2Tim 2:11-13: "Faithful is the saying: "For if we died together, we shall be living together also; if we are enduring, we shall be reigning together also; if we are disowning, He also will be disowning us; if we are disbelieving, He is remaining faithful -- He cannot disown Himself.""
The faithful saying expressed by Paul here in 2 Tim 2:11-13 has given rise to fear in some who read it. Sometimes, religious baggage clouds our minds when we read passages like this and causes us to misunderstand what is being said. This faithful saying is meant to be a profound encouragement to Timothy and all those in the body of Christ that read it. My hope is that this encouragement will become clear as we go through it.
This faithful saying seems to follow a structure, in more than one way. In the original Greek, this saying had a rhyming structure as explained by BibleRef: “The two words translated "died" and "live" in this verse rhyme in the original Greek: synapethanomen and syzēsomen. The same rhyming pattern is found in the next verse as well.” The other way this faithful saying is structured is that the first and last clause have to do with the eonian life promised to believers by God, while the two center clauses concern our service in the Lord. In this way, the saying begins and ends with the faithfulness of God, keeping our minds on that all encompassing truth. Each clause is a promise from God that one can take to be trustworthy or faithful.
The first clause “For if we died together, we shall be living together also;” is a reference to the member of the body of Christ’s belief in the evangel, and God’s promise of eonian life to the believer: Rom 6:8 “Now if we died together with Christ, we believe that we shall be living together with Him also.” Those that believe the evangel believe and understand that they have died with Christ and trust they are justified through the faith of Christ (Gal 2:16-21) and will be vivified at the snatching away to live with Christ during the coming two eons (Rom 6:22-23, Titus 1:2, 3:7). Paul does not want those that believe the evangel to be ignorant of the fact that they have died with Christ and that their old humanity was crucified with Christ (Rom. 6:3-5). Paul is encouraging Timothy and other believers here, if they believe and trust they have died with Christ, they can believe and trust that they will live with Christ during the coming eons also. Eonian life is promised as an allotment to those that believe they are justified gratuitously through Christ Jesus: Tit 3:6-7 "which He pours out on us richly through Jesus Christ, our Saviour, that, being justified in that One's grace, we may be becoming enjoyers, in expectation, of the allotment of life eonian." Also see Rom 3:24.
The second and third clauses of the faithful saying go as follows: “if we are enduring, we shall be reigning together also; if we are disowning, He also will be disowning us;” This is the section of the faithful saying that has caused fear in some believers, but I do not believe that Paul meant for this to cause fear in the hearer. It is meant to be an encouragement, and produce endeavor on the part of the one who hears as Paul tells Timothy shortly after he shares the faithful saying: "Endeavor to present yourself to God qualified, an unashamed worker, correctly cutting the word of truth." 2 Tim 2:15
The letter of 2 Timothy is a letter of encouragement to Timothy (and us as believers) to endure in faithful service and suffering for Christ and the evangel. Paul wants Timothy to be unashamed. The use of the word ashamed in 2 Tim 2:15 is the fourth time Paul has used the word in this letter. The first time is here, in 2Tim 1:8: "You may not be ashamed, then, of the testimony of our Lord, nor yet of me, His prisoner, but suffer evil with the evangel in accord with the power of God," Paul encourages Timothy to not be ashamed of the evangel or of Paul, Christ’s chosen apostle and herald of the evangel. This is after Paul has reminded Timothy to rekindle the gracious gift of God and that God gives him (and us) not a spirit of timidity, but of power and of love and of sanity (2 Tim 1:6-7). Paul gives the absolute perspective of the matter (all is of God, any ability we have to endure comes from Him) before telling Timothy he may be unashamed and suffer evil with the evangel (1:8) because of this ability given to him by God. Paul then reminds Timothy that God saves us not in accord with our acts, but according to Gods own purpose and grace (1:9). Paul is making sure to set the stage with the fact that all is of God, our calling and our ability to be unashamed and according with God’s purpose and His grace.
Paul gives himself as an example of one who is unashamed of his sufferings 2Tim 1:12: "For which cause I am suffering these things also, but I am not ashamed, for I am aware Whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to guard what is committed to me, for that day." Our apostle Paul was an unashamed worker in the evangel, which he proved through his sufferings for the Lord. Paul encouraged Timothy to follow his example later in this letter: 2Tim 3:10-11: "Now you fully follow me in my teaching, motive, purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings, such as occurred to me in Antioch, in Iconium, in Lystra: persecutions such as I undergo, and out of them all the Lord rescues me." Paul was not ashamed of the evangel as he tells us in Rom 1:16-17: "For not ashamed am I of the evangel, for it is God's power for salvation to everyone who is believing -- to the Jew first, and to the Greek as well. For in it God's righteousness is being revealed, out of faith for faith, according as it is written: "Now the just one by faith shall be living."" Paul wants Timothy to imitate him just as he told the Corinthians in his corrective letter of 1 Corinthians - 11:1 “Become imitators of me, according as I also am of Christ.”
