Nathan Goldbloom
Seattle Pacific University
Theo 6010
12-2-10
2 Timothy 2:20-26
1) Translation: 20 In an impressive house there are utensils not only of Gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for special use, some for ordinary. 21 All who cleanse themselves of the things I have mentioned will become special utensils, dedicated and useful to the owner of the house, prepared for every good work. 22 Stay away from youthful passions and instead pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Avoid foolish and thoughtless discussions, since you know they produce conflicts. 24 Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, 25 correcting opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth, 26 and that they may escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
2) Big Idea:
Paul explains how we may become useful in all good works to God through the cleansing of wrong teachings, pursuing fruits of the spirit, and doing what God requires with the support of the community of faith.
4) Synthesis:
The first two verses of our pericope are strongly strong connection to the previous. Dr. Wall’s translation makes this point by not separating out the paragraphs and connecting it to verse 19. The utensil analogy is then used to illuminate the previous passage. The previous pericope focuses on the denial of the resurrection and true and false teaching. Placed in this context the analogy would serve to say that those who are God’s (v 19) can become useful in every good work (21b) if the false teaching and practices is cleansed from their life (21a).
One of the more interesting sections of this passage is the structure that is employed at the end by the author. Here we get what seems to be an ABAB form that address what to avoid (A) and then what to pursue instead (B). From the structure it would seem that the two are linked. In the first half we have youthful passions, or epithumia, which can be translated as “lust” or “a craving, a passionate desire.”[1]
Epithumia that we are to avoid is then linked to righteousness, peace, faith, and love. It is possible that Paul is still talking about passion, but is showing what to avoid in passion and then what to pursue. Epithumia is used by Paul before in this same sense when he describes the difference between desires of the flesh and spirit in Gal. 5:17. Love, faith and peace are all listed in Galatians as fruits of the spirit. Just as in Galatians, the results come first from one of our acts. Righteousness, “the act of doing what God requires”[2], is what is required in 2 Timothy, where the guiding act in Gal. 5:16 is “Live by the spirit.”
Paul expands what this means in 2 Timothy by instructing this pursuit to take place within community of believers. The sandwiched position of this verse I believe is by no coincidence as our word for “pure” here is defined as “pertaining to being ritually clean or pure”.[3] This is the same instructions that were used to how to become useful to the “owner of the house” (21b). As a result it appears that this community is to help cleanse one another to become useful to God.
Our ABAB structure reveals its purpose as our second half flows from the first. After being instructed to pursue fruit with community, Paul then addresses what to avoid and pursue within such a community. We are instructed to avoid foolish and thoughtless discussions. The reason supplied is that these produce conflict. Because of what the author suggests we pursue (correcting in Gentleness) I do not believe that it is conflict outright we ought to avoid. The suggested pursuits are then apt teaching, kindness, patience, and correcting in gentleness. Some translations (TNIV) suggest that correcting in Gentleness is actually connected to following verse of God granting opponents to repent. This could make sense in that it may be elaborating upon the patience or kindness that servants of God are called to.
Our final two verses center on correcting opponents and the result if no repentance. The language used suggests here that God has to allow the change (25b). This concept alludes to God hardening hearts at times throughout the Bible.[4] Often in these cases, the individual hardens their own heart and then God keeps them at that point.[5] This would hold true in this case as the false teachers have already chosen the other path and entered into the devil’s trap. In previous letters to Timothy, Paul does not lay out as clearly what the result of the devil’s snare is (1 Timothy 3:6-7). Here the result clearly is doing the devil’s will.
5) Theological reflection: What are the spiritual practices or devotions that source the life of a pastoral leader?
The passage uses an analogy of how to become useful in every good work with God. Paul then proceeds to give two things to avoid and what to pursue instead. These instructions are where we find the application of the analogy used and the spiritual practices to accomplish the goal.
The first spiritual practice is cleansing. We are told of one thing that will lead us to become unclean- youthful passions (22a). Instead we are to do what God requires which will lead to the fruits of the spirit: faith, peace, love. These pursuits flow from the practice of aligning ourselves with what God requires or asks. To accomplish this we must have community that is pure and will help us become so. It is difficult to wash one’s self, that is where we need others to help cleanse us and point us repeatedly back to the fruits of the spirit and God’s way.
This cleansing comes through teaching and honest discussions. Conflict is almost guaranteed to arrive when correcting others, but those cleansing and being cleansed must do so in a gentle manner that will bring others into practicing what God requires.
While I did not want to accept initially that God would harden hearts, it is clear that those who stray from the will need God’s grace to soften their heart. I have experienced this too, only to be freed by God’s grace and those with pure hearts.
[1] K. S. Wuest. Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English reader (2 Ti 2). (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).
[2] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (88.13). New York: United Bible societies.
[3] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (53.29). New York: United Bible societies.
[4] Times God hardened hearts: Ex. 9:12, Deut 2:30, Is. 63:17, Ro. 9:15
[5] Individual hardens first: Pharoah- 8:15, 8:32. Pharisees Mt. 8:17
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