This letter (epistle) of Second Timothy is the second of two letters written by Paul, the apostle, to Timothy. He wrote this second letter around late 67 or early 68 A.D. during Paul’s second imprisonment in Rome shortly before his death.
II Timothy 1:1 and 2:
1:1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by means of (the) intention of God according to (the) promise of life, the (life) in Christ Jesus – .2to Timothy, a loved1 child; grace, mercy, peace from God (the) Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul begins this second letter to Timothy in a similar fashion to (not the same as) his first letter, in that he identifies himself to Timothy by name: Paul. Then he identifies himself by 'job-title' or 'work-function' relative-to his working or service relationship with Christ Jesus: apostle. An "apostle" is a person sent-forth or sent-away by someone on a mission or specific assignment to someone else, and in the context we see that Paul was sent-forth by Christ Jesus.
Next he explains that he was Christ Jesus' apostle through God's intention (God’s will, His active volition and desire). The will of God was the action or agency by way of which the initiated progress passed-through in order to reach its accomplishment; it was interposed between the start and the result of him being an apostle of Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus did not apostle him without this being God's will. Paul makes it clear to Timothy, and anyone else that would read this letter afterwards, that he had not decided this all by himself, nor was there some "unknown force" driving him to do the things that he was doing, nor was he deluded into thinking that he was somebody else, nor did he decide that he had reached the level of being "good enough" to be an apostle to his neighbors or to the whole world, nor was there a committee involved in this decision, nor had he "forced" God or Christ Jesus into making him an apostle!
By the time that Paul wrote this letter, Timothy would have been well aware of Paul’s being an apostle, etc, but Paul does not omit these truths when writing – Timothy and all who would read this letter later-on would again be reminded of all that God and the Lord Jesus Christ had asked Paul to carry-out during his lifetime.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by means of the intention of God according to the promise of life (in accordance, conformity, and proportion with/to the proclamation, the declaration of the message of God’s intention which is life), emphatically the life in (within the cause and sphere of action, character and attributes of) Christ Jesus.
The life in Christ Jesus refers to holy spirit-life – this includes the life that is now (life at the present time between the day of Pentecost, Acts chapter 2, and the gathering together of all holy-people, I Thessalonians 4:13-17; our life now is the gift of holy spirit that God has given us by means of the Lord Jesus Christ within our current fleshy bodies; this life is the deposit, earnest, token of what we will receive at the time of the gathering together) and
When Paul writes "Christ Jesus" he is emphasizing the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ is the resurrected, anointed-one of God. The word "Christ" means the "anointed-one" or "Messiah." In the lands and during the time-period of the writing of the Bible, holy oil was poured on the high priest of God to begin his ministry for God, and it was also used to anoint kings. Many people and things were anointed with holy oil to signify their making holy or sanctified for a specific purpose, etc, which can be read about in many scriptures in the Bible (refer to Exodus 30:22-33; Acts 2:36, and 4:27, and 10:38).
The word "Jesus" is explained in Matthew 1:21 by the Angel Gabriel when he spoke to Joseph:
Matthew 1:21:
.21She [Mary] will bring-forth a son and you [Joseph] will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
"Jesus" means "God saves / Jehovah (Yahweh) the Savior," and the Lord Jesus Christ was given that name "Jesus" because he is the one who carried-out God's will to make it available for people to be saved, to be made-safe. It is by means of Jesus, the Christ, that people are able to be saved and thereby have a true and vital spiritual relationship with the only true God. Jesus Christ is God's son – he is alive today! Christ Jesus is now at God's right-side, second-in-command to God his Father.
Let us re-read verses 1 and 2 of II Timothy and continue with our study:
Verses 1 and 2:
1:1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by means of (the) intention of God according to (the) promise of life, the (life) in Christ Jesus – .2to Timothy, a loved1 child; grace, mercy, peace from God (the) Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul addressed this letter to Timothy, a loved1 child (a child who is loved with God’s kind of love, beloved, truly you are loved by God Himself and by the Lord Jesus Christ and by myself).
During the time-period of the writing of the Bible the sons within a family helped their father in whatever the family business was, and they continued to do so even after they got married. The son worked with his father in the family interest and did not normally branch off to "do his own thing"! Timothy followed in the footsteps of Paul, as though he were his biological son, in the family interest, which in this case was God's family interest (refer to Philippians 2:22). Here he calls Timothy his “child” – a child born to/from me, which includes the figurative sense of being an affectionate term of endearment.
To Timothy, a loved1 child…
…from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
[Reference: Acts 16:1-3; Romans 8:1; I Corinthians 1:1, 4:17; II Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 3:6; I Timothy 1:2, 4:8.]
