Now that we already have answered the “Why”, we will go now to “What” question. 2Timothy is also teaching us the things that we need to pass on. There are three main things that we are to pass on:
Devoted lifestyle (2 Tim.2:1-7) The key here starts in verse 3 “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.”
But before verse 3, Paul seems to be reminding Timothy of something he has been saying and doing, entrusting to reliable men who are able to teach others. And then in verse 3, Paul is enticing Timothy to join him in this suffering and used three comparisons to point out how.
As a soldier who is dedicated to please his commanding officer (v.3-4). Paul’s emphasis in this comparison is the soldier. A soldier is trained to obey his commanding officer. Right or wrong, they are trained not to question the command. They just do it. However, our Lord does not give a wrong command. Then all the more that a soldier of Christ should be following.
“No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs.” It means not to be distracted with what the world shows, rather he should focus, paying close attention to the Lord.
As an athlete who is dedicated to follow the rules (v.5). There are two main things that we should remember about an athlete. First, they are very disciplined people. They have undergone rigorous training to have the needed stamina and discipline in a competition.
Similarly, Christians are in a fierce competition against worldliness, against distractions, against discouragements. This is also one of the reasons why we need to train hard as we can.
Secondly, an athlete competes according to rules. Paul has been very clear in his statement that only those who competes according to rules and have won receives the victor’s crown.
There is no shortcuts to the Christian life. This life is a process. Everyone needs to undergo that process that we call “spiritual growth”. We are trained to survive, we are trained to compete according to rules, and we are trained to win.
As a hardworking farmer (v.6) It is good that Paul mentioned here an adjective. He used the word “hardworking”. This tells us that being a believer, we ought to be a hardworking farmer. Now there are two main things that we can note here:
First is that a farmer should be hardworking. If one is a farmer and is not hardworking, you will not be able to survive. You will barely enjoy the fruits of your labor. You are wasting a lot of time. However, a hardworking farmer will always enjoy well the fruits of his labor.
Secondly, a farmer “is first to receive a share of the crops”. A farmer will always be the first to enjoy the fruits. In spiritual matter, this could refer the joy in fruits of the worker’s labor. There is always an incomparable joy when you know you are obeying the Lord with all your heart and you have just receive the results of that labor.
Craftsmanship of the Word (2 Tim.2:14-19) The key verse here is verse 15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
The second thing that we can pass is the ability to handle the Word. Once again we can see that as early as during the time of Paul’s ministries, there are already false teachers that starts to emerge. And this did not stop even in our own time. Every now and then there will be false teachers that will rise up and deceive many even those who are believers. And this is the main reason why Paul is instructing Timothy to be a worker who do the following:
Present oneself to God as one approved. This was preceded by “Do your best…” Here we can see that whenever we do things for God, we have to do our best especially in terms of working for Him. Excellence in every ministry should always be our goal.
Here, talking about the context of the Word, then we are to do our best in presenting the Word to people, both in deed and in teachings.
A worker who does not need to be ashamed. Of course, if there is excellence in the way we do things, then there is nothing to be ashamed of anymore. But even so, in the context of our passage, Paul was also encouraging Timothy not to be ashamed of his imprisonment (2Tim.1:12). As long as we are obeying the Lord, there is nothing to be ashamed of.
Who correctly handles the word of truth. There is a truth that we ought to be studying, God’s Word carefully. Even from the beginning of the Lord’s establishment of Israel as a nation, God has instructed the Israelites to meditate on the Word day and night (Joshua 1:8). Meaning, it is something that we should always be reading and embedding in our hearts and minds.
Now in terms of sharing the Word, we are correctly handling it. We correctly interpreting what the Bible is saying. Maybe as a beginner, we meditate on the Word based on our understanding as we read it. But later on, we are to study it with proper guidelines on how we interpret and study the Scriptures so that we can draw deeper and proper understanding of the Word of truth.
Consistency in ministerial work (2 Tim.4:1-5) The key here is verse 2 “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage —with great patience and careful instruction.”
Be prepared in season and out of season. In the ministry, we have the so-called harvest season. It is a point in time in the ministry where you are achieving new heights. We also have the lean season where it is difficult extend God’s grace on our part. However, when you are someone who handles the word, it is important that you have to be ready at all times. Whenever the need arises, we are to be ready to preach the word.
Correct, rebuke and encourage. Preaching the word of God involves these three things. Therefore, it will only disappoint us if we only listens to the word that we want to hear. When the Word of God is preached. It is packaged deal. It can correct, it can rebuke and it can encourage. And therefore we should look at the word of God in that perspective.
With great patience and careful instruction. Spiritual life is a process and it takes time to mature. It’s not about preaching today and then the following day, your hearers become mature immediately. The fruit of your labor may take time when you share the Word. But, it will bear its fruit in due time.It may not be as soon as you are expecting it. But it’s sure will.
Challenge:
- What do you think will happen if we neglect passing on the devoted lifestyle?
- How do you think can we produce new leaders who are really good in handling God’s word (soundly interpreting the Word of God)?
- How consistent we are in the ministerial work? What things that we can do to improve to become excellent?
