For the which cause I also suffer these things - That is, I suffer on account of my purpose to carry the gospel to the Gentiles; see the notes at Colossians 1:24.

Nevertheless I am not ashamed - compare the notes at Romans 1:16.

For I know whom I have believed - Margin, "trusted." The idea is, that he understood the character of that Redeemer to whom he had committed his eternal interests, and knew that he had no reason to be ashamed of confiding in him. He was able to keep all that he had intrusted to his care, and would not suffer him to be lost; see Isaiah 28:16.

And am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him - That is, the soul, with all its immortal interests. A man has nothing of higher value to intrust to another than the interests of his soul, and there is no other act of confidence like that in which he intrusts the keeping of that soul to the Son of God. Hence, learn:

(1) that religion consists in committing the soul to the care of the Lord Jesus; because:

(a) We feel that we cannot secure the soul's salvation ourselves.

(b) The soul is by nature in danger.

(c) If not saved by him, the soul will not be saved at all.

(2) that the soul is a great and invaluable treasure which is committed to him.

(a) No higher treasure can be committed to another;

(b) In connection with that the whole question of our happiness on earth and in heaven is entrusted to him, and all depends on his fidelity.

(3) it is done by the true Christian with the most entire confidence, so that the mind is at rest. The grounds of this confidence are:

(a) what is said of the mighty power of the Saviour;

(b) his promises that he will keep all who confide in him (compare the notes at John 10:27-29;

continued...

I am not ashamed - Though I suffer for the Gospel, I am not ashamed of the Gospel; nor am I confounded in my expectation; his grace being at all times sufficient for me.

For I know whom I have believed - I am well acquainted with the goodness, mercy, and power of Christ; and know that I cannot confide in him in vain.

That which I have committed unto him - This is variously understood. Some think he means his life, which he had put, as it were, into the hands of Christ, in order that he might receive it again, in the resurrection, at the great day. Others think he means his soul. This he had also given into the hands of his faithful Creator, knowing that although wicked men might be permitted to take away his life, yet they could not destroy his soul, nor disturb its peace. Others think that he is speaking of the Gospel, which he knows will be carefully preserved by the great Head of the Church; for, though he shall be soon called to seal the truth with his blood, yet he knows that God will take care that the same truth shall be proclaimed to the world by others, whom God shall raise up for that very purpose.

For the which cause I also suffer these things,.... The present imprisonment and bonds in which he now was; these, with all the indignities, reproaches, distresses, and persecutions, came upon him, for the sake of his being a preacher of the Gospel; and particularly for his being a teacher of the Gentiles: the Jews hated him, and persecuted him, because he preached the Gospel, and the more because he preached it to the Gentiles, that they might be saved; and the unbelieving Gentiles were stirred up against him, for introducing a new religion among them, to the destruction of their idolatry and superstition; and the sufferings which he endured were many; and he was appointed to them, as well as to the Gospel, which he preached.

Nevertheless I am not ashamed; neither of the Gospel, and the truths and ordinances of it, for which he suffered; but he continued to own and confess it constantly, and to preach it boldly; none of these things moved him from it: nor of the sufferings he endured, for the sake of it; since they were not for murder, or theft, or sedition, or any enormity whatever, but in a good cause; wherefore he was so far from being ashamed of them, that he took pleasure in them, and gloried of them. Nor was he ashamed of Christ, whose Gospel he preached, and for whom he suffered; nor of his faith and hope in him. For it follows,

for I know whom I have believed. A spiritual knowledge of Christ is necessary to faith in him: an unknown Christ cannot be the object of faith, though an unseen Christ, as to bodily sight, may be, and is. Knowledge and faith go together: they that truly know Christ, believe in him, and the more they know him, the more strongly do they believe in him: such who spiritually and savingly know Christ, have seen the glories of his person, and the fulness of his grace; and they approve of him, as their Saviour, being every way suitable to them, and disapprove of all others; they love him above all others, and with all their hearts; and they put their trust in him, and trust him with all they have; and they know whom they trust, what an able, willing, suitable, and complete Saviour he is. This knowledge which they have of him, is not from themselves, but from the Father, who reveals him to them, and in them; and from himself, who gives them an understanding that they may know him; and from the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: and be it more or less, it is practical, and leads to the discharge of duty, from a principle of love to Christ; and is of a soul humbling nature, and appropriates Christ to a man's self; and has always some degree of certainty in it; and though it is imperfect, it is progressive; and the least measure of it is saving, and has eternal life connected with it: and that faith which accompanies it, and terminates on the object known, is the grace, by which a man sees Christ in the riches of his grace; goes to him in a sense of need of him; lays hold upon him as a Saviour; receives and embraces him; commits its all unto him; trusts him with all; leans and lives upon him, and walks on in him till it receives the end of faith, even eternal salvation.

