Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Timothy 4:5
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
5. But watch thou ] Exactly and fully, but thou, be thou watchful and sober, combining A.V. and R.V., and emphasising the pronoun. The proper force of the verb is certainly ‘sobriety’ literal and then metaphorical. See note on the adjective, 1Ti 3:2. The metaphorical sobriety is in effect ‘watchfulness,’ though not from ‘wakefulness’ so much as from ‘wariness,’ cool-headedness. Hence the proverb, ‘the tongue of the drunkard, but the heart of the sober.’ The present tense is plainly most suitable to this state of calm sober consideration in everything; while the aorists which follow as suitably express the going to and taking up ‘hardship,’ ‘preaching,’ ‘ministry,’ just as in 2Ti 4:1.
the work of an evangelist ] Not here that of any separate class, but that which belonged to Apostles and the humblest Evangelists proper, equally. See the Prayer in the Form of Consecration of Bishops (Eng. Pr.-Bk.), ‘that he may evermore be ready to spread abroad thy gospel, the glad tidings of reconciliation with thee.’
make full proof ] Or fulfil, i.e. fully perform, the same meaning of the word as is most probably to be assigned to Luk 1:1, ‘those matters which have been fulfilled among us.’ Vulg. ‘ministerium tuum imple.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But watch thou in all things – Be vigilant against error and against sin, and faithful in the performance of duty; See the Mat 25:13 note; 1Co 16:13 note.
Endure afflictions – See the notes at 2Ti 2:3. The Greek word here is the same which is there rendered endure hardness.
Do the work of an evangelist – On the word evangelist, see the notes on Act 21:8. The phrase here means, do the work of preaching the gospel, or of one appointed to proclaim the glad tidings of salvation. This is the proper business of all ministers, whatever other rank they may maintain. Whether it was ever regarded as the proper duty of a separate class of men to do this, see the notes on Eph 4:11.
Make full proof of thy ministry – Margin, fulfill; compare the notes at Rom 14:5. The word here used denotes, properly, to bear or bring fully; then to persuade fully; and then to make fully assured of, to give full proof of. The meaning here seems to be, to furnish full evidence of what is the design of the Christian ministry, and of what it is adapted to accomplish, by the faithful performance of all its duties. Timothy was so to discharge the duties of his office as to furnish a fair illustration of what the ministry could do, and thus to show the wisdom of the Saviour in its institution. This should be the aim of all the ministers of the gospel. Each one should resolve, by the blessing of God, that the ministry, in his hands, shall be allowed, by a fair trial, to show to the utmost what it is adapted to do for the welfare of mankind.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
2Ti 4:5
But watch thou in all things.
1. But watch thou. The apostasy and looseness of the times we live in must make us the more watchful. Their falls must be our fears; their levity must quicken us to constancy, and their negligence must quicken our diligence in keeping the watch of the Lord.
2. Good men desire the Churchs good after their departure. Paul is dying, yet he commands Timothy to improve his talents for the Churchs good when himself was dead. Moses, before he dies, prays the Lord to set up a fit ruler instead (Num 28:16-17). Wicked men care not what becomes of the world, when they are dead and gone let heaven and earth come together, and all be in confusion, they care not. But good men have public spirits.
3. As all persons, so ministers especially must watch. The devil hath a special spite at them; he commands his agents, as the king of Aram did his followers, to fight neither with small nor great, but against the king of Israel; so he bends all his strength against the ministers of Israel.
(1) The better the man, the more watchful must he be. The pirate sets on the laden ship, and the thief upon the wealthiest traveller. But we must watch as pastors too, and discover wolves that would destroy the flock.
(2) We must watch at all times.
(a) In prosperity, as pigeons when they fare best fear most.
(b) Watch in adversity, the devil is busy then in laying snares, as the fowler doth for birds in frosty weather.
(3) In all places, in public and private, at home and abroad; the world is full of snares.
(4) Watch in all things, so runs the text.
(5) Watch against all sins. We carry about us a proneness to all sin.
(6) Watch over all thy senses; stop thine ears; make a covenant with thine eyes (Job 31:1). Set a watch before thy mouth. The whole soul is out of order, and therefore we must set a guard upon all its faculties.
4. Ministers especially must be hardy men. We are called soldiers, shepherds, watchmen, husbandmen, all which must endure summers heat and winters frost.
(1) We must endure hardship in our preparatory studies; we must give up ourselves to reading, study and prayer.
(2) He must endure hardship in the actual performance of his duty.
(3) Most properly and genuinely this hardship in the text consists in a patient undergoing of those injuries and oppositions which we must expect from an ungrateful world.
(4) The Lord Himself sometimes is pleased to exercise us, and to inure us to hardship, that we may be the fitter for His service. But let us, like good soldiers of Christ, endure hardship–
(a) Patiently.
(b) Courageously.
(c) Constantly.
5. The ministry is a work. The sweat of the brow is nothing to that of the brain; besides the dangers we are liable to for our works sake.
6. Do the work or service of an evangelist. Observe, ministers are servants, and their office is service.
7. Of an evangelist. Observe, ministers must preach the gospel. We must publish the glad tidings of a Saviour (what in us lieth to all the world); this is to do the work of an evangelist, viz., soundly and sincerely to publish the gospel.
8. Make full proof of thy ministry. Ministers must fully and faithfully discharge all the duties of their calling. (T. Hall, B. D.)
Christian watchfulness
None are so likely to maintain watchful guard over their hearts and lives as those who know the comfort of living in near communion with God. They feel their privilege and will fear losing it. They will dread falling from their high estate, and marring their own comfort by bringing clouds between themselves and Christ. He that goes on a journey with a little money about him takes little thought of danger, and cares little how late he travels. He, on the contrary, that carries gold and jewels, will be a cautious traveller: he will look well to his roads, his horses, and his company, and run no risks. The fixed stars are those that tremble most. The man that most fully enjoys the light of Gods countenance, will be a man tremblingly afraid of losing its blessed consolations, and jealously fearful of doing anything to grieve the Holy Ghost. (Bishop Ryle.)
Endure afflictions.
Endurance of hardship
Some dyes cannot bear the weather, but alter colour presently; but there are others that, having something that gives a deeper tincture, will hold. The graces of a true Christian hold out in all sorts of weathers, in winter and summer, prosperity and adversity, when superficial counterfeit holiness will give out. (R. Sibbes.)
Ministerial hardship
I board with a poor Scotsman; his wife can talk scarcely any English. My diet consists mostly of hasty-pudding, boiled corn, and bread baked in ashes, and sometimes a little meat and butter. My lodging is a little heap of straw, laid upon some boards, a little way from the ground; for it is a long room, without any floor, that I lodge in. My work is exceedingly hard and difficult. I travel on foot a mile and a half in the worst of roads almost daily and back again; for I live so far from my Indians. I bare not seen an English person this month. These and many other uncomfortable circumstances attend me; and yet my spiritual conflicts and distresses so far exceed all these that I scarce think of them, but feel as if I were entertained in the most sumptuous manner. The Lord grant that I may learn to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ! (David Brainerd.)
Do the work of an evangelist.–
The work of an evangelist
We fancy we still see Dr. Wardlaw standing in the pulpit and beseeching the newly-ordained pastor to approve himself in all things as the faithful servant of God. Some of his sentences still linger in our recollection–Oh, my brother I he said, never forget that the greatest triumph which can be accomplished on earth is the conversion of a soul; and a ministers labours are never so highly honoured as when men are born of God through his instrumentality. It may be of importance to polish the jewel after it has been found, but the chief thing is to dig it out of the mine. It may be, and it is, important to dress up the stone for the front of the building, but be does the greatest work who excavates it from the quarry in which it lay imbedded. (Evangelical Repository.)
