Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Timothy 2:10
Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
10. Therefore I endure all things] Therefore, because ‘pains bring gains’; therefore, because ( 2Ti 2:3-9) as with Christ, so with His Church;
‘If the cross we meekly bear,
Then the crown we shall wear.’
Bengel and others do not go far back enough, trying wrongly to find the reason in the last clause alone. Alford seeing this turns ‘therefore’ into ‘for this reason,’ and joins it to what follows ‘that they may obtain,’ alleging the Apostle’s usage of the phrase in favour of this. But the passages he quotes, 1Ti 1:16, and Phm 1:15, have both got other particles connecting with the preceding. And here we have none except ‘therefore’ itself. And St Paul just as frequently uses ‘therefore’ for the past; cf. Eph 5:17 ‘wherefore be ye not foolish,’ Eph 6:13 ‘wherefore take up the whole armour of God.’
The Greek word rendered ‘endure’ is our Lord’s word in His charge to the Seventy, Mat 10:22, and in His discourse of the last things, Mat 24:13; Mar 13:13 ‘He that endureth to the end the same shall be saved.’ St Paul has used the verb before twice only, cf. Rom 12:12 ‘rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation,’ 1Co 13:7 ‘Charity hopeth all things, endureth all things’; both which noble passages fully bear out the significance assigned to the word by Ellicott on 1 Thess. 1:13 ‘It does not mark merely the endurance, the “sustinentiam” Vulg., or even the “patientiam” (Clarom.), but the “perseverantiam” the brave patience with which the Christian contends against the various hindrances, persecutions and temptations that befall him in his conflict with the inward and outward world.’ It occurs again 2Ti 3:10.
for the elects’ sakes ] For the sake of the Church; see note on Tit 1:1, where the words used at first for ‘Christians’ are discussed. The general purport is as in Col 1:24, where Lightfoot paraphrases’ I cannot choose but rejoice in my sufferings. Yes, I Paul the persecutor, I Paul the feeble and sinful, am permitted to supplement I do not shrink from the word to supplement the afflictions of Christ. My flesh is privileged to suffer for His body His spiritual body, the Church’; and explains that this supplementing of Christ’s sufferings is ‘not in their sacrificial efficacy but their ministerial utility.’ ‘The Church is built up by repeated acts of self-denial in successive individuals and successive generations.’ So we see the old fire of the first captivity is burning up still more ardently as the end draws near. ‘The salvation which is in Christ Jesus’ is for him at hand; the faith is kept. What still he can, that he will, do and bear, that their salvation also may be assured; and that Timothy his son will surely also both practise and preach.
sakes ] R.V. gives ‘sake,’ perhaps better as the interest of the whole Church ‘the one body’ was one and the same. Otherwise, the plural may still be used, as e.g. in ‘for all your sakes.’ ‘Sake’ is the same as the German ‘sache,’ ‘res,’ ‘thing,’ ‘account,’ ‘cause at law.’ Cf. the phrase ‘for old sake’s sake.’
that they may also obtain ] The ‘also’ is intended in the English of a.d. 1611 to qualify ‘they’ as well as the verb; in the more precise English of a.d. 1881 R.V. writes ‘they also.’ So the looser use of ‘also’ has been altered Mat 26:71, ‘this fellow was also with Jesus,’ into ‘this man also was with Jesus.’ The more exact use two verses later ‘thou also art one of them,’ shews that the A.V. translators exercised a literary freedom in the matter. The O.T. revisers have left Zec 8:21 ‘I will go also.’ The N.T. revisers who have altered Mar 2:28, Joh 5:19, 1Co 9:8 have not ventured to alter Joh 12:26; Joh 14:3.
with eternal glory ] The thought is the same as in 2Co 4:17; the affliction, light and for the moment, worketh glory, an eternal weight of glory.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Therefore I endure all things for the elects sakes; – see the notes at 2Co 1:6. The sense is, What I suffer is in the cause of the church, spoken of here, as it is often, as chosen, or elected; see the notes at Eph 1:4.
That they may also obtain the salvation, … – Their salvation, though they, were elected, could not be secured without proper efforts. The meaning of the apostle here is, that he was willing to suffer if he might save others; and any one ought to be willing to suffer in order to secure the salvation of the elect – for it was an object for which the Redeemer was willing to lay down his life.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
2Ti 2:10
I endure all things for the elects sake.
Gods chosen ones, whether already in the Church, or to be called into it afterwards. (Speakers Commentary.)
The visible church for the sake of the elect
If we were asked what was the object of Christian preaching and instruction, what the office of the Church, considered as the dispenser of the Word of God, I suppose we should not all return the same answer. Perhaps we might say that the object of Revelation was to enlighten and enlarge the mind, or to make us good members of the community. St. Paul gives us a reason in the text different from any of those which I have mentioned. He laboured more than all the apostles; and why? not to civilise the world, not to smooth the face of society, not to facilitate the movements of civil government, not to spread abroad knowledge, not to cultivate the reason, not for any great worldly object, but for the elects sake. And when St. Paul and St. Barnabas preached at Antioch to the Gentiles, As many as were ordained to eternal life, believed. When St. Paul preached at Athens, some mocked, others said, We will hear thee again, but certain men clave unto him. And when he addressed the Jews at Rome, some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. Such was the view which animated, first Christ Himself, then all His apostles, and St. Paul in particular, to preach to all, in order to succeed with some. Our Lord saw of the travail of tits soul, and was satisfied. St. Paul, as His servant and instrument, was satisfied in like manner to endure all things for the elects sake; or, as he says in another place, I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And such is the office of the Church in every nation where she sojourns: she attempts much, she expects and promises little. This is a great Scripture truth, which in this busy and sanguine day needs insisting upon. There are in every age a certain number of souls in the world, known to God, unknown to us, who will obey the truth when offered to them, whatever be the mysterious reason that they do and others do not. These we must contemplate, for these we must labour, these are Gods special care, for these are all things; of these and among these we must pray to be, and our friends with us, at the Last Day. In every nation, among many bad, there are some good; and, as nations are before the gospel is offered to them, such they seem to remain on the whole after the offer–many are called, few are chosen. And to spend and be spent upon the many called for the sake of the chosen few is the office of Christian teachers and witnesses. That their office is such seems to be evident from the existing state of Christian countries from the first. Christianity has raised the tone of morals, has restrained the passions, and enforced external decency and good conduct in the world at large. Still, on the whole, the great multitude of men have to all appearance remained, in a spiritual point of view, no better than before. Trade is still avaricious, not in tendency only, but in fact, though it has heard the gospel; physical science is still sceptical as it was when heathen. Lawyers, soldiers, farmers, politicians, courtiers, nay, shame to say, the priesthood, still savour of the old Adam. Human nature remains what it was, though it has been baptized; the proverbs, the satires, the pictures, of which it was the subject in heathen times, have their point still. The knowledge of the gospel then has not materially changed more than the surface of things. Our Saviours words, spoken of the apostles in the first instance, relate to the Church at large–I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou has given Me, for they are Thine. In like manner St. Paul says that Christ came, not to convert the world, but to purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works; not to sanctify this evil world, but to deliver us out of this present evil world according to the will of God and our Father. This has been the real triumph of the gospel, to raise those beyond themselves anti beyond human nature, in whatever rank and condition of life, whose wills mysteriously co-operate with Gods grace, who, while God visits them, really fear and really obey God, whatever be the unknown reason why one man obeys Him and another not. It has laboured for the elect, and it has succeeded with them. This is, as it were, its token. An ordinary kind of religion, praiseworthy and respectable in its way, may exist under many systems; but saints are creations of the gospel and the Church. Not that such a one need in his lifetime seem to be more than other well-living men, for his graces lie deep, and are not known and understood till after his death, even if then. But in process of time, after death, their excellence perhaps gets abroad; and then they become a witness, a specimen of what the gospel can do. There are many reasons why Gods saints cannot be known all at once;–first, as 1 have said, their good deeds are done in secret. Next, good men are often slandered; they are mistaken by those, whom they offend by their holiness and strictness. Then, again, their intentions and aims are misunderstood. It is no triumph, then, for unbelievers that the gospel has not done what it never attempted. From the first it announced what was to be the condition of the many who heard and professed it–Many are called, few are chosen. Though we laboured ever so much, with the hope of satisfying the objector, we could not reverse our Saviours witness, and make the many religious and the bad few. We can but do what is to be done. We cannot destroy the personal differences which separate man and man; and to lay it as a fault to baptism, teaching, and other ministrations, that they cannot pass the bounds predicted in Gods Word, is as little reasonable as attempting to make one mind the same as another. There is nothing to hinder the poorest man from living the life of an angel, living in all the unearthly contemplative blessedness of a saint in glory, except so far as sin interferes with it. I mean, it is sin, and not poverty which is the hindrance. Such is the case with the poor; now, again, take the case of those who have a competency. They too are swallowed up in the cares or interests of life as much as the poor are. While want keeps the one from God by unsettling his mind, a competency keeps the other by the seductions of ease and plenty. The poor man says, I cannot go to Church or to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, till I am more at ease in my mind; I am troubled, and my thoughts are not my own. The rich man does not make any excuses,–he comes; but his heart goeth after his covetousness. No; such a one may be far other than a mere man of the world,–he may be a religious man, in the common sense of the word; he may be exemplary in his conduct, as far as the social duties of life go; he may be really and truly, and not in pretence, kind, benevolent, sincere, and in a manner serious; but so it is, his mind has never been unchained to soar aloft, he does not look out with longing into the infinite spaces in which, as a Christian, he has free range. A sort of ordinary obedience suffices them as well as the poor. Alas! and is it so? is the superhuman life enjoined on us in the gospel but a dream? is there no meaning in our own case, of the texts about the strait gate and the narrow way, and Marys good part, and the rule of perfection, and the saying which all cannot receive save they to whom it is given? God grant to us a simple, reverent, affectionate, temper, that we may truly be the Churchs children, and fit subjects of her instructions! (J. H. Newman, M. A.)
