| Back to Home Page | Back to
Book Index |
2 Timothy
Chapter Three
I.
Content of the Chapter
How God’s Workers Deal with the Heretical
Teachers
I. Knowing the features of the heretical teachers in
the last days (v.1-9)
A.
harming others to benefit oneself (v.4a).
B.
being lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (v.4b).
C.
having the form of godliness but denying its power (v.5)
D.
making captives of gullible women (v.6-7).
E. of
corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith (v.8-9).
II. The key to deal with the heretical teachers
(v.10-17)
A.
Continuing in the teachings and example of Paul (v.10-14).
B.
Trusting and following the revelation and function of the Bible (v.15-17).
II.
Verse by Verse commentary
2Tim. 3:1 “But know this, that in
the last days perilous times will come:”
YLT: “And this know thou,
that in the last days there shall come perilous times,”
Meaning of Words: “last days”: final,
latter end, farthest; “perilous”: difficult, dangerous, grievous, fierce.
Literal Meaning: the word “But” in the beginning of this verse refers to the
miserable condition in opposition to the hope stated at the end of the previous
chapter------“if God perhaps will grant them repentance” (See 2:25).
“Know
this” the following words bring in a new realm
of discussion------the crises in the last days and the way to deal with them.
“Knowing” implies that you should take it as your own responsibility.
“That
in the last days perilous times will come” “the last days” means that: in the broad sense,
it refers to the time from the coming of Christ to His second coming (See Heb.
1:2) and in the narrow sense it refers to the period of the great tribulation
before the Lord’s second coming. Here it should refer to the broad
interpretation. At that time the apostles had not received the clear revelation
from God concerning the time of the Lord’s second coming (See Matt. 24:36). And
therefore they always encouraged themselves and others that they were in the
last days (See 1Cor. 10:11; James. 5:3; 1Pet. 1:20; 2Pet. 3:3; Jude. 18).
“Perilous times” indicates that it is full of rebellions
against God in this period. “Perilous” implies that if we are not careful, we
may suffer perils.
Please note that the conditions of corruption
described in v.2 to v.5 do not specially refer to the evil states in the
society of non-Christians. It indicates that in the declining
Christianity------“a great house” (See 2:20), all kinds of unrighteous and
lowly things and declining conditions controlled by lusts will be manifested.
“A form of godliness” in v.5 proves that this passage is spoken concerning
those who call themselves Christians apparently.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) It is possible for Christians to fall and even
corrupt and fall into the perilous conditions.
2) Many Christians and even preachers hold a wrong
idea that they should not know the dark and abnormal states in the church and
therefore they reject the kind warnings. However, it is the “ostrichism” and it
is diametrically opposed to “knowing this” said by Paul.
3) Some men claim that we only need the positive
messages and do not need the negative knowledge. These people have not noted a
fact at all that there are many negative and passive records in the Bible for
warning us who are in the last days (1Cor. 10:11).
4) Now it is the “last days” and therefore on one
hand we should take advantage of a few days to preach the gospel to save the
lost souls and on the other we should watch ourselves to meet the second coming
of the Lord.
5) The whole old creation trends toward corruption
more and more and even toward the complete destruction. And therefore since the
dawn of history, all ideas and efforts that men want to set up the “harmonious”
world in this old heaven and old earth are in vain! All our hope is that Christ
will bring in “a new heaven and a new earth” when He comes for the second time
and in which “dwells righteousness” (2Pet. 3:10-13).
2Tim. 3:2 “For men will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to
parents, unthankful, unholy,”
YLT: “for men shall be
lovers of themselves, lover of money, boasters, proud, evil-speakers, to
parents disobedient, unthankful, unkind,”
Meaning of Words: “boaster”: arrogant,
pompous, exalting oneself; “blasphemers”: slander, libeler, speaking words
harmful to others.
Literal Meaning: “For men will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money” “lovers of
themselves” in the original means specially loving themselves, i.e. only
keeping themselves in their minds. “Lovers of money” refers to seeking to
fulfill one’s enjoyment because money could provide what they want.
“Boasters,
proud, blasphemers” “boasters”
emphasizes that one’s outer behavior shows his arrogance; “proud” stresses on
one’s inner intention------being full of himself; “blasphemers” and profaneness
are the same word in the original. However, profaneness is especially towards
God and blasphemy is towards men, i.e. slandering others. Haughty ones despise
others and it is shown in their words and it is blasphemy.
“Disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy” “Disobedient to parents” indicates that one is not restrained and
even is disobedient to his own parents. “Unthankful” refers to not remembering
anyone’s loving-kindness with gratitude. “Unholy” implies incest in the
original. Here it not only refers to having the dirty and evil thoughts in the
negative aspect but also includes not pursuing holiness in the positive aspect
(See 2:19-22).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Loving themselves and loving money are the
source of all evil. They not only bring in many sins but also exclude God from
their life.
2) As long as one regards “I and mine” as the
principle of his walking, nothing would restrain the string of terrible sins.
3) Satan utilizes things besides God to occupy men
and in which the most serious one is self and the second one is money.
4) When one merely has money in his heart and does
not have any place for others, he would do anything evil. It’s no wonder that
it is written in the Bible that, the love of money is
a root of all kinds of evil (1Tim. 6:10).
5) What one “loves” determines the direction of his
life. If what he loves is himself and money, he must run towards the wrong
direction in his whole life.
6) Those who are self-centered only consider
themselves and money in their hearts. They exalt themselves and belittle others
at the same time and they even do not restrain themselves towards their family
members of their personal concern.
7) Our “selves” is the source of all evil and
therefore the Lord condemns that we must “deny ourselves” and take up our
crosses and then we shall be worthy to follow Him (Matt. 16:24). All those who
treasure themselves indeed put themselves in the unworthy position.
8) Men’s selves are the embodiment of Satan. The
Lord once said to Peter that get away behind me, Satan because Peter minded
himself (Matt. 16:23).
9) The lovers of themselves like exalting
themselves by devastating others and they not merely slander others and even
not recognize their own closest relatives.
2Tim. 3:3 “unloving, unforgiving,
slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,”
YLT: “without natural
affection, implacable, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, not lovers of those
who are good,”
Meaning of Words: “unforgiving”:
unwilling to become reconciled; “slanderers”: false accuser, accusation,
traducer; “despisers”: haters.
Literal Meaning: “unloving, unforgiving,
slanderers” “unloving” refers
to lack of love of family and being indifferent to men. “Unforgiving” in the
original refers to being unwilling to repent or obey the regulations and it
could also refer to being self-willed and not considering the feelings of
others. “Slanderers” refers to speaking like the devil (the original meaning of
the devil is the slanderous talk).
“Without
self-control, brutal, despisers of good” “Without self-control” refers to being
unconventional and uninhibited and lacking the power of self-control. “Brutal”
indicates that one walks like a beast, i.e. being violent and cruel. “Despisers
of good” refers to hating good. God Himself is good (See Matt. 19:17) and
therefore despisers of good means despisers of things of God.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The selfish ones only love themselves. If they
firmly believe that someone is harmful to them, they will attack him
recklessly.
2) All those who cannot control their behavior are
always unable to control their sentiments. Once their sentiments break out they
may do everything evil.
2Tim. 3:4 “traitors, headstrong,
haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,”
YLT: “traitors, heady,
lofty, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God,”
Meaning of Words: “traitors”:
betrayer, faithless; “headstrong”: willful, rash, dash, headlong; “haughty”:
envelope with smoke, proud; “lovers of pleasure”: loving pleasure, pleasing
oneself.
Literal Meaning: “traitors, headstrong,
haughty” “traitors”
indicates that one goes all length for his benefits and even betrays his
closest relatives. “Headstrong” indicates that one does as he pleases and never
considers others. “Haughty” indicates that one is blinded and cannot see his
real situation.
“Lovers
of pleasure rather than lovers of God”
“lovers of pleasure” refers to loving the enjoyment of the flesh, yearning for
the comfort of souls and fully living in one’s feelings. “Rather than lovers of
God” indicates that one does not give the sovereignty to God or merely loves
God or concentrates on God or regards God as his content and joy.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) All haters of good (See v.3) must not be
restrained by anyone or anything and they follow their inclinations and do
whatever they like.
2) Pleasure is the thing of the world and God and
good (See v.3) are things of another world. One cannot be a lover of pleasure
and a lover of God and good at the same time. Either he will hate the one and
love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other (See
Matt. 6:24).
3) When men choose to be self-centered, God is no
longer the source of his joy in his life and naturally he will turn to pursuing
the enjoyments of the flesh.
2Tim. 3:5 “having a form of
godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”
YLT: “having a form of
piety, and its power having denied; and from these be turning away,”
Meaning of Words: “form”: appearance,
image.
