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2 TIMOTHY CHAPTER 4 KJV WEB See previous page 2Tim 4-1,2 (72f) Authority >> Transferring authority >> Receiving the delegated authority of men – Christ is judge of the living and the dead, meaning He is judge of those who have died in faith and those without faith throughout the ages. He is also judge of those of us who are still alive in the flesh of those who believe and those who don’t believe. (83l) Thy kingdom come >> Be on the alert >> Remain on duty >> Be ready (104i) Thy kingdom come >> Pure in heart shall see God >> Shall see Jesus >> Being in the presence of Jesus (126l) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Patience >> Be patient with your brother (138h) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Exhortation >> Exhorting the people to glorify God (148a) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Solemnly testify about the grace of God – Paul holds Timothy personally responsible for the Church, commanding him to make sure the true doctrines are upheld, and that these spiritual realities do not slip from his grasp, especially in his preaching and teaching. Paul is very adamant about Timothy protecting the truth with his very life, not allowing anybody to tamper with the doctrines of the Church, charging him to maintain the knowledge of God’s word. (150j) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness of Jesus >> Speak the word >> Preaching the word to the Church – Paul charged Timothy to preach the word of God, yet how many pastors tells stories or lecture on social issues instead of preaching the word of God? This solemn charge that Paul made to Timothy was much stronger than a mere glossing over of the Scriptures. Rather, he spoke to Timothy with God as his witness and with His Son Jesus Christ, speaking with the same confidence that He will one day judge the living and the dead and will manifest His kingdom on the earth. When is it not the season to preach the word of God? Timothy was not an evangelist; he was a teacher and coworker with Paul in establishing churches. Paul was a missionary evangelist who preached the gospel to those who never heard about Jesus, while Timothy was an itinerate pastor charged with preaching the word of God to those who believed Paul’s message and were saved. Therefore, Paul charged Timothy to pastor churches, using him as the model for all pastors. We can’t say that our pastor is excluded because he is of a certain denomination; if he is the pastor of a Christian Church, then he is charged by God to preach the word as Christ is judge of both the living and the dead, and as He will certainly establish His kingdom on the earth on day. (236i) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Invest in the treasures of the kingdom >> Invest in the gospel (239g) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Teachers are construction workers >> God raises up teachers to raise up the body 2Tim 4-1 (25k) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Dead in sin >> The human condition without Christ (38d) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death (Satan) >> Resurrection brings about judgment (40c) Judgment >> Father gave authority to the son to judge the world through His blood (45b) Judgment >> God judges us for not judging ourselves >> Believer's judgment >> Judged According to our deeds (48c) Judgment >> God judges the world >> Eternal judgment of the resurrection (155h) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> The Father bears witness of the believer (221i) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Kingdom hidden behind the veil from the world >> God hides his divinity from man’s corruption >> The Kingdom of God is from another realm -- This verse goes with verse 18 (237a) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom >> The rapture >> Appearance of Christ -- This verse goes with verse 8 2Tim 4-2 (80j) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word to minister to people >> To edify one another (138d) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Reproof >> Reprove your brother in the right spirit KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Tim 4-3,4 (16i) Sin >> Continuing in sin to avoid the light >> Deny the truth (22h) Sin >> Lust (craving pleasure) >> Boasting in the flesh (40f) Judgment of Christ >> God’s word judges the world >> It does not hear Him (49m) Judgment >> God judges the world >> Condition of the Church in the last days (55n) Paradox >> Lose by gaining >> Lose the truth to gain religion – Society reacts to Memes like snowflakes in the air starting with a single thought or concept. More people hear the idea and it becomes popular, and the meme begins to spread, building like a snowball rolling down a mountain side, picking up momentum. The faster it rolls the bigger it gets and the greater its force, until nothing can stop it. Society reacts this way to spiritual forces; what's more, society has an affinity to elect evil over good, so the vast majority of the human race plunges down a mountainside led by demons, and it becomes virtually unstoppable. There are a handful of souls whom God has chosen to look beyond this world to see the wider perspective and realize that this world cannot possibly know the truth as it relates to God. See also: Memes; 1Tim 1-12,13; 176a (57j) Paradox >> Opposites >> Unable to endure hearing the word of God, how much less are they willing to obey it – Being unwilling to endure the truth was the downfall of ancient Israel (Exodus 20,18-21) and it is our own downfall in the Church age; we cannot tolerate sound doctrine. Heb 12-19 speaks to this, “You have not come to… the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word should be spoken to them.” If we cannot endure the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking in our hearts and we take measures to stop Him, then God will remove us from His presence. Paul charged Timothy to maintain the principles and standards that he laid down for the Church, so the people would not grow lazy in their hearts or look for someone else to preach to them a gospel of their own liking. All it takes is to slide downhill a little, and then a little more, until we are suddenly too far from the word of God to hear it, and when the word is spoken in power, it brings conviction that offends. See also: Bible (Confidence in the Scriptures); 2Cor 1-13; 106j (107k) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> hearing from God >> (167i) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil (Conspiracy) >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind does not receive the things of God >> It rejects God (168k) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world has deaf ears to God >> You cannot hear God while you listen to the devil (169k) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Stepping on people to get to the bottom >> Ignoring Jesus to satisfy your flesh – Whose fault is it