2 Timothy 2:14–26

"These things" refers to verses 11-13. Those divine truths stand through every change and every phase of the Church's condition. They are bound up with the Lord's own moral nature, and so with the very essence of Christianity. They can never be forgotten without damage. That is why Paul urges Timothy to keep them always before the minds of the saints. At the same time, Timothy was to charge them before the Lord to avoid all contentions about words, which, instead of building up, tended to overturn the hearers.

Much of Timothy's work was to remind souls of what they had already learned. He was not told to bring out new or original things. That point carries special weight in the last days, when the danger of striving about words grows, along with its emptiness in terms of spiritual profit. Timothy must charge the saints not to stoop to this. Its effect is to turn souls aside from the truth.

There are real differences even among Christians, more or less serious in disguising or perverting the truth. But those who value the truth often fall into distinctions without a difference, above all where there is no aggressive zeal. Zeal of this sort makes them determined word-warriors. How true it is that this is useful for nothing, while it is readily available for overturning those who hear! For the word-warrior knows when to stop; the simple who hear go on and are punished.

One long-standing evil is the habit of using divine truth to satisfy spiritual curiosity — a mere mental exercise. It has produced countless clever theories built on certain passages of holy Scripture. Men carried away by imagined discoveries, puffed up with self-importance and governed by an unsubmissive spirit, have drawn away unstable souls. They strive about words to no profit, and, as the apostle says, they tend to the overturning of the hearers. They play straight into the enemy's hands. They waste priceless time and starve souls, because speculation, not Christ, has become the object of the heart.

Whenever spiritual life and energy decline, Christian teachers also fall into the trap of entertaining their hearers. They offer clever and fanciful interpretations, drawn from historical details or from types and figures, instead of ministering Christ. So note that such discussions do no good — and they also turn aside those who listen. Sadly, believers can grow tired of the heaven-sent manna, as the Israelites did. Then there are always people at hand who will feed the appetite of nature.

It is through disputes about words, and speculations, that Satan brings in his most subtle deceptions. The true way is to work hard to show yourself approved by God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, "rightly dividing the Word of truth."

In verse 14 Paul urges Timothy to remind believers of these solemn matters. Remembering them frees believers from wasting their time on unprofitable things that only breed quarrels.

Babblings that are profane treat divine things as if they were common, because they make light of what is sacred. They are "vain" because the arguments used have no substance.

"Profane" here means purely secular, with no real reference to God. It drags everything down to a level where only reason and matter count. This is empty vanity, and it drags souls into deeper ungodliness.

Scripture warns us that as profane and vain babblings increase, ungodly conduct will increase with them. Profane talk leads to an ungodly walk. Holding or spreading error will, as always, lower outward conduct. Laxity of doctrine leads to laxity of morals.

This proves how useless it is to meddle with talk that is not only empty but profane. There was no fear of God in those who indulged in it, and the fear of God is the beginning of everything good for fallen man. Until the truth reaches the conscience, we cannot expect such people to stop misusing the precious revelations of God. They are guilty of profanity. They do not need arguments; they need repentance. Discussion would only flatter their self-importance. It could never stop such a destructive evil.

Some know their own ability to take evil apart and answer it, and so they are prone to meddle with these empty profanities. This does them no good. It may also harm believers, who value such workers and may soak their minds in these dreary efforts. As a rule these efforts puff up the guilty parties instead of convincing them. Time is too precious for anything but what builds up. The man who sets out to argue with every empty dreamer may win, but he is in real danger of serious harm to himself.

Satan has no more successful trap than luring the Lord's servants into foolish controversies. When people are turning away from the truth, contending for it is one of the servant's first responsibilities. But that is very different from turning aside to arguments about words — or, as the Apostle puts it here, "empty voices": words or sounds that carry no meaning for the believer. We cannot say too often that the best way to refute error is to state the truth. Controversy carried on this way builds up both speaker and hearers. Profane and empty babblings only produce more impiety, because they harden the heart and the conscience.

Separation from evil is the first step in God's path. If I cannot reform the evils of Christendom, I am responsible to be right myself... Notice how many times, in different terms and different ways, this letter urges separation from evil. The Apostle says:

- "Shun profane and vain babblings" — 2 Timothy 2:16 - "Depart from iniquity" — 2 Timothy 2:19 - "Purge himself from these" — 2 Timothy 2:21 - "Flee also youthful lusts" — 2 Timothy 2:22 - "Foolish and senseless questionings avoid" — 2 Timothy 2:23 - "From such turn away" — 2 Timothy 3:5

The apostle points out that this dreadful evil among the saints — once, if not any longer — was no imaginary danger to haunt souls, but a fact calling for healthy fear and horror: "Of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus, who as to the truth went astray," or literally, missed the mark, saying that "the resurrection had taken place already, and overthrow the faith of some."

