2 Timothy 2.3-Paul Employs a Military Metaphor When Commanding Timothy to Join with Him in Suffering
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday March 31, 2015
Second Timothy: Second Timothy 2:3-Paul Employs a Military Metaphor When Commanding Timothy to Join with Him in Suffering
Lesson # 27
2 Timothy 2:3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. (NASB95)
Once again, the apostle Paul is employing the figure of “asyndeton” in order to emphasize the solemn nature of this command he issues Timothy here in verse 3.
“Suffer hardship with me” is the second person singular aorist active subjunctive form of the verb sugkakopatheō (συγκακοπαθέω), which means “to join in suffering, to suffer together with, endure hardship with” someone.
It means “to undergo the same type of suffering as others do.”
In Second Timothy 1:8, the word was used of Timothy suffering undeservedly along with Paul for the gospel according to the power of God.
Here in Second Timothy 2:3, the verb sugkakopatheō is again used of Timothy but this time it is used in a military metaphor.
It is used of Timothy suffering undeservedly along with Paul for the cause of the gospel as a good soldier under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In both instances, the word indicates that Paul wanted Timothy “to accept his share of suffering” for the gospel.
The aorist imperative form of the verb sugkakopatheō is a constative aorist imperative which emphasizes solemnity or urgency of the action.
Therefore, the aorist imperative form of this verb is emphasizing how important it is for Timothy spiritually to suffer along with Paul as a good solider of Jesus Christ.
It emphasizes how important it was for Timothy to so this.
The aorist imperative of this verb stresses the urgency of this command.
“As a good solider of Christ Jesus” draws a comparison between the suffering Timothy must endure for the kingdom of God and Jesus Christ and the suffering that soldiers in the Roman military have to endure for the Emperor and the Empire.
Second Timothy 2:3 I solemnly charge you to accept your share of suffering as an excellent soldier of the Christ who is Jesus. (Author’s translation)
Second Timothy 2:3 contains the first of three metaphors the apostle Paul will employ in order to exhort Timothy to continue to remain faithful to his apostolic teaching by accepting his share of suffering along with him for the cause of the gospel.
Mounce writes “A soldier suffers by being forced to ignore civilian affairs. An athlete suffers by training properly. A farmer suffers by working hard. Through all three metaphors the common theme of perseverance in the face of suffering is drawn. Each metaphor also has its own special reward: pleasing the one who enlists him; being able to compete and win the prize; being the first to receive a share of the crop.”
The first is a military metaphor, the second is an athletic metaphor and the third is an agricultural metaphor. The military metaphor shows the duty of singleness of purpose; the athletic one the need for abiding by the rules; and the agricultural one the certainty of some reward for the hard work involved. All three metaphors, drawn from everyday life, complement each other.
Williams writes “If a pastor is faithful in his calling to preach the Word of God without fear or favour, he will find it a hard task at times. This was especially true for Timothy when the hardship would involve physical persecution. But even today, the evangelical pastor can find himself in a very lonely position because of his stand on biblical authority. Furthermore, this is a problem that might well become more acute in the future because of increasing secularization and growing hostility to the Word of God. Paul now enlarges on this aspect of the pastoral ministry with the use of three vivid images—the soldier, the athlete, and the farmer.”
The apostle Paul issues another solemn command to Timothy here in Second Timothy 2:3.
In this command, the apostle utilizes a military metaphor to encourage Timothy to continue to endure hardship and suffering along with him for the sake of the gospel.
Paul is drawing a comparison between the suffering of Timothy and the suffering of those in the military.
He draws a comparison between the suffering Timothy must endure for the kingdom of God and Jesus Christ and the suffering that soldiers in the Roman military have to endure for the Emperor and the Empire.
In other words, the metaphor is that like the soldier in the Roman army must endure hardship and suffering for the Emperor and the sake of the Empire so he as a soldier in the army of Jesus Christ must also endure hardship and suffering for the kingdom of God and Jesus Christ.
Wiersbe writes “Many people have the idea that the ministry is a soft job. Preachers are often the butt of jokes that suggest they are lazy and should be ashamed of accepting their salaries. But a dedicated Christian minister is in a battle that requires spiritual endurance (see Eph. 6:10ff).”
By employing this military metaphor here in Second Timothy 2:3 and solemnly charging Timothy to suffer along with him for the sake of the gospel, the apostle Paul is offering encouragement to Timothy.
It would communicate to Timothy that he was not alone in suffering.
Paul and his fellow servants of Jesus Christ who were pastor-teachers like Tychicus and Titus were enduring the same hardships as he was and in some instances like Paul, were suffering more than he was.
The apostle Paul was very familiar with the Roman military especially in his imprisonments.
He had been arrested by soldiers in Jerusalem and escorted by troops to Caesarea and he was sent under the command of a centurion and a band of soldiers to Rome.
He was under military surveillance for two years during his first Roman imprisonment and this was the case for unknown period of time during his second Roman imprisonment.
His imprisonment more than likely was near the Praetorian camp for the sake of convenience of the soldiers which would have given him many opportunities to evangelize the Praetorian Guard which he mentions doing in Philippians 1:13.
No doubt the apostle Paul must have seen frequently these soldiers drilling, on parade, guarding prisoners like himself and marching.
He must observed the way they maintained their weapons and armor and equipment.
This resulted in his using in Ephesians 6:10-17 an analogy between the Roman soldier’s armor and weapons and the Christian’s union and identification with Christ and the Word of God.
Not only was Paul familiar with the Roman military but so also would Timothy and the Ephesian church.
Thus the apostle’s use of this military metaphor in Second Timothy 2:3 would appeal to his reader’s frame of reference and would be very powerful.
Service in the Roman military required self-sacrifice, endurance, perseverance, discipline, vigilance, obedience, teamwork, enthusiasm and loyalty.
No wonder Paul employed a military metaphor to encourage Timothy to suffer along with him for the sake of the gospel.
The soldier of Jesus Christ must have all of these virtues to be considered an excellent solider in the army of Christ.
The soldier in the Roman military did not surround himself with luxuries and thus the soldier of Jesus Christ must do the same.
The soldier in the Roman military lived a life of much hardship and suffering and how much more the soldier of Jesus Christ?
The soldier in the Roman military must be willing to sacrifice his life for his fellow-soldier, country and sovereign, how much more the soldier of Jesus Christ?
So in this command in Second Timothy 2:3, the apostle Paul is solemnly charging Timothy to endure undeserved suffering along with him for the cause of the gospel as a good soldier under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This command is emphasizing with Timothy how important it is for him spiritually to suffer along with Paul as a good solider of Jesus Christ.
Not only must Timothy endure hardship and suffering for the cause of Christ and the kingdom of God like a soldier does in the Roman military for his Emperor and his Empire but he must do so as an “excellent” soldier.
This means that the apostle Paul is commanding Timothy to endure hardship and suffering along with him for the benefit of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God as well as the body of Christ, the church.
Paul is saying that enduring hardship for Jesus Christ and His church and the kingdom of God is useful and of great benefit to the Trinity and the body of Christ as well as the kingdom of God since it will result in the continued propagation of the gospel.
It will result in the salvation of souls and the spiritual growth of the body of Christ and the glorification of God.
The apostle Paul as we noted is employing a military metaphor to help to encourage Timothy to continue to endure underserved suffering and implies conflict with the kingdom of darkness and Satan.
As was the case in Second Timothy 2:3-4, the apostle Paul employs a military analogy in Ephesians 6 in order to describe the believer’s defense and offense when engaging this invisible enemy.