The three-year Lectionary that many Catholics and Protestants hear in public worship gives us a great variety of Holy Scripture.

Yet, it doesn’t tell the whole story.

My series Forbidden Bible Verses — ones the Lectionary editors and their clergy omit — examines the passages we do not hear in church. These missing verses are also Essential Bible Verses, ones we should study with care and attention. Often, we find that they carry difficult messages and warnings.

Today’s reading is from the English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK) with commentary by Matthew Henry and John MacArthur.

2 Timothy 2:1-7

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

2 You then, my child, be strengthened by the Grace that is in Christ Jesus, ² and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. ³ Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. ⁵ An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶ It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. ⁷ Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

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Last week’s post discussed Paul’s mention of three men, two of whom had deserted him — Phygelus and Hermogenes — and the third, Onesiphorus, who remained faithful, to the point of seeking him out in prison in Rome to spend time with him.

At the end of 1 Timothy, Paul tells his protégé (1 Timothy 6:20, emphases mine):

²⁰ O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge”,

Timothy is ministering in Ephesus on Paul’s orders. He is to rid the churches there of the false teachers who had arisen in their midst and the sin that had resulted in Paul’s absence.

This was a trying assignment for Timothy, who was in his mid-30s at this time and considered young by Greek cultural standards. He had to stamp his own authority, passed on by Paul, onto the congregations. He was also beset by personal trials at this time.

John MacArthur explains:

You remember that this wonderful second epistle to Timothy is written to Paul’s son in the faith, who at the time was giving leadership to the church at Ephesus. The church at Ephesus, which was actually founded and pastored by the apostle Paul, had fallen into error doctrinally and sin in terms of behavior. There were leaders in the church who had no business being in leadership. They were teaching error, and they were living ungodly lives.

So, Paul, after being released from his first imprisonment, places Timothy in Ephesus and says to him, “Set things in order in the church.” He wrote in 1 Timothy to tell him what to do, and he writes back to him a little later this second epistle to strengthen Timothy, because in the doing of the duty there, Timothy had run into some tremendous opposition and was weakening. He was going through a time in his life when he was not functioning on all cylinders. He had fallen into weakness.

And so, the heart of this whole epistle comes to us, in the second chapter, with the words in verse 1, “Be strong.” That’s really what Paul wants to say to Timothy in this chapter. In fact, it’s really the whole idea of this second letter. Paul now is writing the last letter he will ever write. He will give his life in the cause of Christ momentarily. He wants to pass the baton to Timothy, and he doesn’t want Timothy to take it in weakness.

He wants him to be strong because he knows the Church is in the midst of persecution from the Roman government. He knows that Timothy is being hit with those who don’t want the change that Timothy wants to bring. He realizes Timothy is facing sophisticated philosophical opposition, which is hard to handle. He knows he’s young. He knows he is by nature a rather timid young man, and he wants him to be strong.

Paul also wants Timothy to complete his assignment quickly:

It is essential, then, that Timothy hold to true doctrine and that he pass it on to the next generation. And do you realize that the historical setting here demands that Timothy hurry up with the task because Paul wants him to come to Rome. Over in chapter 4 verse – I think it’s verse 9, “Make every effort to come to me soon.” And what he would like is for Timothy to come. Verse 21, he repeats it, “Make every effort to come before winter.” So, if Timothy is going to come, he’s going to have to get moving on leaving the truth with some other folks.

Chapter 2 picks up where Chapter 1 left off.

Paul begins with ‘You then’, or ‘therefore’, and, referring to him affectionately as ‘my child’, gives an imperative to be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (verse 1).

Matthew Henry’s commentary says that this is a statement saying that Timothy can be strengthened only by relying on divine grace rather than his own efforts:

Observe, Those who have work to do for God must stir up themselves to do it, and strengthen themselves for it. Being strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus may be understood in opposition to the weakness of grace. Where there is the truth of grace there must be a labouring after the strength of grace. As our trials increase, we have need to grow stronger and stronger in that which is good; our faith stronger, our resolution stronger, our love to God and Christ stronger. Or it may be understood in opposition to our being strong in our own strength: “Be strong, not confiding in thy own sufficiency, but in the grace that is in Jesus Christ.” Compare Eph 6 10, Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. When Peter promised rather to die for Christ than to deny him he was strong in his own strength; had he been strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, he would have kept his standing better. Observe, 1. There is grace in Christ Jesus; for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, John 1 17. There is grace enough in him for all of us. 2. We must be strong in this grace; not in ourselves, in our own strength, or in the grace we have already received, but in the grace that is in him, and that is the way to be strong in grace. 3. As a father exhorts his son, so does Paul exhort Timothy, with great tenderness and affection: Thou, therefore, my son, be strong, etc.