An earnest evangelist
While waiting on one occasion in a gentlemans parlour, Vassar opened conversation with his wife, a very fashionable and proud-looking lady, who was sitting in the room. With great concern he began at once to urge the necessity of the new birth and immediate acceptance of Christ upon her. She was thunderstruck, and protested that she did not believe in any of those things. Then followed a most fervent appeal, texts of Scripture, warning against rejecting Christ, the certainty of a wrath to come for any found in impenitence, till my friend said he was fairly alarmed at the boldness of the assault. Suddenly the gentleman came in for whom he was waiting, and called him out. When the gentleman returned to his wife, she said, There has been an old man here talking with me about religion. Why did you not shut him up? he asked gruffly. He is one of those persons that you cannot shut up, was her reply. If I had been here, he said, I would have told him very quickly to go about his business. If you had seen him, you would have thought he was about his business, was her answer. (Memoir of Uncle John Vassar.)
Make full proof of thy ministry.–
Fulfil thy ministry
This word ministry does not refer exclusively to what we are accustomed to call the Christian ministry, meaning the teaching and pastoral office in the Church. That is but one of ten thousand forms of ministration or service, which may be rendered to our fellows at the call of God. To minister to any one, is to help or serve him; and so every course of action by which we can help and serve others is a ministry, and every such service is truly a Christian work. And as we cannot all render the same service, but can each render particular kinds of service to particular people–relatives, friends or neighbours–that particular description of service which each of us can render is our ministry. It is a ministry, the object of whose functions lies without us, in contrast to activities which centre in self as their object. And it is thy ministry, because it is that particular form of helpful activity which it is open to each, separately, to prosecute. Pauls was different from Timothys, and neither has belonged to anybody since; nor will your ministry, or mine, ever be allotted to anybody else; for no one will be situated as We are, or have exactly our opportunities. But, in some respects, our ministry is like Timothys and Pauls. It is directed to the same objects: the spread of Christs truth and Christs Church. And we are summoned to it by the same Divine Lord, to whom also we shall reader an account of its discharge; All the high, sublime elements, then, which belonged to their ministry or service in life, belong to ours, though ours may take less striking outward forms, and be rendered with no eye but Gods to watch our performance of it. The sublime considerations, moving to fidelity in it, which Paul urged on Timothy, bear, then, on us. I charge thee before God, make full proof of–thoroughly fulfil–thy ministry. (T. M. Herbert, M. A.)
The appeal of the elder to the younger generation
In the charge of the aged Paul to the young disciple Timothy, there seems to be an appeal which, though unexpressed, is perpetually addressed from the elder generation to the younger. What the one old man said to the single young one, all Christs servants, whose work is nearly done, seem to say to all those whose work is just beginning. Fulfil thy ministry, for I am now ready to be offered. Choose what time in the worlds history you like, you will always find those two classes well represented; for it is always true that one generation passeth away, and another cometh. And while the old are always passing to their rest, and the young rising to do their parts, the great aims for which Christian men strive and pray, and the great institution of the Church, through which they further them, lives on; and it is, or should be, the concern of each generation to hand it down invigorated and enlarged, to their successors. But if that is to be done, these successors must be ready to take up these toils and aims; to adapt them to the needs of the coming time, and engage in them with a spirit at least as devoted as that which their fathers showed. So they seem to hear from their father, Fulfil thy ministry, for I am now ready to be offered. Now if we take our own time, and apply to it these considerations, which hold good of every time, what shall we say? New, as ever, there is a passing and a rising generation. And the great Church and kingdom of Christ, which has been in the hands of the fathers, will soon be in the hands of the children. That glorious institution will live, though the hands which now sustain it decay. But young hands must receive it from the failing hold of the elders, and by their efforts it must he upheld. Are they ready to take it? Are they prepared to fulfil their ministry, because their predecessors will soon leave the task in their hands? (T. M. Herbert, M. A.)
Fuelling ones ministry
Several ancient rulers did not find management of their dominions sufficiently burdensome, and so one of them became a fiddler, another a poet, and another an orator. The world never had a worse fiddler than Nero, nor a more wearisome poet than Dionysius, nor a more blundering orator than Caligula; and we might fearlessly assert also that the world never had worse princes than these three. Such instances are exceedingly instructive, and remind us of the sculptors advice to the cobbler to stick to his last. Each tub had better stand on its own bottom; for when tubs take to rolling about they spill all that they contain, be it either wine or water. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. But watch thou in all things] It is possible to be overtaken in a fault, to neglect one’s duty, and to lose one’s soul. Watching unto prayer prevents all these evils.
Endure afflictions] Let no sufferings affright thee; nor let the dread of them either cause thee to abandon the truth, or relax in thy zeal for the salvation of men.
Do the work of an evangelist] That is: Preach Christ crucified for the sins of the whole world; for this, and this alone, is doing the work of an evangelist, or preacher of the glad tidings of peace and salvation by Christ. An angel from God was first sent to do the work of an evangelist, and how did he do it? Behold, said he, I bring you good tidings of great joy; , , . Behold, I evangelize unto you great joy, which shall be to all people; to you is born a Saviour. Those who do not proclaim Christ as having tasted death for every man, and who do not implicitly show that every human soul may be saved, do not perform the work of evangelists; they, God help them! limit the Holy One of Israel. Yet, as far as they preach the truth in sincerity, so far God acknowledges and blesses them and their labours; they do a part of the work, but not the whole.
Make full proof of thy ministry.] Push all thy principles to their utmost power of activity; carry them on to all their consequences; and try what God will do for thee, and by thee. Neglect no part of thy sacred function; perform faithfully all the duties of which it is composed; and do God’s work in his own way and in his own spirit.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions: watching implieth:
1. A negation of sleep.
2. An industrious keeping ourselves awake for some end.
Keep thyself from all sin, and from all idleness and laziness, and do this industriously, that thou mayst honour God in thy work.
Do the work of an evangelist; for thy work is a great work, the work of one who is to publish the gospel; or of one who is left by me the apostle of Christ to settle the church which I have laid the foundation of, Act 21:8; Eph 4:11.
