Scripture Reading: 2 Tim. 2:16-26
Second Timothy 2:16 is a contrast to Paul’s word in verse 15, where he says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman, cutting straight the word of the truth.” The good workman is one who cuts straight not the word of knowledge or doctrine, but the word of truth. Many Christians think that truth in such verses as 2:15 means doctrine or teaching. However, in the New Testament truth does not denote mere doctrine. Concerning Christ in His incarnation, John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us…full of grace and truth.” It certainly would be nonsensical to interpret truth here as doctrine. How could we say that the Word became flesh and was full of doctrine? In New Testament usage truth refers to the reality of God’s New Testament economy. When Christ came through incarnation, grace and reality also came. Both grace and reality are God Himself. Grace is God in the Son as our enjoyment; reality is God realized by us in the Son. Therefore, grace and reality both refer to God incarnate. When we receive grace, we also receive reality. Then we have God as our reality. This reality is the truth in 2 Timothy 2:15. As we have pointed out, this truth is the reality of the contents of God’s New Testament economy. These contents include Christ as the Head and the church as the Body. To cut straight the word of the truth is not simply to divide the Bible into various sections. Rather, it is to cut the healthy word of the reality of the contents of God’s economy.
As a contrast to verse 15, Paul goes on to say in verse 16, “But avoid profane, vain babblings, for they will advance to more ungodliness.” The word profane denotes that which touches worldliness and is touched by it; it refers to what is contrary to being holy. The profane, vain babblings Paul charged Timothy to avoid advance to more ungodliness, to a situation which is contrary to godliness, contrary to the manifestation of God in our daily life and in the church life.
In verse 17 Paul goes on to say, “And their word will spread as gangrene, of whom are Hymenaeus and Philetus.” The Greek word rendered spread may also be rendered feed or eat. Literally it means “will find pasture,” as in John 10:9. The word for pasture in Greek is the medical term for the consuming progress of a mortifying disease (Alford). Hence, its meaning in this verse is to spread.
The word gangrene denotes an eating sore, a cancer. Paul uses such a strong word to describe those who teach differently. He tells us that their word not only advances unto more ungodliness, but that it spreads as gangrene which consumes the flesh and causes part of one’s body to die. According to our observation, this has been the situation among certain dissenting ones.
Speaking of Hymenaeus and Philetus, Paul says in verse 18 that concerning the truth they “have misaimed, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and overthrow the faith of some.” The word misaimed means to miss the mark, swerve, deviate. Paul does not say that Hymenaeus and Philetus misaimed concerning doctrine or teaching; he says that they misaimed concerning the truth, concerning the reality of the New Testament economy. They swerved from the truth by saying that the resurrection had already taken place. This is to claim that there will be no resurrection. This is a serious heresy, for it denies the divine power in life (1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thes. 4:16; Rev. 20:4, 6).
In verse 18 Paul also says that by having misaimed concerning the truth Hymenaeus and Philetus overthrew the faith of some. Faith here is subjective and refers to the act of believing. This subjective faith, our believing act, is very much related to the resurrection of Christ (Rom. 10:9). As we have pointed out, this subjective faith involves an organic union between us and the Triune God. For one’s faith to be overthrown is to have this inward organic union damaged in some way. Some among us can testify of having had this organic union temporarily cut off by hearing the words of those who taught differently. Inwardly these ones realized that the organic union within them had ceased. That was the overthrowing of their faith.
In verse 19 Paul declares, “However, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, The Lord knows those who are His, and, Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.” Many Christian teachers claim that the foundation here refers to Christ. It is true that in 1 Corinthians 3:11 Paul says that Christ is the unique foundation. Apart from Him, we do not have any other foundation. Nevertheless, if we consider verse 19 according to the context of the chapter, we shall see that the foundation here does not refer to Christ as the foundation of the church, but refers to the church as the foundation, or base, of the truth. Verses 14 through 18 give instruction concerning how to deal with heresies on the negative side and how to handle the truth on the positive side. According to the context of verses 15, 18, and 25, the foundation here does not refer to Christ as the foundation of the church, but to the church as the foundation of the truth. This corresponds to “the base of the truth,” which holds the truth (1 Tim. 3:15), especially the truth of the resurrection of Christ (Acts 4:33).
The church is built with the divine life in Christ, a life which is indestructible, unconquerable (Heb. 7:16; Acts 2:24), and able to withstand decline into death from any source. Hence, the church is the firm foundation of God that stands forever against any heresy. No matter what kind of heresies may come in or how extensively the gangrene may spread, this firm foundation stands.
