THIS IS MY GOSPEL

2 Timothy 2:8-13 Key Verse 2:8

“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel...”

Today’s short passage can be seen as providing an answer to one of life’s most difficult questions: “What is worth suffering for?” As we’ve seen, 2 Timothy was written while Paul was a prisoner in Rome, suffering terribly, and he knew that his mission on earth was almost over. What could be worth suffering for as much as Paul was now suffering? Paul’s answer is: the gospel of Jesus Christ. In his final testimony, Paul shows why it is worth it to suffer for Jesus. What’s more, the gospel itself gives Paul the power to endure everything and be faithful to the end, with the hope of eternal glory. Let’s pray that by studying this passage we may see more clearly what makes our struggles all worthwhile.

I. The gospel of Jesus Christ (8)

After urging young Timothy to be strong in Jesus’ grace and to be like a good, soldier, athlete, and hardworking farmer for Jesus, Paul now sees fit to remind Timothy (and us) what is the motive for all this effort. It is the gospel. Look at verse 8. “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel...” Usually, when we are looking to summarize the gospel, what verses do we go to? 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: “...that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” This version is even shorter, and seems to leave out Christ’s death for our sins. But that’s all implied; Paul knows that Timothy knows that already. But let’s look at what Paul does emphasize in this very short gospel summary.

First of all, he simply says, “Remember Jesus Christ.” In some way, this is enough. The center of Paul’s message and mission is Jesus. Jesus is everything. You could even say that Jesus himself is the gospel. As we often say, salvation is not so much about what we know, but who we know. Like Paul said in Chapter 1 verse 12, “I know whom I have believed and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.” Living by faith can be summarized as remembering Jesus Christ day by day.

But of course, we do need to know who Jesus is and what he did. Here Paul reminds us that Jesus was raised from the dead! After Jesus gave his life on the cross for our sins, God raised him from the dead on the third day in a glorified, imperishable body. The resurrection of Jesus shows that he won the victory over death. By his resurrection Jesus demonstrated eternal life to us and gave us hope. Don’t you think the resurrection of Jesus was very important to Paul at this time in his life? He was facing death any moment. In such a situation, Paul could see even more clearly that Jesus who was raised from the dead is the only true hope. 

The other thing Paul says about Jesus in this mini-gospel is that he is “descended from David.” If we know our Bible history, this tells us a lot about Jesus’ identity. Who was David? David was the king of Israel whom God chose to plant the hope of the coming Messiah. God chose David to be Israel’s king not because of his height or the campaign promises he made, but because he had the heart of a shepherd for the people he was responsible for. David was not perfect. But God promised David that the Messiah, the eternal spiritual king and shepherd of all God’s people, would be descended from him. By saying that Jesus is descended from David, Paul is reminding Timothy that Jesus is this promised Messiah. Even during Jesus’ ministry, when people were wondering if he was the Messiah, they would ask, “Could this be the Son of David?” (Mt 12:23) Also, by mentioning David, Paul is reminding us that God is the God who keeps his long-term promises. God’s people were waiting for the Messiah for thousands of years, and when it was the right time God sent him. God is not just playing the short game. God carries his promises through history, far beyond any one human being’s lifespan, and our present lives are also a part of that. Though Paul’s time on earth was almost up, God’s promises would go on and be kept absolutely, just like God kept his promise to David. By saying that Jesus is descended from David, Paul reminds us that believing God’s promises makes us a part of something bigger than ourselves. 

The coming of Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, and his death and resurrection are the gospel, or good news. It’s good news because believing it brings salvation through the forgiveness of all our sins. After stating these facts, Paul says, “This is my gospel.” Wait a minute! Why does Paul say it is his gospel? I thought it was the gospel of Jesus, not Paul. Does this mean that Paul had his own version of the gospel that he taught, and others might have different version that they taught? No. There is only one gospel; it’s the same for everybody, and it is the gospel of Jesus Christ and him only. But what Paul is showing by calling the gospel “my gospel” is how much he was personally invested in it and committed to it. 

Imagine you’re at work and your boss gives you a project to complete, but you personally don’t believe this project is very worthwhile or even a good idea. But you have to do it because your boss told you to and you’re getting paid. In that case, if someone asks you what you’re working on, what would you say? You might say something like, “I’m working on my boss’s project”, possibly adding some adjectives to indicate that you are none too pleased to be doing so. 

