Notes on Second Timothy, Chapters One and Two
Text: II Timothy 1:1–2:26
Series: Restoration Sermons
Date:
Speaker: Ed Rangel
Location: Waupaca Church of Christ
Bible Version: NASB 1995
Sermon Type: Expository
Learning Objectives
By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:
- Describe Paul's emotional state in II Timothy 1:1-6 — his longing to see Timothy, his tears, his confidence in Timothy's faith — and explain why this letter is described as Paul's saddest.
- Explain what Paul means by "stir up the gift" (II Tim. 1:6) and identify the two things Timothy should not be ashamed of.
- State the content of the "holy calling" described in II Timothy 1:9-10 and explain why Paul connects his own suffering to it.
- Identify the contrast between Onesiphorus (who sought Paul out) and the many who turned away, and explain what made Onesiphorus's loyalty costly.
- List at least six of the ten specific exhortations in II Timothy 2:1-22 and explain the organizing logic: what Paul is building in Timothy and in those Timothy will teach.
Thesis
Second Timothy is a letter from a prisoner to his most trusted companion — written with the awareness that Paul will not leave Rome alive. The two chapters are saturated with the tension between Paul's circumstances (imprisonment, abandonment, suffering) and his instructions (teach, endure, handle the word rightly, flee, pursue). The letter's message is: the difficulties are real; the task continues; the suffering is expected; the reward is certain.
Burden
The outline identifies the letter as Paul's last and calls it "a sad one." The sadness is not self-pity — Paul is clear-eyed about his situation and confident about the outcome (II Tim. 4:6-8). The sadness is the sadness of a man who has given everything to a work he will not see finished, writing to the companion he trusts most with the continuation of it. Every exhortation in these chapters carries that weight: Paul is not giving Timothy general advice about ministry; he is handing the work off to the one who must carry it after Paul is gone.
Introduction
"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my beloved son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord" (II Tim. 1:1-2). The letter opens with the same warmth as I Timothy but with a changed frame: the "promise of life in Christ Jesus" in the salutation signals that Paul is writing with eternity in view. The life the letter points toward is not the present one.
The outline notes the historical context: written about A.D. 66 from Rome. This is the Neronian imprisonment — not the relative freedom of the first Roman imprisonment that produced the prison letters (Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians) but the second, harsher confinement from which Paul would not emerge. The letter is a last will and testament in epistle form.
I. Paul's Love for Timothy (1:1-6)
The salutation carries Paul's warmth at its fullest: "my beloved son." But warmth is not the only emotion. "I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day, longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy" (vv. 3-4). Paul remembers Timothy's tears — from their last separation, or from the moment of Paul's arrest, or from a conversation Paul has not forgotten. The longing is real and physical: he wants to see Timothy, not merely correspond with him.
He rejoiced in Timothy's faith (v. 5): "For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well." The three-generation faith is the ground of Paul's confidence: this is not a shallow or recent belief but one that has been forming since childhood.
Timothy's gift (vv. 6-7): "I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands." The gift needs active fanning — it is not self-sustaining. Paul does not say the gift has been lost, only that it needs to be stirred up. And the reason it may have been allowed to cool is addressed in the next verse: "For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline" (v. 7). Timidity — deilia — cowardice, fearfulness. The spirit God gives is not that. Whatever has allowed the gift to cool, it is not what God provided.
II. Stir Up His Gift (1:7-8)
Do not know what the gift was. Paul does not specify, and speculation is not profitable. What matters is that it was real, it was given, and it required active use to remain vigorous.
Should not be ashamed of Christ (v. 8): "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord." The public acknowledgment of Jesus in a situation where that acknowledgment carries risk — this is what shame avoids. Paul names it specifically because it is the temptation of the moment: Paul is in prison, some have turned away, the situation calls for distancing oneself from the imprisoned apostle. Timothy must not do that.
Should not be ashamed of Paul's suffering (v. 8): "or of me His prisoner." This is the harder ask. To stand with a prisoner is to accept some of the suspicion and danger that attaches to his situation. Paul is asking Timothy to resist that temptation — not for Paul's sake but for the gospel's.
Suffer hardships (v. 8): "but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God." The call is not comfort but companionship in suffering — which is only tolerable "according to the power of God," the power that holds the sufferer steady when the circumstance would crush him.
