Hebraic Musing – What does Apostle Paul expect from us?

Paul counsels Timothy, “his son” (and us as his “sons”) by spelling out some “father/son” expectations. 

Paul wants us to spread the Word among faithful men.   ”And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”  2 Timothy 2:2 NIV  We are to pass on Paul’s teachings “to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”  Apparently, Paul expects us to be both qualified AND to find men who are qualified to teach and pass on to them what we have.  Do you have something worth passing on?  And do you know someone who needs it?

Timothy had heard many Scripture studies from Paul and shared much time with Paul in personal discipleship.  Who have we been sharing discipleship time with?  And who has been discipling each of us?

God gave ministry to Timothy, not for him to keep to himself, but for him to pass on to others.  He was responsible for pouring into others what Paul poured into him.  He didn’t need to find smart men, popular men, strong men, easy men, perfect men, or good-looking men; Paul told him to look for reliable or faithful men.

How do we know who is a true minister of the gospel?  Peter ordained someone to succeed him, and that one ordained someone to succeed him, and the next one ordained someone to succeed him, and so forth down the line.  This verse reveals the real apostolic succession – the succession of faithful men, who take the teachings of the apostles and pass them on for future generations.  How did the Good News spread to the whole known world in the first 300 years?!?!  It was done without public transportation or modern media conveniences!!!

Paul calls us, or challenges us, to persevere for God with a soldier’s attitude.  “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer.” 2 Timothy 2:3-4   Paul was probably chained to a soldier as he wrote these letters to Timothy describing how faithfully they obeyed their commanding officer!

The command to Endure Hardship carries a sense of requirement or command, something that Timothy had to do.  Is that also expected of us?  Is this something we too should be doing!  We are expected to take the attitude of a soldier who expects to endure hardship.  If a believer is not willing to endure hardship, they will never accomplish much for Jesus Christ, because they will give up as soon as something hard is required of them.   Are we to take the attitude of a soldier, who willingly separates himself from the things of civilian life?  Jesus’ words – “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25

Persevere for God with an athlete’s attitude.  In the next verse, Paul gives the reader, us, a clear example - “Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.”  2 Timothy 2:5   Paul liked to draw examples from the athletic world of track, boxing and wrestling.  He makes the point clear, the athlete must compete according to the rules if he wants to receive the crown, the reward.  In how many ways do Christians make the mistake of thinking they can make up our own rules, justifying it as trying to get along in this world?!?!

Points to ponder

Do we always recognize Jesus Christ as our Commander in Chief? 

Does God want us to follow the rules?  Or can we bend them if they’re not “convenient”?

What is required to deny ourselves and take up HIS cross?

Who have we been sharing discipleship time with?

What did we mean when we made Jesus our LORD?

Did you get drafted, or did you enlist/volunteer in God’s army?

♫ I may never march in the infantry, Ride in the cavalry, Shoot the artillery …But I'm in the Lord's army! ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                           February 11, 2025
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – Inspired by David Guzik’s commentary; available on request.

David Guzik’s notes

2. (2) Spread the word among faithful men.

And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

a. The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses: Paul reminded Timothy of the body of truth that he had heard from the Apostle in the presence of many others. Certainly, Timothy heard many Bible studies from Paul, and shared much time with the Apostle in personal discipleship.

i. It may be that Paul reminded Timothy of a special message he presented at Timothy’s ordination service among many witnesses. “But he seems to refer here to the doctrines delivered to him when, in the presence of many witnesses, he laid his hands upon him; see 1 Timothy 6:12. Then the apostle gave him the proper form of sound words which he was to teach; and now he tells him to commit those truths to faithful men in the same way that they were committed to him” (Clarke).

b. Commit these to faithful men: God gave ministry to Timothy, not for him to keep to himself, but for him to pass on to others. An essential part of his work as a pastor was to pour into others what God had committed to him.

i. One may say that everything that a pastor does in his ministry he should train others to do. There are no duties of a pastor so holy or so secret that he should keep them all to himself. He should always seek to spread ministry about to others, and to train others to do the work of the ministry.

ii. Timothy was not to teach others his own particular ideas or theories, but simple apostolic doctrine and example (the things that you have heard from me). What Paul poured into him he was responsible to pour into others.

iii. The job of training leaders is simply part of a pastor’s job description. He should not only train leaders when the need for a leader is obvious; nor should he only train leaders for the needs of his congregation alone. He should train leaders for the Kingdom of God in general, whether they are used in ministry at the particular pastor’s congregation or not.

