keep in safety, that which I have thus committed to him."
Note here, 1. That the knowledge of God must precede, or go before faith in God. I know in whom I have believed: Faith sees not him, in whom it believeth, but it knows him in whom it believeth.
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Note, 2. There is no such way to secure the soul, as to commit it into God’s hand; the way to make the soul safe, is to commit it to him to keep, and that in the way of well-doing.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher,.... Both from eternity,…
Whereunto I am appointed a preacher,.... Both from eternity, in the counsel and purpose of God, Act 9:15 and in time, by the church at Antioch, and the prophets in it, according to the express order of the Holy Ghost, Act 13:2. And if ever there was a preacher of the Gospel, Paul was one; he preached purely, powerfully, publicly, constantly, boldly, and with all faithfulness and integrity:
and an apostle; that is, of the Gentiles, as follows, and as he elsewhere styles himself, Rom 11:13 for it does not run so smooth and easy to connect this with the word Gospel. In Ti2 1:1, he is called the apostle of Jesus Christ, because he was sent by him; and here the apostle of the Gentiles, because, he was sent to them; and this by the same appointment, by which he became a preacher:
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and a teacher of the Gentiles; though all the apostles, by their commission, were sent to teach all nations, or the Gentiles in the several parts of the world, as well as Jews; yet the apostle was eminently a teacher of them; his work chiefly lay among them; the Gospel of the uncircumcision, or the ministration of the Gospel to the uncircumcised Gentiles, was committed to him; and he was a teacher of them in faith and verity, as in Ti1 2:7. The Alexandrian copy only reads, "and a teacher".
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv12–13 That which I have committed to him - My…
That which I have committed to him - My soul. Until that day - Of his final appearing.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Verse 11. Whereunto I am appointed a preacher] κηρυξ,…
Verse 11. Whereunto I am appointed a preacher] κηρυξ, a herald. See Clarke on Mt 3:17.
And an apostle] Sent immediately from God to man.
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A teacher] One whose business it is to instruct men, and particularly the Gentiles, to whom he was especially sent; to proclaim the doctrines of eternal life, the resurrection and final incorruptibility of the human body; and, in a word, the salvation both of the body and soul of man by Christ Jesus.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv11, 13 2Ti 1:11-12. Whereunto — For proclaiming which good news;…
2Ti 1:11-12. Whereunto — For proclaiming which good news; I am appointed a preacher — Κηρυξ, a herald; and an apostle — Invested with an extraordinary commission, and furnished with spiritual gifts to make me a successful teacher of the Gentiles — That is, of them chiefly. For which — Namely, my preaching to the Gentiles; I suffer these things — “By assigning his preaching salvation to the Gentiles through Christ, without obedience to the law of Moses, as the cause of his second bonds in Rome, he hath insinuated that the unbelieving Jews were active in getting him imprisoned, and tried for his life as a criminal.” — Macknight. Nevertheless — Though my condition may seem infamous; I am not ashamed — Either of my doctrine or of my sufferings. For I know whom I have believed — That is, whose word and promise I have credited, and to whom I have trusted all my important concerns: I know his power, and love, and faithfulness; and am persuaded, fully satisfied, he is able to keep that which I have committed to him — Την παραθηκην μου, my deposite, until that day — Of final retribution; meaning, undoubtedly, his immortal soul, or his whole person, soul and body. Thus Peter, (1Pe 4:19,) Let them that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their souls to him, (or, as may be included, the preservation, or, if taken away, the restoration, of the life of their bodies,) in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator, who never did, and never will, deceive, or disappoint the hopes of any that trust in him.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher - That is,…
Whereunto I am appointed a preacher - That is, I am appointed to make these truths known; see the notes at Eph 3:7-8.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v12 I am certain that he (God) is able to…
I am certain that he (God) is able to keep that which I have committed to him [6] against that day. That is, to the day of judgment. St. Paul here means that which he had committed, or as it were deposited in the hands of God; to wit, the treasure of an eternal reward, due in some measure to St. Paul for his apostolical labours. This treasure, promised to those that live well, the apostle hopes he has placed and deposited in the hands of God, who will reward him, and repay him at the last day. This is the common interpretation. (Witham)
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
Depositum meum, Greek: paratheken mou. St. John Chrysostom (Greek: log. b. p. 336) says it may be either what St. Paul committed to the trust of God, or what God committed to him: Greek: e o Theos auto parakatetheto, e en autos to theo.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Whereunto--For the publication of which Gospel.
Whereunto--For the publication of which Gospel.
I am appointed--Greek, "I was appointed."
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preacher--Greek, "herald."
teacher of the Gentiles-- (Ti1 2:7). He brings forward his own example in this verse and Ti2 1:12, as a pattern for Timothy, as a public "preacher," an "apostle," or missionary from place to place, and a "teacher" in private instructing His flock with patient perseverance.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv11–13 11. Whereunto—To this most glorious gospel.
11. Whereunto—To this most glorious gospel.
Appointed—Not by my own assumption, but by divine will. 2Ti_1:1.
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A preacher—A herald; for so the Greek word signifies. A herald was an appointed messenger in war from one side to the other, whose person was sacred while in performance of his duties. Often was he the bearer of terms of peace; hence weapons of war must be quiet in his presence.
Apostle—Note, Mat_10:1-2; Luk_1:2.