that people believe lies? Isn't it the fault of the people themselves? They are not vigilant! They want their ears tickled; they have accumulated teachers who preach a gospel that appeals to their flesh. Paul didn’t charge the people; he charged Timothy. It is the leadership that initially lets the truth slip, and once the people get a taste of a watered down gospel, they develop a taste for it. Therefore, it is the people’s fault that wolves are leading the Church, but it is the leaders fault that they allowed the Church to slip in the first place. Wolves do not need to physically change the words of Scripture; they only need to misinterpret and reinterpret the Bible throughout the centuries to say something easier on the flesh. This is what Paul charged Timothy to prevent; he didn’t want the people to get a taste of false doctrine, for it is an intoxicant and a poison with the power to kill. (177e) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> False doctrine >> Doctrine that tickles your ears – The people come to church every week to hear the pastor preach a sermon, and he pricks their conscience that they are not serving the Lord in their hearts, and so they venture to make God’s Church a secular, humanistic function of society. This is the kind of gospel people are more ready to believe these days. The preacher stabs them in the heart every week for their lack of faith in God, for they only go to church for appearance sake for their friends and to appease their conscience. For them church is an opportunity to come together and stay in touch with certain people they know. This is a genuine function of the Church, but for many it stops there. For them there is no other purpose in going to church other than spending time with their friends. Their pastor continues convicting them of their unbelief, until they band together and replace the pastor with someone who will preach a gospel more appealing to the flesh, incapable of leading anyone to Christ. (179k) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Wolves lead people into a cult >> Leading people through ignorance – Paul was grooming young Timothy to become the shepherd of the flock, essentially to replace the aging Paul, to protect the Church and the truth from wolves, who have ulterior motives for seeking leadership roles in the Church as keepers of the truth. They distort the doctrines of the Church for their own personal gain, making the gospel attractive to more people and easier to believe, tailoring it to the flesh, popularizing it, making it fashionable at the cost of the truth. They do this for the purpose of increasing the numbers in the congregation, so they can pilfer the weekly collections and live more lavishly, courtesy of the saints. (180h) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Rebellion >> Rebelling against God’s narrow way >> Rebelling against the word of God (182d) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Self deception >> Trying to hide from God (202f) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Running from the word of God >> Running from the truth (203i) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Back-slider >> Withdraw from obeying God >> Withdrawing from the truth (214c) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> God’s timing transcends our comprehension >> God’s time line gives the wicked just enough rope to hang himself 2Tim 4-3 (64h) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Weaknesses of God >> God subjects himself to human frailty >> His weakness is stronger than men KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Tim 4,5-8 (44i) Judgment >> Transformed >> Fulfill your ministry >> Calling from God >> Complete it (93c) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> You will find your ministry along the narrow way 2Tim 4-5 (99g) Thy kingdom come >> Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >> Enduring circumstances >> Enduring hardship – Enduring hardship is an aspect of evangelism. There may be nothing worse than talking to somebody about Jesus, then later ruin our testimony by acting unbecomingly and see the person watching us. What it takes to be a soul-winner is having a willingness to share with others the faith we have in Jesus, and to demonstrate that faith in our day-to-day lives. When Jesus talked about producing fruit, He meant the fruit of the spirit mentioned in Gal 5-22,23, and He meant bearing the fruit of evangelism, for they go hand in hand. One advantage of itinerate pastors is they can visit a church, ‘blow-in, blow-up and blow-out,’ and nobody is the wiser about their character. They don’t stick around long enough to ruin their testimony, and in some ways that is a positive thing, but in other ways, a pastor planted in the area, allows others to examine his walk, which if he is a holy man does more to convince people to believe in Jesus than a hundred guest speakers. (101l) Thy kingdom come >> Ambitious to promote the Kingdom of God >> Preaching the gospel (148l) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Obligation to preach the gospel >> Slave laborers (165j) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Hardship >> Troubles of this life (250c) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Sequence of priorities >> In all things ... >> Be a servant in all things – Paul said to be sober in all things, including over-imbibing alcohol. That doesn’t mean we are not allowed to touch the stuff; it means what it says; don't get drunk. That word “sober” can be understood as a metaphor to mean that though we crack jokes and laugh and have a good time, our overall demeanor is sober. Someone who is sober all the time with no sense of humor is a bore. God would not ask us to change our personality but He does ask us to take life seriously and to apply ourselves and make a serious effort to fulfill our ministry. God is the kind of person that if we make ourselves available, He will use us, yet failure to do our part will not impinge on fulfilling His plan and purpose in reaching the world with the gospel of Christ. One way or another it will get done, though personally our unwillingness to obey Him will impinge on His plan for our lives. There are faithful men sprinkled throughout the world who are making a concerted effort to fulfill their ministries in spite of loafers, whose objective is more to live in this world than to serve Christ. Timothy was a man of God; he was faithful as one of Paul’s right-hand men; he was trustworthy, dependable and reliable. When Paul needed him at his side, he was almost always there, and he was persecuted alongside Paul on many occasions and never abandoned him. 2Tim 4,6-8 (8e) Responsibility >> Prepare to Interact with God >> Prepare to meet Jesus by living a holy life – Paul was an old man by this time. Throughout his Christian life, having been converted as a young man, he longed for the day he would enter the gates of heaven, and this moment was right around the corner as he wrote this letter to his good friend Timothy. Every day he longed for heaven, having lived very much the same in this life as he will in the life to come. