Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Timothy 2:6
The husbandman that laboreth must be first partaker of the fruits.
6. The husbandman that laboureth ] This third illustration is well known from St Paul’s use, 1Co 3:6-9, where the substantive corresponding to ‘farmer’ or ‘husbandman’ occurs. ‘Ye are God’s husbandry’; lit., ‘God’s farmed, tilled, land.’ The stress of meaning lies on the participle ‘that laboureth’ and we must give the old full sense to the English word; as the Vulgate putting the participle in the emphatic first place in the sentence ‘laborantem agricolam oportet primum de fructibus percipere.’ See the bearing of the same word, 1Ti 4:10, and especially 1Ti 5:17 where see note. It is true, as the Wise man says, ‘the profit of the earth is for all,’ Ecc 5:9, and the laziest vagabond can claim from the Poor-law his ‘right to live.’ But the husbandman who has ‘toiled with honest sweat,’ putting sinews, brains, and conscience into his work, must be the first to partake of the fruits, as the R.V. rightly renders, more clearly shewing the point. If the Christian knight wishes for any prize worth having, the farmer’s, as well as the athlete’s and the soldier’s life, will say ‘no pains no gains’:
‘For more of wisdom, health, or wealth,
We’ll trust and labour on;
They come to neither life by stealth,
No cross no crown.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The husbandman that laboureth – The margin is, labouring first, must be partaker. The idea, according to the translation in the text, is, that there is a fitness or propriety ( dei) that the man who cultivates the earth, should enjoy the fruits of his labor. See the same image explained in the notes at 1Co 9:10. But if this be the meaning here, it is not easy to see why the apostle introduces it. According to the marginal reading, the word first is introduced in connection with the word labour – labouring first, must be partaker. That is, it is a great law that the husbandman must work before be receives a harvest. This sense will accord with the purpose of the apostle. It was to remind Timothy that labor must precede reward; that if a man would reap, he must sow; that he could hope for no fruits, unless he toiled for them. The point was not that the husbandman would be the first one who would partake of the fruits; but that he must first labor before he obtained the reward. Thus understood, this would be an encouragement to Timothy to persevere in his toils, looking onward to the reward. The Greek will bear this construction, though it is not the most obvious one.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
2Ti 2:6
The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
The laboring husbandman
The order of the Greek shows that the emphatic word is labours. It is the labouring husbandman who must be the first to partake of the fruits. It is the man who works hard and with a will, and not the one who works listlessly or looks despondently on, who, according to all moral fitness and the nature of things, ought to have the first share in the fruits. This interpretation does justice to the Greek as it stands, without resorting to any manipulation of the apostles language. Moreover, it brings the saying into perfect harmony with the context. It is quite evident that the three metaphors are parallel to one another, and are intended to teach the same lesson. In each of them we have two things placed side by side–a prize, and the method to be observed in obtaining it. Do you, ass Christian soldier on service, wish for the approbation of Him who has enrolled you. Then you must avoid the entanglements which would interfere with your service. Do you, as a Christian athlete, wish for the crown of victory? Then you must not evade the rules of the contest. Do you, as a Christian husbandman, wish to be among the first to enjoy the harvest? Then you must be foremost in toil. (A. Plummer, D. D.)
The minister a husbandman
1. He must prepare good seed–i.e., sound doctrine. For in this sense we may truly say: what a man soweth, he shall reap; such as thy seed is, such will be thy harvest.
2. Understand the nature of the soil, the spiritual estate of thy people, and let the seed be in degree and measure suitable. Seed that is hot and dry must be sown in a cold and moist ground; if cold and moist, in a land that is hot and dry, else no multiplication. He that preaches mercy to the wicked is like him who soweth wheat on dry sandy mountains; judgment to the righteous, rye in wet and watery valleys–neither of both will, can prosper.
3. Get skill in the manner of sowing.
4. When the seed is sown, weeds will grow up with it. These must be plucked up, kept under, else the corn will not prosper.
5. In any case, go not thou beyond thy bounds, but sow in that soil where God commands thee. That great seedsman, Paul, had ill success among the Jews, being chiefly sent to teach the Gentiles.
6. Cast not off thy calling; wax not weary in this husbandry; and to encourage thee, consider the excellency of thy function. The husbandman waiteth long; be thou also patient, for a time of gathering will come–shall come. (J. Barlow, D. D.)
What the Christian teacher can learn from the husbandman
1 No fruit without labour.
2. No labour without reward. (Van Oosterzee.)
The minister a husbandman
1. He must cultivate the people, and sow the good seed.
2. He must not be discouraged if he does not reap fruit at once.
3. As the fruits of the ground sustain the husbandman, so should the people sustain the minister. (W. Burkitt, M. A.)
Reward of work
A few years since, Motley shot up to the first position as an historian. Many wondered; but it was no wonder. He had wrought patiently for years in the libraries of the Old and New Worlds, unseen of men. The success of the great artist Dore was years of study in the hospitals, and practice in the studio behind it. This path to success is open to all. (New Cyclopaedia of Illustrations.)
No work, no reward
Gilbert Wakefield tells us that he wrote his own memoirs, a large octavo, in six or eight days. It cost him nothing, and, what is very natural, is worth nothing, You might yawn scores of such books into existence; but who would be the wiser or better? We all like gold, but dread the digging. The cat loves the fish, but will not wade to catch them. (J. Todd, D. D.)
The pleasure of sloth inconsistent with the reward of toil
They are utterly out that think to have the pleasure of sloth and the guerdon of goodness. (J. Trapp.)
Work and joy
Work is heavens condition of prosperity and enjoyment in everything. A workless world would be a joyless world. (Homilist.)
Partaking of the fruit
A young man came to a man of ninety years of age, and said to him, How have you made out to live so long and be so well? The old man took the youngster to an orchard, and; pointing to some large trees full of apples, said, I planted these trees when I was a boy, and do you wonder that now I am permitted to gather the fruit of them? We gather in old age what we plant in our youth. Sow to the wind, end we reap the whirlwind. Plant in early life the right kind of a Christian character, and you will eat luscious fruit in old age, and gather these harvest apples in eternity.