Of the Gentiles—Which most of the Ephesian Church were.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv11–13 11. whereunto I am appointed a preacher] Rather, for…
11. whereunto I am appointed a preacher] Rather, for which I—remember—was appointed a herald. St Paul ‘magnifies his office’ here in the same terms as in 1Ti_2:7; but there to assert his authority for ruling, here to commend his example in suffering: see note.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv11–13 (11) Whereunto I am appointed a preacher . .…
(11) Whereunto I am appointed a preacher . . . .—Whereunto—that is, to preach the gospel referred to in the previous verse. (On these titles see 1Ti_1:12; 1Ti_2:7.) In all his deep humiliation, a solitary prisoner awaiting death, deserted by his friends, St. Paul, with solemn emphasis, rehearses the titles of dignity which, by his Master’s appointment, he possessed in the Christian Church. The poor prisoner, waiting his summons to a painful death, wished his last charge to go forth with all the authority of an Apostle, adding, however, in the next verse, that his present sufferings were entailed on him, owing to this very position in the Christian community to which his Master had called him.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Was for am, A.V; teacher for teacher of the…
Was for am, A.V; teacher for teacher of the Gentiles, A.V and T.R. Was appointed (ejteqhn); comp.menov 1Ti_1:12, qe eijv diakonian, "appointing me to the ministry;" and 2:7. A preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher (so also. (1Ti_2:7) Teacher (didaskalov) is one of the spiritual offices enumerated in 1Co_12:28 and Eph_4:11. It is surely remarkable that neither here nor elsewhere does St. Paul speak of any call to the priesthood in a sacerdotal sense (see Rom_1:1, 5 15:16; 1Co_1:1, etc.)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv11–13 A preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of…
2Ti_1:11
A preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
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I. A public preacher is one who may discharge his office ever in one and the same place.
II. An apostle goes about everywhere; but he would have fully satisfied the requirements of his apostolic office if he had once for all declared his message.
III. Teacher. Here we have in addition diligence and perseverance in teaching: from which arose suffering. (J. A. Bengel.)
The preacher a crier
It is an argument, that the preacher brings not stolen stuff nor bad commodity. He whose fruit is best, as we see in cities, crieth loudest. A low voice in the street argueth either an ill-commodity or a false way of obtaining it. (J. Barlow, D. D.)
Not to cavil with the preacher
Again, this must teach the auditors not to cavil with the crier, but to hear the words of exhortation patiently. Some, like Festus, tell Paul, if he cry aloud, that he is beside himself; reputing the preacher rude, indiscreet, passionate. Why? Can a bell have too shrill a sound? a hound too deep or bass a mouth? a piece give too great a report? or a crier extend his voice too high? Shall not the shepherd shout when the sheep are wandering, or ready to be devoured by the wolf? Will ye not ring the bells awake, when the city is on fire? Discharge the greatest cannon, when the ship is in distress, and in danger to be lost in the haven? And shall not the preacher cry, roar, and, as John, bellow like an ox (for so the word is read), when men sleep and sink in sin, and be in hazard to be drowned and devoured by Satan, that cruel wolf, and pirate of the soul? (J. Barlow, D. D.)
The servants of God take delight to dwell and discourse of good things
(Act_20:7):--Its no burden or wearisomeness to the saints to enlarge their speech on heavenly subjects. A traveller when he hath taken a view of the situation of many towns and countries, beheld the rare monuments that he hath met withal, rejoiceth to make relation thereof unto his friends after his return; and so is it with a Christian, who is a spiritual traveller: when he hath seen into the mysteries of religion, found out the great secrets therein contained, by the painful travel of his mind, he maketh it the joy of his heart largely to discourse thereof unto his brethren. (J. Barlow, D. D.)
Love makes teachers
But did they love the gospel they neither would or could be silent; for their word, like fire in straw, would burst forth. Will not the soldier speak of his wounds, the huntsman of his hounds, and the husbandman of his cattle and grounds? And shall we love the gospel and never make mention of it? No, no: this little speech of heavenly things argueth that the love of many is but cold. Love the word once, and say nothing of it, if thou canst. (J. Barlow, D. D.)
A gospel preacher
Bramwell was a plain preacher in the States, and to some extent an uncultivated preacher; but he was frill of faith and zeal, and his ministry was attended with marvellous power. He was preaching in a little village on one occasion, and the German minister, Trubner, was induced to go and hear him. Trubner was a very cultivated scholar, and a profound critic; and when some of Bramwells friends saw him there they said, Alas! alas! for poor Bramwell, how Trubner will criticise him! Precious little did Bramwell care for him, or for all the philosophers under the sun. He preached, and set before his audience the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ, and when Trubner went out of the church one of his friends said to him, How did you like him? Dont you think he wanders a good deal in his preaching? Oh, yes, said the old Lutheran, he do wander most delightfully from de subject to de heart. (The Teachers Cabinet.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v12 Chapter 5
Chapter 5
THE LORDS COMPASSION IN ENABLING A BLASPHEMER AND A PERSECUTOR TO BECOME A SERVANT OF CHRIST JESUS AND A PREACHER OF THE GOSPEL.- 1Ti_1:12-14
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In the concluding sentence of the preceding paragraph (1Ti_1:3; 1Ti_1:11) the Apostle points out that what he has been saying respecting the erroneous teaching and practice of the heterodox innovators is entirely in harmony with the spirit of the Gospel which had been committed to his trust. This mention of his own high commission to preach "the Gospel of the glory of the blessed God" suggests at once to him some thoughts both of thankfulness and humility, to which he now gives expression. His own experience of the Gospel, especially in connection with his conversion from being a persecutor to becoming a preacher, offer further points of contrast between Gnosticism and Christianity.
