CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
2 Timothy 1:1. According to the promise.—The purport of the promise.
2 Timothy 1:2. My dearly beloved son.—The translators perhaps thought the simple “beloved” too cold, and so put in the adverb.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— 2 Timothy 1:1-2
Apostolic Greeting.
I. Explains the source and purpose of his apostleship.—
1. The source. “An apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” (2 Timothy 1:1). Bengel calls this epistle the last testament and swanlike death-song of Paul. To the last he is careful to remind the Church that his commission was not of men, nor was it self-assumed, as in the case of the false teachers he refuted, but that it came direct from God. It originated in the will of God, and that will was his supreme authority and guide. He traces his apostleship to the highest source.
2. The purpose. “According to the promise of life in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:1). He was appointed an apostle to make known and carry into effect this promise of life. All other aims in life were subsidiary to this. His happiest moments were spent in publishing the gospel of hope for a perishing world; and his best abilities were tasked to the utmost in defending it. This cheerful view of the gospel as “the promise of life in Christ Jesus” would inspire fortitude in Timothy in the midst of tribulation, and give him courage to undertake the journey to Rome, which would be attended with much peril. The gospel is the only system that promises life and hope to humanity.
II. Expresses affectionate appreciation.—“To Timothy, my dearly beloved son” (2 Timothy 1:2). The attachment existing between Paul and Timothy was of no ordinary type. Neither of them would have been the men they were but for this friendship: the one was the complement of the other. Their diversities of age, of abilities, of temperament, and of attainments welded them together in closer sympathy and love. The outburst of affectionateness in this address is the more pathetic in view of the apostle’s approaching martyrdom.
III. Invokes the bestowal of Divine blessing.—“Grace, mercy, and peace, from God” (2 Timothy 1:2). These words, though the usual formula in the apostle’s greeting, are more than merely formal in their intrinsic meaning and desire. They constitute an intense prayer that the best blessings of heaven may be the rich and conscious dower of the person addressed. The trinity of blessings—“Grace, mercy, and peace”—include the best gifts of the Trinity of Divine Persons.
Lessons.—
1. Power to preach is a Divine gift.
2. True love is lavish and sincere in its greetings.
3. The choicest Divine blessings are enjoyed in answer to prayer.