2 Timothy

This is the last letter written by the apostle Paul before his execution under the authority of the Roman Emperor Nero just a few years before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. It has 4 chapters, 83 verses, and 1,666 words. These are the last words of a man mightily used of God and take their place alongside other great last words recorded in the scripture (like Moses, Joshua, and David). I personally believe that this was the last book of the Bible that was written (Col. 1:24-26; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2:15). During the transition period covered by the book of Acts, Paul taught that the sign gifts would cease, “when that which is perfect is come” (1 Cor. 13:10). I believe “that which is perfect” refers to the complete revelation of the mystery of this age which is recorded in the sound words of Paul’s epistles. Paul had the sign gift of healing during the Acts period, but not afterwards (2 Tim. 4:20). 

Paul wrote this letter to his son in the faith, Timothy, to exhort him to faithfully fulfill his ministry in the midst of growing apostasy (1:6-15). Apostasy is a willful denial and departure from the truth that you once claimed to believe. Just as God revealed the law for Israel through Moses, He revealed specific doctrines for this age of grace through the apostle Paul. Just as it was apostasy for Israel to deny and depart from the word of God through their spokesman (Moses), so in this age it is apostasy to deny and depart from the word of God through our spokesman, the apostle Paul. There are three major doctrines revealed through Paul that are emphasized in the church epistles; justification by faith alone, the Body of Christ, and the blessed hope. Satan attacks these three main doctrines like nothing else. 

In the first letter to Timothy we see the church in rule, but in this second letter we see it in ruin. It is interesting that the church is not mentioned. In days of apostasy, we should be very thankful if we have some faithful men to commit the truth to (2:2). Timothy was a young, timid, and unhealthy man. It is evident from things said in both letters that Paul was concerned about his faithfulness in the midst of so much opposition and corruption. But just as Paul faithfully “kept the faith,” he could too by the grace of God. 

This letter is divided into four chapters and it may be outlined according to the chapter divisions. Paul makes four appeals to Timothy to be faithful:

I. The Pastoral Appeal (1)

II. The Practical Appeal (2)

III. The Prophetic Appeal (3)

IV. The Personal Appeal (4) 

One of the key words in this epistle is “truth” (2:15, 18, 25; 3:7-8; 4:4). Note the three downward stages of departure from the truth: "erred" (2:18), "resist" (3:8), and "turn away" (4:4). 

There was just a few years interval between the two letters that Paul wrote Timothy, but in that short time the apostasy had gotten much worse. The “some” in 1 Timothy (1:6, 19; 4:1; 5:15; 6:10, 21) became “all” in 2 Timothy (1:15; 4:16). Paul’s prediction that he made while speaking to the Ephesian elders came to pass (Acts 20:29-31). The introductory note to 2 Timothy  in the Old Scofield Bible says, “The Asian churches had not disbanded, nor ceased to call themselves Christian, but they had turned away from the doctrines of grace distinctively revealed through the apostle Paul. This was the proof that already apostasy had set in its first from, legalism.” 

The believers resources in a day of apostasy include: 

 The Holy Spirit (1:7, 14)

 The form of sound words given through Paul (1:13; 2:2; 2:7; 3:10)

 The grace that is in Christ Jesus (2:1)

 The whole armor of God (2:3-4; Eph. 6:10-20)

 True separation (2:16-22)

 All scripture (3:16-17; 4:2)

 The Lord’s presence and strength (4:16-17)