After giving himself as an example of one who is not ashamed of the evangel, Paul gives examples of those who were ashamed of both him and the evangel: 2Tim 1:15: "Of this you are aware, that all those in the province of Asia were turned from me, of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes." This is a very interesting statement made by Paul. The Roman province of Asia contained the cities of Philadelphia, Colosseum, and Ephesus. Paul wrote the letters of Philippians, Colossians and Ephesians to the believers in these respective cities. At the beginning of each of those letters, Paul addresses the saints (believers) in each of these cities (Eph 1:1, Phil 1:1, Col 1:2). This letter of 2 Timothy is widely believed to be one of the last, if not the last letter (in the scriptures) that he wrote. This is backed up by Paul’s own statements later in the letter, that he had “finished his career” (4:7) and “the period of my dissolution is immanent” (4:6). If this is true, Paul is relaying the fact that all of the believers in those three cities in the province of Asia (among others in the province) turned from Paul. Paul does not give us more details, but in the context of 2 Timothy, Paul is using “all those in the province of Asia” and “Phygellus and Hermogenes” as examples of believers who did not endure, but were ashamed of Paul and the evangel, in essence disowning Christ, the evangel, and Paul the apostle of that evangel.
Giving credence to this view is the fact that Paul immediately gives another example of one who was not ashamed, in contrast to those who were. 2Tim 1:16-18: "May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshes me and was not ashamed of my chain, but, coming to be in Rome, he seeks me diligently and found me. May the Lord grant to him to be finding mercy from the Lord in that day! And how much he serves in Ephesus you know quite well." Onesiphorous is mentioned by Paul as one who is not ashamed of Paul or of his chains and why Paul is suffering (for the evangel). Onesiphorous is another example of one who endured and does not disown Christ.
Later in the letter, Demas is given as another example of one who does not endure and forsook Paul: 2Tim 4:10 "for Demas, loving the current eon, forsook me and went to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia." Demas was a believer, and in his letter to Philemon, Paul describes him as a fellow worker (Phlm 1:24). He is also mentioned in Col 4:14. Demas was a believer who at one time was a fellow worker with Paul, but did not endure in that work with him and in essence disowned Paul and the evangel like those mentioned earlier in the letter.
After mentioning Onesiphorous, Paul goes on to encourage Timothy before he relays the faithful saying, telling Timothy to be “invigorated by the grace which is in Christ Jesus” (2:1), to “suffer evil with [Paul], as an ideal soldier of Christ Jesus” (2:3), and to “remember Jesus Christ, Who has been roused from among the dead” (2:8). Paul again reminds Timothy he is suffering evil unto bonds and enduring all, with those chosen to believe the evangel on his mind, that they may be saved for life eonian (2:9-10). Paul then relays the faithful saying, after giving examples of those who do endure and those who do not and those who disown and those who do not.
The promise to those that endure is that they will reign. The promise to those that disown, is that they will be disowned (will not reign), as again these two clauses are related to service, not the promise given to all believers of being vivified unto eonian life. The Greek term translated “reign” in 2 Tim 2:12 is basileuo and is defined as “exercise a king’s sovereignty” in the CLNT Greek-English Keyword Concordance. The term translated as “kingdom” in the CLNT elsewhere used by Paul is the Greek word basileia. These two Greek words are very closely related. Paul mentions an “allotment of the kingdom of God” multiple times in his letters, warning that those that are habitual in works of the flesh will not be enjoying the allotment of the kingdom of God, or reigning in the kingdom. Here is one such passage: Gal 5:19-21: "Now apparent are the works of the flesh, which are adultery, prostitution, uncleanness, wantonness, idolatry, enchantment, enmities, strife, jealousies, furies, factions, dissensions, sects, envies, murders, drunkennesses, revelries, and the like of these, which, I am predicting to you, according as I predicted also, that those committing such things shall not be enjoying the allotment of the kingdom of God."
The allotment of the kingdom is not to be confused with the allotment of life eonian, which we see in Titus 3:7: "that, being justified in that One's grace, we may be becoming enjoyers, in expectation, of the allotment of life eonian." The allotment of life eonian is promised to all believers in the evangel of the grace of God, that they are justified gratuitously through the deliverance which is in Christ Jesus. This seems to be corroborated by Paul in Rom 8:17: "Yet if children, enjoyers also of an allotment, enjoyers, indeed, of an allotment from God, yet joint enjoyers of Christ's allotment, if so be that we are suffering together, that we should be glorified together also." The “allotment from God” is the allotment of life eonian, promised to all believers and “Christ’s allotment” is a reference to an allotment in the kingdom of God (reigning) promised to those that suffer together with Christ (endure and do not disown Him).