MacArthur reminds us that this grace is a free, unmerited gift:

Now, grace operates in two ways: one, the grace of forgiveness; two, the grace of power. It is God’s undeserved, unmerited grace that grants you the power to serve Him, just as it’s God’s grace that grants you forgiveness. Paul says in Romans 5:2, “- this grace in which we stand.” This time he means we’re fixed in it; we exist in it; we exist in an atmosphere of grace, and it is God’s unmerited, undeserved assistance and help because we’re united with Christ that enables us to serve.

So, God’s grace is there for forgiveness, and God’s grace is there for power. It is God’s grace applied to my sin. It is God’s grace applied to my service. So, I live in a sphere of grace. I don’t deserve to be forgiven, and I don’t deserve to be used by God. Right? So, it is grace that forgives me, and it is grace that uses me.

In my own strength, I can offer God nothing. In my own strength I can do nothing. “Not by might nor by power, but by thy spirit,” says the Lord. So, it is grace that forgives me, and it is grace that empowers me. I need grace for constant forgiveness. I need grace for constant power. And when I confess my sin to the Lord, that grace of forgiveness cleanses me and makes me useful, and the grace of power then enables me to serve Him, and that’s what he’s talking about here, the grace that is available to us for service.

Paul tells Timothy that he must entrust what the Apostle has taught him in the presence of many witnesses — i.e. guard the deposit entrusted to you (1 Timothy 6:20) — to faithful men who are capable of teaching others (verse 2).

In other words, Paul wants Timothy to pass on the baton of ministry to qualified men — and sooner rather than later.

Henry explains:

Here we have, 1. The things Timothy was to commit to others—what he had heard of the apostle among many witnesses; he must not deliver any thing besides, and what Paul delivered to him and others he had received of the Lord Jesus Christ. 2. He was to commit them as a trust, as a sacred deposit, which they were to keep, and to transmit pure and uncorrupt unto others. 3. Those to whom he was to commit these things must be faithful, that is, trusty men, and who were skilful to teach others. 4. Though men were both faithful and able to teach others, yet these things must be committed to them by Timothy, a minister, a man in office; for none must intrude themselves into the ministry, but must have these things committed to them by those already in that office.

MacArthur focusses on teaching in that verse:

Although it comes at the end of the verse, the most important term here is to teach. It really describes the point of the whole verse. It’s all about the teacher. The picture is a picture of teachers in process Paul’s saying, “I taught you; you teach faithful men and able men who will teach others also.” Four generations: Paul to Timothy to faithful men to others also. See yourself as the teacher. The teacher is a living link in a chain that goes all the way back to Jesus Christ.

By the way, that’s the only true apostolic succession. Jesus taught, and He taught His Twelve. And His Twelve taught the next generation, and they taught the next, and they taught the next, and they taught the next, and the living chain has gone on and on until somebody taught me, and I’m teaching somebody else. And somebody taught you, and you’re to teach somebody else. We’re in a living chain that takes us link by link all the way back to Jesus Christ. That’s why Luke writes, at the beginning of the book of Acts, “The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus” – referring to the Gospel of Luke – “about all that Jesus began.” He finished the work on the cross. He only began the work of teaching and preaching, and the chain has gone on and on and on and on.

The men must be faithful in order to ensure the chain of succession remains unbroken.

MacArthur took sports seriously in his younger years and has long recognised the importance of teamwork. He shares what happened during a relay race he took part in during his college days:

I was running in the Orange County Invitational Relay. And we were running the mile relay, and I ran one leg, and I ran basically second man. The first man gets the lead, second man loses it; you have two to make it up. That’s the philosophy. But I ran second man. I was basically a baseball player, but they’d throw me in on a relay because I could run pretty well.