The present rewards of service
Of the husbandman it is said that he first shall eat of the fruit of his labour. Here we have an intimation of the rewards of Christian life that come before the final distribution. The soldier must wait until the war is over; the contestant shall not be crowned until the games are over; but the husbandman has continuous incomings of the fruits of his labours all the time. He first partakes of the fruit of his labour. The loaf on his table, the milk in his dairy, the fruit of his storehouse–these are kept plenished and plentiful all the time. Then comes harvest and autumn, with their laden garners and their orchard spoil. So it is with the rewards of the Christian. Let him be as a soldier brave, as contestant striving, as a husbandman diligent and thrifty, and he shall have the reward of his labours even now–in grace and favour, in strength and peace, in hope and heavenly mindedness, and in the joy of doing good. Plenty to go on with, and a harvest to follow–the fruits immortal, that await the plucking from the bending branches of the trees of life! (J. J. Wray.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 6. The husbandman that laboureth] That is: The husbandman must first till his ground before he can expect a crop; and he must till it according to the proper rules of agriculture, else he cannot have a crop. The combatant must fight and conquer, and fight according to the laws of the agones, before he can be crowned; so the Christian minister must labour in the spiritual vineyard, and labour too under the eye and according to the direction of his Master, before he can expect that crown of righteousness that fadeth not away.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
As the apostle had before compared the minister of the gospel to a soldier, and from thence concluded his duty not to entangle himself unnecessarily in secular employments; and to those that exercised themselves in their public games, and from thence concluded the obligation upon him to keep to the Divine rule in the management of his office, and of himself under the opposition he should meet with; so here he compares him to a husbandman, (as Christ himself had done, Mat 13:1, &c.), either to mind him of his duty, first to look to save his own soul, then the souls of others, or of his advantage, it being the privilege of a husbandman, being the proprietor of the fruits, (if he will), first to eat thereof, thereby intimating the privilege of those who turn many to righteousness, Dan 12:3.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. must be first partakerTheright of first partaking of the fruits belongs to him whois laboring; do not thou, therefore, relax thy labors, as thouwouldest be foremost in partaking of the reward. CONYBEAREexplains “first,” before the idler.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The husbandman that laboureth,…. In manuring his ground, in ploughing, in sowing, in weeding, in reaping, c.
must be first partaker of the fruits of his labour, before others; and the design may be to observe that the ministers of the word ought first to be partakers of the grace of God, the fruits of the Spirit, and of the Gospel, and rightly and spiritually understand it, before they preach it to others; or that such who labour in the word and doctrine, ought in the first place to be taken care of, and have a sufficient maintenance provided for them, 1Co 9:7 or that as they shall have in the first place some seals and fruits of their ministry, in the conversion of souls, so they shall shine in the kingdom of heaven as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars for ever and ever. Though the words may be rendered, and which seems more agreeable to the context, and to the apostle’s argument, “the husbandman must first labour before he partakes of the fruits”; so a minister of the Gospel must first labour, and endure hardships in this life, before he sits down in the kingdom of heaven, and takes his rest, and enjoys the crown of glory, which fades not away, which the chief Shepherd shall give unto him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The husbandman that laboureth ( ). “The toiling tiller of the soil” (, from and , worker of the earth). See (field) in 1Co 3:9 and also 1Co 9:7.
First (). As is natural and right.
To partake (). Old word as in Ac 2:46 to share in. Paul elsewhere uses as in 1Co 9:12.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The husbandman that laboreth [ ] . The verb implies hard. wearisome toil. See on 1Th 1:3; 1Th 5:12. Gewrgov Husbandman, only here in Pastorals. o P. See on Joh 14:1.
Must be first partaker [ – ] . Better, Must be the first to partake. His is the first right to the fruits of his labor in the gospel. The writer seems to have in his eye 1Co 9:7, where there is a similar association of military service and farming to illustrate the principle that they who proclaim the gospel should live of the gospel. Metalambanein to partake, o P, and only here in Pastorals. Paul uses metecein. See 1Co 9:10, 12; x. 17, 21, 30.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “The husbandman that laboreth” (ton kopionta georgon) “The laboring husbandman.” The laborer receives his wages for his toil and pain, no matter how poor the crop may be. It is the laborer’s task to labor on and on and the master’s task to pay him, Mat 25:21; Mat 25:23.
2) “Must be first partaker of the fruits.” (de proton ton karpon metalambanein) “Must be first to partake of the fruits, of his labor.” The laborer has the first claim or first lien on” the fruits of the ground to secure compensation for his labors, 1Pe 5:4; 1Co 9:7-14; Gal 6:6.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
6 The husbandman must labor before he receive the fruits I am well aware that others render this passage differently; and I acknowledge that they translate, word for word, what Paul has written in Greek; but he who shall carefully examine the context will assent to my view. (161) Besides, the use of ( κοπιῶντα) to labor instead of ( κοπιᾷν) to labor, is a well-known Greek idiom; for Greek writers often make use of the participle in place of the infinitive. (162)
The meaning therefore, is, that husbandmen do not gather the fruit, till they have first toiled hard in the cultivation of the soil, by sowing and by other labors. And if husbandmen do not spare their toils, that one day they may obtain fruit, and if they patiently wait for the season of harvest; how much more unreasonable will it be for us to refuse the labors which Christ enjoins upon us, while he holds out so great a reward?
(161) “ Je scay bien que les autres ont tradoit ce passage autrement: Il faut que le laboureur travaillaut (ou, qui travaille) prene premier des fruits.” — “I am well aware that others translate this passage differently: The husbandman laboring (or, who laboreth) must first partake of the fruits.”
(162) “The agonistic metaphor now passes into an agricultural one, (such as we find at 1Co 9:10; Jas 5:7.) The sense, however, will depend upon what πρῶτον is to be referred to. It is most naturally connected with μεταλαμβάνειν, and such is the construction adopted by the generality of Expositors, ancient and modern. The sense, however, thus arising, either involves what is inconsistent with facts, or (even when helped out by the harsh ellipsis of ἵνα κοπιᾷ, ‘in order that he may be enabled to labor,’) contains a truth here inapposite; and the spiritual application thence deduced is forced and frigid. It is not, however, necessary, with some, to resort to conjecture. We have only to suppose, what is common in his writings, a somewhat harsh transposition, and (with many of the best Expositors) to join πρῶτον with κοπιῶντα, as is required by the course of the argument; the true construction being this: — δεῖ τὸν γεωργὸν πρῶτον κοπιῶντα τῶν καρπῶν μεταλαμβάνειν, where κοπιὦντα is the participle imperfect, and the literal sense is, — It is necessary that the husbandmen should first labor, and then enjoy the fruits (of his labor.)” — Bloomfield.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
d.
As a farmer 2Ti. 2:6-13
Text 2:613
6 The husbandman that laboreth must be the first to partake of the fruits. 7 Consider what I say; for the Lord shall give thee understanding in all things. 8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my Gospel: 9 wherein I suffer hardship unto bonds, as a malefactor; but the word of God is not bound. 10 Therefore I endure all things for the elects sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 Faithful is the saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him: 12 if we endure, we shall also reign with Him: if we shall deny Him, He also will deny us: 13 if we are faithless, He abideth faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.
Thought Questions 2:613
79.
Who is the husbandman in this reference?
80.
Why is the word, must, used in 2Ti. 2:6?
81.
Are we to make a comparison here between the farmer who labors and the lazy farmer who does not? What is the emphasis?
82.
What are the fruits of which the farmer partakes?
83.
In what sense does the farmer partake of the fruits?
84.
Why consider what Paul is saying, if the Lord will supply the understanding?
85.
Why insert this admonition at this place?
86.
Why suggest just here that Timothy remember Jesus Christ?
87.
Jesus is not dead, but alive. Jesus is of the royal line of David. How does this relate to the context?
88.
In what sense was the good newsmy gospel; i.e., belonging to Paul?
89.
What is Pauls purpose in describing his persecutions and imprisonment?
90.
What is a malefactor?
91.
In what sense is the Word of God not bound?
92.
Show the immediate reason Paul could endure all things.
93.
