John Calvin Commentary 2 Timothy 4

I charge thee, therefore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is proper to observe carefully the word therefore, by means of which he appropriately connects Scripture with preaching. This also refutes certain fanatics, who haughtily boast that they no longer need the aid of teachers, because the reading of scripture is abundantly sufficient.

But Paul, after speaking of the usefulness of Scripture, infers not only that all ought to read it, but also that teachers ought to administer it, which is the duty enjoined on them.

Accordingly, as all our wisdom is contained in the Scriptures, and neither should we learn, nor teachers draw their instructions, from any other source, so the one who, neglecting the assistance of the living voice, satisfies himself with the silent Scripture, will find how grievous an evil it is to disregard that way of learning which has been enjoined by God and Christ.

Let us remember, I say, that the reading of Scripture is recommended to us in such a manner as not to hinder, in the smallest degree, the ministry of pastors. Therefore, let believers endeavor to profit both in reading and in hearing, for not in vain has God ordained both of them.

Here, as in a very weighty matter, Paul adds a solemn charge, presenting to Timothy God as the avenger and Christ as the judge, if he should cease to discharge his office of teaching. And indeed, just as God showed by an inestimable pledge—when he did not spare his only-begotten Son—how great is the care which he has for the Church, so he will not allow the negligence of pastors, through whom souls, which he has redeemed at so costly a price, perish or are exposed as prey, to remain unpunished.

Who shall judge the living and the dead. Especially, the Apostle fixes attention on the judgment of Christ, because, as we are his representatives, so he will demand a stricter account of evil administration. By “the living and the dead” are meant those whom he will find still alive at his coming, and also those who will have died. Therefore, there will be none who escape his judgment.

The appearance of Christ and his kingdom mean the same thing. For although he now reigns in heaven and earth, yet until now his reign is not clearly manifested but, on the contrary, is obscurely hidden under the cross and is violently assailed by enemies. His kingdom will therefore be established at that time when, having vanquished his enemies and either removed or reduced to nothing every opposing power, he will display his majesty.

Be instant in season, out of season. By these words he recommends not only constancy, but also earnestness, in order to overcome all hindrances and difficulties. For, being by nature exceedingly prone to weakness or laziness, we easily yield to the slightest opposition, and sometimes we gladly seek excuses for our laziness. Let us now consider how many strategies Satan employs to stop our course, and how slow those who are called are to follow, and how soon they become weary. Consequently, the gospel will not maintain its place for long if pastors do not urge it earnestly.

Moreover, this earnestness must relate both to the pastor and to the people. For the pastor, it means that he should not devote himself to the office of teaching only at his own times and according to his own convenience, but, shrinking neither from hardships nor from difficulties, he should exercise his abilities to the fullest. As for the people, there is constancy and earnestness when they arouse those who are asleep, when they lay their hands on those who are hurrying in a wrong direction, and when they correct the trivial pursuits of the world. To explain more fully in what respects the pastor must “be instant,” the Apostle adds—

Reprove, rebuke, exhort. By these words he means that we need many promptings to urge us to advance in the right course. For if we were as teachable as we ought to be, a minister of Christ would draw us along by the slightest expression of his will. But now, not even moderate exhortations, to say nothing of sound advice, are sufficient for shaking off our lethargy, unless there is increased intensity of reproofs and threatenings.

With all gentleness and doctrine. A very necessary exception; for reproofs either prove ineffective through their own harshness or vanish into smoke if they do not rest on doctrine. Both exhortations and reproofs are only aids to doctrine and, therefore, have little weight without it. We see instances of this in those who have only a large measure of zeal and bitterness and are not equipped with solid doctrine. Such men labor very hard, utter loud cries, make a great noise, and all in vain, because they build without a foundation. I speak of men who are otherwise good but have little learning and excessive fervor; for those who employ all the energy they possess in combating sound doctrine are far more dangerous and do not deserve to be mentioned here at all.