Make full proof of thy ministry; make a full proof unto others of thy faithfulness in thy ministerial office and employment.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. I am no longer here towithstand these things; be thou a worthy successor of me, no longerdepending on me for counsel, but thine own master, and swimmingwithout the corks [CALVIN];follow my steps, inherit their result, and the honor of their end[ALFORD].
watch thouliterally,”with the wakefulness of one sober.”
in all thingson alloccasions and under all circumstances (Tit2:7).
endure afflictionsufferhardships [ALFORD].
evangelista missionarybishop preacher, and teacher.
make full proof offulfilin all its requirements, leaving nothing undone (Act 12:25;Rom 15:19; Col 4:17).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But watch thou in all things,…. Relating to himself, his doctrine, and conversation; and to others, to feed the flock of God under his care, to know the state of them, and care for them; to give the time of night, and notice of approaching danger, and see the laws of Christ put in execution; either in allusion to shepherds, who watch over their flocks night and day; or to watchmen that are upon the walls of cities, or go about them; or to the priests and Levites in the temple:
endure afflictions; the Alexandrian copy adds, “as a good soldier of Jesus Christ”, as in 2Ti 2:3 meaning reproaches and persecutions for the sake of the Gospel, from without, and all trials and exercises from within, through the infirmities and ill conduct of the saints themselves; all which are to be endured patiently, cheerfully, and courageously; so as not to be moved by them to desist from the work of the ministry:
do the work of an evangelist; which may design either an officer, then in the church, distinct from apostles and prophets on the one hand, and pastors and teachers on the other; and was below the former, and above the latter; and was aiding and assisting to the apostles, and such an one Timothy may be thought to be: or it may intend a preacher of the Gospel in common; and to do the work of such an one is not to read lectures of morality, or to preach up justification and salvation by the works of the law; or to mix law and Gospel together, and confound them both; but to preach peace, pardon, righteousness, life, and salvation alone by Jesus Christ, and through the free grace of God:
make full proof of thy ministry: the work of the ministry, which lies in preaching the Gospel, and administering ordinances, and doing all the duties belonging to it, which is to fulfil it, or discharge it; and which gives full proof of a man’s being a true and faithful minister of the word; particularly when he diligently and constantly attends to his work; seeks not his own things, but the things of Christ; cheerfully and patiently suffers for Christ and his Gospel, and lives an agreeable life and conversation.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
But be thou sober ( ). Present active imperative of , for which see 1Thess 5:6; 1Thess 5:8. “Be sober in thy head.”
Suffer hardship (). See 2:9.
Do the work of an evangelist ( ). See 1Cor 1:17; Eph 4:11 for , gospelizer.
Fulfil (). First aorist active imperative of , for which see Col 4:12. In Col 4:17 Paul uses to Archippus about his ministry as he here employs . Both verbs mean to fill full.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Watch thou [ ] . See on 1Th 5:6, and on ajnanhywsin recover, 2Ti 2:26.
Endure afflictions [] . Or suffer hardship. See on chapter 2Ti 2:9, and comp. chapter 2Ti 4:5.
Of an evangelist [] . Here, Act 21:8 and Eph 4:11. In the last passage, a special function, with apostles, prophets, pastors, and teachers. A traveling, minister whose work was not confined to a particular church. So Philip, Act 8:5 – 13, 26 – 40. A helper of the apostles. An apostle, as such, was an evangelist (1Co 1:17), but every evangelist was not an apostle. In The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (about 100 A. D.) it is prescribed that an apostle shall not remain in one place longer than two days, and that when he departs he shall take nothing with him except enough bread to last until his next station (chapter. 11). Make full proof of thy ministry [ ] . Better, fulfill or fully perform. In Pastorals only here and verse 17 See on Luk 1:1. In LXX once, Ecc 8:11, is fully persuaded. Only in this passage in the active voice. Comp. plhrwsantev thn diakonian having fulfilled their ministration, Act 12:25 : ejplhrou ton dromon was fulfilling his course, Act 13:25, and ton dromon I have finished the course, verse 7. For diakonian ministry, see on 1Ti 1:12.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “But watch thou in all things” (su de nephe en posin) “But be thou sober in all situations;” in emotions, passions, speech, etc.; in preparation for witnessing, service, and Christian warfare, 1Th 5:6; 1Th 5:8; 1Pe 1:13; 1Pe 4:7-8.
2) “Endure afflictions” (kakopatheson) “Suffer, endure, or persevere under evil,” afflictions, hurtful things, as a good soldier, 2Ti 2:3.
3) “Do the work of an evangelist” (ergon poieson evangellistou) “The work of an evangelist do; an itinerant preacher, with special emphasis on winning to a profession of faith, Act 21:8; Eph 4:11.
4) “Make full proof of thy ministry” (ten diakonian sou plerophoreson) “Fulfill thy common ministry,” 1Ti 4:12; 1Ti 4:15; Give visible evidence, justify by visible fruits, life changes, the hard work of your “common spiritual services,” Col 4:17; Act 12:25; 1Ti 1:12.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
5 But watch thou in all things. He proceeds with the former exhortation, to the effect that the more grievous the diseases are, the more earnestly Timothy may labor to cure them; and that the nearer dangers are at hand, the more diligently he may keep watch. And because the ministers of Christ, when they faithfully discharge their office, are immediately called to engage in combats, he at the same time reminds Timothy to be firm and immovable in enduring adversity. (196)
Do the work of an Evangelist That is, “Do that which belongs to an evangelist.” Whether he denotes generally by this term any ministers of the gospel, or whether this was a special office, is doubtful; but I am more inclined to the second opinion, because from Eph 4:11 it is clearly evident that this was an intermediate class between apostles and pastors, so that the evangelists ranked as assistants next to the apostles. It is also more probable that Timothy, whom Paul had associated with himself as his closest companion in all things, surpassed ordinary pastors in rank and dignity of office, than that he was only one of their number. Besides, to mention an honorable title of office tends not only to encourage him, but to recommend his authority to others; and Paul had in view both of these objects.
Render thy ministry approved If we read this clause as in the old translation, “Fulfill thy ministry,” the meaning will be: “Thou canst not fully discharge the office intrusted to thee but by doing those things which I have enjoined. Wherefore see that you fail not in the middle of the course.” But because πληροφορεῖν commonly means “to render certain” or “to prove,” I prefer the following meaning, which is also most agreeable to the context, — that Timothy, by watching, and by patiently enduring afflictions, and by constant teaching, will succeed in having the truth of his ministry established, because from such marks all will acknowledge him to be a good and faithful minister of Christ.
(196) “When the devil has raised his standard, and when scandals and disturbances abound everywhere, we cannot be sufficiently attentive to guard against them, unless we are fortified by patience, and are not discouraged by the adversity which we must endure. If this warning ever was advantageous, how exceedingly necessary is it at the present day! Has not the world arrived at the highest pitch of iniquity? We see that the majority furiously reject the gospel. As to others who pretend to welcome the gospel, what sort of obedience do they render to it? There is so much contempt and so much pride, that, as soon as vices are reproved, or more sharpness is used than suits the taste of those who would wish to have full permission to act wickedly, and whose sole aim is to destroy everything, they are filled with spite. Although Papists will permit their preaching Friars to cry out and storm against them, and at the same time do nothing but steep themselves in lies to their destruction, they who openly declare that they wish the reformation of the gospel cannot endure to be reproved when it is necessary, but gnash their teeth against God, and fulfill what Paul says to the Corinthians, that if deceivers came to impose upon them, they would bear with all tyranny, and would be quiet when they were buffeted; but if we teach them faithfully in the name of God and for their salvation, they are so fastidious that a single word will provoke them to rebellion; and if we persevere in doing our duty, war will be immediately declared. Would to God that these things were not so visible amongst us as they are! ” — Fr. Ser.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) But watch thou in all things.But do thou, continued St. Paul, do thou be watchful. The Greek word translated watch thou, signifies literally, be sober. It has been well paraphrased, Keep thy coolness and presence of mind, that thou be not entrapped into forgetfulness, but as one ever wakeful and ready, be on the watch. The word, as it were, sums up all those last directions of St. Paul, from 2Ti. 2:14, in which St. Paul charged Timothy to abstain from vain arguments and confine himself to the simple word of truth, to avoid discussions which would be likely to lead to strife, and to be patient and gentle with allto separate himself from merely nominal Christians, and to keep steadily to the old paths in which the Apostles had walked. He was to be ever watchful in all these things.