In what sense was Pauls imprisonment for the elects sake?
94.
If certain persons are the elect, wouldnt they obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus without Pauls efforts?
95.
Show how the two above thoughts relate.
96.
What is the eternal glory mentioned here?
97.
Why use the expression, Faithful is the saying?
98.
When did we die with Him?
99.
We shall also live with Himis this referring to heaven? Explain.
100.
When shall we reign with Him?
101.
Name three ways in which we can deny Him. When, and where, and how will He deny us?
102.
Is there some difference in being faithless, and denying Him? Explain,
103.
In what respects does Christ remain irrevocably faithful?
104.
Christ cannot deny Himself. Does this rise from inability to do so? Explain.
Paraphrase 2:613
6 It becometh the husbandman to labour his field before he partakes of the fruits of it, How much more oughtest thou to labour in the ministry before thou art rewarded?
7 Consider what I say concerning the necessity of devoting thyself wholly to the ministry, and of enduring evil, and may the Lord Jesus give thee a just discernment in all religious matters,
8 Often recollect and preach, that Jesus Christ really descended from David, was raised from the dead, and thereby demonstrated to be the true Messiah, according to the Gospel which I preach.
9 For which Gospel I suffer evil even to bonds, as a malefactor, But though my enemies may bind me, they cannot bind the Word of God. It will spread itself in spite of all opposition.
10 For this cause I patiently bear all things on account of the Gentiles elected to be the people of God, that they also may obtain the salvation from sin and death, which is procured by Christ Jesus, and which will be accompanied with eternal glory.
11 Suffering for Christ is not so great a misfortune as the world imagines: For this affirmation is true, that if we die with Christ, as martyrs for religion, we shall also live with him eternally.
12 If, like Christ, we suffer persecution patiently, we shall also reign with Him: But if, when brought before kings and councils, we from fear deny our relation to Him, He will, at the judgment, deny that He knows us.
13 Though we be unfaithful in denying Him, He abideth faithful to all His promises and threatenings. He cannot act contrary to His own essential perfections.
Comment 2:613
2Ti. 2:6. Continuing the thought of reward, Paul uses the illustration of the farmer. Is the emphasis upon the effort, or work, of the farmer, or upon the reward he receives from this labor? There is a good deal of discussion among commentators as to which thought should receive the emphasis. It is comparatively easy to say, with the soldier, the point is endurance. In the case of the athlete, it is discipline, or compliance with the rules for the crown. It would seem that both thoughts of hard labor and reward are here used with the farmer, as self-control and reward are used with the athlete.
The faithful minister will work as hard as a hard-working farmer. When he does, he has the assurance that he will be the first to share in the benefits of his labor. What are these benefits? The preacher who does not first preach his sermon to himself is not worthy of the name. Thou that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? The preacher should become the first convert to every sermon. Thus he is first to partake of the benefit of his labors.
In another sense, the preacher is to live of the Gospel which he preaches. As he sows spiritual things, he can expect a return in material things. This same thought is emphasized several times by Paul elsewhere.
2Ti. 2:7. Since Paul has compressed three figures of speech into so few words, he feels a word of warning is necessary lest Timothy read the words without a grasp of their full meaning. Ponder, meditate, think upon what I have written. It is written to you, about you; consider it very carefully. Remember also, that the Lord has promised wisdom and grace adequate for our understanding. There would be no mistakes as to points of emphasis with Timothy.
2Ti. 2:8. Verses eight through thirteen are a summary of the principle stated in the previous verses; i.e., we must endure before we can reap, or that hardship precedes victory. Two illustrations are given: Jesus Christ, and Paul. Finally, the subject is concluded with the faithful saying; which restates the same principle of, no cross, no crown.
Timothy is urged to remember Jesus Christ. But to what purpose? Reading this in its context we would answer, Because Jesus Christ well illustrates the point, He is our grand example. He is risen from the dead . . . but only after He had suffered at the hands of sinners and was crucified.
Paul adds two modifying thoughts: first, that our Lord was of the royal line of Davidthus adding insult to injury by crucifying the heir to the throne of David. Second, that the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ was the heart of the message he preached.
2Ti. 2:9. Because of the good news I preach, I am suffering the present persecution. Knowing of Pauls reluctance to say anything about his sufferings, we can imagine the hardships in the Roman prison were indeed severe. Paul was held in chains as a common criminal. But God brings victory out of defeat: the very thing for which I am imprisoned is not in prison. I am here for preaching The Word, but it is not bound! The Word of God is with Timothy and with all others; it is spread over the wide Roman Empire! Wherever Paul or other inspired men had spoken or written, the Word of God was living and working,
2Ti. 2:10. Because the Word of God is not bound and will accomplish its glorious purpose in the elect, Paul was ready to bear up under whatever hardships came his way.
Paul felt his remaining steadfast even in prison, was necessary for the elects sake; i.e., he wanted to present the best possible example so as not to discourage a single one. If he could, in any way, help the least or the last of the elect to obtain what he was confident awaited him, he would suffer anything Nero wanted to bring upon him.
On the other hand, this sentence, Therefore I endure all things for the elects sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory, could look backward instead of forward, Paul could have reference to what he had suffered, as well as what he is suffering. He could mean that he stood up under the sufferings described in 2Co. 11:16-33 and Rom. 8:35-39 because he knew his labor was not vain in the Lord.
The use of the word, elect, reminds us of the need to understand the teaching of the New Testament on election. It is not our purpose to develop it here, but suffice it to say, no Bible student worthy of the name will fail to search the Scriptures diligently on this important subject.
It should be pointed out that salvation is in Christ Jesus, and that there is no salvation outside of Christ. How does one come into Christ Jesus,? Read Gal. 3:27 for an inspired answer from Paul.
The eternal glory of our salvation is here anticipated, and is certain of the fulfillment. Something of the power of the age to come should be reflected in the lives of those who will share it.
2Ti. 2:11-13. Here is the fifth and last faithful saying. We like the thought of Hendriksen that this is probably a part of an early Christian hymn, a cross-bearers or martyrs hymn. He says, with good effect: Now the word for indicates that in the hymn, something preceded. The probability is that the unquoted line which preceded, was something like, We shall remain faithful to our Lord even to death, or We have resigned ourselves to reproach and suffering and even to death for Christs sake. (Ibid pp. 254, 255)
The quoted lines are:
For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him:
if we endure, we shall also reign with Him:
if we shall deny Him, He also will deny us:
if we are faithless, He abideth faithful;
for He cannot deny Himself.
Please do not miss the point of quoting this hymn (if indeed it is). This is a conclusion to the thought that without a cross there is no crown; without a thorn there is no throne. We shall take up a discussion of each phrase as it appears:
If we died with Him When did this take place? We died when Christ died. Please read Rom. 6:8 and 2Co. 5:14 for a confirmation of this. Remember that this is applicable to all Christians. It was written to Timothy and the saints in Ephesus to offer them strength and challenge, but it is just as applicable to us. Paul said of himself, I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me. (Gal. 2:20)
(We have read the discussions which link this phrase, If we died with Him with a martyrs death, but we much prefer the above interpretation and can see no conflict with the context.)