Now, on the other hand, imagine your boss gave you a project that matches your skill set very well. You feel that this project is a good idea, something that ought to be done, and you are more than willing to give your time and effort to it. In that case, if someone asked you what you were working on, you might call it “my project”, even though someone else gave it to you, because you believe in it, you’ve taken ownership of it. You might even say, “This is why I took this job,” or, “This is what I studied for in college, so I could do this.” And you are going to be a good steward of that project and be personally invested in its outcome. 

That is what Paul meant when he called the gospel “my gospel”. Once he met Jesus, he became fully identified with the mission Christ had for him to be the apostle to the Gentiles. The gospel was Paul’s project. Not only did it match his skill set, but it was literally what he was created for. So what are you working on? Is the gospel your gospel? Or is it still your Bible teacher’s gospel or your parents’ gospel? That’s fine for a little while, while we’re still learning. But let’s pray that we may be so in sync with God’s will for our lives and our mission that we can also call the gospel “My gospel.” 

II. For the sake of the elect (9-10)

What did this gospel mission bring to Paul’s life? It brought peace, joy, hope, strength, all the fruits of reconciliation with God. But we can’t deny that, in the world, it also brought him suffering. Verse 9 continues the sentence from verse 8, saying, “This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal.” Paul’s life was for the gospel and the gospel was also why he was currently suffering. 

We know that Paul suffered a lot as a result of meeting Jesus and being changed from a persecutor of the church to God’s chosen instrument to reach the Gentiles with the gospel. In 2 Corinthians Chapter 11, Paul gives a brief catalog of some of his sufferings, saying “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” (2Co 11:24-28) 

But Paul’s current suffering might have been the most difficult of all. Paul was imprisoned multiple times, but the conditions weren’t always this bad. The book of Acts actually ends with Paul being confined in Rome after his third missionary journey. But at that time he was not in an actual prison or dungeon; he was under house arrest as he awaited trial, and he could freely receive visitors and he preached the gospel to many influential people in Rome during his confinement. However, the situation Paul is in now as he writes 2 Timothy seems much worse. We saw in Chapter 1 how many of Paul’s companions had deserted him. He is literally chained, as Rome did with its prisoners. Even though Paul is a noble and highly educated man, he lost all his earthly freedom, and he is being treated in one of the lowest ways a human being can be treated—like people treat criminals. And now, it seems he knows that this period of captivity will not end in his release.

If there was ever a time Paul was tempted to despair or doubt God’s goodness, this was it. But Paul could see a bigger reality where something great was going on. Look at the end of verse 9. “But God’s word is not chained.” What a defiant statement of victory! Though physically Paul could not go anywhere because of his chains, the word of God he planted was continuing to fly around the world as the gospel was preached, and so his mission was succeeding and his life was not a failure. The word of God simply cannot be confined in the way physical bodies can, despite all people may do to try to suppress it. We shouldn’t pretend Paul was never discouraged or that he never felt the pain of his situation—surely he did. But we can see that his spirit remains victorious through these words, “God’s word is not chained.” That is the hope and victorious spirit of all those who serve the truth, because in the end the truth will win out. 

Paul goes on to give another reason why he patiently endures these current sufferings. Look at verse 10. “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.” The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is famous for saying, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger,” a phrase which was put into a hit song recorded by Kelly Clarkson a few years ago. There is maybe some truth to it, that suffering can help us grow stronger. But that’s not what Paul is saying here; Paul says that his sufferings are no longer about himself at all; he says he endures his sufferings “for the sake of the elect.” Who are these elect? Paul’s vision here is so big. He is thinking of everyone who would be saved through the message of Jesus, present and future. He thought about how much Christ loves all of them. They are God’s chosen people. He saw that his suffering was for them, that his imprisonment and martyrdom testimony would strengthen so many disciples. And he was right, wasn’t he? Here we are, 2000 years later, being encouraged by Paul’s words and example. And he reminds us that this salvation in Jesus comes with eternal glory that will make our present sufferings seem small indeed. 

