The Last Words of St. Paul

2 Timothy 1-4
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, August 23, 2015
Copyright © 2015, P. G. Mathew

We are beginning a study of Paul’s Second Epistle to Timothy. It is Paul’s last letter, just as 2 Peter is Peter’s last letter, in which he speaks about his impending death. In this sermon, we will give an overview of this last epistle of Paul.

When we read 2 Timothy, we cannot help but cry. It is full of pathos. Paul is saying, “I am dying. Soon I will be brought to God’s heavenly kingdom.” Paul had come to the end of more than thirty years of fruitful gospel ministry. He wrote 2 Timothy as he was waiting to be martyred for the sake of Christ.

We read of the last words of Moses, the last words of Joshua, and the last words of Jesus. Moses said, “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Deut. 30:19–20). Again, we read, “When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, he said to them, ‘Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess’” (Deut. 32:45–47).

Consider Joshua’s last words: “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. But just as every good promise of the LORD your God has come true, so the LORD will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you” (Josh. 23:14–16).

Jesus himself told his disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1–3). He also said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

 

The Last Words of Paul

In 2 Timothy, we have the last words of Paul, given to comfort the church in all her troubles. This epistle was written to Timothy, who was pastoring the church at Ephesus. Timothy, his mother Eunice, and his grandmother Lois, had been brought to faith by Paul during his second missionary journey.

Paul called Timothy “my true son in the faith” (1 Tim. 1:2) and “our brother and God’s fellow worker” (1 Thess. 3:2). Elsewhere he called Timothy “my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord” (1 Cor. 4:17). He told the Philippian believers, “I have no one like him who takes a genuine interest in your welfare” (Phil. 2:20).

Timothy was Paul’s representative, apostolic delegate, and he traveled with Paul for the ministry. He was young (about thirty-five years old), timid, and sickly. Yet God used him mightily by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We must understand the context of 2 Timothy. Paul was released from his first Roman imprisonment, as he anticipated when he wrote to the Philippian church: “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith” (Phil. 1:23–25).

After his release, he went on to his fourth missionary journey (AD 63–66). He ministered in many places, including Crete, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, Nicopolis, Spain, and even to the British Isles, according to tradition. Then he was rearrested, possibly due to an accusation against him by Alexander the metalworker, whom Paul had excommunicated for his heresy.

Nero was the emperor at this time. He turned against Christianity because it was thought to be an illegal religion. So Paul was rearrested at Miletus, thirty-five miles outside of Ephesus. He had to leave Trophimus, his fellow traveler, sick at Miletus (2 Tim. 4:20). On his way to Rome, he left his blanket and books, including his Bible, with Carpus at Troas (2 Tim. 4:13).

During Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome, he had been given great freedom to stay in his own rented house: “For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 28:30–31).

Now Paul was put in a damp, dark, and cold dungeon, possibly the Mamertine prison. He was in chains and fetters and treated as a common criminal. He was in this condition for only for a brief period of time. In 67 AD he was executed by Nero on the Ostian Way, three miles outside the city.

 

Christ Calls Us to Suffer for the Gospel

Any theology that denies the truth that we are called to suffer for the sake of Christ is false and must be rejected. Jesus repeatedly told his followers about the cost of Christian discipleship. He told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). He also warned, “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me” (Matt. 24:9). He also said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. . . . In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26, 33).

But though we will experience troubles, we serve a God who also comforts us in all our troubles. He is with us always, in life and in death. The Lord is our shepherd and we shall lack nothing. He said he would never leave us nor forsake us. He is in us, he is with us, and he is all around us. He is the same God who spoke long ago to fearful Abraham: “After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward’” (Gen. 15:1).

In the same way, Jesus appeared to Paul to encourage him: “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city’” (Acts 18:9–10). Later on, the Lord appeared to him again: “The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, ‘Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome’” (Acts 23:11). This Lord Jesus was with Paul in the damp, cold Roman dungeon, comforting him.

As he languished in prison, Paul was longing for fellowship. His friend and fellow worker Demas had abandoned Paul, having loved this present world (2 Tim. 4:10). Demas proved to be a third-soil, temporary Christian. Additionally, every leader from the province of Asia had abandoned him (2 Tim. 1:15). And Paul writes, “At my first defense, no one came to my support but everyone deserted me” (2 Tim. 4:16). Paul’s fellow believers abandoned him. But he says, “The Lord stood at my side and gave me strength” (2 Tim. 4:17). Additionally, his closest fellow workers were ministering in far places, like Galatia, Dalmatia, and Ephesus in Asia. He says, “Only Luke was with me” (2 Tim. 4:11).

Where do we get comfort when we go through the valley of the shadow of death? God spoke through Isaiah, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God” (Isa. 40:1). Our comfort comes from the triune God.

God calls us to suffer for the gospel. Jesus himself said about Paul, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name” (Acts 9:16). And Paul suffered much. At Lystra, he was stoned and left for dead. At Philippi, he was stripped and severely beaten, thrown into prison, with his feet put in stocks.

