2 Timothy 2:1-2 1You therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2and the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these things to faithful people who will be qualified to teach others also.
Based on the positive example of Onesiphorus, Paul calls Timothy likewise to be strong in the grace in Christ Jesus. Paul had personally experienced the power of Christ’s grace through his own suffering (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Paul calls Timothy my child like in 1:2. Paul and Timothy were closer than family. Timothy as the child in faith had a great model to follow in Paul, the spiritual father. This relationship is important throughout this letter as Paul urges Timothy to be strong in his faith in Jesus Christ. Paul received the message of the gospel through revelation and Scripture and passed it on to Timothy through teaching and modeling. The way Timothy could be strong was through Christ’s grace. The imperative verb be strong (endynamou) is passive voice indicating that this was something God in Christ would do for Timothy, but as an imperative, Timothy needed to respond to the invitation of grace by acting in faith and obedience.
Christ’s grace would enable Timothy to continue his calling of preaching the gospel in Ephesus. Verse 2 gives an important sequence. First, Paul passed on to Timothy many things through his teaching. These things are not defined or described here, the context suggests these are related to the deposit in 1:14. Paul taught Timothy about the gospel and ministry. Timothy was not alone but was part of many witnesses who heard Paul’s teachings. These witnesses confirmed to Timothy the truth of what Paul taught.
Second, Timothy needed to find faithful people and pass on these teachings on to them. Entrust (parathou) means to give to someone for safekeeping. Like Paul (1 Corinthians 4:1), Timothy was a steward of the divine mysteries from God and responsible for training up new leaders who also knew the truth of the gospel. Faithful has the sense of being trustworthy and reliable. Paul already wrote to Timothy about the required qualities of leaders in the church in 1 Timothy 3.
Third, the faithful leaders who were trained by Timothy needed to pass on the gospel to others in the church. Timothy had to choose these leadership carefully to make sure they were faithful and qualified. They needed to have spiritual maturity, exemplary character qualities of holiness, love, and godliness, and possess deep knowledge and commitment to the gospel. Timothy had to do basically what Paul did with him. The sequence in these verses is known as the two two two principle, meaning it is from 2 Timothy 2:2. The goal for leaders is to multiple other leaders who can influence and train a new generation. Discipleship is not a loan ranger enterprise but a life-long process of raising up disciple makers who can train up a new generation of disciple makers.
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