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2 Timothy 4:22 |
The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy
spirit. Grace be with you. Amen. The second epistle
unto Timotheus, ordained the first bishop of the
church of the Ephesians, was written from Rome, when
Paul was brought before Nero the second time.
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Note:
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.
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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 other commentaries.
For this verse, I am only going to concern myself
with its primary part: "The Lord Jesus Christ be
with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen."
We will begin in the general and go to the specific
commentaries.
Here is the Matthew Henry Main:
He concludes with a prayer, that the Lord Jesus
would be with his spirit. We need no more to make us
happy than to have the Lord Jesus Christ with our
spirits; for in him all spiritual blessings are
summed up. And it is the best prayer we can put up
for our friends, that the Lord Jesus Christ may be
with their spirits, to sanctify and save them, and
at last to receive them to himself; as Stephen the
proto-martyr prayed, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,
Acts 7:59. “Lord Jesus, receive that spirit which
thou hast been with while it was united to the body;
do not now leave it in its separate state.” Grace be
with you. Amen. This was our apostle's token in
every epistle; so he wrote. The grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen, 2 Thessalonians
3:17-18. And if grace [salvation process] be with us
here to convert and change us, to make us holy, to
keep us humble, and to enable us to persevere to the
end, glory will crown us hereafter: for the Lord is
a sun, and a shield; the Lord will give grace and
glory, and no good thing will he withhold from those
that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the
man that trusteth in thee, Psalm 84:11-12. Now unto
the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise
God our Saviour, be honour and glory for ever and
ever. Amen. ~Matthew Henry
Main
Quoted verses:
Acts 7:59
...the stoning of Stephen
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and
saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
2 Thessalonians 3:17-18
17 The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which
is the token in every epistle: so I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you
all. Amen.
Psalm 84:11-12
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD
will give grace and glory: no good thing will he
withhold from them that walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth
in thee.
Now the Matthew Henry Concise which covers verses
19-22.
We need no more to make us happy, than to have the
Lord Jesus Christ with our spirits; for in him all
spiritual blessings are summed up. It is the best
prayer we can offer for our friends, that the Lord
Jesus Christ may be with their spirits, to sanctify
and save them, and at last to receive them to
himself. Many who believed as Paul, [are assured the
Kingdom and who will stand before the Lord]. May we
be followers of them.
~Matthew Henry Concise
Let us go now to the Biblical Illustrator where I
found four separate items.
The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit.
The highest wish of true friendship
I. Man has a spiritual nature. Spirit is something
that is unlike matter—indivisible, self-active,
self-conscious, religious. That man has a spirit is—
1. A fact most demonstrable.
2. A fact most practically ignored.
3. A fact the most distinguishing—marking us off
from all mundane existences.
II. Man’s spiritual nature needs the companionship
of Christ.
1. Christ alone can centralize its affections.
2. Christ alone can enlist unbounded reliance.
III. Companionship with Christ is an attainable
blessing.
Note: As
firstfruits with God's Holy Spirit in us, we might
present what we see in this text in a different way
that more clearly states its case. Indeed the text
is speaking to and about people that have a concept
that something is missing from the nature of
mankind. This is why mankind tries to be religious
and has stumbled across spiritual concepts we know
to be here on earth. This is all summed up in
Proverbs 14:12
Proverbs 14:12
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but
the end thereof are the ways of death.
Man knows just enough to understand that something
spiritual is needed despite their lack of ability to
attain it or fully understand it. Notice in the text
of the commentary where it states, "A fact most
practically ignored."
Man was created by God for a purpose. Man has a
human spirit that we refer to as human nature. It is
self-evident that people in the world have a general
understanding of right and wrong. Virtually every
local, city, county, state and federal government
have laws that show they know certain things are
wrong, such as murder, stealing and lying, just to
mention a few. Clearly they are not very good at
keeping or heeding those laws.
What is missing before mankind and his human nature
is true spirituality or truth. Part two of the
commentary says clearly that man needs Christ. We
learned a long time ago that we need Christ and that
He is central to our ultimate salvation. Hence the
fact Paul is praying that Christ be with Timothy's
spirit.
Now to the second item in the commentary.
Christ with us
I. Let us inquire in what sense the Lord Jesus
Christ is with His people. We cannot hope to enjoy
His bodily presence. It was expedient that He should
go away; and still it is expedient that He should
remain away. Yet in His spiritual presence He can be
with us.
Note: Clearly
this is accomplished via the Holy Spirit in us.