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” Paul described his life as though he were in a war; and if he was in a war, then so are we, fighting "against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph 6-12). The war gets very personal by the sin nature that is tied to our flesh, and we can’t get away from it, which tries to force us to sin against God and bring shame to His name. We have many forces against us, currents that are pulling us in the opposite direction. If we fight the good fight, we will make progress, but it is slow and arduous. If we remain idle, the current will sweep us away. If we all fight together, the accumulation of victory will overwhelm the forces of darkness in this world, making the cumulative effect of our faith (unity), what the devil dreads. We will overcome the world and make the battle much easier when the brethren who know and love the truth as we do are fighting with us. Paul’s hope was meeting Jesus face-to-face and receiving the reward of a life well lived by faith. See also: Spiritual warfare; 46e (46e) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >> Being fearless in battle – Paul fought throughout his Christian life the struggle to have faith in Jesus Christ in a world of unbelief. In view of all the opposing forces against us, including and especially secularism, which assumes there is no god, atheism actively voices its opinion against the existence of god. Secularism lives by atheism’s precepts, being one of many fronts that the Christian battles every day to keep the faith. There are many others who believe there is a god, but their faith ends there (agnostic). Never would they consider changing their lives to accommodate a Christian belief system. They don’t think it matters if there is a god; their faith can’t change the facts one way or the other, nor would they care if it did. This is the prevailing attitude of worldly people; it defines the groundwork of our struggle. See also: Spiritual warfare; 8e / Atheism (The Religion of unbelief); Heb 11,24-29; 154g (192a) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Life for life >> Losing your life to gain God’s life (215d) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> Fulfillment of God’s time >> Completion of a period of time 2Tim 4-6 (37k) Judgment >> Jesus emptied Himself >> Now it’s our turn – By the time Paul wrote this letter he was an old man at the end of his life. He had served the Lord for many years since he came to believe in Jesus as a young man. He had sacrificed his entire life starting on the day of his conversion. He was utterly committed that whatever God wanted him to do, this he would do, no matter how many times he was beaten, flogged and imprisoned. Paul virtually poured out himself as a drink offering for the purpose of the gospel, and his glass was just about empty when he wrote these words. (44l) Judgment >> Transformation process >> Fulfill your ministry >> Make sacrifices (103f) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> Spirit like water >> Cleanses you from the desire to sin (189b) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Holy sacrifice >> Holy offering KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Tim 4-7,8 (5c) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Disciples finish the course (84ca) Thy kingdom come >> Be on the alert >> Be faithful till Jesus comes >> Endure to the end – There is a crown of righteousness waiting for everyone who is watching and waiting for Jesus. What about the story about the person who decided Jesus wasn’t coming anytime soon and started eating and drinking with drunkards and beating his fellow servants (Mat 24,45-51)? It said He cut them in pieces and assigned them a place with the unbelievers. He wants us to remain alert, to keep watch and constantly remain at attention, prepared for his coming. He doesn’t want us sluggish or faithless; He doesn’t want us walking in the flesh or living like the world; He doesn’t want us taken over by secularism to become Christian in name only. This is the opposite of watching and praying. Therefore, God counts us righteous by our spiritual vigilance, which entails a host of things, namely that we fulfill every aspect of His calling while we wait for Him. If those who give up waiting for Him are defined by the things they do, then the things we do while we wait for Him define us too. What are we doing while we wait for Jesus? If we are doing the will of God and being spiritually vigilant, then we will also know His will. Therefore, doing the will of God defines waiting for Jesus. (127e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Goodness >> Rewards for doing good >> Sow the seeds of goodness >> goodness yields a harvest of righteousness (226b) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of the Kingdom of Heaven >> Reserved in heaven >> God crowns us with glory for sharing our rewards >> The reward of a crown 2Tim 4-7 (44a) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Complete >> It is finished >> Fulfill God’s will (44d) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Complete >> Finish the course – God calls us into various fields of ministry; He wants us to use our lives to promote the Kingdom of God. Paul fought the good fight of trusting God throughout his life in a secular world, and whenever he dropped the baton, he immediately picked it up and kept running with it. We all occasionally stumble, but it doesn’t matter; it only matters that we get up and keep running. God does not fault us for falling, but he does have a problem with people who after they have fallen never pick up their faith and continue running the course. He considers them fallen away from the faith who remain lying in the muck and mire, where there are pathogens and parasites, and if we spend any time among them, they will find a home in us and kill our faith. (106l) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Purpose of hearing from God >> To protect your faith (188b) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Die to the flesh >> Dying to self keeps you on God’s course – Part of keeping the faith is dying to self, for our flesh wants to defeat our faith. The day of our salvation was the day we were born into a kingdom that has no end, and it will prove to be the greatest day of our lives, but it was the saddest day for our flesh, because it has no part with God’s kingdom, except as a medium to transmit His Kingdom in the natural world. As for the sinful passions and desires of the flesh, they must die, which are the very essence of the flesh. If it were up to our flesh, we would not be Christians; in fact, our flesh tries to talk us out of our faith every day. Our flesh ought to be happy with us, because it is benefiting from our faith, in that we are not letting it railroad us into