Endure afflictions.And in his watch must Timothy be ready to suffer. He would remember what had been said before respecting a true Christian suffering (2Ti. 2:3-12), and what was the high reward purposed for such brave endurance. He would remember, too, the hard and faithful life of his master, St. Paul (2Ti. 3:10-12).
Do the work of an evangelist.The evangelists of the early Church seem to have been preachers of the Gospel: in the first place, assistants to the Apostles and missionaries under their direction. The especial functions of a preacher and public teacher seem always to have been allotted to Timothy, and, no doubt, a peculiar persuasive power of oratory was one of the chief gifts conferred on this eminent follower of St. Paul. In the midst of the many grave and absorbing duties of his charge of the Ephesian Church, he must be mindful not to neglect this great power which he possessed. It is here especially termed the work of an evangelist, to remind him that to perform rightly this duty, needed zeal, close work, much study, thought, and prayer; and it was by worthily performing the duties of an evangelist that the many who were turning from the truth to fables, would be best won back, by hearing the great facts of the Gospel placed side by side with the tables of the false teachers.
Make full proof of thy ministry.In other words, Fully carry out the many duties imposed upon thee by thy great office. The office of Timothy, it should be remembered, in Ephesus, included far more than merely those of a preacher or evangelist. He was the presiding presbyter of the Church, to whom its government was intrusted: in fact, the many-sided life of St. Paul was now to be lived by Timothy.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. Watch Literally, wake; be wide awake.
An evangelist An evangelizer, who imbues the people with the gospel.
Full proof Literally, fill the full measure of thy ministry.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘But as for you, be sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry.’
In contrast with these people Timothy is to have his eye fixed on the truth. The word ‘sober’ signifies coolness and presence of mind, and can also signify ‘be wide awake. He must not allow his mind to wander but is to soberly come to the truth ‘in all things’, being wide awake on every count. He is to be ready to suffer hardship (compare 2Ti 2:3), and he must assiduously pursue his responsibility as a proclaimer of the Gospel, for this is the responsibility of all who know the truth. (We must not stereotype such terms as ‘evangelist’, even though some were especially gifted for it – Eph 4:11. All Christians are intended to be evangelists). And he must carry out fully the ministry that has been entrusted to him. It is a charge to full dedication.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
2Ti 4:5. Endure afflictions, The heathens ascribed the patience and steadfastness of the Christians, in the midst of persecution, to mere obstinacy; but none of mankind ever had stronger reasons for what they did, or better principles to go upon, when theyencountereddanger and death with such fortitude and intrepidity of mind. Instead of make full proof of thy ministry, some would read accomplish, or fill up all the branches of thy ministry.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
2Ti 4:5 . A general exhortation summing up the particulars already mentioned.
] see 2Ti 3:10 .
] , synonymous with , 1Th 5:6 , and , 1Pe 4:7 , opposite of “be intoxicated;” it denotes the clear prudence in thought and action which it is all the more necessary for Timothy to show, because there is impending what the apostle in 2Ti 4:3-4 has described.
] “in all parts.”
] see 2Ti 1:8 , 2Ti 2:3 .
] According to Eph 4:11 , there were special evangelists, who were distinct both from the apostles and from the pastors and teachers. Theodoret characterizes them in the well-known words: . They did not belong to a particular church like the , but travelled about like the apostles, preaching the Gospel to the Jews or heathen. They could lay no claim to authority in their office, since, as Otto rightly remarks (comp. too, Hofmann, Schriftbew . II. 2, pp. 272 f.), they laboured not in consequence of an office committed to them, but by means of a imparted to them, as did also the . It is incorrect to identify them with the assistant apostles. Philip was an evangelist (Act 21:8 ), but not an assistant apostle. Timothy, Titus, and others were assistant apostles, and as such , evangelists only in the same sense in which the apostles themselves were evangelists; standing in closer relation to the apostles, they were their in all official duties, and all they did belonged to their (so, too, Plitt). [58] As the was Timothy’s chief vocation (as with the Apostle Paul, 1Co 1:17 ), the apostle exhorts him: , adding the further exhortation: . This latter is not to be taken as a mere repetition of the preceding one, or as “only laying emphasis on the same thought by the use of ” (Wiesinger), since, as the whole of the first epistle testifies, his included more than the (which Hofmann wrongly denies [59] ).
] synonymous here with , which is even the reading of some MSS. Luther rightly: “execute;” see Col 4:17 ; Act 12:25 . Though in this sense is . ., still it is well employed “to indicate the full measure of activity, in which not the least point may fail” (van Oosterzee). Beza’s exposition is too ingenious: ministerii tui plenam fidem facito, i.e. veris argumentis comproba te germanum esse dei ministrum.
[58] Wiesinger is wrong in thinking that Timothy’s office was only that of an evangelist, and therefore quite the same as Philip had, and that his labours beyond that in Ephesus did not belong to his . It is certain that his labours were done on the special commission of Paul; but it is incorrect to suppose that Paul commissioned him to do anything beyond his office. Otto’s remark on the relation of the evangelists to the assistant apostles agrees in substance with what has been said above, only it might be more than doubtful that their preaching, as he thinks, was confined to an account of Christ’s words and works , that they were therefore only “heralds of the gospel history .” Otto rightly says that the assistant apostles “represented the apostle in the entire range of his work.”
[59] Hofmann, without reason, supposes that at the time when Paul wrote this epistle, and even before, Timothy was no longer an assistant to Paul in the apostleship. There is no hint of this anywhere; on the contrary, the contents of the second epistle are decidedly against the supposition.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
Ver. 5. Endure afflictions, do the work ] Honor ministerii est in onere, dignitas in diligeutia, corona in contemptu.
Make full proof ] , or, accomplish thy ministry. So executing every part of it, as to make it thy whole business. Verbi minister es, hoc age, was Mr Perkins’ motto. Thou art a minister, look to it.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
5 ff.] He enforces on Timotheus the duty of worthily fulfilling his office, in consideration of his own approaching end . For this being introduced, various reasons have been given: (1) he himself would be no longer able to make head against these adverse influences, and therefore must leave Timotheus and others to succeed him: so Heydenr., Huther, al.: (2) “ego quamdiu vixi manum tibi porrexi: tibi me assidu exhortationes non defuerunt, tibi mea consilia fuerunt magno adjumento, et exemplum etiam magn confirmationi: jam tempus est ut tibi ipse magister sis atque hortator, natareque incipias sine cortice: cave ne quid morte mea in te mutatum animadvertatur,” Calv.: similarly Grot.: (3) “causa qu Timotheum moveat ad officium: Pauli discessus et beatitudo: finis coronat opus.” Beng., and so Chrys., Hom. in loc., in a very beautiful passage, too long for transcription: (4) to stir up Timotheus to imitation of him: so Pel., Ambr., Heinr., al. (in De W.) There seems no reason why any one of these should be chosen to the exclusion of the rest: we may well, with Flatt, combine (1) and (4), at the same time bearing (2) and (3) in mind: ‘I am no longer here to withstand these things: be thou a worthy successor of me, no longer depending on, but carrying out for thyself my directions: follow my steps, inherit their result, and the honour of their end.’
