The Cincinnati Church

2 TIMOTHY

1. This is the Apostle Paul's second epistle to Timothy, his "son" in conversion and
ordination.
A. Paul had begotten Timothy unto his (Paul's) ways in Christ.
ACT 16:1-3 c/w 1CO 4:14-17.
B. Paul had ordained Timothy into the office of the ministry. 2TI 1:6.
C. Paul had charged Timothy with the oversight of the church at Ephesus.
1TI 1:3.
D. This epistle follows up on the fatherly guidance and order of the first epistle
relative to ministerial rule in the church. 1TI 3:14-15.
E. This epistle was also Paul's farewell address. 2TI 4:6.

v.5.
1. Timothy possessed an unfeigned faith.
A. Unfeigned: "Not feigned, pretended, or simulated; sincere, genuine, true, real."
B. Timothy's faith was not "form only" (c/w 2TI 3:5), an outward shew of piety
with no basis in the heart. c/w MAR 7:6.
C. Timothy's faith was not devoid of good works. JAM 2:17 c/w TIT 1:15-16.
D. Timothy's faith was not a sham pretext for gaining influence amongst the
saints. ACT 15:5 c/w GAL 2:4.
E. Timothy's faith was obviously based upon conviction of the word of God.
2TI 3:15 c/w ROM 10:17.

v.7.
1. Having exhorted Timothy to stir up the gift of God, Paul points to the resource of the indwelling Holy Spirit to perform this duty. c/w v.14.
2. The spirit of fear generates bondage. ROM 8:15; HEB 2:15.
3. The Spirit of God produces power, which is "the ability to do or effect something or anything, or to act upon a person or thing." ACT 1:8.
A. This power stands in contrast to the spirit of fear.
(1) Fear debilitates a man in that it causes faintness and cowardice.
DEU 20:3, 8; PRO 24:10.

v.8.
1. Because Timothy had the spirit of power and not of fear (v.7), Paul exhorts him "therefore" to not be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord.
A. Testimony: "Personal or documentary evidence or attestation in support of a fact or statement; hence, any form of evidence or proof."
B. Those who saw Jesus Christ gave the personal evidence of Him and His claims. ACT 10:37-43; 1CO 15:5-8; 1JO 1:1-4.
C. The Scriptures are the documentary evidence of Jesus Christ.
REV 19:10; 2PE 1:20-21; JOH 16:13-14; 5:39; 20:30-31.

v.10.
1. At His appearing, Christ executed that which God planned before the world began.
2. Jesus Christ is designated Saviour; He is the God Who hath saved us. ISA 43:11.
3. Jesus Christ HATH abolished death.
A. He overcame death Himself; it has no power over Him. ROM 6:9.
B. He has removed the sting of death. 1CO 15:55-57.
C. He destroyed him that had the power of death (the devil). HEB 2:14.
4. Immortality is the condition of not being subject to death.

v.12.
1. Paul suffered for the cause of the gospel.
2. Paul's sufferings did not make him ashamed of the gospel. He set a good example
for Timothy in light of the exhortation of v.8.
A. There is cause for shame owing to ignorance of the gospel when its
information is readily available. ACT 2:37-38; 3:17 c/w 1CO 15:34.
B. There is cause for shame owing to lack of study of the gospel for its
defense. 1PE 3:15; 2TI 2:15; HEB 5:12.
C. There is cause for shame when a lack of application of the gospel is manifest
in poor discernment. 1CO 6:1-5; REV 3:17-18.

v.13.

