THE SECOND LETTER TO TIMOTHY
Introduction and Chapters 1:1-2:13
Greeting and Exhortations to Persevere in Suffering
Holy Lord Who Calls us to Discipleship,
Give us the courage of Saints Paul and Timothy to
proclaim Your Gospel of salvation despite the negative responses of the secular
world. Help us to remember that our time on earth is fleeting, and it is our
love for You and the promise of spending eternity with You that must motivate
us to offer our service as evangelists while there is still time. Send Your
Holy Spirit, Lord, to guide us in our study of St. Paul's final letter before
he joined You in eternity. We pray in the name of God the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit. Amen.
+ + +
The Resurrected Jesus to the disciple
Ananias concerning Paul: "for this man is my chosen instrument to bring my
name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel. I myself will
show him how much he must suffer for my name."
Acts 9:15
Timothy, so it is recorded, was the first
to receive the episcopate of the parish of Ephesus...
Eusebius, Bishop of
Caesarea (AD 314-339), Church History, III, 4.6
Paul spent two whole years at Rome as
a prisoner at large, and preached the word of God without restraint. Thus,
after he had made his defense, it is said that the apostle was sent again upon
the ministry of preaching, and that upon coming to the same city a second time
he suffered martyrdom. In this imprisonment, he wrote his second epistle to
Timothy, in which he mentions his first defense and his impending death.
Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, Church
History, II.22.1-2
St. Paul identifies himself as the author of the letter in his greeting in 1:1. This letter, along with the First Timothy and Titus, forms a distinct group within the letters attributed to St. Paul and are known as the "Pauline Epistles." All three differ from Paul's other letters in form and content. The other letters Paul wrote (except for the Letter to Philemon that concerned a Christian slave) were sent to Christian communities, addressing their strengths, weaknesses. Paul sent the three Pastoral Epistles to Saints Timothy and Titus who were pastors of Christian communities, and the focus of the letters concerns their ministries and Paul's desire to encourage them in their continuing efforts to serve Christ despite hardships they might encounter.
Much of what we know about Paul's life and conversion to Christianity comes to us through his disciple St. Luke and his history of the earliest years of the New Covenant Church in the Book of Acts of Apostles. We also have interesting personal information Paul provides in many of the fourteen letters ascribed to him in the New Testament canon.
By his own account, St. Paul was born a Jew named Saul of the tribe of Benjamin in the city of Tarsus on the Cydnus River, the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia on the coast of modern southeastern Turkey about 20 miles from the Mediterranean Sea. Tarsus was granted special status as a "free" Roman city by Marc Antony (died 31 BC), and its privileges were confirmed and enlarged by Octavian/Augustus Caesar (ruled 27 BC " AD 14).
Saul must have been one of the brightest young Jewish men of his generation to have been chosen to study in Jerusalem with the great Jewish rabbinic scholar, teacher of the Law of Moses, and member of the Jewish High Court, Rabbi Gamaliel (Acts 22:3 and 5:34-39). He probably studied with Gamaliel the customary three or four years and was then appointed an officer of the Jewish Law Court, the Sanhedrin. He was serving in this capacity when he witnessed the martyrdom of St. Stephen in circa AD 37 (see Acts 7:58-8:1), and as an officer of the Sanhedrin Saul was sent to Damascus, Syria to arrest other Jewish Christians who had fled persecution in Jerusalem. The turning point in his life was his encounter with the risen Savior on the road to Damascus who called Saul to serve as His apostle to the evangelize the Gentiles (Acts 9:15-16). It is a story repeated three times by Luke in Acts of Apostles (Acts 9:1-19; 22:4-16; and 26:1-23). Saul adopted the Roman name Paulus (Paul) and began to evangelize Gentiles to Christianity with the same zeal he previously employed in persecuting Christians.