Sufferings on behalf of the elect
The question doubtless arises, does St. Paul here, and also in Col 1:24, regard his own afflictions as a part of the redemptive suffering by which the elect should receive the gift of Christs salvation and inherit their eternal glory? This would, undoubtedly, contradict the whole tenor of his teaching elsewhere. Was Paul crucified for you? rings out (in 1Co 1:13) his own indignant disclaimer of any such position. Still he does assert his hope and conviction that direct and positive advantages may accrue to the elect of God from his own sufferings. The salvation is in Christ Jesus; still there are things lacking in the afflictions of the Lord which he and other saints are called upon to supplement, to fill up from another source. They are to be filled up in the persons of the members of Christs suffering body. Because these bitter sorrows effectuate or tend to produce a closer resemblance to Christ, because they may lead to a more intense consecration on the part of the elect of God, he willingly endures them all. We take it that these of Christ are not His atoning or sacrificial agonies, but all the contumely and repression which He endured for us and with us, and also which He endured for us and with us, and also which He, in sublime sympathy, continues to suffer in His body the Church, and which will not be completed until the last battle has been fought and the last enemy overcome. Thus the Lord dignifies every patiently borne cross, every holy death, as part of His own affliction for the sake of the elect. (H. R. Reynolds, D. D.)
The redemptive end of affliction
I. Afflictions are the more willingly sustained when they further the liberty of the Gospel.
1. For when the Word runs the plots of the wicked are prevented.
2. The wandering sheep gathered.
3. The body of Christ perfected.
4. The kingdom of God enlarged.
II. A grown Christian can suffer all kinds of afflictions.
1. For experience have taught him that afflictions are good for him.
2. Many acts make a habit; whence it falls out that tribulation worketh patience.
3. He believeth that though sorrows be bitter at the entrance, they shall be sweet in the end.
4. The Lord assisteth him, by whose strength he can do and suffer all things.
III. There be an elect people. Now concerning the elect, two things are not unworthy of our consideration–the one, their number, the other their prerogatives. For their number absolutely taken is great. The prerogatives are many, and all excellent, which are proper to the elect, for they be the objects of Gods love. The redeemed of His Son; temples of the Spirit; and co-heirs with Christ of all things.
IV. All the goodness of our sufferings is in respect of their ground and end.
V. Of the two, a true christian man had rather save souls than prosper in this world. For such know, that to save a soul is more worth than to win the world; and that they shall shine as the sun for ever and ever. (J. Barlow, D. D.)
A noble purpose
A mans purpose in life should be like a river which was born of a thousand little rills in the mountains; and when at last it has reached its manhood in the plain, though, ii you watch it, you shall see little eddies that seem as if they had changed their minds, and were going back again to the mountains, yet all its mighty current flows, changeless, to the sea. If you build a dam across it, in a few hours it will go over it with a voice of victory. If tides check it at its mouth, it is only that when they ebb it can sweep on again to the ocean. So goes the Amazon or Orinoco across a continent–never losing its way or changing its direction for the thousand streams that fall into it on the right hand and on the left, but only using them to increase its force, and bearing them onward in its resistless channel. (H. W. Beecher.)
Supporting others
A curious old tree that supports other trees is described in a South American journal. It is stated that in Columbus there is a china tree that grew up very tall. Several years ago the top was taken off, leaving the main trunk of the tree about twenty feet high. On the top it has become somewhat decayed, but is making up for lost life by supporting a young forest. There are several different shrubs growing on its top, among others an evergreen three or four feet in height, a blackberry bush, which has put on leaves and flowers, and a water-oak which is about two inches in circumference. It is said that the spectacle is a very remarkable one, and arboriculturists take great interest in it. The old tree is a type of many lives. When God has withdrawn one of His children from active service, he is frequently able to continue his usefulness in another way, by supporting others, lifting them nearer to Heaven and sustaining them with his own stalwart spiritual growth.
Enduring for the elects sake
An ordinary person may rest in his bed all night, but a surgeon will be called up at all hours; a farming-man may take his ease at his fireside, but if he becomes a shepherd he must be out among the lambs, and bear all weathers for them; even so doth Paul say, Therefore I endure all things for the elects sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Suffering to help others
Suppose that by some painful operation you could have your right arm made a little longer; I do not suppose you would care to go under the operation; but if you foresaw that by undergoing the pain you would be enabled to reach and save drowning men who else would sink before your eyes, I think you would willingly bear the agony, and pay a heavy fee to the surgeon to be thus qualified for the rescue of your fellows. Reckon, then, that to acquire soul-winning power you will have to go through fire and water, through doubt and despair, through mental torment and soul distress. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The believers salvation obtained by Christ and connected with glory
I. Let us consider the nature of this salvation.
1. It is a salvation from the condemnation of a broken law.
2. It is a salvation from the power and dominion of sin.
3. It is a salvation from the bondage of Satan.
4. It is a salvation from the temporary triumphs of the grave.
II. Let us inquire in what respects this salvation is in Christ Jesus. Because it was with His Son Christ Jesus that God was pleased to enter into covenant, respecting human redemption, before the world was.
III. Let us glance at the eternal glory with which this salvation is connected.
1. The persons of the saints will then be glorious. The body will be no longer subject to hunger and thirst, to pain and weariness, or to disease and decay. And then in respect to the soul, it will be formed after the Divine image, in righteousness and true holiness, made to partake, so far as a finite creature is capable, of the image of God.
2. The mansions of which the redeemed shall take possession will be glorious.
3. The society to which they will be admitted will be glorious.
4. The employments of the believer will be glorious. (Essex Congregational Remembrancer.)
That they may also obtain salvation.–Rather, that they also may; they as well as we. (Speakers Commentary.)