In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul gives a partial list of the sufferings he experienced:

 

Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. (2 Cor. 11:23–26)

 

Do you want to believe in Jesus so that he will give you admission to the best school, the best job, the longest life, and the best health? Do you want a trouble-free Christianity? It cannot be found. It is a lie, and the earlier you know, the better. Suffering for Christ is our calling.

There are charlatans, frauds in the evangelical world fooling people all the time. Such false ministers will go to hell, taking these people with them. But if God truly saves a person, he will also lead him to that church where the gospel is truly preached. People go to false churches because they are not saved.

Paul was a young man when God called him. We read, “Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul” (Acts 7:58b). Now, after thirty years of intense suffering, he is an old man. Previously, he wrote to Philemon, “Yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus” (Philem. 9). Now, as he writes to Timothy, he is at the end of his life; he was waiting to be beheaded.

When Jesus was crucified, all his disciples left him, as Jesus himself predicted. Now, Paul understands that Timothy seems to be afraid of suffering. So Paul counsels this young man to not be ashamed but to endure suffering with him. We are ashamed of speaking about Jesus because we are afraid of what the world may do to us. Maybe we will lose our job, or people will hit us or kill us, as is happening to Christians throughout the world today.

So Paul writes, “Do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God” (2 Tim. 1:8). He also says, “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day” (2 Tim. 1:12). Paul trusted in Christ for his eternal salvation. There is only one purpose for our existence, that we may put our trust in Jesus Christ. He said, “I am the vine; you are the branches” (John 15:5). When we trust in Christ, his life will come into us and invigorate us, and we will bear fruit for the glory of God.

Paul also writes, “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure” (2 Tim. 4:6). In other words, he was saying, “Timothy, I am dying, and I want you to continue preaching the gospel.”

Every believer in Jesus Christ must suffer for the gospel. There is no exemption. So Paul told Timothy, “If we endure [suffering], we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us” (2 Tim. 2:12). He also said, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12).

Like Paul and Timothy, and like every true minister of the gospel, we are not preaching the gospel to make more money or to increase our fame. We preach the gospel in obedience to Jesus Christ, who called us do so. And he calls us also to suffer with him.

 

Where Does Our Comfort Come From?

God promises comfort for every believer who suffers for the gospel. He will watch over us until he brings us to the heavenly Zion. Of those who believe in him, Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” And the psalmist declares,

 

I lift my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life;

the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. (Ps. 121:1–8)

 

1. GOD THE FATHER COMFORTS US

Where, then, does our comfort come from? First, it comes from God the Father. Earlier, Paul wrote, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of [mercies] and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles” (2 Cor. 1:3–4). God will comfort us in all troubles, even when we are facing death. In life and in death, in sickness and health, he will remain faithful. He is the Father of compassions and the God of all comfort, and he will comfort us in all our troubles. Saints, count on this promise of God! Our heavenly Father is with us to comfort us. All our troubles are ordained by God, so that we will not trust in ourselves but in God the Father who raises the dead.

 

2. GOD THE SON COMFORTS US

Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another [Comforter]” (John 14:16). In the Greek, it is allon paraklêton, meaning, “another Comforter like me.” Jesus is the first Comforter, and the Holy Spirit is the second. So Jesus Christ comforts us. By his death, he destroyed death and brought for us life and immortality. No one can destroy God’s church.

Paul writes to Timothy, “[God] has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim. 1:9–10). That is why we preach the gospel. (PGM) It offers life and immortality to everyone who believes.

We also read in Hebrews 2, “Since the children have flesh and blood, [Jesus] too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants” (Heb. 2:14–16). We are Abraham’s descendants, and we are kept every moment of every day by our triune God.

As we read 2 Timothy, we will discover several things.

 

1. Life is in Jesus, not in anyone else (2 Tim. 1:1). No one else can give us eternal, immortal life. He alone gives it to us. If we refuse to believe in Jesus, we have no life.
2. Grace is in Jesus (2 Tim. 2:1). What we need is grace, and it cannot be found anywhere else. The universities will not tell us how to have eternal life. They reject the Bible and Jesus Christ, even while they talk about the wisdom of this world.
3. Faith and love are in Jesus (2 Tim. 1:13). Do you want faith? He will give you faith. Do you want love? It is to be found in Jesus.
4. Salvation is in Jesus (2 Tim. 2:10).
5. The Lord is with us always (2 Tim. 4:17). Our best friend, or even our wife or husband may forsake us. Our children may not show up when we are in the hospital. They will be busy, doing other things. But if you are a Christian, the Lord is with us, and he is with us always. And he will strengthen us to do all that God wants us to do. In fact, the word for “strengthen” means he will pour into us strength. It is the same word Paul uses when he says, “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who makes me strong” (Phil. 4:13).
6. The Lord delivers us from the lion’s mouth (2 Tim. 4:17). This same Jesus will deliver us just as David delivered the sheep from the lion’s mouth: “But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth’” (1 Sam. 17:34–35). In 2 Timothy, Paul is speaking about the Root of David and the Son of David, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is mighty to save us and rescue us from all harm. Have you trusted in him with living and saving faith?
7. The Lord rescues us from every evil attack (2 Tim. 4:18). Every! This is comprehensive deliverance.
8. The Lord will bring us safely to his heavenly kingdom (2 Tim. 4:18). The mission of Jesus is to save his people and bring them to God and to glory, to the heavenly kingdom.