When Christ died, we died. This identification of ourselves with Christ is a powerful motive for holy living. Such a motive was needed in this day of intense persecution.
We shall also live with Him This is the joyous advantage in dying with Him. We are as truly identified with His Resurrection as we are with His death. We have been raised together with Christ in this life, and it is but a foretaste of the life to come. If we do not live like Christ here, how can we hope to live with Him for eternity? If we do not live like Him, we cannot live with Him. The blessed thought is, He deigns to live with us and in us through the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9).
if we endure, we shall also reign with Him Endurance is more than begrudgingly bearing difficulties. Endurance is remaining steadfast amid all manner of trials. Endurance is a positive quality, not a negative one. Please associate this endurance with Christ; we are to endure or suffer with Him, They who suffered with David in his humiliation were preferred with him in his exaltation; so it will be with the Son of David (Henry).
Reigning with Christ is more than an offer of the hope of heaven. It is true right here and right now: if we endure, we shall reign with Him, If we are willing to bear the reproaches and accusations found in fellowship with Jesus, we can also share in the triumph of overcoming evil with good. One day, all the daily trials and difficulties will be past, and we shall reign with Him forever in the new heaven and new earth.
if we shall deny Him, He also will deny us These words seem almost a quotation of Mat. 10:33 or Mar. 8:38. Indeed, some commentators feel they are.
What is meant by denying Christ, and how could it be done? Commentators have read final denial, fatal denial, hypocritical faith, etc., into these simple words, deny Him. Did Peter deny Him? Did Jesus deny Peter? When we reject Him, we are rejected by Him. We are well aware that the final judgment day is inferred by the text, but please remember, that judgment day arrives every day for thousands of persons in the form of a visit from Death.
Every time we please ourselves instead of Jesus, we have denied Him. To remain in this state and die in such a state is to be forever denied by Him. When we are ashamed of Him or His Word in this wicked and adulterous generation, we have denied Him. Who is to say that such a person never owned Him in the first place?
if we are faithless, He abideth faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. This is a conclusion to all that has been said in 2Ti. 2:11-13. This is not intended to be a discouragement, but an encouragement. If we fail, God remains faithful, We can always return to the solid rock; we have forever a norm of truth that does not change. If we turn aside, it is only because we choose to do so; it is not that God wants us to, or that there is some advantage in it.
Like the disillusioned prodigal, we can be sure there is a warm house, a loving father, and a cleansing bath awaiting our return from the pig-pen of the world.
Gods faithfulness is a part of His very being: a part of His essence. He is essentially and eternally consistent. It is His nature to be so. Therefore, He cannot deny Himself. To deny His faithfulness is to deny His existence.
Fact Questions 2:613
60.
Which is to be emphasized in 2Ti. 2:6 : the work of the farmer or the reward of the farmer?
61.
What are the fruits of which the minister is the first to partake?
62.
Give your own exegesis of 2Ti. 2:7.
63.
2Ti. 2:8 through 2Ti. 2:13 are a unit; explain of what and why.
64.
Why remember Jesus Christ? Please answer in the context.
65.
Why mention that Jesus was of the seed of David?
66.
Why mention according to my Gospel?
67.
We know Paul was very reluctant to say anything about his suffering. How does this thought relate to 2Ti. 2:9 a?
68.
In what sense was the Word of God not bound? Show how God brought victory out of defeat.
69.
Paul endured all things for the elects sake; explain how his sufferings related to the elect.
70.
Show how 2Ti. 2:10 could look either backward or forward in thought.
71.
Who are the elect? Who does the electing? How?
72.
Do we presently have salvation in Christ Jesus?
73.
Which Verses contain the faithful saying?
74.
If the faithful saying was part of an early hymn, what was the thought of the part not quoted?
75.
What is the purpose in giving this faithful saying?
76.
When and where and how did we die with Christ? Are we presently dead?
77.
In what sense are we to live with Christ?
78.
Please define endurance.
79.
Show how we are presently reigning with Christ and how we will do so in the future.
80.
What type of a denial is to be understood from 2Ti. 2:12 b? Is this a final; fatal denial?
81.
If we deny Him, is it proof positive that we never knew Him at all? Do you agree? Explain.
82.
Show how 2Ti. 2:13 is a conclusion to 2Ti. 2:6-12.
83.
Gods eternal faithfulness is a great source of encouragement. Discuss.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(6) The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.Again the picture is painted from every-day life. The husbandman that labourethwith an emphasis upon that labourethis the successful tiller of the ground; the labouring husbandman it is, for whom the earth brings forth her increase. It is the enduring, patient, self-sacrificing toil that is rewarded in the affairs of common lifethe man that endures hardness, whether as a soldier, or athlete, or tiller of the ground, wins the reward; and as in the world, so in religion. Further on in the Epistle the Apostle speaks of his having won the crown of righteousness. He had endured hardness of every conceivable kind; every affliction for the Lords sake he had endured save death, and that he was expecting, and knew it could not long tarry. The teaching of St. Paul in this triple picture isnot every soldier wins its commanders applause, but only the veteran who devotes himself heart and soul to his profession; not every athlete wins the crown or prize, but only he who trains with anxious, painful care; not every tiller of the ground gathers the earths fruits, but only the patient toiler. So must it be in religious life. It is not enough to say we are Christians, or even to wish to be of the brotherhood of Christ. Men must really live the life they say they love.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. First Many commentators think that St. Paul’s first should be so placed as to qualify laboureth, and so should mean that there must first be labour before there can be enjoyment of fruits. But the emphasis must be on laboureth, and the meaning is, that it is he who laboureth that has the first, and best, and, in truth, only, right to the fruits. He who laboureth but slightly, or not at all, comes after, or is nowhere.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘The husbandmen who labours must be the first to partake of the fruits.’
The third principle is the principle of hard work. Living by faith is not to be an easy option. It is the one who does the hard work who expects to benefit first from the fruit. When the harvest comes he is the first to be rewarded. He can pick it even while it is on the tree. Then he benefits from the sale of the remainder. Timothy must therefore expect, and delight in, hard labour in his Christian service so that fruit may result, which he may enjoy when he hands it over to his Master, and is the first to hear His ‘well done, good and faithful servant’. In labouring in this way he can be confident that with God’s help there will be fruit, for just as the husbandman/vinedresser/farmer works hard and depends on God for the right weather, so must the Christian leader work hard trusting in God for the heavenly rain. God alone can send the rain, but the workman can ensure that the soil is ready in order to achieve the best results (compare also Joh 4:36-38).
Some have compared this with 1Co 9:10-11, but it is doubtful whether that thought is in mind here. Here the eye is mainly on the final reward.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
2Ti 2:6. The husbandman that laboureth, &c. Or The husbandman must first labour, to partake of the fruits. Heylin, and Bowyer.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
2Ti 2:6 . To the two foregoing sentences Paul adds still another, expressed figuratively: . . . Many expositors assume that there is here an inversion of phrase, and explain the words as equivalent to , , ., or as Wahl and Winer (in the earlier editions of his Grammar ) put it, , ., , so that is attached to in meaning, and the sentence contains an exhortation; Beza: necesse est agricolam, ut fructus percipiat, prius laborare. Heinrichs, on the other hand, remarks: nihil attinet, mutare quidquam, aut transponere, dummodo cum Grotio adverbialiter pro ita demum dictum putemus, emphasinque ponamus in . But this explanation of cannot be justified. Matthies, de Wette, and others reject the supposition of any inversion, and explain as “first before all others,” so that the meaning would be: “as the husbandman first enjoys the fruits of the field, so, too, has the servant of the gospel a notable reward to expect for his work” (de Wette); but this thought diverges entirely from that contained in 2Ti 2:4-5 , and neglects, besides, the emphasis laid on .
