§ 13 Paul’s Final Testimony ( 2 Tim. 4:6–8 )
§13 Paul’s Final Testimony (2 Tim. 4:6–8)
Up to this point everything that has been said in 2 Timothy, apart from the themes of Paul’s imprisonment and Timothy’s taking his share in suffering, fits the concerns of 1 Timothy—and in some ways looks very much like more of the same. But this paragraph, plus what follows in verses 9–18, throws everything into a different light.
Here we learn for the first time that Paul expects his present imprisonment to result in death (v. 6); he is aware that his own ministry is now over (v. 7) and that the eschatological prize awaits him (v. 8). But as the situation in Ephesus has clearly indicated, it is a bad time for him to be leaving. The time has come when the pure gospel of Christ is being contaminated from within by foreign elements, and the people are “itchy” for more (4:3). Hence the reason for the letter, with its urgent appeals for loyalty. Paul is leaving, and Timothy is urged to carry on, faithful to the gospel that Paul—and he—have preached.
This final testimony, then, with its announcement of his impending death, serves first of all as the primary reason for the foregoing charge (vv. 1–5). At the same time, as before, it serves as one more model for Timothy to follow. (See 1:11–12; 2:9–10; 3:10–11.)
4:6 / The paragraph is closely tied to the preceding charge (esp. v. 5) with an emphatic egō (I; “as for me,” GNB;) and an explanatory for. “But as for you” (v. 5), Paul charges, “keep your head, perform your whole duty as a servant of God; because as for me, I am about to depart.”
The two metaphors in this verse make clear that Paul does not expect to survive this imprisonment. The first metaphor, used previously in Philippians 2:17 to refer to the possibility of his being poured out like a drink offering, is taken from the OT libations or drink offerings (Num. 15:5, 7, 10). Such an offering, composed of wine (probably as a replacement for the blood libations of pagans, Ps. 16:4), was poured out before the Lord in the sanctuary (Num. 28:7). Thus Paul says, “I am already being offered as a libation”; my life is being poured out before the Lord. The emphasis is on the “already,” but it does not necessarily imply an immediate death (vv. 13 and 21 at least allow for the possibility of another winter). The metaphor implies that the whole present ordeal, culminating in death, is a libation unto the Lord.
The second metaphor, the time has come for my departure (cf. Phil. 1:23, where the verb form is used), images the breaking up of camp or the loosing of a ship from its moorings. It was a common euphemism for death (cf. Philo, Flaccus 187; Diogenes Laertius 5.71).
4:7 / With yet another change of metaphors, to the athletic metaphor common to him (2:5; cf. 1 Tim. 6:12; 1 Cor. 9:24–27; Phil. 3:12–14), Paul offers this well-known reflection on his own ministry (not his life in general, as it is so often interpreted). In three striking sentences he affirms both the finality of things and his fidelity to his calling.
I have fought the good fight (lit., “I have contested the noble contest”). As in 1 Timothy 6:12, this is an athletic, not a military, metaphor. The “contest” is probably a metaphor for a race (so Pfitzner), not wrestling or boxing (as Kelly). The word kalon (good, “noble”) does not imply that Paul’s running was good but that he, as he also had urged Timothy (1 Tim. 6:12), has been running in the noblest, grandest run of them all—the ministry of the gospel. This, after all, is what Paul’s life is all about.
I have finished the race (cf. Acts 20:24). The emphasis here is clearly on the fact that for Paul the race is now over, not just his life, but his ministry.
I have kept the faith. This may mean either that Paul, in the fulfillment of his ministry, has preserved the faith intact (“sound doctrine,” 1 Tim. 1:10, or “the deposit entrusted to him” 2 Tim. 1:14) or more likely, that he has been “loyal to his trust” (Kelly). Both the context and the fact that this is a fixed formula in antiquity for keeping one’s trust seem to support this understanding. It is an especially meaningful word in light of verses 16–18, where his remaining loyal even in trial meant that all the Gentiles heard the message.
4:8 / Paul now returns to the athletic metaphor, but does so by picking up the eschatological motif from verse 1 (cf. 1 Tim. 6:12). Just as races have finishes, so victors receive the crown of righteousness (stephanos, the laurel wreath given to the winner; cf. 2:5; 1 Cor. 9:25). Such a crown … is in store for Paul (safely reserved in heaven). In this case the wreath is described as the crown of righteousness. Does this mean “the prize awarded for a righteous life” (so Bernard, Barrett, Kelly), which some argue is uncharacteristic of Paul (D-C, Hanson)? Or does it mean “one which consists of the gift of righteousness, which only the Judge, as He who alone is dikaios [righteous], can give” (Pfitzner, p. 184)?
The former is not as unlike Paul as is sometimes perceived. After all, it is a genitive phrase, not a clearly spelled out clause (cf. GNB), and means nothing more than the crown that the righteous will receive, but not necessarily as an award for their achievement. That would be to press the metaphor from verse 7 beyond recognizable Pauline bounds. Nonetheless, other uses of this kind of phrase in the NT (James 1:12; 1 Pet. 5:4) favor the second interpretation. This, too, has been objected to as un-Pauline (righteousness is received in this life); but the objection misses the already/not-yet in Paul’s eschatology. One receives the final crown of righteousness precisely because one has already received righteousness in Christ.
Such a crown will be awarded by the Lord, the righteous Judge (cf. v. 1) on that day, meaning at his coming (cf. 1:12, 18)—and not only to me. With this final phrase Paul redirects his concern back to Timothy. Just as he was charged in verse 1 to fulfill his ministry in light of the great Christian eschatological realities, so now he is encouraged that the prize, too, shall be his and to all who have longed for his appearing (on this word, epiphaneia, see disc. on v. 1). Whether intended or not, this clause sets up a sharp contrast with Demas in verse 10, who loved this present age, rather than Christ’s coming.
With this word, the main concern of the letter comes to an end. But the letter is not finished, and all that has been said thus far will need to be rethought on the basis of what is said next.
The very personal nature of this testimony, as well as its close affinities to Philippians, have long been arguments for authenticity. Indeed, many who cannot go that far concede that here is a genuine Pauline fragment.
But others have seen the ties to Philippians as the latter’s being the “source” for the pseudepigraphic author. As is often the case, such arguments tend to be stalemated, and considerable subjectivity tends to weight the final decision. Recently, D. Cook ( has argued for non-Pauline authorship on the basis of language and style. But all he has shown conclusively is that these verses are of a piece with the rest of the letter, not who actually wrote the letter itself.
4:7 / For the phrase “keep the faith” as referring to loyalty to one’s trust, see such diverse authors as Polybius (6.56.13; 10.37.9) and Jos. (Wars 6.345). For other texts, see D-C.
See V. C. Pfitzner, Paul and the Agon Motif, for a thorough discussion of the athletic metaphor in Paul.