II. He is with us when, as the universal ruler, He
governs all things for our good. But the prayer of
Paul for Timothy is, “The Lord Jesus Christ be with
thy spirit.” What we need is a consciousness of
Christ’s presence—the enjoyment of fellowship with
Him. The spirit of man needs God; especially God
manifest in the flesh. It is only as He is with
us—filling us with all the fulness of God, that our
spirits find rest. Then we are assured of
reconciliation, forgiveness, and eternal
blessedness.
Note: This is
only fully understood by a firstfruit. We need God
through Christ in every aspect of our lives. Hence
our assiduity praying or putting God...asking God to
be in every aspect and element of our lives. Go back
through these two letters to Timothy and notice all
the admonitions and guidance Paul gives to him. He
ends this letter in the one concept that will and
did make it all possible...Jesus Christ bonded to
his spirit.
III. The requirements of our earthly state cause us
to need the presence of Christ. We are exposed to
temptation; how shall we resist it unless He help
us?
Note: Indeed and
absolutely on point.
IV. Have you ever thought of the great and manifold
blessings which the presence of Christ brings to us?
No visitor brings such gifts.
1. How largely He increases our store of knowledge!
What glorious revelations He makes of His own beauty
and worth, shining before us, like the sun, in the
brightness of His own light!
2. Then, among the blessed results of Christ’s
presence, and not the least, is assimilation to His
image.
Note: A clear
reference to the "glory to glory" scripture of 2
Corinthians 3:18 where we see that immersion in the
Word of God changes us into the image of Christ as
we continually invoke the power of the Holy Spirit.
Now the third item from this commentary:
The presence of Christ with His people [firstfruits]
desirable
All who desire the ministry, which Christ has
established amongst them [the churches], to be
useful, and wise, and successful, ought frequently
to pray, “The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit.”
Nor is it less important in respect to their own
individual piety, their growth in grace, and their
preparation to go into eternity, that the Lord Jesus
Christ be with their own spirits. This will appear:
I. From a consideration of the inquiry. In no other
way, except by the presence of Jesus, can we arrive
at a purifying and sanctifying knowledge of the Word
of God.
II. The importance of praying, the Lord Jesus be
with our spirits, will be manifest from the
necessity of His presence in our devotions [every
element of the salvation process]. This
alone can cause our prayers to go up before God as a
sweet savour.
III. The importance of praying for the presence of
Christ is manifest from its influence on our
intercourse with the impenitent [living in this
world]. Do we desire to set an example such as
Christ set, and to have such an influence as He shed
around Him, and to cause the mite of our moral power
to fall into the current of that which our God, and
the Lamb, and all the saints, have poured forth on
an ungodly world? And shall we not desire that the
Lord Jesus Christ would be with our spirits?
Note: Fancy language to state the obvious spiritual
purpose of the salvation process; to be a light in
the world by invoking the power of the Holy Spirit
in the form of Godly principles; an act that gives
off light in this dark world.
IV. What can we do in our intercourse with the
Church without the presence of Christ?
Now the final item from the Biblical Illustrator.
What you are about to see is yet another living
metaphor from God. God has given something physical
to understand something spiritual.
Grace be with you.
Continual grace
The acts of breathing which I performed yesterday
will not keep me alive today; I must continue to
breathe afresh every moment, or [physical]
life ceases. In like manner yesterday’s grace and
spiritual strength must be renewed, and the Holy
Spirit must continue [to be
present in my heart, mind and soul], from
moment to moment, in order to my enjoying the
consolations, and to my working the works of God.
~The Biblical Illustrator
Note: This is
why we continually ask God for rich measures [a
continual supply] of His power in us.
Let us go now to the specific commentaries.
The verse is primarily in two parts. Some
commentaries have the "Amen" separate..
1. The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit.
2. Grace be with you. Amen
We will go to the John Gill on this one. The Barnes
Notes and Clarke were not really on point on this
one.
The Lord Jesus Christ be with
thy spirit - To counsel and advise in every
difficult matter; to comfort under every distress;
to supply with all grace in every time of need; and
to strengthen and fit for every part and branch of
duty. ~John Gill
Grace be with you, Amen
- which is the apostle's common salutation in all
epistles. The Syriac [seer-ee-ak] version renders it, "grace be
with thee"; but the Greek copies read in the plural,
"with you"; which shows that the epistle was
designed for the use of the whole church, as well as
of Timothy. ~John Gill
Note: Ah, notice the Godly inspiration there.
God knew when this was just an inspired letter to
Timothy that it would be in the Word of God for all
of us.
So...
1] Pray this prayer for all the brethren.
2] Pray for yourself continually, asking for His
Holy Spirit, guidance, direction and forgiveness.
3] Continue in the salvation process daily.
These are the lessons of verse 22.
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