2tim13

Week 13

by Rev. Stanley L. Derickson Ph.D.

II Timothy 4.16-22

A FAITHFUL SERVANT IS STRENGTHENED

“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.”

Vs. 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."

Evidently there was much disagreement with Paul's rebuke of Alexander. Isn't that the way it often turns out - take a stand for God and you stand alone. Not at all uncommon in our own day.

We were in a church were there was a young man living in sin. The pastor approached his board about church discipline and was fought tooth and nail. He finally brought the issue to the congregation and again there was little cooperation. The man’s sister stood in the congregational meeting and pleaded with the church to take steps of discipline – finally after another chance to change they did discipline the man.

Paul's forgiving spirit is of great note. He may have had some understanding of why others didn't stand with him even though they should have. We should find forgiveness in our heart for those that wrong us - sometimes seeing the situation from their view point helps.

Vs. 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."

Paul gives great honor to God for His care through the whole dissatisfying situation. God made the truth known in the end even though the days may have been dark to begin with.

If you have a pastor or mentor near, take some time to ask them about situations like this that they have lived through. It will make for interesting listening on your part. Many men have faced this situation and you might learn much by listening to how they resolved their difficulties.

It is no wonder Paul called his life a “fight” in verse seven.

His mention of the lion may relate to trouble in general from another person but more likely relates to his view of the devil. Peter uses similar terminology in I Peter. 5.8 as well. They both may have been thinking of the Romans feeding Christians to lions, or they may have been thinking of the Old Testament where things that are adversarial are related to a lion. Ps. 10.1-10 speaks of wickedness personified as a lion.

There is also a possible link in that the Devil likes to copy the things of the Lord and Christ is the Lion of Judah. One or all of these may relate to their use of the lion.

Vs. 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."

It is of note, that even in the nasty situation he found himself in he knew it was from the Lord and he was ready for anything the Lord might desire to bring his way. He knew that God was in total control of his life and death.

Vs. 19 "Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus." 20 Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick."

This is a verse which seems to stop those that believe in healing today in their tracks. I have mentioned that Paul could not heal this man, he could not heal himself (thorn in the flesh) and he could not heal Timothy for he told him to drink a little wine for his stomach’s sake. The fact that in the early part of Paul's life people were being healed by clothes that had been sent out by the apostle yet in his later life it is clear that he no longer had the gift of healing.

On internet boards the Charismatics often cease to post after this thought. One that lived in Washington ventured into the waters and suggested I was quite wrong. He however declined my invitation to come down to the Salem hospital and empty it – I told him I was sure the Statesman Journal would cover the story and I would be proven wrong.

Vs. 21 "Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren."

We have four believers mentioned, but we know little about them other than the meaning of their names. Eubulus means prudent, Pudens means modest, Linus means a net, and Claudia means lame.

We don’t know if these are some of those that left him that are re-gathering or possibly these are people that weren’t as close to Paul when the trouble came and decided to gather round.

I assume that there was a hurry involved in Paul's request, as well as the weather - it was difficult to travel in some areas during the winter.

Vs. 22 "The Lord Jesus Christ [be] with thy spirit. Grace [be] with you. Amen.

Barnes brings up a note that is of interest. He suggests that this verse is a prayer directed to Christ rather than to the Father or the Holy Spirit. What think ye? Is this the case or not?

Clarke states “This is a prayer addressed to Christ by one of the most eminent of his apostles; another proof of the untruth of the assertion, that prayer is never offered to Christ in the New Testament. He prays that Christ may be with his spirit, enlightening, strengthening, and confirming it to the end.”

Barnes also mentions that the last phrase shows that the letter was addressed to the whole church rather than to Timothy alone. Verse two of chapter one seems to make it personal. I don’t know that it is relevant either way. I find it hard to think that Timothy would not have shared the letter with all in the first place since many/most believers in the church would have known Paul personally.

I might mention that this is one of the “errors” that the textual critics point out. One text adds the word “all” in the phrase relating to grace while others do not. There is also a subscription that some texts have and others do not. Neither of these really make a lot of difference in the plain understanding of the text.

Gill states “The Syriac 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.”

Paul uses the word Grace differently than we do in some cases. Just what does Grace be with you mean? Yes, it is a part of a closing prayer, but what meaning did it have to Timothy when he read it? What blessing is Paul requesting upon his friend and co-worker?

Grace I find is a very general term that relates to something good – the “something” being the very general area of the word. Receiving of money, receiving of material gain, good received by a visit from Paul etc.

It would seem to be a general connotation of Paul wanting good in general to be upon Timothy. Since this is in the Bible, then good from God might be a little more specific.

Robertson ends his comments on the book with a paragraph that might be appropriate to read. “Let us hope that Timothy and Mark reached Paul before winter, before the end came, with the cloak and with the books. Our hero, we may be sure, met the end nobly. He is already more than conqueror in Christ who is by his side and who will welcome him to heaven and give him his crown. Luke, Timothy, Mark will do all that mortal hands can do to cheer the heart of Paul with human comfort. He already had the comfort of Christ in full measure.”

APPLICATION:

1. Have you ever stood alone on an issue in spiritual matters?

How did you feel?

Where did you gain your comfort? Since you are alone, most likely it was the Lord.

How did it affect your later life?

We found ourselves alone in a church situation years ago, and we happened onto a retired pastor and his wife. They became a real strength for me – they encouraged us in the fact that we were very right in our position and that we didn’t need to feel that we had failed. I thank the Lord for having this man available for the assistance that he gave.

2. Paul made the statement in verse seventeen “; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and [that] all the Gentiles might hear:”

This ought to be the main thought of every believer. It is not to say that they personally have to go to every person in the world personally, but it does require a commitment of all of us to attempt to get the Gospel out to every person in the world.

This is not being done in our generation. It was not done in the last generation and since there are fewer missionaries going to the field now than in past years, it most likely is not going to be done in the next generation.

Even with the technology of today we are far behind in the job of getting the gospel out. This is due to lack of preaching about missions, a lack of interest in missions and a great lack of going on missions.

3. Take a moment to think back through the studies involved in II Timothy.

a. Is there some real blessing that you have received from the Word during this study?

b. Is there some new truth that you have gained from this study?

c. Is there some truth gained that has made a change in your life?

4. Is there anything in the study that ought to be considered in relation to your church?

Are there things going on that shouldn’t be?

Are there things not going on that should be?

How can we bring about changes needed?