These men, it seems, held the place of teachers. They fell into a serious error: they did not deny the resurrection, but said it was already past. This subtle form of false teaching is worth special attention. Many believers today could be caught by a seeming super-spirituality that sounds plausible. The teaching of Hymenaeus and Philetus had exactly that pretentious character, for they made the resurrection a spiritual thing. It is quite possible they based their argument on Ephesians 2, where we read that God has made us alive together with Christ, and raised us up together. But "concerning the truth" they erred — literally, they missed the mark. The effect was to overthrow the faith of some.

It is deeply interesting to weigh the character of this error. It was not ignorance of the truth so much as exaggeration. It was the exalting of present privilege to the denial of our hope at Christ's coming. No doubt they prided themselves on higher truth than others taught, and on superior intelligence. This is an extreme danger for people who truly thirst for the truth of God and value it. If they are not watchful, they fall into the trap most easily.

But the error that the resurrection is already past is fatal to this endurance in the meantime. If it were true, it would entitle us to reign as kings now, to take our ease, to enjoy present honour and glory. The enemy framed and calculated it for one purpose: to thwart the will of our Lord, who calls us to share His sufferings until we are glorified together. So it is false as a doctrine and ruinous in practice. It also destroys all communion with Christ, which means sharing His affections in separation from the world.

I think I see the form of the church settling down into the world in the doctrine of Hymenaeus and Philetus: if the resurrection is already past, then here we are, settled in our final state. No one had yet formed it into a system. It simply took away the expectation of the Lord and heavenly hopes. For if the resurrection was past, then Christ had freed His people spiritually and left them here, content in their worldly home. The church was no longer a stranger and a pilgrim, a bride waiting for the Bridegroom. She had settled into a permanent, accepted place on the earth.

"The faith" here means the thing believed. These false teachers really turned souls aside from the truth and led them away from what they had said they believed. It is not a question of salvation, but for the time, at least, these misguided people gave up the truth.

In teaching this they tampered with the very foundations of the faith of the gospel. They overthrew the personal faith of anyone who came under their power. They could not, of course, overthrow the faith of Christianity. That was a divine foundation, and whatever God founds always stands firm as a rock. Nor could they overthrow anything God had founded in the hearts of His people. That always remains, come what may, and "the Lord knows those who are His" — even if false teaching had misled them, so that others could no longer tell them apart.

Hymenaeus and Philetus had helped to overturn the foundations of the faith in some of the saints. But despite all that Satan had managed to do through them, the foundation of God stood, and was immovable. This is no small comfort in a day of confusion and ruin. The enemy may be allowed to wreck the public form of Christianity... but there still remains for faith this sure foundation of God on which souls may rest, whatever the fury of the storm, in perfect peace.

Some have guessed that it is the doctrine of the resurrection, others the promises, some again election. Others have suggested the church, or, with better reason, Christ Himself. But there seems no sufficient ground for defining the foundation in this place. If the Holy Spirit has left it general, why should anyone seek to limit the thought? The object clearly is to mark what stays firm and of God in the middle of confusion and ruin.

A foundation is supposed to be out of sight, but a seal is visible. We have the two metaphors here. A foundation is something settled that cannot be changed, and a seal is the emblem of authority, and the sign of unchangeable purpose... His seal is open to the inspection of all.

It has been well said that the seal on God's foundation has two sides. One bears the inscription, "The Lord knows those who are His." The other says, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity." The first is as peace-giving as the second is practical.

All those in Asia had turned away from the Apostle. The profession of Christianity was so widespread, and so merged in the world and worldly things, that the outward eye could no longer tell who were the true saints of God.

The foolish virgins have the profession, but not the Spirit — they are not Christ's... So when the Bridegroom comes, they are unprepared and shut out. "I do not know you," the Bridegroom says. Could this be said of any saint, however unsatisfactory his state? No; for it is written again, "The Lord knows those who are His."

The Greek word here for "iniquity" is adikia. W. E. Vine's Dictionary of New Testament Words says it means "a condition of not being right." We are to separate from all that is not right — from all that is not according to God's word.