The Second Letter to Timothy is the last of the three Pauline Pastoral letters. Paul probably wrote it in AD 67 from Rome during St. Paul's second imprisonment and just before he suffered martyrdom for his faith in Jesus Christ (2 Tm 1:8, 16-17; 2:9). Paul identifies his preaching of the Gospel as the reason for his imprisonment and offers Timothy, as a motive for steadfast faith, his own example of firmness in belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ despite adverse circumstances.
At the time Paul wrote this second letter, Timothy was serving as the pastor to the Christian community in Ephesus (1 Tim 1:3), one of the most important cities in the Roman Empire with a population estimated at 300,000. Like Rome and Alexandria, Egypt, it was one of the major cosmopolitan centers of Greco-Roman culture and the wealthiest and most populated city in the Roman Province of Asia. Located on the east side of the Aegean Sea along the southwest coast of Asia Minor, the city provided a cultural and trade link between the western part of Asia Minor and the rest of the Mediterranean world. Ephesus was not only a center of Greco-Roman culture but the center of pagan worship, especially for the worship of the goddess Artemis (the Roman Diana). The magnificent Temple of Artemis, recognized as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, dominated the city religiously and economically.
As Christianity spread across the Mediterranean world, Ephesus became a major stop on Paul's missionary journeys (Acts 18:19-21; 19:1-41) and the Christian community where he stayed the longest (Acts 19:10). Paul visited Ephesus in his second and third missionary journeys (Acts 18:19; 19:1). During his third journey, he spent about two years there (Acts 19:10-20), preaching, performing miracles, making many converts, and seriously threatening the trade of the silversmiths associated with selling statuettes of the goddess Artemis (Acts 19:23-27). The growth of Christianity in the city resulted in a riot that forced Paul and members of his missionary team to leave in haste (Acts 19:28-29). Paul needed a man of strong faith and solid doctrine to shepherd the Christian community at Ephesus, and he chose his young colleague, Timothy, ordaining him as Ephesus' first Christian bishop (Eusebius, Church History, III, 4.6).
Not only did St. Timothy serve as Ephesus' first Christian bishop, but tradition records that St. John the Apostle spend his final years there with the Virgin Mary who Jesus place in his care from the Cross (Jn 19:26-27). Ephesus was the site of the Third Ecumenical Council in AD 431 when the council declared Bishop Nestorius and his Nestorian theology heresy and the Virgin Mary not only the mother of Jesus but "Theotokos," the Mother of God.
The most obvious difference between the two letters to Timothy is the tone of Paul's second letter that is more personal. He addresses Timothy in vivid and affectionate terms, and the letter has the character of a final exhortation to a beloved spiritual son. The reader gets a sense of Paul's courage and faith despite his sufferings and discouragements in what he realizes is the end of his apostolic ministry. Paul urges Timothy not to let fear dissuade him from preserving in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He presents Jesus' resurrection and role as the promised Redeemer-Messianic as the heart of the Gospel message. Paul announces his committment, in whatever time he has left, to fully declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to support the faith and conviction of others, and to lay down his life for his belief in the Resurrected Son of God and His gift of eternal salvation.
The principal divisions of the Second Letter to Timothy:
| BIBLICAL PERIOD | # 12 The New Covenant Kingdom of the Church | |||
| FOCUS | Perseverance in Suffering | Perseverance in Right Doctrine | ||
| COVENANT | The New Covenant in Christ Jesus | |||
| SCRIPTURE | 1:1-------------1:6----------------------------2:14-------------------------4:9------------4:22 | |||
| DIVISION | Greeting and thanksgiving for Timothy's faith | Reminder of pastoral responsibilities | Charge to preach the truth and warning of approaching apostasy | Personal requests and conclusion |
| TOPIC | Power and perseverance of the Gospel | Protecting and proclaiming the Gospel | ||
| Reminder and requirements | Resistance and requests | |||
| LOCATION | Prison in Rome | |||
| TIME | AD 67 | |||
The main themes of the letter:
During his career as Christ's apostle to the Gentiles, St. Paul made four missionary journeys. On his second missionary journey, Paul and Silas set out to visit the churches Paul and Barnabas founded during the first mission journey, but this time they set out by land rather than by sea, taking the Roman road through Cilicia and the Cilician Gates, a gorge through the Taurus Mountains.1 Next, they traveled northwest. In Asia Minor, they preach and found churches in Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium.