The false teachers wasted thought and attention upon barren speculations, which, even if they could under any conceivable circumstances be proved true, would have supplied no guidance to mankind in regulating conduct. And whenever Gnostic teaching became practical, it frittered away morality in servile observances, based on capricious interpretations of the Mosaic Law. Of true morality there was an utter disregard, and frequently an open violation. Of the one thing for which the self-accusing conscience was yearning-the forgiveness of sin-it knew nothing, because it had no appreciation of the reality of sin. Sin was only part of the evil which was inherent in the material universe, and therefore in the human body. A system which had no place for the forgiveness of sin had also no place for the Divine compassion, which it is the purpose of the Gospel to reveal. How very real this compassion and forgiveness are, and how much human beings stand in need of them, St. Paul testifies from his own experience, the remembrance of which makes him burst out into thanksgiving.
The Apostle offers thanks to Jesus Christ, the source of all his strength, for having confidence in him as a person worthy of trust. This confidence He proved by "appointing Paul to His service"; a confidence all the more marvelous and worthy of gratitude because Paul had before been "a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious." He had been a blasphemer, for he had thought that he "ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth"; and he had been a persecutor, for he had punished believers "oftentimes in all the synagogues," and "strove to make them blaspheme." That is ever the persecutors aim; -to make those who differ from him speak evil of what they reverence but he abhors; to say they renounce what in their heart of hearts they believe. There is, therefore, thus far an ascending scale in the iniquity which the Apostle confesses. He not only blasphemed the Divine Name himself, but he endeavored to compel others to do the same. The third word, although the English Version obscures the fact, continues the ascending scale of self-condemnation. "Injurious" does scant justice to the force of the Greek word used by the Apostle (υβριστης), although it is not easy to suggest a better rendering. The word is very common in classical authors, but in the New Testament occurs only here and in Rom_1:30, where the A.V translates it "despiteful" and the R.V "insolent." It is frequent in the Septuagint. It indicates one who takes an insolent and wanton delight in violence, one whose pleasure lies in outraging the feelings of others. The most conspicuous instance of it in the New Testament, and perhaps anywhere, would be the Roman Soldiers mocking and torturing Jesus Christ with the crown of thorns and the royal robe. Of such conduct St. Paul himself since his conversion had been the victim, and he here confesses that before his conversion he had been guilty of it himself. In his misguided zeal he had punished innocent people, and he had inflicted punishment, not with pitying reluctance, but with arrogant delight.
It is worth pointing out that in this third charge against himself, as well as in the first, St. Paul goes beyond what he states in the similar passages in the Epistles to the Corinthians, Philippians, and Galatians. There he simply draws attention to the fact that he had been a persecutor who had made havoc of the Church. He says nothing about blaspheming or taking an insolent satisfaction in the pain which he inflicted. This has some bearing on the genuineness of this Epistle.
(1) It shows that St. Paul was in the habit of alluding to the fact that he had been a persecutor. It was part of his preaching, for it proved that his conversion was directly and immediately God s work. He did not owe the Gospel which he preached to any persuasion on the part of man. It is, therefore, quite in harmony with St. Pauls practice to insist on his former misconduct. But it may be urged that a forger might notice this and imitate it. That of course is true. But if these Epistles are a forgery, they are certainly not forged with any intention of injuring St. Pauls memory. Is it likely, then, that a forger, in imitating the self-accusation of the Apostle, would use stronger language than the Apostle himself uses in those Epistles which are indisputably his? Would he go out of his way to use such strong language as "blasphemer," and "insolent oppressor?" But, if St: Paul wrote these Epistles, this exceptionally strong, language is thoroughly natural in a passage in which the Apostle wishes to place in as strong a light as may be the greatness of the Divine compassion in forgiving sins, as manifested in his own case. He had been foremost as a bitter and arrogant opponent of the Gospel; and yet God had singled him out to be foremost in preaching it. Here was a proof that no sinner need despair. What comfort for a fallen race could the false teachers offer in comparison with this?
Like St. Peters sin in denying his Lord, St. Pauls sin in persecuting Him was overruled for good. The Divine process of bringing good out of evil was strongly exemplified in it. The Gnostic teachers had tried to show how, by a gradual degradation, evil might proceed from the Supreme Good. There is nothing Divine in such a process as that. The fall from good to evil is rather a devilish one, as when an angel of light became the Evil One and involved mankind in his own fall. Divinity is shown in the converse process of making what is evil work towards what is good. Under Divine guidance St. Pauls self-righteous confidence and arrogant intolerance were turned into a blessing to himself and others. The recollection of his sin kept him humble, intensified his gratitude, and gave him a strong additional motive to devote himself to the work of bringing others to the Master who had been so gracious to himself. St. Chrysostom in commenting on this passage in his Homilies on the Pastoral Epistles points out how it illustrates St. Pauls humility, a virtue which is more often praised than practiced. "This quality was so cultivated by the blessed Paul, that he is ever looking out for inducements to be humble. They who are conscious to themselves of great merits must struggle much with themselves if they would be humble. And he too was one likely to be under violent temptations, his own good conscience swelling him up like a gathering tumor. Being filled, therefore, with high thoughts, and having used magnificent expressions, he at once depresses himself, and engages others also to do the like. Having said, then, that the Gospel was committed to his trust, lest this should seem to be said with pride, he checks himself at once, adding by way of correction, I thank Him that enabled me, Christ Jesus our Lord, for that He counted me faithful, appointing me to His service. Thus everywhere, we see, he conceals his own merit and ascribes everything to God, yet so far only as not to take away free will."
