Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 2 Timothy 2

After exhorting Timothy to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus,” Paul sounds his frequent note in the Pastorals about preserving and transmitting the tradition of truth (cf. 1:13–14). As Paul had entrusted the Gospel to Timothy (1:14), so now Timothy must pass it on to “reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”

After exhorting Timothy to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus,” Paul sounds his frequent note in the Pastorals about preserving and transmitting the tradition of truth (cf. 1:13–14). As Paul had entrusted the Gospel to Timothy (1:14), so now Timothy must pass it on to “reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”

“Endure hardship” (GK 5155) suggests pain and suffering as part of the Christian’s lot in life . That will inevitably happen as one engages in warfare against evil. So Timothy must be “a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” Paul uses this figure for ministers of the Gospel (Phm 2).

No one “serving as a soldier” gets entangled in the affairs of this life. The soldier must lay aside all secular pursuits, and the Christian minister must be willing to do the same. “His commanding officer” (lit., “the one who enrolled him as a soldier”) is Jesus Christ. When Christ enrolls us as full-time soldiers in his army, we should seek to please him by giving ourselves to his service without distraction.

In addition to military metaphors, Paul is also fond of athletic metaphors. The Christian, and especially the minister, must be spiritually a good athlete (see also comment on 1 Timothy 6:12). The goal of an athlete is to “receive the victor’s crown” (cf. Hebrews 2:7, 9), the wreath given to the winner. But the winning athlete does not receive this crown unless he competes “according to the rules.” Anyone who breaks the rules is disqualified.