50508732 ii-timothy-1-commentary

II TIMOTHY 1 COMMETARY
Written and edited by Glenn Pease
PREFACE
I quote many old and new authors, and one of my primary resources is Preceptaustin. I quote
this resource a great deal, but there is far more on this site that you can get by just typing that
name into Google. There are literally hundreds of sermons there on this text. I just include their
summary comments. It was laborious to try and pick and choose what to add to this commentary,
and so in the final verses I just add all that Preceptaustin has in comments. If any author does not
wish their wisdom to be shared in this way, they can let me know and I will remove it. My e-mail
is glenn_p86@yahoo.com
ITRODUCTIO
1. This letter of Paul has more negative emotions and comments than most of what Paul wrote. It
deals with his dying, and the apostasy of many of his followers.
2. M. F. Sadler, “It was written from Rome shortly before the mart3nrdom of the apostle. It was
written chiefly to urge Timothy to come to him, all his other companions in the service of Christ
(excepting Luke) being away. One, Demas, had deserted him ; others, as Tychicus, he had sent
away. But, though apparently sent for the purpose of urging Timothy to come to him quickly, it
contains the most precious exhortation to him, and through him to all ministers, to make full
proof of their ministry, and this it does in the words of a dying man, who is ready to be
offered, and the time of whose departure is at hand. Whatever special onslaughts of the evil one
were yet in store for him, we have his expression of faith that God would carry him triumphantly
through all.”
3. Preceptaustin, “This letter is Paul's last will and testament and therefore deserves every
believer's careful attention and diligent study. As we see even in these introductory verses, death
cast no pall (loss of strength) or long standing shadow on the heart of this great man of God who
testified that it was well with his soul for he knew Whom He had believed (2Ti 1:12-note). May
God grant all of us this same blessed assurance that it is well with our souls eternally in Christ.
Amen...
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,

o pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
4. Spurgeon, “The second epistle to Timothy is remarkable as being probably the last which the
apostle wrote; it contains dying advice, written in the immediate prospect of martyrdom. Looking
forward calmly to the grave, and with the executioner's axe in the foreground, Paul pens this
letter to his favourite disciple, and solemnly charges him to abide faithful unto death. (The
Interpreter)
5. Allen Radmacher, “In light of mortality, what used to seem significant may dim in comparison
to one’s ultimate fate. That is why we listen to a person’s “last words.” When all is said and done,
everyone wants to know what gave that person hope in the face of death. Second Timothy is
Paul’s “last words.” From a cold, lonely Roman prison, the aged apostle Paul wrote his final
instructions to his protégé Timothy. Paul knew that this letter might well be his final contact with
Timothy; his execution was most likely imminent. He implored Timothy to come quickly to his
side. But in case he did not make it, Paul imparted his last words of encouragement to his “son”
in the faith.
6. Bob Deffinbaugh, “When Paul wrote 1Timothy, he had been freed from his first Roman
imprisonment and was carrying on his ministry (in Macedonia? – see 1 Timothy 1:3); as Paul
writes 2 Timothy, he is once again in prison, and this time he is not nearly as optimistic about the
outcome (2 Timothy 1:16; 2:9). Some have even suggested that Timothy may not have arrived
before Paul was executed. Paul’s last words to Timothy sound very much like a farewell address
(2 Timothy 4:6-8). One definitely gets the feeling that Paul is passing the torch of leadership to
Timothy, and to those who will succeed him. In 1 Timothy, Paul instructs Timothy how he should
conduct his ministry in Ephesus; in 2 Timothy, Paul instructs Timothy how he should conduct
himself and his ministry in the last days, in Paul’s absence.”
7. William Barclay, “Paul's object in writing is to inspire and strengthen Timothy for his task in
Ephesus. Timothy was young and he had a hard task in battling against the heresies and the
infections that were bound to threaten the Church. So, then, in order to keep his courage high
and his effort strenuous, Paul reminds Timothy of certain things.
(i) He reminds him of his own confidence in him. There is no greater inspiration than to feel that
someone believes in us. An appeal to honour is always more effective than a threat of punishment.
The fear of letting down those who love us is a cleansing thing.
(ii) He reminds him of his family tradition. Timothy was walking in a fine heritage, and if he
failed, not only would he smirch his own name, but he would lessen the honour of his family
name as well. A fine parentage is one of the greatest gifts a man can have. Let him thank God for
it and never bring dishonour to it.
(iii) He reminds him of his setting apart to office and of the gift which was conferred upon him.

Once a man enters upon the service of any association with a tradition, anything that he does
affects not only himself nor has it to be done only in his own strength. There is the strength of a
tradition to draw upon and the honour of a tradition to preserve. That is specially true of the
Church. He who serves it has its honour in his hands; he who serves it is strengthened by the
consciousness of the communion of all the saints.
(iv) He reminds him of the qualities which should characterize the Christian teacher. These, as
Paul at that moment saw them, were four.
(a) There was courage. It was not craven fear but courage that Christian service should bring to
a man. It always takes courage to be a Christian, and that courage comes from the continual
consciousness of the presence of Christ.
(b) There was power. In the true Christian there is the power to cope, the power to shoulder the
back-breaking task, the power to stand erect in face of the shattering situation, the power to
retain faith in face of the soul-searing sorrow and the wounding disappointment. The Christian is
characteristically the man who could pass the breaking-point and not break.
(c) There was love. In Timothy's case this was love for the brethren, for the congregation of the
people of Christ over whom he was set. It is precisely that love which gives the Christian pastor
his other qualities. He must love his people so much that he will never find any toil too great to
undertake for them or any situation threatening enough to daunt him. o man should ever enter
the ministry of the Church unless there is love for Christ's people within his heart.
(d) There was self-discipline. The word is sophronismos (GS4995), one of these great Greek
untranslatable words. Someone has defined it as the sanity of saintliness. Falconer defines it as
control of oneself in face of panic or of passion. It is Christ alone who can give us that self-mastery
which will keep us alike from being swept away and from running away. o man can
ever rule others unless he has first mastered himself. Sophronismos (GS4995) is that divinely
given self-control which makes a man a great ruler of others because he is first of all the servant
of Christ and the master of himself.”
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in
keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
1. Preceptaustin has comments on every word of this opening sentence, and this reveals just how
much we tend to skip over without recognizing the truths being given to us. By looking at every
detail we become aware of the power of the Word, and why we need to live by every Word that
proceeds from the mouth of God. Paul was God's spokesman, and so every word he wrote is one
of those words from the mouth of God.
“Apostle of Christ Jesus - Paul is saying he is the possession of Christ. He is not his own. He
belongs to another. This is the perspective which every believer should seek to emulate and

cultivate for indeed we are not our own (1Co 6:19-note, 2Co 5:15-note, Titus 2:14-note) for we all
have been bought with a price and have the high and holy purpose to glorify God in (our)
body (1Co 6:20)
Apostle means one sent forth from by another, often with a special commission to represent
another and to accomplish his work. It can be a delegate, commissioner, ambassador sent out on
a mission or orders or commission and with the authority of the one who sent him. The Biblical
apostles had special authority and power given by God and when they died that was the end of
the special office of an apostle. In other words, contrary to what some men teach there is no
Biblical mandate for apostolic succession.
Apostle is used in two ways in the Scripture - (1) to designate an official office as in this passage
(2) Generically to refer to anyone who is one sent with a message.
In secular Greek apostolos referred to someone who was officially commissioned to a position or
task, such as an envoy. Cargo ships were sometimes called apostolic, because they were
dispatched with a specific shipment for a specific destination. In secular Greek apostolos was
used of an admiral of a fleet sent out by the king on special assignment. In the ancient world a
apostle was the personal representatives of the king, functioning as an ambassador with the
king’s authority and provided with credentials to prove he was the king's envoy.
1B. Preceptaustin goes on, “Paul begins five of his Epistles with a similar signature (will of
God), the other four being...
Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother (1 Co
1:1).
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia: (2 Co
1:1).
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who
are faithful in Christ Jesus: (Eph 1:1).
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother (Col 1:1).
By the will of God - The preposition dia can also be translated through, so that the
instrumentality through which he became an apostle or sent one was through the will of God.
Stated another way God's will is the efficient cause (BADG). Paul is not being arrogant here
but is saying in essence that he is in the center of God's will as he proclaims the promise of life in
Christ Jesus.
1C. Jerry Bridges, “This repeated emphasis by Paul expresses his continual consciousness that
the divine will had chosen him as an apostle, despite that fact that he neither sought it nor
merited it. Practically, his consciousness that this was God's purpose that was being worked out
and not his own plan, held him firm throughout all the years of his strenuous and eventful life.
And here in his last written words, it was this conviction that kept him calm in the face of
impending martyrdom. As a prisoner, lonely and largely forsaken, he could fall back upon the
consciousness that he was an apostle, not by his own appointment, but by the will of God.”