These concluding words are an important qualification. The Apostle constantly insists on his conversion as the result of a special revelation of Jesus Christ to himself, in other words a miracle: he nowhere hints that his conversion in itself was miraculous. No psychological miracle was wrought, forcing him to accept Christ against his will. God converts no one by magic. It is a free and reasonable service that He asks for from beings whom He has created free and reasonable. Men were made moral beings, and He who made them such does not treat them as machines. In his defense at Caesarea St. Paul tells Herod Agrippa that he "was not disobedient to the heavenly vision." He might have been. He might, like Judas, have resisted all the miraculous power displayed before him and have continued to persecute Christ. If he had no choice whatever in the matter, it was an abuse of language to affirm that he "was not disobedient." And in that case we should need some other metaphor than "kicking against the goads." It is impossible to kick against the goads if one has no control over ones own limbs. The limbs and the strength to use them were Gods gifts, without which he could have done nothing. But with these gifts it was open to him either to obey the Divine commands or "even to fight against God"-a senseless and wicked thing, no doubt, but still possible. In this passage the Divine and the human sides are plainly indicated. On the one hand, Christ enabled him and showed confidence in him: on the other, Paul accepted the service and was faithful. He might have refused the service; or, having accepted it, he might have shown himself unfaithful to his trust.
"Howbeit, I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief." These words are sometimes misunderstood. They are not intended as an excuse, any more than St. Johns designation of himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" are intended as a boast. St. John had been the recipient, of very exceptional favors. Along with only St. Peter and St. James he had been present at the raising of Jairuss daughter, at the Transfiguration, and at the Agony in Gethsemane. From even these chosen three he had been singled out to be told who was the traitor; to have the lifelong charge of providing for the Mother of the Lord; to be the first to recognize the risen Lord at the sea of Tiberias. What was the explanation of all these honors? The recipient of them had only one to give. He had no merits, no claim to anything of the kind; but Jesus loved him.
So also with St. Paul. There were multitudes of Jews who, like himself, had had, as he tells the Romans, "a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge." There were many who, like himself, had opposed the truth and persecuted the Christ. Why did any of them obtain mercy? Why did he receive such marked favor and honor? Not because of any merit on their part or his: but because they had sinned ignorantly (i.e., without knowing the enormity of their sin,) and because "the grace of the Lord abounded exceedingly." The Apostle is not endeavoring to extenuate his own culpability, but to justify and magnify the Divine compassion. Of the whole Jewish nation it was true that "they knew not what they did" in crucifying Jesus of Nazareth; but it was true in very various degrees. "Even of the rulers many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God." It was because St: Paul did not in this way sin against light that he found mercy, not merely in being forgiven the sin of persecuting Christ, but in being enabled to accept and be faithful in the service of Him whom he had persecuted.
Two of the changes made by the Revisers in this passage seem to call for notice: they both occur in the same phrase and have a similar tendency. Instead of "putting me into the ministry" the R.V gives us "appointing me to His service." A similar change has been made in 1Ti_2:7 of the next chapter, where "I was appointed a preacher" takes the place of "I am ordained a preacher," and in Joh_15:16 where "I chose you and appointed you" has been substituted for "I have chosen you and ordained you." In these alterations the Revisers are only following the example set by the A.V itself in other passages. In 2Ti_1:2, as in Luk_10:10, and 1Th_5:9, both versions have "appointed." The alterations are manifest improvements. In the passage before us it is possible that the Greek has the special signification of "putting me into the ministry," but it is by no means certain, and perhaps not even probable, that it does so. Therefore the more comprehensive and general translation, "appointing me to His service," is to be preferred. The wider rendering includes and covers the other; and this is a further advantage. To translate the Greek words used in these passages (τιθεναι, ποιειν k.t.λ.) by such a very definite word as "ordain" leads the reader to suppose these texts refer to the ecclesiastical act of ordination; of which there is no evidence. The idea conveyed by the Greek in this passage, as in Joh_15:16, is that of placing a man at a particular post, and would be as applicable to civil as to ministerial duties. We are not, therefore, justified in translating it by a phrase which has distinct ecclesiastical associations.