It is accordingly to be explained: Not every one, but that husbandman who toils hard at his work, is first to enjoy the fruits; Wiesinger: “the working farmer has the right of first enjoying the fruits, not he who does not work; therefore, if thou dost wish to enjoy the fruits, work.” So, too, van, Oosterzee. Hofmann, against this explanation, upholds the meaning of , which does not express what ought to happen, but what must happen, in so far as it lies in the nature of things. certainly has this meaning of necessity (not that of duty); but if be regarded as furnishing the condition under which the husbandman tilling the ground must, before all others, be partaker of the fruits of the ground tilled, then in the former explanation presents no difficulty; in this case it cannot be said, with Hofmann, that the is meaningless. It is to be observed that does not contrast the husbandman who works with the husbandman who does not work, but the husbandman who works hard with the husbandman who carries on his work lazily .
Hofmann, in interpreting the sentence as declaring that Timothy must bear everything, whether good or bad, that arises from his work, departs from the figure, which clearly does not say that the husbandman must content himself alike with good fruit and with weeds, but rather that in the nature of things the husbandman should before all others enjoy the fruit for which he has laboured. It is incorrect, with Theodoret and Oecumenius, to understand of the preference over the pupil which is the teacher’s due; or to find in the words of the apostle the thought that the teacher must appropriate to himself the fruits of the spirit which he wishes to impart to others. Even Chrysostom rightly rejected the opinion, [24] that here the apostle is speaking of the bodily support due to the teacher; but he himself gives the words a wrong subsidiary sense when he thinks that Paul wishes to console Timothy regarding the preference shown in the reward.
[24] This opinion is also brought forward by Otto, who refers all three sentences to anxiety regarding bodily wants, as if Timothy had become careless in his office through fear of suffering want in it. This, however, is a reproof which cannot be justified. Van Oosterzee rightly says: It is undoubtedly a Pauline principle that the teacher has a right to suitable support from the church; but this is not the principle taught here .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
XIII
ILLUSTRATIONS OF A FAITHFUL MINISTER
2Ti 2:6-26
This section includes 2Ti 2 . In the preceding chapter we discussed somewhat the first five verses of this chapter, but in order to a full understanding of the connection we now glance at the whole chapter.
The first question I propound is this: What the gospel provision for the transmission of the correct teaching? The answer to that question is this: “And the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2Ti 2:2 ). Evidently the gospel contemplates a succession of the gospel ministry from the days of Christ to the end of the world. What Christ gives to Paul, Paul gives to the churches and commits to the preachers, and charges the churches and the preachers to commit that same thing, without variation, to faithful men coming after, that they in their turn may teach others. It is not my intention to show that there has been, historically, such a succession of churches and gospel preachers. I think there has been such succession, but I think it would be very difficult to prove it according to human history, if for no other reason, because so very large a part of that history was written by the enemies of evangelical Christianity. Particularly in the dark ages, those faithful to apostolic doctrines were so hunted and persecuted they had no opportunity to preserve records. But we do see faithful churches and faithful preachers now, and every one would be able to say, as far as his own knowledge goes, it was transmitted to him. I don’t suppose that anybody ever originated it. From this day back to Christ, in some way, by some faithful preacher or other, or by some faithful church, the truth has been handed down. That is the answer to that first question.
The second question is: What is the first metaphor, or figure, by which the apostle illustrates the faithful minister? The answer to that is to be found in 2Ti 2:3-4 : “Suffer hardships with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier on service entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”
In this illustration, or metaphor, the Christian is compared to a soldier, a regularly enlisted soldier, and as a soldier gives up his private business, places his whole time and his entire service under the direction of the power that enlisted him, so the Christian preacher should not entangle himself with the affairs of this world. As a faithful soldier has no time to run a farm, or be a merchant, or be a banker, or to follow any other kind of business, so it was certainly the purpose of our Lord that the preacher should make preaching his life’s business.
On that similitude of the Christian as a soldier, much of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is founded, using that chapter in Ephesians about putting on the helmet, the breastplate, the girdle, the sandals, the shield, the sword. The Christian is contemplated as waging warfare. Paul says of himself in this letter, “I have fought a good fight.” From that idea come some of our best hymns: Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb? And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His name? Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease, While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?
What the second metaphor, or illustration of the faithful preacher? That is found in 2Ti 2:5 : “And if also a man contend in the games, he is not crowned except he contend lawfully.” References to the games in Paul’s letters are so abundant, we cannot interpret him without a knowledge of them.
The principal games in Greece were called the Olympic games. These games were held on the plain of Olympia, on the river Alpheus. The isthmus of Corinth connects upper and lower Greece. The lower part is called the Peloponnesus, which is almost an island. In the western part of the Peloponnesus is the river Alpheus. On the right bank of that river lies a level plain. In that plain is a grove sacred to Jupiter, and in that grove is a marvelous temple. In that temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world a colossal statue of Jupiter Olympus, done in gold and ivory, by Phidias, one of the greatest of the Greek sculptors. Then there was the statue to Minerva overlooking Athens. She was the patron goddess of the city and so here this gigantic statue, made of ivory and gold, represented the patron of the Olympic games. These famous games were held from 776 B.C. to A.D. 394, over a thousand years. They were discontinued by an edict of a Christian emperor of Rome Theodosius, but for that thousand years they attracted the attention of the world.
These games were held every four years the first full moon after the summer solstice. From them chronology was reckoned for the Greek world. The first Olympiad was 776 B.C., the second four years later; so by four-year periods they continued until their abolition. Pagan Rome reckoned from the building of their city, until the new epoch of Christ’s birth superseded both.
Commencing 776 B.C., for one or two Olympiads these games were foot races only. Soon after were added quoit and javelin throwing, wrestling, boxing, leaping, and still later chariot races. A hippodrome was built covering a circuit of 2,400 feet. The chariots had to drive around that circle twelve times, making a five-mile race. In Ben Hur there is a brilliant description of the chariot race. In the Greek games were no combats with weapons, no gladiators, no fights with lions. The Romans added these bloody contests.
That the whole Greek race might attend the Olympic games, a truce was established so there would be no war anywhere between the petty states while the Olympic games were being played. No state was allowed to send an armed man up to these games. It was a time of peace and festivity. The general and peaceful gathering of all the petty Greek states at the Olympic games gave them the name “panegyris” as opposed to each particular “ecclesia.” This distinction Paul utilizes in the letter to the Hebrews. The general festive assembly of all the saints when warfare is over, the eternal feast in the presence of God.
