2 Timothy 2.15-Study is One of the Responsibilities of the Pastor-Teacher
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday December 8, 2022
Pastor-Teacher Series: 2 Timothy 2:15-Study is the One of the Responsibilities of the Pastor-Teacher
Lesson # 11
The Scriptures teach that the pastor-teacher, i.e. the overseer has four responsibilities that are the means by which he tends and shepherds the flock of God: (1) Study (2 Tim. 2:15) (2) Teach (1 Tim. 4:13) (3) Pray (Acts 6:1-4). (4) Exemplify the Christian way of life (1 Timothy 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:10).
Let’s take a look at the first responsibility of the pastor-teacher, which is to study.
William Tyndale, in 1536 just before he was martyred, wrote, “. . . kindly permit me to have my Hebrew Bible, Hebrew Grammar, and Hebrew Dictionary, that I may spend time with that in study.”
John Wesley told the preachers under his care to read or get out of the ministry!
The pastor-teacher’s impact for God in public is predicated upon God's impact on him in private.
2 Timothy 2:15 confronts the pastor-teacher with his earthly responsibilities to God and His Word.
The pastor-teacher must first devote himself to prayer and study of the Word of God before he can communicate the Word of God.
The content of his message will be determined by how diligently he studies and prays.
Second Timothy 2:15 I solemnly charge you to conscientiously make every effort to offer yourself up as an approved worker, who is unashamed for the benefit of God (the Father) by specifically making it your habit of accurately teaching the message of truth. (Lecturer’s translation)
The apostle Paul is once again issuing Timothy a solemn command which if Timothy continues to obey, will result in keeping faithful to his apostolic teaching.
Paul solemnly charges Timothy to conscientiously make every effort to offer himself up as an approved worker who is unashamed for the benefit of God the Father.
The means by which he was to do this was to continue making it his habit of accurately teaching the message of truth.
By obeying this command he would be avoiding falling into the trap the apostate pastors in Ephesus fell into by adhering to the teaching of the Judaizers.
“Conscientiously making every effort” to offer himself up as an approved worker who is unashamed is related to Timothy’s teaching.
Thus, it implies accuracy in expository teaching of the Scriptures and also competency in teaching it.
The pastor-teacher must have information to communicate to his congregation in order for him to teach them.
He must have content in his message, and not simply random thoughts.
Teaching involves preparation and preparation involves study.
Study also involves prayer and meditation upon that which you have exegeted in the original languages.
The pastor-teacher must not only exegete from the original languages but also prayerfully meditate upon the text itself for the purpose of making his own personal application.
Timothy was to be the antithesis to the false teachers, who engage in “worldly empty chatter,” which Timothy was warned to avoid by Paul in First Timothy 6:20, and in Second Timothy 2:16.
First Timothy 6:3-5 and Second Timothy 2:16-18 describes these false teachers who are side-tracked by their arrogance for personal gain and fail to communicate accurately the Word of God.
These false teachers are incompetent to communicate the Scriptures and are crooked in their handling of the Scriptures whereas Timothy is to be straightforward or accurate in his handling of the Scriptures.
Timothy is told by Paul to “pay close attention to himself and his teaching” (1 Tim. 4:16).
The pastor-teacher is to meditate upon that which he has learned from his exegesis of the passage he is studying and make personal application to his own life.
Biblical meditation involves repetitive, reflective and reverential reading of the Word of God and making application to one’s own life.
“To offer yourself up” views Timothy as a priest offering a sacrifice up to God and it speaks of Timothy sacrificing himself up to God which he would do by accurately teaching the message of truth, i.e. Paul’s gospel or apostolic teaching.
It emphasizes Timothy’s responsibility to offer himself up to the Father as an approved worker who is unashamed because he is accurately teaching the message of truth.
“An approved worker” means that Timothy would be considered by God as reliable after undergoing testing to determine his reliability as a teacher of the gospel.
It is making the assertion that Timothy would be approved by God by offering himself up to God as an approved worker who need not be ashamed because he is accurately teaching the message of truth.
It speaks of Timothy being a faithful steward of the gospel because he accurately taught it.
“Who is unashamed” is used of Timothy and would describe him as someone who has no need to be ashamed before the Lord Jesus Christ at the Bema Seat in relation to his responsibility to communicate the gospel to both the non-Christian and Christian.
Timothy would be unashamed before the Lord at the Bema Seat if he obeys Paul’s command to conscientiously make every effort to offer himself up as an approved worker for the benefit of the Father because he accurately taught the Word of truth.
“By specifically making it your habit of accurately teaching” addresses Timothy’s responsibility as a pastor-teacher’s to accurately communicate the Word of God to his congregation.
It tells Timothy specifically how he was to offer himself up to God as an approved worker who is unashamed.
It defines for Timothy how he was to offer himself up to God as an approved worker who is unashamed.
The idea that Paul is conveying to Timothy here with this expression is that of a workman who is careful and accurate in his work.
In Second Timothy 2:15, “the message of truth” refers to the content of the message of the gospel which Timothy was to faithfully make it his habit of teaching accurately.
It refers to the divine revelation that was communicated through the apostolic teaching which was communicated to the believers in Ephesus by Timothy and is now recorded in the New Testament.
Specifically it refers to the apostolic teaching communicated by Timothy to the Ephesian church and the non-Christian in Ephesus.
It refers to Paul’s apostolic teaching and specifically it refers to his apostolic teaching which Timothy was to make it his habit of accurately teaching to the Christian community and non-Christian members of the community.
Therefore, it refers to the truth of God in an objective sense as a body of knowledge containing the revelation regarding the will of the Father for the Christian and the non-Christian.
This revelation also contains information regarding the character and nature of the Trinity.
It contains information regarding the consequences of the Christian failing to do the will of the Father or doing His will.
It contains information regarding the consequences of the non-Christian rejecting Jesus Christ as Savior or accepting Him as Savior.
It also contains information regarding what the Father has provided for the Christian through both His Son and the Holy Spirit which enables the Christian to execute His will.
When Paul speaks of Timothy accurately teaching the message of truth he also of course means that Timothy was to teach sound doctrine in contrast to the apostate pastors in Ephesus who taught false doctrine as a result of misinterpreting and misapplying the Mosaic Law.
Second Timothy 2:15 is echoed somewhat by Paul in First Timothy 4:16 since the apostle addresses Timothy’s teaching ministry.
First Timothy 4:16 Continue making it your habit of paying attention to yourself as well as your teaching. Continue making it your habit of persevering in them because by continuing to make it your habit of doing this, you will deliver both yourself and those who obey you. (Lecturer’s translation)