In Lystra, a young disciple named Timothy joined them. Timothy's mother and grandmother were Jewish-Christians, but his father was a Greek Gentile (Acts 16:1). It was probably because of his Gentile father that Timothy was not circumcised as a baby, but sometime after he joined the missionary team, Paul asked him to submit to the Jewish ritual of circumcision. Paul did not believe that circumcision was necessary for a baptized believer. However, since it was always Paul's goal to first present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Jews, and since Timothy was legally Jewish because he had a Jewish mother, Paul asked Timothy to submit to circumcision. The purpose was to make Timothy acceptable to the Jews so he could become a more effective witness in reaching them with the Gospel (Acts 16:3). See what Paul wrote about circumcision of the flesh as no longer a valid requirement for Christians in the New Covenant (Rom 2:25-29; 1 Cor 7:18-20; Gal 2:3; 5:2-5; 6:12-13).
Notice that the tone of Paul's letter is more personal than his other letters. Paul is suffering as a prisoner in Rome (1:8, 16; 2:9). He expresses his fondness for his spiritual son, Timothy, using terms of fatherhood to convey his affection (1:2; 2:1) and wants to give him a final exhortation to keep the faith and persevere in his mission to share the Gospel of salvation.
2 Timothy 1:1-5 ~ Greeting and Thanksgiving for Timothy's Faith
1 Paul, an
apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God for the promise of life in Christ
Jesus, 2 to
Timothy, my dear child: grace [charis], mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 I am grateful [thankful] to God, whom I worship with a
clear conscience as my ancestors did, as I remember you constantly in my
prayers, night and day. 4 I yearn to see you again, recalling
your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, 5 as I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your
grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and that I am confident lives also
in you.
[...] = charis; the Greek word expressed as a noun
or verb; as a noun for "grace," but also can convey gratitude/grateful,
thankfulness/thankful, or to show favor.
The greeting in Paul's letters follow a standard form based on the common Greco-Roman practice of letter writing, but with the addition of Semitic and Christian elements. The three basic components are:
As in most of his letters, Paul begins by declaring his authority as an
apostle of Christ Jesus and adds by the will of God.
Question: What does the word "apostle" mean?
Answer: The Greek word "apostolos" literally means "one who is
sent." An apostle is an emissary or envoy sent with his master's authority to
deliver a message.
In the New Testament the word "apostle" designates:
Question: Why does Paul consider himself an "apostle" by the
"will of God"? See Acts 9:1-19.
Answer: Paul considers himself an apostle by the "will of God" because
Jesus personally chose him in his Damascus Road conversion and appointed him a missionary
to the Gentiles.
This divine appointment, Paul believed, elevated him as a true apostle of Christ (Rom 1:1; 1 Cor 1:1; 2 Cor 1:1; Gal 1:1; Eph 1:1; Col 1:1) and made him equal to the twelve other Apostles who had also seen and talked with Jesus before and after His Resurrection (Acts 10:41). He vigorously defends his title of apostle in most of his letters (see Romans 1:1; 11:13; 1 Corinthians 1:1; 9:1-2; 15:9-10; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; 1 Timothy 1:1; 2:6-7; 2 Timothy 1:1; Titus 1:1).3 For example, in 1 Corinthians 9:1-2 Paul defends his title of apostle to the church in Corinth: "Am I not free" Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? Even if to others I am not an apostle, to you at any rate I am, for you are the seal of my apostolate in the Lord." CCC# 858-60; 875.
2 to Timothy, my dear child:
Paul affectionately refers to Timothy, the receiver of his letter, as agapetos
teknon which means dear or beloved child. Paul includes both a blessing for
him and expresses thanks to God for his spiritual child for whom he constantly
prays (verse 3). Although Timothy was apparently not converted by Paul (Acts 16:1), he was his first permanent collaborator, and Paul praised him to the
Christians of Philippi; I have no one comparable to him for genuine interest
in whatever concerns you ... As a child with a father, he served along with me in
the cause of the gospel (Phil 2:20, 22). The metaphor of a "father," like
the other expressions of parenting in Paul's letters, is meant to convey the
tender love that Paul feels for Timothy as his "spiritual son."