circumstances that would cause us to suffer. Some think our flesh will one day be resurrected, but our current body is not the one we will receive at the resurrection of the righteous. Our flesh seeks to satiate its evil desire, and it hates to wait. Our flesh has a will of its own that diametrically opposes God’s interests, and has driven countless people to an early grave who have foolishly courted its evil desire. Our flesh is like a virus that kills its host in seeking its own will. We find it difficult to discriminate between ourselves and our flesh, but we are talking about the will of our flesh and not our physical bodies. We think our flesh should stop trying to hurt us and let us live, but our flesh would interpret that as surrendering, and it only knows competition, fighting and winning as its objective. Diseases don’t care about us, and neither does the evil desires of our flesh. Heroin addicts, for example, if they obeyed exactly what their flesh wanted, would become as monstrous and their flesh, feeding this addictive drug into their veins until it killed them. The will of the flesh doesn’t care about anything except itself; it doesn’t even care about our fleshly body; it only cares about getting its way, and this is what Paul fought throughout his Christian life, these destructive currents in his flesh that would lead to the destruction of his faith. The defiant will of the flesh leads us to diametrically oppose the will of God. The Christian has three enemies: the world the flesh and the devil. The world shows the scope of the problem, the flesh indicates our personal struggle against sin, and the devil is the orchestra leader and origin of sin. The world doesn’t seem like an enemy, just society where we live, people trying to get along in life. Those who allow the devil to reign among them, allowing him to mastermind how they think as an entity, becomes easy prey for him to lead entire nations into the shallows of selfish hedonism. We must subject or flesh to the will of God, whose will has become our will. We can’t ask our flesh nicely to behave, because it won't listen to that; we must force it under subjection to our will. When it cries and demands what it wants, we must deny it in order to do the will of God. These are our two choices; we can’t do both the will of the flesh and the will of God, because they conflict with each other. If we obeyed the demands of our flesh, the will of God would soon become a distant memory. We would start thinking about Him as something ridiculous, making us wonder what ever came over us to believe such things. The world calls the stories of the Bible fairytales, but it is the world that is a work of fiction to God, for in the grand scheme of things, in light of eternity, the world as we know it is an anomaly, a blip on the radar, a moment of indecision, a period when man lost his mind for a season and then regained it, among those who reside in heaven. 2Tim 4-8 (41h) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Seek His righteousness (45c) Judgment >> God judges our walk in the Spirit >> He rewards us for bearing fruit (51j) Judgment >> Judging the Church with the world >> No partiality with God’s righteousness – There are many ways to discriminate between the believer and the unbeliever, and this verse is certainly one of them, but it has application only in the days leading up to His return, whereas there are other ways to discern true faith in days before that. (see Evidence of Salvation 155k.) This verse will have far more relevance in the day of Christ, for in those days there will be many who will not love His appearing. That is how we will judge between the righteous and the wicked, but how do we tell who is our brother today? We cannot ask somebody if he is waiting for the Kingdom of God, because it is too easy to lie and say, ‘Of course I am,’ though he does what he wants in disregard of Christ. In the last days there will be a great sifting in which God will separate the sheep from the goats, as He said in Matthew chapter 25, and people will have made up their minds prior to His return whom they will serve. Those who are resolved being constituents of His kingdom, nothing will deter them, just like those who have decided against the Lord, having determined that their lives in this world is more important to them than any hope of eternal life, and that living in sin is more meaningful than living for Jesus, nothing will deter them either. So the righteous and the wicked will be separated before He comes, and in both camps their faces will be set like flint. (104k) Thy kingdom come >> Pure in heart shall see God >> Shall see Jesus >> Shall see His appearing (237a) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom >> The rapture >> Appearance of Christ -- This verse goes with verse 1 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Tim 4,9-13 (14m) Servant >> Ministry of helps >> Helpers fill in the gaps >> They are always there when you need them -- These verses go with verses 19-22. There was a time when Mark deserted Paul, and he took it personally to the point that he didn’t want him traveling with him anymore. It resulted in a great dissension between Paul and Barnabas, causing them to split up and form separate ministries, after they had worked well together for many years. The cloak that Paul left at Troas may have been his favorite coat, or it could be they didn't have garage sales back then, or he was so poor he couldn't buy another one. He also said to bring the books, especially the parchments. Parchment was a special, high quality paper upon which Paul wrote many of his letters, which later were canonized to become epistles of the New Testament that we read today. Books were rare at the time, costly and very valuable. They all had to be handwritten and transcribed, since the Gothenburg press had a long time in waiting before it would be invented. They wouldn’t hand-write or copy just any book, but only those that were highly significant and important. The ministry of helps needed to be occupied with trustworthy servants as a highly prestigious job in expediting the Kingdom of God, ensuring everything ran smoothly. See also: companions deserted Paul; 130m (130m) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Interdependent on each other >> Depend on your brother to walk in the gifts of God’s calling -- These verses go with verse 16. Paul took personally being abandoned. He took a dim view of people who changed their mind about serving the Lord while helping him spread the gospel, and left him in the lurch to face prison time alone and to be beaten among other things once captured. By staying strong many times they were able to endure high levels of persecution that often involved pain and suffering and personal injury, but when things got tuff and Paul's comrades deserted him, he did not run with them. He stayed his ground and took whatever they administered to him, and usually it was very terrible. This was one of many reasons