2 Timothy Chapter 1

vs 10

So even though we have been marked for salvation since before the beginning of time, we could only really see it because of Christ's appearance. I mean, you might have caught a whiff of the fact that we would be living forever in eternal glory with God somehow, but that would have been a long shot. But when Jesus came and said "I'm going to die to give you eternal life, then I'll be resurrected from the dead to prove it", well, then it's easy to see the plan with 20/20 hindsight. But Jesus doesn't just bring this whole thing to light through his actions - he does it through the gospel. His life, actions and words all seek to bring to fufillment the salvation-history of God's great plan.

Why does Paul use the term "life and immortality"? Well, the word is aphtharsia and I think it would be better translated "incorruption" even though that sounds stupid. Certainly I'm not saying immortality is wrong - just that saying life and "not death" sounds funny to me. It probably sounds better in greek.

vs 11

The gospel - not just Jesus' death and resurrection, but the entire story of God's work to bring mankind back to himself - is what drove Paul. It is what God appointed him to bring and to shout and to teach.

vs 12

Who can't read this verse and think of that hymn based on it? Ugh. Hymns that require you to be castrated are bad, mmmk? Paul is suffering, and he's suffering because of the gospel and his job in spreading it. Not only is he suffering, but he is suffering at the hands of people with lots of "authority" - Jewish religious leaders (he probably knew some of them!) and Roman officials. And it's easy when you're being persecuted by figures in authority to feel ashamed. But Paul doesn't. He knows that the important thing - his eternal life in Christ - is guarded in heaven, and no matter what they do to him, God can protect that.

vs 13

Paul is, after all, the one who was appointed to teach this stuff, so keeping to what he taught is probably a good idea. But the teaching on its own isn't enough - without faith and love in Christ, it is just empty words.

vs 14

Just as Paul knows that God can keep his eternal life secure with him up in heaven, he trusts Timothy to keep the message of the gospel secure. But this message isn't something that can be stolen. Rather, it is in danger of being corrupted by false teaching, or distorted and forgotten because of useless arguing. The Holy Spirit is needed to keep us on track with the gospel, with the important things.

vs 15

Paul's in a dark place. He feels deserted, and to some extent he has been. Many of those who were seeking to comfort him and bless him have moved on. They might have even moved on to do the Lord's work. But he still feels lonely and abandoned.

vs 16

Onesiphorus is a name I hope I don't have to type often. I'm glad Paul was the writer of the majority of the NT books rather than him! However, he was a blessing to Paul. Note that Paul says that he was not ashamed of Paul's chains - which suggests that others might have been, and were too ashamed to go visiting someone who was in prison (it probably almost certainly marked you as a Christian).

vs 17

But Onesiphorus was dead keen to serve Paul. I can't imagine Rome was anything like as huge as it is today, but it still would have been one of the biggest, if not the biggest, city in the whole western world. So searching for someone there is no mean feat.

vs 18

I think we're assumed to know what 'that day' is. I assume he means on the day of glory, the Day of the Lord. And of course, while Timothy might have well known all the things Onesiphorus did for Paul in Ephesus, we have no idea. I guess we don't need to know. But he did do stuff, and he was from Ephesus (or at least with Paul in Ephesus). That's a little important - Paul probably did have other people there with him (that comes out later in the letter) but he probably mentions Onesiphorus because he's from Ephesus, and the church there would know him and would appreciate his example of service.