John Chrysostom

What is the reason of his writing this second Epistle to Timothy? He had said, "I hope to come unto thee shortly" (1 Tim. iii. 14), and as this had not taken place, instead of coming to him, he consoles him by a letter, when he was grieving perhaps for his absence, and oppressed by the cares of the government, which he had now taken in hand. For even great men, when they are placed at the helm, and are charged with the direction of the Church, feel the strangeness of their position, and are overwhelmed, as it were, by the waves of business. This was particularly the case when the Gospel was first preached, when the ground was everywhere unturned, and all was opposition and hostility. There were, besides, heresies commencing from the Jewish teachers, as he has shown in his former Epistle. Nor does he only comfort him by letters, he invites him to come to him: "Do thy diligence," he says, "to come shortly unto me," and, "when thou comest, bring with thee the books, but especially the parchments." (2 Tim. iv. 9 and 2 Tim. iv. 13.) And he seems to have written this Epistle when his end was approaching. For he says, "I am now ready to be offered up"; and again, "At my first answer no man stood with me." (2 Tim. iv. 6 and 2 Tim. iv.16) To set all this right, he both offers consolation from his own trials, and also says, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus." Thus at the very commencement he raises up his mind. Tell me not, he says, of the dangers here. These obtain for us eternal life, where there is no peril, where grief and mourning flee away. For He hath not made us Apostles only that we might encounter dangers, but that we might even suffer and die. And as it would not be a consolation to recount to him his own troubles, but rather an increase of his grief, he begins immediately with offering comfort, saying, "According to the promise of life which is in Jesus Christ." But if it is a "promise," seek it not here. For, "hope that is seen is not hope." (Rom. viii. 24.)

"To Timothy, my dearly beloved son." Not merely his "son," but, "dearly beloved"; since it is possible for sons not to be beloved. Not such, he means, art thou; I call thee not merely a son, but a "dearly beloved son." As he calls the Galatians his children, but at the same time complains of them; "My little children," he says, "of whom I travail in birth again." (Gal. iv. 19.) And he bears particular testimony to his virtue by calling him "beloved." For where love does not arise from nature, it must arise from the merit of the object. Those who are born of us, are loved not only on account of their virtue, but from the force of nature; but when those who are of the faith are beloved, it is on account of nothing but their merit, for what else can it be? And this especially in the case of Paul, who never acted from partiality. And further, he shows by calling him his "beloved son," that it was not because he was offended with him, or despised him, or condemned him; that he did not come to him. "Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord." These things which he before prayed for, he again invokes upon him. And observe how, at the very beginning, he excuses himself for not having come to him, nor seen him. For his words, "Till I come," and, "Hoping to come to thee shortly," had led Timothy to expect his coming soon. For this he excuses himself, but he does not immediately mention the cause of his not coming, lest he should grieve him mightily. For he was detained in prison by the emperor. But when at the end of the Epistle he invited him to come to him, then he informed him of it. He does not at the outset plunge him into sorrow, but encourages the hope that he shall see him. "Greatly desiring to see thee," and "Do thy diligence to come unto me shortly." (2 Tim. i. 4, and iv. 9.) Immediately therefore he raises him up, and proceeds to praise him.

"I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I might be filled with joy." "'I thank God,' he says, 'that I remember thee,' so much do I love thee." This is a mark of excessive love, when a man glories in his affection from loving so much. "I thank God," he says, "Whom I serve": and how? "With a pure conscience," for he had not violated his conscience. And here he speaks of his blameless life, for he everywhere calls his life his conscience. Or because I never gave up any good that I purposed, for any human cause, not even when I was a persecutor. Wherefore he says, "I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief" (1 Tim. i. 13); all but saying, "Do not suspect that it was done of wickedness." He properly commends his own disposition, that his love may appear sincere. For what he says is in fact, "I am not false, I do not think one thing and profess another." So in the book of Acts we read he was compelled to praise himself. For when they slandered him as a seditious man and an innovator, he said in his own defense, "Ananias said to me, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee that thou shouldest know His will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of His mouth. For thou shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard." (Acts xxii. 14, Acts xxii. 15) In the same manner here, that he may not, as if he had been forgetful, have the character of one void of friendship and conscience, he justly praises himself, saying, that "without ceasing I have remembrance of thee," and not simply that, but "in my prayers." That is, it is the business of my prayers, that which I constantly continue to perform. For this he shows by saying, "For this I besought God day and night, desiring to see thee." Mark his fervent desire, the intensity of his love. And again, his humility, how he apologizes to his disciples, and then he shows that it was not on light or vain grounds; and this he had shown us before, but again gives proof of it. "Being mindful of thy tears." It was natural for Timothy, when parting from him, to mourn and weep, more than a child torn away from the milk and from the breast of its mother. "That I may be filled with joy; greatly desiring to see thee." I would not willingly have deprived myself of so great a pleasure, though I had been of an unfeeling and brutal nature, for those tears coming to my remembrance would have been enough to soften me. But such is not my character. I am one of those who serve God purely; so that many strong motives urged me to come to thee. So then he wept. And he mentions another cause, and that of a consolatory kind.