Paul detested being deserted. Mark deserted Paul (Act 15,36-41), yet he ended up writing one of the gospels and Paul learned to trust him again, which was very difficult for him to do. It was a rare thing that Paul would regain his trust for someone after being deserted, so there was definitely something special about Mark. He may have made a mistake, but later proved himself to everyone and suffered with the men of great faith in his time. See also: companions deserted Paul; 2Tim 4-9,10; 202b 2Tim 4,9-11 (2f) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Keep your commitments in your walk with God 2Tim 4-9,10 (197k) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Unfaithfulness >> Unfaithful to the brethren -- These verses go with verse 16 (202b) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Running to your sinful nature >> Run from God by running to the world – It is unlikely that Crescens and Titus deserted Paul; only Demas. Paul always hated it when his companions deserted him, because it usually ended in physical abuse, persecution and jail time, but if he and his partners stood their ground they often were able to resist their enemies, resulting is salvation for many. Anybody who preferred the world over their faith in Jesus could not be a fellow worker with Paul, for their unfaithfulness would erase their accomplishments, and it put them in jeopardy. Had Paul been murdered before the time, it would have made a ripple effect on history, and these people who deserted Paul were risking that possibility. As it was, Paul turned the world upside down for Jesus in spite of the unfaithfulness of some who labored beside him. See also: companions deserted Paul; 2Tim 4-10; 204b 2Tim 4-10 (5f) Responsibility >> Discipleship tested >> God tests your faith through hardship -- This verse goes with verses 14-16. (21b) Sin >> Disobedient to the call (22f) Sin >> Lust (craving pleasure) >> Fleshly desire – Demas went so far as to join Paul in his evangelical missions to show his zeal for God, but then abandoned him in the field. Once stranded, Paul became vulnerable to his enemies, who usually captured him and beat him and threw him in prison. Although we are supposed to jump for joy when we are persecuted for the cause of Christ, Paul didn’t enjoy any of this, especially not being abandoned by his own fellow Christians. (165f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Do not partake of the world >> Do not love the world – Paul agreed with John who said, “Do not love the world” (1Jn 2-15,16), that if anybody loved the world, he was self-condemned. This is a simple concept for most Christians, but we can hardly talk to worldly people about it, because they don’t understand when we say we are not supposed to love the world. Anyone who does not understand this indicates that he needs to get saved. A person could say, ‘I’m saved; I just don’t pay much attention to my faith and am uneducated in the Scriptures.’ Christianity is not a freestyle float down a lazy river on a balmy day. Rather, the Holy Spirit dwells in us who represents Jesus Christ, and if we know anything about Him, the Old Testament testified, “Zeal for your house has consumed Me” (Psalm 69-9). That doesn’t mean we must all have the same level of zeal that Paul had, but it does meant if we have no zeal at all, we ought to wonder if we belong to Christ. See also: Zeal; 1Cor 4,9-16; 11n (195a) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Serving two masters >> You can only love one at a time (204b) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Back-slider >> Practicing sin >> Going astray -- This verse goes with verse 16. Paul seemed especially perturbed with a man named Demas for deserting him, saying, “having loved this present world.” He seemed more angry with him than with others who deserted him. Mark, who wrote the Gospel of Mark, also deserted him. Perhaps some of the other helpers of Paul deserted him from fear, whereas Demas deserted him for the love of this world. Fear is one thing, but to desert Paul for the temptations of this world was an insult on top of an offense. Paul must have wondered why Demas wanted to be a missionary if he wasn’t even committed to the faith. We all have moments of weakness, but Paul was a man of commitment, transcending most people’s faith. Paul frequently received punishment for his evangelistic efforts coupled with long prison sentences. When Mark deserted Paul, it so offended him that he refused to take him on missionary journeys for many years. Mark was the cousin of Barnabas, who was probably Paul’s closest friend and missionary companion. Eventually Paul reconciled with Mark and learned to trust him again and even took him on other missionary journeys, but the same cannot be assumed of Demas. See also: companions deserted Paul; 2Tim 4-16; 202i (232d) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Count the cost >> If Jesus cost too much, then you aren’t worth much -- This verse goes with verse 16 2Tim 4-11 (193i) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Repent >> Making amends with people you offended 2Tim 4,12-16 (85f) Thy kingdom come >> Words that are spoken in faith >> Powerful when spoken by the Spirit >> Spoken with authority 2Tim 4-12,13 (14l) Servant >> Ministry of helps >> Helpers fill in the gaps >> Messengers help in communications KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Tim 4,14-18 (29b) Gift of God >> God delivers us from those who want to silence the word – Notice that Paul didn’t pray for Alexander the coppersmith. Jesus said to pray for your enemies and those who persecute you, but not even Paul did that with some people. Who knows to what degree Paul suffered at his hand. This coppersmith sounds like the silversmith in Acts 19,23-41 named Demetrius, having his business in Ephesus. Demetrius resisted Paul in his preaching when he came to his town, because he was a maker and seller of idols, which was worshipped throughout the province of Asia, and Paul was preaching against worshipping idols, thus threatening his business. Demetrius didn't care about the gospel that Paul brought; he never gave it a hearing; the only thing he cared about was how Paul’s message was having a negative impact on his business. Alexander was probably made of the same cloth. (148j) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Obligation to preach the gospel >> Preach even if it hurts – Although Paul’s friends deserted him, he stood fast and fully carried out the proclamation of the gospel. He may have paid a price for it, but the people heard the truth and many were saved. When the people saw that Paul was about to receive terrible punishment for what he believed, it was a message communicated loud and clear to the community he was trying to reach and even to his persecutors, showing just how much he believed in Jesus. He believed in God with his whole heart, and he sacrificed his life because of God's love for them. Christ pushed Paul in front of them, risking