'It is a faithful saying:
For if we be dead with Him,
we shall also live with Him:
If we suffer (or endure), we shall also reign with Him:
if we deny Him, He also will deny us:
If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful:
He cannot deny Himself.'
(2 Timothy 2:11-13)
Hello there,
I just quoted 2 Timothy 2:12 in a thread I began today, which has the subject heading, 'A Better Resurrection'. As I did so I thought it was worth considering what this verse means, for it could be the cause of consternation unless properly understood.
* What does, 'He also will deny us' signify, within this context?
* In the first chapter of 2 Timothy, Paul has attempted to explain what is meant by 'living' and 'reigning' in resurrection life. 'Living' with Christ does not depend upon the faithfulness of the believer, but upon the one great basic fact that when Christ died on the cross, the believer was reckoned to have died with Him too. This is the testimony of the central teaching of the book of Romans, and is the basic teaching upon which the teaching of Ephesians, and the other prison epistles are built.
* It is true that even though a believer should prove to be faithless in his walk and witness, his subsequent failures cannot alter the initial fact of his death with Christ. It is very different when it comes to the matter of 'reigning' with Him, 'winning a crown', 'obtaining a prize', or 'receiving a reward'. These things are in addition to life and are connected with it as expressed in a faithful witness.
* The words, 'deny Him', in the gospels, are used interchangeably with the word meaning, 'to be ashamed of' e.g., Mark 8:38 & Matthew 10:33. This links this passage to 2 Timothy 1:- 'be not ashamed', 'I am not ashamed'. and 'He was not ashamed' - with this matter of enduring or of denying the Lord: and, furthermore, connects it to 2 Timothy 2:15, where the words, 'not ashamed' recur. So:-
As to Life:- 'If we died with Him we shall also live with Him.
As to Reigning:- 'If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.
* How important it is that we should abide faithful to Christ, in our walk and witness, and remain true to the gospel of God concerning His Son our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16): and the fact that we are 'complete' in Him (Colossians 2:10).
' ... ... always labouring fervently for you in prayers,
that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.'
(Colossians 4:12)
Thank you.
In Christ Jesus
Chris
For if we be dead with Him,
we shall also live with Him:
If we suffer (or endure), we shall also reign with Him:
if we deny Him, He also will deny us:
If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful:
He cannot deny Himself.'
(2 Timothy 2:11-13)
Hello there,
I just quoted 2 Timothy 2:12 in a thread I began today, which has the subject heading, 'A Better Resurrection'. As I did so I thought it was worth considering what this verse means, for it could be the cause of consternation unless properly understood.
* What does, 'He also will deny us' signify, within this context?
* In the first chapter of 2 Timothy, Paul has attempted to explain what is meant by 'living' and 'reigning' in resurrection life. 'Living' with Christ does not depend upon the faithfulness of the believer, but upon the one great basic fact that when Christ died on the cross, the believer was reckoned to have died with Him too. This is the testimony of the central teaching of the book of Romans, and is the basic teaching upon which the teaching of Ephesians, and the other prison epistles are built.
* It is true that even though a believer should prove to be faithless in his walk and witness, his subsequent failures cannot alter the initial fact of his death with Christ. It is very different when it comes to the matter of 'reigning' with Him, 'winning a crown', 'obtaining a prize', or 'receiving a reward'. These things are in addition to life and are connected with it as expressed in a faithful witness.
* The words, 'deny Him', in the gospels, are used interchangeably with the word meaning, 'to be ashamed of' e.g., Mark 8:38 & Matthew 10:33. This links this passage to 2 Timothy 1:- 'be not ashamed', 'I am not ashamed'. and 'He was not ashamed' - with this matter of enduring or of denying the Lord: and, furthermore, connects it to 2 Timothy 2:15, where the words, 'not ashamed' recur. So:-
As to Life:- 'If we died with Him we shall also live with Him.
If we are unfaithful, He abideth faithful, He cannot deny Himself'.
As to Reigning:- 'If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.
If we deny (are ashamed of ) Him, He also will deny (will be ashamed of) us.'
' ... ... always labouring fervently for you in prayers,
that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.'
(Colossians 4:12)
Thank you.
In Christ Jesus
Chris
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