"When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee." This is another commendation, that Timothy came not of Gentiles, nor of unbelievers, but of a family that served Christ from the first. (Acts xvi. 1, Acts xvi. 3.) "Which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice." For Timothy, it says, "was the son of a certain woman which was a Jewess, and believed." How a Jewess? how believing? Because she was not of the Gentiles, "but on account of his father, who was a Greek, and of the Jews that were in those quarters, he took and circumcised him." Thus, as these mixtures of Jews and Gentiles took place, the Law began gradually to be dissolved. And mark in how many ways he shows that he did not despise him. "I serve God," he says, "I have a true conscience" for my part, and thou hast thy "tears," and not thy tears only, but for "thy faith," because thou art a laborer for the Truth, because there is no deceit in thee. As therefore thou showest thyself worthy of love, being so affectionate, so genuine a disciple of Christ; and as I am not one of those who are devoid of affection, but of those who earnestly pursue the Truth; what hindered me from coming to thee? "And I am persuaded that in thee also." From the beginning, he means, thou hast had this excellency. Thou receivedst from thy forefathers the faith unfeigned. For the praises of our ancestors, when we share in them, redound also to us. Otherwise they avail nothing, but rather condemn us; wherefore he has said, "I am persuaded that in thee also." It is not a conjecture, he means, it is my persuasion; I am fully assured of it. If therefore from no human motive thou hast embraced it, nothing will be able to shake thy faith.

"Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands." You see how greatly dispirited and dejected he considers him to be. He almost says, "Think not that I despise thee, but be assured that I do not condemn thee, nor have I forgotten thee. Consider, at any rate, thy mother and thy grandmother. It is because I know that thou hast unfeigned faith that I put thee in remembrance." For it requires much zeal to stir up the gift of God. As fire requires fuel, so grace requires our alacrity, that it may be ever fervent. "I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, that is in thee by the putting on of my hands," that is, the grace of the Spirit, which thou hast received, for presiding over the Church, for the working of miracles, and for every service. For this grace it is in our power to kindle or to extinguish; wherefore he elsewhere says, "Quench not the Spirit." (1 Thess. v. 19.) For by sloth and carelessness it is quenched, and by watchfulness and diligence it is kept alive. For it is in thee indeed, but do thou render it more vehement, that is, fill it with confidence, with joy and delight. Stand manfully.

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." That is, we did not receive the Spirit, that we should shrink from exertion, but that we may speak with boldness. For to many He gives a spirit of fear, as we read in the wars of the Kings. "A spirit of fear fell upon them." (Ex. xv. 16?) That is, he infused terror into them. But to thee He has given, on the contrary, a spirit of power, and of love toward Himself. This, then, is of grace, and yet not merely of grace, but when we have first performed our own parts. For the Spirit that maketh us cry, "Abba, Father," inspires us with love both towards Him, and towards our neighbor, that we may love one another. For love arises from power, and from not fearing. For nothing is so apt to dissolve love as fear, and a suspicion of treachery. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind": he calls a healthy state of the soul a sound mind, or it may mean sobriety of mind, or else a sobering of the mind, that we may be sober-minded, and that if any evil befall us, it may sober us, and cut off superfluities.

