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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Timothy 2:14-18

Having thus encouraged Timothy to suffer, he comes in the next place to direct him in his work. I. He must make it his business to edify those who were under his charge, to put them in remembrance of those things which they did already know; for this is the work of ministers; not to tell people that which they never knew before, but to put them in mind of that which they do know, charging them that they strive not about words. Observe, Those that are disposed to strive commonly strive about... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 2 Timothy 2:14

2:14 Remind your people of these things; and charge them before the Lord not to engage in battles of words--a thing of no use at all, and a thing which can only result in the undoing of those who listen to it. Once again Paul returns to the inadequacy of words. We must remember that the Pastoral Epistles were written against a background of those Gnostics who produced their long words and their fantastic theories, and tried to make Christianity into a recondite philosophy instead of an... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 2 Timothy 2:15-18

2:15-18 Put out every effort to present yourself to God as one who has stood the test, as a workman who has no need to be ashamed, as one who rightly handles the word of truth. Avoid these godless chatterings, for the people who engage in them only progress further and further into ungodliness, and their talk eats its way into the Church like an ulcerous gangrene. Amongst such people are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who, as far as the truth is concerned, have lost the way, when... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 2 Timothy 2:15-18

Amongst the false teachers Paul numbers especially Hymenaeus and Philetus. Who these men were we do not know. But we get a brief glimpse of their teaching in at least one of its aspects. They said that the resurrection had already happened. This of course does not refer to the Resurrection of Jesus; it refers to the resurrection of the Christian after death. We do know two false views of the resurrection of the Christian which had some influence in the early Church. (i) It was claimed that... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Timothy 2:14

Of these things put them in remembrance ,.... Meaning either his hearers, or those to whom he was to commit the things he had heard of the apostle, and who must expect to suffer afflictions, and endure hardships, for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel; wherefore to remind them of the above sayings might be of use and comfort to them. This clause is wanting in the Arabic version. Charging them before the Lord ; the omniscient God, as in his sight, as they will answer it to him another... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Timothy 2:15

Study to show thyself approved unto God ,.... The Alexandrian copy reads, "to Christ"; see Romans 16:10 . Not unto men, as pleasing them; for such who study to please men, are not the servants of Christ; and sometimes those that are approved to and by men, are disapproved of by God and Christ: but unto God, showing all fidelity and uprightness; speaking out the Gospel openly, and freely, with all sincerity, as in the sight of God; commending themselves to him, and to every man's... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Timothy 2:16

But shun profane and vain babblings ,.... The ministry of false teachers is mere babbling; a voice, and nothing else, as the man said of his nightingale; a sound of words, but no solid matter in them; great swelling words of vanity, like large bubbles of water, look big, and make a great noise, but have nothing in them; contain nothing but vain, empty, idle, and trifling stuff; what is unprofitable and unedifying, yea, what is profane, contrary to the nature and perfections of God, and not... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Timothy 2:17

And their word will eat as doth a cancer ,.... Or "gangrene", which gnaws and feeds upon the flesh, inflames and mortifies as it goes, and spreads swiftly, and endangers the whole body; and is therefore to be speedily taken notice of, and stopped. It is better rendered "gangrene", as in the marginal reading, than "cancer". "The word "gangrene" is Greek F7 See Chambers's Cyclopedia in the word "Gangrene". , and is derived by some authors from the Paphlagonian "gangra", a goat; it... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Timothy 2:18

Who concerning the truth have erred ,.... That is, the two persons just mentioned; they fell from the truth, wandered and departed from it; they did not keep to the Scriptures of truth, but deviated from them; they missed that mark, and went astray into gross errors and mistakes; rejected the Gospel, the word of truth, in general, and particularly in saying, that the resurrection is past already ; and no other is to be expected; or that there was no future resurrection of the dead: their... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Timothy 2:14

That they strive not about words - Words, not things, have been a most fruitful source of contention in the Christian world; and among religious people, the principal cause of animosity has arisen from the different manner of apprehending the same term, while, in essence, both meant the same thing. All preachers and divines should be very careful, both in speaking and writing, to explain the terms they use, and never employ them in any sense but that in which they have explained them. The... read more

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