Certain of those who left the Lord’s recovery expected that soon afterwards the recovery would collapse. However, because it is built upon a firm foundation, the recovery did not collapse and it will never collapse. Had the Lord’s recovery been founded on something other than the divine life, the eternal life, it would have collapsed long ago. But because the recovery has the firm foundation of the truth, it is not hurt by attack. On the contrary, those who seek to damage the recovery actually damage themselves, and at the same time they strengthen the recovery and expose the firmness of its foundation. The recovery is built on something eternal and divine — God’s life with His nature. For this reason, not even the gates of Hades can conquer it. Because it is built on the indestructible and unconquerable eternal life, the firm foundation of the truth stands. In recent years, it has not been necessary for us to protect the Lord’s recovery. It has been protected by the unconquerable divine life. Hence, the church is the firm foundation of God standing in the eternal life.
Paul says that this firm foundation has “this seal.” The seal has two sides. On the Lord’s side it is: “The Lord knows those who are His.” This is based on the Lord’s divine life, which He has given to all His believers and which has brought them into an organic union with Him, making them one with Him and causing them to become His. On our side it is: “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.” This is the issue of the divine life: it enables us to depart from unrighteousness and keeps us blameless in His holy name. The church as the firm foundation in the divine life bears such a two-sided seal, testifying that the Lord’s divine life has made us His and has kept us from things which are contrary to His righteous way.
Verse 19 indicates definitely that the ones exposed in verses 16 through 18 are not the Lord’s. Their evil doings are a strong proof of this.
In verse 20 Paul continues, “But in a great house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also wooden and earthen, and some unto honor, and some unto dishonor.” The word “but” at the beginning of this verse indicates that it stands in contrast to the definition in the preceding verse concerning genuine believers.
What does Paul mean by the expression “a great house”? In this great house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also wooden and earthen ones, and some unto honor and others unto dishonor. I have spent a great deal of time considering this matter before the Lord. The house of God defined in 1 Timothy 3:15 and 16 is the genuine church in its divine nature and essential character as the foundation of the truth, whereas the great house here refers to the deteriorated church in its mixed character, as illustrated by the abnormally big tree in Matthew 13:31 and 32. In this great house there are not only precious vessels, but also base ones. Thus, we cannot believe that the great house in this verse refers to the church as the house of the living God in 1 Timothy 3:15. The great house is certainly not the house of the living God. The house of the living God is the great mystery of godliness and also God manifest in the flesh. How could such a house contain vessels unto dishonor? Therefore, the great house no doubt refers to Christendom, to Christianity. Furthermore, this great house is equal to the big tree in Matthew 13. The genuine church today is the house of the living God, whereas abnormal Christianity is the great house. How great today is this abnormal house! Just as many unclean birds lodge in the big tree, so in the great house there are vessels unto dishonor, wooden and earthen vessels. In the genuine church, however, there are only gold and silver vessels.
Honorable vessels are of both the divine nature (gold) and the redeemed and regenerated human nature (silver). These, like Timothy and other genuine believers, constitute the sure foundation to hold the truth. Dishonorable vessels are of the fallen human nature (wood and earth). Hymenaeus, Philetus, and other false believers are of these.
In verse 21 Paul goes on to say, “If therefore anyone cleanses himself from these, he will be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, useful to the master, prepared unto every good work.” To cleanse ourselves is to “depart from unrighteousness” (v. 19), as an outward evidence of the inward divine nature. The word “these” in verse 21 denotes the vessels unto dishonor, including those mentioned in verses 16 through 18. We should not only cleanse ourselves from anything unrighteous, but also from the dishonorable vessels. This means that we must stay away from them. Hence, we must cleanse ourselves from the unrighteous things and from the dishonorable vessels of wood and earth. If we cleanse ourselves from these negative things and negative persons, we shall be vessels unto honor, sanctified, useful to the master, and prepared unto every good work. Unto honor is a matter of nature, sanctified is a matter of position, useful is a matter of practice, and prepared is a matter of training.
Verse 22 continues, “But flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” Timothy should beware not only of outward corruption among the churches, but also of inward lusts within himself. He must avoid the outward corruption and flee the inward lusts. Furthermore, he should pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Righteousness is toward self, faith is toward God, and love is toward others. Peace is the consequence of these three virtues.
To call on the Lord out of a pure heart is to “name the name of the Lord” in our prayer and praise to Him. The Lord’s seekers must be those who call on His name. Today those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart are found in His recovery. Thank the Lord that we are with those who call on Him out of a pure heart. With such believers we may pursue the virtues of righteousness, faith, love, and peace.
In verse 23 Paul says, “But foolish and ignorant questionings refuse, knowing that they produce contentions.” The Greek word rendered foolish may also be rendered stupid. The word ignorant denotes that which is uninstructed, undisciplined, untrained, that is, not subject to God, but following one’s own mind and will (Darby). The word produce means to engender, to beget. We must refuse such foolish questionings, for they have their source in Satan, the serpent. Many years ago I read that someone suggested that the serpent may have stood up in the form of a question mark when he talked with Eve. He questioned her with the words, “Hath God said?” (Gen. 3:1). All foolish questionings originate with the serpent. Thus, we should refuse foolish and ignorant questionings, questionings which beget contentions. These questionings always arise from an evil, serpentine source.
