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This section has three verses
2 Timothy 2:8-10
8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David
was raised from the dead according to my gospel:
9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even
unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.
10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect's
sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which
is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
We will begin with the Barclay Commentary.
REMEMBER JESUS CHRIST
2 Timothy 2:8–10 …paraphrased
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, born of
the seed of David, as I preached the gospel to you,
that gospel for which I suffer, even to the length
of fetters, on the charge of being a criminal. But
though I am fettered, the word of God is not bound.
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of God’s
chosen ones, that they too may obtain the salvation
which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
RIGHT from the beginning of this letter, Paul has
been trying to inspire Timothy to his task. He has
reminded him of his own belief in him and of the
godly parentage from which he has come; he has shown
him the picture of the Christian soldier, the
Christian athlete and the Christian worker [farmer-husbandman].
And now he comes to the greatest appeal of all –
Remember Jesus Christ. Sir Robert Falconer calls
these words ‘The heart of the Pauline gospel’. Even
if every other appeal to Timothy’s strength of
character should fail, surely the memory of Jesus
Christ cannot. In the words which follow, Paul is
really urging Timothy to remember three things.
(1) Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead.
The tense of the Greek does not imply one definite
act in time, but a continued state which lasts
forever. Paul is not so much saying to Timothy:
‘Remember the actual resurrection of Jesus’, but
rather: ‘Remember your risen and ever-present
Lord.’ Here is the great Christian inspiration. We
do not depend on a memory, however great. We enjoy
the power of a presence. When Christians are
summoned to some great task that they feel is beyond
them, they must go about it in the certainty that
they do not go alone, but that the presence and the
power of their risen Lord is always with them. When
fears threaten, when doubts invade the mind, when
inadequacy depresses, remember the presence of the
risen Lord.
(2) Remember Jesus Christ born of the seed of
David. This is the other side of the question.
‘Remember’, says Paul to Timothy, 'that the Master
shared our humanity.' We do not remember one who is
only a spiritual presence; we remember one who trod
this road, and lived this life, and faced this
struggle, and who therefore knows what we are going
through. We have with us the presence not only of
the glorified Christ, but also of the Christ who
knew the desperate struggle of being human and
followed the will of God to the bitter end.
(3) Remember the gospel, the good news. Even
when the gospel demands much, even when it leads to
an effort which seems to be beyond human ability and
to a future which seems dark with every kind of
threat, remember that it is good news, and remember
that the world is waiting for it. However hard the
task the gospel offers, that same gospel is the
message of liberation from sin and victory over
circumstances for us and for all people.
So, Paul fires up Timothy to courageous action by
calling on him to remember Jesus Christ, to remember
the continual presence of the risen Lord, to
remember the sympathy which comes from the humanity
of the Master, to remember the glory of the gospel
for himself and for the world which has never heard
it and is waiting for it.
THE CRIMINAL OF CHRIST
WHEN Paul wrote these words, he was in a Roman
prison, bound by a chain. This was literally true,
for all the time he was in prison night and day he
would be chained to the arm of a Roman soldier. Rome
took no risks that its prisoners might escape.
Paul was in prison on the charge of being a
criminal. It seems strange that even a hostile
government should was able to regard a Christian,
and especially Paul, as a criminal. There were two
possible ways in which Paul might seem to the Roman
government to be a criminal.
First, Rome had an empire which extended almost as
far as the known world of that time. It was obvious
that such an empire was subject to stresses and to
strains. The peace had to be kept, and every
possible center of discontent had to be eliminated.
One of the things about which Rome was very
particular was the formation of associations. In the
ancient world, there were many associations. There
were, for instance, dinner clubs whose members met
at regular intervals. There were what are known as
friendly societies designed for charity for the
dependents of members who had died. There were
burial societies to see that their deceased members
were decently buried. But so particular were the
Roman authorities about associations that even these
humble and harmless societies had to receive special
permission from the emperor before they were allowed
to meet. Now, the Christians were in effect an
illegal association; and that is one reason why
Paul, as a leader of such an association, might well
be in the very serious position of being a political
criminal.
Second, the first persecution of the Christians was
intimately connected with one of the greatest
disasters which ever hit the city of Rome. On 19th
July AD 64, the great fire broke out. It burned for
six days and seven nights and devastated the city.