This is not at all the question we have to judge when it comes to departing from iniquity. We are not asked to decide whether others are the Lord's... if one names the name of the Lord, he is responsible to depart from unrighteousness, whatever others may do, or whoever they may be... he is not told simply to abstain from it, but to depart from it, which means a separation in some very real sense.

In that account we have, "The Lord will show who are His, and who is holy," said by Moses in reply to Korah and his company. About Dathan and Abiram, he had to say, "Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs."... We are neither sovereign nor all-knowing. God is both, and in due time He will make clear who are His. We are, however, responsible to act in line with His word, and avoid all sharing in the error and evil.

Here is a living picture of what the church was becoming. How different from the view given in the First Letter! (1 Tim. 3:15) There the house of God is called the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth... The assembly of the living God held out the truth before all eyes. But now, in the Second Letter, other things had flooded in. Ease had taken the place of suffering. Timidity had taken the place of courage. False teaching had come in, even about the most basic truths. So the Spirit of God pictures a very different state of things. The Spirit of God has not left His seat. But He no longer marks out the house as the house of the living God. It may look grander, yet there is far more that is unreal.

He does not say, "In the house of God," but "In a great house there are not only vessels..." He is using an illustration. It shows what professing Christianity has become — and that profession is indeed the house of God as man has built it (1 Cor. 3). It has become a mixed thing, like a great house holding vessels for honour and vessels for dishonour.

On the day of Pentecost the people who formed the House of God when the Holy Spirit came down were no "strangers." All were true children of God... But how soon the "stranger" came in. The baptism of Simon Magus brought a man into the company where the Spirit of God lived, a man who had no part or share in the matter. Others soon followed. So even in the apostles' day the House of God came to look like a great house.

Vessels of gold and silver are the vessels that belong to the service of the house of God. Nebuchadnezzar once took the gold and silver vessels from the temple at Jerusalem and carried them to Babylon (Dan. 5:2, 3). Vessels of wood and earth ought not to be in the house of God. Romans 9:21-23 shows us that vessels for dishonourable use are "vessels of wrath prepared for destruction," and vessels for honourable use are "vessels of mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory." So, broadly speaking, vessels of gold and silver stand for true Christians. They are vessels for honour. Vessels of wood and earth stand for people in the church who profess faith but are not converted.

The passage makes no unfair distinction between the vessels of gold and silver and the vessels of wood and earth. The "honour" of a vessel appears to depend on its use rather than on its own value. They are of different materials and for different uses. Vessels of gold and silver may be to the honour of the Master. Vessels of wood and clay may be to His honour just as much, since each is doing what it was made for.

You may take a golden vessel and use it for dishonour. When Belshazzar used the sacred vessels at his idol feast, they were put to a dishonourable use. In the same way, in the great house, where the vessels stand for people, a real believer in the Lord Jesus Christ may do something that dishonours the Lord Jesus Christ — perhaps gladly, and by mistake. But the Lord cannot approve that service, because it is tied to evil. A good servant taken up with an unholy service is a vessel to dishonour, not to honour.

This takes in the whole of Christendom, everyone who claims to own the lordship of Christ, the Master referred to in verse 21. There are vessels of gold and silver, vessels to honour, and the Master uses these when they are fit for use. There are vessels of wood and earth, vessels to dishonour, and the passage does not say that the Master uses those. The great point is to be fit for His use. That can only come through a true separation from the vessels to dishonour. This is where the real heart-searching must come, because no one can get outside the great house.

Surely "if a man purge himself from these" refers not to what follows, but to what came just before — that is, the vessels for dishonour in the great house. If so, what can purging himself "from these" mean, except separation from ungodly people who profess Christ? ... In the Apostles' days the true-hearted had no need to "form themselves into a separate community," because they were still able to purge the wicked out. But the principle is a wide one, and God provides in it for a time when the wicked might be too many and too strong. Then, if we cannot purge them out, we must purge ourselves from them.

You are sanctified and fit for the Master's use in proportion to your separation from these vessels — from persons, not merely from their doctrines ... It is not enough to reject their doctrines; their company contaminates you. You are coloured by the lowest company that you keep.

This word "purge" is ekkathairo — to purge out. It appears only twice in the New Testament: here, and in 1 Corinthians 5, where the Christians are told to "cleanse out the old leaven" and to "purge the evil person from among you." In 1 Corinthians 5 the Christians obeyed and purged out the leaven. In Second Timothy the Christians do not seem to be obeying that instruction, and the whole lump has become leavened. And NOW the instruction is for the faithful to purge themselves out from the leavened mass.

