11 “The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:11–13 (ESV)
In 2 Timothy 2:8-13, the Apostle Paul wrote to his young protégé Timothy about the challenges of ministry. Ministry is difficult. Serving the Lord can be tough. What sustains the believer in Christ and the disciple of the Lord is the preeminence of Christ (2:8-9a) and the power of the Word of God (2:9b). Both of these biblical truths enable the servant of the Lord to endure.
Paul called Timothy to endure like a teacher, a soldier, and athlete, and a farmer (vs. 1-7). A teacher does not remain in the study or office but rather teaches in the classroom and from the pulpit. A soldier does not remain in the barracks but engages the enemy on the battlefield. An athlete does not compete sitting on the bleachers but rather on the field, track, diamond or court. A farmer does not remain in the farmhouse but spends his working hours in the field.
What does it mean to endure? What is endurance? Endurance is the capacity to withstand hardship or adversity, especially with faith and patience. Strength is needed to endure, whether the work demands the physical strength of the body or the spiritual strength of the soul.
It was at this moment in his letter to Timothy, Paul quoted what may have been part of an early Christian hymn. As is the truth today, the hymns of the church not only inspire but encourage the saints to endure for the gospel of Christ.
Paul introduced the hymn with the statement “The saying is trustworthy.” The word saying (λόγος; logos) means statement, message and word. What Paul is saying is trustworthy (πιστὸς; pistos) referring to its dependability faithfulness and honor. The trustworthy sayings Paul quoted comprise four stanzas. The personal pronouns him, himself and he all refer to Jesus Christ (vs. 10).
An examination of each stanza is appropriate. All four stanzas are conditional clauses. Each describe an attitude and a consequential action by individuals following, or rejecting, Jesus Christ. The first two stanzas display loyalty to Christ. The last two lines illustrate disloyalty to Christ.
Previously, we examined stanza #1 and #2: “If we have died with him, we will also live with him;” “If we endure, we will also reign with him;” Today, we examine stanza #3 and #4: “if we deny him, he also will deny us;” “If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.”
To deny (ἀρνησόμεθα; arnesometha) is a future middle indicative plural verb. It means if sometime in the future individuals personally and realistically refuse to follow or disown Jesus Christ, the Lord will deny (ἀρνήσεται; arnesetai) them. This is not the case of losing one’s salvation. Rather, it is evidencing these individuals never possessed salvation. They are antichrists.
1 John 2:18–19 (ESV) says, “18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”
“There are those people who faithfully continue to confess their belief in Christ, and there are those who deny. The ones who are faithful to confess, He will confess. The ones who are unfaithful and deny, He also will deny. They are the Demases’ of the world, who, having loved this world, forsake Christ. They are those like the disciples in John 6 (vs.66), who followed Jesus for a little while, and then walked no more with Him,” explains Dr. John MacArthur.
“If, in the process of persecution, you back out, deny Christ, walk away, it proves you never were genuine, and the Lord will deny you, and maybe someday you’ll hear, “Depart from me, I never knew you,” even though you may say, “Lord, Lord,” in the day of judgment (Matt. 7:21-23).”
To be faithless (ἀπιστοῦμεν; apistoumen) is a present active indicative plural verb. It means if sometime in the present individuals persistently and actively refuse to trust, be committed, depend and worship Jesus Christ, the Lord remains faithful (trustworthy, committed, dependable and honorable) to keep His promise that such individuals will experience eternal damnation.
“If we shall deny (cf. 1 Tim. 5:8) him, he on his part will also deny us.” When a person, because of unwillingness to suffer hardship for the sake of Christ and his cause, disowns the Lord (“I do not know the man!”), then, unless he repents, he will be disowned by the Lord in the great day of judgment (“I do not know you”). See Matt. 26:72; then Matt. 25:12; also Matt. 10:33.”[1]
“To deny Christ means to be faithless. (The parallelism and also the conclusion— “he … remains faithful”—show that here the meaning of the verb used in the original cannot be: to be unbelieving.) Hence, the hymn continues: “If we are faithless, he on his part …,” but obviously the continuation cannot be “will also be faithless.” One can say, “If we shall deny him, he on his part will also deny us,” but one cannot say, “If we are faithless, he on his part will also be faithless.” Nevertheless, the conclusion of the fourth line corresponds in thought with that of its parallel, the third line; for, the clause “he on his part remains faithful” (line four) is, after all, the same (even more forcefully expressed!) as, “he on his part will also deny us,” for faithfulness on his part means carrying out his threats (Matt. 10:33) as well as his promises (Matt. 10:32)! Divine faithfulness is a wonderful comfort for those who are loyal (1 Thess. 5:24; 2 Thess. 3:3; cf. 1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13; 2 Cor. 1:18; Phil. 1:6; Heb. 10:23). It is a very earnest warning for those who might be inclined to become disloyal.”[2]
“I don’t want to live in a gray twilight. I want to use my life to count for God, and if I die, I die to live; and if I endure, I endure to reign. And I am moved by the preeminence of the Lord and His cause, and I am moved by the power of His Word, no matter what men may do. And I am moved by the preeminence of the work we do, to think that we could be a part of God completing redemptive history. What a thrill,” concludes Dr. MacArthur.
May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed day in the Lord.
Soli deo Gloria!
[1] William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles, vol. 4, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 259.
[2] Ibid., 259–260.
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