The most sacred shrines and the most famous
buildings perished in the flames. But worse – the
homes of the ordinary people were destroyed. By far
the greater part of the population lived in great
tenements built largely of wood, and these went up
in flames like tinder. People were killed and
injured; they lost their nearest and dearest; they
were left homeless and destitute. The population of
Rome was reduced to what has been called ‘a vast
brotherhood of hopeless wretchedness’.
It was believed that Nero, the emperor, himself was
responsible for the fire. It was said that he had
watched the fire from the Tower of Maecenas and
declared himself charmed with ‘the flower and
loveliness of the flames’. It was said that, when
the fire showed signs of dying down, men were seen
rekindling it with burning torches, and that these
men were the servants of Nero. Nero had a passion
for building, and it was said that he had
deliberately set fire to the city so that from the
ruins he might build a new and nobler Rome. Whether
the story was true or not – the chances are that it
was – one thing was certain. Nothing would kill the
rumor. The destitute citizens of Rome were sure that
Nero had been responsible.
There was only one thing for the Roman government to
do; they must find a scapegoat. And a scapegoat was
found. Let Tacitus, the Roman historian, tell how
it was done: ‘But all human efforts, all the lavish
gifts of the emperor, and the propitiations [pruh-pish-ee-ey-shuhs]
of the gods did not banish the sinister belief that
the conflagration was the result of an order.
Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero
fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite
tortures on a class hated for their abominations,
called Christians by the populace’ (Annals, 15:44).
Obviously, slanders were already circulating
regarding the Christians. It has been suggested that
the influential Jews were responsible. And the hated
Christians were saddled with the blame for the
disastrous fire of Rome. It was from that event that
the first great persecution sprang. Paul was a
Christian. More importantly, he was recognized as
the leader of the Christians. And it may well be
that part of the charge against Paul was that he was
one of those responsible for the fire of Rome and
the resulting misery of the people.
So, Paul was in prison as a criminal, a political
prisoner, member of an illegal association and
leader of that hated sect of fire-raisers, on whom
Nero had pinned the blame for the destruction of
Rome. It can easily be seen how helpless Paul was in
the face of charges like that.
IN CHAINS YET FREE
EVEN though he was in prison on charges which made
release impossible, Paul was not dismayed and was
very far from despair. He had two great uplifting
thoughts.
(1) He was certain that, though
he might be bound, nothing could bind the word of
God. Andrew Melville was one of the earliest heralds
of the Scottish Reformation in the sixteenth
century. One day, the Regent Morton sent for him and
denounced his writings. ‘There will never be
quietness in this country’, he said, ‘till half a
dozen of you be hanged or banished the country.’
‘Tush! sir,’ answered Melville, ‘threaten your
courtiers in that fashion. It is the same to me
whether I rot in the air or in the ground. The earth
is the Lord’s; my fatherland is wherever well-doing
is. I have been ready to give my life when it was
not half as well worn, at the pleasure of my God. I
lived out of your country ten years as well as in
it. Yet God be glorified, it will not lie in your
power to hang nor exile his truth!’
You can exile an individual,
but you cannot exile the truth. You can imprison a
preacher, but you cannot imprison the word that is
preached. The message is always greater than the
individual; the truth is always mightier than the
bearer. Paul was quite certain that the Roman
government could never find a prison which could
contain the word of God. And it is one of the facts
of history that if human effort could have
obliterated Christianity, it would have perished
long ago; but you cannot kill that which is
immortal.
(2) Paul was certain that what
he was going through would in the end be a help to
other people. His suffering was not pointless and
profitless. The blood of the martyrs has always been
the seed of the Church, and the lighting of the pyre
where Christians were burned has always been the
lighting of a fire which could never be put out.
When people have to suffer for their Christianity,
let them remember that their suffering makes the
road easier for someone else who is still to come.
In suffering, we bear our own small portion of the
weight of the cross [stake]
of Christ and do our own small part in the bringing
of God’s salvation to the world.
~Barclay commentary
Now to the other commentaries. We will begin with
the general and move to the specific.