Timothy's name is Greek and means "to honor God;" it is a name he
continued to fulfill in his ministry.
Question: What do we know from Scripture about St. Timothy? See
Acts 16:1-3; 18:5; 19:22; 20:4;
Rom 16:21;
1 Cor 4:17; 16:10-11;
2 Cor 1:1;
Phil 1:1; 2:19-22;
Col 1:1;
1 Thess 1:1; 3:2;
2 Thess 1:1; 3:3;
Phlm 1;
1 Tim 1:3;
2 Tim 1:5;
Heb 13:23.
Answer:
Tradition records, as the elderly pastor of the Christian community in Ephesus, St. Timothy suffered martyrdom during a period of Roman persecution.
grace [charis], mercy, and peace from God the Father and
Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 I
am grateful [thankful] to God, whom I worship with a clear conscience as my
ancestors did, as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.
Paul continues the greeting with a blessing and adds the
word "mercy" to his customary greeting of "grace and peace" as he did in his
first letter to Timothy (for his usual greeting of grace and peace see
1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2;
Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2;
Col 1:2; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:2).
The typical Greek word in a greeting was chairein [khah-ee-ren] which simply means "greetings." However, Paul substituted chairein "greetings" with charis [khar'-ece], meaning "favor" in Greek but with the distinctive meaning and understanding of the Hebrew word hen, meaning "grace" which is a gift of God. And then to this greeting, Paul added the Greek word for "peace," eirene [i-ray'-nay], which reflects the typical Semitic greeting, shalom, "peace" (see 2 Macc 1:1), yielding a combined Gentile and Jewish greeting.
Paul's Jewish audience may have recognized in his greeting an echo of the ancient priestly blessing for God's holy people found in Numbers 6:24-26, "May Yahweh bless you and keep you. May Yahweh let his face shine on you and be gracious to you (give you grace). May Yahweh show you his face and bring you peace" [NJB]. If Paul does intend to echo the priestly blessing, then this is an ecclesial blessing, and "grace" represents God's covenantal grace revealed in Jesus Christ while "peace" is the deep and abiding contentment that comes from the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. Paul follows his blessing with a "thanksgiving" for Timothy's faith in verse 3.
3 I am
grateful [thankful] to God, whom I worship with a clear conscience as my
ancestors did, as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.
Paul states that his attitude of faith and service is the
same as that of his ancestors who were bound to God by the Sinai Covenant.
Although the Gospel of Jesus Christ is something new in salvation history, it
is not a break from earlier revelations of God but brings those revelations to
fulfillment. Vatican II states, "The Church of Christ acknowledges that in
God's plan of salvation the beginning of her faith and election is to be found
in the patriarchs. Moses and the prophets [...]. The church cannot forget that
she received the revelation of the Old Testament by way of that people with
whom God in his inexpressible mercy established the ancient covenant [...]. She
is mindful, moreover, that the Apostles, the pillars on which the Church
stands, were of Jewish descent, as were many of those early disciples who
proclaimed the Gospel of Christ to the world" (Nostra aetate, 4).
4 I yearn
to see you again, recalling your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, 5 as
I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in
your mother Eunice and that I am confident lives also in you.
Paul recalls an earlier parting from Timothy and commends
him for his faith that was instilled in him and nurtured by his grandmother and
mother through the study of Sacred Scripture. Mentioning Timothy's mother and
grandmother reminds us that parents have a strong influence on their children,
passing on their devotion to their faith in God or the lack of it.