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
5 .] But (as contrasted with the description preceding) do thou (emphatic) be sober (it is difficult to give the full meaning of in a version. The reference is especially to the clearness and wakefulness of attention and observance which attends on sobriety, as distinguished from the lack of these qualities in intoxication. ‘Keep thy coolness and presence of mind, that thou be not entrapped into forgetfulness, but discern and use every opportunity of speaking and acting for the truth,’ Mack: cf. also Ellic.) in all things, suffer hardship (reff.), do the work of an Evangelist (reff.: here probably in a wider sense, including all that belongs to a preacher and teacher of the Gospel), fill up the measure of (fill up, in every point; leaving nothing undone in. Beza’s rendering, ‘ministerii tui plenam fidem facito, i.e. veris argumentis comproba te germanum esse Dei ministrum,’ so Calv. ‘ministerium tuum probatum redde,’ is justified by usage (reff.), but hardly in accordance with 2Ti 4:17 ; see there) thy ministry .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
2Ti 4:5 . : Be sober (R.V.). Sobrius esto ( [315] ). vigila (Vulg.) [but Vulg. Clem. inserts Sobrius esto at end of verse]. So A.V., watch , and Chrys. Sober is certainly right in 1Th 5:6 ; 1Th 5:8 ; but in 1Pe 1:13 ; 1Pe 4:7 , and perhaps 1Pe 5:8 , to be watchful or alert seems more appropriate.
[315] The Latin text of Codex Claromontanus (sc. vi.), a Grco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.
: The office of evangelist is mentioned Act 21:8 , Eph 4:11 . The evangelist was an itinerant preacher who had not the supervising functions of an apostle, nor the inspiration of a prophet; though both apostle and prophet did, inter alia , the work of evangelist. This was in all likelihood the work to which Timothy had originally been called. St. Paul here reminds him that in the faithful performance of what might seem to be subordinate duties lies the best preservative of the Church from error. Note, that the office of an episcopus is also an , 1Ti 3:1 , cf. 1Co 16:10 , Phi 2:30 , Eph 4:12 , 1Th 5:13 .
: fulfil . According to Chrys., this does not differ from . See Col 4:17 , Act 12:25 . For , ministry or service in general, see 1 Timm. 2Ti 1:12 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
watch. Greek. nepho. See 1Th 5:6.
in. App-104.
endure afflictions = suffer evil. Greek. kakopetheo. See 2Ti 2:8.
evangelist. Compare App-121.
make full proof of = fully accomplish. Greek. plerophoreo. See Rom 4:21.
ministry. App-190.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
5 ff.] He enforces on Timotheus the duty of worthily fulfilling his office, in consideration of his own approaching end. For this being introduced, various reasons have been given:-(1) he himself would be no longer able to make head against these adverse influences, and therefore must leave Timotheus and others to succeed him: so Heydenr., Huther, al.: (2) ego quamdiu vixi manum tibi porrexi: tibi me assidu exhortationes non defuerunt, tibi mea consilia fuerunt magno adjumento, et exemplum etiam magn confirmationi: jam tempus est ut tibi ipse magister sis atque hortator, natareque incipias sine cortice: cave ne quid morte mea in te mutatum animadvertatur, Calv.: similarly Grot.: (3) causa qu Timotheum moveat ad officium: Pauli discessus et beatitudo: finis coronat opus. Beng., and so Chrys., Hom. in loc., in a very beautiful passage, too long for transcription: (4) to stir up Timotheus to imitation of him: so Pel., Ambr., Heinr., al. (in De W.) There seems no reason why any one of these should be chosen to the exclusion of the rest: we may well, with Flatt, combine (1) and (4), at the same time bearing (2) and (3) in mind:-I am no longer here to withstand these things: be thou a worthy successor of me, no longer depending on, but carrying out for thyself my directions: follow my steps, inherit their result, and the honour of their end.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
2Ti 4:5. , watch in all things) in all circumstances, so as never to fall asleep. So , Tit 2:7.-, the work) 1Ti 3:1.-, do) The journey to Paul is chiefly included.-, of an evangelist) A magnificent term.-, fulfil) by resisting those (followers of their own lusts), and coming to me. The same word occurs, 2Ti 4:17.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
2Ti 4:5
But be thou sober in all things,-Those who are under the power and error of sin are mentally and spiritually living under the passions of drunkenness, while only such as are under the power of the truth and holiness are sober with clear vision and well-balanced mind. The word sums up all Pauls directions from 2:14, in which he charged Timothy to abstain from striving about words to no profit, to the subverting of them that hear, and to confine himself to the simple word of truth, to avoid discussion which would lead to strife, and to be patient and gentle with all, and to keep steadily in the old paths in which the apostle had walked. He was to be ever watchful in all these things.
suffer hardship,-Bear persecutions that come for fidelity to the truth, which must be preached at any risk, and is thoroughly deserving of the greatest sacrifice.
do the work of an evangelist,-This includes all the teaching needed to make the gospel effective in the salvation of men. There was originally a distinction in the meanings of the words preach, evangelize, and teach. But the same person was called to all to such an extent that the words greatly lost their distinction and are used almost indiscriminately to refer to all the preaching and teaching to save men.
fulfil thy ministry.-This was to be done by devotion, zeal, and fidelity. He was to do the work faithfully, zealously, and courageously. Thus he would show his efficiency as a minister of Christ by doing the full work to which he had been called.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
watch: Isa 56:9, Isa 56:10, Isa 62:6, Jer 6:17, Eze 3:17, Eze 33:2, Eze 33:7, Mar 13:34, Mar 13:37, Luk 12:37, Act 20:30, Act 20:31, 1Th 5:6, Heb 13:17, Rev 3:2
endure: 2Ti 1:8, 2Ti 2:3, 2Ti 2:10, 2Ti 3:10-12
an: Act 21:8, Eph 4:11, 1Ti 4:12, 1Ti 4:15
make full proof of: or, fulfil, Rom 15:19, Col 1:25, Col 4:17
Reciprocal: Deu 13:5 – turn you Ezr 8:29 – Watch ye Psa 27:14 – be Mat 25:13 – General Mat 25:16 – went Luk 9:60 – but Luk 10:2 – the labourers Luk 21:36 – Watch Act 13:2 – they Act 14:26 – the work Act 26:16 – a minister 1Co 13:7 – endureth 1Co 16:13 – Watch 2Co 6:4 – afflictions 2Co 6:5 – watchings Eph 4:12 – the work Col 1:23 – whereof 1Ti 3:11 – sober 1Pe 4:7 – and
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
A FOUR-FOLD CHARGE
Be thou sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil thy ministry.
2Ti 4:5 (R.V.)
Here are four distinct thoughts. They are thoughts of St. Paul the friend of St. Luke. Each thought comes straight and warm from one of the largest hearts ever given to man. Further, each is not only a thought but a chargea charge countersigned, we cannot doubt it, by the sign-manual of the Divine Master Himself.
I. Sobriety in all things.Be thou sober. Be temperate, calm, collected. Keep your heart warm, but your head cool.
II. Suffer hardship.Clearly the world had a special force for St. Paul and for those whom St. Paul sent forth to battle. In our day it has a special force for some of the clergy, not least those whose work lies in foreign lands, and whose dangers are not only dangers of the soul, but also of the body. But, apart from this, there is surely a meaning for us all, clergy alike and laity, in this emphatic word, which might well be the motto of a great lifeSuffer hardship. In every human life, and at many stages of each life, there is always, seen or unseen, some eventful parting of the ways. There is the level, smooth path of ease, and there is the steep, rough path of difficulty; the path of least resistance and the path of trenchant daring; the path of tactfulif you will, kindlycompromise and the path, always of outspoken resolve, sometimes of outspoken leadership. But there are a hundred voices always ready to advise the softness of compromise. There is not always ready a voice to recall the old soldierly word of command, Suffer hardship. There are times when the sterner voice is truly the present voice of God, Suffer hardship. Speak out.