his health and life for the sake of the elect, and it caused many to repent of their unbelief. It communicated the gospel like no other way, sacrificing everything. People saw this in him and it cut them to the quick, and many even of his enemies were saved. Those who looked on saw the commitment Paul had to the gospel, and it inspired them to believe in Jesus. (180f) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Wolves steal, kill and destroy >> Killing the sheep (242c) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecuting God >> Persecuting the word of God 2Tim 4,14-16 (5f) Responsibility >> Discipleship tested >> God tests your faith through hardship – These verses go with verse 10 (69k) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Executing God’s judgment by His authority 2Tim 4-14,15 (19l) Sin >> Worshiping idols will twist your mind – Paul was more gracious to the brethren than he was to this coppersmith. He prayed that God would pardon the sin of those who deserted him, but he didn’t pray for the coppersmith because he was beyond hope. There is no telling who is beyond hope and who isn’t, but Paul was a discerning man, especially after seeing the vehemence and his ties to demonic entities that controlled him. It became evident to Paul over time who was receptive to the gospel and who wasn’t. Alexander the coppersmith already had a god; he was making and selling them, but his god was not the ones he made for others to worship; Rather, his god was the money he earned selling the idols he made. Consequently, there was no room in his heart for the gospel of Christ. (48e) Judgment >> Levels of judgment >> Judged according to your deeds >> In the day of judgment (49e) Judgment >> Enemies of God’s church are destroyed (62a) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Being clever >> Responding with wisdom to your enemies >> Outwit them (83m) Thy kingdom come >> Be on the alert >> Remain on duty >> Be on guard (155d) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> Conscience >> An evil conscience keeps us from believing God >> Knowledge of evil testifies against our deeds – Paul was a Pharisee of Pharisees prior to his conversion, yet he was searching for truth, which distinguished him from many of his fellow Pharisees and from Alexander the coppersmith, even before he met Christ. He did not live by a conscience, and for that reason he severely persecuted Paul. (157c) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Rejecting God >> Rejecting God’s people (201e) Denying Christ >> Jesus is an offense >> Truth offends error >> The gospel offends the religious establishment 2Tim 4-14 (218d) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> Reaping the harvest >> We choose our actions, not their consequences >> God controls the consequences of our actions – That sounded a little bitter of Paul; it was not easy to hurt him enough to make him look forward to his torturer's punishment. Many people laid hands on Paul and resisted him at every turn, and he asked the Lord to remove this thorn from his flesh, thinking it was the will of God, so that more people could be saved, but the Lord disagreed, saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (2Cor 12-9). God allowed Paul's ministry to continue being minimized by his enemies, as though the number of people he reached with the gospel was sufficient. Had God removed the resistance, it would have had the opposite effect that Paul anticipated, in that the people being saved were believing God in the face of adversity. Paul expressed this to all his persecutors and so communicated the gospel more clearly. People got the message that they were to love their enemies. He wanted nothing more than the Jews to discover Jesus as their Messiah, though they were mostly his persecutors, who treated him like he treated the Christians prior to his conversion. However, this Alexander the coppersmith, a gentile, got under his skin; he came close to wishing evil upon him, but Paul didn’t need to wish evil on him; evil was destined for him. Alexander was a reprobate, incapable of salvation, destined for the pit, and Paul was glad of it. Paul didn’t need to seek justice, knowing the Lord would do it for him in His time, maybe not in this life, for the longer He waited the greater his judgment. This life is a testing ground, not to see what is in people, because He already knows, but to show us, so when our judgment comes, we can't complain or argue with Him about it. He will judge us according to our works, revealing everything we said and did. These are the ways of God. He will invite His people into His kingdom after He has thoroughly cleansed them from their sins, but the wicked are doomed to eternal punishment from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Tim 4,16-18 (28c) Gift of God >> God is our advocate >> God protects the Church from the world (227g) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> God working in you >> Dependence on Jesus >> Depending on Jesus to have compassion >> Depending on Jesus to deliver us – Paul was rescued from the lion’s mouth, referring to Satan in conjunction with wicked men, who often used violence against Paul in effort to silence the gospel. He was regularly beaten, often thrown in prison, and threatened with murder, yet he survived against all odds. This creature, this demonic entity called Satan was once the ruler of the universe, having been given authority over God’s creation. There was nothing God withheld from Him, except His throne, yet it was not enough; he wanted to be final authority over all things. He didn’t want to report to God or submit to Him; rather, he wanted everyone to bow to his authority. He who once had authority over all creation was reduced to a toothless monster and confined to the earth and was now ravaging Paul, trying to kill him, and he couldn’t do it, because God was protecting him. Flesh and blood in all its weakness with divine protection is stronger than Satan. Although he had fallen from such great heights, Satan is still wants God’s throne and be the final authority over God’s creation. See also: Satan wanted to be God; he wanted His throne; Rev 1-17,18; 39i 2Tim 4-16 (120d) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Forgiveness >> Forgiving your brother >> As God has forgiven you (130m) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Interdependent on each other >> Depend on your brother to walk in the gifts of God’s calling -- This verse goes with verses 9-13. Trust is literally centered on the question of obeying Christ. We trust the brethren to obey the Lord, and by that develop a vital relationship with Christ, so we all have something to share with others. There is a whole web of trust that is contingent on divine obedience as students of His word and disciples of prayer in our personal quiet time, for God imparts things in us during our one-on-one relationship with Him, but if we must watch our back regarding the brethren, how can