2 Timothy 4.17a-The Lord Empowered Paul to Communicate the Gospel to Every Unsaved Gentile Present During His First Defense
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday October 28, 2015
Second Timothy: Second Timothy 4:17a-The Lord Empowered Paul to Communicate the Gospel to Every Unsaved Gentile Present During His First Defense
Lesson # 106
2 Timothy 4:16 At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. 17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. (NASB95)
“But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me” stands in contrast to Paul’s previous statement in Second Timothy 4:16 in which Paul states that during his first defense before the Roman civil authorities no one in the Christian community stood up for him but instead the majority deserted him to protect themselves.
“The Lord” is the articular nominative masculine singular form of the noun kurios (κύριος), which is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ which is indicated by the fact that Jesus Christ is this word’s referent the last time it was used in Second Timothy 4:14.
“Stood with me” is composed of the following: (1) dative first person singular form of the personal pronoun ego (ἐγώ), “me” (2) third person singular aorist active indicative form of the verb paristēmi (παρίστημι), “stood with.”
The verb paristēmi is intransitive meaning “to stand beside” someone in the sense of coming to the aid of someone and is used of the Lord Jesus Christ “standing” with Paul in the sense of rendering him assistance during his first defense before the Roman civil authorities.
“And strengthened me” is epexegetical meaning it is defining for Timothy what Paul means when he asserts that the Lord helped him.
“Strengthened me” is composed of the following: (1) third person singular aorist active indicative form of the verb endunamoō (ἐνδυναμόω), “strengthened” (2) accusative first person singular form of the personal pronoun ego (ἐγώ), “me.”
The verb endunamoō means “to empower” in the sense of causing someone to have the ability to perform a particular action or function and expresses the fact that during his first defense before the Roman civil authorities, the Lord Jesus Christ empowered Paul to proclaim the gospel to the non-Christian Gentiles.
“So that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished” is a purpose-result clause that expresses the intention and the accomplishment of the action of the verb endunamoō.
So therefore, this purpose-result clause here in Second Timothy 4:17 would emphasize that hina is introducing a clause which presents both the purpose and the result of the Lord Jesus Christ empowering Paul during his first defense before the Roman civil authorities.
Therefore, the purpose-result clause would emphasize that the Lord Jesus Christ’s purpose for empowering Paul was accomplished when the apostle made his first defense before the Roman civil authorities.
“Through me” means that the Lord Jesus Christ employed Paul as His intermediate agency to communicate the gospel to the unregenerate Gentiles who were present at his first defense before the Roman civil authorities.
“The proclamation might be fully accomplished” is composed of the following: (1) articular nominative neuter singular form of the noun kērugma (κήρυγμα), “the proclamation” (2) third person singular aorist passive subjunctive imperative form of the verb plērophoreō (πληροφορέω), “might be fully accomplished.”
The noun kērugma means “proclamation” in the sense of a message being publically proclaimed by a herald of some sovereign.
Here it refers to the apostle Paul publically proclaiming as a herald of Jesus Christ His sovereign the message of the gospel to the non-Christians present during his first defense before the Roman civil authorities.
The verb plērophoreō is in the passive voice and means “to be fully or thoroughly proclaimed or to proclaim to everyone or each and every person” and refers to the content of a particular message being fully proclaimed to someone or a group of people.
Therefore, this verb expresses the fact that the content of the gospel of Jesus Christ was “fully or thoroughly proclaimed” to each and every one of the unregenerate Gentiles present during his first defense before the Roman civil authorities.
“And that all the Gentiles might hear” is epexegetical meaning it is defining for Timothy what Paul means when he asserts that the Lord empowered him so that the proclamation of the gospel was fully accomplished through him.
“All the Gentiles” is composed of the following: (1) nominative neuter plural form of the adjective pas (πᾶς), “all” (2) articular nominative neuter plural form of the noun ethnos (ἒθνος), “the nations.”
The noun ethnos means “the Gentiles” and is used in contrast to the Jews and thus refers to all those individuals who are “not” of Jewish racial descent and thus “not” members of the covenant people of God, Israel.