Salvation in Christ
Having Christ we have salvation also, while without receiving Christ Himself we can not have the salvation. Having the fountain we have its issuing streams. Cut off from the fountain the streams will not flow to us. Christ offers Himself to be the Bridegroom of the soul. The mistake is that of seeking the salvation instead of seeking the Saviour. Just the same mistake that the affianced would make if she should seek to have the possessions of him to whom she was engaged made over to her from him, without their union in wedlock, instead of accepting his offer of himself, and having the hymeneal bond completed by which he and all he has would become hers. (W. E. Boardman.)
Salvation
I. The nature of salvation.
1. Salvation is the great and constant theme of the whole Bible,
2. Salvation is a word of pleasing import.
3. Salvation is a full and complete deliverance from all past guilt and condemnation.
4. Salvation is a glorious deliverance from all the miseries of sin and the bondage of Satan.
5. Salvation is a deliverance from the envenomed sting of death.
6. This salvation is a deliverance from the resurrection of damnation, the horrors of the judgment, and the miseries of the lost in hell. Now for the peculiar characteristics of this salvation.
(1) It is free.
(2) Suitable.
(3) Present.
(4) Gracious.
(5) Eternal.
II. The author and source of salvation. It is Christ Jesus.
III. Let us point out its method. Some persons try to mystify the plan. But it is simple. The way is easy. Some want to purchase the gift of salvation, but it is not to be bought. It is here–Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth. Turn your eyes from the world and sin, and, by faith, look to Christ! (R. Key.)
Heaven, or the final happiness of the righteous
Let us attend to what notices we can gain from the scriptures of truth of the heavenly state, as coming under the notion of salvation and glory. Each of these sometimes is put alone for the whole of it; but being here joined together, they make the description of it more complete; the former directly signifies the negative part, a deliverance from all evil, and the latter the positive, the possession of the highest and greatest good our nature is capable of. And how significantly and emphatically is this salvation with eternal glory said to be in Christ Jesus? It is in Him, as possession purchased, in whose right we can only obtain it. It is in Him as an inheritance kept in truth, and to be conveyed by Him to the appointed heirs. It is in Him as the grand Exemplar in His human nature of the complete and final happiness of the saints. It is in Him both as a beatific object, and as a perpetual medium through which the blessed will see and enjoy God.
I. The Christian shall obtain instantly on his arrival at heaven, and everlastingly possess, a complete salvation, a perfect freedom from all manner of evil.
1. In heaven there will be a perfect and eternal salvation from all sin.
2. The salvation of heaven will be an absolute and perpetual deliverance from the temptations of Satan. In heaven, too, all wicked men, as well as evil angels, shall cease from troubling or tempting; for there shall be none of them there, no more than any matter of temptation in that blessed world.
3. This salvation will be a deliverance from all natural weaknesses; from slowness of apprehension, errors of judgment, slipperiness of memory, levity of will, a rashness or tardiness in resolving, and a heaviness in acting.
4. It will be a deliverance from all the diseases and pains which attend our mortal frame, together with the great variety of disagreeable accidents our life on earth is continually liable to.
5. It will be a deliverance from all Gods wrath and anger.
6. It is a deliverance from all relative and sympathising sufferings and sorrows.
7. It will be a deliverance from death. But it is time now to say somewhat–
II. Of the positive felicity of the heavenly world, of which the less will suffice, as several of its ingredients are easily understood from the evils and miseries which they stand in opposition to, and because we can have but a general idea of this part, rather knowing what heaven is not, than what in particular it is. However, what belongs to this state is all great, excellent and glorious. It is glory itself. Now, the glory which continues the heavenly happiness is both objective and subjective, and these reciprocally influencing each other and inseparably concurring to form it. There is a glory without, objects of unspeakable lustre and glory which will be exhibited and presented to the saints in heaven to converse with. And there will be a glory within themselves. All the parts and powers of their nature will be rendered inexpressibly glorious, as by an elevation of them into a fitness to converse with the glorious objects before them, so by an actual exercise on them and the most satisfying gratification by them. Hence the frequent expression in Scripture of their happiness in heaven is their being glorified. And it is the glory of God either way, as it is often called. He realms all the glory of heaven; He is the principal object Himself of the saints beatific converse, and He forms all the other objects, as well as themselves, glorious. And here we may observe that all these glories will be revealed in a propitious and amiable light. God will manifest Himself to His saints as their own God, and all His perfections and operations are arrayed in love. No room will be left for terror and dismay from the full blaze of His Majesty above, as but a few beams of it breaking in on some of His people here have oppressed their souls with the most dreadful apprehensions. Again, the revelation of heavenly glories will be made to the blessed in a measure exactly suited to their faculties and capacities. There will be no deficiency to cause an uneasy and an unsatisfied craving; no excess to overpower and exhaust the spirits.
1. There will be a perfect knowledge in heaven: a knowledge in the very best manner of the best and noblest things. This knowledge will in a great measure be intuitive, and so consequently very comprehensive, easy, clear, and satisfying.
2. In heaven there will be a perfect rectitude, and regular harmony in all the powers of the soul. As the understanding clearly and steadily beholds the beauties of holiness, the soul will naturally take and keep a correspondent impress, and be satisfied with this Divine likeness.
3. In consequence of this, the active powers will be fully and most delightfully employed in the incessant praises of God and of the Lamb, and in whatever unknown services may be assigned them, all noble and pleasurable. (J. Hubbard.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 10. For the elect’s sake] For the sake of the Gentiles, elected by God’s goodness to enjoy every privilege formerly possessed by the Jews, and, in addition to these, all the blessings of the Gospel; the salvation of Christ here, and eternal glory hereafter.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Therefore I endure all things; that is, all things which I do endure, reproach, imprisonment, &c., for he had not yet resisted to blood.
For the elects sakes; as for Christs sake, to imitate his example, and testify my love to him; so for the sake of those whom God hath chosen to eternal life, that they, seeing my patience and constancy, may be confirmed in the faith of the gospel, and by that means may obtain eternal life, salvation, with eternal glory, which is to be had in Christ.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. ThereforeBecause of theanxiety I feel that the Gospel should be extended; that anxiety beingimplied in 2Ti 2:9.
endurenot merely “Ipassively suffer,” but “I actively and perseveringlyendure,” and “am ready to endure patiently allthings.”
the elect’s sakesforthe sake of the Church: all the members of Christ’s spiritual body(Col 1:24).
they . . . alsoas wellas myself: both God’s elect not yet converted and those already so.
salvation . . . glorynotonly salvation from wrath, but glory in reigningwith Him eternally (2Ti 2:12).Glory is the full expansion of salvation (Act 2:47;Rom 8:21-24; Rom 8:30;Heb 9:28). So grace andglory (Ps 84:12).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Therefore I endure all things for the elects’ sakes,…. There is a certain number of persons whom God has chosen in Christ from everlasting unto salvation, who shall certainly be saved; for these Jesus Christ suffered and died; and on their account is the Gospel sent, preached, and published to the world; for their sakes are ministers fitted and qualified for their work, and have their mission and commission to perform it, and suffer what they do in the execution of it; and since it was for the sake of such, whom God had loved and chosen, that the apostle endured all his reproaches, afflictions, and persecutions, he was the more cheerful under them; and the consideration of it was a support unto him:
that they may also obtain; as well as himself, and other chosen vessels of salvation, who were called by grace already; for the apostle is speaking of such of the elect, who were, as yet, in a state of nature:
the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory; salvation is only by Christ Jesus, and in him; and this is only for the elect of God; and it is published in the Gospel, that they might obtain it; and in all ages they do obtain it, or enjoy it: the thing itself is obtained by Christ for them, through his obedience, sufferings, and death; and it is published in the everlasting Gospel, that they might come to the knowledge of it; and in the effectual calling it is brought near by the Spirit of God, and applied unto them; and they have now both a meetness for it, and a right unto it, and shall fully enjoy it in heaven; for it has “eternal glory”, or “heavenly glory”, as the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions read, “annexed to it”; or rather the full enjoyment of it will consist in an eternal and heavenly glory, which will be put upon the saints, both in soul and body, and remain to all eternity.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
For the elect’s sake ( ). “Because of the elect.” God’s elect (Rom 8:33; Col 3:12; Titus 1:1) for whom Paul suffered so much (Col 1:6; Col 12:15; Phil 2:17; Eph 3:1; Eph 3:13).