The professing church — what bore the name of Christ in the world — would become like a great house, where you find vessels of every kind, and for every use. What was to be done? Leave the Christian profession? Become unbaptized? That was impossible. There was no going out of the great house. Whatever state it was in, Christ was the Master of the house. ... So what was to be done? Stay with those who dishonoured Christ, because they too were in the great house? No.

To "purge himself" is the first duty of the faithful follower of the Lord. People say, "Why do you not try to put things right?" I have only to put myself right, because I am not competent to put others right. You put yourself right, and then you will help other people, and that is what I am trying to do.

If we separate from such vessels, we shall be vessels for honour ... sanctified, that is, set apart, and holy because set apart, and fit, or serviceable, for the Master's use — ready for every good work ... Do you want the Lord to use you? Here is His own qualification for service. And remember, that qualification is within our own reach, as we depend on Him who reveals it to us, and through the power He will give. Then, when once qualified, it is His to take us up and use us how, where, and when He will.

The two very similar expressions — "ready for every good work" and "equipped for every good work" — are very instructive when taken together. In the first we have the essential qualification for being useful to the Master ... The second expression points not so much to our state, as to our equipment for service.

"Flee youthful passions" is another application of the general principle "depart from iniquity." But this command demands personal holiness. Without it, separating from evil men would be nothing but hypocrisy. Paul uses the phrase "youthful passions" because Timothy was a young man. Of course, we are to flee all sinful desires and then pursue "righteousness, faith, love, peace." The world is full of sin, spiritual blindness, hatred and strife. The believer is to wear this four-fold character of Christ in the middle of it.

The apostle does not forget personal dangers when a man is taken up with public evils… It is useless to protest against what offends God in the church if your own conduct fails plainly enough for the people you criticise to see it… You must shun youthful passions — not only worldly or bodily ones, but "youthful" ones: impulsiveness, self-confidence, flippancy, impatience and the like.

We are also to make the pursuit of "righteousness, faith, love, peace" our great concern. This keeps us from becoming mere separatists in the spirit of "stand back, for I am holier than you!" Instead we will be busy and happy with what is good and of eternal worth.

He was to pursue practical consistency, that is, righteousness. He was to walk in faith, not in mere human caution or policy. He was to hold on to love, not to selfish interests. And he was to keep peace, not stir up strife or push for his own way.

The apostle does not command a lonely path for the one who separates himself from the vessels to dishonour… His place apart is not isolation, but insulation. Keeping yourself free from infection is a plain duty. But others will be doing the same.

To limit the pursuit of peace to those who call on the Lord in this way would give the poorest possible sense… Not so. Take the faithful man who has purged himself from vessels to dishonour and walks in self-judgment and in ways that please the Lord. He is cheered by the prospect of company on his path. He need not fear isolation… God will not fail to work in those whose hearts are cleansed by faith.

"With" means companionship, not isolation. To "call on the Lord" means to profess that you are subject to Him. "Out of a pure (or purged) heart" uses essentially the same word as "purge" in verse 21. It means calling on Him sincerely, with the whole person purged from evil — purged by holiness in your own life and holiness in your associations.

Note this: the sincere call is on the Lord Himself, not on the Name, as people often say. Paul's earnest desire was to "know Him", and so calling on Him becomes both a habit and an act of understanding.

Will his path be a lonely path? No. He will find other Christians moved by the Spirit of God, as he has been, to purge themselves from vessels to dishonour. Here and there they are calling on the Lord out of a pure heart. Such people will meet together — not as claiming to be the whole church of God, but as a remnant seeking to be loyal to the truth of God.

The literal meaning of the word is not quite "unlearned" but "undisciplined." It shows "a mind not subject to God, a man following his own mind and will." We should fear nothing more than the working of our own minds and wills in the things of God.

The truth is too vital and precious to turn into a mere argument. Foolish questions usually point to a heart that will not submit to the Word of God. Such questions need no answer. Avoid them, or they will only lead to strife... If someone truly wants to know the answer, let us give him the help he needs. But if he clearly asks in order to argue against the truth, he deserves no answer.

The same word covers shunning old wives' fables (1 Timothy 4:7), younger widows (1 Timothy 5:11), foolish and uninstructed questions (2 Timothy 2:23), and also a heretic in another passage. In none of these cases does it mean excommunication. It simply means avoiding those things or those people.

