Las Vegas, Nevada Church
Affiliated with the Intercontinental Church of God and the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

 
 
 Survey of the Letters of Paul:  2 Timothy 4:18  
  
                                                                                                                                                                                    
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Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
 
 

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2 Timothy 4:18
And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
 
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before doing a study on any single verse, read all the verses from the beginning of the chapter to this point and maybe a verse or two beyond. Do this so you have the verse in context before you begin. click here
This last section of Chapter 4 has seven [7] verses.
 
 2 Timothy 4:16-22
 16 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
 17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
 18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
 19 Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.
 20 Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.
 21 Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren.
 22 The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.
 
 We will begin with the Barclay commentary:
 
 LAST WORDS AND GREETINGS
 2 Timothy 4:16-22 …paraphrased
 At my first defense, no one was there to stand by me, but all forsook me. May it not be reckoned against them! But the Lord stood beside me, and he strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation of the gospel was fully made so that the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the mouth of the lion. The Lord will rescue me from every evil, and will save me for his heavenly kingdom. Glory be to him for ever and ever. Amen.
 
 Greet Prisca and Aquila [AK-wih-luh], and the family of Onesiphorus [on'uh-SIF-uh-ruhs]. Erastus [ih-RAS-tuhs] stayed in Corinth. I left Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs] at Miletus. Exibulus [Ex-aw-bu-lus] sends greetings to you, as do Pudens [POO-dinz], Linus and Claudia, and all the brothers.
 
 The Lord be with your spirit.
 Grace be with you.
 
 A Roman trial began with a preliminary examination to formulate the precise charge against the prisoner. When Paul was brought to that preliminary examination, not one of his friends stood by him. It was too dangerous to proclaim oneself the friend of a man on trial for his life.
 
 One of the curious things about this passage is the number of reminiscences of Psalm 22. ‘Why have you forsaken me? – all forsook me.’ ‘There is no one to help – no one was there to stand by me.’ ‘Save me from the mouth of the lion! – I was rescued from the mouth of the lion.’ ‘All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord – that the Gentiles might hear it.’ ‘Dominion belongs to the Lord – The Lord will save me for his heavenly kingdom.’ It seems certain that the words of this psalm were running in Paul’s mind. And the lovely thing is that this was the psalm which was in the mind of Jesus when he hung upon his cross. As Paul faced death, he took encouragement from the same psalm that his Lord used in the same circumstances.
 Three things brought Paul courage in that lonely hour.
 
 (1) Everyone had forsaken him; but the Lord
 was with him. Jesus had said that he would never leave his followers or forsake them, and that he would be with them to the end of the world. Paul is a witness that Jesus kept his promise. If to do the right means to be alone, as Joan of Arc said, ‘It is better to be alone with God.’
 
 (2) Paul would use even a Roman court to proclaim the message of Christ. He obeyed his own commandment: in season and out of season, he pressed the claims of Christ on men and women. He was so busy thinking of the task of preaching that he forgot the danger. Those who are immersed in the task before them have conquered fear.
 
 (3) He was quite certain of the ultimate rescue. He might seem to be the victim of circumstances and a criminal condemned by Roman justice, but Paul saw beyond the present time and knew that his eternal safety was assured. It is always better to be in danger for a moment and safe for eternity than to be safe for a moment and to jeopardize eternity. ~Barclay commentary
 
 Now to the rest of the commentaries. We will begin with general and move to the specific.
 
 We will begin with the Matthew Henry Concise as the Matthew Henry Main has nothing on verse 18. The Concise covers verses 14-18.
 