Literal Meaning: “having a form of godliness” indicates though one dresses him up with a
form of godliness, it is trumpery.
“But
denying its power” “its power” refers
to the power of influence of the godly life.
“And
from such people turn away!” the tone of “turn
away from” is very strong in the original, showing that the influence that they
mix the spurious with the genuine is very great and therefore we have to turn
away from them.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) When one loses his love towards God (See v.4),
the inevitable result is that he only attaches importance to his appearance
before men and never takes notice of God’s opinion towards him.
2) Since ancient times, religious believers who
like putting on a show in appearance are found everywhere (See Matt. 23:25-28;
3) The most terrible ones are those who seem to
love the Lord very much apparently but are ministers of Satan who mislead the
Saints and destroy the faith of Saints. And there is nothing worse than this.
4) It is of no value that one merely has the form
of godliness but denies its power. However, if one has the power of godliness,
he must have the form of godliness. Because godliness originates from the life
of God and the nature of God’s life is godliness. If such life is manifested
upon us, it must be godliness.
5) God’s principle of working is always from the
inner parts to the outer parts. If men only pay attention to the form of
godliness which is not of the godly life, such behavior is equal to guise and
it denies the power of godliness. However, if we have the hearts of godliness
and are afraid of our own activities and oppose, reject and condemn all ungodly
thoughts, words, actions and attitudes so that we have to control our behavior
outwardly. This form of godliness is true.
2Tim. 3:6 “For of this sort are
those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down
with sins, led away by various lusts,”
YLT: “for of these there
are those coming into the houses and leading captive the silly women, laden
with sins, led away with desires manifold,”
Meaning of Words: “creep into”: slip
into, crawl into slowly; “make captives of”: lead captive, capture; “gullible
women”: weak women, frivolous women, little women.
Literal Meaning: “For of this sort are those
who creep into households and make captives of gullible women” “this sort” refers to the hypocritical
heretical teachers (See v.5). And their features are: 1) their attitude is not
frank or righteous----they creep into houses; 2) their objects are not common
believers----they specially look for the weak who are easy to be deceived; 3)
their means are low----they give them little grace to capture their hearts so
that they will be driven by them willingly.
“Gullible
women” here women are the
representatives of weak vessels (See 1Pet. 3:7) and it could refer to all
brothers and sisters who are weak in Spirit and lack the ability of
discernment.
“Loaded down with sins, led away by
various lusts” “loaded down with
sins” refers to sins upon sins and being pressed by mountains of repeated sins;
“various lusts” refers to all kinds of lusts in the flesh; “led away” implies
being unable to resist.
The first sentence in this verse points
out the ugliness and deceit of the heretical teachers and last sentence points
out the corruption and weakness of those who are deceived. Their being deceived
is a trouble of their own making.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The heretical teachers are good at using the
weakness of human nature and make men fall into the trap unconsciously and be
manipulated by them willingly.
2) Originally the truth shall release men and set
men free (John. 8:32). However, the false-named knowledge will manage men and
make them be controlled and lose the freedom.
3) This verse clearly tells us that “sins” and
“lusts” are the great hindrance to know the spiritual things. And therefore we
should ask the Lord to deliver us from the outer sins and inner lusts
completely so that we could discern good and evil and make the spiritual
progress.
4) Believers who are deceived in the truth
themselves should also bear the sin before God because they themselves yield to
the lusts of the flesh to let the heretical teachers take advantage.
2Tim. 3:7 “always learning and never
able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
YLT: “always learning,
and never to a knowledge of truth able to come,”
Meaning of Words: “never”: not even
ever.
Literal Meaning: “always learning” shows that they intend to pursue and they
are not those who do not have the heart to the Lord.
“And
never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” “never” implies that it is in vain no matter how
many efforts they have made.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) If we want to know the truth, we should make
efforts to learn without a doubt. However, efforts are not the most important
but the secondary condition.
2) If one’s intention and motive are wrong, his
efforts at the truth will be in vain.
3) Though by this time the Hebrew believers ought
to be teachers, they need someone to teach them again the first principles of
the oracles of God because their senses have not been exercised rightly (Heb.
5:12-14).
4) The wrong teachings harm men greatly. Apparently
some new knowledge is increased to those who have them but actually it is not
helpful but harmful to the knowledge of the truth.
2Tim. 3:8 “Now as Jannes and Jambres
resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds,
disapproved concerning the faith;”
YLT: “and, even as Jannes
and Jambres stood against Moses, so also these do stand against the truth, men
corrupted in mind, disapproved concerning the faith;”
Meaning of Words: “Jannes”: dale, seductive; “Jambres”: magician, rebellious; “disapproved”:
rejected, disapproval, not approved.
