11-2 Greeting. 3-8. Thaiik>i,'tvine for Timothy's past affection and fail)), and ueHire to see him again.
A. 18-213. Exhort-ationa based mainly on St. Paul's position.
B. ^*~i^. Exhortations based mainly on the position of
Timothy. A. Exhortation (1) to stir up his ministerial gift (^ : reiuunibering the nature of the Spirit given by the laying on of the apostle's hands ("O-
(2) to be bold to face suffering (») :
remembering (a) the power and grace of God, which bos conquered death and brought Ufe And immortality to light ("■ '<*).
if)) the example of I'aul himself, who haa faced suffering with perfect trust Id God (II- 12).
(3) to hold fast the truth entnisted to him 0^
in the Btrength of the indwelling Spirit (•*). Ttiese exbortatiouH are enforced by on ap)>cal to the example of others :
(a) as a warning— the disloyalty of the
Asiatic ChriHtianH 0^). (6)03 an encounigcment — the boldness and affection and kindly help of OnesipboruB (l**-l^). f4) to be strong in the power of grace (2')- (6) to commit the true teaching to others »nd
secure its tradition (2*^). (C) to be ready to face suffering, — like a noble soldier (3). which implies whole-hearted ser- vice (■•) ; like an othlete, who must keeii the niles of the game (*) ; like & buHbandtnan, who is only rewarded If he toil well (« "') : remembering (a) the govpel of the KiscD
Christ, which has enabled Paul himself t4 lace suffering for the elect's sake (^-i").
(6) tbe faithful saying— with its encour»
ageraent to all who suffer with Christi
and \ls warning to all who denj
Him(iii3).
B. Exhortations, mainly dealing with the nature ol
the teaching to be given by Timothy —
(1) to urge Chribiians to avoid idle and useleea
discussions ('■*).
(2) to be liimself a true worker, rightly teaching the
truth and avoiding profane babblings (!*■ 18): remembering that (a) such discussiuns lead to impiety and spread quickly to tbe ruin of laith (^7- >a).
(6> whereas God's foundation rests upon His knowledge of His own, and their abstention from iniquity (''•'). (c) In every house there are good and bad vessels, and a man must cleanse him- self from evil to be a good vessel (20- 21). (8) to avoid youthful passions, and to aim at the
true spiritual qualities ("). (4) to avoid toolish investigations (23) :
for they cause strife, and hinder the true char- acter and patient hopeful work of the servant of the Lord (S^-'-W), (6) to avoid false teachers : for,
(a) there lies in the future a great growth of empty profession of Christianity combined with sellishness and a low stamiard of morality (3i i*). (ft) thi3 will be ministered to by false and vuin teachers, deluding their votaries and opposing the truth, like Jannea and Jatnbres, who will, however, be soon exposed ('i-y). (6) to abide loyally by his past teaching :
remembering (a) their past common experience of suffering, and of God's protection from it (10. in
(6) that suffering is a universal law for
Christians (i-). (c) that deceivers will grow worse 0^)- ifl) the teachers from whom he has learnt even from childhood the real spiritual value and purpose of all Scripture
(14.17).
to fulfil his whole duty, as an evangelist, with jiatience, sobriety, and courage (41.'') : remembering (a) that people will grow im- patient of sound teachitiff (^- *).
(6) that Paul himself is passing : his work
is done : he can only look forward to
the crown of righteousness (0- 7).
(c) that that crown will be given to all
who love the Lord's appearing (").
4*31, Personal messages.
Appeal to Timothy to come quickly, because of Taul's lonehnesa (9- lO) : to bring Mark alsofii), and to stop at^roas for his cloak and books (1-): to avoid Alexander (^*- 16). Reminder of the way in which the Lord had pro- tected him in the past in spite of men's desertion, and trust in Ilim for the future (l"-'*^). Biiecial greetings to and from individuals (}^^\ with further account of his fellow-travellers (^), and a renewed appeal to conic soon. ^. Final Salutation to Timothy and to those with him.
With tlie exception of tlie last word the Epistle is a personal letter tlirouj;hoiit, ami was probably never intended to be read aloiul to the Church under Timothy's care. The note in 2' emphasizes this esoteric character.
iii. Literary Dkpendenck.— The Epistle is so
fiersonal and so little argumentative that there is ittle direct quotation in it, even from the OT, the imiiortance of which is so strongly insisted upon (3'*'"). The allusions to it are subconscious and secondary. Tliis may be partly accounted for by the fact that the writer wiis without his books and parchments (4") ; yet his mind is thoroughly Btee{ied in it. Nu IG'', Is 2«i» lie behind 2'», but mediated through Christ's saying in Mt 7^' ", Lk 13S5-a7 . Wig jg7 lies behind 2*", perhaps mediated through Ro 9^' : Ps C-2'" is adapted in 4^* : Ps 22-'^-» colours the whole language and thouj-ht of 4"- " ; and perhaps Is 42'"' atl'ectH the description of the servant of the Lord in 2"*'.
Jewish tradition — whether written or unwritten is uncertain (cf. Thackeray, Relation of St. Patd to Contemporary Jewish 'Ihmig/tt, pp. 216-222) — i» quoted in 3''*.