 There is as much danger from false brethren, as from open enemies. It is dangerous having to do with those who would be enemies to such a man as Paul. The Christians at Rome were forward to meet him, Acts 28, but when there seemed to be a danger of suffering with him, then all forsook him. God might justly be angry with them, but he prays God to forgive them. The apostle was delivered out of the mouth of the lion, that is, of Nero, or some of his judges. If the Lord stands by us, he will strengthen us in difficulties and dangers, and his presence will more than supply every one's absence. ~Matthew Henry Concise
 
 Notice this piece from the Biblical Illustrator:
 
 Prayer and trust
 This is the true inmost essence of prayer—not that we should prescribe to Him how to answer our desires, but that we should leave all that in His hands. The apostle Paul said, in his last letter, with triumphant confidence, that he knew that God would “deliver him and save him into His everlasting kingdom.” And he knew, at the same time, that his course was ended, and that there was nothing for him now but the crown. How was he “saved into the kingdom” and “delivered from the mouth of the lion”? The sword that struck off the wearied head that had thought so long for God’s Church was the instrument of the deliverance and the means of the salvation. For us it may be that a sharper sorrow may be the answer to the prayer, “Preserve Thy servant.” It may be that God’s “bowing down His ear” and answering us when we cry shall be to pass us through a mill that has finer rollers, to crush still more the bruised corn. But the end and the meaning of it all will be to “rejoice the soul of the servant” with a deeper joy at last. ~Biblical Illustrator
 
 
Quotes on deliverance from evil:
 
 
“The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but deliverance from fear”
 
 “Temptation is not his
(Satan's) strongest weapon. Despair is.”
 
 "Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything."
 
 "When the POWER OF GOD is present, healing and deliverance are just like breathing."
 
 “The nature of the enemy's warfare in your life is to cause you to become discouraged and to cast away your confidence. Not that you would necessarily discard your salvation, but you could give up your hope of God's deliverance. The enemy wants to numb you into a coping kind of Christianity that has given up hope of seeing God's resurrection power.”

This next one was mentioned by Garner Ted Armstrong more than once in his preaching.
 
 “Spiritual warfare is very real. There is a furious, fierce, and ferocious battle raging in the realm of the spirit between the forces of God and the forces of evil. Warfare happens every day, all the time. Whether you believe it or not, you are in a battlefield. You are in warfare.”

 
 Now to the specific commentaries.
 
 The verse is generally in three parts:
 
 1] And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work.
 2] And will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom.
 3] To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

 
 
1] And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work.
 
 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work - He does not say from “death,” for he expected now to die; see 2 Timothy 4:6. But he was assured that God would keep him from shrinking from death when the hour approached; from apostasy, and from the manifestation of an improper spirit when he came to die. ~Barnes Notes
 
 Quoted verse:
 2 Timothy 4:6 [see Lesson]
 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
 
 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work - None of the evil designs formed against me to make me unfaithful or unsteady, to cause me to save my life at the expense of faith and a good conscience, shall succeed; my life may go, but he will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom. A continuance on earth the apostle expects not; but he has glory full in view, and therefore he gives God glory for what he had done, and for what he had promised to do. ~Adam Clarke
 
 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work - From wicked and unreasonable men, and all their attempts upon him, and from all afflictions by them; not but that he expected afflictions as long as he was in the world, but he knew that God would support him under them; and in his own time and way deliver out of them; and at last entirely by death, when he should be no more attended with them; and from all the temptations of Satan, and his evil designs upon him, and from sin and iniquity; not that he expected to live free of Satan's temptations, or without sin, but he believed that he should be kept from sinking under the former [Satan’s temptations], and from being under the dominion of the latter [sin]; and should not be left to deny his Lord, desert his cause, blaspheme his name, and apostatize from him: ~John Gill
 
 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work - (Psalm 22:21), “will bring me safe to.” Jesus is the Lord and the Deliverer (Philippians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians1:10): He saves from evil; He gives good things. ~Jamieson, Fausset, Brown
 
 Quoted verses:
 Psalm 22:21
 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
 
 Philippians 3:20
 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
 
 1 Thessalonians 1:10
 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
 
 And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work - Which is far more than delivering me from death. Yea, and, over and above, preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom - Far better than that of Nero. ~John Wesley Explanatory Notes
  
 And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work - Future middle. Recall the Lord’s Prayer. Paul is not afraid of death. He will find his triumph in death (Philippians 1:21.). ~Robinson's Word Pictures
 