III. Steadfast and Patient (1:9-14)
The holy calling (v. 9): "who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity." The calling is holy — set apart, belonging to God — and it is not earned. Paul plants the calling in eternity: "from all eternity" (pro chronōn aiōniōn) — before time began, the purpose was in place. The suffering Paul endures does not contradict the calling; it confirms it.
How Christ brought life (v. 10): "but 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." The gospel is the instrument through which death is abolished and life is made visible. Paul's appointment as its preacher is his connection to the eternal purpose (v. 11).
Why Paul suffered (v. 12): "For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day." The ground of Paul's non-shame is not stoic endurance but specific confidence in a specific Person. "I know whom I have believed" — not merely what, but whom. The relationship gives the confidence.
The pattern of sound words (v. 13): "Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." The word hypotypōsin — pattern, sketch, model — describes a form to be reproduced. Timothy is to replicate the pattern Paul gave him: not to innovate, not to improve it, but to hold it and reproduce it.
IV. Paul's Friends and Foes (1:15-18)
Many turned away from him. "You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Onesiphorus" — wait: the text should read "among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes" (v. 15). Onesiphorus is the contrast: "The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains" (v. 16). Paul first identifies those who abandoned him — Phygelus and Hermogenes — and then describes the one who did not. The contrast is deliberately structured: in the context of mass desertion, one man sought Paul out and found him (v. 17: "but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me").
The loyalty of Onesiphorus was costly. To seek out a prisoner, to be seen associating with him, to "not be ashamed of my chains" — in a context where association with Paul could mean official suspicion — this required deliberate choice. Paul's prayer for him: "The Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day" (v. 18). The future orientation of the prayer ("that day") indicates that Paul may not have seen Onesiphorus again before the letter was written.
V. Timothy Exhorted to Be Faithful (2:1-22)
The second chapter is a concentrated series of exhortations held together by the image of faithful transmission: the gospel is to be passed from Paul to Timothy to faithful men to others (v. 2: "the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also"). The chain of transmission is four links: Paul → Timothy → faithful men → others.
Should teach other faithful men. The selection criterion is "faithful" — not the most talented or the most prominent, but those who can be trusted with the deposit and who will transmit it accurately.
Keep himself free from the affairs of the world (v. 4). Paul uses three metaphors: the soldier who does not entangle himself in civilian pursuits so he can please the one who enlisted him; the athlete who competes by the rules; the farmer who is the first to receive the harvest. Each metaphor names a discipline that produces a reward and a disqualification that prevents it.
Remember the sufferings of Paul (v. 8-9): "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal." Paul's suffering is the demonstration of the gospel's power — the person who proclaimed it and refused to recant it, even in chains, attests to its truth by the price he paid for it.
The blessings of faithful service (vv. 11-13): the "faithful saying" of 2:11-13 is a confessional poem: "If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself." The symmetry of the conditions is exact: death with Christ leads to life; endurance leads to reigning; denial leads to being denied. The final clause is not comfort for unbelief but a statement of God's integrity: He cannot deny Himself by being faithful to those who have abandoned him.
Handle aright the word of truth (v. 15): orthotomounta — to cut straight, to handle accurately. The image may be of a road-cutter laying a straight path or a craftsman making a clean cut. The person who handles the word of truth accurately has no need to be ashamed; the person who cuts it crookedly has built a path that leads somewhere other than the destination.
Flee youthful lusts (v. 22): "Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." The same flee-pursue structure as I Timothy 6:11. Youthful lusts are not exclusively sexual — they include the characteristic temptations of youth: impatience, desire for recognition, love of controversy, the ambition that bypasses the process.
VI. Right Conduct (2:23-26)
Refuse ignorant questionings (v. 23): "But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels." The word apaideutos — ignorant, uneducated — names the quality of the questions: they are not serious theological inquiry but the generation of controversy for its own sake. The response is refusal, not engagement.
Lord's servants must not strive (v. 24): "The Lord's slave must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged." The profile is not of a man who avoids controversy by avoiding engagement but of one who engages without quarreling — kind, able, patient. The manner of the engagement is as important as its content.
Be apt to teach, patient when wronged. Anekakos — patient when wronged, not resentful. The person correcting others must not be wounded by the resistance they offer.
Correct the evil ones with gentleness (v. 25): "with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth." The purpose of correction is repentance and recovery of the truth — not the defeat of an opponent. "Perhaps" (mēpote) introduces appropriate epistemic humility: the outcome is God's to give, not the corrector's to demand.