The question is not one of mere linguistic accuracy. There are larger issues involved than those of correct translation from Greek to English. If we adopt the wider rendering, then it is evident that the blessing for which St. Paul expresses heartfelt gratitude; and which he cites as evidence of Divine compassion and forgiveness, is not the call to be an Apostle, in which none of us can share, nor exclusively the call to be a minister of the Gospel, in which only a limited number of us can share; but also the being appointed to any service in Christs kingdom, which is an honor to which all Christians are called. Every earnest Christian knows from personal experience this evidence of the Divine character of the Gospel. It is full of compassion for those who have sinned; not because, like the Gnostic teachers, it glosses over the malignity and culpability of sin, but because, unlike Gnosticism, it recognizes the preciousness of each human soul, and the difficulties which beset it. Every Christian knows that he has inherited an evil nature:-so far he and the Gnostic are agreed. But he also knows that to the sin which he has inherited he has added sin for which he is personally responsible, and which his conscience does not excuse as if it were something which is a misfortune and not a fault. Yet he is not left without remedy under the burden of these self-accusations. He knows that, if he seeks for it, he can find forgiveness, and forgiveness of a singularly generous kind. He is not only forgiven, but restored to favor and treated with respect. He is at once placed in a position of trust. In spite of the past, it is assumed that he will be a faithful servant, and he is allowed to minister to his Master and his Masters followers. To him also "the grace of our Lord" has "abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." The generous compassion shown to St. Paul is not unique or exceptional; it is typical. And it is a type, not to the few, but to many; not to clergy only, but to all. "For this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all His long-suffering, for an ensample of them which should hereafter believe on Him unto eternal life."
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv12–13 12. For which cause I also suffer. Because he…
12. For which cause I also suffer. Because he was appointed an “apostle and teacher of the Gentiles.” See verse 11. Compare Acts 22:21, and Eph. 3:1. That which I have committed unto him. His whole interests, his life, body, soul and spirit. He leaves all in God's hands with perfect confidence.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v13 2Ti_1:13. Hold fast the form of sound words.—R.V. “Hold…
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
2Ti_1:13. Hold fast the form of sound words.—R.V. “Hold the pattern.” The word for “form” or “pattern” occurs again only 1Ti_1:16. “Sound words” are healthy words. Sin is a diseased state of the nature; healthy words are the outcome of a sound heart (Mat_12:35).
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—2Ti_1:13-14
Truth and the Soul.
I. That truth to be efficacious must be clearly and vividly apprehended.—“Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou has heard of me” (2Ti_1:13). The “form” means a pattern plainly delineated and forcibly impressed on the mind by the sound words which fell from the lips or pen of the apostle. Clearness in the mental conception of the truth is necessary in order to grasp its meaning, see its beauty, and feel its power. Loose views of truth leave the soul more exposed to the ravages of error, and to become an easy victim to false teachers.
II. That truth is efficacious when received in the exercise of faith and love.—“In faith and love which is in Christ Jesus” (2Ti_1:13). Faith and love are “the element in which my sound words had place, and in which thou art to have the vivid impression of them as thy inwardly delineated pattern, moulding conformably thy outward profession” (Fausset). The truth is a revelation of Christ; and in order to a saving appropriation of Christ the soul must be not only profoundly convinced that He is the truth, but also cordially embrace Him with a loving faith—a faith that works by love.
III. That truth is to be firmly held and jealously guarded.—“Hold fast the form of sound words.… That good thing which was committed unto thee keep” (2Ti_1:13-14). Having once got the truth, never part with it. It is a goodly deposit, to be constantly fenced round with watchful care, and resolutely defended from all attacks of error. If we keep the truth, the truth will keep us. It is too precious to lose, and the pains it has cost us to acquire should teach us to value it the more. The struggle to maintain the truth may be fierce, but it is often only brief; and every triumph adds enormously to our spiritual strength. The more real truth becomes to the soul, the more firmly it is held and the more potent is its influence. Better to yield up our life than yield up the truth.
IV. That truth can be safely kept only by the aid of the indwelling Spirit.—“Keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us” (2Ti_1:14). The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of truth. It is He who reveals it to the soul, deposits it there as a sacred trust, makes it efficacious in renewing the whole man, uses it as a sanctifying instrument; and He only can effectually guard it from the robbers who are seeking to rifle the soul of its hallowed possession. The Spirit plays a prominent part in the ministration of the truth. This should be constantly remembered, and His Divine aid fervently invoked.
Lessons.—
1. Truth should be studiously and prayerfully sought.
2. Truth when found should be faithfully maintained.
3. The soul realises its highest happiness in the love of the truth.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
2Ti_1:13. The Form of Sound Words.
I. There exists an infinite Being, the great first Cause, whom we call God.
II. The Holy Scriptures are the only sufficient and authorised rule of faith and practice.
III. The sufferings and death of Christ are a full atonement for the sins of mankind.
IV. Man must undergo a great moral change.
V. The soul of man is immortal.
VI. There will be the resurrection of the dead.
VII. God has appointed a day for judgment.
VIII. Do not exchange this form of sound words for the uncertainties and delusions of infidelity.
IX. Beware of error in your religious doctrines.
X. Beware of holding the truth in unrighteousness.—J. Bromley.
2Ti_1:14. Religion a Good Thing.
I. Committed to us as a sacred deposit.
II. Is the work of the indwelling Spirit.
III. Is to be jealously guarded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv12–13 2 Timothy
2 Timothy
A QUIET HEART
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2Ti 1:12
THERE is some ambiguity in the original words of this text, lying in that clause which is translated in our Bibles - both Authorised and Revised - ‘that which I have committed unto Him.’ The margin of the Revised Version gives as an alternative reading, ‘that which He hath committed unto me.’ To a mere English reader it may be a puzzle how any words whatever could be susceptible of these two different interpretations. But the mystery is solved by the additional note which the same Revised Version gives, which tells us that the Greek is ‘ my deposit,’ or I might add another synonymous word, ‘my trust.’