And I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. By that which he had committed to him is meant, not the great treasure of his labours and sufferings for Christ, as if he had deposited these in Christ's hands, in order to be brought forth at the great day of account to his advantage; for though his labours and sufferings were many, yet he always ascribed the strength by which he endured them to the grace of God; and he knew they were not worthy to be compared, nor made mention of, with the glory that was to be revealed in him. Rather this may be understood of the souls of those he had been instrumental in the converting of, whom he had commended to Christ, hoping to meet them as his joy and crown of rejoicing another day; though it seems best of all to interpret it either of his natural life, the care of which he had committed to Christ, and which he knew he was able to preserve, and would preserve for usefulness until the day appointed for his death; or rather his precious and immortal soul, and the eternal welfare and salvation of it: and the act of committing it to Christ, designs his giving himself to him, leaving himself with him, trusting in him for eternal life and salvation, believing he was able to save him to the uttermost; even unto the day of death, when he hoped to be with him, which is far better than to be in this world; and unto the day of the resurrection, when both soul and body will be glorified with him; and to the day of judgment, when the crown of righteousness will be received from his hands. And what might induce the apostle, and so any other believer, to conclude the ability of Christ to keep the souls of those that are committed to him, are, his proper deity, he having all the fulness of the Godhead, or the perfections of deity dwelling in him; his being the Creator and upholder of all things; his having accomplished the great work of redemption and salvation, by his own arm; his mediatorial fulness of grace and power; and his being trusted by his Father with all the persons, grace, and glory of the elect, to whom he has been faithful. And now the consideration of all this, as it was a support to the apostle, under all his afflictions, and sufferings for the Gospel, and in a view of death itself, so it may be, as it often has been, a relief to believers, under all the sorrows of this life, and in a prospect of death and eternity. Philo the Jew (b) speaks in like manner as the apostle here of , "the depositum of the soul": though he knew not where to commit it for safety, as the apostle did, and every true believer does.

(b) Quis rer. Divin. Haeres. p. 498, 499.

I am not ashamed

Comp. 2 Timothy 1:8, and Romans 1:16.

Whom I have believed (ᾧ πεπίστευκα)

Or, in whom I have put my trust. See on John 1:12; see on John 2:22; see on Romans 4:5.

Able (δυνατός)

Often used with a stronger meaning, as 1 Corinthians 1:26, mighty; Acts 25:5, οἱδυνατοὶ the chief men: as a designation of God, ὁ δυνατός the mighty one, Luke 1:49 : of preeminent ability or power in something, as of Jesus, δυνατός ἐν ἔργῳ καὶ λόγῳ mighty in deed and word, Luke 24:19 : of spiritual agencies, "The weapons of our warfare are δυνατὰ mighty," etc., 2 Corinthians 10:4. Very often in lxx.

That which I have committed (τὴν παραθήκην μου)

More correctly, that which has been committed unto me: my sacred trust. The meaning of the passage is that Paul is convinced that God is strong to enable him to be faithful to his apostolic calling, in spite of the sufferings which attend it, until the day when he shall be summoned to render his final account. The παραθήκη or thing committed to him was the same as that which he had committed to Timothy that; he might teach others (1 Timothy 6:20). It was the form of sound words (2 Timothy 1:13); that which Timothy had heard from Paul (2 Timothy 2:2); that fair deposit (2 Timothy 1:14). It was the gospel to which Paul had been appointed (2 Timothy 1:11); which had been intrusted to him (1 Timothy 1:11; Titus 1:3; comp. 1 Corinthians 9:17; Galatians 2:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:4). The verb παρατιθέναι to commit to one's charge is a favorite with Luke. See Luke 12:48; Acts 20:32. Sums deposited with a Bishop for the use of the church were called παραθῆκαι τῆς ἐκκλησίας trust-funds of the church. In the Epistle of the pseudo-Ignatius to Hero (vii.) we read: "Keep my deposit (παραθήκην) which I and Christ have committed (παρθέμεθα) to you. I commit (παρατίθημι) to you the church of the Antiochenes."

That day (ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέραν)

The day of Christ's second appearing. See on 1 Thessalonians 5:2. In this sense the phrase occurs in the N.T. Epistles only 2 Timothy 1:18; 2 Timothy 4:8; 2 Thessalonians 1:10; but often in the Gospels, as Matthew 7:22; Matthew 26:29; Mark 13:32, etc. The day of the Lord's appearing is designated by Paul as ἡ ἡμέρα, absolutely, the day, Romans 13:12; 1 Corinthians 3:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:4 : ἡμέρα τοῦ κυρίου the day of the Lord, 1 Corinthians 1:8; 2 Corinthians 1:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:2 : the day of Jesus Christ or Christ, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 1:10; Philippians 2:16: the day when God shall judge, Romans 2:16 : the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, Romans 2:5 : the day of redemption, Ephesians 4:30.