That they also may obtain ( ). Purpose clause with second aorist (effective) active subjunctive of with genitive. “They as well as I,” Paul means.
The salvation ( ). The final salvation “with eternal glory” ( ). This phrase only here and 1Pe 5:10, but in 2Co 4:17 we have “eternal weight of glory.”
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Therefore [ ] . Because I know that God is carrying on his work.
That they may also [ ] . More correctly, they also may, etc. Also, as well as myself.
Obtain the salvation [ ] . The phrase N T. o. Paul has peripoihsiv swthriav obtaining of salvation, 1Th 5:9. Which is in Christ Jesus. The phrase salvation which is in Christ Jesus, N. T. For other collocations with in Christ Jesus in Pastorals, see 1Ti 1:14; 1Ti 3:13; 2Ti 1:1, 9, 13; 2Ti 2:3, 15.
With eternal glory [ ] . The phrase eternal glory ony here and 1Pe 5:10. Paul has aijwnion barov doxhv eternal weight of glory, 2Co 4:17. Glory here is the eternal reward of Christians in heaven.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes” (dia touto panta hupomeno dia tous eklektous) “Therefore I endure or undergo all kind of things on account of the chosen ones.” As Israel was God’s chosen or elect in the Old Testament dispensation, Deu 7:6; so the church is His elect called from among the Gentiles , custodians of truth, Act 15:3; Eph 3:6-10.
2) “That they may also obtain the salvation” (hina kai autoi soterias tuchosin) “In order that they also may obtain salvation;” the salvation of a life of service, useful and fruitful to the Master, Rom 9:3; Php_2:12.
3) “Which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” (tes en christou iesou dokses aioniou) “Which exists in Christ Jesus in association with eternal glory;” Eternal salvation from sin and hell is the possession of every believer, but the degrees of eternal glory are based on ones’ service to Christ, Rom 8:17-18; 2Pe 1:10-11.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
10 Wherefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect From the elect he shews, that his imprisonment is so far from being a ground of reproach, that it is highly profitable to the elect. When he says that he endures for the sake of the elect, (167) this demonstrates how much more he cares for the edification of the Church than for himself; for he is prepared, not only to die, but even to be reckoned in the number of wicked men, that he may promote the salvation of the Church.
In this passage Paul teaches the same doctrine as in Col 1:24, where he says, that he
“
fills up what is wanting in the sufferings of Christ, for his body, which is the Church.”
Hence the impudence of the Papists is abundantly refuted, who infer from these words that the death of Paul was a satisfaction for our sins; as if he claimed anything else for his death, than that it would confirm the faith of the godly, for he immediately adds an exposition, by affirming that the salvation of believers is found in Christ alone. But if any of my readers wishes to see a more extended illustration of this subject, let him consult my Commentary on the chapter which I have just now quoted — the first of the Epistle to the Colossians.
With eternal glory This is the end of the salvation which we obtain in Christ; for our salvation is to live to God, which salvation begins with our regeneration, and is completed by our perfect deliverance, when God takes us away from the miseries of this mortal life, and gathers us into his kingdom. To this salvation is added the participation of heavenly, that is, divine glory; and, therefore, in order to magnify the grace of Christ, he gave to salvation the name of “eternal glory.”
(167) “It might be replied, that it is superfluous that Paul should ‘endure for the elect.’ ‘Cannot God save those whom he elected and adopted before the creation of the world, without the assistance of men? Has the immutable decree of God any need of human help, or of creatures? Why then does Paul say that he endures on account of the elect?’ Now, it us true that God will conduct his people to the inheritance which is prepared for them but yet he is pleased to make use of the labor of men. Not that he is under a necessity of borrowing anything from us, but he confers on us this honor by his undeserved goodness, and wishes that we should be instruments of his power. Thus Paul does not boast that the salvation of the children of God depends on his steadfastness or on the afflictions which he had to endure; but he only means that God wishes to conduct his people by means of the word, and that he employs men whom he has chosen for that purpose, as for his own work, and makes them instruments of the power of his Holy Spirit.” — Fr. Ser.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(10) Therefore I endure all things for the elects sakes.Better rendered, For this cause I endure, &c.that is, I endure all things in order that the word of God, which, unlike its preacher, I have just declared to be confined by no bondsin order that that word may be widely spread and disseminated: for this reason do I, as a faithful soldier at my post, bear up with quiet, patient courage against suffering; and I do it for the elects sakes, that is, for those whom, in His infinite mercy, God has been pleased to choose as His people, for those who, in His unfathomable love, are yet to be brought into the one fold. And this brave and steadfast endurance on the part of St. Paul contributed to the furtherance of Gods projects for gathering these elect in this wise(1) His endurance, his patient, gallant witness in suffering, would serve as an example to many, not only to the generation then living, but to countless men and women yet unborn; and (2) his faithful, true preaching, now that his voice was hushed, in such writings as this Epistle to Timothy, would help, through the ages to come, to draw countless others, in accordance with the divine counsels, into fellowship with Christ. The question has been often asked, whether those elect or whom the Apostle endured these things were, when he wrote these words, believers. This point has already been touched upon; it may, however, be here answered, with some certainty, that the elect here spoken of include both believers and unbelievers. The firstthe believerwould in all ages be built up by the contemplation of the steadfastness under suffering of St. Paul; the secondthe unbelieverwould be won to the faith by the divinely-inspired arguments and exhortations which the brave old man ceaselessly spoke or wrote down in prison just as when free. How could one like St. Paul, who was conscious that he himself had won the salvation, not patiently endure all things, if such an endurance could help the elect to obtain that salvation which delivered those who obtained it from the misery of sin and death, and which besidesO blessed thought!had the sure prospect of eternal glory?
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. Therefore The commentators seem to miss the inference indicated by this connective. Bengel and Huther interpret it: The word of God is not bound, therefore I endure, etc. But Alford clearly shows that this is neither the inference nor a valid one. But Alford equally misses by making the therefore indicate a reason about to be given, namely, the elect’s sake.
But clearly therefore connects back with 2Ti 2:8, my gospel, as embracing the two memorable facts of the incarnation and resurrection. Christ was born and raised according to my irrepressible gospel, therefore do I endure all things for the elect’s sakes. And then he runs the antithesis of the born and raised, the incarnation and the exaltation, through every verse to 18. And thus 2Ti 2:8 is keynote to the whole paragraph, and 2Ti 2:9 is no interruption between 8 and 10.
For the elect’s sakes Those elect in consequence of faith; but whose future obtain the salvation is dependent upon the three ifs of the three following verses.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.’
And why did Paul allow himself to be treated like this? Why did he not just renounce his faith and be released? It was because he was enduring whatever came upon him for the sake of the unrestrainable word of God and for the sake of those whom God has chosen for Himself from the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4) who would be delivered through that word. It was for the sake of God’s ‘elect’, His chosen and called out ones (compare Mat 20:16; Mat 24:22; Mat 24:24; Mat 24:31; Luk 18:7; Rom 8:33; Col 3:12; Tit 1:1; 1Pe 1:2; Rev 17:14). And it was so that they might obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus to eternal glory.
