2 Timothy 2:19

Howbeit the firm foundation of God standeth, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his: and, Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.

This and the following verses have a special relevance to Paul's appeal to Timothy for fidelity no matter what might happen. As White said:

There is no need to despair of the church. It is founded upon a rock, in spite of appearances. Take a broad view of the case. The church is not the special apartment of the Master from which unseemly things are banished; it is a great house with places and utensils for every need of life.[27]

The firm foundation of God standeth ... Perhaps the best interpretation of this is to see it as a metaphor of the church, of which Jesus said, "The gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The figure is that of a great foundation for some mighty building; and, as it was common in ancient times, to engrave some seal or name upon the foundation, Paul gave the illustration of God's seal upon the foundation which is the church.

The Lord knoweth them that are his: Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.

There are echoes of both of these sayings in the Old Testament (Numbers 16:5; Isaiah 51:11), but it is better to view them as Paul's own inspired Scripture, and not as partial or garbled quotations from the Old Testament. After all, as Spence said, "Both these quotations go much farther and far deeper than the places cited in the Old Testament."[28] For example, there are strong connections in the first of these with John 14:27-29.

Again the Pauline theology of righteous living appears in the second of these. In the last analysis, every man shall be judged on the basis of his deeds, whether they be good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10).

[27] Ibid., p. 164.

[28] H. D. M. Spence, op. cit., p. 230.