{6} For the which cause I also suffer these things: {7} nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

(6) He confirms his apostleship by a strange argument, that is, because the world could not abide it, and therefore it persecuted him that preached it.

(7) By setting his own example before us, he shows us how it may be, that we will not be ashamed of the cross of Christ, that is, if we are sure that God both can and will keep the salvation which he has as it were laid up in store by himself for us against that day.

1:12 For which cause I also suffer these things. Because he was appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles (2Ti 1:11). Compare Ac 22:21 Eph 3:1.

That which I have committed to him against that day. His whole interests, his life, body, soul and spirit. He leaves all in God's hands with perfect confidence.

1:12 That which I have committed to him - My soul. Until that day - Of his final appearing.

believed: or, trusted

[1] suffer

The believer's resources in a day of general declension and apostasy are:

(1) Faith 2Tim 1:5.

(2) the Spirit 2Tim 1:6,7.

(3) the word of God 2Tim 1:13 3:1-17 4:3,4.

(4) the grace of Christ 2Tim 2:1.

(5) separation from vessels unto dishonour 2Tim 2:4,20,21.

(6) the Lord's sure reward 2Tim 4:7,8.

(7) the Lord's faithfulness and power 2Tim 2:13,19.

12. For the which cause-For the Gospel cause of which I was appointed a preacher (2Ti 1:10, 11).

I also suffer-besides my active work as a missionary. Ellicott translates, "I suffer even these things"; the sufferings attendant on my being a prisoner (2Ti 1:8, 15).

I am not ashamed-neither be thou (2Ti 1:8).

for-Confidence as to the future drives away shame [Bengel].

I know-though the world knows Him not (Joh 10:14; 17:25).

whom-I know what a faithful, promise-keeping God He is (2Ti 2:13). It is not, I know how I have believed, but, I know WHOM I have believed; a feeble faith may clasp a strong Saviour.

believed-rather, "trusted"; carrying out the metaphor of a depositor depositing his pledge with one whom he trusts.

am persuaded-(Ro 8:38).

he is able-in spite of so many foes around me.

that which I have committed unto him-Greek, "my deposit"; the body, soul, and spirit, which I have deposited in God's safe keeping (1Th 5:23; 1Pe 4:19). So Christ Himself in dying (Lu 23:46). "God deposits with us His word; we deposit with God our spirit" [Grotius]. There is one deposit (His revelation) committed by God to us, which we ought to keep (2Ti 1:13, 14) and transmit to others (2Ti 2:2); there is another committed by God to us, which we should commit to His keeping, namely, ourselves and our heavenly portion.

that day-the day of His appearing (2Ti 1:18; 2Ti 4:8).

1:6-14 God has not given us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, of courage and resolution, to meet difficulties and dangers; the spirit of love to him, which will carry us through opposition. And the spirit of a sound mind, quietness of mind. The Holy Spirit is not the author of a timid or cowardly disposition, or of slavish fears. We are likely to bear afflictions well, when we have strength and power from God to enable us to bear them. As is usual with Paul, when he mentions Christ and his redemption, he enlarges upon them; so full was he of that which is all our salvation, and ought to be all our desire. The call of the gospel is a holy call, making holy. Salvation is of free grace. This is said to be given us before the world began, that is, in the purpose of God from all eternity; in Christ Jesus, for all the gifts that come from God to sinful man, come in and through Christ Jesus alone. And as there is so clear a prospect of eternal happiness by faith in Him, who is the Resurrection and the Life, let us give more diligence in making his salvation sure to our souls. Those who cleave to the gospel, need not be ashamed, the cause will bear them out; but those who oppose it, shall be ashamed. The apostle had trusted his life, his soul, and eternal interests, to the Lord Jesus. No one else could deliver and secure his soul through the trials of life and death. There is a day coming, when our souls will be inquired after. Thou hadst a soul committed to thee; how was it employed? in the service of sin, or in the service of Christ? The hope of the lowest real Christian rests on the same foundation as that of the great apostle. He also has learned the value and the danger of his soul; he also has believed in Christ; and the change wrought in his soul, convinces the believer that the Lord Jesus will keep him to his heavenly kingdom. Paul exhorts Timothy to hold fast the Holy Scriptures, the substance of solid gospel truth in them. It is not enough to assent to the sound words, but we must love them. The Christian doctrine is a trust committed to us; it is of unspeakable value in itself, and will be of unspeakable advantage to us. It is committed to us, to be preserved pure and entire, yet we must not think to keep it by our own strength, but by the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us; and it will not be gained by those who trust in their own hearts, and lean to their own understandings.