‘The salvation which is in Christ Jesus to eternal glory.’ Such ‘salvation’ is to be found ‘in Christ Jesus’, by union with Him. The word here describes the whole of the process of salvation from start to finish, the process whereby we are forgiven and reconciled to God in Christ (2Co 5:20-21), made into new creatures in Christ (2Co 5:17), changed from glory into glory even as by the Lord, the Spirit (2Co 3:18), finally ending up in eternal glory (Col 3:4). And this because Christ is in us, the hope of glory (Col 1:27; Col 3:4; 2Co 4:17). For once the process truly begins as a result of a person being genuinely ‘saved’, it will be carried through by our Lord Jesus Christ right up to the consummation when it becomes complete and final (although we will always be ‘the saved’ or ‘the redeemed’ even then, just as He will always be ‘the Lamb as it had been slain’). This certainty of salvation is made clear in a number of Scriptures such as, 2Ti 2:13; 2Ti 1:12; Joh 6:27; Joh 10:27-28; 1Co 1:8-9; Php 1:6; Jud 1:24, but it must be emphasised that it is salvation from sin. We can only be saved if we want to be saved from sin.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
2Ti 2:10. For the elect’s sake, By the elect, St. Paul here seems more particularly to mean the Gentile converts: for He suffered as the apostle of the Gentiles; and he often intimates, that unless he through grace had so laboured and suffered, and they persevered in holiness and piety, both he and they would have missed of salvation and eternal glory. See 1Th 3:5.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
2Ti 2:10 . ] Bengel: “quia me vincto evangelium currit.” Heydenreich wrongly refers it at the same time to the reward to which 2Ti 2:8 alludes. The knowledge that the gospel is unfettered in its influence enables Paul to endure all things for the sake of the . cannot be referred to what follows (Wiesinger), because of the ; it would be another thing if . . . were joined immediately with ; but even in that case the “abrupt transition” would still be an objection.
] does not denote suffering pure and simple, but the willing, stedfast endurance of it.
By adding to the words , explained by the succeeding clause, Paul declares that he patiently endured everything for the sake of the , because he knows that the gospel is not bound is not made ineffectual by his bonds. Were it otherwise, were the gospel hindered in its influence by his suffering, then he would not endure for the sake of the . Hofmann has no grounds, therefore, for thinking that the connection of with the sentence following it would give an impossible sense. It is wrong to supply before . . (Heydenreich), as if these words furnished an additional reason to that contained in .
] This name is given to believers, inasmuch as the deepest ground of their faith is the free choice of God (2Ti 1:9 ). Heydenreich leaves it indefinite whether “Christians already converted” are meant here, or “those elected to be future confessors of Christianity;” so, too, Matthies; de Wette, on the other hand, understands only the latter, whereas Grotius and Flatt think only of the former. The words themselves do not prove that Paul had any such distinction in mind; does not necessarily imply a contrast with present believers (de Wette), but may be quite well used in relation to the apostle himself, who was conscious of the attained in Christ (Wiesinger, van Oosterzee). Comp. especially Col 1:24 , where the apostle places his suffering in relation to the , as the , of which the are members. [28] In how far the apostle bears his afflictions ., is told by the words: . . The question how the apostle might expect this result from his , cannot be answered, by saying, with Heinrichs: “as he hoped to be freed from his sufferings;” the result was to be effected not by a release, but by the patient endurance of the suffering, inasmuch as this bore testimony to the genuineness and strength of his faith, not, as van Oosterzee thinks, because the apostle stedfastly continued to preach. The apostle’s suffering for the gospel was itself a preaching of the gospel. We must, of course, reject the notion that Paul regarded his sufferings as making atonement for sin, like those of Christ.
The addition points to the future completion of the salvation. It directs special attention to an element contained in the , and does not contrast the positive with the negative conception (Heydenreich).
[28] Hofmann rightly remarks: “The apostle names those towards whom he has to fulfil his calling, for the elect’s sake, because this designation denotes the heaviness of his responsibility, if he did not help those destined for salvation to that for which God ordained them.”
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 2246
PAULS LOVE TO THE ELECT EXEMPLIFIED
2Ti 2:10. I endure all things for the elects sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
THE labours of faithful ministers are, for the most part, but ill requited by a wicked and ungrateful world. But, in the midst of all the opposition they meet with, they have the consolation to know, that all efforts to stop the progress of the Gospel shall be in vain. This was St. Pauls comfort, when imprisoned at Rome for the words sake, that, however he might be bound, the word was not; and therefore he submitted the more cheerfully to his troubles, being assured, that his endeavours to save the souls of his fellow-creatures would be crowned with success.
This subject leads us to consider,
I.
St. Pauls love to the elect
Notwithstanding the word elect has passed into a term of reproach, there most assuredly is an elect people, a remnant according to the election of grace [Note: Rom 11:5.], whom God has chosen to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth [Note: 2Th 2:13.].
Towards these St. Paul felt a peculiar regard
[He loved all, even his very enemies, and would gladly have submitted to the heaviest afflictions for their sake [Note: Rom 9:1-3.]. But his love to the elect was both more exalted in its nature, and more abundant in its degree. He considered them as the special objects of Gods love; as children of the same heavenly parent; as members of the same mystical body; and as fellow-heirs of the same glory. Hence they were all engraven on his very heart: and hence he exhorts us, while we do good unto all men, to do it more especially unto the household of faith [Note: Gal 6:10.].]
For their sake he willingly endured every trouble that could come upon him
[No man ever endured so much as he in his Masters cause. This we may see from the long catalogue of his troubles which he himself has left us [Note: 2Co 11:23-28.]. But, says he, None of these things move me [Note: Act 20:24.]: I rejoice in my sufferings for the elects sakes [Note: Col 1:24.]; most gladly will I spend and be spent for them, though the more abundantly I love them, the less I be loved [Note: 2Co 12:15.]: I am so affectionately desirous of them, that I am willing to impart to them, not the Gospel only, but my own soul also, because they are dear unto me [Note: 1Th 2:8.]: yea, if I be offered (and my blood be poured out as a libation) upon the sacrifice and service of their faith, I joy and rejoice with them all, and desire them also to joy and rejoice with me [Note: Php 2:17.]; for, so far am I from looking forward to it with fear, or accounting it an occasion of grief, that I esteem it a blessed subject of mutual congratulations.]
How amiable and praiseworthy was this heavenly disposition!
[Certainly the love of Christ in dying for us, infinitely exceeds all that ever was manifested by any human being. But, next to Christ, St. Paul seems to have most abounded in love to man. He was indeed a very bright resemblance of his Divine Master. And what a world would this be, if all were actuated by the same spirit and temper! Even those who cultivate least of this spirit themselves, must confess, that the universal prevalence of it would make a very heaven upon earth.]
But the Apostles regard to the elect was not a mere carnal affection, as we shall see, if we consider,
II.
The end he aimed at on their behalf
The happiness provided for the elect, is exceeding great and glorious
[For them is reserved salvation, even salvation from sin and Satan, death and hell. It is, moreover, a salvation with glory; not a mere exemption from punishment, but an unspeakable felicity in the immediate vision and fruition of their God. Nor is it ever to come to an end: its duration will continue as long as the soul itself shall exist. To crown the whole, it is a salvation in Christ Jesus, not merely as it is purchased by his blood (though that will infinitely enhance its value) but as it is treasured up in him, and shall be enjoyed in and through him, as the one medium of its communication for ever and ever.]
That they might obtain this, was the great object of his desires, the one scope of his labours
[He had no doubt at all respecting his own salvation [Note: 2Co 5:1.]. But could he be content to go to heaven alone? No; he would gladly have drawn all he could along with him [Note: So the church. Son 1:4.]. It was for this end that he became all things to all men [Note: 1Co 9:22.]: and to this he looked forward as his joy, his hope, his crown of rejoicing [Note: 1Th 2:19.]. There was not one weak, but he sympathized with him; not one turned aside, but he burned with an ardent desire to restore him [Note: 2Co 11:29.]. To such a degree was his soul bound up in the welfare of the elect, that he could say, Now I live, if ye stand fast in the Lord: nor did any thing appear too great for him either to do, or suffer, provided he might be instrumental in accomplishing this blessed end [Note: 1Th 3:7-9.].]