… there were many colleges and universities involved – 35 or so. We got into the finals of the mile relay. We were excited; we thought we had a shot at it. Our first man ran a great leg … Our first man ran a great leg, came in, we made a perfect baton pass. I ran the best leg I’d ever run in my life. Came in, in dead heat, for first place to make the pass to the third man. And we knew he was good, and the fourth man was a blur, and we really thought we were where we wanted to be. I put that baby in the hand of the third guy. He went around the curve, came down the back stretch, stopped, walked off and sat on the grass. The race kept going.

I was horrified, and so were the other guys on the team. We thought he’d pulled a hamstring or something. I ran across the grass. I’ll never forget it. I said, “What happened? What happened?”

He said, “I don’t know; I just didn’t feel like running.”

I confess to you my thoughts were all carnal. I mean you can’t do that. You’re not in this by yourself. You can’t do that. Do you realize the effort that is already been put out, and the training? You can’t do that; too much has been invested in you.

That illustrates, albeit in a different sphere, what happens when we rely on the wrong people. We think we’ve left the baton in safe hands only to lose the race because that person gave up.

This is why Paul is telling Timothy to buck up:

Paul is saying to Timothy, “You can’t do that either. Don’t tell me you’re bailing out. Don’t tell me you’re slowing down. Don’t tell me you’re walking away from this thing. Don’t tell me you’re going to give up your ministry; you can’t do that. You don’t have that right. You’re not in this alone. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses you must commit to faithful men who then must teach others also.”

You’ve got to keep this thing going; it’s not going to stop with me. I don’t want to be the broken link. It’s got to keep going. I don’t want to walk off the track. You have to pass on what you’ve been taught.

MacArthur then discusses the sacred deposit:

… he’s saying, “Everything that I entrusted to you as the revelation of God you must entrust to others.” Now, this is a very interesting thing. The verb he uses here is the verb paratithēmi which means to deposit for safekeeping. And the noun form of it has already been used in chapter 1 where he talks about the treasure, in verse 14, which was entrusted to you. It’s the same word usage there, “The deposit which was deposited with you.” Back in verse 12, “Guard what I have deposited with you, just like the Lord will guard what you have deposited with Him.”

Paul says, “The Lord’s going to guard what I deposit with Him” – that’s my life, verse 12 – “you guard what He’s deposited with you” – that’s his Word, chapter 6, verse 20 of 1 Timothy said the same thing, “Guard what has been deposited to you.” The treasure, the truth, the sound words. “Hold onto those sound words,” he says in verse 13 of chapter 1. “Guard that truth” …

God deposits His Word with us to be guarded, kept pure, and we deposit it with someone else intact, with no impurity. Boy, what a sacred trust.

Paul tells Timothy to share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus (verse 3).

That verse reminds me of Lindsay Anderson’s 1968 film, If, about an insurrection at an English public (i.e. private) school. The film won the Palme d’Or (Golden Palm) award at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival.

In one chapel scene, the school chaplain, who was also in charge of the cadet corps, tells the young men:

Jesus Christ is your Commanding Officer.

When I first saw the film decades ago, I laughed when I heard that line, which was the reaction the director wanted. Now, having read the New Testament more closely, including this passage, I realise that the chaplain was correct.

Serving Christ, just as one would serve in the armed forces, involves hardship and suffering.

Henry explains:

All Christians, but especially ministers, are soldiers of Jesus Christ; they fight under his banner, in his cause, and against his enemies, for he is the captain of our salvation, Heb 2 10. 2. The soldiers of Jesus Christ must approve themselves good soldiers, faithful to their captain, resolute in his cause, and must not give over fighting till they are made more than conquerors, through him that loved them, Rom 8 37. 3. Those who would approve themselves good soldiers of Jesus Christ must endure hardness; that is, we must expect it and count upon it in this world, must endure and accustom ourselves to it, and bear it patiently when it comes, and not be moved by it from our integrity.

Paul tells Timothy this because he senses his protégé’s weakness.

MacArthur says:

Timothy has come to a point in his life where he’s functioning really in his human strength. As a result of that, he is weak. He has no courage. He is failing to use his gift in the fullness of its capability. He is fearful of the enemies that he’s facing while he’s ministering there in Ephesus, where he was when Paul wrote him this letter. It’s a very difficult time. He seems to be demonstrating a tendency to be ashamed of the gospel, seems to be maybe even not holding to the true faith fully as he should …

So, this is a word to us about how to be a strong Christian. The issue here, the elements of strong spiritual life. That’s what we’re looking at.