2 Timothy 1:6-14 ~ Reminding Timothy of His Responsibilities
and the Characteristics of a Faithful Minister
6 For this
reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through
the imposition of my hands. 7 For
God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and
self-control. 8
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a
prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength
that comes from God. 9 He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according
to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in
Christ Jesus before time began, 10 but
now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus, who
destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed preacher
and apostle and teacher. 12 On
this account I am suffering these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know him
in whom I have believed and am confident that he is able to guard what has been
entrusted to me until that day. 13 Take as your norm the sound words
that you heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
14 Guard this rich trust
with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.
"For this reason" refers to Timothy's sincere faith. Paul reminds him of the fullness of grace he received from the Holy Spirit when Paul and a gathering of Church elders ordained him to his priestly ministry as a bishop by the imposition of hands. He must use that power to stir into flame the gift of God to courageously complete his mission in Ephesus. Then as now in the Church, the imposing or "laying on of hands" signifies a transfer of spiritual power (CCC 1558, 1577).
8 So do
not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes
from God.
Paul refers to his imprisonment in Rome because he has dared
to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He urges Timothy not to be ashamed of
defending his belief in the Gospel and not to be ashamed of Paul who is in
prison like a common criminal. He wants Timothy to have his same fortitude to
bear hardship for the sake of the Gospel with the spiritual strength that comes
from God.
9 He saved
us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to
his own design
God, through His divine plan, called them to a "holy
life," and the grace they receive is entirely free and unmerited by their
works/efforts (see Rom 6:23; Tit 3:5).
And the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before
time began
God's divine plan for humanity's salvation is an on-going
process that started "before time began" (Jn 17:3-5; Eph 1:4).
10 but now made manifest through the
appearance of our savior Christ Jesus, who destroyed death and brought life and
immortality to light through the gospel, 11
for which I was appointed preacher and apostle and teacher.
But, in the age of the Messiah and His Kingdom of the New
Covenant Church, God's plan is now manifested in Jesus Christ who conquered
death in His resurrection and brought humanity the gift of eternal life through
the Gospel message of salvation. Through Jesus the Messiah, God calls us to cooperate
with His grace, becoming sanctified through our good works in His name of to
reach our goal of Heaven (Phil 2:12; Heb 12:14; CCC 1996). It was for this
reason, Paul writes, that he was "appointed preacher, apostle, and teacher."
12 On this
account I am suffering these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know him in
whom I have believed and am confident that he is able to guard what has been
entrusted to me until that day.
Paul mentions that the reason for his imprisonment was
preaching the Gospel but testifies that he is not ashamed because he knows God
will protect his gift of eternal salvation until he meets his Lord on his Day
of Judgment.
13 Take as
your norm the sound words that you heard from me, in the faith and love that
are in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard
this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.
The Gospel of Jesus that Timothy received from Paul is a
sacred deposit of faith now entrusted to Timothy (1 Tim 6:20). It is Timothy's
responsibility, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to preserve it from
corruption, to defend it from attack, and to pass it on to his successors (CCC
84, 256).
2 Timothy 1:15-18 ~ Paul's False and True Friends 14 You know that everyone in Asia deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorus because he often gave me a new heart and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 But when he came to Rome, he promptly searched for me and found me.
Paul expresses his disappointment in the Christian co-workers from Asia who deserted him in his hour of need, perhaps also failing to appear in his defense at his trial. Asia was the Roman province that is today southwestern Turkey. The exception was Onesiphorus, a Christian from Ephesus who was not afraid to visit Paul in prison.
18 May the
Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day. And you know very well
the services he rendered in Ephesus.
Apparently, Onesiphorus had died recently:
Paul offers a prayer for God to grant Onesiphorus mercy on "that day" of Onesiphorus' judgment. In verse 13, Paul's first "the Lord" refers to Jesus and the second to God the Father and Divine Judge. Praying for the dead was a practice in the Old Covenant and continues in the New Covenant Church as we pray for the Church suffering in Purgatory. Judas Maccabee prayed for his dead soldiers (2 Macc 12:43-46), Jesus prayed for dead Lazarus (Jn 11:41-44), and Peter prayed for Dorcas, a dead holy woman (Acts 9:37-43).
