NICHOLS-ROY BIBLE COLLEGE

Individual Paper on 2 Timothy

Submitted to:

L. D. Marwein

By:

Sphomlandar Sohshang

Master of Divinity-1

Spiritual Formation NPT/1101

Due Date: 30/6/23 Date Submitted: 30/6/23

Expected Word Count/Page Number: Actual Word Count/Page Number:

I declare that this assignment is my own unaided work. Every idea or phrase that is not

my own has been duly acknowledged.

Signature of the Student: S. Sohshang

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INTRODUCTION
Through this paper to write about the second letter of Paul to Timothy, it will help to
know more about this letter and about what Paul mean when he wrote to his co-worker
Timothy as young pastor. Sometimes reading this text will not know much about theme and
the important that should to be know but through this research will help clear deeply for this
letter.

1. Authorship

This letter to second Timothy was written by Paul to his co-worker Timothy.1 Paul
himself mentioned in many truths in this epistle that Timothy already knew and passionately
believed. He confirmed his apostleship in writing in order to strengthen and encourage his
stressed and sometimes fainthearted young friend and to brace up the authority of Timothy’s
leadership and teaching. In the time that Paul wrote this letter has `been called Paul’s last
statement because he himself knew that the time of his departure was near that his earthly
ministry and life were soon to end.2 Early church tradition and an abundance of external
evidence would seem to support the authorship of Paul and the internal evidence also, they
believed that this letter of writing came from of Paul himself.3

1.1. Internal Evidence

Despite some modern criticism the evidence for Paul’s authorship is trong. First there
is the clear claim of the book; likewise the companions mentioned Mark and Luke are Paul’s.
also the content is Pauline, with its stress on the sound doctrine and the Word of God. The
circumstances are clearly those of Paul, speaking of his imprisonment and imment death.4

1.2. External Evidence

External support for Paul’s authorship is early and strong, and the earliest known
manuscripts bear his name. In additional the early fathers attribute it to Paul. Also the great
later Fathers like Tertullian, Origen, Jerome, and Augustine supported Pauline authorship.5

1
Paul N. Benware, Survey of the New Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1990), 239.
2
[n, a], Macarthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Publisher, 1971), 1.
3
Adam W. Miller, Brief Introduction to the New Testament (Anderson: Warner Press, 1952), 97.
4
Norman L. Geisler, A popular Survey of the New Testament (Michigan: Baker Books,2014), 226.
5
Geisler, A popular Survey of the New Testament, 226.

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2. Place and date of writing

This was written probably in A. D 67.6 When he wrote this letter, he was martyrdom
under Nero, during his Roman imprisonment.7 With this letter many New Testament scholars
feel that their case against Pauline authorship is assured both external and internal evidence.8
Second Timothy is Paul’s last letter will and statement to his spiritual son Timothy. Writing
from a Roman prison cell, Paul imparts his final words of wisdom and encouragement to
Timothy who is ministering in the midst of opposition and hard in Ephesus. Paul stresses the
importance of godly living and preaching the Word both in and out of season and preparing
for the coming apostasy within the church. Underlying all that Paul says is the importance of
God’s Word the only foundation strong enough to withstand persecution from without
problems from within.9

3. Recipient

Timothy was Paul’s “beloved son,” in faith because Paul when he wrote this letter he
said to Timothy my dear son, his mother was Jewish and his father Greek. From this letter
indicate that his mother and grandmother had been believers in Christ, who raised Timothy in
the Scriptures. Paul desired that Timothy travel with him and therefore had him circumcised
to provide somewhere to stay for evangelize.10

This relationship of service together in the work of the Lord, in which Timothy served
Paul as a son would his father. Such service included not only travelling with Paul, but
remaining with new congregations when Paul had to leave suddenly going back to encourage
such congregations and serving as Paul’s personal ambassador. He had the honour of joining
Paul in the salutation of several epistles written by Paul and from such epistles is that
Timothy had been with Paul during his imprisonment at Rome. Such faithful service also
resulted in his being left in Ephesus as Paul’s personal representative He may have still been
in the area when this letter was written.11

6
J. Wesley Adam (ed), New International Version (Belarus: Springfield, 1992), 1781.
7
Geisler, A popular Survey of the New Testament, 227.
8
Gary M. Burge, The New Testament in Antiquity, (Zondervan: Author tracker, 2007),370.
9
Bruce Wilkinson, Talk Thru the New Testament (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publisher, 1983), 432.
10
Mark A. Copeland, Second Epistle to Timothy ([n,p]: n,pub], 2001), 2.
11
Copeland, Second Epistle to Timothy, 2.

