If therefore one shall have purified himself from these, [in separating himself from them], he shall be a vessel to honour, sanctified, serviceable to the Master, prepared for every good work.
Paul has just pictured the Christian profession as a large house, holding vessels of every kind — some for honour, some for dishonour. So what should a believer do, if there is no way out of the house?
The ESV reads "from what is dishonorable." The older wording these writers quote is "from these." One writer says it points back to the vessels just described:
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.
This separation involves people, not just their teaching:
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.
The Greek verb appears just twice in the New Testament. The contrast between the two places is striking:
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.
Purging yourself does not mean abandoning Christianity. The house belongs to Christ, and there is no door out of it:
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.
The verse puts the job on each person: "if anyone cleanses himself." That makes it a task you can do:
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.
Separation is not the goal. It is what makes a person useful to the Master of the house, and that qualification is open to anyone:
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 closing phrase describes readiness, which is different from the training described later in the letter:
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.
- Clean — the verb means to purge out. The early church could remove a wicked man from among them. Today the faithful must remove themselves from among the vessels of dishonour.
- Clean from what — "these" points back to the vessels just named. It means people and their company, not just their teaching.
- Clean where — inside the house, not outside it. Nobody can quit the Christian profession, so this separation is moral, not a change of address.
- Clean who — yourself first. You are able to put yourself right, and that is where help to others begins.
- Clean for whom — the Master, the Owner of the house. A clean vessel stands set apart, at His hand, ready for whatever work He gives.
But youthful lusts flee, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart.
Paul has just called Timothy to purge himself from the vessels to dishonour. Now he turns from what a believer leaves to what he chases, and to the people who chase it with him. Two questions follow: what are "youthful passions," and does leaving evil leave you alone?
Clean company with an unclean life is a lopsided faithfulness. One writer links this command to the wider argument, explains the word "youthful", and looks past fleeing to what the believer shows the world:
"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.
These desires are not only the obvious ones. Another commentator widens the list, and notes why a person busy with public evils is especially exposed:
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.
Paul names four things to chase. One writer shows what chasing them prevents:
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.
Each of the four has an opposite. The same writer names what each one refuses:
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 verse ends on a small word: "with." It answers a real fear. Does stepping away from what dishonours the Lord mean stepping away from everyone?
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.
Some tie the last clause only to the word "peace," as if peace alone were shared with such people. One writer rejects that reading and points to the promise in the words:
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.
Paul does not give this company a name. He describes it, and one writer takes the description word by word:
"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.
One writer presses a detail that people often get wrong:
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.
Those who act on this verse find each other. One writer says what they become:
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.
- Flee. Youthful passions include impulsiveness, self-confidence, flippancy and impatience. Leave evil company without fleeing these, and you are only a hypocrite.
- Pursue. Righteousness, faith, love and peace are the positive occupation that keeps a separated believer from the spirit of "I am holier than you."
- With. The command is companionship, not solitude. A place apart is insulation from infection, not isolation from other believers.
- Pure. "Pure heart" uses the same word as the purging of verse 21. It means sincerity, shown by holiness in your own life and in your company.
- Company. Those who obey find each other. They meet not as claiming to be the whole church, but as a remnant loyal to the truth.