Now let us consider 2Ti 2:5 : “And if a man contend in the games, he is not crowned except he contend lawfully.” That brings us to the rules of the games. In the first place, they were open to all classes of competitors. Whatever might be the home distinction between the plutocrat and the poor man, at the Olympic games they were on a dead level. It was not how rich is the man, nor how illustrious, but can he now as a man win this athletic contest?
The second rule was that he must be of pure Greek descent. A mixed blood could not contend. He must make proof of that before the judges.
The third was that he must have had ten solid months of preparation under competent coaches. After that ten months of training he must give one more month to exercise. No man, whatever his wealth or social status, could compete without this thorough training and exercise on the field itself. Mark the bearing of this on the training of preachers, if you please, because this is a preacher illustration.
The next rule was that he, and every member of his family, must take an oath that he would observe the rules of the games, that he would not play foul. His own father or brother must take the oath that he would play fair. If he played foul in one of these games he was judged a degraded man and must pay a heavy fine. All over the grove were seen remarkable works of art paid for out of the fines assessed on men who would not play fair. Hence we have in our times the proverb: “Play the game according to the rules.”
The next rule was that no form of bribery should be used, either to bribe a judge, or to bribe a competitor, paying him so much money to let them win. Whoever offered or took a bribe was disgraced.
The next rule was that the crown awarded to the victor must have no intrinsic value. They wanted no financial incentive. Honor and glory not gold and jewels must be the incentive.
The next rule was: No women were ever permitted to be present. In all of my readings I do not remember but one woman being present at these games. A woman might enter a chariot in competition, but some male friend must drive the chariot.
The next rule was that this competitor, having shown that he was born a pure Greek, must also show that he had never been disfranchised, that he had never been guilty of a sacrilege, like robbing a temple or anything of that kind. These were the rules.
Let us see again: “And if a man contend in the games, he is not crowned except he contend lawfully.” He must observe every regulation, and his crown of victory was a wreath. In order to deepen the interest in those panegyric assemblies, the great poets were here accustomed to recite their poems, and the great sculptors and painters to exhibit their masterpieces, so that it was somewhat of the nature of a fair. They could sell these poems, or those pieces of sculpture, or paintings. After a while people not only came from Greece proper, but from all the colonies of Greece, all along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea wherever in the world the Greeks had a city, wherever Alexander’s conquest had extended, the Greeks would come here to witness or to contend. At first the assembly lasted just one day. Just think of what it would cost to be present for one day! Later it lasted five days. It was a glorious time, those five days.
Those were the Olympic games. And yet we must see in some of Paul’s writings references to the Isthmian games near Corinth and the amphitheaters of Greek cities, as at Ephesus. Later when the Roman idea dominated, they put in gladiators, and fights with lions. They became blood-crazed, and women were allowed to attend. When gladiators fought until covered with blood, it was at the option of the crowd to indicate whether they wanted the combat to stop without death. They voted by turning their thumbs up or down; and it was noticeable that women usually voted for a fight to the death. So are they merciless in the Spanish or Mexican bull fights. But all these bloody combats were of Roman origin. Paul may have spoken literally in saying, “I have fought with wild beasts at Ephesus.”
Now, brother preacher, you are entering a race. As Paul says, “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” You will not receive your crown if you do not contend lawfully if you do not observe the rules of Christ’s games. As they must be of pure Greek descent so must you be born of the Spirit. You must train, you must lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset you. You must fix your eye upon the heavenly crown, not of fading laurel or olive bough, but the crown which Christ, the righteous Lord, will give to us at his appearing. Said Paul: “I have run my race and finished my course, and henceforth there is laid up for me a crown which Christ, the righteous Judge, will give to me.” It is laid up in some of the mansions of heaven, and if you were permitted to visit heaven’s gallery of waiting crowns, you might see the most dazzling crown ever designed for human brow. That is Paul’s. When does he receive that crown? When Jesus comes, in the presence of the universe, he will be crowned for being faithful to the game, for playing the game according to the rules. One of the most convincing arguments in the whole Bible for the necessity of ministerial training is this illustration of Paul comparing the preacher’s preparation to the work of a soldier and to a contender in the Olympic games.
The next illustration or metaphor 2Ti 2:6 : “The husbandman that laboreth must be the first to partake of the fruits.” It is the farmer this time. First a soldier, then a con tender in the games, now a farmer. What about his work? Whoever does the work must receive first pay. No matter who owns the land, this man who did the plowing, who did the hoeing, who did the planting and cultivating, before anybody else gets anything, he is entitled to his part. What a fine thought to apply to political economy: not to let the man who does the work be deprived of what is coming to him. Therefore, they who preach the gospel shall live of the gospel. The laborer is worthy of his hire.
The fourth metaphor or illustration is covered in 2Ti 2:10-12 , the thought culminating in, “If we suffer with him we shall reign with him,” and it is expressed in these words: the cross before the crown. We do not come to the crown first; we go by the way of the cross. That is the given order. What Shylock said of the Jew is true of the Christian, “Sufferance is the badge of all our tribe,” and we must suffer if we would reign. On that point we have some magnificent hymns. One of them is:
Must Jesus bear the cross alone And all the world go free?
No, there’s a cross for every one, And there’s a cross for me. Or, the way that hymn was originally written: “Must Simon bear the cross alone.” On the way to Calvary, they found a man named Simon coming in from the country, and when Jesus broke down they compelled Simon to bear his cross and that song originally read: “Must Simon bear the cross alone and all the world go free?”
I knew a preacher who once invited all who thought their sufferings beyond their strength, more than they could bear, to come and hear him preach a sermon. There was a big crowd out, and it was a burdened crowd. He took this text: “If we suffer with him we shall reign with him,” his theme being the cross before the crown. He drew a picture of the pilgrim who bears the cross. “If any man will be my disciple, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” He showed how the disciple from a child must bear a heavy cross, and how at times he stumbles with it, groans under it, is weary of it, envies people who have no burden, but how after a while, bowed down with the burden of the cross of long carrying, with trembling feet he comes to the Jordan of death. And when he gets there he shouts and takes his cross, as Elijah took his mantle, and smites the river of death with it and divides the river, going over dry-shod, leaving his cross behind never to be seen any more forever, and goes up to his waiting crown. So it pays to carry the cross even that long, as with it he divides the river of death.
Notice in 2Ti 2:10 : “Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sake.” There we come to a new motive. “Why do you endure all this suffering, Paul?” “Not only for Christ’s sake, but for the elect’s sake. I am anxious for their salvation. If I can reach more men by suffering, I will bear it. If I can save souls by my bleeding wounds, by my jangling chains, by my stripes, and by my imprisonment if that gives me more power in converting men, then for the elect’s sake I will bear it.”