 Quoted verse:
 Philippians 1:21
 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
 
 And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work - That thought, deliverance from evil, whether within or without, is more precious to the apostle than any deliverance from danger. The words in the Greek remind one so strongly of the clause ‘Deliver us from evil’ in the Lord’s Prayer, that we may well think of this as an echo from the familiar form. So far as it is so, it is in favor of the general, rather than the personal, application of that petition. The doxology [of praise to God] also, no less than the prayer, may come from the form as it was used liturgically [public worship]. In any case, it is noticeable that here we have, beyond the shadow of a doubt, a doxology addressed to Christ as the Lord, i.e. the fullest recognition of his Divine nature. ~Popular commentary
 
 Related verses:
 Genesis 48:16
 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
 
 1 Samuel 25:39
 And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife.
 
 Psalm 121:7
 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
 
 Matthew 6:13
 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
 
 Luke 11:4
 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
 
 John 17:15
 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
 
 1 Corinthians 10:13
 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
 
 2 Corinthians 1:10
 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
 
 2 Thessalonians 3:3
 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
 
 
2] And will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom.
 
 And will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom - So keep me from evil that I shall reach his [Kingdom]; see 2 Timothy 4:8. ~Barnes Notes
 
 Quoted verse:
 2 Timothy 4:8 [see Lesson]
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
 
 And will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom - the ultimate glory and happiness of the saints in [The Kingdom]; so called, both because of its nature and place, and to distinguish it from the church, which is Christ's kingdom in this world, though it is not of it; and from his personal reign with his saints on earth, for the space of a thousand years; whereas this will be for ever: and unto this the apostle believed he should be preserved, as all the saints will be, notwithstanding the persecutions of the world, the temptations of Satan, and their own corruptions; for they are secured in an everlasting covenant, and in the hands of Christ; and have not only angels to encamp about them, and salvation, as walls and bulwarks to them, but God himself is a wall of fire around them, and they are kept by his power unto salvation: and besides, this heavenly kingdom is prepared for them, and given to them; they are chosen to be heirs and possessors of it; they are called unto it, and Christ is gone to receive it in their name, to prepare it for them, and will come again and introduce them into it: ~John Gill
 
 Related verses:
 Psalm 37:28
 For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
 
 Psalm 73:24
 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
 
 Matthew 13:43
 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
 
 Matthew 25:34
 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
 
 Luke 12:32
 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
 
 Luke 22:29
 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
 
 John 10:28-30
 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
 30 I and my Father are one.
 
 1 Thessalonians 5:23
 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
 
 James 2:5
 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
 
 1 Peter 1:5
 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
 
 Jude 1:1
 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
 
 Jude 1:24
 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
 
 
3] To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
 
 To whom be glory forever and ever - Paul was accustomed to introduce a doxology in his writings when his heart was full (compare Romans 9:5), and in no place could it be more appropriate than here, when he had the fullest confidence that he was soon to be brought to [The Kingdom]. If man is ever disposed to ascribe glory to God, it is on such an occasion. ~Barnes Notes
 
 Quoted verse:
 Romans 9:5
 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
 
 To whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen - of the present deliverance, and of all others he had, or should receive, as well as of the provision of the heavenly kingdom for him, and of his preservation to it. ~John Gill
 
 To whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen - Greek, “to whom be the glory unto the ages of ages.” The very hope produces a doxology: how much greater will be the doxology which the actual enjoyment shall produce! ~Jamieson, Fausset, Brown
 
 Related verses:
 Galatians 1:5
 To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
 
 1 Timothy 1:17 [see Lesson]
 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
 
 1 Timothy 6:16 [see Lesson]
 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
 
 Hebrews 13:21
 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
 
 1 Peter 5:11
 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
 
 Jude 1:25
 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
 
 You are a firstfruit of God.
 He will deliver you from every evil work.
 He will preserve you to the Kingdom of God and eternal life.
 To God be glory forever and ever.
 
 These are the lessons of verse 18.



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