Infer
1.
What reason have most professors of religion to be ashamed of their attainments!
[Beyond a doubt, the Apostles spirit ought to be the spirit of all Christians [Note: 1Jn 3:16.]. But how little of it is seen in the Christian Church! How many are there who are ready to bite and devour one another, instead of being willing to lay down their lives for each other! And how little self-denial is there even in the best of us! How little will we do, or suffer, either for the temporal or spiritual welfare of our brethren! Let us blush at our want of love; and labour henceforth to benefit the bodies, and more especially to save the souls, of all around us.]
2.
How infatuated are they who have no concern for their own souls!
[Wherefore was Paul so earnest for the salvation of others, but because he knew somewhat of the value of a soul? He knew its happiness, if saved; and its misery, if lost. Shall another then be more concerned for us, than we for ourselves? Shall another be ready to do and suffer all things for us, and we be unwilling to do or suffer any thing for our own good? Let us remember, that no present gratifications can compensate for the loss of salvation; and that eternal glory will infinitely over-balance all that can be endured in the pursuit of it.]
3.
How must they be blinded by the devil, who oppose the salvation of their fellow-creatures!
[There are too many who scoff at piety, and endeavour, by ridicule or persuasion, to turn men from the practice of it. Alas! what an awful contrast do their characters form with that of the Apostle! Let such consider the warning given them by our Lord, that it were better for them to have a millstone hanged about their neck, and to be cast into the sea, than they should offend one of his little ones [Note: Luk 17:2.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
Ver. 10. That they may also obtain ] viz. By my pains in preaching, though bound, and by example of my patience in suffering bonds, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
10 .] For this reason (what reason? ‘quia me vincto evangelium currit,’ says Bengel: and with this agree Huther, De W., al. But neither 1) is this sound logic, nor 2) is it in accordance with the Apostle’s usage of . 1) The fact, that the word of God is not bound, is clearly not the reason why he suffers these things for the elect: nor can we say with Huther, that the consciousness of this fact is that in which he endures all. De W. takes the predominant idea to be, the dispersion and success of God’s word, in and by which the Apostle is encouraged to suffer. But this would certainly, as Wolf says, render the connexion ‘dilutior et parum cohrens.’ 2) In 1Ti 1:16 , , and Phm 1:15 , , the reference of . . is evidently to what follows: cf. also Rom 4:16 , 2Co 13:10 . I would therefore refer the words to the following, and consider them, as in the above instances, as a marked way of indicating the reason presently to be given: ‘for this purpose, that;’ so Chrys., Thdrt., Wolf, Wiesinger, al.) I endure all things (not merely suffer (obj.): but readiness and persistence (subj.) are implied in the word, and the universal belongs to this subj. meaning ‘I am enduring, ready to bear, all things’) for the sake of the elect (see reff., especially Tit 1:1 . The Apostle does not, as De W., refer merely to those elect of God who are not yet converted, but generally to the whole category, both those who are already turned to him, and those who are yet to be turned: cf. the parallel declaration in Col 1:24 , , ), that they also (as well as ourselves, with reference to what is to follow, the certainty that we, who suffer with Him, shall reign with Him: De W. (see above) says, ‘those yet unconverted, as well as those already converted:’ and the mere might seem to favour this view; but it manifestly is not so) may obtain the salvation which is in (as its element and condition of existence) Christ Jesus with eternal glory (salvation here, in its spiritual presence and power , Eph 2:5 ; and glory hereafter, the full development and expansion of salvation, Rom 8:21 ). Faithful is the saying (see on reff.: another of those current Christian sayings, probably the utterances originally of the Spirit by those who spoke in the Church, and, as in 1Ti 3:16 , bearing with it so much of balance and rhythmical arrangement, as to seem to be a portion of some hymn): for (Chrys., c., al., regard this as rendering a reason why the is , understanding . . of what has gone before, viz. the certainty that , . But this is most unnatural. The is not merely explicative, as Grot., Huther, al., but as in 1Ti 4:9 , renders a reason for the , in the assertion of the fact in well-known words: for the fact is so, that if &c.) if we died with Christ (on account of the aorist, pointing to some one definite event , the reference must be to that participation in Christ’s death which takes place at baptism in all those who are His, and which those who follow Him in sufferings emphatically shew that they then did really take on them: see Rom 6:3-4 ; Rom 6:8 ; Col 2:12 . Certainly, if the aor. stood alone, it might be taken proleptically, looking back on life from that future day in which the will be realized: but coupled as it is with the present and the future , we can hardly take it otherwise than literally as to time, of an event already past, and if so, strictly as in the parallel Rom 6:8 , where the reference is clear), we shall also live with Him (hereafter in glory): if we endure (with Him: the must be supplied, cf. , Rom 8:17 ), we shall also reign with Him (see Rom 5:17 ; Rom 8:17 . In the former pair, death and life are opposed: in this, subjection ( – .) and dominion. See the interesting anecdote of Nestor, quoted from the martyrology by Grotius): if we shall deny ( Him ), He also will deny us (see Mat 10:33 ): if we disbelieve (not, His Resurrection, as Chrys.: , : nor His Divinity, as c.(2) , but Him, generally. Ellic.’s note (which see) has convinced me that seems always in the N. T. to imply not ‘untrueness,’ ‘unfaithfulness,’ but definitely ‘unbelief:’ see note on Rom 3:3 , in Vol. II. edn. 5), He remains faithful (to His own word cited above): for He cannot deny Himself (i.e. if we desert faith in Him, He will not break faith with us ; He having declared that whosoever denies Him shall be denied by Him, and we having pledged ourselves to confess Him, we may become unbelieving, and break our pledge, but He will not break His: as He has said, it shall surely be. See Rom 3:3 . Chrys. gives a curious explanation: , , , . , , . , . , , . , , , , . But manifestly there is no such motive as this last brought forward, nor is the assertion , but . . Mack proposes another alternative, ‘If we fall from the faith and forfeit our own salvation, He still carries forward His own gracious will, in saving mankind by the Gospel.’ But that given above seems best to suit the context).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
2Ti 2:10 . : The knowledge that others had been, and were being, saved through his ministry was regarded by St. Paul as no small part of his reward. Thus, the Churches of Macedonia were his “crown,” as well as his “joy” (Phi 4:1 , 1Th 2:19 ). He had already in sight his “crown of righteousness”. This consideration suggests that we should refer to what follows rather than to what immediately precedes ( ). So Alf., who cites in illustration Rom 4:16 , 2Co 13:10 , 1Ti 1:16 , Phm 1:15 . On this view, we have completely displayed the conformity of Jesus Christ and of St. Paul to the conditions of success exemplified in the soldier, the athlete, and the field-labourer.
: as Love does, 1Co 13:7 . Ellicott rightly points out that Christian endurance is active, not passive: pain is felt as pain, but is recognised as having a moral and spiritual purpose.
: St. Paul was much sustained by the thought that his labours and sufferings were, in the providence of God, beneficial to others ( 2Co 1:6 ; 2Co 12:15 ; Eph 3:1 ; Eph 3:13 ; Phi 2:17 ; Col 1:24 ; Tit 1:1 ). “The elect” are those who, in the providence of God’s grace, are selected for spiritual privileges with a view directly to the salvation of others, as well as of themselves. The absolute phrase as here is found in Mat 24:22 ; Mat 24:24 = Mar 13:20 ; Mar 13:22 ; in Mat 24:31 = Mar 13:27 (?), Luk 18:7 ; in Rom 8:33 , Col 3:12 , Tit 1:1 ; in Rom 16:13 .
: they also (as well as I). It would be no Paradise to St. Paul “to live in Paradise alone”. Compare his supreme expression of selflessness in Rom 9:3 .