In short, Paul means that reproofs are founded on doctrine, so that they are not justly despised as frivolous. Secondly, he means that sharpness is moderated by gentleness, for nothing is more difficult than to set a limit to our zeal once we have become fervent. When we are carried away by impatience, our efforts are entirely fruitless. Our harshness not only exposes us to ridicule but also irritates the minds of the people. Besides, sharp and forceful men often seem unable to endure the obstinacy of those with whom they engage. They cannot submit to many offenses and insults, which nevertheless must be endured if we desire to be useful. Therefore, let severity be mingled with this seasoning of gentleness, so that it is known to come from a peaceful heart.

For there will be a time. From the very depravity of men, he shows how careful pastors ought to be; for the gospel will soon be extinguished and perish from the remembrance of men if godly teachers do not labor with all their might to defend it. But he means that we must avail ourselves of the opportunity while there is any reverence for Christ; as if one should say that, when a storm is at hand, we must not work carelessly but must hasten with all diligence, because there will not be an equally suitable time afterwards.

When they will not endure sound doctrine. This means that they will not only dislike and despise, but will even hate, sound doctrine; and he calls it “sound (or healthful) doctrine,” with reference to the effect produced, because it actually instructs to godliness. In the next verse, he pronounces the same doctrine to be truth and contrasts it with fables, that is, useless imaginations by which the simplicity of the gospel is corrupted.

1. Let us learn from this that the more extraordinary the eagerness of wicked men to despise the doctrine of Christ, the more zealous godly ministers should be to defend it, and the more strenuous their efforts should be to preserve it intact. Not only so, but they must also, by their diligence, ward off the attacks of Satan.

   If ever this ought to have been done, the great ingratitude of men has now rendered it more than necessary. For those who at first receive the gospel warmly and make a show of some kind of uncommon zeal, afterwards contract dislike, which is soon followed by loathing. Others, from the very outset, either reject it furiously or, contemptuously lending an ear, treat it with mockery. Still others, not enduring the yoke to be laid on their neck, kick at it and, through hatred of holy discipline, become altogether estranged from Christ. What is worse, from being friends, they become open enemies.

   This is far from a good reason for us to be discouraged and give way. Instead, we ought to fight against such monstrous ingratitude and even strive with greater earnestness than if all were gladly embracing Christ offered to them.

2. Having been told that men will so despise and even reject the word of God, we should not be amazed as if it were a new spectacle when we see actually accomplished what the Holy Spirit tells us will happen.

   Indeed, being by nature prone to vanity, it is no new or uncommon thing if we lend an ear more willingly to fables than to truth.

3. The doctrine of the gospel, being plain and humble in its aspect, is unsatisfactory partly to our pride and partly to our curiosity. How few there are who are endowed with spiritual taste, so as to relish newness of life and all that relates to it! Yet Paul foretells some greater impiety of one particular age, against which he urges Timothy to be on his guard early.

Shall heap up to themselves teachers. It is proper to observe the expression heap up, by which he means that the madness of men will be so great that they will not be satisfied with a few deceivers but will desire to have a vast multitude. For, as there is an insatiable longing for those things which are unprofitable and destructive, so the world seeks, on all sides and without end, all the methods that it can contrive and imagine for destroying itself.

The devil always has at hand a sufficiently large number of such teachers as the world desires to have. There has always been a plentiful harvest of wicked men, as there is in the present day; and therefore, Satan never has any lack of ministers to deceive men, just as he never has any lack of the means of deceiving.

Indeed, this monstrous depravity, which almost constantly prevails among men, means they deserve for God and His healthful doctrine to be either rejected or despised by them, and for them to more gladly embrace falsehood. Accordingly, the fact that false teachers frequently abound, and that they sometimes multiply like a nest of hornets, should be ascribed by us to the righteous vengeance of God.

We deserve to be covered and choked by that kind of filth, since the truth of God finds no place in us, or, if it has found entrance, is immediately driven from its possession. And since we are so addicted to fabulous notions, we never think that we have too great a multitude of deceivers. Thus, what an utter abomination of Monks there is in Popery! If one godly pastor were to be supported, instead of ten Monks and as many priests, we would immediately hear nothing else than complaints about the great expense.