III. The work of an evangelist.This part of our ministry is the one which in practice we clergy find the hardest. Are we outwardly spoken of, are we inwardly thought of, as bringers of good news? We can hardly put the question without a seeming touch of self-accusing irony. May God help us, each of us His ministers, whatever our own powers or faults, to do more and more some work of an evangelist to be welcomed by all classes, especially the poorest and the weakest, as helpers of their joy.
IV. Fulfil thy ministry.It is the preachers part to shrink not from declaring unto you the whole counsel of God. It is your part to pray for your clergy and for those to whom they minister. This is fulfilling our ministry. And surely you will do it.
Rev. Dr. H. M. Butler.
Illustrations
(1) We cannot hear the name of China, we can scarcely hear the name of India, or Uganda, or Nyassa, without being reminded that to suffer hardship, even in the most literal sense, may at any time become the lotshall we not say the glorious privilege?before they taste of death, or even in the hour of death itself, of some of those devoted brothers who are representing us in the mission field.
(2) If we know anything of the history of the Christian Church; if we have followed the life of any of her first-rate evangelists; if we have observed how men and women hung on the lips of any of the greater thinkers and preachers and writerswhether Fathers, or Bishops, or monks, or friars, or Reformers, or translators of the Bible, or scholars and teachers in Universities, or missionaries at home like Whitfield and the Wesleys, or missionaries abroad like Boniface, or Xavier, or Duff, or Swartz, or Marsden, or the two Selwyns, or Patteson, or Whipple, or Mackay, or Hanningtonif, I say, we have noted the spell which these men cast over those to whom they offered their message, it was, we must all admit, because they were felt to be bringing good news.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
2Ti 4:5. Watch thou is a kindly warning for Timothy to maintain his composure under all circumstances, for many tests of his perseverance were likely to come. Encouraged by the example of Paul, he should be equal to the occasion even when persecutions come. Do the work of an evangelist. We may learn two important items of information by this statement. One is that Timothy was an evangelist, which has sometimes been questioned. Paul certainly would not tell anyone to do a work that did not belong to his position in life. The other is that an evangelist has a work to perform that is peculiar to his office. By consulting 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, we will learn that an evangelist is the one to appoint elders and deacons, and in 2 Timothy 5 it is shown that an evangelist is the one to discipline an elder when charges are preferred against him. It is also taught in Tit 1:5 that an evangelist is to take charge of churches that have not been established, and hold that charge until matters are set in order and elders are appointed to take oversight of the congregation, at which time the evangelist is to go to other fields of labor. Make full proof of thy ministry is rendered “fully carry out thy service” by the Englishman’s Greek New Testament.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
2Ti 4:5. Watch thou. There is a special emphasis on the pronoun. Thou, whatever others may do, shouldst watch.
Endure afflictions. The same word as in 2Ti 2:9.
Do the work of an evangelist. It is probable that the word was the formal designation of Timothys usual work, as it was of that of Philip (Act 21:8). His present work at Ephesus was that of a Vicar-Apostolic on a special mission, but that was not to make him forgetful of his more normal duties.
Make full proof of. The English is expressive, but not more so than the literal fill up the measure of thy ministry.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Behold here a fourfold duty pressed upon Timothy;
1. Watchfulness: Watch thou in all things. As if he had said, “False teachers will beset you round on every side; therefore guard and watch every where.”
2. Courage: Endure afflictions: he that fears the frowns of men, can never discharge his duty faithfully to God.
3. Fidelity: Do the work of an evangelist. which was an extraordinary, and therefore but a temporary, office, to assist the apostles in preaching and publishing the gospel from place to place; they watered what the apostles planted.
4. Sincerity: Make full proof of thy ministry: so fulfill all the parts of it, that none may charge thee with the neglect of any part of thy duty: let the world see that thou makest it thine own and only work to win souls.
Learn hence, 1. That the apostasy and looseness of the times we live in must oblige all persons, but especially the ministers of Christ, to watch: who should watch, if not the watchmen?
Learn hence, 2. That ministers, of all men, need courage: they must inure thmeselves to endure hardships and expect hard words, hard dealing, nick names, and all kind of reproaches; and these must be endured with patience, with courage, and with constance.
Learn, 3. That ministers must make full proof of their ministry; that is, must fully and faithfully discharge all the duties of their calling, not do their duties by halves; but accomplish all the parts of their ministry, strengthening the weak, comforting the afflicted, reducing the wandering, and adorning their doctrine by a pure and unblamable conversation. This is to fulfil our ministry.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
2Ti 4:5-8. But watch thou Both over thyself and flock, and withstand the beginnings of all these corruptions; let thy mind be awake and watchful; in all things Whatever thou art doing, let this be thy earnest, constant, persevering exercise. Observe, reader, the Scripture watching or waiting implies steadfast faith, patient hope, labouring love, unceasing prayer; yea, the mighty exertion of all the affections of the soul that a man is capable of: endure afflictions Or adversity, as signifies. Expect ill- treatment from the enemies of the gospel, and other trials, and bear them patiently. Do the work of an evangelist Which was next to that of an apostle. Make full proof of thy ministry So perform all the duties of thy calling, as fully to approve thyself to be a faithful minister of Christ. For, &c. And the rather do these things, considering how soon the world will lose whatever advantage it may now receive from my personal labours. For I am now ready to be offered Or poured out, as means, as a libation upon Gods altar. See on Php 2:17. And the time of my departure is at hand So undoubtedly God had shown him. I have fought a, rather the, good fight Greek, , I have contended the good contention; or, as Macknight renders it, I have combated the good combat. I have finished my course Of duty and of suffering: or, I have finished the race; for he likens his labour in the gospel not only to fighting and wrestling, but also to a race, which was likewise one of the Olympic exercises. I have kept the faith Committed to my trust, and with the strictest fidelity have endeavoured to preserve it free from all additions and corruptions. Henceforth , what remains; there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness Namely, of that righteousness which God has imputed to me, and wrought in me, and enabled me to practise. Having compared his labours as an apostle to the exertions of the combatants, wrestlers, and racers, in the Grecian games, he represents his reward under the idea of a crown, because a crown was the reward bestowed on the victors in those exercises. It was not, however, a crown of leaves like theirs, but of righteousness, which he expected Christ to bestow on him, counting his faith to him for righteousness, and rewarding him for all the fruits brought forth by this righteousness. See on Php 1:11. Which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day This text evidently proves, that the great and most glorious reward of faithful Christians is referred to the day of general judgment. But, as Doddridge observes, it would be very precarious to argue from hence, that there shall be no prelibation and anticipation of this happiness in a separate state. And when the many texts, which have been so often urged in proof of that intermediate happiness, are considered, it is surprising that any stress should be laid on the objection which has been drawn from such passages as this. And not to me only This increases the joy of Paul, and encourages Timothy; but to all that love his appearing Which only a true Christian can do. Many of those Paul himself had gained, and he rejoiced to think, that through his having gained them, they should receive an unutterable and eternal reward of felicity and glory.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”
Watch in all things – to be calm and collected – to be temperate, dispassionate, and circumspect. What a mouthful for the believer to put into his/her life! I am not sure this describes many believers, especially when they come under pressure or are facing trials and tribulations. Circumspect alone is a challenge to most – keeping oneself from hint of wrong – being a shining light in a dark world without putting a shade on your light.