Literal Meaning: “Now as Jannes and Jambres
resisted Moses” these two men have
not been recorded in the Old Testament. According to the legends of the Jews,
one is that that they were two magicians before pharaoh who once changed the
rods into serpents, changed water into blood and brought up the frogs upon the
land (Exod. 7:11-12, 21-22; 8:7) and another is that they sneaked into the
people of Israel with false intent and seduced them into committing the sin of
worshiping the golden calf and resisting Moses and the truth (See Exod. 32).
“So
do these also resist the truth” “these” refers to
the heretical teachers.
“Men
of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith” “of corrupt minds” indicates that men’s minds are
corrupt and they lose the ability to discern the truth. “Disapproved”
originally indicates that its ingredients are found unqualified and it is
determined as the thing of low quality in the process of smelting metals.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The trick of the devil is corrupting men’s
“minds” first and making them be urged by it unconsciously. And therefore if we
want to gain men, we must recapture the thought of men first (See 2Cor. 10:5).
2) When Christians seek after the knowledge of the
truth, we must have the right minds and ideas, otherwise we still cannot get
the knack no matter how we pursue.
2Tim. 3:9 “but they will progress no
further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.”
YLT: “but they shall not
advance any further, for their folly shall be manifest to all, as theirs also
did become.”
Literal Meaning: “but they will progress no
further” “they” refers to
the heretical teachers; “further” refers to forward.
“For
their folly will be manifest to all”
“folly” shows that the heretical teachers seem to be wise but actually are fool
(See 1Cor. 1:18-20). “Manifest” refers to showing one’s slip and being seen
through by all.
“As
theirs also was” “theirs” refers to
Jannes and
Jambres (See v.8).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) “Fire cannot be wrapped up in paper.” All false
things shall give themselves away sooner or later.
2) In spiritual things, we should not play with the
wisdom of men but fully rely on the Holy Spirit and His great power (1Cor.
2:4).
2Tim. 3:10 “But you have carefully
followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love,
perseverance,”
YLT: “And thou -- thou
hast followed after my teaching, manner of life, purpose, faith,
long-suffering, love, endurance,”
Meaning of Words: “follow”: follow
near; “manner of life”: training, character which is brought up;
“longsuffering”: longanimity; “perseverance”: enduring, patience, perseverance,
cheerful endurance.
Literal Meaning: “But you have carefully
followed my doctrine” “But you” is used
two times in this chapter and it is the first time (See v.14) which specially
makes a comparison between true teachers and false teachers. The word “follow”
is always used to describe disciples’ attitude of learning towards teachers.
“Doctrine” refers to the teachings made according to the truth.
“Manner
of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance” “manner of life” refers to one’s daily
words and behavior that he deals with men and things, i.e. one’s mode of
living. “Purpose” refers to the aim and direction that one pursues and acts.
“Faith” refers to the reliance to God. “Longsuffering” refers to forbearing
men’s folly, frowardness and ingratitude and still having the strength to
persist unto the end according to the original intention. “Love” refers to the
tender affection for men. “Perseverance” refers to the internal force which
bears everything and still keeps steadfast.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Preachers should teach men by the truth instead
of any worldly philosophy and keep back nothing that is profitable unto men and
conforms to the truth (Acts. 20:20, 27).
2) Preachers should not only teach others but also
obey their teachings (1Tim. 4:16). Preachers who do not square their words with
their conduct won’t be respected by men.
2Tim. 3:11 “persecutions, afflictions,
which happened to me at
YLT: “the persecutions,
the afflictions, that befel me in
Meaning of Words: “afflictions”:
oppression.
Literal Meaning: “persecutions, afflictions,
which happened to me at
“What
persecutions I endured” “what” refers to
the seriousness of the degree.
“And
out of them all the Lord delivered me”
“deliver” refers to being delivered from circumstances instead of the salvation
of soul.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Without the Lord’s permission or before the
time, all persecutions or afflictions cannot harm the Lord’s servants at
all.
2) God is faithful, who will not suffer us to be
tempted above that we are able (1Cor. 10:13).
2Tim. 3:12 “Yes, and all who desire
to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
YLT: “and all also who
will to live piously in Christ Jesus shall be persecuted,”
Literal Meaning: “Yes” indicates that “I” is not the only person (See
v.11).
