Additional Notes §9
§9 Timothy’s Responsibilities in Light of the False Teachers (2 Tim. 2:22–26)
The commands introducing this section flow directly from the application of the analogy of verses 20–21, but all the time in the context of the concerns that began in verse 14. In “cleansing himself from these things” (v. 21), Timothy is again urged to avoid the foolish arguments of the false teachers, which only lead to quarrels. On the contrary—and this is a new theme—he is to try to rescue people from their entrapment by error.
The entire paragraph is directed toward Timothy and his responsibilities in view of the presence of the false teaching. The dominating theme is peace. The false teachers revel in arguments that breed quarrels (cf. 1 Tim. 6:4); Timothy, by contrast, should pursue peace. He must not quarrel but be kind toward all, and he must gently correct, with the desire that his correction and gentleness may lead some to repentance.
2:22 / These two imperatives (flee and pursue), which are identical to those in 1 Timothy 6:11, are closely related to verses 19–21, which emphasize “turning away from wickedness” and “cleansing himself of these things.” But the negative imperative in this case is somewhat surprising in the context. Why here is Timothy told to flee the evil desires of youth?
The answer lies basically in the meaning of the word evil desires (epithymiai; cf. 1 Tim. 6:9; 2 Tim. 4:3) in these letters. Rather than “lusts,” it simply means desires, especially evil desires. Thus Paul is not so much speaking of sensual passions as he is those kinds of headstrong passions of youth, who sometimes love novelties, foolish discussions, and arguments that all too often lead to quarrels.
Instead of engaging in the pastimes of the false teachers, Timothy is to pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. For these first three items see the discussion on 1 Timothy 6:11. Just as the final items on that list were especially relevant to the context, so here Timothy must also pursue … peace, as do all those who call upon the name of the Lord out of a pure heart (not, as GNB, “call out to the Lord for help”; cf. 1 Cor. 1:2). This last phrase is another idiom for God’s people in the OT (cf. 2:10; Titus 2:14); they are those who call upon the Lord, that is, worship Yahweh, the God of Israel, and none other. Along with the modifier out of a pure heart (cf. 1 Tim. 1:5; the same root as the verb “cleanse oneself” in v. 21), this designation sets off the true people of God (who pursue righteousness, etc.) from the false teachers, who do not truly know God (cf. Titus 1:16) but are ensnared by Satan. Perhaps, too, as with verse 19, it is a word of encouragement to Timothy by reminding him that not all “have bowed the knee to Baal.”
2:23 / Precisely because Timothy is to “pursue peace,” he must not have anything to do with (same verb as in 1 Tim. 4:7; 5:11) foolish (cf. Titus 3:9, a strong pejorative) and stupid (apaideutos, “uninstructed, ill-informed”) arguments (see disc. on 1 Tim. 6:4; Titus 3:9). Although apaideutos can mean stupid or “ignorant,” (GNB), in this context (see disc. on v. 25) it more likely refers to the fact that the perpetrators of these quibblings, who have rejected the truth, are themselves uninstructed or poorly informed (cf. 1 Tim. 1:7; “they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm”).
Timothy, therefore, is to “pursue peace” (v. 22), which means to reject foolish debates, based on lack of instruction, because such debates only produce (lit., “give birth to”) quarrels (machai; cf. Titus 3:9; cf. also “word battles,” logomachiai, 1 Tim. 6:4; 2 Tim. 2:14)—one of the serious sins of the false teachers (see esp. disc. on 1 Tim. 6:4–5).
2:24–26 / In contrast to the false teachers, whose foolish arguments breed quarrels, Timothy, as the Lord’s servant, who wants to be “useful to the Master” (v. 21), must not quarrel (cf. the qualifications for overseers/elders, 1 Tim. 3:3; Titus 1:7). The term servant is commonly used in Paul for those who minister in the Word (cf. Titus 1:1); the combination Lord’s servant, which occurs only here in Paul (usually it is “servant of Christ”), is apparently a conscious attempt to reflect on the metaphor in verse 21 by using OT language (cf. similarly, 1 Tim. 6:11). Thus, even though the Lord’s servant must “wage the noble war” (1 Tim. 1:18), he must not do so by engaging in quarrels with his opponents.