1D. Will, (thelema from thelo = to will with the -ma suffix indicating the result of the will = a
thing willed) generally speaks of the result of what one has decided. One sees this root word in
the feminine name Thelma. In its most basic form, thelema refers to a wish, a strong desire,
and the willing of some event. (ote: See also the discussion of the preceding word boule for
comments relating to thelema). The upshot is that thelema indicates that this call of Paul as an
apostle began in the heart of God...God started it and God completed it in Paul just as He desires
to do in your life dearly beloved of God (cp Php 1:6-note, 1Th 5:24-note)!
1E. Zodhiates says that thelema is the...Will, not to be conceived as a demand, but as an
expression or inclination of pleasure towards that which is liked, that which pleases and creates
joy. When it denotes God's will, it signifies His gracious disposition toward something. Used to
designate what God Himself does of His own good pleasure.”
1F. Preceptaustin, “I love what W. E. Vine says about being in God's will: He who is assured
that the work in which he engages is God’s will for him will find therein a means of steadfast
continuance, no matter how great the trials and difficulties he experiences. When the will of God
is the foundation of our activities, it acts as a counteractive power against all self-glorying and
should render His glory the inspiring aim of our whole being and service. It will lead us to say
with Paul, “ot I, but Christ.” (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. ashville: Thomas
elson )
1G. William Barclay, “When Paul speaks of his own apostleship there are always certain
unmistakable notes in his voice. To him it was always certain things.
(a) His apostleship was an honour. He was chosen to it by the will of God. Every Christian must
regard himself as a God-chosen man.
(b) His apostleship was a responsibility. God chose him because he wanted to do something with
him. He wished to make him the instrument by which the tidings of new life went out to men. o
Christian is ever chosen entirely for his own sake, but for what he can do for others. A Christian
is a man lost in wonder, love and praise at what God has done for him and aflame with eagerness
to tell others what God can do for them.
(c) His apostleship was a privilege. It is most significant to see what Paul conceived it his duty to
bring to others--the promise of God, not his threat. To him, Christianity was not the threat of
damnation; it was the good news of salvation. It is worth remembering that the greatest
evangelist and missionary the world has ever seen was out, not to terrify men by shaking them
over the flames of hell, but to move them to astonished submission at the sight of the love of God.
The dynamic of his gospel was love, not fear.”
2. D. Edmond Hiebert, “In accordance with the accepted practice of that day, Paul begins with
his own name. We moderns sign our name at the end of our letters, while the writer of a letter in
that day, with greater logic, placed his name at the beginning of his letter. And the very sight of
that name at the head of this communication to him must have thrilled the soul of Timothy. How

eagerly he would peruse any word from his beloved friend and teacher!”
3. Barnes, “According to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus - In accordance with the
great promise of eternal life through the Saviour; that is, he was called to be an apostle to carry
out the great purpose of human salvation; compare Eph_3:6. God has made a promise of life to
mankind through faith in the Lord Jesus, and it was with reference to this that he was called to
the apostleship.
4. Clarke, “Paul an apostle - St. Paul at once shows his office, the authority on which he held it,
and the end for which it was given him. He was an apostle - an extraordinary ambassador from
heaven. He had his apostleship by the will of God - according to the counsel and design of God’s
infinite wisdom and goodness. And he was appointed that he might proclaim that eternal life
which God had in view for mankind by the incarnation of his Son Jesus Christ, and which was
the end of all the promises he had made to men, and the commandments he had delivered to all
his prophets since the world began. The mention of this life was peculiarly proper in the apostle,
who had now the sentence of death in himself, and who knew that he must shortly seal the truth
with his blood. His life was hidden with Christ in God; and he knew that, as soon as he should be
absent from the body, he should be present with the Lord. With these words he both comforted
himself and his son Timothy.
5. Gill, “ Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ,.... ot of men, nor by men, but by Jesus Christ, from
whom he was sent; by whom he was qualified; in whose name he came, and ministered; and
whom he preached. Of his name Paul, and of his office, as an apostle; see Gill on Rom_1:1 into
which office he came
by the will of God; not by the will of man, no, not of the best of men, of James, Cephas, or John,
or any of the other apostles; nor by his own will, he did not thrust himself into this office, or take
this honour upon himself; nor was it owing to any merits of his, which he always disclaims, but to
the will and grace of God; it was by the secret determining will of God, that he was from all
eternity separated unto the Gospel of Christ; and it was by the revealed will of God to the church,
that he, with Barnabas, was set apart to the ministry of the word; see Rom_1:1.
According to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus; or with respect unto it; this points at
the sum and substance, or subject matter, and end of his apostleship, for which this grace was
given to him, which was to publish the free promise of life and salvation by Jesus Christ. By
life here is meant, not this corporeal life, which, and a continuation of it, were promised in the
covenant of works, on condition of man's obedience to it; but eternal life, the promise of which is
a free promise made by God, of his own free sovereign will and pleasure, in the covenant of grace,
from everlasting; and is an absolute and unconditional one, not at all depending upon the works
of the law, or obedience to it; see Rom_14:16 and this promise is in Christ, in whom all the
promises are yea and arisen: for it was made before the world began, Tit_1:2 when the persons
on whose account it was made were not in actual being; but Christ, their head and representative,
then existed; and to him it was given, and into his hands was it put for them, where it is sure to all
the seed; and not only the promise, but the life itself is in him, and which is here intended. Christ,
as Mediator, asked it of his Father for all his people, and he gave it to him, where it is hid safe
and secure. Christ is the Prince or author of life; he is the procuring cause of it; he was sent, and
came, that his sheep might have it; he gave his flesh, his human nature for it; and by his

sufferings and death removed all obstructions which sin had thrown in the way, and opened the
way for their enjoyment of it; and he is the giver of it to as many as the Father has given him; nor
is it to be had in any other way, or of any other; but of him; and it lies in the knowledge of him,
communion with him, and conformity to him. ow it is the business, of Gospel ministers, not to
direct persons to work for life, or to seek to obtain eternal life by their own works of
righteousness, but to hold forth the word of life, or to show men the way of life and salvation by
Christ alone.
6. Henry, “The inscription of the epistle Paul calls himself an apostle by the will of God, merely by
the good pleasure of God, and by his grace, which he professes himself unworthy of. According to
the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, or according to the gospel. The gospel is the promise of
life in Christ Jesus; life is the end, and Christ the way, Joh_14:6. The life is put into the promise,
and both are sure in Christ Jesus the faithful witness; for all the promises of God in Christ Jesus
are yea, and all amen, 2Co_1:20. He calls Timothy his beloved son. Paul felt the warmest affection
for him both because he had been an instrument of his conversion and because as a son with his
father he had served with him in the gospel. Observe, 1. Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ by
the will of God; as he did not receive the gospel of man, nor was taught it, but had it by the
revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal_1:12), so his commission to be an apostle was not by the will of
man, but of God: in the former epistle he says it was by the commandment of God our Saviour,
and here by the will of God. God called him to be an apostle. 2. We have the promise of life,
blessed be God for it: In hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world
began, Tit_1:2. It is a promise to discover the freeness and certainty of it. 3. This, as well as all
other promises, is in and through Jesus Christ; they all take their rise from the mercy of God in
Christ, and they are sure, so that we may safely depend on them.”
7. Preceptaustin, “According to is kata which conveys the idea With a view to the fulfillment of
the promise. The idea is that Paul's apostleship was for the accomplishment of the promise of life
in Christ Jesus. (cp Ro 1:5)
Stated another way the preposition kata defines the aim and purpose of Paul's apostleship which
is to further the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. In the context of this letter the promise of
life in Christ Jesus appears to be very compatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news
that those who are dead in their trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1-note) can find life in Christ Jesus.
Paul's introduction to Romans parallels his introduction here in 2Timothty 1:1...Paul, (His
Position) a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, (His Purpose) set apart for the
Gospel of God (Ro 1:1)
One commentator has written: God chose him (Paul) because He wanted to do something
with him. He wished to make him the instrument by which the tidings of new life went out to
men. o Christian is ever chosen entirely for his own sake, but for what he can do for others.
A Christian is a man lost in wonder, love, and praise at what God has done for him; and
aflame with eagerness to tell others what God can do for them.
Guy King agrees with the above assessment on according to the promise...noting that, “The force
of that according to seems then to be that his call to the apostolate was given him for the
purpose of his publishing that good news of the promise of life to the needy sons and daughters
of men. (On the lines of = Moule in pursuance of =Alford in the service of = Moffatt)
Promise, (epaggelia from epaggello = to announce that one is about to do or furnish something

from epi = upon, intensifies meaning + aggelos = messenger or aggello = to tell or declare) is a
declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified. It is also a legally binding
declaration that gives the person to whom it is made a right to expect or to claim the performance
or forbearance of a specified act. Epaggelia is used primarily of the promises of God. In secular
Greek epaggelia was primarily a legal term denoting a summons and then coming to mean a
promise to do or give something.”
8. Guzik comments that...”The words according to the promise of life are unique in Paul's
greetings; since Paul is imprisoned again in Rome, and facing execution (2Ti 4:6-note), this
promise is all the more precious to him.
After Paul was released from the Roman imprisonment mentioned at the end of the book of Acts,
he enjoyed a few more years of liberty until he was re-arrested, and imprisoned in Rome again.
You can go to Rome today and see the place where they say Paul was imprisoned. It is really just
a cold dungeon, a cave in the ground, with bare walls and a little hole in the ceiling where food
was dropped down. o windows, just a cold, little cell that would have been especially
uncomfortable in winter (cp 2Ti 4:21).
Paul writes this letter from his second Roman imprisonment, and he will be condemned and
executed in Rome at the command of ero shortly. Paul senses this ahead of time; therefore
Second Timothy is not only the last letter we have from Paul, there is a note of urgency and
passion we might expect from a man who knows he is on death row!”
9. Preceptaustin, “Truly meaningful life, life on the highest plane, life that really worthwhile, is
found only in the promise of life in Christ Jesus (2 Ti 1:1, cp Jn 1:4 3:15 16 36 20:31 6:35 40 51
1Jn 1:1 5:11 12 13) Who came so that we might have life and might have it abundantly (Jn
10:10). This abundant life in Christ Jesus, the Word of Life (1Jn 1:1), is a supernatural life which
will endure throughout eternity but which begins even now in time! How many believers are
experiencing this quality of supernatural abundant life in this present evil age? Our Father's
desire for all His children is eternal life, an abundant life of a heavenly quality and quantity now,
a life which can never be lost. Beloved, eye has not seen and ear has not heard and it has not
entered the heart of man all that God has prepared for those who love Him (1Co 2:9). Let God's
sure promise of our future life in Christ Jesus motivate present supernatural living for and in
Him.”
It is notable that Paul's uses the phrase Christ Jesus three times in the first two verses - Every
believer should seek to live with such a Christocentric mindset for He gives temporal
circumstances a proper perspective, one that Paul certainly needed! Keep in mind that Paul was
writing from prison, in chains, with the knowledge that everyone in Asia had deserted him and
with the awareness that his earthly life would soon end! Facing death, Paul focuses on life!
Life in context includes eternal life proclaimed in the Good ews of Jesus Christ...
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has
eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (Jn 5:24,
cp Jn 5:39, 40)
“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him
will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (Jn 6:40).