When Paul uses the word allotment, it is not necessary that he always mentioning the same allotment. As we have seen, the context of each passage gives us the understanding as to what allotment Paul has in mind. One thing that Paul is consistent in, however, is that he always solidifies the expectation of the allotment of life eonian before mentioning the allotment of the kingdom of God. The allotment of life eonian (the special salvation that believers will enjoy) is entirely given through Christ’s faith unto death on the cross. Of this we can be absolutely assured.
The final clause of the faithful saying is this: “if we are disbelieving, He is remaining faithful—He cannot disown Himself.” This is a great encouragement to all believers. All believers in Paul’s evangel are members of the body of Christ, and thus cannot be cast out (disowned) of this position. Their allotment of life eonian is secured. Christ will not disown a member of His own body even if we disbelieve, do not endure, or disown the evangel or Christ. The believers in Asia that turned from Paul, Phygellus, Hermogenes, Demas and any other believer that does not endure need not worry at all that they will “lose their salvation” or not enjoy the allotment of life eonian. This is promised and guaranteed by God through Christ. Believers are sealed with the spirit of promise: Eph 1:13 "In Whom you also -- on hearing the word of truth, the evangel of your salvation -- in Whom on believing also, you are sealed with the holy spirit of promise". This seal will never be never be taken away, though we can cause sorrow to the holy spirit of God in us (Eph 4:30).
Does this mean that a believer should worry about “losing out” on an allotment of reigning with Christ during the coming eons? No. We must always remember that if God has chosen us to reign with Christ, He will enable us to endure: Col 1:12 "at the same time giving thanks to the Father, Who makes you competent for a part of the allotment of the saints, in light.” God does not want us to worry about anything (Phil 4:6), and we need not worry about reigning during the coming eons because all is of God in the absolute perspective. In the relative God encourages us contend the ideal contest (1 Tim 6:12, 2 Tim 4:7).
Will those that do not reign during the coming eons be unhappy or jealous of those that are? No, eonian life is always described as being enjoyed by those to whom it is graciously given. Reigning is simply a requital to those God has chosen for this position (2 Cor 5:10). Exercising the sovereignty of a kingdom requires structure, and the coming kingdom will definitely be structured under the rule of Christ. God has given us some insight on how He is going to fill that structure out, while encouraging us to desire to be a part of that structure. God uses Paul to encourage us in this way many times in his letters, one example is in another faithful saying found in Tit 3:8: "Faithful is the saying, and I am intending you to be insistent concerning these things, that those who have believed God may be concerned to preside for ideal acts. These things are ideal and beneficial for humanity." Ideal acts can safely be understood to be those motivated by love, and not the acts of the flesh that Paul warns about (Gal 5:19-21). Paul, who contended the ideal contest, showed us that suffering for the evangel is also an ideal act.
It cannot be emphases enough that Paul is not teaching “salvation by works” here. Eonian salvation is promised to all believers in Paul’s evangel. Reigning during the coming eons is not salvation, it is an allotment within the allotment of life eonian.
What does it mean to endure? I think enduring in the context of our service to the Lord is best summed up by Paul in 2Tim 4:7-8: "I have contended the ideal contest. I have finished my career. I have kept the faith. Furthermore, there is reserved for me the wreath of righteousness, which the Lord, the just Judge, will be paying to me in that day; yet not to me only, but also to all who love His advent." Those that love Christ’s advent will be found enduring, and not disowning Christ or the evangel. Enduring will look different for each member of the body of Christ, just as we suffer in very different ways for the evangel. Paul does not give us a prescription for certain sufferings or a certain set of plans that our lives must follow. He simply encourages us to endure, to not be ashamed of the evangel or of Christ.
Paul mentioned that day in the above passage when he says the Lord will be paying him with the wreath of righteousness, Paul mentions that day two other times in this letter in 1:12 and 1:18. This day is the day of Christ mentioned by Paul in 1 Cor 5:5 and Phil 1:6,10, 2:16. The day of Christ is also known as the dais of Christ which Paul mentions in Rom 14:10 and 2 Cor 5:10. Here is 2Cor 5:10: "For all of us must be manifested in front of the dais of Christ, that each should be requited for that which he puts into practice through the body, whether good or bad." This passage and the others listed above concerning the day of Christ all fit perfectly with the faithful saying we have covered in this article.
I hope that this article on the faithful saying in 2 Timothy 2:11-13 has helped you to understand this passage better, and realize that encouragement is really the reason for Paul including it in his letter to Timothy (and to us as believers). This entire letter of 2 Timothy is meant to be an encouragement to not be ashamed of Christ Jesus and the evangel of the grace of God. All is of God, and God is faithful.
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For a great talk by Dean Hough on the topic of distinct allotments for the body of Christ CLICK HERE
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