Separation from evil is the first step in God's path. If I cannot reform the evils of the Christian world around me, I am responsible to be right myself... Notice how often this letter calls for separation from evil, in different words and in different ways. The Apostle says: "avoid irreverent babble" (2 Timothy 2:16); "depart from iniquity" (2 Timothy 2:19); cleanse "himself from what is dishonorable" (2 Timothy 2:21); "flee youthful passions" (2 Timothy 2:22); "have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies" (2 Timothy 2:23); "avoid such people" (2 Timothy 3:5).

Whatever happens, the servant of the Lord must not enter into strife — he "must not be quarrelsome." If he lets a quarrel draw him in, he may end up completely defeated, even while he stands for the absolute truth. The servant is to remember that he is only the servant and not the Master. As the servant of the Lord, his business is to display the character of the Lord — gentleness, readiness to teach, patience and meekness when others oppose him... And when he presents the truth, he must not think that his clear presentation or his meek manner will make people accept it. Only God can bring anyone "to a knowledge of the truth."

It does not matter whether the question is right or wrong in itself. The devil can use a right question just as well as a wrong one, if he can raise that question to undue prominence and make it come between our souls and Christ, and between us and our fellow believers... But when we let any question take undue prominence, it stops being mere human weakness and becomes a trick of Satan.

The servant of the Lord must avoid strife at all costs. He cannot avoid conflict if he stays true to his Master. But he must not strive — that is, he must avoid the contentious spirit. He must never forget that although he stands for the Lord, he is only a servant. So he must show the meekness that fits that position. Earlier in the chapter we noticed various pictures of the different characters the believer wears. He is a soldier, an athlete, a farmer, a workman, a vessel — and now a servant, and not only a servant, but a servant of the Lord. So he must be careful not to misrepresent the character of the Lord whom he serves.

The word translated "strive" is better rendered "contend," and so is the word "strifes" in the verse before. "Contend" here means fighting, coming into conflict in an evil way. So the servant of the Lord must hold the truth despite all opposition. He must stand up to a fellow servant face to face if need be, as Paul did with Peter when the truth of grace was at stake. He must contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. But he must never step down from the platform of the truth — a positive revelation from God, entrusted to him as a witness — to fight with those who raise foolish and ignorant questions.

But aren't some people so trying that they deserve a sharp word, at the very least? He ought to be gentle towards all. The question is not how disagreeable people are, but whether we present Christ as we should. It is easy enough to wound or overthrow a man; but what if it grieves the Holy Spirit of God and dishonours Christ? Are we, as we should be, determined to bear patiently and to win by the irresistible might of meekness?

Let us remember that it is more important to display the character of Christ than to press our opinions, even right ones, or to defend ourselves. Men can oppose our opinions, our assertions and our forcefulness; but who can stand against gentleness? As someone has said, "Gentleness is irresistible."

The word didaktikos does not mean the gift of teaching in the strict sense. It means being fit to pass on whatever truth he has. Like all the other marks, it is a practical qualification, not a special gift. 2 Timothy 2:24 confirms this. There the word stands among the qualities that mark the manner of the Lord's servant — avoiding foolish questions, and dealing with souls for their instruction.

Many saints are slow of heart to receive fresh truth and to tell apart things that differ. It is natural to criticise, and for some even to ridicule. Readiness to teach assumes not only ability in the word, but love for the saints and faith in the Lord Jesus whom he serves.

In 2 Timothy 2:24, "patient" should be "bearing evil." He is to instruct those who oppose him with meekness, so that they may be recovered to God's will out of the snares of the devil.

The gentle and forbearing way He dealt with them is instructive too. In the Prophetic Servant we see a perfect example of the qualities the apostle Paul later urged on his dear son Timothy: "the servant of the Lord must not strive: but he must be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, forbearing, patient" (2 Tim. 2:24).

If others oppose, let him remember that they are really opposing themselves and their own good. He should long for God to work in blessing, through real repentance in such souls. The aim is never to prove the servant right. It is that by the grace of God the opposer may be recovered from the snare of the devil that has deluded him.

This, then, the Lord's servant was to seek "in meekness". He was not to put people down, which quick wit and a stubborn will would naturally do. He was to set them right, as grace loves to do, if it may be, with those who oppose themselves. Getting rid of people, even troublesome ones, does not occur to his patient mind.