(Jesus speaking) and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will
snatch them out of My hand. (Jn 10:28)
“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You
have sent. (Jn 17:3)
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you
may know that you have eternal life. (1 Jn 5:13)
John declares...He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not
have the life. (1Jn 5:12)
Paul echoes this truth testifying that...I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who
live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of
God, Who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me. (Gal 2:20-note)
Patrick Fairbairn adds that in this supernatural union with Christ lies life in the higher sense,
comprehensive of all the blessings and glory, both in this world and the next, which flow from an
interest in the redemption of Christ.
Steven Cole notes that although Paul was facing death,...he was focused on the promise of life in
Christ Jesus. This description of life in Christ Jesus is clearly linked to the Gospel in verse 10
where Paul states that the purpose and grace which was granted to us in Christ Jesus from all
eternity (2Ti 1:9)...now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, Who
abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, (2 Ti 1:10-note)
Dwight Edwards agrees that...The phrase the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus is
synonymous with the Gospel. We ought to note a few things about this significant phrase. First, it
is a promise (epangelian zoes) from God to man. Therefore, it can be counted upon with absolute
certainty. Promises from men to men are often broken, but not so with the living God.
God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent. Has He said
and will He not do it or has He spoken and will He not make it good. (u 23:19, cp Titus
1:2) Thus, we can present the Gospel with absolute certainty and conviction, for it is the
good news of God's unchanging love and faithfulness for mankind. This promise is one
which contains life. The term life in Scripture speaks not of mere existence but of the
quality of our existence (Jn 1:4,10:10; Ro 8:6-note, etc). God promises man a quality of life
which is superior to anything this temporal world can offer. This life can only be found in
Christ Jesus for He alone offers the living water which eternally quenches our spiritual
thirst. John 4:7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 . John emphasizes this in the prologue of his Gospel In
Him was life and the life was the light of men. (Jn 1:4)
So we have seen in this first verse the intense single-mindedness of Paul. He was consumed with
a holy fire which brought the light and warmth of the Gospel to all he came in contact with.
And it is this same fire which he desires to see blazing brightly in the life of Timothy, his
disciple. And it is this same fire God desires to ignite within our lives so that we too bring the
light and warmth of the Gospel to all God brings our way. (Call to Completion)
Regarding the promise of life Dwight Moody said that God never made a promise that was too
good to be true. And He never made a promise that He has not kept.
ewport J D White comments that...The preciousness of that promise (of life in Christ Jesus) is
never wholly absent from the minds of Christians; though of course it comes to the surface of our
consciousness at crises when death is, or seems to be, imminent. (2 Timothy 1 - Expositor's Greek
Testament)

Barker rightly reminds us that...All spiritual life comes to us only in Christ.” And the more fully
and consciously we live in him, the richer that life becomes. (Barker, K. L.. Expositor's Bible
Commentary Abridged. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House)
Barton comments that...When we are united with Christ (Ed: Compare related truths - Oneness
with Christ in the ew Covenant, in Christ), life takes on both immediate and eternal
dimensions. Paul’s use of the word promise can apply to the “life” that Jesus gives immediately to
those who trust Him, as well as to the “life” fully realized in eternity. On one hand, Paul said, “If
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2Co 5:17-note). So new life begins at conversion. Yet on
the other hand, “We wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in
this hope we were saved” (Ro 8:23-note Ro 8:24-note). The present experience we enjoy provides
a foretaste of our complete redemption at Christ’s return. When we struggle with difficulties in
this life, remember that the best is yet to come. (Barton, B, et al: The IV Life Application
Commentary Series: Tyndale or Logos or Wordsearch) (Bolding added for emphasis)
Life, (zoe) in Scripture is used (1) to refer to physical life (Ro 8:38-note, 1Co 3:22, Php 1:20-note,
Jas 4:14, etc) but more often to (2) to supernatural life in contrast to a life subject to eternal
death (Jn 3:36, see all 43 uses of eternal life below). This quality of life speaks of fullness of life
which alone belongs to God the Giver of life and is available to His children now (Ro 6:4-note, Ep
4:18-note) as well as in eternity future (Mk 10:30, Titus 1:2-note on Eternal Life).
Richards writes that..Zoe in classical Greek refers to natural life--the principle that enables living
things to move and to grow. In the T, zoe focuses on the theological meaning rather than on the
biological. From the perspective of the T, in every respect life is the counterpart of death. Each
book of the T speaks of zoe. In each, the principle of life lifts our vision beyond our earthly
existence to reveal a unique quality of life that spans time and eternity and that has its roots in
God. It is the biblical use and meaning of zoe that most concerns us as we examine what the T
says about life. (Richards, L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency)
Wuest (in comments on 2Pe 1:3-note) writes that zoe...speaks of life in the sense of one who is
possessed of vitality and animation. It is used to designate the life which God gives to the
believing sinner, a vital, animating, spiritual, ethical dynamic which transforms his inner being
and as a result, his behavior.
(In comments on 1John 1:2 Wuest adds that the) life that God is, is not to be defined as merely
animation, but as definitely ethical in its content. God is not the mere reason for the universe,
as the Greeks thought, but a Person with the characteristics and qualities of a divine Person.
The ethical and spiritual qualities of this life which God is, are communicated to the sinner
when the latter places his faith in the Lord Jesus as Savior, and this becomes the new,
animating, energizing, motivating principle which transforms the experience of that
individual, and the saint thus lives a Christian life.
The message of (the epistle of) John is that since the believer is a partaker of this life, it is an
absolute necessity that he show the ethical and spiritual qualities that are part of the essential
nature of God, in his own life. If these are entirely absent, John says, that person is devoid of
the life of God, and is unsaved. The ethical and spiritual qualities of this life were exhibited to
the human race in the earthly life of the Lord Jesus. His life thus becomes the pattern of what
our lives should be in holiness, self-sacrifice, humility and love.” (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word
Studies from the Greek ew Testament: Eerdmans
10. W H Griffith Thomas notes in the Gospel of John zoe is a key word, writing that, “Another

characteristic word of John’s Gospel is life. It expresses the ultimate element of his purpose in
writing. As the result of believing, the readers of this Gospel are intended to have life. The word
(zoe) always refers in this Gospel to the principle of spiritual life as distinct from the earthly
manifestation or principle of natural life (bios). This latter word is not found in the fourth Gospel
and only twice in all of John’s writings (1 John 2:16; 1 John 3:16), where the meaning is quite
clear. The word zoe occurs thirty-six times in the Gospel of John as compared with seven in
Matthew, four in Mark, and six in Luke. This again shows the prominence given to it and the
important place it occupies in the teaching of this Gospel. The idea is found as early as John 1:4,
and then almost chapter by chapter various aspects of the life are seen and various relationships
to it are borne by our Lord. The meaning of this life is perhaps best given in the words of our
Lord’s prayer: “This is life eternal, to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou
hast sent” (John 17:3). It consists, therefore, not in any mere existence whether here or hereafter.
Its essence lies in the experience of fellowship with God. Quality, not duration, is the predominant
thought of life in this Gospel.”
11. Preceptaustin, “The life that God promises in Christ is a life that is capable of enjoying the
things of God down here, and a life that will be equally suitable to our heavenly home. Jesus said
this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou
hast sent. (Jn 17:3) This new quality of life then is the present possession of the believer because
of his or her relationship with the Lamb Who takes away the sins of the world and it is also our
future hope when we will receive our glorified bodies, have every tear wiped away and be forever
free from sin, sickness, sorrow, suffering, and death (Php 3:20, 21
Christ is a transliteration of the Greek word Christos (from chrio = to anoint, rub with oil,
consecrate to an office) which is equivalent to the Hebrew word which is translated Messiah,
the Anointed One. In the Gospels the Christ is not a personal name but an official designation for
the expected Messiah (see Matthew 2:4, Luke 3:15). As by faith the human Jesus was recognized
and accepted as the personal Messiah, the definite article (the) was dropped and the
designation Christ came to be used as a personal name. The name Christ speaks of His
Messianic dignity and emphasizes that He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises
concerning the coming Messiah.
The name Jesus, comes from the Greek lesous, the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua,
which means Jehovah saves. It was the name given Him by the angel before He was born
(Luke 1:31 ; Matthew 1:21). His human name speaks of the fact of His Incarnation, His taking
upon Himself human form to become our Savior.
The order Jesus Christ places the emphasis on the historical appearing of the man Jesus Who
by faith was recognized and acknowledged as the Messiah. It proclaims the fact that Jesus is the
Christ. It speaks of Him Who came in human form, became obedient unto death,, and was
afterward exalted and glorified. This order is, always followed in the epistles of Peter, John,
James,andJude.
The combination of Christós Iesoús emphasizes His deity and His humanity, fully God and fully
man! Christ Jesus points to the theological fact that the One who was with the Father in
eternal glory became incarnate in human form.
Vine adds the following interesting thoughts on the order of Christ before or after Jesus
writing that