Now you can see that ‘my trust’ may mean either something with which I trust another, or something with which another trusts me. So the possibility of either rendering arises. It is somewhat difficult to decide between the two. I do not purpose to trouble you with reasons for my preference here. Suffice it to say that, whilst there are strong arguments in favour of the reading ‘that which He has committed unto me,’ I am inclined to think that the congruity of the whole representation, and especially the thought that this ‘trust,’ whatever it is, is something which God has to keep, rather than which Paul has to keep, shuts us up to the adoption of the rendering which stands in our Bibles.
Adopting it, therefore, though with some hesitation, the next question arises, What is it that Paul committed to God? The answer to that is, himself, in all his complex being, with all his fears and anxieties, during the whole duration of his existence. He has done what another Apostle exhorts us to do, ‘committed the keeping of his soul to Him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.’ Now that was a long past act at the time when Paul wrote this letter. And here he looks back upon life, and sees that all the experiences through which he has passed have but confirmed the faith which he rested in God before the experiences, and that, with the axe and the block almost in sight, he is neither ashamed of his faith, nor dissatisfied with what it has brought him.
I. Notice, then, in the first place, ‘the deposit’ of faith.
You observe that the two clauses of my text refer to the same act, which in the one is described as ‘In whom I have trusted’; and in the other as ‘committing something to Him.’ The metaphor is a plain enough one. A man has some rich treasure. He is afraid of losing it, he is doubtful of his own power to keep it; he looks about for some reliable person and trusted hands, and he deposits it there. That is about as good a description of what the New Testament means by ‘ faith’ as you will get anywhere.
You and I have one treasure, whatever else we may have or not have; and that is ourselves. The most precious of our possessions is our own individual being.
We cannot ‘keep’ that. There are dangers all round us. We are like men travelling in a land full of pickpockets and highwaymen, laden with gold and precious stones. On every side there are enemies that seek to rob us of that which is our true treasure - our own souls. We cannot keep ourselves. Slippery paths and weak feet go ill together. The tow in our hearts, and the fiery sparks of temptation that are flying all round about us, are sure to come together and make a blaze. We shall certainly come to ruin if we seek to get through life, to do its work, to face its difficulties, to cope with its struggles, to master its temptations, in our own poor, puny strength. So we must look for trusty hands and lodge our treasure there, where it is safe.
And how am I to do that? By humble dependence upon God revealed, for our faith’s feeble fingers to grasp, in the person and work of His dear Son, who has died on the Cross for us all; by constant realisation of His divine presence and implicit reliance on the realities of His sustaining hand in all our difficulties, and His shielding protection in all our struggles, and His sanctifying spirit in all our conflicts with evil. And not only by the realisation of His presence and of our dependence upon Him, nor only by the consciousness of our own insufficiency, and the departing from all self-reliance, but as an essential part of our committing ourselves to God, by bringing our wills into harmony with His will. To commit includes to submit.
‘And, oh, brother! if thus knowing your weakness, you will turn to Him for strength, if the language of your hearts be
‘Myself I cannot save,
Myself I cannot keep,
But strength in Thee I surely have,
Whose eyelids never sleep.’
And if thus, hanging upon Him, you believe that when you fling yourself into necessary temptations, and cope with appointed heavy tasks, and receive on your hearts the full blow of sent sorrows, He will strengthen you and hold you up; and if with all your hearts you bow, and you say,’ Lord! keeping me is Thy business far more than mine; into Thy hands I commit my spirit,’ be sure that your trust will not be disappointed.
Notice, further, about this deposit of faith, how Paul has no doubt that he has made it, and is not at all afraid to say that he has. Ay! there are plenty of you professing Christians who have never got the length which all Christian people should arrive at, of a calm certainty in the reality of your own faith. Do you feel, my brother, that there is no doubt about it, that you are trusting upon Jesus Christ? If you do, well; if the life confirms the confidence. But whilst the deepened certitude of professing Christians as to the reality of their own faith is much to be desired, there is also much to be dreaded the easy-going assurance which a great many people who call themselves Christians have of the reality of their trust, though it neither bows their wills to God’s purposes, nor makes them calm and happy in the assurance of His presence. The question for us all is, have we the right to say ‘I have committed myself to Him’? If you have not, you have missed the blessedness of life, and will never carry your treasure safely through the hordes of robbers that lurk upon the road, but some day you will be found there, lying beggared, bleeding, bruised. May it be that you are found there before the end, by the merciful Samaritan who alone can bind up and lead to safety.
II. Now note, secondly, the serenity of faith.
What a grand picture of a peaceful heart comes out of this letter, and its companion one to the same friend, written a little before, but under substantially the same circumstances! They are both full of autobiographical details, on which some critics look with suspicion, but which seem to me to bear upon their very front the token of their own genuineness.