Before the Christ descended to Sheol/Hades to raise the dead (Apostles' Creed; 1 Pt 3:18-22; 4:6; CCC 634), all those who had died, the righteous and the wicked, went to the abode of the dead where they awaited the coming of the Redeemer-Messiah. However, their conditions were not the same; the righteous dead banqueted with Father Abraham while the wicked suffered in atonement for their sins (see Jesus' description of Sheol in Lk 16:19-31 in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man and CCC 632-33, 958, 1032). After Christ preached salvation to the souls in Sheol, He took the righteous into Heaven. From then onward, Sheol became only a place of purification for those destined for Heaven but in need of further purification. The Church then called this state of purification "Purgatory" (see 1 Cor 3:12-15). Sheol/Hades/Purgatory will remain until the Final Judgment (Rev 20:13-14). Paul will mention his friend's family again in 4:19.
2 Timothy 2:1-7 ~ The Characteristics of a Good Soldier in Christ
1 So you,
my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And what you heard from me through many
witnesses entrust to faithful people who will have the ability to teach others
as well. 3 Bear your share
of hardship along with me like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 To satisfy the one who recruited him, a
soldier does not become entangled in the business affairs of life. 5 Similarly, an athlete cannot receive
the winner's crown except by competing according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer ought to have the
first share of the crop. 7 Reflect
on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
Paul uses this affection expression again because he considers Timothy his spiritual son who he has raised to Christian maturity through his teachings. In this passage, Paul shows a concern for Timothy's responsibility to safeguard the faith. In verse 2, Paul writes about the chain of succession that reaches back from Jesus to the apostles to the bishops they ordained like Timothy. Paul charges Timothy to transmit these same traditions in the way he received them to those who will succeed him. He will do this through public instruction in the faith, the sacramental imposition of hands (baptism, confirmation, anointing of the sick, ordination), and the witness of a holy life (1 Tim 5:22; 6:20; 2 Tim 1:6, 13-14; 3:10).
Question: To what other occupations does Paul
compare the hardworking pastor?
Answer: He compares a pastor to a soldier focused
on his mission, to an athlete competing to win the victory's crown that is
eternal life, and a farmer whose hard work entitles him to a share of the harvest.
7 Reflect
on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
Paul asks Timothy to reflect on the need for singleness
of purpose in his mission to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, even when encountering
hardships, and he must trust God to show him what he must do to accomplish that
goal.
2 Timothy 2:8-13 ~ The Unchained Word of God
8 Remember
Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David: such is my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, even to the
point of chains, like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. 10 Therefore,
I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too
may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory.
11 This
saying is trustworthy: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; 12 if we persevere, we shall also reign
with him. But if we deny him, he will deny us. 13 If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he
cannot deny himself.
Jesus is the heart of Paul's Gospel, a word he has repeated three times (1:8, 10 2:8). "Gospel" literally means "good tidings" or "good news;" in Greek the word is evangelion. When Paul uses the word he means the sum of Jesus' teachings which those who believe in Him accept with their minds and hearts and strive to put into practice in their lives. It is "news" because what Jesus revealed had previously been hidden "from the foundation of the world" (1 Pt 1:20). It is "good" because it reveals the infinite goodness of God, who became man. And it is through Jesus Christ that all the benefits of divine grace have been conferred on a fallen humanity.
He mentions Jesus connection to King David because it is through Jesus' natural birth as a descendant of David and his miraculous rebirth in the Resurrection that Jesus is the long-awaited Redeemer-Messiah that Paul preaches (CCC 436-37). Jesus fulfills God's covenant promise to David to raise up the Messiah-King from David's descendants and to enthrone Him over an eternal New Covenant kingdom with sovereignty over all nations ( 2 Sam 7:12-16; 23:5; 1 Kng 2:4; 2 Chron 13:5; Ps 89:3-4; 110:1; Jer 31:31; 32:40; 40:5; Dan 7:13-14; Sirach 45:25; Lk 1:32-33).