Application
The letter's two-chapter summary for Timothy — and for every preacher and elder — is: know whom you have believed; guard what has been entrusted to you; entrust it to faithful men; suffer for it without shame; flee what poisons it; pursue what it produces. The present suffering is not evidence against the calling; it is the expected accompaniment of the calling.
Conclusion
"The Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day" (II Tim. 1:18). Paul's prayer for Onesiphorus is the chapter's most personal moment — and it points to the sermon's conclusion. The day Paul has in mind is the judgment. In that day, the question about every preacher, elder, and servant who carried this deposit will be: did he guard it? did he pass it on? did he suffer for it without shame? The answer Onesiphorus modeled — seeking out the prisoner, finding him, not being ashamed of the chains — is the answer the letter is trying to produce in Timothy.
Invitation
"If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him" (II Tim. 2:11-12). The conditions are clear and the outcomes are sure.
Believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, risen from the dead, descendant of David. Repent. Confess his name. Be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38). And begin the endurance — the suffering without shame — that the calling requires and the reward confirms.
Word Study
| English Term | Greek Term | Basic Meaning | Usage in This Sermon | Sermon Significance | Key Texts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kindle afresh | anazōpyrein | to fan into flame, to rekindle | to fan into flame, to rekindle | the image is of fire allowed to drop to embers being restored by active fanning; the gift is not gone but it requires intentional effort to restore its vigor; the responsibility for fanning is Timothy's, not God's. | II Tim. 1:6 |
| Spirit of timidity | deilian | cowardice, fearfulness | cowardice, fearfulness | the opposite of the power, love, and discipline God actually provides; deilia is not ordinary nervousness but the specific failure of nerve that leads to denial and abandonment when the situation demands courage. | II Tim. 1:7 |
| Pattern of sound words | hypotypōsin | a sketch, a model, a form to be reproduced | a sketch, a model, a form to be reproduced | in classical Greek the word was used for a sketch that an artist would use as the basis for a finished work; Paul's apostolic teaching is the pattern; Timothy's task is faithful reproduction, not creative development. | II Tim. 1:13 |
| Handle accurately | orthotomounta | to cut straight | to cut straight | the image is debated (road-cutting? tent-making? sacrificial cutting?); the consistent meaning is precision in handling: the word is to be treated with exact care, not cut crookedly or carelessly. | II Tim. 2:15 |
Scripture Interlock Table
| Theme | Boles' Outline | Supporting Scripture |
|---|---|---|
| Paul's longing to see Timothy; remembering his tears | I | II Tim. 1:3-4 |
| Sincere faith in three generations: Lois, Eunice, Timothy | I | II Tim. 1:5 |
| Kindle afresh the gift through the laying on of hands | I | II Tim. 1:6 |
| God gave a spirit of power, love, discipline — not timidity | II | II Tim. 1:7 |
| Not ashamed of Christ; not ashamed of Paul's chains | II | II Tim. 1:8 |
| Suffer hardships for the gospel according to the power of God | II | II Tim. 1:8 |
| Holy calling not by works — granted in Christ before time | III | II Tim. 1:9 |
| "I know whom I have believed" — confident in the Person | III | II Tim. 1:12 |
| Retain the pattern of sound words | III | II Tim. 1:13 |
| Many in Asia turned away; Onesiphorus was not ashamed | IV | II Tim. 1:15-18 |
| Entrust what you heard to faithful men able to teach others | V | II Tim. 2:2 |
| Soldier, athlete, farmer — three metaphors for disciplined service | V | II Tim. 2:4-6 |
| Handle accurately the word of truth | V | II Tim. 2:15 |
| Flee youthful lusts; pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace | V | II Tim. 2:22 |
| Correct opponents with gentleness — repentance is God's gift | VI | II Tim. 2:25 |
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Converted from H. Leo Boles, Outline 113. Primary text: II Timothy 1:1–2:26 (Boles covers chapters one and two together). OCR corrections: "One siphorus" → "Onesiphorus" (line-break artifact). Doctrinal audit: Paul's abandonment by "all in Asia" and the loyalty of Onesiphorus developed as a contrast illustrating the cost of faithful witness; the "faithful saying" of II Tim. 2:11-13 retained in full without softening the "deny him / he will deny us" clause; the four-generation transmission chain (Paul → Timothy → faithful men → others) preserved as Boles's framework; invitation retains full obedient response (Acts 2:38).
