2 Timothy 2:11 11The word is faithful; for if we co-died, we will also co-live;
These verses are written in a poetic way and may have been part of an early Christian hymn. They have a clear pattern. These verses follow the pattern of “truthworthy sayings” found in the Pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; Titus 3:8). These sayings contain important information for Timothy and Titus to consider in their ministries. The predicate adjective faithful (pistos) has the sense of reliability and truthfulness in this context. The word is what follows in the four lines of the hymn. Each line is given as a conditional sentence: if the first part is true, then the second part will also become true. Some translations include the word “him,” but this word is not in the Greek. Paul uses the preposition “with” (syn) attached to various words to emphasize the sharing bond we have with Christ.
For if we co-died, we will also co-live. For connects the hymn to Paul’s suffering and indicates that the hymn should bring encouragement to Timothy by showing the possible outcome of his suffering. Co-died (synapethanomen) recalls Paul’s words in Romans 6:3-8 about the path to the entirely sanctified life. The verb tense is aorist, which implies a decisive decision about the old life under the power of sin. We must put ourselves on the cross with Jesus.
The promised outcome is to co-live (syzēsomen) with Christ through the power of God that raised him from the dead. We experience in this life a spiritual rebirth or recreation, which also gives us hope of resurrection after we die. The path to new life is death. Death represents the rejection of everything else as controller of our life and our exclusive loyalty to Christ as Lord. Paul expresses this new life as being “in Christ.”
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