2 Timothy 1

1 an apostle, etc. See notes on Rom. i. 1, and Gal. i. 1. The Greek preposition translated “according to” really means here “for the purpose of.” Paul’s apostleship had for its object to proclaim the promise, etc.

2 from my forefathers. As a Christian he continued to worship the God of his fathers (Acts xxiv. 14). This was what the Jews denied; but the apostle’s “conscience” was “pure” in the matter.

4 being mindful of thy tears. Perhaps at their last parting.

5 thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice. Who had taught him in childhood the word of God (iii. 15); and had perhaps become Christians with him (Acts xvi. 1). On the coincidence between this Epistle and the narrative in the Acts of the Apostles, see Paley’s Horæ Paulinæ, ch. xii. No. 2.

6 the putting (laying) on of my hands. The apostle taking the chief part in Timothy’s ordination: see note on 1 Tim. iv. 14.

7 a sound mind. The Greek word may mean here “discipline.” But the application is not very clear.

8 be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel. “Suffer hardship with me for the gospel.”

according to the power of God. “The great things done by God in the matter of salvation are a ground and motive for something correspondent being done by us” (P. Fairbairn).

9 which was given . . . before the world began (lit., “from times eternal”). “Ages ago.” “It was given from the beginning, it needed only time for its manifestation” (Ellicott).

10 who hath abolished death. Rather, “has deprived death of its power.” Cp. 1 Cor. xv. 12-26, and Heb. ii. 14, 15.

immortality. Lit., “incorruption.” To bring to light is not precisely the same as to “reveal.” The phrase suggests rather the “throwing light upon that which was dimly shown before.”

12. I know whom, etc.** The emphasis is as given in the R.V., “I know Him, whom I,” etc. Not simply, I know who it is, but I am acquainted with Himself. Faith is thus shown to be not mere intellectual assent, but personal trust in a living person. “I know Him whom I have trusted” would be a better rendering.

to keep that which I have committed, etc. “To guard my deposit,” meaning probably himself and all his interests (cp. iv. 8).

13 form. Or, “pattern,” R.V., as in 1 Tim. i. 16. Hold to this pattern in faith and love, i.e., let it not be an empty dogma, but a power in your heart and life.

14. That good thing, etc.** The blessed gospel: cp. 1 Tim. vi. 20. The phrase is similar to that in ver. 12, “guard the deposit” in thy hands. Let us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, do for Christ what He does for us.

15 all they which are in Asia, etc. The meaning probably is, that all the Christians from Proconsular Asia (except Onesiphorus, vers. 16, 17) who had visited Rome during Paul’s imprisonment, had shunned him, being ashamed of his bonds. Their conduct is mentioned perhaps as a hint to Timothy to act a bolder and kinder part; as in ver. 8.

Phygelius and Hermogenes. Professed Christians of whom nothing more is known.

16 the house of Onesiphorus. Who himself appears to have been absent from Ephesus at the time. There is no ground for supposing, with some, that he was no longer living: cp. iv. 19.

for he oft refreshed me. By active kindness and sympathy. The prayer, ver. 18, suggests the words of our Lord (Matt. xxv. 36).

He therefore counsels the younger man to be steadfast in the truth (i. 13; iii. 14), and to “hold straight onward” (Bishop Moule) in teaching it (ii. 15); to endure hardness (ii. 3); to be careful in the cultivation of his personal character (ii. 21, 22); to avoid profitless discussions and controversies (ii. 23); to be a faithful preacher and fearless pastor (iv. 2, 5).

The Epistle, therefore, is one for the constant study of every minister of the Gospel, and of every Christian congregation, that they may see the ideal that is expected of a minister of Jesus Christ. It has a double force in the fact that its glowing words came from the heart of one who had suffered, and was then suffering, trials, hardships, and persecutions for the Gospel’s sake.

And the Apostle’s own tender thought of others is manifest throughout, He remembers with gratitude the kindness and loyalty of Onesiphorus (i. 16-18) and the friendship of Aquila and Priscilla (iv. 19), and shows that he has forgiven Mark’s one mistake and thinks only of his helpfulness (iv. 11). “He is ‘Apostle of Christ Jesus’ (i. 1) even to the end. . . . A serene dignity breathes in this final use of the apostolic title. It means an absolute service. It implies, in this man’s case, a life which has been full of exhausting and difficult labours, and now a death violent and unjust. But it means also a relation to JESUS CHRIST profound and special; to belong to Him, to be used by Him, in life and in death. And this not only gave a divine energy to the fulness of St. Paul’s prime; it infuses here a divine tranquillity into his parting hour” (Bishop Moule, in Devotional Commentary).