The elect, 2 Timothy 2:10-13 - The Apostle sketches
the experiences of the elect soul. It must endure,
suffer, and die with Christ, that out of its
surrender may come the truest, richest life, John
12:25. There is no path to lasting success save that
of the cross [stake] and grave of Christ. It
has been allotted to the redeemed in the divine
program; each must tread it separately and with
resolute purpose. But there is no doubt as to the
sequel of a true life. The world of men may count it
a failure, but God pledges Himself that as the
pendulum swings here in the dark, it shall swing
equally in yonder world of light [the Kingdom].
Three things are impossible with God-to die, to lie,
and to fail the soul that trusts Him. Even when we
cannot muster faith enough, His word of promise
cannot be frustrated in the case of those whose
faith is weak and trembling as the smoking flax.
~F. B. Meyer
Quoted verse:
John 12:25
He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that
hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto
life eternal.
Let suffering saints remember, and look to Jesus,
the Author and Finisher of their faith, who for the
joy that was set before him, endured the cross [stake],
despised the shame, and is now set down at the right
hand of the throne of God. We must not think it
strange if the best men meet with the worst
treatment; but this is cheering, that the word of
God is not bound. Here we see the real and true
cause of the apostle's suffering trouble in, or for,
the sake of the gospel. If we are dead to this
world, its pleasures, profits, and honours, we shall
be for ever with Christ in a better world. He is
faithful to his threatenings, and faithful to his
promises. This truth makes sure the unbeliever's
condemnation, and the believer's salvation.
~Matthew Henry Concise
Now from the Matthew Henry Main:
Why he suffered cheerfully: I endure all things for
the elects' sake, 2 Timothy 2:10. Observe,
(1.) Good ministers may and should encourage
themselves in the hardest services and the hardest
sufferings, with this, that God will certainly bring
good to his church, and benefit to his elect, out of
them. - That they may obtain the salvation which is
in Christ Jesus. Next to the salvation of our own
souls we should be willing to do and suffer any
thing to promote the salvation of the souls of
others.
(2.) The elect are designed to obtain salvation: God
hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain
salvation, 1 Thessalonians 5:9.
Quoted verse:
1 Thessalonians 5:9
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to
obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
(3.) This salvation is in Christ Jesus, in him as
the fountain, the purchaser, and the giver of it;
and it is accompanied with eternal glory: there is
no salvation in Christ Jesus without it.
(4.) The sufferings of our apostle were for the
elects' sake, for their confirmation and
encouragement. ~Matthew Henry Main
Now to the specific commentaries.
The verse is primarily in two parts:
1] Therefore I endure all things for the elect's
sakes.
2] That they may also obtain the salvation which is
in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
1] Therefore I endure all things
for the elect's sakes.
Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes;
- for the sake of the Church: all the members of
Christ’s spiritual body (Colossians 1:24).
~Jamieson, Fausset, Brown
Quoted verse:
Colossians 1:24
Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill
up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ
in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the
church:
Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes;
- see 2 Corinthians 1:6. The sense is, What I suffer
is in the cause of the church, spoken of here, as it
is often, as chosen, or elected; see Ephesians 1:4.
~Barnes Notes
Quoted verses:
2 Corinthians 1:6
And whether we be afflicted, it is for your
consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the
enduring of the same sufferings which we also
suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your
consolation and salvation.
Ephesians 1:4
According as he hath chosen us in him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and
without blame before him in love:
Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes;
- For the sake of the Gentiles, elected by God’s
goodness to enjoy every privilege formerly possessed
by the Jews, and, in addition to these, all the
blessings of the Gospel; the salvation of Christ
here, and eternal glory hereafter. ~Adam Clarke
Therefore I endure all things for the elects' sakes
- There is a certain number of persons whom God has
chosen in Christ from everlasting unto salvation,
who shall certainly be saved [meaning the
salvation process is certain]; for these Jesus
Christ suffered and died; and on their account is
the Gospel sent, preached, and published to the
world; for their sakes are ministers fitted and
qualified for their work, and have their mission and
commission to perform it, and suffer what they do in
the execution of it; and since it was for the sake
of such, whom God had loved and chosen, that the
apostle endured all his reproaches, afflictions, and
persecutions, he was the more cheerful under them;
and the consideration of it was a support unto him:
~John Gill
2] That they may also obtain the
salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal
glory.