Christ Jesus describes the Exalted One Who emptied Himself (Php 2:5-note) and testifies to
His preexistence. Jesus Christ describes the despised and rejected One Who was afterwards
glorified (Php 2:11-note) and testifies to His resurrection. Christ Jesus suggests His grace. Jesus
Christ suggests His glory.
Wuest adds that We have therefore in these two names, the Messianic office of our Lord, His
deity, and His substitutionary atonement.
D. Edmond Hiebert notes that...The average English reader uses either order merely to designate
the Person to whom reference is being made without a clear sense of any difference in meaning.
But to Paul and his Greek readers each order had a significance over and above that of a mere
identification of the Person. In either case the first member of the compound name indicated
whether the theological or the historical idea was uppermost in the writer's mind. (Hiebert, D.
E. - 2 Timothy in Everyman's Bible Commentary Series).
Vine adds the following interesting thoughts on the order of Christ before or after Jesus
writing that The order “Christ Jesus,” points to Him as the One Who had been in the glory with
the Father, but Who emptied Himself taking the form of a servant, and endured the sufferings
and death of the Cross. This order testifies to His preexistence (Php 2:5-note). (Vine, W.
Collected writings of W. E. Vine. ashville: Thomas elson )
D. Edmond Hiebert comments that in this short salutation in 2Ti 1:1-2 we find God the Father is
mentioned twice, while the name of Christ Jesus is mentioned three times. How Paul loved and
gloried in that adorable ame! The very thought of Him runs through all of his thinking and
writing. He cannot move, think, or live without Him. Truly for Paul to live is Christ (Php 1:21-
note). (Ibid)
How ironic to encounter Paul deserted by those who formerly were with him, imprisoned as a
criminal, poured out as a drink offering, facing imminent death (2Ti 4:6-note), and yet choosing
to remind Timothy first of our life in Christ Jesus, a life which no physical death is able to harm
for Paul knows that to be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord. (2Co 5:6-
note, 2Co 5:8-note). This would surely have been an encouragement to Timothy.
Surely Paul's knowledge of and focus on the wonderful truth of life in Christ Jesus protected
him from growing weary and losing heart (Gal 6:9-note) in what would appear from a human
viewpoint appeared to be a hopeless situation. Paul did not have the typical human viewpoint
but viewed his circumstances from God's perspective, convinced (and firmly held by the truth)
that Christ was able to guard what Paul had entrusted to Him. O that the Holy Spirit might open
the eyes of our hearts to really know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the
glory of His inheritance in the saints and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us
who believe. (Ep 1:18, 19.”
2 To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from
God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

1. Gordon Fee comments that “This verse exactly parallels 1Timothy 1:2, except that dear son
replaces “my true son in the faith.” Again, this reflects the altered circumstances. This letter is
not for the church in Ephesus; hence no need exists to legitimatize Timothy before them. Timothy
is now my dear (or “beloved”) son, as he has always been for Paul (see 1Co 4:17). The appeal to
these close ties will become a large part of this letter.
1B. Barclay, “As always when he speaks to Timothy, there is a warmth of loving affection in
Paul's voice. My beloved child, he calls him. Timothy was his child in the faith. Timothy's
parents had given him physical life; but it was Paul who gave him eternal life. Many a person
who never knew physical parenthood has had the joy and privilege of being a father or a mother
in the faith; and there is no joy in all the world like that of bringing one soul to Christ.”
2. Preceptaustin, “Beloved (agapetos) means dear (highly valued; precious), very much loved.
Agapetos speaks of a love called out of one’s heart by the preciousness of the object loved. The
first 9 uses of this adjective in the T are by God the Father speaking of Christ Jesus, His
beloved Son (see uses below). These T uses should give a good sense of the preciousness of
Paul's description of Timothy, and the effect those words must have had on Timothy has he
began reading this letter.
Paul's use of teknon is full of fatherly tenderness, a fact which the rendering son in the AS
and King James versions do not fully convey. Young's Literal version more accurately renders it
as beloved child. Paul had no real child of his own (as far as we know) and Timothy's father
was a Greek and probably not a believer (Acts 16:1- notes). The result was that these two grew to
love one another like a father and son. If you're a father and/or a son, you hopefully have
experienced the special nature of the father-son relationship. If however you are like me and
did not know your earthly father or perhaps did not experience a kind, loving relationship, be
encouraged for if you are a genuine born again one, then you are a child (birthed one) of God
(Study the 11 T uses of the phrase children [teknon] of God = Jn 1:12; 11:52; Acts 17:29; Ro
8:16, 21; 9:8; Php 2:15; 1Jn 3:1f, 10; 5:2) and you have the perfect Father...forever. Hallelujah!
So now imagine how young Timothy felt as his read this epistle.”
3. Lenski writes that “The whole letter throbs with the love of a father for a beloved child.”
4. John MacArthur comments that “If we want to truly motivate other believers, we must, like
Paul, have genuine, loving, and unqualified concern for their full spiritual blessing. In addition to
their recognizing our authority under God, we want our brothers and sisters in Christ to know
that they are loved by us without reservation.
Paul clearly thought highly of his young disciple referring to him on many occasions in his letters
my beloved and faithful child in the Lord (1Co 4:17)
my fellow worker (Ro 16:21-note; 1Th 3:2-note; cf. 1Co 16:10)
our brother (2Co 1:1; 1Th 3:2-note; cf. He 13:23-note),

as a fellow bond-servant of Christ Jesus (Php 1:1-note).
5. Timothy was with Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:5), was sent into Macedonia (Acts 19:22), and
accompanied the apostle on his return trip to Jerusalem (Acts 20:4). In addition, Timothy was
associated with Paul in the writing of Romans (Ro 16:21-note), 2 Corinthians (2Co 1:1),
Philippians (Php 1:1-note), Colossians (Col 1:1-note), both Thessalonian epistles (1Th 1:1-note;
2Th 1:1), and Philemon (Philemon 1:1). He served as Paul’s faithful representative in Corinth
(1Co 4:17), Thessalonica (1Th 3:2-note), Ephesus (1Ti 1:3, 4) and Philippi (Php 2:19-note)
6. Gill, “To Timothy, my dearly beloved son,.... ot in a natural, but in a spiritual sense; and not
on account of his being an instrument of his conversion, but by reason of that instruction in the
doctrines of the Gospel which he gave him, it being usual to call disciples children; and he calls
him so, because as a son, he, being young in years, served with him, and under him, as a father, in
the Gospel of Christ; for whom he had a very great affection, on account of his having been a
companion with him in his travels, and very useful to him in the ministry, and because of his
singular and eminent gifts, great grace, religion, and holiness: Grace, mercy, and peace, c.
7. Jamison, “my dearly beloved son — In 1Ti_1:2, and Tit_1:4, written at an earlier period than
this Epistle, the expression used is in the Greek, “my genuine son.” Alford sees in the change of
expression an intimation of an altered tone as to Timothy, more of mere love, and less of
confidence, as though Paul saw m him a want of firmness, whence arose the need of his stirring
up afresh the faith and grace in Him (2Ti_1:6). But this seems to me not justified by the Greek
word agapetos, which implies the attachment of reasoning and choice, on the ground of merit in
the one “beloved,” not of merely instinctive love. See Trench [Greek Synonyms of the ew
Testament].
8. Henry, “The grace, mercy, and peace, which even Paul's dearly beloved son Timothy wanted,
comes from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord; and therefore the one as well as the other
is the giver of these blessings, and ought to be applied to for them. 5. The best want these
blessings, and they are the best we can ask for our dearly-beloved friends, that they may have
grace to help them in the time of need, and mercy to pardon what is amiss, and so may have
peace with God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
9. Biblical Illustrator, “The salutation in the three pastoral Epistles introduces between the
customary grace and peace the additional idea of mercy. It is a touching indication of
the apostle's own humility, and reveals his deepening sense of the need of mercy as he drew
near the glory of the unveiled Face. It records the fact that if in Ephesus, Rome, or England there
are any children of God who fancy they can rise above an utterance of the cry, God be merciful
to me, apostles and ministers of Christ, even in view of the martyr's crown, cannot forget their
profound need of Divine mercy. The association of Christ Jesus with God the Father as the
common source of grace, mercy, and peace shows what St. Paul thought of his Lord. As
he commenced his Epistle with this blended petition, we are not surprised to find that his last
recorded words were, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. This was the sum of all
blessedness, and the exalted Lord, Christ, was Himself the source of it. (H. R. Reynolds, D.D.)

10. Preceptaustin, “Grace, mercy and peace - This greeting is identical to that found in 1 Timothy
(1Ti 1:2) and both are unique in that mercy is inserted between grace and peace. Such a
threefold invocation of blessing occurs only one other time in 2John 1:3.
Grace is getting what we do not deserve.
Justice is getting what we do deserve.
Mercy is not getting what we do deserve.
Undoubtedly, from his experience Paul knows Timothy will need all three in order to fulfill the
ministry (2Ti 4:5) that has been entrusted to him. As John Stott has succinctly summarized the
salutation...
11. Guzik, “Spurgeon used this verse, along with 1Ti 1:2 and Titus 1:4 to show that ministers
need more mercy than other believers do. After all, in the beginning to his letters to churches in
general, Paul only says grace and peace in his greeting (Ro 1:7, 1Co 1:3, 2Co 1:2, Gal 1:3, Ep 1:2,
Php 1:2, Col 1:2, 1Th 1:1, 2Th 1:2). But when he starts writing the pastors (Timothy and Titus)
he is compelled to say grace, mercy, and peace to him!”
12. Spurgeon, “Did you ever notice this one thing about Christian ministers, that they need even
more mercy than other people? Although everybody needs mercy, ministers need it more than
anybody else; and so we do, for if we are not faithful, we shall be greater sinners even than our
hearers, and it needs much grace for us always to be faithful, and much mercy will be required to
cover our shortcomings. So I shall take those three things to myself: 'Grace, mercy, and peace.'
You may have the two, 'Grace and peace,' but I need mercy more than any of you; so I take it
from my Lord's loving hand, and I will trust, and not be afraid, despite all my shortcomings, and
feebleness, and blunders, and mistakes, in the course of my whole ministry.”
3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a
clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember
you in my prayers.
1. Paul was in a bad situation as a prisoner soon to face possible execution. He had many bad
things happen to him, and many of his friends had forsaken him because they did not want to be
associated with a criminal of the state. Yet, even under these terrible circumstances, Paul was a
man of gratitude for being a servant of God. It was costly, but how much more costly would it
have been had not Jesus called him to new life and ministry? Paul knew how to focus on the
things to be thankful for when there was much to grieve about. He was thankful to be God's
servant, and he was thankful for his son in the faith, Timothy. He counted his blessings, and