There is nothing worse than that man should measure and judge of divine things by human reasonings. For thus he will fall from that rock a vast distance, and be deprived of the light. For if he who wishes with human eyes to apprehend the rays of the sun will not only not apprehend them, but, besides this failure, will sustain great injury; so, but in a higher degree, is he in a way to suffer this, and abusing the gift of God, who would by human reasonings gaze intently on that Light. Observe accordingly how Marcion, and Manes, and Valentinus, and others who introduced their heresies and pernicious doctrines into the Church of God, measuring divine things by human reasonings, became ashamed of the Divine economy. Yet it was not a subject for shame, but rather for glorying; I speak of the Cross of Christ. For there is not so great a sign of the love of God for mankind, not heaven, nor sea, nor earth, nor the creation of all things out of nothing, nor all else beside, as the Cross. Hence it is the boast of Paul, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Gal. vi. 14.) But natural men, and those who attribute to God no more than to human beings, stumble, and become ashamed. Wherefore Paul from the first exhorts his disciple, and through him all others, in these words: "Be not thou ashamed of the testimony of our Lord," that is, "Be not ashamed, that thou preachest One that was crucified, but rather glory in it." For in themselves death and imprisonment and chains are matters of shame and reproach. But when the cause is added before us, and the mystery viewed aright, they will appear full of dignity, and matter for boasting. For it was that death which saved the world, when it was perishing. That death connected earth with heaven, that death destroyed the power of the devil, and made men angels, and sons of God: that death raised our nature to the kingly throne. Those chains were the conversion of many. "Be not" therefore "ashamed," he says, "of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel"; that is, though thou shouldest suffer the same things, be not thou ashamed. For that this is implied appears from what he said above; "God hath given us a spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind"; and by what follows, "Be thou partaker of the sufferings of the Gospel": not merely be not ashamed of them, but be not ashamed even to experience them. And he does not say, "Do not fear," but, the more to encourage him, "be not ashamed," as if there were no further danger, if he could overcome the shame. For shame is only then oppressive, when one is overcome by it. Be not therefore ashamed, if I, who raised the dead, who wrought miracles, who traversed the world, am now a prisoner. For I am imprisoned, not as a malefactor, but for the sake of Him who was crucified. If my Lord was not ashamed of the Cross, neither am I of chains. And with great propriety, when he exhorts him not to be ashamed, he reminds him of the Cross. If thou art not ashamed of the Cross, he means, neither be thou of chains; if our Lord and Master endured the Cross, much more should we chains. For he who is ashamed of what He endured, is ashamed of Him that was crucified. Now it is not on my own account that I bear these chains; therefore do not give way to human feelings, but bear thy part in these sufferings. "Be partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel." He says not this, as if the Gospel could suffer injury, but to excite his disciple to suffer for it.

"According to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." More especially because it was a hard thing to say, "Be partakers of afflictions," he again consoles him. Reckon that thou sustainest these things, not by thine own power, but by the power of God. For it is thy part to choose and to be zealous, but God's to alleviate sufferings and bid them cease. He then shows him the proofs of His power. Consider how thou wast saved, how thou wast called. As he elsewhere says, "According to His power that worketh in us." (Eph. iii. 20) So much was it a greater exercise of power to persuade the world to believe, than to make the Heavens. But how was he "called with a holy calling"? This means, He made them saints, who were sinners and enemies. "And this not of ourselves, it was the gift of God." If then He is mighty in calling us, and good, in that He hath done it of grace and not of debt, we ought not to fear. For He Who, when we should have perished, saved us, though enemies, by grace, will He not much more cooperate with us, when He sees us working? "Not according to our own works," he says, "but according to his own purpose and grace," that is, no one compelling, no one counseling Him, but of His own purpose, from the impulse of His own goodness, He saved us; for this is the meaning of "according to His own purpose." "Which was given us before the world began." That is, it was determined without beginning that these things should be done in Christ Jesus. This is no light consideration, that from the first He willed it. It was not an after-thought. How then is not the Son eternal? for He also willed it from the beginning.

"For the which cause I also suffer these things, nevertheless I am not ashamed. For I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day." "I am not ashamed," he says. For are chains, are sufferings, a matter for shame? Be not then ashamed! Thou seest how he illustrates his teaching by his works. "These things," he says, "I suffer": I am cast into prison, I am banished; "For I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against That Day." What is "that which is committed"? The faith, the preaching of the Gospel. He, who committed this to him, he says, will preserve it unimpaired. I suffer everything, that I may not be despoiled of this treasure, and I am not ashamed at these things, so long as it is preserved uninjured. Or he calls the Faithful the charge which God committed to him, or which he committed to God. For he says, "Now I commit you to the Lord." (Acts xx. 32.) That is, these things will not be unprofitable to me. And in Timothy is seen the fruit of the charge thus "committed." You see that he is insensible to sufferings, from the hope that he entertains of his disciples.