The adjective pas is modifying the word ethnos and is used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions which would indicate that “each and every” unregenerate Gentile heard Paul fully proclaim the gospel during his first defense before the Roman civil authorities.
Second Timothy 4:16 During my first defense, to protect themselves no one stood for me but on the contrary the majority deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17 However, the Lord provided assistance for me. Specifically, He empowered me so that through me the proclamation was proclaimed to everyone, namely each and every one of the Gentiles heard the proclamation. (My translation)
The apostle Paul informs Timothy that during his first defense before the Roman civil authorities, the Lord Jesus Christ provided him assistance which stands in contrast with his previous statement in Second Timothy 4:16.
In verse 16, he states that during his first defense no one in the Christian community stood up for him but instead the majority deserted him to protect themselves.
Therefore, Paul is presenting a contrast between the unfaithfulness of the majority in the Christian community and the faithfulness of the Lord.
Faithfulness is one of the attributes of God as related to moral beings (Deut. 7:9; 32:4; Lam. 3:23; Isa. 49:7; Hos. 11:12; Ps. 25:10; 33:4; 89:1-8; 91:4; 96:13; 98:3; 100:5; 119:75; 1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13; 2 Cor. 1:18; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 2 Tim. 2:13; Jn. 1:9; Heb. 10:23; 1 Pet. 4:19; Rev. 19:11).
The apostle Paul then defines for Timothy specifically how the Lord Jesus Christ rendered him assistance during his first defense before the Roman judicial system by asserting that the Lord rendered him assistance by empowering him so that through him the proclamation of the gospel would be fully proclaimed to everyone.
In this epexegetical clause, the apostle Paul employs a purpose-result clause which presents both the purpose and the result of the Lord Jesus Christ empowering Paul during his first defense before the Roman civil authorities.
It expresses the idea that the Lord Jesus Christ’s purpose for empowering Paul during his first defense was accomplished when he proclaimed the gospel message to every non-Christian Gentile present during his first defense before the Roman civil authorities.
The apostle Paul employs another epexegetical clause to define for Timothy what he means when he asserts that the Lord Jesus Christ empowered him so that the proclamation of the gospel was proclaimed to everyone through him.
He asserts that each and every one of the Gentiles present during his first defense before the Roman civil authorities heard the gospel message.
Therefore, this epexegetical clause indicates that the Lord Jesus Christ empowered Paul so that through him the proclamation of the gospel was proclaimed to everyone “specifically” each and every one of the Gentiles present during his first defense heard the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Paul is not saying that each and every Gentile in the world for that matter heard the gospel through him but rather all those who were present at his first defense before the Roman civil authorities heard him fully proclaim the gospel.
Therefore, we can see here in Second Timothy 4:17 that Paul is asserting that the Lord Jesus Christ remained faithful to him even though the Christian community had deserted him when he stood trial before the Roman judicial system.
What does Paul mean when he asserts with Timothy that the Lord provided him assistance by empowering him so that through him the proclamation was proclaimed to every one so that each and every one of the Gentiles present at his first defense before the Roman civil authorities heard the gospel?
Since Paul is speaking in the context of proclaiming the gospel, he must be referring to the Lord Jesus Christ empowering him to proclaim the gospel through the omnipotence of the Spirit.
In Romans 15:18, 1 Corinthians 2:4, 1 Thessalonians 1:5 he teaches that his preaching and teaching were a demonstration of the Spirit’s power in his life.
Paul appropriated the Spirit’s power when he exercised faith in the Lord Jesus Christ promise recorded in Matthew 10:17-20, Mark 13:7-11, and Luke 12:11-12.
In these passages the Lord promises His disciples that when they are handed over to courts and brought before kings for His sake as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles that He promises that the Spirit will speak through them.
He promises them the Spirit will teach them what to say when they are brought before tribunals.
Now, when Paul wrote Second Timothy, he was imprisoned because of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
He was standing trial before Nero because of the gospel.
The apostle appropriated by faith the Lord’s promise here in Matthew 10:16-20 when standing before the Roman court.
His faith appropriated the promise of the Spirit’s presence and power working through him when he communicated the gospel to each and every Gentile present during his first defense before the Roman court.