Endure afflictions seems to be part of the believers everyday life – we will suffer persecution if we walk with the Lord. We are told to endure it – put up with it – go on with your life/ministry in a normal manner. Don’t let the affliction sway you from your designated ministry.
Not that this is easy to do! Affliction naturally distracts so to not allow it to distract will be a good trick of the conscious decision making skills. We can however if we choose to walk with Christ rather than ourselves – when we lapse into self pity/doubt, we are walking with ourselves.
Some suggest that Timothy was a pastor – he may have been but this verse tells us that Paul saw him as an evangelist. I personally see Timothy as an apostolic emissary – someone that was carrying out the wishes of an apostle. While he was evangelizing, he was setting the church in order.
Make full proof of thy ministry has the thought of carrying through to the end. It has the thought of fully done. Don’t do half a job, but do it all.
I personally feel this may relate not only to longevity in time, but also in age. Do it for as long as you are capable/able to do the ministry. Many of the older missionaries have this concept no retirement, or if they retire some are staying on the field to finish the work. One dear couple we know bought a home on their field so they could stay there all their lives.
They did a survey of time spent in a pastorate by pastors in the 90’s and the average was eighteen months. This is not the thought of Paul in this case – there is no way a man can even get to know the people properly in eighteen months – they haven’t even settled into the neighborhood in that time.
Most small communities take at least a couple years before the residents will think about accepting you as belonging. We were in one small town four years and the townsfolk were just beginning to accept us as present and breathing. Nothing against them, they were just slow to accept outsiders.
If you are a pastor, please allow five years for a ministry to develop before considering moving on. (I have heard more than one deacon board joking about how short a time pastors spend in a church.)
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
4:5 {3} But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, {b} make full proof of thy ministry.
(3) The wickedness and falling away of the world ought to cause faithful ministers to be so much the more careful.
(b) Prove and show by good and substantial proof, that you are the true minister of God.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
In view of this increasing opposition Timothy needed to keep alert (cool-headed, "wide awake" [Note: E.K. Simpson, The Pastoral Epistles, p. 154.] ) by avoiding false teaching. To do this he needed to maintain self-control under all circumstances. [Note: Earle, "2 Timothy," p. 411.] He needed to endure hardship willingly and to continue proclaiming the gospel to the lost. He would thereby carry out the ministry God had entrusted to him completely. Four more imperatives appear in this verse (cf. 2Ti 4:2): be, endure, do, and fulfill.
"Thus with the words of the solemn charge in 2Ti 4:1-5 Paul in effect brings to a conclusion his words of instruction regarding Timothy’s duties as a minister of Christ. This charge gathers up the concerns expressed throughout the letter and crystallizes them in nine memorable imperatives that begin with ’preach the word’ and end with ’fulfill your ministry.’ With these imperatives Paul calls on Timothy to proclaim and apply God’s word with much patience and careful instruction, to be clearheaded in every situation, to bear whatever difficulties such a ministry may involve him in, to evangelize, and to do whatever is necessary to accomplish the ministry to which Christ has called him." [Note: Knight, p. 458.]
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Job or Ministry? [Note: Anonymous.] |
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A job is one you choose; |
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A ministry is one Christ chooses for you. |
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A job depends on your abilities; |
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A ministry depends on your availability to God. |
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In a job you expect to receive; |
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In a ministry you expect to give. |
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A job done well brings you self-esteem; |
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A ministry done well brings honor to Jesus Christ. |
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In a job you give something to get something; |
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In a ministry you return something that has already been given to you. |
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A job well done has temporal remuneration; |
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A ministry well done brings eternal rewards. |
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 35
THE PARADOXICAL EXULTATION OF THE APOSTLE-HIS APPARENT FAILURE AND THE APPARENT FAILURE OF THE CHURCH-THE GREAT TEST OF SINCERITY. – 2Ti 4:5-8
ST. CHRYSOSTOM tells us that this passage was for a long time a source of perplexity to him. “Often,” he says, “when I have taken the Apostle into my hands and have considered this passage, I have been at a loss to understand why Paul here speaks so loftily: I have fought the good fight. But now by the grace of God I seem to have found it out. For what purpose then does he speak thus? He writes to console the despondency of his disciple; and he therefore bids him be of good cheer, since he was going to his crown, having finished all his work and obtained a glorious end. Thou oughtest to rejoice, he says; not to grieve. And why? Because I have fought the good fight. Just as a son, who was sitting bewailing his orphan state, might be consoled by his father saying to him. Weep not, my son. We have lived a good life; we have reached old age; and now we are leaving thee. Our life has been free from reproach; we are departing with glory; and thou mayest be held in honor for what we have done And this he says not boastfully; -God forbid; -but in order to raise up his dejected son, and to encourage him by his praises to bear firmly what had come to pass, to entertain good hopes, and not to think it a matter grievous to be borne.”
Chrysostoms explanation is no doubt part of the reason why the Apostle here speaks in so exalted a key. This unusual strain is partly the result of a wish to cheer his beloved disciple and assure him that there is no need to grieve for the death which now cannot be very far off. When it comes, it will be a glorious death and a happy one. A glorious death, for it will crown with the crown of victory struggles in a weary contest which is now ending triumphantly, And a happy death; for Paul has for years had the longing “to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” The crown is one which will not wither; for it is not made of olive, bay, or laurel. And it is not one of which the glory is doubtful, or dependent upon the fickle opinions of a prejudiced crowd; for it is not awarded by a human umpire, nor amid the applauses of human spectators. The Giver is Christ, and the theatre is filled with angels. In the contests of this world men labor many days and suffer hardships; and for one hour they receive the crown. And forthwith all the pleasure of it passes away. In the good fight which St. Paul fought a crown of righteousness is won, which continues forever in brightness and glory.
But besides wishing to console Timothy for the bereavement which was impending, St. Paul also wished to encourage him, to stimulate him to greater exertion and to a larger measure of courage. “Be thou sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an Evangelist, fulfill thy ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink-offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.” That is: You must be more vigorous, more enduring, more devoted; for I am going away, and must leave you to carry on to perfection that which I have begun. My fighting is over; therefore do you fight more bravely. My course is finished; therefore do you run more perseveringly. The faith entrusted to me has been preserved thus far inviolate: see to it that what has been entrusted to you be kept safe. The crown which righteousness wins is waiting now for me: so strive that such a crown may await you also. For this is a contest in which all may have crowns, if only they will live so as to feel a longing for the appearing of the righteous Judge who gives them.
But there is more in this passage than the desire to comfort Timothy for the approaching loss of his friend and instructor, and the desire to spur him on to greater usefulness, not merely in spite of, but because of, that loss. There is also the ecstatic joy of the great Apostle, as with the eye of faith he looks back over the work which he has been enabled to perform, and balances the cost of it against the great reward.
