You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ² and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. ³ Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. ⁵ An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶ It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. ⁷ Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, ⁹ for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!

1) What is the main take-away from this passage?
Preach the full gospel faithfully. All the time. No matter the life circumstances. Let the entirety of the gospel be your centering point for life, regardless of cost. “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead…” Paul repeats the gospel so many times in His letters to believers because it’s the epicenter of our daily life and ministry. The gospel dictates how we are to live out love and embrace God’s very fullest. Christ has conquered our sin, freed us from slavery to the Enemy, brought us into life, and condemned us no more! The gospel is worth everything!

2) Who are considered “faithful men”?
Paul insists that Timothy, as a pastor, entrust this same entire gospel truth to other “faithful men”, whose qualifications are that they will be able to “teach others also”. Teaching, pastoring, and leading aren’t meant to be one-man (or woman) shows. Paul wants Timothy to multiply himself by making sure that he is bringing along other leaders who are learning from him. Faithful leaders who will hold unswervingly to the gospel; leaders who will make living and sharing the gospel their life’s essence.

3) What do the illustrations of soldier, athlete, and farmer point to?
Paul frequently used common-day illustrations to help his audience better identify with a truth he was teaching. A “good soldier” would focus on the greater good of his mission and his fellow warriors than focusing on his own pain and suffering. He or she would keep the focus of the gospel as being central and let it be the sieve through which all else of life flowed, regardless of deception or discord happening around him or her. Paul tells Timothy to hold onto truth, to not be swayed by deception, and to take the high road in treating people with love. Using the example of an athlete who competes by the rules, Paul is telling Timothy to hold to the whole gospel and not compromise its truths. Grace alone, faith alone, not by works. The hard working farmer is used to illustrate the dedication needed to be gospel focused. Paul reminds Timothy that much will be rewarded for those who make the gospel their way of life day in and day out.

4) How is the word of God “not bound”?
Again, the “word of God” refers to the whole message of the gospel….we are sinners hopelessly separated from a perfectly holy God, but who were offered boundless mercy when Jesus lived the perfect life for us and died the death we deserved in order to give us the eternal life we could never earn. Despite earthly circumstances, which in Paul’s case meant imprisonment, beatings, and eventual death, the good news of freedom in Christ will continue in its power given by God. Earthly rulers have been trying to squelch the truth of Jesus since time began, but it isn’t possible because of the power of the gospel and the Living God behind its message!

1) What is the main take-away from this passage?
Isn’t preaching the gospel for, like, actual pastors? Preaching as in shepherding a church; yes, that’s a special calling of “pastor”, but every single believer who has chosen Christ as their Savior, is given the task of sharing the gospel. Preaching its full weight of grace and truth to ourselves every day, to our children, and to those we have been given influence over is our responsibility in Christ. Its fullness should season our conversations, our Facebook posts, our texts, our conflicts, our choice of churches, and the way we talk to people at the store. No, it doesn’t mean literally every word must be the gospel, but that our lives shine forth the brilliant love of Jesus Christ displayed on his incredible grace coupled with His unshakeable truth!

2) Who are considered “faithful men”?
As we grow in Jesus, multiplicity is for us as well, whether we are a leader in the church or not. There will always be people around us we can help train up for godliness. Discipling others is walking along with someone else in life and pointing them faithfully to Jesus Christ. Who are you discipling? And if you aren’t, pray about who the Lord might be calling you to walk more intentionally alongside!

3) What do the illustrations of soldier, athlete, and farmer point to?
Holding to the gospel takes hard work, determination, constant diligence, and living in gospel-centered community to be held accountable. A life that is gospel centered will not always be popular, and choosing to love others the way Jesus loves us is often costly and risky. Paul’s teaching here should prompt us to examine how highly we value the gospel and how closely we are willing to follow Jesus’ example of loving others with truth and grace. Are we willing to suffer for the gospel? Willing to lay aside our own pride and agenda for the sake of the gospel? Willing to constantly be testing what we believe to see if it holds up to biblical truth and accuracy?

4) How is the word of God “not bound”?
Beautifully, God invites believers to partner with Him in sharing the good news of freedom in Jesus Christ. He invites us to invite others to share in this life of abundant grace. He designed His plan of welcoming others to His table to be placed in our hands. Remarkably, it’s when we take seriously this call to tell others the gospel that we find fullness of purpose and abundant life. Graciously, despite our human failings, weaknesses, and our tongue-tied words, the gospel is still unbound. God will use our efforts to bring others into His kingdom, despite ourselves! Are you sharing?!

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
See all past studies in Flourishing!