And what a picture it is that they give! He is ‘Paul the aged’; old, if not in years - and he probably was not an old man by years - yet old in thought and care and hardships and toils. He is a prisoner, and the compulsory cessation of activity, when so much was to be done, might well have fretted a less eager spirit than that which burned in his puny frame. He is alone, but for one faithful friend; and the bitterness of his solitude is increased by the apostasy of some and the negligence of many. He is poor and thinly clad; and he wants his one cloak ‘before winter.’ He has been before the emperor once, and though he ‘was delivered from the mouth of the lion’ then, he knows that he cannot expect to put his head into the lion’s mouth a second time with impunity, and that his course is run. He has made but a poor thing of life; he has disappointed all the hopes that were formed of the brilliant young disciple of Gamaliel, who was bidding fair to be the hammer of these heretical Christians. And yet there is no tremor nor despondency in this, his swan-song. It goes up in a clear burst of joyful music. It is the same spirit as that of the Psalmist: ‘There be many that say, Who will show us any good? Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us.’ And serenely he sits there, in the midst of dangers, disappointments, difficulties, and struggles, with a life behind him stuffed full of thorns and hard work and many a care, and close before him the martyr’s death, yet he says, with a flash of legitimate pride, ‘I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have trusted, and that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.’
My brother, you must have Paul’s faith if you are to have Paul’s serenity. A quiet committal of yourself to God, in all the ways in which I have already described that committal as carried out, is the only thing which will give us quiet hearts, amidst the dangers and disappointments and difficulties and conflicts which we have all to encounter in this world. That trust in Him will bring, in the measure of its own depth and constancy, a proportionately deep and constant calm in our hearts.
For even though my faith brought me nothing from God, the very fact that I have rolled my care off my shoulders on to His, though I had made a mistake in doing it, would bring me tranquillity, as long as I believed that the burden was on His shoulders and not on mine. Trust is always quiet. When I can say, ‘I am not the master of the caravan, and it is no part of my business to settle the route, I have no responsibility for providing food, or watching, or anything else. All my business is to obey orders, and to take the step nearest me and wait for the light,’ then I can be very quiet whatever comes. And if I have cast my burden upon the Lord, I am not delivered from responsibility, but I am delivered from harassment. I have still tasks and duties, but they are all different when I think of them as His appointing. I have still difficulties and dangers, but I can meet them all with a new peacefulness if I say, ‘God is Master here, and I am in His hands, and He will do what He likes with me.’ That is not the abnegation of will, it is the vitalising of will And no man is ever so strong as the man who feels ‘it is God’s business to take care of me; it is my business to do what He tells me.’
That, dear friends, is the only armour that will resist the cuts and blows that are sure to be aimed at you. What sort of armour do you wear? Is it of pasteboard painted to look like steel, like the breastplates and helmets of actors upon the stage in a theatre? A great deal of our armour is. Do you get rid of all that make-believe, and put on the breastplate of righteousness, and for a helmet the hope of salvation, and, above all, take the shield of faith; and trust in the Lord whate’er betide, and you will stand against all assaults. Paul’s faith is the only recipe for securing Paul’s serenity.
And then, further, note how this same quiet committal of himself into the loving hands of his Father - whom he had learned to know because he had learned to trust His Son - is not only the armour against all the dangers and difficulties in life, but is also the secret of serene gazing into the eyes of close death. Paul knew that his days were nearly at an end; he was under no illusions as to that, for you remember the grand burst of confidence, even grander than this of my text, in this same letter, with which he seems to greet the coming of the end, and exclaims, with a kind of Hallelujah! in his tone, ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. And there is nothing left for me now, now when the struggles are over and the heat and dust of the arena are behind me, but, panting and victorious, to receive the crown.’ He knows that death is sure and near; and yet in this same letter he says, ‘I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion, and the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and save me into His everlasting kingdom.’ Did he, then, expect to escape from the headsman’s block? Was he beginning to falter in his belief that martyrdom was certain? By no means. The martyrdom was the deliverance. The striking off of his head by the sharp axe was the ‘saving of him into the everlasting kingdom.’ His faith, grasping Jesus Christ, who abolished death, changes the whole aspect of death to him; and instead of ,a terror it becomes God’s angel that will come to the prisoner and touch him, and say, ‘Arise!’ and the fetters will fall from off his feet, and the angel will lead him through ‘the gate that opens of its own accord,’ and presently he will find himself in the city. That is to say, true confidence in God revealed in Jesus Christ is the armour, not only against the ills of life, but against the inevitable ill of death. It changes the whole aspect of the ‘shadow feared of man’
Now I know that there is a danger in urging the reception of the gospel of Jesus Christ on the ground of its preparing us for death. And I know that the main reasons for being Christians would continue in full force if there were no death; but I know also that we are all of us far too apt to ignore that grim certainty that lies gaping for us, somewhere on the road. And if we have certainly to go down into the common darkness, and to tread with our feet the path that all but two of God’s favourites have trod, it is as well to look the fact in the face, and be ready. I do not want to frighten any man into being a Christian, but I do beseech each of you, brethren, to lay to heart that you will have to grapple with that last enemy, and I ask you, as you love your own souls, to make honest work of this question, Am I ready for that summons when it comes, because I have committed my soul, body, and spirit into His hands, and I can quietly say, ‘ Thou wilt not leave my soul in the grave, nor wilt Thou suffer Thy servant to see corruption’?
Paul’s faith made him serene in life and victorious over death; and it will do the same for you.
III. So note, further, the experience of faith.
In the first clause of our text the Apostle says: - ‘I know whom I have trusted.’ And it is because he knows Him that therefore he is persuaded that ‘He is able to keep.’
How did Paul know Him? By experience. By the experience of his daily life. By all these years of trial and yet of blessedness through which he had passed; by all the revelations that had been made to his waiting heart as the consequence and as the reward of the humble faith that rested upon God. And so the whole past had confirmed to him the initial confidence which knit him to Jesus Christ.