named them one by one, and he saw what God had done for him, to him, and through him.
1B. Thanksgiving is good but thanks-living is better. - Matthew Henry
It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich. -Dietrich Bonhoeffer (From a man who was
martyred for His Lord!)
It ought to be as habitual to us to thank as to ask. - C. H. Spurgeon
How worthy it is to remember former benefits when we come to beg for new. - Stephen
Charnock
Prayer without thanksgiving is like a bird without wings. - William Hendriksen
Thankfulness is a flower which will never bloom well excepting upon a root of deep humility. -
J. C. Ryle
1C. Bob Deffinbaugh, “I have to admit I was puzzled by Paul’s reference to his clear conscience,
which he likened to that of his ancestors. What was this all about? I recall Paul speaking of his
“clear conscience,” as he did, for example, when he stood before the Sanhedrin in Acts 23:1. But
why this reference to his ancestors? What is the difference between “Paul’s ancestors” in 2
Timothy 1:3 and the “fathers” of unbelieving Jews who are mentioned in Acts 7:51-52; 28:24-28;
Hebrews 3:8-10?
I believe that Paul is acknowledging his relationship with the faithful “fathers” of the past, those
who trusted in God and obeyed His word. These “fathers” would be people like those named in
the “hall of faith” in Hebrews 11. These “fathers” paid for their faith and obedience by enduring
suffering and affliction. These “ancestors” would include men like Moses and many others:”
2. Jamison, “I thank — Greek, “I feel gratitude to God.” whom I serve from my forefathers —
whom I serve (Rom_1:9) as did my forefathers. He does not mean to put on the same footing the
Jewish and Christian service of God; but simply to assert his own conscientious service of God as
he had received it from his progenitors (not Abraham, Isaac, etc., whom he calls “the fathers,” not
“progenitors” as the Greek is here; Rom_9:5). The memory of those who had gone before to
whom he is about to be gathered, is now, on the eve of death, pleasant to him; hence also, he calls
to mind the faith of the mother and grandmother of Timothy; as he walks in the faith of his
forefathers (Act_23:1; Act_24:14; Act_26:6, Act_26:7; Act_28:20), so Timothy should persevere
firmly in the faith of his parent and grandparent. ot only Paul, but the Jews who reject Christ,
forsake the faith of their forefathers, who looked for Christ; when they accept Him, the hearts of
the children shall only be returning to the faith of their forefathers (Mal_4:6; Luk_1:17;
Rom_11:23, Rom_11:24, Rom_11:28). Probably Paul had, in his recent defense, dwelt on this
topic, namely, that he was, in being a Christian, only following his hereditary faith.
that ... I have remembrance of thee — “how unceasing I make my mention concerning thee”
(compare Phm_1:4). The cause of Paul’s feeling thankful is, not that he remembers Timothy
unceasingly in his prayers, but for what Timothy is in faith (2Ti_1:5) and graces; compare
Rom_1:8, Rom_1:9, from which supply the elliptical sentence thus, “I thank God (for thee, for
God is my witness) whom I serve ... that (or how) without ceasing I have remembrance (or make
mention) of thee,” etc. night and day — (See on 1Ti_5:5).

3. Barnes, “I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers - Paul reckoned among his
forefathers the patriarchs and the holy men of former times, as being of the same nation with
himself, though it may be that he also included his more immediate ancestors, who, for anything
known to the contrary, may have been distinguished examples of piety. His own parents, it is
certain, took care that he should be trained up in the ways of religion; compare the Phi_3:4-5
notes; Act_26:4-5. The phrase “from my forefathers,” probably means, after the example of my
ancestors. He worshipped the same God; he held substantially the same truths; he had the same
hope of the resurrection and of immortality; he trusted to the same Saviour having come, on
whom they relied as about to come. His was not, therefore, a different religion from theirs; it was
the same religion carried out and perfected. The religion of the Old Testament and the ew is
essentially the same; see the notes at Act_23:6.
With pure conscience - see the notes at Act_23:1.
That without ceasing - compare the Rom_12:12 note; 1Th_5:17 note.
I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day - see the notes at Phi_1:3-4.
4. Clarke, “Whom I serve from my forefathers - Being born a Jew, I was carefully educated in the
knowledge of the true God, and the proper manner of worshiping him. With pure conscience -
Ever aiming to please him, even in the time when through ignorance I persecuted the Church.
Without ceasing I have remembrance of thee - The apostle thanks God that he has constant
remembrance of Timothy in his prayers. It is a very rare thing now in the Christian Church, that
a man particularly thanks God that he is enabled to pray for Others. And yet he that can do this
most must have an increase of that brotherly love which the second greatest commandment of
God requires: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. It is also a great blessing to be able to
maintain the spirit of a pure friendship, especially through a considerable lapse of time and
absence. He that can do so may well thank God that he is saved from that fickleness and
unsteadiness of mind which are the bane of friendships, and the reproach of many once warm-hearted
friends.
5. Gill, “I thank God,.... After the inscription and salutation follows the preface to the epistle;
which contains a thanksgiving to God upon Timothy's account, and has a tendency to engage his
attention to what he was about to write to him in the body of the epistle. God is the object of
praise and thanksgiving, both as the God of nature and providence, and as the God of all grace;
for every good thing comes from him, and therefore he ought to have the glory of it; nor should
any glory, as though they had not received it: and he is here described, as follows,
whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience; the apostle served God in the precepts
of the law, as in the hands of Christ, and as written upon his heart by the Spirit of God, in which
he delighted after the inward man, and which he served with his regenerated mind; and also in
the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, in which he was very diligent and laborious, faithful and
successful: and this God, whom he served, was the God of his forefathers, of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, and of Benjamin, of whose tribe he was, and also of his more immediate ancestors.
The Ethiopic version renders it, from my original; for though he preached the Gospel of
Christ, and asserted the abrogation of the ceremonial law, yet he worshipped the one, true, and
living God, the God of Israel, and was not an apostate from the true religion, as his enemies
would insinuate: and this service of his was performed with a pure conscience: every man has
a conscience, but the conscience of every natural man is defiled with sin; and that is only a pure

one, which is sprinkled and purged with the blood of Christ; and whereby a person is only fitted
to serve the living God, without the incumbrance of dead works, and slavish fear, and with faith
and cheerfulness; and such a conscience the apostle had, and with such an one he served God.
For this refers not to his serving of God, and to his conscience, while a Pharisee and a persecutor;
for however moral was his conduct and conversation then, and with what sincerity and
uprightness soever he behaved, his conscience was not a pure one. He goes on to observe what he
thanked God for,
that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; that God had laid
him upon his heart, and that he had such reason to remember him at the throne of grace
continually. We learn from hence, that the apostle prayed constantly night and day; and if so
great a man as he stood in need of continual prayer, much more we; and that in his prayers he
was not unmindful of his friends, though at a distance from him; and in both these he is to be
imitated: it becomes us to pray without ceasing: to pray always, and not faint and give out, to
pray every day and night; and to pray for others as well as for ourselves, for all the saints, yea,
for our enemies, as well as for our friends.
6. Henry, “ Paul's thanksgiving to God for Timothy's faith and holiness: he thanks God that he
remembered Timothy in his prayers. Observe, Whatever good we do, and whatever good office
we perform for our friends, God must have the glory of it, and we must give him thanks. It is he
who puts it into our hearts to remember such and such in our prayers. Paul was much in prayer,
he prayed night and day; in all his prayers he was mindful of his friends, he particularly prayed
for good ministers, he prayed for Timothy, and had remembrance of him in his prayers night and
day; he did this without ceasing; prayer was his constant business, and he never forgot his friends
in his prayers, as we often do. Paul served God from his forefathers with a pure conscience. It
was a comfort to him that he was born in God's house, and was of the seed of those that served
God; as likewise that he had served him with a pure conscience, according to the best of his light;
he had kept a conscience void of offence, and made it his daily exercise to do so, Act_24:16.”
7. Biblical Illustrator, “The spirit of true service : My desire is that God may be pleased by me
and glorified in me, not only by my praying and preachiug and almsgiving, but even by my
eating, drinking, and sleeping, and visits, and discourses ; that I may do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving glory to God by Him. Too often do I take a wrong aim and miss my mark ; but
I will tell you what are the rules I set myself and strictly impose upon myself from day to day :
ever to lie down but in the name of God, not barely for natural refreshment, but that a wearied
servant of Christ may be recruited and fitted to serve Him better the next day ; never to rise up
but with this resolution — well, I will go forth this day in the name of God, and will make my
religion my business, and spend the day for eternity ; never to enter upon my calling but first
thinking I will do these things as unto God, because He requireth these things at my hands, in the
place and station to which He hath appointed me ; never to sit down to table but resolving I will
not eat merely to please my appetite, but to strengthen myself for my Master's work ; never to
make a visit but upon some holy design, resolving to leave something of God wherever I go. This
is that which I have been for some time learning and hard pressing after, and if I strive not to
walk by these rules, let this paper be a witness against me. {J. Alleine.)
True and false service: — It is said of the Lacedoemonians, who were a poor and homely people,