Paul reminds Timothy that no soldier gets involved with civilian pursuits — the trivia of everyday life — because his aim is to please the one who enlisted him (verse 4).

MacArthur gives us this analysis:

This is a call to recognize that you’re a soldier. You’re in a spiritual war, and you are called to be at the forefront of battle. Verse 3, “Suffer hardship, along with us” – or me; there is no pronoun in the original text – “as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.”

Now, what he is saying here, first of all, is that we have to see ourselves as soldiers. First we have seen ourselves already as teachers. That’s our identity. That’s who we are. We have been given truth to protect and pass on. Secondly, we are soldiers, and that implies that we are in a war. That’s a reminder to us that we mention earlier in Ephesians 6 – 6:10, “Be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may stand against the schemes of Satan. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but” – he goes on to describe the demon hosts against whom we do battle, spiritual conflicts, spiritual war, in Ephesians 6, and then describes our armor.

In the Corinthian letter, the 2 Corinthian letter, chapter 10, verse 3 to 6, he talks about our warfare, and he says the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but supernatural, as it were, to the pulling down of satanic fortresses. We are soldiers. That is the intent that Paul has in mind for us to understand. Not just soldiers. Would you look at verse 3? We are to be good soldiers. That wonderful, beautiful word kalos, which means noble or excellent. We’re not just dutiful soldiers; we are excellent soldiers. We’re not just functionary soldiers; we are noble soldiers. If you will, we are heroic soldiers. We are the kind of soldiers who are rewarded, who bear the badges and the medals of valor and honor …

Now, being a soldier involves several things. Look at verse 3. The first thing, he says, is “suffer hardship along with” – or it could be translated perhaps best – “endure affliction together” – or – “take your share of suffering” – or – “take your share of rough treatment” – as J. N. D. Kelly likes to translate it.

In other words, look, this is war, and you expect that you’re going to get your share of suffering. You’re going to have your wounds and your pain. It’s just how it is in war. You need to understand it. Boy, that’s important for us to understand. I think there are people running around, purveying the idea that when you become a Christian, everything is just perfect, that all Jesus wants you to do is come to give your life to Him, and He’ll take away all anxiety, all difficulty, all trial. I don’t hear anybody saying, “Come to Christ and pick up your armor and go to the frontline and fight a lifelong war with the demons of hell.” But that’s the issue. That’s the reality. And this kind of cheap approach to salvation that asks people to come to Jesus so that they can eliminate all conflict out of their life is just not true. It piles a lot of false disciples up, but it’s not related to truth. Paul is calling for you to recognize that you’re in a war. And that provides a lot of very important perceptions that you must have.

First of all, for example, in verse 4 he mentions the word “active service.” This is what you’re in. There are no people who are in R&R in this army. No people are back at the base. No people are unenlisted, undrafted, untrained, ununiformed, or uninvolved. You’re in the war.

And do you want to know something else? There’s no place but the frontline. This war only has a frontline, and we’re all in it together. And so Paul says, “Since we’re all in active service all the time, and we’re all always on the battlefront, then we all expect hard times. It’s a beautiful word, that word sugkakopathēson. It’s a long word because it’s a combination of several words, and it literally means to suffer along with everybody else. You think you should be free from an suffering? You think you should avoid any conflict in your life? Wrong. You take your fair share of difficulty just like all the other soldiers on the frontline. And there is nowhere but the frontline. Nowhere …

Secondly, not only do we take our fair share of suffering because we’re in engaged on the frontline in active service all the time, and that’s going to go on all our life till we leave this world, but secondly, he says, verse 4, “No soldier in active service entangles” – or interweaves is that word emplekō, interweaves, and we get the word “implicate” from it. “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the pragmateia of everyday existence” – bios – the pragmatics, the stuff, the affairs of life. That’s a very, very important thought. The practical stuff of life is minimized. And he’s not necessarily talking about evil things; he’s just talking about the stuff of our existence …

Thirdly, at the end of verse 4, he says he does what he does “so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” The soldier really does what he does to please the Commander-in-Chief. The one who enlisted him here is the Commander-in-Chief. That’s what the writer has in mind – Paul. He does what he does to please his Lord. He is loyal to his Lord. Like Paul said in Acts 20:19, “Serving the Lord with all humility of mind. And then in verse 24, he said, “Look, I know you keep telling me bonds and afflictions await me, but I don’t care. I just want to finish the ministry the Lord gave me.” That’s the spirit. That’s the spirit.

