2 Timothy

4:6-8

3. Personal information, commission and greetings, 4:6-22

i] Paul's testimony

Paul concludes his second letter to Timothy with a confession, some personal requests, a warning about Alexander the metalworker, a note on the events at his first court hearing and then back to his confession again. The opening confession serves as the centerpiece of this passage; it is a triumphant statement of faith. In the midst of all his troubles, Paul has "fought the good fight" and now awaits the "crown of righteousness."

Although Paul now begins to wind up his letter, his personal testimony at this point is made with an eye to the exhortation he has just given Timothy. Paul's analusiV, "departure", is close at hand and therefore Timothy needs to take charge in his ministry without further hesitation, v6. Paul has virtually run his race, a race Timothy must now run, v7. Paul will soon receive his crown, a crown awaiting all those who long for Christ's appearing, v8. Again, a point made with Timothy in mind.

Questions as to authorship seem to increase at this point given that Paul "praises himself", Dibelius/Conzelmann. Hanson agrees, although thinks there is nothing exaggerated in the language. None-the-less, as Barrett states "there is nothing here that Paul could not have written, and much that could scarcely have been invented."

gar "for" - Expressing cause/reason. Introducing a reason why Timothy should take to heart the charge just given him by Paul.

egw "I" - Emphatic by position. "As for me", NEB.

h[dh "already" - Emphasizing the immediacy of the situation.

spendomai (spendw) pres. pas. "am [already] being poured out like a drink" - am offered as a libation. The present tense is progressive expressing "the certainty of the event", Knight. It seems unwise to treat the passive as theological in that it is simply stating that Paul is the object of the action.

efesthken (efisthmi) perf. "[the time] has come" - has come upon, happened, overtaken. The perfect usually takes the sense "imminent", so "the time for my death / martyrdom is near at hand."

thV analusewV (iV ewV) gen. "departure" - unloosing, casting off = departure. Often used of death, so today we "farewell" those who have died / departed. The genitive is adjectival limiting the noun "the time", the time is that which concerns his departure, it concerns this particular time.

hgwnismai (agwnizomai) perf. "I have fought" - I have strived, struggled, fought [the fight, contest]. The perfect tense in this verb, and the two following, is expressing a completed action with ongoing results/consequences, or possibly "the completion of an action that has gone on for some time", Towner. Possibly the image is of a completed wrestling match, certainly an athletics image rather than a military one. "I have competed in the good contest", Quinn-Wacker.

teteleka (telew) perf. "I have finished" - I have finished, completed [the course]. The image is of a running race which Paul has completed and so awaits the garland, the sign of his victory.

tethrhka (threw) perf. "I have kept" - I have kept, guarded [the faith]. Barrett suggests that Paul is possibly using "faith" this time to mean "pledge / oath". As a contestant in the games, Paul has "kept the rules", he is a "faithful" contestant, he has "remained true to his calling, his appointment as an apostle of Christ and a proclaimer of the gospel", Mounce. Throughout the Pastorals it is not always clear how the word "faith" is being used. The presence of the article in thn pistin, "the faith", often prompts the translation "the Christian faith", in the sense of Christian doctrine, but the article seems to be used loosely in the Pastorals. Another possibility is that "kept faith" means that Paul has retained a strong faith/belief in Jesus. It is impossible to resolve this issue. Kelly argues that personal faith is the primary meaning in the Pastorals, "I have kept on believing / I have kept my trust / I have remained faithful", with "the faith" in the sense of Christian doctrine / the gospel taking an a secondary meaning, "I have preserved the faith intact", so Hanson, cf. Marshall.

loipon adv. "now" - henceforth, remaining, finally. "From this point on / now all that is left."

apokeitai (apokeimai) pres. "there is in store [for me]" - there is laid up, stored away, put away to one side, laid away [to/for me]. The image expresses the certainty of the prize; the race is won, we just await the award ceremony.

oJ .... stefanoV "the crown" - the crown, wreath, garland. All that is left for Paul is the confirmation of his victory with its associated celebrations.

thV dikaiosunhV (h) "of righteousness" - of righteousness, justice. The genitive is adjectival, limiting "the crown", probably epexegetic, "the crown which consists of / consisting of righteousness", the righteousness that is ours in our identification with Christ, ie. the reward of Christ's faithfulness belongs to those who are in union with Christ through faith (the now / not yet dichotomy is best recognized here rather than holding that this "righteousness" is only "received in full at the Eschaton", Towner), so Barrett, Fee, Knight. On the other hand it is possible that it is possessive where the righteousness is Paul's holiness of living, so Kelly, Hanson.

oJ dikaioV krithV "the righteous judge" - The Lord who is the righteous judge probably refers to Christ, so Barrett, cf. 4:1, but Biblical usage usually refers to God as the righteous judge. The adjective "righteous" is clearly attributive, describing/limiting "the judge."

apodwsei (apodidwmi) fut. "will award [to me]" - will give back, recompense, pay back what is due [to me].

en ekeinh/ th/ hJmera/ "on that day" - The day of judgment.

alla "but" - Adversative; "and not only to me, but to all ....." Barclay - "Paul transforms his victory into a hope for all believers", Towner.

toiV hgaphkasi (agapaw) perf. part. "who have longed for" - having loved. With the sense of "the ones having set their hearts upon." It is interesting how some commentators feel the need to add a touch of faithful obedience to this hope so as to remove the possible impression of cheap grace. When did grace become cheap? Our eternal reward rests on Christ's faithfulness (by no means cheap!) and is received by faith. A longed-for hope is enough in itself. Of course, such a hope, in the power of the indwelling Spirit of Christ, shapes us in the image of Christ, although always imperfectly since, as Luther reminds us, we are not free from our body of sin until it is deposited in the grave.

thn epifaneian (a) "[his] appearing" - the appearing [of him]. The parousia, "the appearing", refers primarily to the coming of the Lord (there are numerous preliminary "comings", eg. the judgment on Jerusalem in 70AD) into the presence of the Ancient of Days to take up his throne and enact judgment. Such is good news for believers, something we set our heart upon, but for those who have rejected Christ, it is bad news indeed.

2 Timothy Introduction

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