“And
all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus” “live
godly” indicates that one
walks with the heart of fearing God; one does not walk according to the flesh,
or is swayed by personal considerations, or follows the trend, or compromises
with sins, or is afraid of offending men and he pleases God wholeheartedly.
“Will
suffer persecution” “suffer persecution” because: 1) Satan sets something into
action behind men; 2) the impious men (See v.13) cannot bear others’ behavior
of godliness.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Through many tribulations we must enter into the
2) Blessed are those who are persecuted for the
sake of God’s kingdom and righteousness (Matt. 5:10). All those how suffer with
the Lord shall also be glorified with Him together (Rom. 8:17).
2Tim. 3:13 “But evil men and
impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.”
YLT: “and evil men and
impostors shall advance to the worse, leading astray and being led astray.”
Meaning of Words: “impostor”: a wizard,
a deceiver.
Literal Meaning: “But evil men and impostors
will grow worse and worse” “grow worse and
worse” has two meanings: 1) the nature become worse and worse; 2) the ending
gets worse and worse.
“Deceiving
and being deceived” shows that these
men harm others on one hand and on the other they themselves are harmed.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The impious ones must go from bad to worse and
strictly speaking, those who reject God’s guidance do not have future at all.
2) Those who deceive others preen themselves, but
actually they themselves are ignorant of being deceived by others. It indeed
shows their folly.
2Tim. 3:14 “But you must continue in
the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you
have learned them,”
YLT: “And thou -- be
remaining in the things which thou didst learn and wast entrusted with, having
known from whom thou didst learn,”
Meaning of Words: “continue”: remain,
insist, stay, dwell.
Literal Meaning: “But you must continue in
the things which you have learned and been assured of” “But you” here this word is used for the second
time in this chapter (See v.10), showing that men of God should be totally
different from evil
men and impostors (See v.13; 1Tim.
6:11).
“Knowing
from whom you have learned them” “whom” is a
pronoun and in some English versions it is plural and in others it is singular.
The singular word could refer to the Lord Jesus or Paul and the plural word
could refer to Paul and other spiritual seniors, e.g. Timothy’s grandmother Lois
and his mother Eunice (See 1:5).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The true learning is not with the attitude of
“estimate” but with the attitude of “being instructed”.
2) All knowledge that one had learned should be
divided into two sorts: the credible things and the incredible things. We
should accept and be faithful to the credible things and not only devoutly
believe in them but also continue in them well.
2Tim. 3:15 “and that from childhood
you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for
salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
YLT: “and because from a
babe the Holy Writings thou hast known, which are able to make thee wise -- to
salvation, through faith that [is] in Christ Jesus;”
Meaning of Words: “know’: behold,
perceive; “the Holy Scriptures”: the holy classics, the holy writings.
Literal Meaning: “and that from childhood you
have known the Holy Scriptures” it implies that
from childhood Timothy was taught to believe and understand the Bible by his
grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice.
“Which
are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” the first function of the Bible is to give
us wise for salvation. It reveals us God’s salvation in Christ and the way of
men’s being saved by faith so that we could know the way to receive grace and
understand the way of salvation.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Believers should pay attention to teaching our
next generation and making them know the Holy Scriptures from their childhood.
It has profound and lasting influence upon their whole life.
2) Surrey Gao said that “reading the Bible alone
cannot make one receive the salvation effectively and only when one completely
relies on the faith in Christ shall he enter in” (it is translated from the
Chinese version).
2Tim. 3:16 “All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness,”
YLT: “every Writing [is]
God-breathed, and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for setting aright,
for instruction that [is] in righteousness,”
Meaning of Words: “all”: every;
“inspiration”: breath, exhalation, the inspiration of the Spirit; “reproof”:
conviction, exhortation, condemnation; “correction”: returning to normal.
Literal Meaning: “All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God” is “every Writing
is God-breathed” in the original. It means that the Bible is not of men’s
thoughts but that God breathes out His meaning and words to those who wrote the
Bible through His Spirit and the Bible is breathed out through them. And
therefore the Bible has God’s constituents and flavors.
“And
is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness” “doctrine” refers
to teaching men from the positive aspect to make men know God and His will;
“reproof” refers to blaming men from the negative aspect to make men know right
and wrong; “correction” refers to making men who run off the lines return to
the right way; “instruction in righteousness” refers to learning righteousness
from the easy to the difficult and following the prescribed order; “all is
profitable” refers to being effective.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The Bible is the supreme principle of
Christians’ faith and conduct.