that they offered lean sacrifices to their gods ; and that the Athenians, who were a wise and
wealthy people, offered fat and costly sacrifices ; and yet in their wars the former always had the
mastery of the latter. Whereupon they went to the Oracle to know the reason why those should
speed worst who gave most. The Oracle returned this answer to them : That the
Lacedoemonians were a people who gave their hearts to their gods, but that the Athenians only
gave their gifts to their gods. Thus a heart without a gift is better than a gift without a heart. {T.
Seeker.)
8. Preceptaustin, “Many Christians desire to worship the Lord on Sunday but are too busy to
serve Him at other times. The ew Testament knows nothing of such a dichotomy or
compartmentalization of our spiritual life from our secular life. In other words our secular life
always includes our spiritual life. On the other hand notice that the order in Scripture is first
“worship” and then “serve”. Acknowledgment of God Himself must have precedence over activity
in His service. Service to God derives its effectiveness from engagement of the heart with God.
Any true worshipper of God is also a servant, ready to do his Master's bidding, discharging his or
her priestly duties. The corollary truth is that good works should be those initiated by and
empowered by the Spirit of God, so that we engage in the works that God has prepared for each
of us even before the foundation of the world.”
Paul's introduction to the Romans conveys a similar nuance: For God, Whom I serve in my spirit
(with my whole spirit Amp) in the preaching of the gospel of His Son (So what is Paul's
service?), is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you. (Ro 1:9-note)
Comment: Paul served God holistically beginning with his spirit, for he knew that those
who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (Jn 4:24). God pleasing and God
honoring service calls for total, unreserved commitment on the part of the worshiper (cp our
holistic spiritual service [latreia] of worship in Ro 12:1-note).
MacDonald comments on Paul's use of latreuo noting that for the great apostle this worshipful
service...was not that of a religious drudge (to do hard, menial, monotonous work), going through
endless rituals and reciting prayers and liturgies by rote. It was service bathed in fervent,
believing prayer. It was willing, devoted, tireless service, fired by a spirit that loved the Lord
Jesus supremely. It was a flaming passion to make known the Good ews about God’s Son.
(MacDonald, W., Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and ew Testaments.
ashville: Thomas elson)
Writing to the Philippians Paul warned them to beware of the false circumcision (probably
Judaizers who wanted to add works to faith) declaring we are the true circumcision (Ro 2:28 29-
note), who worship (latreuo - render sacred service and obedience) in the Spirit of God (true
worship is supernatural, in the power of the Holy Spirit and not through prescribed physical
rituals, cf Isaiah 29:13) and glory (kauchaomai = boast with exultant joy about what one is most
proud of - 35/37 uses of this word are by Paul) in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh
(sarx = man’s fallen, unredeemed humanness which pictures human ability apart from God).
(Philippians 3:3-note)
9. Biblical Illustrator, “ Conscience a delicate creature: — Conscience is a dainty, delicate
creature, a rare piece of workmanship of the Maker. Keep it whole without a crack, for if there
be but one hole so that it break, it will with difficulty mend again. (S. Rutherford.) Conscience in
a Christian : — The Christian can never add a more faithful adviser, a more active accuser, a

severer witness, a more impartial judge, a sweeter comforter, or a more inexorable enemy. {Bp.
Sanderson.) Conscience in everything : — Trust that man in nothing who has not a conscience in
everything. (Sterne.) Conscience makes saints : — Conscience makes cowards of us ; but
conscience makes saints and heroes too. (J. Lightfoot.) Conscience hurt by sin: — Hurt not your
conscience with any known sin. (S. Rutherford.) A good conscience independent of outside
opinion: — In the famous trial of Warren Eastings it was recorded that when he was put on his
trial in magnificent a manner in Westminster Hall, after the counsel for the prosecution, Burke,
Sheridan, and others had delivered their eloquent speeches, he began to think he must be the
greatest criminal on the face of the earth ; but he related that when he turned to his own
conscience the effect of all those grand speeches was as nothing. I felt, he said, that I had
done my duty, and that they may say what they please. {J. C. Ryle, D.D.)
Integrity of conscience: — Hugh Miller speaks of the mason with whom he served his
apprenticeship as one who put his conscience into every stone that he laid. (S. Smiles.)
Obedience to conscience : — Lord Erskine, when at the Bar, was remarkable for the fearlessness
with which he contended against the Bench. In a contest he had with Lord Kenyon he explained
tbe rule and conduct at the Bar in the following terms : It was, said he, the first command
and counsel of my youth always to do what my conscience told me to be my duty, and leave the
consequences to God. I have hitherto followed it, and have no reason to complain that any
obedience to it has been even a temporal sacrifice ; I have found it, on the contrary, the road to
prosperity and wealth, and I shall point it out as such to my children. {W. Baxendale.)
10. Preceptaustin, “Webster defines conscience as the sense or consciousness of the moral
goodness or blameworthiness of one’s own conduct, intentions, or character together with a
feeling of obligation to do right or be good.
The Greek noun suneidesis is the exact counterpart of the Latin con-science, “a knowing with,” a
shared or joint knowledge. It is our awareness of ourselves in all the relationships of life,
especially ethical relationships. We have ideas of right and wrong; and when we perceive their
truth and claims on us, and will not obey, our souls are at war with themselves and with the law
of God
Suneidesis is that process of thought which distinguishes what it considers morally good or bad,
commending the good, condemning the bad, and so prompting to do the former and avoid the
latter.
To have a clear conscience does not mean that we have never sinned or do not commit acts of
sin. Rather, it means that the underlying direction and motive of life is to obey and please God, so
that acts of sin are habitually recognized as such and faced before God (1Jn 1:9, cp David's
attitude Ps 139:23 24, cp Ps 19:13-note) Spurgeon commenting on these passages in Ps 139 says...
He (David) will have God Himself search him, and search him thoroughly, till every point of
his being is known, and read, and understood; for he is sure that even by such an
investigation there will be found in him no complicity with wicked men. He challenges the
fullest investigation, the innermost search: he had need be a true man who can put himself
deliberately into such a crucible. Yet we may each one desire such searching; for it would be
a terrible calamity to us for sin to remain in our hearts unknown and undiscovered.
Try me, and know my thoughts. Exercise any and every test upon me. By fire and by water
let me be examined. Read not alone the desires of my heart, but the fugitive thoughts of my
head. Know with all penetrating knowledge all that is or has been in the chambers of my

mind. What a mercy that there is one being who can know us to perfection! He is intimately
at home with us. He is graciously inclined towards us, and is willing to bend His omniscience
to serve the end of our sanctification. Let us pray as David did, and let us be as honest as he.
We cannot hide our sin: salvation lies the other way, in a plain discovery of evil, and an
effectual severance from it.
And see if there be any wicked way in me. See whether there be in my heart, or in my life,
any evil habit unknown to myself (Ed: cp a clean conscience). If there be such an evil way,
take me from it, take it from me. o matter how dear the wrong may have become, nor how
deeply prejudiced I may have been in its favour, be pleased to deliver me therefrom
altogether, effectually, and at once, that I may tolerate nothing which is contrary to thy mind.
As I hate the wicked in their way, so would I hate every wicked way in myself.
And lead me in the way everlasting. If thou hast introduced me already to the good old way,
be pleased to keep me in it, and conduct me further and further along it. It is a way which
thou hast set up of old, it is based upon everlasting principles, and it is the way in which
immortal spirits will gladly run for ever and ever. There will be no end to it world without
end. It lasts for ever, and they who are in it last for ever. Conduct me into it, O Lord, and
conduct me throughout the whole length of it. By thy providence, by thy word, by thy grace,
and by thy Spirit, lead me evermore.
Think and be careful what thou art within,
For there is sin in the desire of sin:
Think and be thankful, in a different case,
For there is grace in the desire of grace.
--John Byron, 1691-1763.
Edwards explains that a... clear conscience consists in being able to say that there is no one
(God or man) whom I have knowingly offended and not tried to make it right (either by asking
forgiveness or restoration or both). ). Acts 24:16. Christ spoke of this very issue in the Sermon on
the Mount where He made it clear that our priestly service must be done with a clear conscience
to be acceptable before God. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember
that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go your
way. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift. Mt. 5:23 24 25-note.
We are being told here that a clear conscience must precede priestly service. (2 Timothy Call to
Completion)
Paul wanted Timothy to have no doubt that he endured his present physical afflictions, as he had
countless others, because of his unswerving faithfulness to the Lord, not as a consequence of
unfaithful, ungodly living. So as Paul neared his death, he could testify that his conscience did not
accuse or condemn him. His guilt was forgiven, and his devotion was undivided. To continually
reject God’s truth causes the conscience to become progressively less sensitive to sin, as if covered
with layers of unspiritual scar tissue. Paul’s conscience was clear, sensitive, responsive to its
convicting voice. Click on the books below to study the T picture of conscience.
Conscience is like a window that let's in the light. When the window becomes soiled, the light
gradually becomes darkness. Once conscience is defiled (Titus 1:15-note), it gradually gets worse,
and eventually it may be so seared that it has no sensitivity at all (1Ti 4:2). Then it becomes an
evil conscience (He 10:22-note), one that functions just the opposite of a good conscience (1Pe
3:16-note).”