1. Paul commands Timothy to hold fast (firmly) the sound words that he had heard.
A. Here a second-generation minister is being charged to stick to the apostolic doctrine.
(1) This hardly supports the idea of continuing and novel prophecy.
(2) This opposes the introduction of extra-biblical knowledge, ex cathedra utterances, philosophies or “...oppositions of science falsely so called” (1TI 6:20).
(3) “...the SAME commit thou to faithful men” (2TI 2:2).

vs.15-18.
1. The close of this first chapter is a call to faithfulness in relationships.
A. As a good minister, Paul deserved better treatment than abandonment in a
time of tribulation by those to whom he had ministered.
B. Onesiphorus stood apart from others and set a good example of fidelity.
C. What applied here in a relation to a minister would also apply in a general
sense in everyday relationships.
2. All those in Asia who had once identified with Paul had turned away from him.
A. Paul had labored diligently and faithfully to the people of that area.

Chapter 2
v.1.
1. Timothy is here commanded to be strong in a particular manner, “...in the grace that
is in Christ Jesus.”
A. This is not an order for a rigid physical discipline so as to enable Timothy to
be a better Christian and minister. 1TI 4:7-8.
(1) Physical strength without God's blessing avails little. JDG 16:20.
(2) Physical strength does not impress God (PSA 147:10) but neither does
foolish or wilful neglect of the body, albeit under pretext of a higher
spiritual purpose. 1CO 9:25; COL 2:21-23.

vs.3-6.
1. In these verses Paul likens the ministry to soldiering, athletic competition and
husbandry (care, cultivation and breeding of crops and animals).
A. These three comparisons underscore three facts about ministry and Christian
life in general:
(1) There are fights to be fought.
(2) There are rules that must be kept.
(3) There is labour that must be done.
B. As much as our flesh would like to avoid these, they are part and parcel of
genuine Christianity. MAT 7:13-14; ACT 14:22.
2. Soldiering speaks of authority, discipline, arms and engagement.

8. The ministry is likened to an athletic contest. v.5.
A. Mastery: “The state or condition of being master, controller or ruler;
authority, sway, dominion; an instance of this. 2. Superiority or ascendancy in
competition or strife; 'upper-hand'; victory...”
B. God has ordained the minister as the ruler (under Christ) of the church.
HEB 13:7, 17; 1TH 5:12-13.
(1) This is a crown which must be achieved lawfully.
(2) Achieving such preeminence by carnal means invites judgment.
ACT 8:18-20.
(3) Grasping for offices unlawfully is the gainsaying of Korah.

v.14.
1. Timothy had been instructed to commit the things heard from Paul to faithful men
who would be able to instruct others. 2TI 2:2.
A. Paul here instructs Timothy to remind them about these things.
B. This shows that they had previously been taught these things.
C. It is negligence to NOT remind saints of things which they have previously
heard. 2PE 1:12.
D. Bringing former lessons to remembrance is a profitable method of stirring up the minds of the saints. 2PE 1:13; 3:1-2.
(1) Saints can forget even the most basic instruction.
2TH 2:5; HEB 12:5; JUDE 1:5.

v.15.
1. A chief priority and attribute of an effective gospel minister is that he should be a
man of study so as to avoid being ashamed.
A. Study: “To apply the mind to the acquisition of learning...”
(1) The studying in context is that of the word of truth, the Scripture.
(2) Not all studying is profitable for godliness and godly wisdom.
PRO 24:2; COL 2:8, 18; PRO 19:27; ROM 16:19.
(3) Christian faith need not fear rational inquiry and investigation of
non-Scriptural disciplines but of necessity must draw the line at

vs.16-18.
1. In contrast with a shameless right dividing of the word of truth, Paul here warns
against cancerous words which spring from wrongly dividing the word of truth.
2. Hymenaeus and Philetus acknowledged the biblical doctrine of the resurrection but
they had erred from the truth and wrongly divided it.
A. The doctrine of the resurrection includes the resurrection of Jesus Christ (a
past event, v.8), the similar future resurrection of His seed (ROM 8:11) and
the simultaneous resurrection of the wicked dead
(JOH 5:28-29; ACT 24:15).

vs.20-21.
1. These verses draw from the illustration of a great house to demonstrate a need in
Christianity to identify undesirable elements and separate from them.
A. The gold and silver are vessels unto honor; the wood and earth are vessels
unto dishonor. LAM 4:2; 1CO 3:11-15.
B. Note that even in a great house not everything is gold, silver or honorable.
There is bound to be some wood and dirt also.
C. There is some comfort in this on an individual basis. The best of men are
men at best and subject to vanity which our loving, merciful God well knows.