The disposition of the world is therefore such that, by “heaping up” with insatiable desire innumerable deceivers, it desires to banish all that belongs to God. Nor is there any other cause of so many errors than that men, of their own accord, choose to be deceived rather than to be properly instructed.

That is the reason why Paul adds the expression itching ears. When he wishes to assign a cause for so great an evil, he makes use of an elegant metaphor. By this, he means that the world will have ears so refined and so excessively desirous of novelty that it will collect for itself various instructors and will be incessantly carried away by new inventions. The only remedy for this vice is for believers to be instructed to adhere closely to the pure doctrine of the gospel.

But watch thou in all things. He continues with the previous exhortation: the more severe the diseases are, the more earnestly Timothy should labor to cure them, and the closer dangers are, the more diligently he should keep watch. And because the ministers of Christ, when they faithfully discharge their office, are immediately called to engage in conflicts, he at the same time reminds Timothy to be firm and immovable in enduring adversity.

Do the work of an Evangelist. That is, “Do what belongs to an evangelist.” Whether by this term he generally refers to 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 Ephesians 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, rather than being only one of their number. Besides, to mention an honorable title of office tends not only to encourage him but also to recommend his authority to others; and Paul had both of these objects in view.

Render thy ministry approved. If we read this clause as in the old translation, “Fulfill thy ministry,” the meaning will be: “You cannot fully discharge the office entrusted to you except by doing the things I have instructed. Therefore, ensure that you do not fail 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 consistent with the context: that Timothy, by watching, 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.

For I am now offered as a sacrifice. He assigns the reason for the solemn protestation which he employed. As if he had said, “As long as I lived, I stretched out my hand to you; my constant exhortations were not withheld from you; you have been much aided by my advice, and much confirmed by my example. The time has now come that you should be your own teacher and exhorter, and should begin to swim without support: beware lest any change in you be observed at my death.”

And the time of my dissolution is at hand. We must attend to the modes of expression by which he denotes his death. By the word dissolution, he means that we do not altogether perish when we die, because it is only a separation of the soul from the body. Hence we infer that death is nothing else than a departure of the soul from the body—a definition which contains a testimony of the immortality of the soul.

“Sacrifice” was a term peculiarly applicable to the death of Paul, which was inflicted on him for maintaining the truth of Christ; for, although all believers, both by their obedient life and by their death, are victims or offerings acceptable to God, yet martyrs are sacrificed in a more excellent manner, by shedding their blood for the name of Christ. Besides, the word σπένδεσθαι which Paul here employs, does not denote every kind of sacrifice, but that which serves for ratifying covenants. Accordingly, in this passage, he means the same thing which he states more clearly when he says,

But if I am offered on the sacrifice of your faith, I rejoice. (Philippians 2:17).

For there he means that the faith of the Philippians was ratified by his death, in precisely the same manner that covenants were ratified in ancient times by sacrifices of slain beasts; not that the certainty of our faith is founded, strictly speaking, on the steadfastness of the martyrs, but because it tends greatly to confirm us. Paul has here adorned his death by a magnificent commendation, when he called it the ratification of his doctrine, so that believers, instead of sinking into despondency—as frequently happens—might be more encouraged by it to persevere.

The time of dissolution—this mode of expression is also worthy of notice, because he beautifully lessens the excessive dread of death by pointing out its effect and its nature. How is it that men are so greatly dismayed at any mention of death, if not because they think that they perish utterly when they die? On the contrary, Paul, by calling it “Dissolution,” affirms that man does not perish, but teaches that the soul is merely separated from the body.

It is with the same purpose that he fearlessly declares that “the time is at hand,” which he could not have done unless he had despised death. For although this is a natural feeling, which can never be entirely taken away, that man dreads and shrinks from death, yet that terror must be vanquished by faith, so that it may not prevent us from departing from this world in an obedient manner, whenever God shall call us.