But not to quarrel does not mean that he must thereby let error go on its way. To the contrary. However, in standing against error he must exhibit a different disposition. He must be kind to everyone—even to his opponents. The point is attitudinal and reflects the very difficult stance of Ephesians 4:15 (“speaking the truth in love”). He also must be able to teach (cf. 1 Tim. 3:2), not resentful (lit., “ready to put up with evil,” hence “patient” [GNB] or “tolerant” [NEB]). Again, the requirement is attitudinal. Timothy must show himself equal to the task as a teacher of God’s truth (2:15), but he must do so without getting heated in his response to evil. Finally, he must gently (cf. 1 Tim. 6:11; Titus 3:2) instruct those who oppose him. This last phrase presents some considerable difficulties. The verb (paideuō) can mean either to instruct or “to educate” (cf. apaideutos in v. 23; see esp. disc. on Titus 2:12), or to “correct” or “discipline” (cf. 1 Tim. 1:20). The greater difficulty is with the word translated those who oppose him, an extremely rare word that can refer either to the opponents themselves or to “those who are adversely affected” (Bernard) by the opponents. Is Timothy to discipline his opponents, as 1 Timothy 1:20 might allow? Or is he to instruct or re-educate those who have been “taken in” by the false teachers? This is not easy to determine, since both are elsewhere seen as entrapped by Satan (cf. 1 Tim. 4:1–2; 3:7; 6:9). It is probably safe to say that it at least includes the people who have been so ensnared and may also include the false teachers themselves (although 3:6, 9, 13 do not seem to be so hopeful).
In either case, Paul hopes that by pursuing the path of peace and gentleness, Timothy can be an instrument in God’s hands: In the hope (Gk., indirect question, “will God perhaps …?”) that God will grant them repentance (understood here to be God’s gift; cf. NEB: “the Lord may grant them a change of heart”). Such a change of heart has as its goal that they will come to a knowledge of the truth, a term that in the PE is nearly synonymous for “getting saved” (1 Tim. 2:4) or belonging to God’s true people (1 Tim. 4:3). All of this implies that those who persist in their errors are in genuine danger of forfeiting salvation as line 3 in the hymn/poem of 2:11–13 also asserts.
The remainder of the sentence further confirms such an implication (v. 26; vv 24–26 are a single sentence in Greek; this is the second verb controlled by “it may be that”). If perhaps God grants them repentance, that also means that they will thus come to their senses (a metaphor for soberness; cf. 4:5 and also the sōphrōn words demanding clearheadedness or soundmindedness, e.g., Titus 2:2). Such a metaphor emphasizes the deceitful nature of the false teaching, which here, as before, is depicted as ultimately demonic (see esp. disc. on 1 Tim. 4:1–2). To experience God-given repentance and a return to soberness means to escape from the trap of the devil (cf. 1 Tim. 3:7; 6:9). Although the final description is not fully certain (see note), Satan is further portrayed as having taken them captive (lit., “having been captured alive by him”) to do his will. As noted in the discussion on 1 Timothy 4:1–2, this is a thoroughly Pauline view of what has happened to those who oppose the gospel.
The emphasis in this sentence has been clearly redemptive. Paul wants Timothy to model a kind of teaching that will not simply refute error (Titus 1:9; 2:15) and save his hearers (1 Tim. 4:16) but that will also be used by God to rescue those who have already been entangled in the false teaching. However, Paul is also a sober realist, and the mention of those “captured alive” by Satan to do his will launches him into a final indictment of the false teachers themselves (3:1–9).
2:22 / For a full presentation of the position taken here on the evil desires of youth, see W. Metzger, “Die neōterikai epithymioi in 2 Tim. 2,22,” ThZ 33 (1977), pp. 129–36. Cf. Kelly.
The prepositional phrase, along with those who call on the Lord, is ambiguously placed, so that it could mean that Timothy is to pursue peace only with true believers (so Barrett, Kelly). However, not only does the context of the whole paragraph suggest otherwise, but this positioning of prepositional phrases at the end of clauses, even though they modify the verb, is characteristic of these letters (see, e.g, 1 Tim. 1:14; 2:7, 10; 2 Tim. 1:12).
2:24–26 / The word translated those who oppose occurs in extant literature only in Philo (On the Special Laws 4.103) in the active, meaning something close to “retaliate,” and, in the passive, in Pseudo-Longinus (On the Sublime 17). Most scholars consider it to be a Gk. middle here (thus, “oppose oneself to” or “be opposed”). However, if it is passive here, as Bernard argues, it would imply that some had been affected by the opposition of others. On the whole, this latter seems more likely, since Paul uses other words to speak specifically of his opponents (1 Tim. 5:14; Titus 1:9).
The final phrase in v. 26, who has taken them captive to do his will, is especially rough in the Gk., so that some argue that it means: “ ‘God may grant them to escape from the snare of the devil after they have been captured by him, so as to do His will—i.e., the will of God’ ” (Scott, following Moffatt; cf. Bernard); or “Having been saved alive by the servant of the Lord to do the Lord’s will, and not the devil’s” (Lock). But both of these solutions create even greater difficulties in the Gk. text. On the whole, the NIV (cf. Kelly, Spicq, D-C, Hanson) is to be preferred. For a more extensive treatment of the issue, see J. P. Wilson, “The Translation of 2 Timothy 2:26,” and Hanson.