"The Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain. But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out diligently and found me." Observe how he everywhere speaks of the shame, and not of the danger, lest Timothy should be alarmed. And yet it was a thing that was full of peril. For he gave offense to Nero by making friends with one of his prisoners. But when he was in Rome, he says, he not only did not shun intercourse with me, but "sought me out very diligently, and found me." "The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well." Such ought the faithful to be. Neither fear, nor threats, nor disgrace, should deter them from assisting one another, standing by them and succoring them as in war. For they do not so much benefit those who are in danger, as themselves, by the service they render to them, making themselves partakers of the crowns due to them. For example, is any one of those who are devoted to God visited with affliction and distress, and maintaining the conflict with great fortitude; whilst thou art not yet brought to this conflict? It is in thy power if thou wilt, without entering into the course, to be a sharer of the crowns reserved for him, by standing by him, preparing his mind, and animating and exciting him. Hence it is that Paul elsewhere says, "Ye have done well that ye did communicate with my affliction. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity." (Phil. iv. 14, Phil. iv. 16.) And how could they that were far off share in the affliction of him that was not with them? How? He says, "ye sent once and again unto my necessities." Again he says, speaking of Epaphroditus, "Because he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, that he might supply your lack of service toward me." (Phil. ii. 30.) For as in the service of kings, not only those who fight the battle, but those who guard the baggage, share in the honor; and not merely so, but frequently even have an equal portion of the spoils, though they have not imbrued their hands in blood, nor stood in array, nor even seen the ranks of the enemy; so it is in these conflicts. For he who relieves the combatant, when wasted with hunger, who stands by him, encouraging him by words, and rendering him every service, he is not inferior to the combatant. "The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day." He had compassion on me, he says, he shall therefore have the like return in that terrible Day, when we shall have need of much mercy. "The Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord." Are there two Lords then? By no means. But "to us there is one Lord Christ Jesus, and one God." (1 Cor. viii. 6.) Here those who are infected with the heresy of Marcion assail this expression; but let them learn that this mode of speech is not uncommon in Scripture; as when it is said, "The Lord said unto my Lord" (Ps. cx. 1.); and again, "I said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord" (Ps. xvi. 2.); and, "The Lord rained fire from the Lord." (Gen. xix. 24.) This indicates that the Persons are of the same substance, not that there is a distinction of nature. For we are not to understand that there are two substances differing from each other, but two Persons, each being of the same substance.

The young sailor at sea is inspired with great confidence, if the Master of the ship has been preserved in a shipwreck. For he will not consider that it is from his inexperience that he is exposed to the storm, but from the nature of things; and this has no little effect upon his mind. In war also the Captain, who sees his General wounded and recovered again, is much encouraged. And thus it produces some consolation to the faithful, that the Apostle should have been exposed to great sufferings, and not rendered weak by the utmost of them. And had it not been so, he would not have related his sufferings. For when Timothy heard, that he who possessed so great powers, who had conquered the whole world, is a prisoner, and afflicted, yet is not impatient, nor discontented upon the desertion of his friends; he, if ever exposed to the same sufferings himself, would not consider that it proceeded from human weakness, nor from the circumstance of his being a disciple, and inferior to Paul, since his teacher too suffered the like, but that all this happened from the natural course of things. For Paul himself did this, and related what had befallen him, that he might strengthen Timothy, and renew his courage. And he shows that it was for this reason he mentioned his trials and afflictions, in that he has added, "Thou, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." What sayest thou? Thou hast shaken us with terrors, thou hast told us that thou art in chains, in afflictions, that all have forsaken thee, and, as if thou hadst said thou hadst not suffered anything, nor been abandoned by any, thou addest, "Thou therefore, my son, be strong"?-And justly too. For these things were to thy strengthening more than to his. For if I, Paul, endure these things, much more oughtest thou to bear them. If the master, much more the disciple. And this exhortation he introduces with much affection, calling him "son," and not only so, but "my son." If thou art a son, he means, imitate thy father. If thou art a son, be strong in consideration of the things which I have said, or rather be strong, not merely from what I have told you, but "of God." "Be strong," he says, "in the grace that is in Christ Jesus"; that is, "through the grace of Christ." That is, stand firmly. Thou knowest the battle. For elsewhere he says, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood." (Eph. vi. 12.) And this he says not to depress but to excite them. Be sober therefore, he means, and watch have the grace of the Lord cooperating with thee, and aiding thee in thy contest, contribute thy own part with much alacrity and resolution.