2 Timothy 3

3:1–4:8 Timothy must stay on course through difficult times ahead.3:1-5 Paul describes what people will be like in the last days (see also 1 Tim 4:1-5; 2 Pet 2:1-22; 3:3; Jude 1:18), which had already begun (2 Tim 3:5, 6-9).

3:5 People like that (3:2-4) had rejected sound teaching and cut themselves off from the power that could make them godly (see 1 Tim 1:5-11; Col 2:16-23).

3:6-7 The effect of the false teachers on households and women is a consistent concern of the letters to Timothy and Titus (Titus 1:11; see 1 Tim 2:11-15; 3:4-5; 5:14-15). Whether or not the false teachers targeted women, they apparently were successful with some of them.

3:8 Jannes and Jambres are, according to tradition, the names of the Egyptian sorcerers who opposed Moses (see Exod 7:8-13; 8:18; 9:11).

3:11 Timothy was from Lystra, near Antioch and Iconium, so he knew all about what Paul had suffered (see Acts 13:14, 45-51; 14:1-8, 19-22), though he was recruited after these events (Acts 16:1-3). • the Lord rescued me: Paul could attest from his own life that the Lord would accomplish his purposes through his faithful servant (see 2 Tim 4:6-8, 17-18; Ps 22:19-22; 34:19; Dan 3:17-18; 2 Cor 1:8-10; 2 Pet 2:7-9).

3:14-15 from childhood: Timothy’s Jewish grandmother and mother, Lois and Eunice (see Acts 16:1-3), provided his education in the Old Testament Scriptures (see 2 Tim 1:5), and their lives reinforced their teaching. • The Old Testament Scriptures give the wisdom to receive . . . Christ Jesus. In turn, Jesus Christ is needed to understand the Old Testament Scriptures fully.

3:16-17 These verses elaborate on 3:15 by explaining Scripture’s effectiveness, its source, and the ways that it gives wisdom to live out our salvation. Paul was speaking of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament), but his statement can now apply to all Scripture, including the New Testament (see, e.g., 2 Pet 3:15-16).3:16 The fact that Scripture is inspired by God (literally God-breathed, breathed out by God’s own speech; see also Heb 4:12-13; 2 Pet 1:20-21) does not negate the active involvement of the human authors. But it does affirm that God is fully responsible for his word. Scripture is true, reliable, authoritative, permanent, and powerful because it comes from God himself. Its message is coherent, and it is consistent in its testimony about Jesus Christ (see Luke 24:25-27, 44; John 5:39-40; Acts 3:24; 1 Cor 15:3-4). Thus it has the power to bring salvation and elicit faith. It must not be abused, as the false teachers had been doing (2 Tim 4:2-4; 1 Tim 1:4-7; cp. 2 Pet 3:16), but must be taught properly (2 Tim 2:2, 15). • As a consequence of inspiration, all Scripture is useful. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are together our guide and teacher in life.

3:17 Paul makes it clear that salvation (3:15) results in godliness (see Gal 1:4; 5:16-26; Eph 2:8-10).