I next call attention to a great theme in 2Ti 2:15 : “Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth.” What a commentary that is upon the necessity of ministerial training. Be careful to present thyself approved, tested. God puts us to a test, and we are to endure this test, and we should be very careful that we are approved under any test he may propose. “Handling aright,” or as a good rendering states it, “dividing aright the word of truth.” I have heard many sermons on “the right dividing of the word of truth.” The idea is that of a farmer plowing a straight furrow, not crooked, curved, or zigzag. I have seen in a great field men plowing a straight line for a mile straight as an arrow. So, when we come to the discussion of the truth, we should plow a straight furrow, divide it right, handle it right to flush something, but go straight to the mark. We should not zigzag around among words as if we were tryline, and if we are tested as a minister of God we can do that. Here is one way by which we may know that we are plowing a straight furrow: If we put on some passage an interpretation which in the next book will run up against a wall, or strike it, that furrow won’t go clear through the Bible and we have the wrong idea about it. If we have the right idea it will be a straight furrow from Genesis to Revelation. It will be according to the canon, or rule of the truth.
For instance: If we so preach election that we knock over some other doctrine; or if we so preach on human effort as to plow up the doctrines of election and predestination, then we have not plowed a straight furrow. What a great theme for ministerial training!
Now let us consider 2Ti 2:18 : “Hymeneus and Philetus, men who concerning the truth have erred, saying the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some.” What do they mean by saying the resurrection had passed already? Mainly this: They argued that the resurrection of the body that dies is foolishness) and that what is meant by the resurrection is the conversion of the soul. That the quickening of the soul in regeneration is the only resurrection. Later this idea succeeded: That the resurrection is when the soul, at death, escapes from the body which held it. It has no more use for the body than a butterfly has for its cast-off chrysalis. Paul says that that doctrine eats like a cancer. It denies the salvation of the body, and thus denies the real resurrection of Jesus Christ. Notice further he says that they overthrow the faith of some. Does this mean that these men so fell away from grace as to be lost forever? Let us look at the next verse: “Howbeit the firm foundation of God standeth, having this seal.” Here were men who professed to be Christians. Now come these false teachers and persuade them to abandon the true teaching, overthrowing their faith. Does that mean apostasy in the modern sense of the word? “The foundation of God standeth, having this seal.” What is the seal? ,The seal is the impress of the Holy Spirit, and on every seal there are two surfaces, and on each surface is an inscription. On this seal the first inscription is: “The Lord knoweth them that are his.” The Lord’s true man is scaled, and the impress on one side of the seal saith: “The Lord knoweth them that are his,” whether men do or not, God does. Judas was not sealed.
Now let us look at the other side of the seal: “And let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from unrighteous-ness.” One inscription shows God’s infallible knowledge of their salvation. The other shows that whom God saves departs from iniquity. These are the two inscriptions on the seal. Let us never talk about baptism being the seal. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and that seal has two sides two different impressions on it. First, “The Lord knoweth them that are his.” Second, those that are sealed depart from iniquity. And if a man never departs from iniquity, Jesus will say, “I never knew you.”
We now come to 2Ti 2:20 : “Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some unto honor, and some unto dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, meet for the Master’s use, prepared unto every good work.” In every great house that is, in every great congregation, every great church are different vessels. They are not all the same thing. Some are vessels unto dishonor, some unto honor. One may be compared to gold, another to silver; others are just wood, inflammable, and will perish in the fire. That is what is meant by a vessel of dishonor in the church. Compare 1Co 3:12-13 . But though a man be a false professor while in the church, the way is yet open for his conversion. If he will purify himself from that dishonor, seek purification in the blood of Jesus Christ, he shall become a vessel of honor.
QUESTIONS
1. What the gospel provision for transmission of correct doctrine and what does this necessarily imply?
2. What the first illustration in 2Ti 2 to show ministerial fidelity, and what the particular lesson taught?
3. What the second illustration and its particular lesson?
4. Cite from Paul’s writings at least six metaphors based on the athletic games of ancient Greece and Rome.
5. Give an account of the Olympic games, the place and its celebrities, what the time interval between them, how long did the festival last, how long the period of their observance, how used in chronology, when and by whom abolished?
6. What the games?
7. What additions to the Greek games made by the Romans?
8. What the rules of the Olympic games?
9. What the bearing of the illustration on the necessity of ministerial training?
10. Name another distinguished place for these games.
11. What other arenas for these games in all great Greek cities, citing one?
12. How did the Greeks provide for peace between, the petty warring Greek states at the Olympic games?
13. How did they distinguish in name between this general gathering and the governing body in a particular state and how does Paul use and apply both names?
14. What the crown awarded, why not of intrinsic value and how does Paul contrast the Christian’s crown?
15. When is the Christian’s crown awarded?
16. What features of a fair characterized the Olympic games?
17. What Paul’s fourth illustration of ministerial fidelity and in what phrase do we embody it?
18. Cite the hymn based on this illustration and how did it originally read?
19. Give some account of the preacher’s sermon to all who felt that their cross wag too heavy and how did it end?
20. What new motive does Paul introduce in Christian suffering and how do you apply it?
21. Show the application to ministerial training in the great theme in 2Ti 2:15 .
22. What is the idea in “rightly dividing” or “handling aright” the word of truth?
23. What is the original meaning of those who said: “The resurrection ia already past”?
24. The later meaning?
25. How does Paul characterize the heresy?
26. Expound the reference to the seal and its inscriptions?
27. Expound the passage concerning vessels of honor and of dishonor in a great house, i. e., (1) What the meaning of the house? (2) Who are meant by vessels of honor? (3) By vessels of dishonor? (4) The hope held out to vessels of dishonor? (5) Compare with the passage in 1Co 3 .
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
Ver. 6. The husbandman labouring first ] Spes alit agricolas. Nae illi falsi sunt (saith Salhst, in Jugur.) qui diversissimas res expectant, ignaviae voluptatem, et praemia virtutis. They are utterly out, that think to have the pleasure of sloth and the guerdon a of goodness.