If you want to know the worth of Christian faith, exercise it. We must trust, to begin with, before experience. But the faith that is built upon a lifetime is a far stronger thing than the tremulous faith that, out of darkness, stretches a groping hand, and for the first time lays hold upon God’s outstretched hand. We hope then, we tremblingly trust, we believe on the authority of His word. But after years have passed, we can say, ‘We have heard Him ourselves, and we know that this is the Christ, the Saviour of the world.’
Further, none who truly commit themselves to God ever regret it. Is there anything else of which you can say that? Is there any other sort of life that never turns out a disappointment and bitterness and ashes in the mouth of the man that feeds upon it? And is it not something of an evidence of the reality of, the Christian’s faith that millions of men are able to stand up and say,’ Lo! we have put our confidence in Him and we are not ashamed?’ ‘This poor man cried and the Lord heard him, and delivered him out of all his troubles. They looked unto God and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed.’ You cannot share in the conviction, the issue of experience which a Christian man has, if you are not a Christian. My inward evidence of the reality of the Gospel truth, which I have won because I trusted Him when I had not the experience, cannot be shared with anybody besides. You must ‘taste’ before you ‘see that the Lord is good’ But the fact that there is such a conviction, and the fact that there is nothing on the other side of the sheet to contradict it, ought to weigh something in the scale. Try Him and trust Him, and your experience will be, as that of all who have trusted Him has been, ‘that this hope maketh not ashamed.’
IV. Lastly, note here the goal of faith.
‘Against that day.’ The Apostle has many allusions to that day in this final letter. It was evidently, as was natural under the circumstances, much in his mind. And the tone of the allusions is remarkable. Remember what Paul believed that day was - a day when he ‘and all men would stand before the judgment’ bar of an omniscient and all-righteous, Divine Judge, to receive ‘the deeds done in the body.’ A solemn thought and a firm conviction, and a profound impression as to that day, were in his mind. And in the face of all this, he says, ‘I know that He will keep this poor soul of mine against that day.’
Ah, my brother! it is easy for you to shuffle out of your thoughts the judgment-seat before which we must all stand, and so to be quiet. It is easy for you to question, in a so-called intellectual scepticism, the New Testament revelations as to the future, and so to be quiet. It is easy for you to persuade yourselves of the application there of another standard of judgment than that which Scripture reveals, and to say, ‘If I have done my best God will not be hard upon me,’ and so to be quiet. But, supposing that that certain tribunal blazed upon you; supposing that you could not get rid of the thought that you were to stand there, and supposing that you realised, further, the rigidity of that judgment, and how it penetrates to the discerning of the thoughts and intents of the heart, would you be quiet then? Should you be quiet then?
This man was. How? Why? Because, in patient trust, he had put his soul into God’s hands, and a lifetime had taught him that his trust was not in vain.
If you want like peace in life, like victory in death, like boldness in the Day of Judgment, oh, dear friend! - friend though unknown - let me plead with you to seek it where Paul found it, and where you will find it, in simple faith on God manifest in His Son.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v12 The believer’s resources in a day of general declension…
suffer
The believer’s resources in a day of general declension and apostasy are:
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(1) Faith 2Ti 1:5.
(2) the Spirit 2Ti 1:6; 2Ti 1:7.
(3) the word of God 2Ti 1:13; 2Ti 3:1-17; 2Ti 4:3; 2Ti 4:4.
(4) the grace of Christ 2Ti 2:1.
(5) separation from vessels unto dishonour 2Ti 2:4; 2Ti 2:20; 2Ti 2:21.
(6) the Lord’s sure reward 2Ti 4:7; 2Ti 4:8.
(7) the Lord’s faithfulness and power 2Ti 2:13; 2Ti 2:19.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v12 For this cause
For this cause
"Because I am an apostle"
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I also suffer these things
Paul is referring to being a prisoner.
I am persuaded
"I am convinced"
to keep that which I have entrusted to him
Paul is using a metaphor of a person leaving something with another person who is supposed to protect it until he gives it back to the first person. Possible meanings are 1) Paul is trusting Jesus to help him remain faithful, or 2) Paul is trusting that Jesus will ensure that people continue spreading the gospel message. (See: Metaphor)
that day
This refers to the day when God judges all people. (See: Metonymy)
Keep the example of faithful messages that you heard from me
"Keep teaching the correct ideas I have taught you" or "Use how I taught you as a pattern for what and how you should teach"
with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus
"as you trust in Jesus Christ and love him"
The good thing
This refers to the work of proclaiming the gospel correctly.
guard it
Timothy needs to be alert because people will oppose his work, try to make him stop, and distort what he says.
through the Holy Spirit
"with the power of the Holy Spirit"
translationWords
suffer
shame
believe
trust
faith
love
in Christ
Holy Spirit
life
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v12 1:12 Paul had complete confidence as he faced his…
1:12 Paul had complete confidence as he faced his own death (see 4:17-18; Rom 1:16; 2 Cor 4:8-9; Phil 1:20); it was an example for Timothy to follow (see 2 Tim 1:8). • what I have entrusted to him (or what has been entrusted to me; literally my deposit): My deposit might be either the Good News that had been entrusted to Paul (see 1 Tim 6:20) or Paul’s life and ministry that he had committed to God.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.