trust grow? See also: Trust in God; Mat 10-9,10; 249e (197k) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Unfaithfulness >> Unfaithful to the brethren -- This verse goes with verses 9&10 (202i) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Running from walking in faith >> Running from God through disobedience – Paul did not appreciate anybody deserting him (See Act 15,36-41). To him it meant their love for God was lacking, and there was no point in bringing someone on a missionary trip who didn’t love the Lord. There was a huge trust factor between Paul and his companions. When we think about the gospel that God entrusted to us as good stewards of the manifold grace of God, He calls us to trust others the same way. There is a lot of trust between brothers that must not fail if the Church is going to function properly? John Mark abandoned Paul… once, sparking a sizable dispute between Paul and Barnabas, Paul’s travel companion and Mark’s cousin. They went their separate ways for a while, Barnabas with Mark, Paul with Silas, and eventually they mended their friendship. It is interesting that God entrusted Mark with writing one of our four gospels to show that we can trust a trustworthy person even after they have failed. See also: companions deserted Paul; 232d (204b) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Back-slider >> Practicing sin >> Going astray -- This verse goes with verse 10 (232d) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Count the cost >> If Jesus cost too much, then you aren’t worth much -- This verse goes with verse 10. These helpers of Paul deserted him after counting the cost and deciding that Jesus cost too much. They believed in the Lord and became interested in helping spread the word, and Paul received them into the ministry; but when he needed them most, they abandoned their post. They decided that Jesus wasn’t worth the suffering and affliction that could potentially come to them if they remained faithful to Christ. They knew what kind of treatment Paul received from the Jews in the past, and they didn’t want any part of it, but just like the military Paul took their desertion as treason, not against him but against the Lord, yet he asked that it not be counted against them. He still considered them brethren. If we decide that Jesus is not worth our service, and that the ministry He has given us is not worth fulfilling, then how useful are we to the Church? See also: companions deserted Paul; 2Tim 4,9-13; 14m KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Tim 4-17,18 (9f) Responsibility >> God strengthens us through our weaknesses (32i) Gift of God >> Father will honor you if you die to self >> Father honors His word in you – Faith knows God, whereas trust fills in the blanks. We know Him to the best of our ability, and what we don’t understand we trust. The way God rescued Paul from the lion’s mouth was truly divine. Paul was an old man by the time they caught up with him. They put Him in prison for many years trying to silence him, and that was just His opportunity to write letters to the churches that we read in our New Testament Bible today. Both man and demon did everything to silence the word of God in Paul’s mouth, but they failed. There have been many efforts to hinder the gospel throughout the centuries; if the devil had his way, the gospel would not exist, yet here it sets in front of us, and God's people live in this world, and there is nothing the devil can do about it. After he brought the gospel to every nation in the known world, they placed Paul’s head on a stump and the axe chopped it off, yet his statement stands, “The Lord… [rescued] me from every evil deed, and… [brought] me safely to His heavenly kingdom.” He turned the world upside-down, and all they could do about it was provide an escort to heaven, a free pass to the very place he wanted to go. In his life he preached the gospel and in his death he went to heaven, so what could man do him, and what can man do to us? The unsaved world is helpless against a mighty God who uses weakness of human flesh to do His bidding. He has a plan, and if we step into it, He will protect us from the evil one, “to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (213e) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> Jesus owns you >> We are his instruments >> We are tools in the hand of God >> We are transmitters of His kingdom (233j) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the glory of God >> Seek His glory without wavering >> Seek His glory through perseverance 2Tim 4-17 (29g) Gift of God >> God is on our side >> He stands beside us through hardship – Our greatest enemy is Satan. He is a spiritual enemy that believes in himself that he is all-powerful, yet he cannot keep some of the smallest people from preaching the gospel of the kingdom in the ears of men and many being saved. We have enemies who obey the devil, who would try to silence us, and we have the weakness of our own flesh against us that when we try to do something, we are either tired or hungry, weak or forgetful, confused or lost, and the list continues of all that can go wrong. We muddle through this life best we can with God at our side leading us all the way, helping us and teaching us to bear fruit, in the process being a testimony to God’s grace, bringing the gospel to light for many to believe in Jesus. Paul died an old man; that itself was a miracle. He had many enemies who wanted to kill him, but they couldn't, until his time had come to go home after he fully carried out the will of God. Nobody was able to stop Him, not even the devil, because God was with him, and God is with us. If that were not the case, we could do nothing. Had God commanded us to preach the gospel without Him, His knowledge would have been lost centuries ago. As it was, man rarely finds it in his heart to obey God, because he is more interested in his own happiness and achieving his own goals that he cannot concern himself with the plan and purpose of God. Nevertheless, God has been able to accomplish many things through righteous and holy people who have dedicated their lives as Paul did to the word of His grace and seen many come to Christ through their efforts. (102m) Thy kingdom come >> Faithfulness (Loyalty) >> Loyalty is unswerving (104h) Thy kingdom come >> Pure in heart shall see God >> Shall see the Father >> God is in our presence -- This verse goes with verse 22 (129l) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Being in one accord >> Single minded >> Going to any limit to fulfill God’s will (147i) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Solemnly testify about Jesus – Paul gave an account of himself as an evangelist; he struggled to preach Jesus in a world that didn’t want to hear the gospel. It was an offense; the vast majority would not receive it, but there were always some who did. As a result, there are believers in our own day speckled across the globe. The resistance was not strong enough to stop