As has been already pointed out in an earlier passage, there is nothing in this touching letter which is more convincingly like St. Paul than the way in which conflicting emotions succeed one another and come to the surface in perfectly natural expression. Sometimes it is anxiety that is uppermost; sometimes it is confidence. Here he is overflowing with affection; there he is stern and indignant. One while he is deeply depressed; and then again becomes triumphant and exulting. Like the second Epistle to the Corinthians this last letter to the beloved disciple is full of intense personal feelings, of a different and apparently discordant character. The passage before us is charged with such emotions, beginning with solemn warning and ending in lofty exultation. But it is the warning, not of fear, but of affection; and it is the exultation, not of sight, but of faith.
Looked at with human eyes the Apostles life at that moment was a failure, -a tragic and dismal failure. In his own simple, but most pregnant language, he had been “the slave of Jesus Christ.” No Roman slave, driven by whip and goad, could have been made to work as Paul had worked. He had taxed his fragile body and sensitive spirit to the utmost, and had encountered lifelong opposition, derision, and persecution, at the hands of those who ought to have been his friends, and had been his friends until he entered the service of Jesus Christ. He had preached and argued, had entreated and rebuked, and in doing so had rung the changes on all the chief forms of human suffering. And what had been the outcome of it all? The few Churches which he had founded were but as handfuls in the cities in which he had established them; and there were countless cities in which he had established nothing. Even the few Churches which he had succeeded in founding had in most cases soon fallen away from their first faith and enthusiasm. The Thessalonians had become tainted with idleness and disorder, the Corinthians with contentiousness and sensuality, the Galatians, Colossians, and Ephesians with various forms of heresy; while the Roman Church, in the midst of which he was suffering an imprisonment which would almost certainly end in death, was treating him with coldness and neglect. At his first defense no one took his part, but all forsook him; and in his extremity he was almost deserted. As the results of a life of intense energy and self-devotion, all these things had the appearance of total failure.
And certainly if the work of his life seemed to have been a failure with regard to others, it did not bear any resemblance to success as regards himself. From the worlds point of view he had given up much, and gained little, beyond trouble and disgrace. He had given up a distinguished position in the Jewish Church, in order to become the best hated man among that people of passionate hatreds. While his efforts on behalf of the Gentiles had ended for a third time in confinement in a Gentile prison, from which, as he saw clearly, nothing but death was likely to release him.
And yet, in spite of all this, St. Paul is exultingly triumphant. Not at all because he does not perceive, or cannot feel, the difficulties and sorrows of his position. Still less because he wishes to dissemble either to himself or others the sufferings which he has to endure. He is no Stoic, and makes no profession of being above human infirmities and human emotions. He is keenly sensitive to all that affects his own aspirations and affections and the well-being of those whom he loves. He is well aware of the dangers both of body and soul, which beset those who are far dearer to him than life. And he gives strong expression to his trouble and anxiety. But he measures the troubles of time by the glories of eternity. With the eye of faith he looks across all this apparent failure and neglect to the crown of righteousness which the righteous Judge has in store for him, and for thousands upon thousands of others also, even for all those who have learned to look forward with longing to the time when their Lord shall appear again.
In all this we see in miniature the history of Christendom since the Apostles death. His career was a foreshadowing of the career of the Christian Church. In both cases there appears to be only a handful of real disciples with a company of shallow and fickle followers, to set against the stolid, unmoved mass of the unconverted world. In both cases, even among the disciples themselves, there are the cowardice of many and the desertions of some. In both cases those who remain true to the faith dispute among themselves which of them shall be accounted the greatest. St. Paul was among the first to labor that Christs ideal of one holy Catholic Church might be realized. Eighteen centuries have passed away, and the life of the Church, like that of St. Paul, looks like a failure. With more than half the human race still not even nominally Christian; with long series of crimes committed not only in defiance, but in the name, of religion; with each decade of years producing its unwholesome crop of heresies and schisms; -what has become of the Churchs profession of being catholic, holy, and united?
The failure, as m St. Pauls case, is more apparent than real. And it must be noted at the outset that our means of gauging success in spiritual things are altogether uncertain and inadequate. Anything at all like scientific accuracy is quite out of our reach, because the data for a trustworthy conclusion cannot be obtained. But the case is far stronger than this. It is impossible to determine even roughly where the benefits conferred by the Gospel end; what the average holiness among professing Christians really is; and to what extent Christendom, in spite of its manifold divisions, is really one. It is more than possible that the savage in central Africa is spiritually the better for the Incarnation of which he knows nothing, and which his whole life seems to contradict; for at least he is one of those for whom Christ was born and died. It is probable that among quite ordinary Christians there are many whom the world knows as sinners, but whom God knows as saints. And it is certain that a belief in a Triune God and in a common Redeemer unites millions far more closely than their differences about ministers and sacraments keep them apart. The Churchs robe is tattered and travel stained; but she is still the Bride of Christ, and her children, however much they may quarrel among themselves, are still one in Him.
And where the failure of St. Paul and of those who have followed him can be shown to be unquestionably real, it can generally be shown to be thoroughly intelligible. Although Divine in its origin, the Gospel has from. the first used human instruments with all the weaknesses, physical, intellectual, and moral, – which characterize humanity. When we remember what this implies, and also remember the forces against which Christianity has had to contend, the marvel rather is that the Gospel has had so large a measure of success, than that its success is not yet complete. It has had to fight against the passions and prejudices of individuals and nations, debased by long centuries of immorality and ignorance, and strengthened in their opposition to the truth by all the powers of darkness. It has had to fight, moreover, with other religions, many of which are attractive by their concessions to human frailty, and others by the comparative purity of their rites and doctrines. And against them all it has won, and continues to win, mans approbation and affection, by its power of satisfying his highest aspirations and his deepest needs. No other religion or philosophy has had success so various or so far reaching. The Jew and the Mahometan, after centuries of intercourse, remain almost without influence upon European minds; while to Western civilization the creed of the Buddhist remains not only without influence, but without meaning. But the nation has not yet been found to which Christianity has been proved to be unintelligible or unsuitable. To whatever quarter of the globe we look, or to whatever period of history during the Christian era, the answer is still the same. Multitudes of men, throughout eighteen centuries, under the utmost variety of conditions, whether of personal equipment or of external circumstance, have made trial of Christianity, and have found it satisfying. They have testified as the result of their countless experiences that it can stand the wear and tear of life; that it can not only fortify, but console; and that it can rob even death of its sting and the grave of its victory by a sure and certain hope of the crown of righteousness, which the righteous Judge prepares for all those who love, and have long loved, His appearing.
“Who have loved and do love His appearing.” That is the full force of the Greek perfect ( ) which expresses the present and permanent result of past action; and therein lies the test whereby to try the temper of our Christianity. St. Paul, who had long yearned to depart and be with Christ, could not easily have given a more simple or sure method of finding out who those are who have a right to believe that the Lord has a crown of righteousness in store for them. Are we among the number?
In order to answer this question we must ask ourselves another. Are our lives such that we are longing for Christs return? Or are we dreading it, because we know that we are not fit to meet Him, and are making no attempt to become so. Supposing that physicians were to tell us that we are smitten with a deadly disease, which must end fatally, and that very soon, – what would be our feeling? When the first shock was over, and we were able to take a calm view of the whole case, could we welcome the news as the unexpected fulfillment of a long cherished wish that Christ would deliver us out of the miseries of this sinful world and take us to Himself? The Bible sets before us the crown of righteousness which fadeth not away, and the worm which never dieth. Leaning upon Gods unfailing love let us learn to long for the coming of the one; and then we shall have no need to dread, or even to ask the meaning of, the other.