Avoid godless chatter: (2:16-19):
Timothy must avoid godless chatter.
- An approved workman knows that false doctrine and he will oppose it. Paul compared the godless chatter to gangrene (2 Tim 2:17). Gangrene is dangerous because it spreads, infects, and kills other tissue. Similarly false doctrines spread and infect the body of believers, the church. This infection must be exposed and removed.
- Paul named two men who were false teachers, and he also identified their error. It is likely that the Hymenaeus named here (2 Tim.2:17) is the same man named in (1 Tim.1:20). We know nothing about his associate, Philetus. Both of them wandered from the truth by teaching that the resurrection had already taken place. Perhaps they taught that salvation is resurrection in a spiritual sense, so a believer must not expect a physical resurrection. But the denial of a physical resurrection is a serious thing, for it involves the resurrection of Christ and the completion of God’s plan of salvation for His people. No wonder these false teachers were able to overthrow the faith of some (2 Tim.2:18). The Resurrection is a foundational truth of the Gospel.
- Greek philosophers typically viewed the soul as immortal and the body as its temporal prison. The idea of the physical resurrection of the body, both Christ’s and the Christians’, was therefore foreign and difficult for them to grasp. Hence there was a natural tendency toward heresies which rejected bodily resurrection (1 Cor.15; Acts 17:32). The heresy of Philetus and Hymenaeus probably involved the idea that resurrection was a purely spiritual affair which occurred at conversion or baptism. But bodily resurrection is the keystone of Christian doctrine, as Paul showed (1 Cor.15). Without it, the entire edifice of the gospel collapses. Little wonder then that Paul said that these two false teachers destroy the faith of some.
We must put our confidence in God because of God’s solid foundation which stands firm with two inscriptions:
- The Lord knows who are His: This is a picture of reference of Rebellion of Korah in (Num.16:5, Jude11). The Lord has differentiated between good and bad people. He knows His people. He would seal them and save them.
- Everyone who confesses must turn away: Every Christian must turn away from sins, evil etc. Timothy did not need to fear for the destiny of God’s work, but he must make effort that every one turns from their evil ways and follow Christ. Everyone who confess: Again it has reference to the rebellion of Korah and his associates. The Lord has warned to get away from the tents of Korah and his associates (Num.16:26).
- True confession: Those who truly confess their sins are given a warning to get away from the very sight so that they can overcome their temptations. We are called to be holy and blameless. Evil, unholy has no place in God’s church.
Beautiful vessels in a great house: (2:20-21):
The great house refers to a house with solid foundation. Christ is the solid foundation for any Church. Paul gives a picture of the owner of the house who divides his utensils into 2-categories.
- Some would be of costly material viz. gold and silver.
- Some would be of cheaper material like viz. wood and clay or baked mud.
Here Paul is not distinguishing between kinds of Christians who are in different degrees of spiritual lives, but he is distinguishing between the true teachers and false teachers.
- A faithful pastor or believer is like a gold or silver vessel that brings honour to Jesus Christ. All the faithful ones must be ready to do what the master wants them to do. Some of the tasks seem to be better than other tasks, but the tasks that seem to be less pleasant are just essential. The head of a house displays his costliest and most beautiful utensils and gets honour from them.
Those who want to follow must not go after false teachers. The bad people are like dirty vessels the master cannot use and they are those who go after the false teachers. If they are clean they would be ready to do good works. Paul shifted the metaphor by saying that one can be for a noble purpose if he is cleansed from inside, so that the master can use it in whatever task he wants to do. For Timothy it was direct advice that he has to be a good vessel. He has nothing to do with false teachers. He must set himself apart for doing God’s service. In the first letter to Timothy (1 Tim.6:11-12), Paul wrote to young Timothy an exhortation to godliness.