Verses 3-5:
.3I have thanks to God, to Whom I render-service from (my) parentages in a clean conscience, as I have unceasing remembrance, the (remembrance) concerning you in my supplications night and day, .4earnestly-longing to see you, having been caused-to-remember2 your tears, in order that I may be filled of joy, .5having received remembrance of the belief without-hypocrisy in you, the-one-which indwelt firstly in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I was persuaded2 that also in you,
In verse 3 the word "thanks" in the Greek is the same word as the word "grace," and here it is used as the expression made by the freedom of will of the recipient, Paul, expressing his gratitude to the giver, God, of the grace (what is freely bestowed without any merit on the recipient's part) that had been given-to and received-by him. The word “conscience” refers to all of a person’s knowing awareness, the perception of what is right which a person has put together for himself in his mind as a result of all that he has already been taught and learned in relation to the one whom he recognizes as his ruler, the one who has authority, ultimately this authority should be the only true God. Paul is addressing Timothy when he writes “you” which is a singular pronoun in these verses.
I have thanks to God – to Whom I render-service from my parentages in a clean conscience (it is to/for God that I perform, carry-out service as a hired servant from my parents and grandparents, progenitors, living ancestors, in a conscience that is free from any bad foreign-mixture) – …
The word "love1" or the verb "to love1" comes from the Greek word agape which is God's kind of love. To love with His love means to love the same way as God loves, to manifest God's love towards another, whether it is towards God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, yourself, your Christian neighbor, or towards anyone else. God tells His children today (all who have the spirit of Christ within us) how to Godly-love by means of His previously-revealed written Word and also via our holy spirit-life whereby we receive information from Him regarding how to love in different specific situations. It is the carrying out of God's commandments, His Word, which is the correct usage or way to manifest God's kind of love according to His will (refer to I Corinthians chapter 13 and I John 5:1-3). It is not the same as the brotherly or friendly kind of love, nor is it the same as the emotional/feelings/sexual kind of love.
[Reference: Acts 16:1, 20:19, 20, and 24:14; Romans 1:9, 8:11; II Corinthians 2:4, 6:16; Colossians 3:16; I Timothy 1:5, 3:9, and 5:4.]
Verses 6-14:
.6because-of which cause I remind you to fire-up-with-life the gracious-gift of God which is in you by means of the putting-on of my hands, .7for God did not give to us a spirit of cowardice but of ability and love1 and sound-thinking, .8therefore let you not be ashamed-of the witness of our Lord neither me his prisoner, but you must suffer-bad-things-together with the good-message according to God’s ability – .9the (One) having saved us and having called (us) with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to (His) own purpose and grace, the (grace) having been given to us in Christ Jesus before agelong times .10but now having been manifested by means of the shining-light of our savior, Christ Jesus, having indeed rendered-ineffective the death but having lightened life and incorruption by means of the good-message, .11into which I was put a herald and an apostle and a teacher, .12because-of which cause I also suffer these-things but I am not ashamed for I knew2 whom I believed2 and I was persuaded2 that he is able to keep-watch (regarding) the matter-put-beside (him) of me into that day. .13You must have an under-type of words being sound which you heard from me in belief and love1, the (belief and love) in Christ Jesus; .14you must keep-watch (regarding) the beautiful matter-put-beside (you) by means of holy spirit, the (holy spirit) indwelling in us.
On account of the belief’s cause (the ground for charge, the reason for accusation, here used in the good sense explaining to Timothy that the reason for the following is the belief just written about)…
A gracious-gift is something freely-given with/by the grace of God and/or of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the result, product, or effect of the action of graciously giving so that the recipient may utilize it appropriately. Every holy-person/Christian has already received the free-gift of holy spirit, and any added information, assignment, etc, given to any holy-person is given by grace (refer to I Corinthians 12:4). It is a gracious-gift to the recipient. It is unmerited or undeserved on the recipient's part because it is not given as a wage or a corresponding-reward for something he/she had or had-not done. To ‘give’ anything to another is an unforced presenting or yielding something which the giver already has to someone else who does not have it yet.
Regarding the putting-on of hands that Paul is referring to (refer to also I Timothy 4:14), it indicated:
Because-of which cause I remind you to fire-up-with-life the gracious-gift of God which is in you by means of the putting-on of my hands.
Paul continues by explaining to Timothy: in truth, God did not give to us a spirit of cowardice (God didn’t give to us, all of us, you and I and every other holy-person, a cowardly spirit, a spirit having the distinctive quality of timidity, in awe and fearful regarding different circumstances or situations) – but on the contrary – God gave to us a spirit adjectively described as having the distinctive quality of:
Following-on logically from what I have just written, let you not be ashamed of (this is a polite command or a very strong suggestion advising you: do not be caused shame by, do not cause yourself to feel shame, to have the feeling or emotion of disgrace and guilt being sorry for the following two things as though they were improper, ignominious or dishonorable – let you not be ashamed of/upon)…
…but contrary to being ashamed, you must suffer bad-things together with the good-message (experience, be affected by things that do not issue from the only true God in conjunction with the gospel, the evangel) according to God’s ability (experience whatever bad things may come against you while you are preaching the good message in accordance, conformity, and proportion to/with God’s able-power, according to the capability belonging-to and issuing-from God) – …
…– the grace…
…but now having been manifested (at the present time the grace that God gave us in Christ Jesus has already been evidenced, brought to light, shown-forth) by means of the shining-light of our savior, Christ Jesus (through the complete light being shone upon all, the illumination caused-by and emanating-from our, all holy-people’s savior, the one who saves, makes us safe, Christ Jesus, from the time when he accomplished the following two events),…
…into (with a view to, directed to, for) which good-message emphatically I was put (placed, set):
…because of the good-message’s cause (on account of the ground for charge, the reason for accusation, here used in the good sense explaining that the reason for the following is the gospel) I also suffer these-things (I also experience, I am affected by the things that are happening to me such as being in prison on death row), but contrary to suffering these things, I am not ashamed (I do not cause myself to feel shame, to have the feeling or emotion of disgrace and guilt of/upon the good message being sorry for what God and the Lord Jesus Christ have asked me to say and do as though that were improper, ignominious or dishonorable). Why am I not ashamed?