When Paul was imprisoned in Rome the first time in AD 60, he was not chained but was only under "house arrest" where he would receive visitors and teach the churches in Rome. This time his imprisonment is entirely different. However, while he is physically chained, his Gospel message of eternal salvation in Christ Jesus is not and continues to spread through faithful and true preachers like Timothy.
10 Therefore,
I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too
may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory.
The inheritance of eternal life is the gift of the Gospel
message; it is what the Old Covenant was incapable of offering along with the
indwelling of God the Holy Spirit in the lives of those baptized in the life,
death, and resurrection of the Christ.
11 This
saying is trustworthy: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; 12 if we persevere, we shall also reign
with him. But if we deny him, he will deny us. 13 If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he
cannot deny himself.
Many Biblical scholars believe verses 11-12 repeat part
of an ancient Christian hymn.
Question: How are verses 11b-13 like the blessings
and curse-judgments of the Old Covenant in Leviticus 26:3-46 and Deuteronomy 28:1-69 and how are they different?
Answer: The Old Testament passages list the
blessings for obedience to the Sinai Covenant and curse-judgments for failing
in obedience to the covenant laws and prohibitions. In the same way, Paul's
little hymn sets conditional propositions for the blessings and curse-judgments
that await Christians at the Judgment. However, the Old Covenant blessings and
judgments were temporal while the New Covenant blessing and judgments are
eternal.
The hymn makes these three theological points:
Questions for reflection or discussion:
What lesson does Paul teach us in his request to Timothy concerning
submitting to the Jewish ritual of circumcision that was no longer required by
the Christian Church? Can you think of other servants of Christ who made certain
adjustments to reach a broader audience in their mission work and
evangelization?
Answer: The lesson is that sometimes we may have to go beyond
the minimum requirements to reach our goal of evangelization. St. Paul dropped
his Jewish name, Saul, and used a Roman name, Paulus (Paul) in evangelizing
Gentiles. Mother Theresa and her sister nuns of the Missionaries of Charity adopted
a form of dress for their religious order that resembled the sarees Indian
women wore to be better received by the poor and dying Indian men and women
they served.
However, we must never compromise our beliefs expressed in the Church's dogmas and doctrines that were transmitted from Jesus to His Apostles and disciples and down through the centuries to us just to be accepted. Paul wrote: As we have said before, and now say again, if anyone preches to you a gospel other than the one that you received, let that one be accursed! (Gal 1:9).
Endnotes:
1. The Cilician Gates (also called the Gulek Pass) is a pass through
the Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey, connecting the low plains of Cilicia
to the Anatolian Plateau through the narrow gorge of the Gokoluk River.
2. In Greco-Roman letters, a prayer usually followed the greeting. Paul often included the same elements (except in his letters to the Galatians and Titus), but expressed a Christian thanksgiving formula and often included the principal theme of the letter. In 2 Corinthians, the "thanksgiving" becomes a blessing, and in his letter to the Ephesians, a long blessing comes before the "thanksgiving." Sometimes Paul blends the "thanksgiving" into the body of the letter as in 1 Thessalonians. See a short "thanksgiving" in Paul's greeting in Romans 1:8.
3. The exceptions are the letters to the Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and Hebrews. The Letter to the Hebrerws that lacks a greeting was probably a homily Paul gave to the Jewish-Christians in Jerusalem that was copied down and sent out to other Jewish-Christians communities and therefore only has an added closing to the main body of the address.
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2019 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.
Additional Catechism references for this lesson (* indicates Scripture is either quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
Chapter 1 ~ 1:3 (CCC 1794*);
1:5 (CCC 2220);
1:6 (CCC 1577*, 1590);
1:8 (CCC 2471, 2506);
1:9-10 (CCC 257, 1021*)'
1:12-14 (CCC 84*);
1:12 (CCC 149);
1:13-14 (CCC 857*);
1:14 (CCC 1202)
Chapter 2 ~ 2:5 (CCC 1264);
2:8 (CCC 437*);
2:11-12 (CCC 2641*);
2:11 (CCC 1010)