Conscience is a most important part of our inward man, and plays a most prominent part in our
spiritual history. It cannot save us. It never yet led any one to Christ. It is blind, and liable to be
misled. It is lame and powerless, and cannot guide us to heaven. Yet conscience is not to be
despised. It is the minister's best friend, when he stands up to rebuke sin from the pulpit. It is the
mother's best friend, when she tries to restrain her children from evil and quicken them to good.
It is the teacher's best friend, when he presses home on boys and girls their moral duties. Happy
is he who never stifles his conscience, but strives to keep it tender! Still happier is he who prays to
have it enlightened by the Holy Spirit, and sprinkled with Christ's blood. (John - chapter 8)
(Ryle in Looking Unto Jesus) We need inward peace. So long as our conscience is asleep,
deadened by indulged sin, or dulled and stupefied by incessant pursuit of the things of this
world—so long can that man get on tolerably well without peace with God. But once let
conscience open its eyes, and shake itself, and rise, and move—and it will make the stoutest
child of Adam feel ill at ease. The irrepressible thought that this life is not all—that there is a
God, and a judgment, and a something after death, an undiscovered destiny from which no
traveler returns—that thought will come up at times in every man's mind, and make him long
forinwardpeace.
It is easy to write brave words about eternal hope, and strew the path to the grave with
flowers. Such theology is naturally popular: the world loves to have it so. But after all, there is
something deep down in the heart of hearts of most men, which must be satisfied. The strongest
evidence of God's eternal truth, is the universal conscience of mankind. Who is there among us
all, who can sit down and think over the days that are past—school days, and college days, and
days of middle life, their countless things left undone that ought to have been done, and done
that ought not to have been done—who, I say, can think over it all without shame, if indeed he
does not turn from the review with disgust and terror, and refuse to think at all? We all need
peace. (Ryle Looking Unto Jesus!)
(Ryle in Without Christ) Moreover, to be without Christ is to be without peace. Every
man has a conscience within him, which must be satisfied before he can be truly happy. So long
as this conscience is asleep or half dead, so long, no doubt, he gets along pretty well. But as soon
as a man’s conscience wakes up, and he begins to think of past sins and present failings and
future judgment, at once he finds out that he needs something to give him inward rest. But
what can do it? Repenting and praying and Bible reading, and church going, and sacrament
receiving, and self–mortification may be tried, and tried in vain. They never yet took off the
burden from anyone’s conscience. And yet peace must be had!
There is only one thing can give peace to the conscience, and that is the blood of Jesus Christ
sprinkled on it. A clear understanding that Christ’s death was an actual payment of our debt to
God, and that the merit of that death is made over to man when he believes, is the grand secret
of inward peace. It meets every craving of conscience. It answers every accusation. It calms
every fear. It is written These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me you might have
peace. He is our peace. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ (Jn 16:33; Ep 2:14; Ro 5:1). We have peace through the blood of His cross: peace
like a deep mine—peace like an ever–flowing stream. But without Christ we are without
peace. (Without Christ)
J C Philpot writes that there can be there is a receiving of the gospel as the word of men into the
natural COSCIECE; for there is a natural conscience as well as a spiritual conscience. This is
very evident from the language of the apostle when speaking of the Gentiles– Who show the

work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts
the meanwhile accusing or excusing one another. (Ro 2:15.)And do we not read of those in the
case of the woman taken in adultery, who were convicted by their own conscience, and went out
one by one, beginning at the eldest, even to the last. (Jn 8:9.) The apostle also speaks of
commending himself to every man's conscience, in the sight of God. (2Co 4:2.)
ow as he preached to thousands, he could not have done this unless there was a conscience in
every man, as well as in every good man. Scarcely anything seems to approach the work of
grace so nearly as this; and yet we see in the cases of Saul, Ahab, and Herod, that there may be
the deepest convictions of conscience and yet no saving conversion to God. Thus there is a
receiving the gospel into the natural conscience, producing moral convictions, and a work that
seems at first sight to bear a striking similarity to the work of God upon the soul; and yet the
whole may be a mere imitation of grace, a movement of nature floating upon the surface of the
mind, and at times touching upon the domain of conscience, yet not springing out of the word
of God as brought with a divine power into the heart. (The Word of Men and the Word of God)
Archibald Alexander writes...Peace of conscience is a fruit of reconciliation with God. The blood
which reconciles, when sprinkled on the conscience, produces a sweet peace which can be
obtained in no other way. If the atonement of Christ satisfies the law which condemned us, and
we are assured that this atonement is accepted for us, conscience, which before condemned, as
being the echo of the law, is now pacified. (The Peace of God)”
11. John MacArthur writes that...In 1984 an Avianca Airlines jet crashed in Spain. Investigators
studying the accident made an eerie discovery. The black box cockpit recorders revealed that
several minutes before impact a shrill, computer-synthesized voice from the plane's automatic
warning system told the crew repeatedly in English, Pull up! Pull up!
The pilot, evidently thinking the system was malfunctioning, snapped, Shut up, Gringo! and
switched the system off. Minutes later the plane plowed into the side of a mountain. Everyone on
board died. When I saw that tragic story on the news shortly after it happened, it struck me as a
perfect parable of the way modern people treat guilt--the warning messages of their consciences.
The wisdom of our age says guilt feelings are nearly always erroneous or hurtful; therefore we
should switch them off. But is that good advice? What, after all, is the conscience--this sense of
guilt we all seem to feel?
The conscience is generally seen by the modern world as a defect that robs people of their self-esteem.
Far from being a defect or a disorder, however, your ability to sense your own guilt is a
tremendous gift from God. He designed the conscience into the very framework of the human
soul. It is the automatic warning system that cries, Pull up! Pull up! before you crash and
burn.”
12. Charles Wesley, “I want a principle within of watchful, Godly fear,
A sensibility of sin, a pain to feel it near.
Help me the first approach to feel of pride or wrong desire,
To catch the wand’ring of my will and quench the Spirit’s fire.
From Thee that I no more may stray, no more Thy goodness grieve,
Grant me the filial awe, I pray, the tender conscience give.
Quick as the apple of an eye, O God, my conscience make!

Awake my soul when sin is nigh and keep it still awake.
Almighty God of truth and love, to me Thy pow’r impart;
The burden from my soul remove, the hardness from my heart.
O may the least omission pain my reawakened soul,
And drive me to that grace again which makes the wounded whole.
13. Preceptaustin, “Conscience is a marvelous gift from God, the window that lets in the light of
His truth. If we sin against Him deliberately, that window becomes dirty, and not as much truth
can filter through. Eventually, the window becomes so dirty that it no longer lets in the light. The
Bible calls this a defiled, seared conscience...Do you keep a clean conscience? It is a part of your
inner being that responds to God's truth. When you sin, the window of your conscience becomes
dirty and filters out truth. Avoid sin in your life and live with a clean conscience. Every day feed
yourself truth from the Word of God. (Wiersbe, W: Prayer, Praise and Promises: Ps 51:3-6)
Hurt not your conscience with any known sin. - S. Rutherford
Conscience is that faculty in me which attaches itself to the highest that I know, and tells me what
the highest I know demands that I do.
When there is any debate, quit. There is no debate possible when conscience speaks.
Once we assuage our conscience by calling something a “necessary evil,” it begins to look more
and more necessary and less and less evil. - Sidney J. Harris
Conscience is God’s spy and man’s overseer. -John Trapp
A good conscience and a good confidence go together. -- Thomas Brooks
Conscience is a small, still voice that makes minority reports. -- Franklin P. Jones
Conscience is also what makes a boy tell his mother before his sister does.
Pop used to say about the Presbyterians, 'It don't prevent them committing all the sins there are,
but it keeps them from getting any fun but of it.' - Christopher Morley
The late General Omar Bradley was more serious in commenting on conscience
The world has achieved brilliance without conscience, he conceded. Ours is a world of
nuclear giants and ethical infants.
On the subject of conscience Martin Luther declared before the court of the Roman Empire at
Worms in 1521 My conscience is captive to the Word of God. ... I am more afraid of my own
heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, Self.
When a person comes to faith in Christ, his conscience becomes acutely sensitive to sin. o longer
as a Christian can he sin with impunity. The story is told about an old Indian chief who was
converted. Later a missionary asked him: Chief, how are you doing spiritually? Are you
experiencing victory over the devil? It's like this, the chief replied. I have two dogs inside
me: a good dog and a bad dog. They are constantly fighting with each other. Which dog wins?
asked the puzzled missionary. Whichever one I feed the most, retorted the wise old man. His
conscience was being shaped by the Scriptures.

Billy Graham set out the importance of a clear conscience To have a guilty conscience is a
feeling. Psychologists may define it as a guilt complex, and may seek to rationalize away the sense
of guilt, but once it has been awakened through the application of the law of God, no explanation
will quiet the insistent voice of conscience.
C H Spurgeon spoke frequently about conscience as seen in the following quite pithy
quotations...beloved if you are contemplating sinning as you read this or are caught in the web of
some sin, may the Holy Spirit of the Living God convict you of sin, righteousness and the
judgment to come, not only for your sake of your Christian life but even more so for the sake of
His name...
Conscience may tell me that something is wrong, but how wrong it is conscience itself does not
know. Did any man's conscience, unenlightened by the Spirit, ever tell him that his sins deserved
damnation? Did it ever lead any man to feel an abhorrence of sin as sin? Did conscience ever
bring a man to such self-renunciation that he totally abhorred himself and all his works and
came to Christ?
A man sees his enemy before him. By the light of his candle, he marks the insidious approach. His
enemy is seeking his life. The man puts out the candle and then exclaims, I am now quite at
peace. That is what you do. Conscience is the candle of the Lord. It shows you your enemy. You
try to put it out by saying, Peace, peace! Put the enemy out! God give you grace to thrust sin
out!
Conscience is like a magnetic needle, which, if once turned aside from its pole, will never cease
trembling. You can never make it still until it is permitted to return to its proper place. I recollect
the time when I thought that if I had to live on bread and water all my life and be chained in a
dungeon, I would cheerfully submit to that if I might but get rid of my sins. When sin haunted
and burdened my spirit, I am sure I would have counted the martyr's death preferable to a life
under the lash of a guilty conscience O believe me, guilt upon the conscience is worse than the
body on the rack. Even the flames of the stake may be cheerfully endured, but the burnings of a
conscience tormented by God are beyond all measure unendurable. This side of hell, what can be
worse than the tortures of an awakened conscience?
He was a fool who killed the watchdog because it alarmed him when thieves were breaking into
his house. If conscience upbraids you, feel its upbraiding and heed its rebuke. It is your best
friend. Give me into the power of a roaring lion, but never let me come under the power of an
awakened, guilty conscience. Shut me up in a dark dungeon, among all manner of loathsome
creatures—snakes and reptiles of all kinds—but, oh, give me not over to my own thoughts when I
am consciously guilty before God!
Fire such as martyrs felt at the stake were but a plaything compared with the flames of a burning
conscience. Thunderbolts and tornadoes are nothing in force compared with the charges of a