In truth…
You (Timothy) must have/hold an under-type of words being sound…. The word translated “under-type” means an outline or sketch of a mark, impression, pattern to be filled-in with/by others, a basic example to be copied by people. Here Paul tells Timothy what kind of ‘under-type’ he should hold onto: of words being sound (this word "sound" refers to being healthy, in good health, well; refer to I Timothy 6:3) which you heard from me in/within belief (faith, trust) and love1 (God’s kind of love), emphatically and specifically the belief and love1 in Christ Jesus (within the sphere of action, character and attributes of Christ Jesus who is the instrumental and efficient cause of my having this belief and love).
You must keep-watch regarding the beautiful matter-put-beside you (you must be vigilant to watch and guard what has been placed alongside you, deposited with you for you to keep it safe, the commitment that has a manifested decorous, harmonious and acceptable goodness which was put beside you) – and how do you keep watch? – by means of holy spirit, emphatically and specifically the holy spirit indwelling in us (through the sanctified spirit that is presently and actively inhabiting, housing within us, plural, all of us holy-people; we all have the same holy spirit-life within us which is the spirit of Christ in us; refer to verse 7 above).
As recorded in Acts 16:1-5 Timothy had received the gift of holy spirit, and when he and Paul began traveling together there was a specific time when Timothy received a gracious gift (refer to I Corinthians 12:4; I Timothy 1:18, 4:14, 6:20) when Paul placed his hands on him as described above. In the letters of I and II Timothy Paul keeps reminding Timothy of the additional grace he had received from God by means of the Lord Jesus Christ via the gift of holy spirit within him to be able to perform, to carry-out his specific assignment, what was put beside him to do, his commitment, his responsibility within the church, the one spiritual body of Christ.
[Reference: Matthew 8:26; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4, 3:26, 4:33, 9:15 and 16, 13:30-37, 19:22, 22:14, 15, 21, 26:16, 17, and 23; Romans 1:4, 16, 20, 5:15, 6:9, 8:11, 28, 12:3 and 18, 15:13, 19, 16:21, 25 and 26; I Corinthians 1:6, 2:4, 5, 3:15 and 16, 4:17, 20, 5:4, 6:14, 12:4, 7, 10, 12-14, 15:26, 51-57, 16:10; II Corinthians 1:5-10, 19, 4:7, 5:10, 6:16, 12:8-10, 13:3 and 4; Ephesians 1:3-12, 19, 2:5-10, chapter 3, and 4:1 and 7ff, 5:14; Philippians 1:1, 3:10; Colossians 1:23-29, 3:16; I Thessalonians 1:5, 3:2; I Timothy 1:14, 16, 18, 2:7, 4:14, 6:3, 15 and 20; II Timothy 2:1-3 and 9, 4:5, 8 and 17; Titus 1:2-3; Hebrews 2:14, 13:23; Revelation 1:18.]
Verse 15:
.15You knew2 this that all the (holy-people) in Asia, of whom is Phygelus and Hermogenes, were turned-away-from me.
You (Timothy) knew and still know this (perceive what I am about to write) that all the holy-people in Asia, two of whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes, were caused to turn away from me (turn me away from themselves). Nothing else has been written by Paul regarding these two. Also, Ephesus was a main city in Asia Minor at that time.
[Reference: Acts 19:10, 22; II Corinthians 1:8; I Timothy 1:3; II Timothy 4:16.]
Verses 16-18:
.16May the Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus because he often up-souled me and he was not ashamed-of my chain .17but having become in Rome with-earnest-diligence he sought-after me and found (me) – .18may the Lord give to him to find mercy from (the) Lord in that day – and as-many-things-as he ministered in Ephesus you know well.
Paul writes expressing his prayerful wish or desire regarding other holy-people: may the Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus (may the Lord Jesus Christ bestow active-relief withholding merited judgment towards those in Onesiphorus’ home, his household) because…
[Reference: Acts 3:19 and 20; Ephesians 6:20; II Timothy 4:19. Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (2) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]