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 Paul when he addressed this letter to Timothy and said “My belove sun” Paul to
Timothy was spirtual’s father, there few bons which are closser than the love between a
spiritual father and his spitual child.12

4. Purpose

Paul when he wrote this second letter to Timothy in his ministry, he encouraged
Timothy to be strong and faithful in the ministry. He warned him to be aware of trouble that
lay ahead both in the church and in the world and also Paul wrote to request Timothy to come
to Rome to visit him in prison.13 The deep conviction of the writer that was about to be put to
death for holding the Christians faith is to be kept in mind in all discussions of this letter, and
also Paul does not envisage writing anything further to Timothy nor perhaps to anyone else.
He hopes that Timothy will be able to reach him before the end and his request for his cloak
and his scrolls shown that he anticipated and interval before his execution.14

Paul knew that Timothy needed encouragement as he was facing significant

difficulties. There still issues with false teachers from within the church and the near certainty
of increasingly intense persecution from outside the church. For these reasons Paul
challenges Timothy to guard the truth, preach the Word endure hardship and fulfil his God’s
given purpose in ministry.15

3. Theme

Second Timothy is a very personal letter from the aged apostle to his younger co-
worker, and this letter is highlighting the necessity to guard the treasure of the Gospel in
which to carry on the ministry that had been passed on him by Paul.16 In this letter, Paul
commisions Timothy to be faithfully carry on the work that the condemned apostle must hand
over. This combat manual exhorts Timothy to put the spiritual equipement of the Word of
God to constant use to overcome growing obstacles to the spread of the Gospel. Timothy is in
great need of encourangment because of the hardship that he was facing, and Paul used this
letter to instruct him on how to handle persecution from without and dissension and deception
from within.17 As a spiritual father, Paul urgued his son Timothy him natural timidity and

12
Ronal A. Ward, Commentary on 1&2 Timothy & Titus (Waco: Word Books Publisher, 1971), 140,
13
Paul N. Benware, Survey of the New Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1990), 257.
14
A. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo, and Leon Morris, An Introduction to the New Testament (Grand
Rapid: Zondervan, 1984), 379.
15
Adam (ed), New International Version, 1782.
16
Benware, Survey of the New Testament, 240.
17
Wilkinson, Talk Thru the New Testament , 434.

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boldly proclaim the gospel even if it meant that he would suffer for doing so. Paul also wrote
to Timothy to visit him in Rome as soon as possible.18

3. Background

This letter is Paul’s last letter, and to Timothy is the second letter. At that time of
writing this letter the Emperor Nero was trying to stop the spread of the Christian faith in
Rome by severally persecuting Christ’s followers. Paul writes to Timothy as “dear son” and
faithful co-worker.19In this second letter Paul focused only on the personal ministry of
Timothy himself more than the ordering of the church. According to that tradition Paul wrote
this second letter from Rome that he was in prison, and if based on the end of second
Timothy, it seems that Paul had already received a court hearing and expected to be executed
soon.20

Paul’s close relationship with and personal respect for Timothy is deceptive in the fact
that Paul name Timothy as the co-sender of six of his New Testament letters and Timothy
had also been with Paul during his first imprison. Paul faces the prospect of implementation;
he twice requests Timothy to join him again in Rome in which he was still in Ephesus when
Paul wrote him this second letter.21

At that time of the writing of this letter, Paul was awaiting execution. According to
tradition he was imprisoned in the Mamertrine dungeon in Rome under circumstances much
less favourable than those Acts 28:30. He seems to expect death rather than release.22

Application

Through this second letter to Timothy when Paul adressed to his co-worker and to his
belove son in faith, and in those time of Timothy many of false teachers try to influence the
belevers into the wrong teachings, so Paul even though he himself was imprisonment at
Rome but because his responsibility for his ministry and because of false teachings he wrote
this letter to Timothy. Paul wrote this letter Timothy to encourage even in the midst of many
problems should be faithful in God, and also he instructed that he should be an example to
believers in speech, in life and so on.

18
Wilkinson, Talk Thru the New Testament , 434.
19
Adam (ed), New International Version, 1782.
20
David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, Exposition (Nashville: Holman, 2002),133.
21
Adam (ed), New International Version, 1782.
22
Walter M. Dunnet, Exploring the New Testament (Wheaton: Crossway Books Pulishers, 1972), 75.

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 Paul also said to Timothy as the word of appreciates about what Timothy want to be
church’s worker, he said that Timothy he want a good work. As we have seen through this
letter about what Paul wrote to Timothy as a young pastor need to have a strong faith and
need to be faithful, and to successful in life. So it applies also our Christian life now a day
that we need to be faithful and strong in spiritual life. Some of the preachers miss interpret
the Bible and through that is influence to understand in the wrong way, if we don’t go deeply
the Bible even in the interpretation we will feel that is not wrong. Because of these kind of
false teachings Paul even during the time of Paul it make him to remind Timothy about false
teachings.

As Paul has a conscience for his co-worker to have the responsibility about ministry
in which he gave the word of encouragement, now also as pastor or church leaders need to
have this kind of conscience for those who still need to encourage. If Paul in prison still
continue to remind Timothy to be faithful in the ministry along with the believers, so for each
and every one of us also we need to remind and influence the believers to be faithful, to grow
in spiritual life, to know more the Word of God and to be succesful in every areas of life.

CONCLUSION

Through this paper about the second letter of Paul to Timothy clearly understand
about what purpose Paul has for Timothy as his co-worker, to be faithful and be courage and
also to be an example to other. And also even in many false teachings he should stand firm
accoding the Word of God that Timothy was learnt during his childhood from his mother and
grand mother. In prison he was adressed this letter to Timothy personally to remind that the
Word of God was inspired by God and if he stand firm along with the Word of God will lead
to discipline in rightouesness.