: Salvation may be enjoyed in part in this life; it will be consummated in eternal glory. See ref., and 2Co 4:17 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Therefore = On account of (App-104. 2Ti 2:2) this.
for. sakes. App-104. 2Ti 2:2.
may also = also may.
with. App-10.
eternal. App-151.
glory. See p. 1511.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
10.] For this reason (what reason? quia me vincto evangelium currit, says Bengel: and with this agree Huther, De W., al. But neither 1) is this sound logic, nor 2) is it in accordance with the Apostles usage of . 1) The fact, that the word of God is not bound, is clearly not the reason why he suffers these things for the elect: nor can we say with Huther, that the consciousness of this fact is that in which he endures all. De W. takes the predominant idea to be, the dispersion and success of Gods word, in and by which the Apostle is encouraged to suffer. But this would certainly, as Wolf says, render the connexion dilutior et parum cohrens. 2) In 1Ti 1:16, , and Phm 1:15, , the reference of . . is evidently to what follows: cf. also Rom 4:16, 2Co 13:10. I would therefore refer the words to the following, and consider them, as in the above instances, as a marked way of indicating the reason presently to be given: for this purpose, that; so Chrys., Thdrt., Wolf, Wiesinger, al.) I endure all things (not merely suffer (obj.): but readiness and persistence (subj.) are implied in the word, and the universal belongs to this subj. meaning-I am enduring, ready to bear, all things) for the sake of the elect (see reff., especially Tit 1:1. The Apostle does not, as De W., refer merely to those elect of God who are not yet converted, but generally to the whole category, both those who are already turned to him, and those who are yet to be turned: cf. the parallel declaration in Col 1:24, , ), that they also (as well as ourselves, with reference to what is to follow, the certainty that we, who suffer with Him, shall reign with Him:-De W. (see above) says, those yet unconverted, as well as those already converted: and the mere might seem to favour this view; but it manifestly is not so) may obtain the salvation which is in (as its element and condition of existence) Christ Jesus with eternal glory (salvation here, in its spiritual presence and power- , Eph 2:5; and glory hereafter, the full development and expansion of salvation, Rom 8:21). Faithful is the saying (see on reff.: another of those current Christian sayings, probably the utterances originally of the Spirit by those who spoke in the Church,-and, as in 1Ti 3:16, bearing with it so much of balance and rhythmical arrangement, as to seem to be a portion of some hymn): for (Chrys., c., al., regard this as rendering a reason why the is , understanding . . of what has gone before, viz. the certainty that , . But this is most unnatural. The is not merely explicative, as Grot., Huther, al., but as in 1Ti 4:9, renders a reason for the ,-in the assertion of the fact in well-known words: for the fact is so, that if &c.) if we died with Christ (on account of the aorist, pointing to some one definite event, the reference must be to that participation in Christs death which takes place at baptism in all those who are His, and which those who follow Him in sufferings emphatically shew that they then did really take on them: see Rom 6:3-4; Rom 6:8; Col 2:12. Certainly, if the aor. stood alone, it might be taken proleptically, looking back on life from that future day in which the will be realized: but coupled as it is with the present and the future , we can hardly take it otherwise than literally as to time, of an event already past, and if so, strictly as in the parallel Rom 6:8, where the reference is clear), we shall also live with Him (hereafter in glory): if we endure (with Him: the must be supplied, cf. , Rom 8:17), we shall also reign with Him (see Rom 5:17; Rom 8:17. In the former pair, death and life are opposed: in this, subjection (-.) and dominion. See the interesting anecdote of Nestor, quoted from the martyrology by Grotius): if we shall deny (Him), He also will deny us (see Mat 10:33): if we disbelieve (not, His Resurrection, as Chrys.: , : nor His Divinity, as c.(2) , but Him, generally. Ellic.s note (which see) has convinced me that seems always in the N. T. to imply not untrueness, unfaithfulness, but definitely unbelief: see note on Rom 3:3, in Vol. II. edn. 5), He remains faithful (to His own word cited above): for He cannot deny Himself (i.e. if we desert faith in Him, He will not break faith with us; He having declared that whosoever denies Him shall be denied by Him, and we having pledged ourselves to confess Him,-we may become unbelieving, and break our pledge, but He will not break His: as He has said, it shall surely be. See Rom 3:3. Chrys. gives a curious explanation: , , , . , , . , . , , . , , , , . But manifestly there is no such motive as this last brought forward, nor is the assertion , but . . Mack proposes another alternative,-If we fall from the faith and forfeit our own salvation, He still carries forward His own gracious will, in saving mankind by the Gospel. But that given above seems best to suit the context).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
2Ti 2:10. , for this cause) because the Gospel runs forward, while I am bound.– , salvation-with glory) There is an exquisite propriety in the words: , salvation, viz. the deliverance from evil, is the privilege of those receiving faith: , glory, viz. the abundance of good things, is the privilege of those reaching the goal, Act 2:47; Rom 8:24; Rom 8:21 : [comp. Psa 84:12.]
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
2Ti 2:10
Therefore I endure all things-Paul endured all things in order that the word of God might be widely spread and disseminated; he as a faithful soldier at his post bore up with quiet, patient courage against suffering, and he did it for the elects sake; that is, for those whom, in his infinite mercy, God has been pleased to choose as his people, for those who in his unfathomable love are yet to be brought into the one fold.
for the elects sake,-From this it is clearly shown that Paul was speaking of a class, and not as individuals as such. This in no way intimates that God by any direct power elected them; but had chosen to elect a certain class, and left it to everyone to make himself of that class. It is said of that class that they were elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. (1Pe 1:2.) One who does not show his election by obeying God may be sure that he will never be elected to anything beyond obedience. So obedience is the prerequisite to all other higher election. There is not a word in this to discourage a man from seeking to make his calling and election sure or to give him assurance of salvation save in obedience to the will of God. There is no doubt but there is a certain election taught in the Bible. In the passage before us it is clearly taught, as well as in some others. Jesus said: And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and they shall become one flock, one shepherd. (Joh 10:16.) In this he recognizes that he had a flock that were not then following him as the Shepherd. At Corinth the Lord said unto Paul: Be not afraid, but speak and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to harm thee: for I have much people in this city. (Act 18:9-10.) They had not yet believed, but God called them his people. The meaning of both passages is that there were a number of persons of that frame of mind and disposition of heart that when they heard the gospel they would believe and obey it.
that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.-This was said before they were converted and shows that those willing to receive the gospel when they hear it are regarded as elect. It is possible that Paul had this class in view and for the sake of those who would receive it when they heard it, and he was willing to endure all things for this class, whether Jews or Gentiles, that they might hear the gospel, and through it obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Approved unto God
2Ti 2:10-18
The elect, 2Ti 2:10-13 : The Apostle sketches the experiences of the elect soul. It must endure, suffer, and die with Christ, that out of its surrender may come the truest, richest life, Joh 12:25. There is no path to lasting success save that of the cross and grave of Christ. It has been allotted to the redeemed in the divine program; each must tread it separately and with resolute purpose. But there is no doubt as to the sequel of a true life. The world of men may count it a failure, but God pledges Himself that as the pendulum swings here in the dark, it shall swing equally in yonder world of light. Three things are impossible with God-to die, to lie, and to fail the soul that trusts Him. Even when we cannot muster faith enough, His word of promise cannot be frustrated in the case of those whose faith is weak and trembling as the smoking flax.
