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Paul’s Farewell Message:
2 Timothy 4:1-8
• The Final Charge: 4:1-5
• A Triumphal Confession 4:6-8
2 Timothy 4:1-5
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will
judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing
and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word;
be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke
and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.
3For the time will come when men will not put up with
sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will
gather around them a great number of teachers to say what
their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears
away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you,
keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the
work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your
ministry.
The Final Charge
• For the third time in the two letters to Timothy,
Paul issues another charge to Timothy: cf.
1Ti.5:21; 6:13-14 (Towner)
• At the end of his life, Paul hands down to Timothy
the last charge in this final letter.
• There are three reasons why Timothy needs to be
faithful to what he has been charged to do:
1. The Witness who observes his works
2. The impending judgment
3. The hope of His Kingdom
v.1 The Witnesses
• “ In the presence of..”: Paul calls God and Christ
Jesus to witness the turnover of the ministry from
the apostle to assistant.
• “If Christians are really able to grasp the fact fully
that God is with them, really and continually
present, and that they live their lives in his
presence, their zeal to live holy lives would be far
more evident.” (Towner) Their works will be
different as well.
v.1 Christ’s Judgment
• The impending review of his work (from
God) is a strong motivation for Timothy to
faithfully discharge his ministry.
(1Cor.3:12-15;4:2-5)
v.1 His Appearing
• Work produced by faith, labor prompted by
love, endurance inspired by hope. (Rm.5:15;1Th.1:2-3;1Cor.13:13)
• We have faith in Jesus. We have worked for
the love of God and of men. And we endure
hardship for the hope that all will be saved
and that God’s Kingdom will reign when He
returns.
The Charge: v.2
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Five commands in regard to Timothy’s ministry:
Preach the Word
Be prepared
Correct
Rebuke
Encourage
Do these with patience and careful instructions.
The Charge: v.2 (cont)
• “ Preach the Word”: Word is capitalized.
(cf. John 1)
• This casts Timothy in the role of a herald,
making proclamation on behalf of the King
(cf. 2Ti.1:11).
• Christian ministry centers on the Word of
God. Because Jesus, the Word, has made
God known.
The Charge: v.2 (cont)
• Ministry involves availability and preparedness. In
season and out of season is the call to be ready.
(cf. 2Ti.2:15)
• “ correct.. rebuke”: Together, correct (1Ti.5:20,
Titus1:9,13) and rebuke (Mk.1:25) cover the
territory from the patient kind of correction carried
out through teaching (with the goal of
improvement) to the sterner variety of
authoritative warnings or prohibitions Ifor
immediate halt). (Towner)
The Charge: v.2
• Encourage: (cf.2Ti.5:1) Exhortation is an effective method
of ministry. It includes correcting, admonishing,
encouraging and comforting. This method values
relationship between believers instead of prove lines of
authority. (Towner)
• Different rules for instructions: For older men it is to be
gentle and respectful. For younger men it is to stress the
common bond in Christ. For older women it is to treat
them as respect due to a mother. For younger women, there
is a need to make every effort to avoid giving the
impression of unseemly behavior. (Towner) cf. 1Ti.5:1-2
The Reasons Behind the Charge: v.34,6
• One of the reasons for the solemn charge to
Timothy was because of the false teachers and
their listeners. (v.3-4, cf. 2Ti.2:22; Titus2:12)
• Another reason was because Paul knew that he
was at the end of his life (v.6). The exhortation to
Timothy was the final reminder for Timothy in
regard to his ministry.
Further Charges: v.5
• “...keep your head..”: be sober, moral alertness or
coolness and presence of mind. Timothy must be
different than others (“but you”), who have acted
rashly with muddled thinking, uncritically
accepting the false doctrine.
• “..endure..”: A major theme in the letter (1:8,12;
2:3,9,12; 3:11,12)
• “..evangelist..”: Same word appears in Ac.21:8
and Eph.4:11.
Evangelist (Zondervan)
• One who announces good news. Used in a general
sense of anyone who proclaims the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
• Designation of particular class of ministry.
Ac.4:11. Evangelist founded the church; the
pastor-teacher built it up in the faith. Apostles and
bishops did the work of an evangelist
(Ac.8:25;14:7; 1Cor.1:17; 2Ti.4:2-5). Philip, who
was one of the Seven (deacons), was also called
the evangelist (Ac.21:8).
2 Timothy 4:6-8
6For I am already being poured out like a
drink offering, and the time has come for
my departure. 7I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race, I have kept the
faith. 8Now there is in store for me the
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, will award to me on that
day--and not only to me, but also to all who
have longed for his appearing.
A Drink Offering (v.6)
• “ ..already being poured out..”: similar to
Phi.2:17, but here Paul knows that the time
has come for him to die for the LORD.
• His death was becoming a sacrifice to the
LORD, as the imagery of the sacrificial
wine accompanying the sacrifice in the
worship of the God. (Nu.15:5,7,10; 28:7)
A Winner’s Life: v.7
• Paul has “fought the good fight”, finished the
race”, “kept the faith”.
• All three can be compared to an athlete who had
engaged successfully in a contest.
• “..kept the faith..”: in view of the race, i.e., had
carefully observed the rules of the Christian faith
(cf.2:5). Or, in view of Pastoral’s emphasis on
sound doctrine, faith can refer to the deposit of
Christian truth. Paul has kept (guarded) it.
The Award: v.8
• “..crown of righteousness..” (cf. 1Cor.9:25) The
crown he envisions is the wreath awarded to the
victor.
• Christians possess the justification and salvation
from God through faith in Jesus Christ (Rm.3:2131).
• Just as in salvation, we will experience complete
righteousness for which we wait and hope when
Christ comes (cf. Gal.5:5)