The Pastoral Epistles with Philemon & Jude by Risto Saarinen

Author:Risto Saarinen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Commentaries-New Testament, REL006070, REL067000, REL006100
ISBN: 9781441235268
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2020-02-27T00:00:00+00:00

Promise of Salvation (2 Tim. 2:8–13)

The fifth imperative admonishes Timothy to remember a brief rule of faith that Paul calls “my gospel.” Similar to “my deposit” in 1:12, this expression does not claim any specific authorship, but formulates what the apostle thinks to be an adequate expression of sound doctrine. The rule of faith is taken from Rom. 1:3–4, in which the same phrases are called “the gospel.” Only the order of christological descriptions is reversed: 2 Tim. 2:8 first says that “Jesus Christ [is] raised from the dead” and then that he is “a descendant of David.” Whereas Rom. 1:3–4 employs the order of salvation history, 2 Tim. 2:8 names the items in the order of importance.

Although the remembrance of the resurrection is the most important point in this admonition, it is significant that 2:8 pays attention to descendance from David. As in 1 Tim. 2:5, the confession to Christ as human being here plays a role. The Pastoral Epistles emphasize incarnation and counteract docetic tendencies. Maybe 2 Tim. 2:8 also contains an idea of extending the tradition backward: the deposit of faith came from Christ to Paul and from Paul to Timothy. But Christ himself is also a link in the historical tradition extending back to Judaism.

The point of Paul’s suffering is again (1:8, 16) mentioned in 2:9. This time the description is dramatic: Paul suffers in chains “like a criminal.” The words kakopathō (“suffer hardship”) and kakourgos (“wrongdoer”) underline the deplorable state of this condition. They also express a strong contrast to 2:9b. Paul is in chains, but the word of God remains free. The “word of God” here relates to “my gospel” in 2:8: it is the gospel “for which” Paul suffers. Human beings can chain Paul, but not his gospel, since it is the word of God that, having been entrusted to God (1:12), cannot be chained. When Timothy remembers this gospel and its inherent freedom, he is encouraged to serve it even when his teacher is in prison.

In 2:10 a final motivation and reason for Paul’s suffering is given. He endures “everything for the sake of the elect [eklektoi].” In the Pauline Epistles, this word depicts those who believe in Christ (Rom. 8:33; 16:13; Col. 3:12). Here as well as in Titus 1:1 the word emphatically refers to those Christians who conform to the Pauline gospel, sound doctrine, and godliness (Oberlinner 1995: 81). Although Paul in 2 Tim. 2:8–10 draws the attention of the reader to himself, he nevertheless points out that salvation and eternal glory are found in Jesus Christ.

The phrase “the saying is sure” (pistos ho logos) appears often in the Pastoral Epistles (1 Tim. 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; Titus 3:8), marking the beginning of a new and important passage. In 2 Tim. 2:11–13 Paul recites a traditional Christian formula that is most likely connected with the gospel mentioned in 2:8. As in 1:9, here also a short liturgical rule of faith is expressed. This rule extends the sufferings of Paul and Timothy toward the death of Christ, but also toward the suffering and death of all faithful.

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