The workman, 2Ti 2:14-18 : The one anxiety with us all should be to stand approved before God. As the r.v. margin suggests, we must hold a straight course in the word of truth. Our testimony should resemble an undeviating furrow. Let us construct in our life something which will be a permanent addition to the well-being of the world, so that at the last the Master may say that He is satisfied.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
salvation
(See Scofield “Rom 1:16”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
I endure: 2Ti 2:3, Eph 3:13, Col 1:24
for: Mat 24:22, Mat 24:24, Mat 24:31, Joh 11:52, Joh 17:9, 1Co 9:22, 2Co 1:6, 2Co 4:15, Col 1:24
obtain: Pro 8:35, Joh 17:24, 1Th 5:9, 1Ti 1:13, 1Ti 1:14, 1Pe 2:10
with: Rom 2:7, Rom 9:23, 2Co 4:17, Col 1:27, 2Th 2:14, 1Pe 5:10
Reciprocal: Ezr 1:11 – five thousand Mat 18:14 – one Mar 13:27 – his elect Luk 19:17 – Well Luk 22:57 – he denied Joh 11:15 – for Joh 17:19 – for Act 4:4 – many Act 9:16 – I will Rom 1:14 – debtor Rom 8:17 – if so be Rom 11:14 – by 1Co 4:6 – for 1Co 9:19 – that 1Co 9:23 – for 1Co 13:5 – seeketh 2Co 4:5 – and 2Co 5:13 – for 2Co 12:15 – will Eph 1:4 – as Phi 1:30 – the same Phi 2:12 – own Col 1:29 – labour Col 3:12 – as 1Th 1:5 – for 1Ti 4:10 – therefore 1Ti 4:16 – them 2Ti 4:5 – endure Tit 1:2 – hope Heb 2:10 – glory Heb 5:9 – eternal Heb 9:15 – eternal 1Pe 1:2 – Elect 1Jo 2:19 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ti 2:10. The over-all meaning of elect is given in Thayer’s lexicon as, “picked out, chosen.” All special meanings, such as who does the choossing and on what condition the choice is made, must be determined in each case by the connection in which it is used. In the present passage it means those whom God has chosen as heirs of salvation, because they have complied with the terms that He has made known to man. Each disciple must work out his own salvation (Php 2:12), but he can be greatly assisted in that conflict by the co-operation of others who likewise are engaged in the struggle. Such encouragement is especially helpful when it comes from one who has “borne the brunt of battle” as Paul has been doing. Hence he says he is enduring his suf-fering3 for their sakes, to the end they may win the reward of salvation made possible only through Christ. Eternal glory signifies that which will be enjoyed by the residents of Heaven, in contrast with the glitter and tinsel of this world which will soon fade away.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
2Ti 2:10. Therefore. Better, for this reason, so as to leave the English, like the Greek, to point either to what precedes or follows. Here the latter seems to give the preferable meaning, as in the like construction in 1Ti 1:16; Phm 1:15. He is content to endure all things that Gods chosen ones may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus. The thought of the apostle is, that God has throughout the world those whom He has chosen to eternal life; that this election depends for its results on human instrumentality, and may be frustrated by human negligence. For their sake, whether already converted or waiting to be called, he is content to suffer whatever God appoints for him. Those sufferings are part of the agencies by which God is working out for them salvation now and eternal glory hereafter.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
St. Paul having acquainted Timothy in the foregoing verses with his sufferings, even unto bonds, here he lets him understand and know, why, and for whose sake, he did so cheerfully endure all these things, namely, for the elects sake. Though the rest of the world rejected the gospel, yet the elect would be confirmed by his example, and obtain that salvation which in and through Jesus Christ was offered and tendered to them.
Here note, That there is a certain election of God, which hath infallibly chosen to salvation all those who make their calling and election sure, by perseverance in holiness and good works.
Note, 2. That the faithful ministers of Christ do think no sufferings to much, or too dear, for the sake of God’s elect, (for the sake of believing Christians, who are a chosen generation) so that their sufferings may but further their eternal glory, happiness and salvation.
To encourage yet again to a patient enduring of all sorts of afflictions, he assures Timothy, that if we be rendred comformable to Christ in his sufferings, we shall be also in his glory: If we suffer for him, we shall reign with him: if we be dead with him, dead to sin, and dead to the world, we shall also live with him, in conformity to his resurrection; but if for fear of suffering we disown him, he will also deny us; if we believe not, if we be unfaithful and forsake him, yet he will be true to his word, he will not forsake his own cause, but make good his threatenings, his own veracity stands firm, and is as much engaged to execute the threatening, as to fulfil the promise.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
ARGUMENT 3
THE ELECT
10. Therefore I suffer all things for the sake of the elect, in order that they indeed may receive the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The Greek, eklectoi, is really double election. It is from ek, out, and lego, to select. Hence, means selected out of the select. God chose the seed of Abraham in the old dispensation to be his holy peculiar people chosen out of all nations the honored custodians of the Divine oracles, to prepare the world to receive his Incarnate Son, and preach him to all nations. While they failed by unfaithfulness and missed their blessing, the elect fewe.g., old Simeon, Anna, Zacharias and Elisabeth, Joseph and Mary, and the shepherds on the plainsproved true, and received the blessing. So now the entire Christian Church are the chosen people of God, honored and blessed as the custodians and propagators of his truth, and the recipients of their returning King. But like their predecessors, they are proving unfaithful. But the sanctified, corresponding with the inspired Word, eklectoi, the elect out of the elect, are going to verify Pauls prayer in this passage; i.e., receive the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory; i.e., enter the glorified transfiguration, joining with angels and archangels in the coronation of their Lord, King of kings; i.e., King of the nations, Satan, their present king, having been taken out of the world.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Vs. 10 “Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”
He endures ALL things for the elect’s sake – hummm – even talking behind the back, even rude comments, even untrue stories, even being left out etc. – yep sounds like a lot of pastors I have known – endure all things the elect can throw at them. Not that the elect should live that way, but many do in our present church climate. No, that is not what Paul is talking about but the minister of God does endure many things.
Upon a more accurate reading I would say that actually Paul is speaking of the elect before they are saved in this context – that they might find salvation.
Years ago one of the joys of working in a large television shop was that the boss would send me out with the outside technicians to deliver television sets. One day he asked me to go out with a man that was not the most likeable person in the shop. He was a Biker and very crude in speech.
I jumped in the truck and he turned to me and asked, You arent one of those religious nuts are you? I told him that I tried not to be. He didnt question me on what I meant, but launched into a long tirade about our service manager, an Independent Baptist, that had been witnessing to him over the lunch hour.
I just kept my mouth shut as he ranted on. As we jumped into the truck for the return trip to the shop, he mentioned something that gave me opportunity to just share the simple facts of the Gospel with him. He listened intently and his parting words were Stan, I have to know if you are right!
Enduring a little ranting and raving allowed the Gospel freedom to be shared.
Indeed, the Gospel was shared with a man that had never heard it before. He told me his home was stacked high with religious literature but that he had never heard or seen the simple Gospel.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
Because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation Paul was content to endure anything so long as this message went forth (cf. Php 1:12-20).
"The body they may kill;
God’s truth abideth still;
His kingdom is forever." [Note: Martin Luther, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.]
Paul had been the chief suppresser of the gospel (Act 22:4; Act 26:9-11). Now he was its chief promoter. He had been the greatest oppressor of the saints. Now he was the most greatly oppressed of them.
"While the majority of the commentators understand the ’elect’ to refer to the unregenerate who have not yet believed (but certainly will), there is good reason to understand the term in this context as a virtual synonym for a regenerate saint. First of all, in every usage of the term applied to men, in the New Testament it always refers to a justified saint. Conversely, it never refers to someone who was elect in eternity past but who has not yet entered into the purpose of their election, justification. . . . It is best to understand by ’the elect’ Timothy and the faithful men of 2Ti 2:2. Timothy is being exhorted to suffer in his ministry to the faithful men just as Paul has been imprisoned for his ministry to the ’elect.’ The idea of Paul suffering for the sanctification and growth of the churches is a common New Testament theme, and is easily seen in this passage as well.
"Here then are saved people in need of salvation! The salvation in view is necessarily sanctification or, perhaps, more precisely, victorious perseverance through trials (2Ti 1:8; 2Ti 2:3; 2Ti 2:9)." [Note: Joseph C. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings, pp. 127-28. Cf. Knight, p. 400; and Towner, The Letters . . ., p. 504.]