I want to be a faithful steward. I want to discharge my responsibility. Christ, of course, was the perfect example of whom His Father said, “I am well pleased.” And the greatest joy of the soldier would be to hear from his Commander-in-Chief, “Well, done, good and faithful soldier.”

Paul then moves on to an analogy involving an athlete; an athlete is not crowned unless he has competed according to the rules (verse 5).

MacArthur explains:

Paul goes to a third picture, a second metaphor in verse 5, that of an athlete. The athlete. He refers elsewhere to athletes. In fact, in Ephesians 6, he refers to wrestlers. In 1 Corinthians 9, he refers to boxers and runners. But here it’s kind of generic. It’s just the verb athleō in general. So, he says, “If anyone competes as an athlete, he doesn’t win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.”

So, he says, “You’re not only a teacher whose primary job is to guard and pass on truth, but you’re a soldier, and you must understand you’re in a war. Furthermore, here’s another picture; you’re an athlete.” So “and also” connects his list of metaphors. And then he says, “If anyone competes as an athlete” – the verb athleō means to compete in a contest. He says, “If you’re going to be an athlete, there’s a basic principle that you must adhere to.” He says, “You cannot win the prize unless you keep the rules.” And the statement is loaded with instructive information.

First of all, the very essence of athletics is effort. What separates the winners from the losers is not always talent, but it is always effort. And not just the effort of the event itself, but the effort long before the event ever began. If anyone is going to compete as an athlete, there is a tremendous price to pay in terms of discipline, in terms of preparation. Just very basic. An athlete wants to win the prize …

There is a lot involved: training, stamina, patience and a competitive spirit.

MacArthur continues, giving us the rules for the Greek contests of Paul’s era:

… if he’s going to win the prize – the stephanos, the runner’s crown, it’s the word for the runner’s crown, not diadēma, which is the king’s crown – if he’s going to win the prize, he has to keep – what? – the rules. Now, that goes beyond just the rules of the event. Let me give you a little idea of what it means – nomimōs athlēsē. What does it mean he has to keep the rules? What is he really saying here?

Well, in the Greek games – Olympian Games, Isthmian Games – whatever games there were, and they had many of them – there were three prerequisites that every athlete had to fulfill. Number one, he had to be a true-born Greek. He had to be a true-born Greek. Number two, he had to prepare for ten months and stand before a statue of Zeus and swear that he had prepared for ten months. And if he had not, then he gave Zeus the liberty to take his life. Thirdly, he had to stay within the rules of his event. And if he was found not to be a true-born Greek, if it was found that he had not prepared for a full ten months, if it was found that he had in any way violated the rules of his event, he was disgraced and instantly disqualified.

It is that picture that Paul has in mind in 1 Corinthians 9:27, by the way, when he says that he, as a runner and as a boxer, had a fear that in ministering to others he himself would be disqualified. Those Greeks had to keep the rules: the rules of training, the rules of birth, and the rules of competition.

Now, this describes a professional athlete, not an amateur. This is one who for ten months was professionally involved in training for his event. The picture, then, is very clear. The strong believer must be a true-born Christian. The strong believer must have trained in the matters of self-denial, given over himself full-time to spiritual training. He must be eager to compete. He must be compelled to win. He must be motivated by reward. And when those things are in place, he’s going to be a disciplined competitor. The victory belongs to the disciplined. That’s right.

MacArthur gave this sermon in 1987. It includes an anecdote about the former Bruce Jenner:

I remember standing with Russ Hodge in the infield at the University of Oregon, watching the triangular decathlon meet between U.S.S.R., Poland, and the United States. Russ was the coach of the American team. He’s now involved in our sports ministries program at The Master’s College. He was a former world record holder in the decathlon. And I was standing there with him, watching these – the greatest athletes in the world preparing to begin the meet. And there were great Russian athletes. There was one who was a massive, giant of a man who was just an awesome human specimen. There was a great Polish athlete, and there were some tremendous Americans.

