2 Timothy Chapter 2

Paul charges Timothy to endure as Christ’s soldier, guard and pass on the gospel, handle the word rightly, and correct opponents with patient gentleness.

2 Timothy 2:1-7

Strengthened to Serve and Endure

2 Timothy 2:8-13

Remembering the Risen Christ

2 Timothy 2:14-19

The Word Rightly Handled

2 Timothy 2:20-22

Vessels Fit for the Master

2 Timothy 2:23-26

The Lord’s Servant and His Opponents

2 Timothy 2:1

The word “therefore” ties this charge to the scene Paul has just painted. All in Asia have turned away, Phygellus and Hermogenes among them, while Onesiphorus searched Rome until he found the prisoner and was unashamed of his chain. Timothy must now choose which example he will follow. The emphatic “thou” singles him out from the deserters, and the tender address “my son” reminds him that the appeal comes from a spiritual father who has known him since Lystra.

The command is to “be strong,” yet the Greek form is passive and continuous. Timothy is told to keep on being strengthened. Paul does not ask him to summon courage from his own temperament, which seems to have been sensitive and prone to tears. Strength is something received, day after day, from a source outside himself. The same verb describes the Lord standing with Paul at his trial and strengthening him (4:17), and it appears in the call to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

That source is “the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” Grace here is God’s undeserved favor, and that favor carries with it the power to serve and to suffer. The phrase locates the grace in Christ himself; it belongs to those who are united to him and is available to every believer, not only to apostles. Earlier Paul spoke of grace given in Christ before the world began (1:9). The same grace that called Timothy now sustains him.

Everything Paul will ask in this chapter—hardship, discipline, toil, study, purity, and patient correction—rests on this opening line. Duties that would crush a person relying on natural resolve become possible for one who keeps drawing on Christ. The minister’s first task is to remain a receiver.

Study Links

Cross References

2 Timothy 1:92 Timothy 4:17

Word / Phrase Notes

ἐνδυναμοῦ (endynamou) — be strong

A present passive imperative, best understood as “keep on being made strong.” The verb consistently describes spiritual empowerment that God or Christ supplies. Timothy’s part is ongoing dependence, while the strength itself comes from the Lord who empowers his servants for witness and endurance.

1 Timothy 1:12

ἐν τῇ χάριτι τῇ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ (en tē chariti tē en Christō Iēsou) — in the grace that is in Christ Jesus

The repeated article ties the grace closely to Christ. Grace is God’s unmerited favor, and in Paul it includes the enabling power that flows from that favor. It is found only in union with Christ and is therefore shared by all who belong to him.