Paul, and he continued until every ear heard the message of the resurrected Christ. This was Paul’s goal, not that every person should be saved, but that every person should hear the gospel within Paul's sphere of influence. Once they heard the gospel, it was up to them to believe in Jesus, but if they hadn’t heard, how could they believe (Rom 10-14,15)? Paul would preach in the town square; he went door-to-door and to the marketplace preaching Jesus in homes and around shops. Everywhere he went he made converts, not just from the message, but also from the love they saw in him. They realized there was something very real about Paul; he believed his message with a faith that transcended human ability to believe, and he demonstrated his faith through signs, wonders and miracles, as the Lord willed. (210k) Salvation >> Jews and gentiles are being saved >> Gentiles included >> Fellow heirs with Israel (Spiritual Jew) >> Ministry to the Gentiles KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Tim 4-18 (18l) Sin >> Twisted thinking >> Evil is good >> Loving bondage (53b) Paradox >> Opposites >> Of life and death >> Death cannot hurt you – This is what Paul was thinking while he was persecuted: it didn’t matter if he was injured or killed, if he was disfigured or imprisoned for life. It didn’t matter what they did to him, he would be saved as Jesus spoke in Luke 21,16-19, “You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life.” They might kill us but not one hair on our head will perish, for at the resurrection of the righteous when we come back to life, we will be made whole, and all the pain and suffering will be behind us. Paul viewed his suffering as one day be in the past and his reward of obedience ever before him. (221i) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Kingdom hidden behind the veil from the world >> God hides his divinity from man’s corruption >> The Kingdom of God is from another realm -- This verse goes with verse 1 (226e) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of the Kingdom of Heaven >> Reserved in heaven >> Our life is reserved in heaven – Religious history confirms that Paul was beheaded, so how did the Lord rescue him from evil men? Was his trust in God betrayed? Paul is in heaven now, in spirit; he is safe, and on the day of the First Resurrection he will receive an eternal body that cannot feel pain, weakness or death, and he will physically reside in heaven. God fulfilled His promise to Paul and He will fulfill His promise to everyone who trust in Jesus Christ for eternal life. So what did the enemies of Paul do to him? Nothing! They can kill us and we will come back to life. They can decapitate us or run us threw with a sword (like they did to the apostle James), and we will come skipping into His kingdom, and at the First Resurrection we will receive an incorruptible body and live forever in the joy of the Lord. (233f) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Seek The Kingdom With Your Essence >> Seek the elusive Kingdom of God (237j) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom >> Citizens of heaven (Family of God) (237n) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom >> Transferred from lawlessness to righteousness (252d) Trinity >> You shall put no other gods before Me >> Worship Jesus (Because He is equal with God) >> Worship Jesus for what He does through the Father 2Tim 4,19-22 (14m) Servant >> Ministry of helps >> Helpers fill in the gaps >> They are always there when you need them -- These verses go with verses 9-13. Paul cared immensely about people and for that reason he had a lot of friends who believed the same way he did. These are the kind of friends we want and need. They were faithful in helping the gospel reach as many people as possible and serving and ministering to the saints. Paul was in prison when he wrote to Timothy (2Tim 2-9), and he was cold; he wanted his cloak, and they didn’t have heaters in jail. 2Tim 4-20 (145ea) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Healing >> Those who were not healed – Trophimus got sick and the Lord did not heal him, and note that there was no condemnation involved. No doubt Paul prayed for him, yet the Lord did not heal him. The hindrance in the healing was not in the one who prayed, for Paul was a great man of faith whom God often graced to perform many healings. At times just his shadow falling on sick people was enough for them to get well; at other times they would take handkerchiefs from Paul and place them on sick people and they would be healed, yet Paul prayed for Trophimus and he remained sick. The hindrance in the healing was not in Trophimus either. Why does God heal some times and not other times? Healing is an evangelism tool; He performs signs, wonders and miracles for the express reason that people may witness these things and be saved, otherwise it is on a case-by-case basis. We are not raptured from this world the moment we believe in Jesus, because He wants us here as witnesses of His gospel. Also, He loves to see His children walk by faith (2Jn-4), and sometimes when a person gets sick, he must trust in the Lord. We are being tested to see if we will believe that God is good in the face of adversity when our convictions are challenged. When we get sick and God does not heal us, is God still good? Yes He is! God tests us to see if we still believe in Him though He allows bad things to happen to us. Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13-15). Whenever something bad happens to us we should be ready with the faith of Paul and the attitude of Job. See also: God allows suffering and evil to test us like He tested Job; Heb 5,7-9; 95l 2Tim 4-21 (7j) Responsibility >> Use time wisely >> Get ready >> Take time to prepare (14j) Servant >> Ministry of helps >> Helpers are indirectly in charge of the Word >> They have the heart of the one who trained them – All the people mentioned were Paul’s fellow workers. He would go to a city and preach Jesus to the people living there and stay for a while and help establish a Church in their city, and then move to the next town, leaving his helpers to continue preaching and teaching and establishing the doctrines of the faith, until the people were grounded in a firm knowledgebase of the truth. Meanwhile, the church planters were looking for a potential pastor to take over their position, and once everything was in place, Timothy and Titus and the others would repeat the process in the next town, catching up with Paul. 2Tim 4-22 (104h) Thy kingdom come >> Pure in heart shall see God >> Shall see the Father >> God is in our presence -- This verse goes with verse 17. The Bible is a spiritual book. It is good that we have a Bible, one that speaks of a realm beyond paper and ink, and cares about things that are unseen. The Bible is all about the unseen world around us, and it is good to hear Paul talk about it in such a casual manner. He wanted God to be with our innermost being, where we commune with Him.