Paul’s life is proof that in Jesus the reach of our influence can go far beyond our physical environment and short earthly lives. Let’s pray that we may have such a big vision that can give us hope and joy, enabling us to endure all our small sufferings. 

III. Our part and Jesus’ part (11-13)

To end this section of his letter, Paul quotes a small poem that also memorably expresses the gospel. To me, it helps remind us of what is our part and what we entrust to Jesus. Verse 11b says, “If we died with him, we will also live with him.” We might view this as an expression of Paul’s personal hope at this moment, because he will die very soon and has hope of eternal life with Jesus. It’s true that we are made to rise like Jesus to eternal life after this life is over. But notice that it says “we died” in the past tense. Simply put, this verse is the gospel. When we accept Jesus, we are united with Christ, and we die with him to our sins, to our old sinful self and old way of life. Then, spiritually, we rise with him in order to live a new life. Dying with Jesus is something that has already happened to us, a work that is already finished at the cross. But it is also something that we practice, as we overcome ourselves day by day to realize the power of the gospel more and more in our earthly life. This is also why, to Paul, his coming physical death is not something strange or frightening, because he had been practicing the gospel secret of dying with Jesus to have new life every day. 

The second phrase says, “If we endure, we will also reign with him.” (12a) This is more literal expression about life in Jesus. As we’ve been reading, endurance of sufferings is a big part of living out the gospel. Enduring is by definition not something that’s fun or enjoyable, but it gains a great reward. In the previous line it says we will “live” with Jesus; here, it says we will “reign” with him, emphasizing that we will enjoy the benefits of sharing Jesus’ power. Reigning is what a king does as he holds power over his dominion. As the king descended from David, Jesus reigns over everything, even putting death under his feet, and as much as we are united with him, we will have kingly authority as well. As dying with Jesus is evidence that we will live with Jesus, our patient endurance of all our present sufferings for Jesus’ sake is a sign that we are spiritually conquerors who overcome everything and finally reign with Jesus. 

Notice that both these first two lines of the poem end with the words “with him.” All the fruit of salvation that we receive, we receive through our union with Christ, through being with Christ. This must have also been a great comfort to Paul, since, as we heard, he has been abandoned by many people. Loneliness could have been a real issue for him. But Paul was not alone; he was with Jesus and drew closer to him every moment. 

The second half of the poem takes a darker turn, reminding us of the one thing we must not do. Look at verse 12b. “If we disown him, he will also disown us…” This comes directly from the words of Jesus himself. In Matthew 10:32-33 Jesus says, “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” Many of the early Christians who faced severe persecution from the Roman authorities had the chance to save their lives by disowning or denying their faith in Jesus. Paul probably could have done this very thing at this time and been set free. But Paul could never deny Jesus, because he could never forget how Jesus showed mercy to him even when he was a persecutor of God’s children. I guess at this point, not denying Jesus was Paul’s one remaining task. 

However, this does not mean that we are depending on ourselves to keep our salvation, or that we must never fail or slip up, because we are weak and we will. Look at verse 13. “…if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” What a great comfort. We all lose our faith sometimes in big and small ways, giving in to fear. But thank God, we are depending fully on Jesus for our salvation and not ourselves. We are saved through putting our faith in Jesus, because it’s Jesus himself who is the truly faithful one. We know that Jesus restores people from all kinds of sin and failure, including even Peter after he denied Jesus three times. Of course, we can’t use this as an excuse to sin and be faithless; that would be trampling Jesus’ grace underfoot. But we absolutely depend on Jesus’ faithfulness every moment. Could Jesus ever be unfaithful to us? It’s impossible. The end of verse 13 says, “He cannot disown himself.” For Jesus to be unfaithful would mean that he wasn’t Jesus anymore. Can’t happen. This is the source of our great confidence and assurance, not in ourselves but in Jesus’ unchangeable, faithful nature. Then, as much as we focus on Jesus, we will become faithful like him.

In these verses we heard the gospel of Jesus Christ from someone who lived it and was ready to die for it. Paul’s life is strong evidence that it is worth it to endure suffering when we have a mission to help others obtain salvation, and we can always be confident that God’s word is not chained. May God help us fix our eyes on eternal glory and on Christ’s faithfulness. May God bless you to live with Jesus and reign with Jesus.