Introduction to Second Timothy

Authorship: Paul

Date: AD 65–67

During 2nd Roman imprisonment, before his martyrdom under Nero.

1. Paul is clearly in prison:
   1. “… or of me his prisoner” (1:8)
   2. “my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains” (2:9).
2. He is also conscious that he is at the end of his journey
   1. “The time of my departure has come” (4:6-7).
3. “At my first defense … Rescued from the lion’s mouth” (4:16-17).
   1. The “lion’s mouth” here is generally thought to be Nero’s killing of Christians in Rome.
   2. The great fire in Rome was in AD 64, which sparked Nero’s persecution of Christians, a persecution that lasted for several years AD 64-68, with Nero dying by suicide in AD 68.

Place of writing: Rome

We can deduce this from the fact that Onesiphorus was not ashamed of Paul’s chains, “but when he arrived in Rome,” he searched for Paul and found him (1:17).

Addressee: Timothy

Purpose

Paul senses that his end is near, so he writes to exhort Timothy to “follow the pattern of sound words” and “guard the good deposit” in the face of false teachers (1:13-14).

Outline of 2 Timothy

1. 1:1-2: Letter Opening
2. 1:3–4:18: Letter Body
   1. 1:3-7: Paul recalls Timothy’s sincere faith
   2. 1:8-18: Timothy exhorted to follow the pattern of sound words
   3. 2:1-13: Timothy exhorted to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ
   4. 2:14-26: Timothy exhorted to avoid false doctrine and foolish controversies
   5. 3:1-9: Timothy reminded that there will be false teachers in the last days
   6. 3:10-17: Timothy exhorted to continue in the God-breathed Scriptures
   7. 4:1-5: Timothy exhorted to preach the word regardless of the response
   8. 4:6-8: Paul reflects on his imminent death
   9. 4:9-18: Personal matters
3. 4:19-22: Letter Closing

Key Contributions

1. Doctrine of election—grace before time (1:9; 2:10)
2. The pattern of sound words (1:13)
3. Faithful men who are able to teach others also (2:2)
4. The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome (2:24-26)
5. The doctrine of Scripture (3:15-17)
   1. The scope of the Scriptures—to make us wise unto salvation
   2. The inspiration of the Scriptures—breathed out by God (theopneustos)
   3. The usefulness of the Scriptures—for teaching, correcting, training
   4. The sufficiency of the Scriptures—able to make us complete
6. Preach the word (4:1-5)
   1. “In season and out of season” = whether it is convenient to the hearers or not
   2. “Having itching ears” = always wanting to hear something new
7. Paul prepares for his departure: “I have fought the good fight” (4:7-8)