c. To faithful men: When Timothy looked for those whom he could pour apostolic doctrine and practice into, he was to look for the quality of faithfulness. He didn’t need to find smart men, popular men, strong men, easy men, perfect men, or good-looking men; Paul told him to look for faithful men.

i. Through the history of Christianity, some have held to the idea of apostolic succession. This is the idea that you can know who a true minister of the gospel is because Peter ordained someone to succeed him, and that one ordained someone to succeed him, and the next one ordained someone to succeed him, so forth and so on down the line. However, this verse reveals the real apostolic succession – the succession of faithful men, who take the teachings of the apostles and pass them on.

ii. Without faithfulness to the teaching and example of the apostles, the idea of apostolic succession is nothing more than the laying of empty hands upon empty heads. “Where is the uninterrupted apostolic succession? Who can tell? Probably it does not exist on the face of the world. All the pretensions to it by certain Churches are as stupid as they are idle and futile” (Clarke).

d. Who will be able to teach others also: This job of training leaders was so important that it could not be restricted to Timothy alone. Those whom he had trained must also be given the job to teach others also.

i. Will be able “Expresses capability as proved by experience” (White).

3. (3-4) Persevere for God with a soldier’s attitude.

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

a. You therefore must: This was not a suggestion from Paul to Timothy; must carries the sense of a requirement or a command. There was something that Timothy had to do, and Paul would tell him to do it.

b. Endure hardship as a good soldier: Timothy must take the attitude of soldier who expects to endure hardship for their cause. No real soldier – or at least no good soldier – ever gave up simply because some hardship came to them.

i. In the same way, if a believer is not willing to endure hardship, they will never accomplish much for Jesus Christ. They will give up as soon as something hard is required of them; they cannot fulfill Jesus’ call: If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (Matthew 16:24)

ii. “Never dream of delicacy; think not to find God in the gardens of Egypt, whom Moses found not but in the burning-bush.” (Trapp)

iii. “Paul does not exhort Timothy to be a common, or ordinary soldier, but to be a ‘good soldier of Jesus Christ;’ for all soldiers, and all true soldiers, may not be good soldiers. There are men who are but just soldiers and nothing more; they only need sufficient temptation and they readily become cowardly, idle, useless and worthless; but he is the good soldier who is bravest of the brave, courageous at all times, who is zealous, does his duty with heart and earnestness.” (Spurgeon)

c. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life: Timothy must take the attitude of a soldier, who willingly separates himself from the things of civilian life.

i. A soldier has to give up many things. Some of them are bad things (pride, independence, self-will), and some of them are good things (his home, his family). Nevertheless, if a soldier is not willing to give up these things, he is not a soldier at all.

ii. The things that might entangle a soldier might be good or bad for a civilian. The soldier can’t ask if something is good or bad for those who are not soldiers; he must give up anything that gets in the way of being a good soldier or serving his commanding officer. A faithful soldier does not have the right to do anything that will entangle them and make them less effective as a soldier.

iii. “It is well remarked by Grotius, on this passage, that the legionary soldiers among the Romans were not permitted to engage in husbandry, merchandise, mechanical employments, or any thing that might be inconsistent with their calling.” (Clarke)

d. That he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier: If Timothy did not endure hardship and if he did not put away the things that entangled him in the affairs of this life, he would not be pleasing to his Commanding Officer.

i. Jesus Christ is the commander of all heaven’s armies. In Joshua 5, Jesus appeared to Joshua as Commander of the army of the LORD (Joshua 5:14). He is our Commanding Officer, and we owe total obedience to Him as such.

ii. It is likely that Paul was chained to a soldier even as he wrote this. He saw how these soldiers acted, and how they obeyed their commanding officers. Paul knew that this is how a Christian must act towards their Lord.

4. (5) Persevere for God with an athlete’s attitude.

And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

a. If anyone competes in athletics: Paul often drew upon the world of athletics for illustrations of the Christian life, mentioning track and field (1 Corinthians 9:24), boxing (1 Corinthians 9:26), and wrestling (Ephesians 6:12).

b. He is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules: The point is clear. An athlete can’t make up the rules as he pleases; he must compete according to the rules if he wants to receive the crown.

i. It is possible to fall into the mistake of thinking that we can make up our own rules for our Christian life. For some people, their special arrangement goes something like this: “I know this is sin, but God understands, so I’ll just keep going in this sin.” This goes against the attitude of an athlete who must compete according to the rules.