2) The greatest joy or blessing for us as
Christians is to get in touch with God Himself daily to taste Himself through
the words which are breathed out by Him.
3) The Bible is the mark of men’s true path. All
those who want to know whether any “word” is right should search the Scriptures
well (Acts. 17:11).
2Tim. 3:17 “that the man of God may
be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
YLT: “that the man of God
may be fitted -- for every good work having been completed.”
Meaning of Words: “complete”: competent,
be able to, refine, perfect, ordered, harmonious; “equip”: equip fully,
furnish.
Literal Meaning: “that the man of God may be
complete” “complete” refers
to the perfect in the Spirit and the abundant life.
“Thoroughly
equipped for every good work” it indicates that
the word of God (the Bible) is the essential equipment for believers to walk
and it enables us to have target and power to pursue and do every good work.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Only the man of God could be equipped for every good
work. Those who have not been of God cannot do good works according to the
Bible.
2) All those who are unwilling to make efforts to
equip themselves with the Bible are unworthy to work for the Lord.
III.
Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons
What God’s Servants should Know
A. concerning the days in the last days
(v.1).
B. concerning the ugly performance of
the last days (v.2-9).
1. men’s personal life (v.2a).
2. the attachment to the family and the social
senses (v.2b-4).
3. the attitude toward God------the hypocrisy of
the faith (v.5-9).
II. Knowing that
they themselves have the precious spiritual inheritance (v.10-17)
A. inheriting from their teachers
completely (v.10-14).
1. knowing the objects of the succession of
teaching from a master to his disciples and their examples (v.10-12).
2. following the steps of good teachers (v.13-14).
B. inheriting the riches of the Bible
(v.15-17).
1. uncovering the gifts which are exceptionally given
to them (v.15).
2. gaining the priceless treasury (v.16-17).
The Features of Perilous Times in the Last
Days
A. lovers of themselves
B. lovers of money
II. In the aspect of
being self-righteous (v.2b):
A. boasters
B. proud
C. blasphemers
III. In the aspect
of the family (v.2b-3a):
A. disobedient to parents
B. unthankful
C. unholy
D. unloving
IV. In the aspect of
characters (v.3b-4):
A. unforgiving
B. slanderers
C. without self-control
D. brutal
E. despisers of good
F. traitors
G. headstrong
H. haughty
J. not lovers of God
V. In the aspect of
the life of the faith (v.5-6):
A. having a form of godliness
B. denying the power of godliness
C. making captives of gullible women
The Three Phenomena in the Last Days
I. The human nature
which is supercilious (v.2-4).
II. The faith that
is powerless (v.5).
III. The teachers
who resist the truth (v.6-9).
The “lovers” and “despisers” in the Last
Days
II. Lovers of money
(v.2).
III. Despisers of
good (v.3).
IV. Lovers of
pleasure (v.4).
V. Not lovers of God
(v.4).
The Four Kinds of Deterioration in Relation:
v.2-5
I. The deterioration
in the relation with oneself: lovers of themselves, boasters, proud, unholy, without self-control, brutal and haughty.
II. The
deterioration in the relation with things: lovers of money, despisers of good,
headstrong and lovers of pleasure.
III. The
deterioration in the relation with men: blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers and traitors.
IV. The
deterioration in the relation with God: not lovers of God and having a form of
godliness but denying its power.
How to Resist the Perilous Days in the Last
Days
I. The negative
ways:
A. turning away------“and from such
people turn away!” (v.5).
B. enduring------“endured……persecutions,
afflictions” (v.11).
II. The positive
ways------by the word of God:
A. “having learned…been assured of”
(v.14a).
B. “continuing in” (v.14b).
C. paying attention to “from whom you
have learned” (v.14c).
D. “having known the Holy Scriptures”
(v.15).
E. knowing the source and functions of
the Bible (v.16-17).
Study in Three Aspects
I. The equipment for
service: doctrine, manner of life and purpose (v.10a).
II. The pursuit of
life: faith, longsuffering, love and perseverance (v.10b).
III. The reaction to
circumstances: enduring persecutions and afflictions (v.11).
The Relation between the Bible and Believers
II. The Bible makes
believers wisdom for salvation (v.15).
III. The Bible is
God’s inspiration specially for believers (v.16a).
IV. The Bible is
profitable to believers in many aspects (v.16b).
V. The Bible could
equip believers for every good work (v.17).
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Sharon Ren