guilty conscience. When a swarm of bees gets about a man, they are above, beneath, around,
everywhere stinging, every one stinging, until he seems to be stung in every part of his body. So,
when conscience wakes up the whole hive of our sins, we find ourselves compassed about with
innumerable evils: sins at the board and sins on the bed, sins at the task and sins in the pew, sins
in the street and sins in the shop, sins on the land and sins at sea, sins of body, soul, and spirit,
sins of eye, of lip, of hand, of foot, sins everywhere. It is a horrible discovery when it seems to a
man as if sin had become as omnipresent with him as God is.
The conscience of man, when he is really quickened and awakened by the Holy Spirit, speaks the
truth. It rings the great alarm bell. And if he turns over in his bed, that great alarm bell rings out
again and again, The wrath to come! The wrath to come! The wrath to come! othing can be
more horrible, out of hell, than to have an awakened conscience but not a reconciled God—to see
sin, yet not see the Savior—to behold the deadly disease in all its loathsomeness, but not trust the
good Physician, and so to have no hope of ever being healed of our malady. I would bear any
affliction rather than be burdened with a guilty conscience.
It is a blessed thing to have a conscience that will shiver when the very ghost of a sin goes by—a
conscience that is not like our great steamships at sea that do not yield to every wave, but, like a
cork on the water, goes up and down with every ripple, sensitive in a moment to the very
approach of sin. May God the Holy Spirit make us so! This sensitiveness the Christian endeavors
to have, for he knows that if he has it not, he will never be purified from his sin.”
14. Preceptaustin, “God's Word contains our marching orders for being on prayer patrol. Some
of them are:
Pray without ceasing (1Th 5:17-note).
Continue steadfastly in prayer (Ro 12:12-note).
Pray morning, noon, and night (Ps. 55:17) (Spurgeon's note)
Pray always and do not get discouraged (Luke 18:1).
Commit to pray and intercede--
The battle's strong and great's the need;
And this one truth can't be ignored:
Our only help comes from the Lord. --Sper
Praying frequently will lead to praying fervently.
15. Paul never ceased to pray for Timothy. He knew his life was coming to an end, and hopefully
Timothy would carry on the torch for Christ. Every servant of God needs a backup plan because
death will always end every ministry. Timothy was Paul's backup, and that is why he prayed for
him unceasingly. We all need to intercede like this for someone.
Teach Me, Lord, to Intercede!

Lord, I see the countless millions
In the land far o'er the sea,
Dying with no hope of Jesus,
Lost through all eternity;
And I feel so weak and helpless
As I view this desperate need,
Humbly, Lord, I do beseech Thee,
Teach me, now, to intercede.
Lord, I see my friends and neighbors
In a death march toward the grave;
ot one thought of Christ, who bought them,
or the priceless gift He gave;
Then I feel my own undoneness
Viewing thus this crying need,
And I cry with heartfelt anguish,
Teach me, Lord, to intercede.
Lord, I have no wealth to bring Thee,
And my talents are so few;
But I long for all to know Thee,
Love Thee as we ought to do.
So while men with brains and talents
Warn the wicked of their need,
I, within my secret closet,
Close to God, would intercede.
—Anna Van Buren Prat, in Way of Holiness
4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be
filled with joy.
1. Paul remembers the tears of Timothy, and we can only speculate what he is referring to. I
think the view that is expressed by Hiebert makes good sense. He wrote, “Paul does not specify
the occasion for those tears, but the context implies that it was the bitterness of parting from his
revered leader, apparently at Paul's last arrest, that caused the tears. They were genuine tears of
love and concern as his spiritual father was being torn from him. Stimulated by this memory,
Paul longs for reunion, that I may be filled with joy. To see Timothy again would be joy indeed.
Paul's memories afford him great joy as he sits in his dismal dungeon, but once more to get to

see Timothy, his beloved Timothy, will fill Paul's cup of joy to the very brim. Gratitude is coupled
with anticipated joy (Lenski).
2. Preceptaustin, “Epipotheo was a favorite word with Paul describes a strong desire, an intense
craving of possession, a great affection for, a deep desire, an earnest yearning for something with
implication of need. Here it describes the natural yearning of personal affection. Paul loved
Timothy as a man loves his own son and he longed for the joy of renewed fellowship with him
face to face. The force of the original Greek sentence emphasizes that the direction of Paul's
desire is for Timothy. This yearning is further nourished by his constant remembrance of
Timothy's tears.
Paul was continuously (present tense) longing to see Timothy. Why? For one reason he had no
one else of kindred spirit (Philippians 2:20 see note, cf 1Ti 1:15] Timothy was his beloved
spiritual son. (cf 3Jn 1:4). How it must have touched Timothy’s heart to read that not only was
Paul praying for him but was also earnestly longing to see him! This is a mark of Paul's special
love and esteem for Timothy (kindred spirit) and speaks eloquently of the graciousness,
tenderness, and humility of Paul.
3. Barnes, “Greatly desiring to see thee; - see 2Ti_4:9, 2Ti_4:21. It was probably on, account of
this earnest desire that this Epistle was written. He wished to see him, not only on account of the
warm friendship which he had for him, but because he would be useful to him in his present
circumstances.
Being mindful of thy tears - Alluding probably to the tears which he shed at parting from him.
The occasion to which he refers is not mentioned; but nothing is more probable than that
Timothy would weep when separated from such a father and friend. It is not wrong thus to weep,
for religion is not intended to make us stoics or savages.
That I may be filled with joy - By seeing you again. It is easy to imagine what joy it would give
Paul, then a prisoner, and forsaken by nearly all his friends, and about to die, to see a friend
whom he loved as he did this young man. Learn hence, that there may be very pure and warm
friendship between an old and young man, and that the warmth of true friendship is not
diminished by the near prospect of death.
4. Clarke, “Being mindful of thy tears - Whether the apostle refers to the affecting parting with
the Ephesian Church, mentioned Act_20:37, or to the deep impressions made on Timothy’s heart
when he instructed him in the doctrine of Christ crucified, or to some interview between
themselves, it is not certainly known. The mention of this by the apostle is no small proof of his
most affectionate regards for Timothy, whom he appears to have loved as a father loves his only
son.
5. Gill, “Greatly desiring to see thee,.... In his former epistle he had desired him to stay at
Ephesus, there being some work for him to do, which made it necessary he should continue; but
now having answered the apostle's purpose, and he standing in need of him at Rome, being
without any assistant there, some having left him, and others were left by him in other places,
and others were sent by him elsewhere; and it having been some time since he saw Timothy, he
longed for a sight of him:

being mindful of thy tears; shed either at the afflictions and sufferings of the apostle, of which
Timothy, being his companion, was an eyewitness, and he being of a truly Christian sympathizing
spirit, wept with those that wept; or at their parting from each other, as in Act_20:37
that I may be filled with joy; at the sight of him, and not at the remembrance of his tears; for the
last clause is to be read in a parenthesis, and these words stand not connected with that, but with
the preceding part of the text. The apostle intimates, that a sight of his dearly beloved son
Timothy would fill him with joy amidst all his troubles and afflictions he endured for the Gospel:
this is an instance of hearty, sincere, and strong affection.
6.Henry, “He greatly desired to see Timothy, out of the affection he had for him, that he might
have some conversation with him, being mindful of his tears at their last parting. Timothy was
sorry to part with Paul, he wept at parting, and therefore Paul desired to see him again, because
he had perceived by that what a true affection he had for him.
7. Biblical Illustrator, “We cannot be surprised that the apostle craved the presence of Timotny.
He was now a solitary old man, and a prisoner. Of his disciples and fellow-labourers, Titus was
gone unto Dalmatia, Tychicus he had sent to Ephesus, Trophimus was sick at Miletus, Mark was
absent, and only Luke remained with him. Besides, ingratitude and desertion had sorely tried his
affectionate spirit : Alexander the coppersmith had done him much evil ; Demas had forsaken
him and the faith together ; and when first brought up for trial before the imperial tribunal, none
of the disciples had stood by him to cheer and secoud him. To Timothy, therefore, and to the
remembrance of his pious and unfailing affection, the apostle clung very closely ; and his
presence he desired as his greatest earthly solace and support. The delight and satisfaction which
the apostle took in Timothy he also testified by expressing his confidence in his Christian
character, but especially in his faith, the root of all which is Christian in the character of any one
(ver. 5). St. Paul knew him well. During fourteen or fifteen years had this friendship endured, and
many were the trials to which it had been put — trials of the constancy of Timothy's affection,
trials of the integrity of his principles. But Paul had found no decline in his affection, no
instability in his Christian principles ; he therefore trusted him unfeignedly.
The causes of that delight and satisfaction. 1. As the great cause, the first cause, the mover and
originator of all secondary and inferior causes, St. Paul thanks God for the gifts and graces with
which He had enriched Timothy. 2. But God works by means. The means which He employed,
the causes to which as to instruments we must look in creating in Timothy such a trustworthy
and reliable Christian character, were these three — maternal piety, early biblical education, and
the ministry of the apostle. (H. J. Carter Smith, M.A.)
He seems not merely to speak of the former tears of Timothy shed at bidding Paul farewell (for
tears are usually elicited at parting, comp. Acts XX. 37), but of his habitual tears under the
influence of pious feeling. In this respect also he had him like-minded (Phil. ii. 20) with himself.
Tears, the flower of the heart, indicate either the greatest hypocrisy or the utmost sincerity.(J. A.
Bengel.) The power of tears : — There is no power that man can wield so mighty as that of
genuine tears. The eloquence of words is powerful, but the eloquence of tears is far more so.
What manly heart has not been often arrested by the genuine sobs of even some poor child in the

50508732 ii-timothy-1-commentary

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