 

3. THE HOLY SPIRIT COMFORTS US

Not only does God the Father comfort us and God the Son comfort us, but the Holy Spirit also comforts us.

 

1. Paul told Timothy, “Fan into flame the gift you received when I laid hands on you” (2 Tim. 1:6–7). That is the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
2. The Holy Spirit is with us and will never leave us. He was sent to dwell with us forever (2 Tim. 1:14).
3. The Holy Spirit will strengthen us. Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8).
4. The greatest reality is that the Holy Spirit is in us. Paul writes, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (2 Cor. 6:19–20).
5. The Holy Spirit will gives us words to say. Jesus said, “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matt. 10:19–20).

 

4. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES COMFORT US

Another source of comfort for a Christian is the holy Scriptures. Do you read the Bible? Do you meditate on it? Do you study it hard? It is designed to comfort you.

Remember, Paul wrote this epistle while in prison, in the dungeon. He did not even have a Bible because it was taken away from him. So he instructed Timothy, “Please bring my blanket and my Bible. I left them with Carpus our brother in Troas” (see 2 Tim. 4:13).

As we open our Bibles, we will hear the voice of the Lord, and it will comfort us. Paul states, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). That is why we must read the Bible every day. When we read it and believe it, we will be comforted, because God himself speaks in the holy Scriptures. Only the Scriptures can make us wise unto salvation (2 Tim. 3:15).

Today, we have an explosion of information, brought to us through many devices. But none of this will help us to find salvation. It does not matter what politicians or philosophers speak. It all engenders death to us. Only the gospel gives us life and hope—the gospel that speaks about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as we read in Romans 4:25: “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Without faith in Jesus Christ, we are destroyed.

Without the gospel, there is no Jesus, there is no God, there is no salvation, and there is no meaning to our lives. We may have great worldly possessions, but they cannot save you. So Paul speaks seven important gospel imperatives to Timothy in this epistle:

 

1. Suffer for the gospel (2 Tim. 1:8; 2:3).
2. Hold fast to the gospel (2 Tim. 1:13).
3. Guard the gospel (2 Tim. 1:14).
4. Entrust the gospel to reliable men (2 Tim. 2:2).
5. Continue in the gospel (2 Tim. 3:14).
6. Preach the gospel (2 Tim. 4:2).
7. Study to interpret the gospel correctly (2 Tim. 2:15).

 

 

Without faith in the Scriptures, we have no comfort. How can we know who God is unless we study the Bible? Yet it is only the God of the Bible who can comfort us.

 

5. THE CHURCH COMFORTS US

Finally, we note that church comforts us. The triune God comforts us; his word comforts us; and the people of God comfort us.

Paul in the dungeon needed comfort from God’s people. Many had abandoned him, and it may be that the old apostle was going blind. Only Luke the physician was with him. He yearned to see his true son in the faith, Timothy, one last time before his expected execution.

So he wrote, “Timothy, my dear son, please come quickly, so that I may be filled with joy. Please come before winter. And bring Mark with you. I want to see him also. I am cold in this dungeon. I have no blanket and I have no Bible. I left my blanket and books with brother Carpus at Troas. So when you come, bring these with you.”

We do not know whether Timothy came before Paul was executed. Yet it is the will of God that the people of God bring comfort to one another. Elsewhere Paul wrote, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of [mercies] and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Cor. 1:3–4). The church must comfort its people. Again he says, “But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus” (2 Cor. 7:6). Our visiting our fellow saints matters. Paul also speaks of the comfort he received from Onesiphorus: “May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me” (2 Tim. 1:16–17).

Christianity is not a loner religion. As the body of Christ, we are connected to one another and to our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not a pile of members, disconnected from one another and dead.

Jesus himself spoke of the comfort the saints give to each other:

 

Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matt. 25:34–40)

 

The writer to the Hebrews exhorts, “Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (Heb. 13:1–3).

Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Elsewhere Paul wrote, “We glory in tribulations also” (Rom. 5:5, KJV). All things work together for our good to conform us to Christ. So thank God, not only do we have trouble, but we also have great comfort here and now—comfort from God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; comfort from God’s holy Scriptures; and comfort from God’s holy church, the holy people of God who are traveling with us to the heavenly Zion.

In this church, we love one another and comfort one another with the comfort we have received from God. And when true ministers depart to heaven, as Paul did, the Lord will raise up other servants of God, like Timothy—pious men, learned in the Scriptures, who are Spirit-filled, courageous, and hardworking, to build up God’s holy church. The gospel will triumph! It must triumph, because Jesus is Lord, and he builds his church, which is indestructible. Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, having destroyed death and the devil, to give us life and immortality. So we can say with confidence, “To me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). Amen.