That they may also obtain the salvation which is in
Christ Jesus with eternal glory. - Their salvation,
though they, were elected, could not be secured
without proper efforts. The meaning of the apostle
here is, that he was willing to suffer if he might
save others; and any one ought to be willing to
suffer in order to secure the salvation of the elect
- for it was an object for which the Redeemer was
willing to lay down his life. ~Barnes Notes
Note: On the phrase from the
commentary, "he was willing to suffer if he might
save others" is speaking to his help and being an
example in that endeavor.
Now just one item from the Biblical Illustrator:
Salvation
I. The nature of salvation.
1. Salvation is the great and constant theme of the
whole Bible,
2. Salvation is a word of pleasing import.
3. Salvation is a full and complete deliverance from
all past guilt and condemnation.
4. Salvation is a glorious deliverance from all the
miseries of sin and the bondage of Satan.
5. Salvation is a deliverance from the envenomed
sting of death.
6. This salvation is a deliverance from the
resurrection of damnation [Third Resurrection],
the horrors of the judgment, and the miseries of
being lost forever [second death]. Now for
the peculiar characteristics of this salvation.
(1) It is free.
(2) Suitable.
(3) Present.
(4) Gracious.
(5) Eternal.
II. The author and source of salvation. It is
“Christ Jesus.”
III. Let us point out its method. Some persons try
to mystify the plan. But it is simple. The way is
easy. Some want to purchase the gift of salvation,
but it is not to be bought. It is here—“Look unto
Me, and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth.” Turn
your eyes from the world and sin, and, by faith,
look to Christ! ~Biblical Illustrator
That they may also obtain - as well as himself, and
other chosen vessels of salvation, who were called
by grace already; for the apostle is speaking of
such of the elect, who were, as yet, in a state of
nature: ~John Gill
The salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal
glory - salvation is only by Christ Jesus, and in
him; and this is only for the elect of God; and it
is published in the Gospel, that they might obtain
it; and in all ages they do obtain it, or enjoy it:
the thing itself is obtained by Christ for them,
through his obedience, sufferings, and death; and it
is published in the everlasting Gospel, that they
might come to the knowledge of it; and in the
effectual calling it is brought near [by God],
through the Spirit of God, and applied unto them;
and they have now both a meekness for it, and a
right unto it, and shall fully enjoy it in [The
Kingdom]; for it has "eternal glory", or
"heavenly glory", as the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic
versions read, "annexed to it"; or rather the full
enjoyment of it will consist in an eternal and
heavenly glory, which will be put upon the saints,
both in soul and body [meaning body changed to
spirit], and remain to all eternity. ~John
Gill
That they may also obtain the salvation which is in
Christ Jesus with eternal glory. - not only
salvation from wrath, but glory in reigning with Him
eternally (2 Timothy 2:12).
Quoted verse:
2 Timothy 2:12 [See
lesson]
If we suffer, we shall also reign
with him: if we deny him, he also will
deny us:
Glory is the full expansion of salvation (Acts 2:47;
Romans 8:21-24, Romans 8:30; Hebrews 9:28).
~Jamieson, Fausset, Brown
Quoted verses:
Acts 2:47
Praising God, and having favour with all the people.
And the Lord added to the church daily such as
should be saved.
Romans 8:21-24
21 Because the creature itself also shall be
delivered from the bondage of corruption into the
glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and
travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have
the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves
groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to
wit, the redemption of our body.
24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen
is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet
hope for?
Romans 8:30
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also
called: and whom he called, them he also justified:
and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Hebrews 9:28
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many;
and unto them that look for him shall he appear the
second time without sin unto salvation.
So grace and glory (Psalm 84:12).
Quoted verse:
Psalm 84:12
O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in
thee.
Recap:
1] In all we do, remember Jesus Christ.
2] Remember your risen and ever-present Lord.
3] Remember that Christ shared our humanity.
4] Remember the good news of the gospel.
5] We may find ourselves in chains or bondage but
the gospel is always free.
6] We must endure, suffer, and die with Christ.
Doing this brings the truest, richest life.
7] Three things impossible: For God to die, for Him
to lie and for Him to fail the soul that trusts Him.
8] Firstfruits suffer cheerfully.
9] The elect are designed to obtain salvation.
10] There is no salvation without Christ.
11] Salvation cannot be secured without proper
efforts [staying in the Salvation Process to the
end].
12] Salvation is eternal. |