And I said to Russ, “Who’s the greatest athlete here?”

He pointed to a rather slender, lithe young man. He said, “He’s the greatest athlete here. He, by the way, is an outstanding Christian.”

And I said, “That’s wonderful to know? Will he win?”

He said, “No, he won’t win.”

And I said, “Well, what do you mean he won’t win? If he’s the greatest athlete here, who will win?”

He said, “See that guy running around the track, that rather short guy with a blonde wife? You never heard of him. His name is Bruce Jenner. He’ll win.”

I said, “Well, why will he win if he’s not the greatest athlete?”

He says, “Because though he doesn’t have the greatest sheer talent, he’s the most mentally tough competitor I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Sure enough, the second day, in the twilight, as he finished the distance event, number ten event in the decathlon, he came through the winner. And two years later, the whole world knew who he was as he circled the “O” in Montreal with a flag in his hand; he had won the gold medal in the Olympics and was named the greatest athlete in the world.

And I said to Russ that day, “How do you get to that point?”

He said, “It’s about eight hours a day for about six years of effort, sacrifice, training in all the ten different events. It’s the result of tremendous work and tremendous internal compulsion.”

Paul had those traits. He was indefatigable in the service of Christ, often referring to endurance, running a race, staying the course — until the very end. Was there an Apostle who suffered as much as he did in spreading the Gospel? Probably not.

Paul ended his analogies with that of the farmer; the hard-working tiller of the soil should have the first share of his crops (verse 6).

Henry tells us:

If we would be partakers of the fruits, we must labour; if we would gain the prize, we must run the race. And, further, we must first labour as the husbandman does, with diligence and patience, before we are partakers of the fruit; we must do the will of God, before we receive the promises, for which reason we have need of patience, Heb 10 36.

Farmers are taken for granted, even though we rely on their output in order to live.

MacArthur says that farming is lonely work, which also defines ministry:

The farmer, he plows and sows and tends and reaps, early and late. He fights the frost; he fights the heat. He fights too much water, too little water, bugs, weeds. Patiently, patiently waits, works to see the crop come in, and mostly does it all by himself. No great excitement, no great thrill, perpetual humdrum routine, duty. That’s another part of ministry. I understand these pictures. I know what it is to each and pour your life into others who will teach. I know what it is to be on the edge, and in the battle, and to see the fury of the battle, and to bear the scars and suffer the hardship. I understand that. And I understand what it is to win and wear the crown and know the thrill of seeing victory. I understand that.

But I’ll tell you something; mostly I understand that ministry is perpetual humdrum. It’s routine. It’s duty. You plow; you sow; you tend; you reap. You wait; you pray; you hope. There’s no exhilaration to speak of. There’s no competition to get your adrenaline moving. It’s just hard work. That’s right.

I hear young men say, “Oh, I don’t want to go to that ministry. Boy there are a lot of problems there.” All the more reason to go there. A lot of people afraid of hard work.

I’ve said to so many young men, “The thing you have to be committed to, to be successful in the ministry, is a lot of exhausting hard work. Toil. By yourself, all alone. And sometimes the crop comes in the way you hoped, and sometimes it doesn’t. And nobody’s going to clap when it does, and nobody’s going to come help you when it doesn’t.

MacArthur explains the meaning of the verse:

Verse 6, “That kind of hardworking farmer” – then he uses the particle dei – “it is necessary for him to be the first to receive his share of the crops.” In other words, what Paul is saying is, “Look, the guy who worked the hardest gets in line first to get the fruit.” That’s why he does it. Blessing awaits the one who works the hardest. You want God’s blessing on your ministry? And I’m not talking about the future; I’m talking about now and future. You want God’s blessing on your ministry? Work hard at it. Be diligent.

I would venture to say that very few people – very few people know what it is to literally exhaust themselves in the work of the kingdom. And as a result, few people know what it is to share the great fruitfulness that the Lord would bring. I don’t want to go beyond the Scripture, but I’ll tell you, all other spiritual things being equal, I believe the greatest rewards come to those who work the hardest. That’s right. There are always those people sitting around, waiting for their ship to come in. It never comes. It never comes. Then there are others who are, all their life, building it. And I’m not as – again I say, I’m not saying this is future reward; I’m talking now. You want to have a life and a ministry that is blessed of God now and will be also eternally rewarded? Then work hard. Work till you’re exhausted. Pour your life into it.