a A reward, requital, or recompence. D
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
6 .] Another comparison shewing the necessity of active labour as an antecedent to reward. The husbandman who is engaged in labour (who is actually employed in gathering in the fruit: not ) must first partake of the fruits (which he is gathering in: the whole result of his ministry, not here further specified. The saying is akin to the right of first participation in the harvest belongs to him who is labouring in the field: do not thou therefore, by relaxing this labour, forfeit that right. By this rendering, keeping strictly to the sense of the present part., all difficulty as to the position of is removed. Many Commentators (Calv., E. V. marg., al., Grot., al., take for ‘ ita demum ’) not observing this have supposed, in the sense, a transposition of , and given it as if it were , , ., or as Wahl and Winer (so in older editions of his grammar, e.g. edn. 3, p. 458: but now, edn. 6, 61. 5, he merely states the two renderings, without giving an opinion), . . ., : but in both cases would seem to be, if not absolutely required, yet more natural. Thdrt. and c. understand of the preference which the teacher has over the taught, . Ambr., Pel., Mosh. believe the bodily support of ministers to be imported by . .: but Chrys. answers this well, , ; but his own idea hardly seems to be contained in the words, , , , , : and certainly there is no allusion to that of Athanasius (in De W.), that it is the duty of a teacher first to apply to himself that which he teaches to others: nor to that of Bengel, ‘Paulus Timothei animam excoluit, c. i. 6, ergo fructus ei imprimis ex Timotheo debentur’).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
2Ti 2:6 . The difficulty in this verse is that the principle here laid down seems to be employed in 1Co 9:7 ; 1Co 9:9 , as an argument from analogy in support of the liberty of Christian ministers to enjoy some temporal profit from their spiritual labours; whereas here St. Paul is urging a temper of other-worldliness. It is sufficient to say that there is no practical inconsistency between the two passages; “each man hath his own gift from God, one after this manner, and another after that”. There is a time to insist on one’s liberty to “use the world,” and there is a time to warn ourselves and others that self-repression is necessary to keep ourselves from “using it to the full”. The main connexion here lies in the word , which is emphatic; while , which is also emphatic, expresses in the illustration from the the idea corresponding to . , and to in the others respectively. The labourer receives his hire, no matter how poor the crop may be: his wages are the first charge on the field. Cf. (Heb 6:7 ); his reward is sure, but then he must really labour. “The fruits” are the reward of faithful labour in the Lord’s vineyard, the “well done!” heard from the Captain’s lips, “the crown of glory that fadeth not away”. We must not press all the details of an allegory.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
first, &c. = the first to partake.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
6.] Another comparison shewing the necessity of active labour as an antecedent to reward. The husbandman who is engaged in labour (who is actually employed in gathering in the fruit: not ) must first partake of the fruits (which he is gathering in: the whole result of his ministry, not here further specified. The saying is akin to -the right of first participation in the harvest belongs to him who is labouring in the field: do not thou therefore, by relaxing this labour, forfeit that right. By this rendering, keeping strictly to the sense of the present part., all difficulty as to the position of is removed. Many Commentators (Calv., E. V. marg., al., Grot., al., take for ita demum) not observing this have supposed, in the sense, a transposition of , and given it as if it were , , ., or as Wahl and Winer (so in older editions of his grammar, e.g. edn. 3, p. 458: but now, edn. 6, 61. 5, he merely states the two renderings, without giving an opinion),- . . ., : but in both cases would seem to be, if not absolutely required, yet more natural. Thdrt. and c. understand of the preference which the teacher has over the taught,- . Ambr., Pel., Mosh. believe the bodily support of ministers to be imported by . .: but Chrys. answers this well, , ; but his own idea hardly seems to be contained in the words,- , , , , : and certainly there is no allusion to that of Athanasius (in De W.), that it is the duty of a teacher first to apply to himself that which he teaches to others: nor to that of Bengel, Paulus Timothei animam excoluit, c. i. 6, ergo fructus ei imprimis ex Timotheo debentur).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
2Ti 2:6
The husbandman that laboreth must be the first to partake of the fruits.-The husbandman must labor according to the laws of nature for the production of food, and then he who labors must first receive the benefit and fruits of that labor. In the spiritual world men must labor according to the will of God, and he who labors must first partake of the blessings. [It is the enduring, patient, self-sacrificing toil that is rewarded in the affairs of common life. The man who endures hardness, whether as soldier, athlete, or tiller of the ground, wins the reward, and as in the world so in the service of God. The teaching in the triple picture that Paul draws is not every soldier wins his commanders applause, but only the one who devotes himself heart and soul to the conflict; not every athlete wins the prize, but only he who trains with anxious, painful care; not every toiler of the soil gathers the earths fruits, but only the patient toiler. So must it be in the life of the Christian. It is not enough to say, Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God, but we should be so earnest and diligent in the effort to grow into the like ness of the Lord Jesus Christ that we can say, “And such we are. (1Jn 3:1.)]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
husbandman: Isa 28:24-26, Mat 9:37, Mat 9:38, Mat 20:1, Mat 21:33-41, Luk 10:2, Joh 4:35-38, 1Co 3:6-9, 1Co 9:7-11
that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits: or, labouring first, must be partaker of the fruits, 1Co 9:23, Heb 10:36
Reciprocal: Eze 3:9 – fear Mat 25:16 – went Luk 10:7 – for 1Co 9:10 – that ploweth 2Co 2:17 – which 1Th 5:12 – labour 1Ti 5:17 – labour
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ti 2:6. According to the Greek text, the words of this verse should be arranged as follows: “The husbandman must labor before partaking of the fruits.” This is both scriptural and logical, for no man can expect to partake of the fruits of the ground, until after he has labored to produce them. Likewise no one may expect to reap eternal life unless he first sows the proper seed for such a harvest (Gal 6:7-8).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
2Ti 2:6. The husbandman that laboureth. The Greek, which expresses the qualifying clause by a present participle, implies labour during the (harvest or vintage rather than in the earlier stages of growth. Thus taken, the precept is parallel to that of not muzzling the ox as he treads out the corn, and urges to persevering labour when the harvest is ready, i.e. when the ministerial work seems crowned with success, as well as during the preliminary work of planting or watering. The words probably refer to the actual practice of Jewish or Greek agriculture.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 6
The meaning is, that the husbandman must labor before he can partake of the fruits; and so the toils and sufferings of Christ’s service here must precede the rest and rewards of heaven.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
2:6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
Congress rewrote this verse years ago it reads now The government that laboureth not will be first partaker of your fruit.
Again this is a truth from the past that does not always find its way into American thought.
Example: Who is it that gets first dibs on your pay check? Not you that is for sure – it is the government. They rip of the top 20-30% and allow you what is left – thus far anyway – and expect you to enjoy the pleasure that they have given you.
The one that plants, nurtures, and harvests has the right to first fruits. If not then why bother laboring might be the outcome – I think many Americans have discovered this – why work when the government will take from those that do work hard to support you?
Of a truth in our country you plant so others can enjoy your first-fruits. God has a plan and America is treading heavily upon it. Many have repeated Billy Grahams famous comment, If God doesnt judge America, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. I must almost agree, but we still have a little way to go before we are as bad as those cities of decadence.
That is the way I originally wrote the paragraph above, but on the front page of the Sunday paper just before I went to teach was an article about the Episcopal diocese that had elected, by a wide majority voting, their first openly gay bishop. When Robinson emerged as the victor, more than 300 voters and spectators at St. Pauls Church erupted in cheers and jumped to their feet to applaud. (Article GAY MAN ELECTED BISHOP OF EPISCOPAL DIOCESE; Statesman Journal; Salem, OR; 6-8-2003; p 1)
I am not sure that all in Sodom were homosexuals, but rather that many were, and that the rest of the population condoned or were approving of the sin. I fear America is nearer to Dr. Grahams end than we think.
Our leader is Jesus Christ – our allegiance is to Him – we ought to be free to serve on a moments notice. If we are not in this position, then maybe we need to rectify the situation and make some changes in our lives.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
2:6 {4} The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
(4) Another similarity with respect to the same matter: no man may look for the harvest, unless he first take pains to plow and sow his ground.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Paul’s third illustration, the farmer, emphasized the toil necessary if one wants to enjoy the fruits of his or her labors. [Note: Cf. J. H. Bernard, The Pastoral Epistles, p. 118.] A farmer must continue to sow seed and water it if he or she wants to harvest its fruit. Likewise the farmer for Christ must plant and nourish the gospel seed if he or she eventually expects to reap the fruit of God’s Word in the lives of people.
All three illustrations imply dogged persistence and hold out the prospect of eventual reward for the faithful.