If others oppose, let him remember that they are really opposing themselves and their own good. His concern is that God will work in blessing through true repentance in such souls, giving them a submissive acknowledgment of the truth. And of course this is not so that the servant should be proved right. It is so that by the grace of God the opposer may be recovered from the snare of the devil, which has deluded him.

And to keep the servant in such a spirit, he is always to remember that an opponent may yet be recovered. The enemy of today may, by the grace of God, be the friend of tomorrow. He is never to lose sight of this. He is to go on instructing in meekness, and looking to God to give those who oppose repentance leading to the acknowledging of the truth.

But it may be useful to speak briefly of "repentance"; for it goes far deeper than many think. It is a moral question rather than a mental one, though no doubt there is a change of mind of the utmost seriousness. But in repentance the soul is subject to God. His word judges, instead of being judged. There is therefore a moral revolution in the heart which takes God's side against itself. It condemns not only the acts of evil that rise before the conscience, but the whole ground and state of being which gave rise to them.

When we find people opposing the truth of God, let us always remember that it does not lie in our power to put them right. God may be pleased to use us for their blessing, but it is God who gives them repentance. We are to try to instruct such people from the word of God in a spirit of meekness, and to count on God to use the word spoken. Those who oppose have been trapped by Satan, though they hardly realise it. But God can use His word, spoken in meekness, to recover them, so that they may no longer be for Satan, but for God's will.

So it is good to seek grace to be found "in meekness instructing those that oppose." For this was the path of Christ, and no other. Only in this way can one hope to correct those who set themselves up as opponents. This alone may disarm them; grace is pleased to work this way. And the apostle puts this as a possible and desired outcome.

In some passages this compound word, above all in the verb form, means "certain personal knowledge, and the recognition that follows it: that a thing is true." We recognise because we know. This may help with the use of epignosis in passages such as 2 Timothy 2:25.

This, then, is what the Lord's servant was to seek "in meekness" [verse 25 in the ESV: "with gentleness"]. His aim was not to put people down, as quick wit and a stubborn will would naturally do. It was to set them right, as grace loves to do, if that is possible, with those who oppose themselves. Getting rid of people, however troublesome, does not occur to his patient mind. Still, such opposition is very serious, and the apostle shows us this by what he adds next.

And to keep the servant in such a spirit, he is always to remember that opponents may be recovered. The enemy of today may, by the grace of God, be the friend of tomorrow. Never losing sight of this, he goes on meekly instructing. He looks to God to give the opposers repentance, so that they acknowledge the truth and escape from the snare of the devil.

Does not a snare represent evil hidden under a fair exterior? The apostle Paul warns us against being deceived by "plausible arguments" [older translations read "enticing words"] (Colossians 2:4). He also tells us that in the professing Christian circle some will be caught "in the snare of the devil" (2 Timothy 2:26). … Whatever our knowledge and gifts, unless we are in secret communion — abiding in Christ — there is no snare into which we cannot fall.

A snare must be hidden to work. It is useless to set a net where a bird can see it. In the same way, the hook in fishing is always concealed. The baits Satan uses are things people like. They may not always be moral evils in themselves — riches, honour, and so on — but they may end in the loss of the soul.

It is not that the devil takes anyone captive at his will, but "for his will," as is the proper translation. Satan's will is not so dominant that he secures victims as he pleases. God does not allow it unless there is first some wrong attitude in the person, which makes them willing to be deceived. … God allows the captivity in order to humble the will of the victim, who feels the evil results of it. What a mercy if this captivity leads to a genuine desire for recovery!

The point raised is whether "his will" means God's will or Satan's. If it is God's, the meaning is that they come to their senses and escape "from the snare of the devil", where he has taken them captive, and that the aim of their recovery is that the will of God should govern them from now on. If it is Satan's, it means that these opposers are taken captive by Satan to do his will. Whichever view you adopt, you cannot resist the solemn teaching of the scripture: those who oppose the truth are instruments in the snare of Satan, and as such he has taken them captive as his prey. All who resist the truth of God, however eminent they may be in the world of intellect or science, are nothing more than the poor slaves of Satan. He leads them, if he does not inspire them, just as the Spirit of God leads and teaches the servants of the Lord.

This is a remarkably complicated sentence, and people eminent in godliness and scholarship have understood it very differently.

In repentance the soul is subject to God. His word judges, instead of being judged. There is therefore a moral revolution in the heart. It takes God's side against itself. It condemns not only the evil acts that rise before the conscience, but the whole ground and state of being that gave rise to them.