In verse 24 Paul goes on, “And a slave of the Lord must not contend, but be gentle toward all; apt to teach, bearing with wrong.” When people wrong you, you should not be troubled. Instead, as a slave of the Lord, you should be gentle and bear with the wrong.
In verse 25 Paul continues, “In meekness correcting those who oppose, if perhaps God may give them repentance unto the full knowledge of the truth.” Paul’s use of the word repentance indicates that with the opposers of the truth it is the heart and conscience which are in question. The truth is the revelation of the living God and His economy — His heart’s desire. To receive the divine revelation, the heart and conscience need to be rightly exercised toward God. The heart should be turned to Him, directed solely to Him, and the conscience must be pure and void of offense before Him. Otherwise, one might be carried away as a captive by the Devil and fall into his snare (v. 26).
In verse 25 Paul again refers to the full knowledge of the truth. Paul does not speak here of the full knowledge of the Bible or the full knowledge of doctrine and teaching. He emphasizes repentance unto the full knowledge of the truth. The inoculator must bear the burden to correct with meekness those who oppose in the hope that they may be enlightened, repent, and return to the full knowledge of the truth.
It is possible that those who repent “may return to soberness out of the snare of the Devil, having been caught by him, unto His will” (v. 26). According to Vincent, to return to soberness means to become sober again, to awake out of a drunken stupor. Paul’s use of the expression “the snare of the Devil” indicates that the opposers of the truth, being short of the adequate knowledge of the divine revelation, have been captured and kept in a snare by the Devil. The enemy of God occupies their reprobate mind with error and shuts God out, just as he did with the Pharisees (John 8:42-45). They need to return to God in their heart and have a thorough dealing in their conscience.
The pronoun “him” in the phrase “having been caught by him” refers to the Devil. However, “unto His will,” literally translated “unto the will of that One,” refers to God, mentioned in verse 25. Hence, it means toward God’s will, for God’s will, to do God’s will.
Suppose some approach you with the intention of arguing about a certain doctrine or practice. Instead of entering into an argument with them, present God’s dispensation to them. In order to do this, you need to be familiar with the contents of God’s New Testament economy. All the saints should be trained, perhaps by the leading ones in their locality, to present the full knowledge of the truth, to share with others the reality of the contents of God’s New Testament economy.
Often we are asked why we say that we are the church. The first time I heard this question in the United States was in 1963. During a time of fellowship, a brother asked me, “Why does your group call itself the church in Los Angeles?” In answer to this very good question I pointed out that in the Bible the saints in a particular locality, such as Jerusalem or Antioch, were regarded simply as the church in that locality. Acts 8:1 speaks of the church in Jerusalem, and 13:1, of the church in Antioch. I went on to point out that in Jerusalem there was just one church. Peter, James, and John were all for the building up of the one church in Jerusalem. However, today’s Christians have gone astray and meet in many different denominations. For this reason, in the city of Los Angeles there are different kinds of so-called churches. There are even groups which say they are a Chinese church or a Korean church. Then I asked which of these different kinds of churches we should join. The one who raised the question about the church in Los Angeles admitted that we should not join any of those so-called churches. Then I proceeded to say that if we in Los Angeles do not call ourselves the church in Los Angeles, we shall be another sect. If we are not the church in Los Angeles, then what are we? We have no choice but to call ourselves the church in Los Angeles.
Realizing that some may say that the church in Los Angeles should include all the saints in that city, I went on to say, “It is true that the church in Los Angeles includes all the believers in Los Angeles. However, most of them are not willing to meet simply as the church. This is their responsibility, not ours. For example, the Jones family may have many members. Suppose the majority of the members move away from home and only three remain. Are these three not the Jones family? Are they wrong to put a sign on their house saying ‘The Jones Family’? Certainly not. If they are not called Jones, then what should they be called? It certainly would be wrong for them to take the name of Smith or any other name. It is right for them to say that they are the Jones family, even though many of the members of the family have gone away and live elsewhere. Likewise, many of those who are truly members of the church in Los Angeles do not meet as the church. Nevertheless, those who do stand as the church have the right to describe themselves as the church in Los Angeles.”
On this occasion I asked, “Why don’t those in the denominations call themselves the church? They are bothered by the fact that we claim to be the church in Los Angeles. They need to ask themselves why they take such names as Presbyterian and Lutheran. I hope that they would be willing to drop these names and simply be the local church in their city. To those who are willing to do this in this city I would say, ‘Since we are all the same church, the church in Los Angeles, why don’t we simply come together and be the church? Let us all meet together for the church life.’ ” This is one illustration of how we need to learn the full knowledge of the truth and then learn how to present the truth to others, especially to opposers. It is our hope that others may be enlightened and also come to the full knowledge of the truth.