Chapter 3
v.1
1. Paul here warns Timothy of perilous times that shall come in the last days.
A. Perilous: “Fraught with peril; causing or occasioning great danger; full of
risk; dangerous; hazardous.”
B. The last days are the days since the first advent of Jesus Christ.
HEB 1:2; 1PE 1:20; ACT 2:16-17; 1CO 10:11; 1JO 2:18.
C. What would be the point of Paul here teaching Timothy how to cope with the
perilous times of the last days if there was no chance of Timothy living in
them?
D. Time has been divided and marked by the coming of Christ.

vs.6-9.
1. Paul here warns of sham ministers that victimize silly women.
2. From the type of men guilty of Paul's description in vs.2-5 would arise teachers to
support it. Ministers of a very base nature would arise. c/w 2KI 17:32-33.
A. “For of this sort...” refers to the kind characterized previously from which
Timothy was to turn away.
B. Therefore, Timothy is also to turn away from these teachers/ministers.
(1) They promote a non-committal, non-judgmental, free-living religion
where personal sanctification and doctrine take a back seat to form and
ritual.

vs.16-17.
1. These verses set forth the authorship, transmission, utility and sufficiency of the
holy scriptures.
2. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God...”
A. If something is scripture, it was given by inspiration of God. If something
was not given by inspiration of God, it could not be scripture.
B. Some modern versions alter this text.
(1) The A.S.V. and the R.V. render this phrase, “Every scripture inspired of
God...”
(2) This wording implies that some scriptures may not be inspired of God.

vs.14-15.
1. Against the corruption and deception that would define the perilous times, Paul
commands Timothy to hold fast to doctrine and Scripture.
A. He does not tell Timothy to ignore the potential threat of wicked influences
and simply trust that God would not let His people be affected.
B. He does not tell Timothy to look for state support to counter these things.
C. He does not tell Timothy to educate himself in the wisdom of this world so as
to better deal with worldly people.
D. He does not tell Timothy to promote new translations of the scriptures in the

Chapter 4
vs.1-5.
1. Paul here gives Timothy his final formal charge recorded in Scripture.
A. He had once charged him to fight with faith and a good conscience.
1TI 1:18-19.
B. He also had charged him to govern the church impartially. 1TI 5:21.
C. He charged him to continue the fight until Christ's appearing. 1TI 6:12-14.
D. This charge burdens Timothy with the single most defining and important
work of ministry: “Preach the word...”
(1) It is by preaching that unbelievers hear of Christ. ROM 10:14.

9. Against the inevitability and the aftermath of apostates, Paul commands Timothy to
watch, endure, work, and prove his ministry. v.5.
A. Regardless of the waywardness of others, he must stay the course.
EXO 23:2.
B. Gospel work must go on in spite of desertions and disappointments.
(1) There is a tendency in ministry to think one is failing at the work if
some abandon the truth.
(2) That some saints abandon the truth is not so much a sign that the
minister is failing at the work as it is that he has been doing the work
properly! JOH 6:63-66.

vs.6-8.
1. In these verses Paul anticipates his death (which was apparently imminent), reflects
upon the course of his ministry and rests in the hope of the believer: the Second
Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. The word “for” suggests that it was in view of his death that Paul was here
especially exhorting Timothy to carry on the work of the ministry.
c/w DEU 31:14; 1KI 2:1-4.
3. Paul speaks with certainty about his end.
A. “...the time of my departure is at hand” (v.6).
B. “...I have finished my course...” (v.7).