So, the strong Christian then sees himself as a farmer, willing to work hard, exhausting himself to see results, patient until success comes, filled with anticipation of the joy of the fruit now and forever. I’ll tell you, ministry is so exciting because you can share the fruit. And then, when you think that someday the Lord will reward us, and we can cast those rewards at His feet in adoration, what a privilege.

MacArthur sums up Paul’s analogies:

… The Lord is calling for us to give ourselves away here.

To look at it from another viewpoint, there are some things we have to endure in giving ourselves away: suffering, discipline, exhaustion. There are some things we have to avoid. All the entanglement of the world and breaking the rules, unholiness, sin. There are some things we have to obey, and that is the rules that God has set down, and the orders of our Commander, and the laws of sowing and reaping. And there are some things that we are to enjoy: victory, fruit.

And so, we are called to be strong in the Lord. It’s a rich picture here, and there’s no way that Paul wants Timothy or us to miss it.

Paul ends this part of the letter asking Timothy to think over — to ponder — what he has written in these verses, for the Lord will give him understanding in everything (verse 7).

Henry says:

The apostle further commends what he had said to the attention of Timothy, and expresses his desire and hope respecting him: Consider what I say, and the Lord give thee understanding in all things, v. 7. Here, 1. Paul exhorts Timothy to consider those thing about which he admonished him. Timothy must be reminded to use his considering faculties about the things of God. Consideration is as necessary to a good conversation as to a sound conversion. 2. He prays for him: The Lord give thee understanding in all things. Observe, It is God who gives understanding. The most intelligent man needs more and more of this gift. If he who gave the revelation in the word does not give the understanding in the heart, we are nothing. Together with our prayers for others, that the Lord would give them understanding in all things, we must exhort and stir them up to consider what we say, for consideration is the way to understand, remember, and practise, what we hear or read.

MacArthur points to heavenly rewards in these analogies:

“Consider what I say.” Consider it. How do you match up? And then comes this word, verse 7, “For the Lord will give you understanding” – in every respect is what he means. You think about it and the Lord will give you the answer. You sit back and contemplate it and He’ll show you where you are. Listen, I’m through at this point; it’s up to you. If you have the spiritual integrity to do an inventory on your life, the Lord will show you right where you are. He’ll give you understanding. He’ll open your mind.

Psalm 119:73, the psalmist said, “Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.” Think about it. Take a look at yourself, and the Lord will show you what is there. The common thread through all of these – really wonderful; really wonderful – it’s reward. The teacher is rewarded in discipleship. The soldier is rewarded in victory. The athlete is rewarded in winning. The farmer is rewarded in tasting the fruit.

“And so, implied in all of these, Timothy, there’s something wonderful out there.” It’s reminiscent of Hebrews 6:10, “For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.” Isn’t that wonderful? The Lord will not forget your labor. The Lord will not forget your ministry if you’re a strong Christian. He’ll reward you for that.

In closing, I wanted to end with an interesting anecdote of MacArthur’s on the need for self-control, to guard against acting on impulse. Impulse is something many people act upon with dire consequences:

… discipline is the mark of spiritual maturity. The disciplined person has control of his affections. He has control of his emotions. He has control of his moods. He has control of his priorities. That’s the disciplined person.

There was a study done of delinquent and non-delinquent young people in Philadelphia. One line out of that study fascinates me. They said, “The difference between the delinquent and the non-delinquent young person was the pause between the temptation and the act.” Isn’t that interesting? The difference between a delinquent and a non-delinquent was the pause between the temptation and the act. What you do in the pause is the issue. The delinquent young person followed the impulse. The non-delinquent made a right choice. Self-discipline acts in that gap. And the disciplined person in the pause between the temptation and the act makes a right choice. That’s a disciplined life. He says no to things that harm his competitive edge. He says no to things that take away his strength.

And so, this calls for self-restraint.

Paul has more advice for Timothy, recalling some of the advice he had given him in the first letter.

Next time — 2 Timothy 2:16-18