I testify before God and Christ Jesus, who is about to judge living and dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom,
Paul lays a charge on Timothy in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, with a coming judgment in view. Why does he bring in Christ's appearing and His kingdom to press home a command about preaching, and what does that say about how God measures service?
Paul begins by naming two Persons. One writer explains what he was doing:
Paul wanted to put forward God Himself and the risen Man, who is to deal with mankind supremely in the coming day.
These words are not for Timothy alone:
These are solemn and weighty words. They need to be weighed reverently in God's presence, especially by the Lord's servants. They set Timothy, and with him the worker in every age, in full view of his responsibility. At the same time they remind him of the judgment seat where the character of all service will finally be tested. It is, in fact, a searching appeal to the conscience. Everything that has to do with responsibility, government and judgment is gathered here into one view.
Christ is named as the one who is to judge the living and the dead. Older translations read "about to judge" — a judging always close at hand, and one that runs on over time:
That solemn testimony which Paul speaks of is before God and Christ Jesus, who is about to judge living and dead. This judging is always near. Another apostle puts it this way: Christ "is ready to judge the living and the dead" (1 Peter 4:5). Only our text speaks of the judgment as a continuous process, while the other sums it up in its conclusion.
The two groups do not face Him at the same moment. The gap between them is long:
He will judge the living at His appearing, as the Tribulation comes to an end. He will judge the dead a thousand years later, at the Great White Throne. The Son of Man will be reigning in His kingdom, bringing every enemy into subjection before He delivers up the kingdom to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24-26).
The charge is made by His appearing and His kingdom. That small word "by" joins them to the charge itself, not to the judging:
"…and by His appearing and His kingdom, proclaim the word." We have had the equipping of the man of God, and now we have his active engagement. Service is connected with the future, and so Paul charges him by His appearing.
Why appeal to those two things at all?
Christ's appearance and His kingdom are therefore fitting and most impressive grounds of appeal. On that ground he was solemnly charging Timothy, or others like-minded and responsible, to preach the word. It is these that gave the charge immeasurable weight and awe.
Christ will come to catch His people up to Himself — the rapture. He will also appear in public. Paul presses the second of these on Timothy:
The rapture is grace to all the saints equally caught up to Christ on high. The appearing will manifest the fidelity or the failure of each saint. That is why the apostle presses His appearing and His kingdom on Timothy still more closely, in preaching the Word and in all his other service.
What does the charge ask of a servant?
The charge is given before God, and before the Lord Jesus Christ as Judge. His appearing and kingdom are the great limit of all responsible service… It means standing for God and proclaiming His grace with energy, while all the weight of the trials of "the last days" presses on the servant, and all the power of the enemy is set against him.
What makes such preaching urgent?
Two things will give him urgency. First, the judgment that will come on those who refuse the gospel. Second, the glorious results for those who receive it at the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here, too, the appearing goes together with the Kingdom of Christ, for the appearing introduces the Kingdom.
- Before whom — Paul speaks the charge in the presence of God and of the risen Christ. Preaching is never a private matter between speaker and listener.
- Who judges — Christ is the Judge of living and dead. That judging is always near. He judges the living at His appearing, and the dead a thousand years later.
- On what ground — His appearing and His kingdom give the charge its weight, and the appearing brings in the kingdom.
- Why the appearing — Grace gathers all His people alike when He comes for them. The appearing shows up each servant's faithfulness or failure, so responsibility looks to that day.
- To what end — Preach the word, and hold to it while the last days press hardest. Judgment awaits those who refuse it; glory awaits those who believe.
proclaim the word; be urgent in season [and] out of season, convict, rebuke, encourage, with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Paul gives Timothy a charge for a time when the people around him were turning away from sound teaching. What is "the word" he must preach, who is it for, and how does a servant keep going when people stop listening?
The commands of verse 2 hang on the solemn appeal of verse 1. One writer shows how each duty answers to something in that appeal:
Having stated the grounds of his appeal, the Apostle delivers his charge to serve. Men are responsible to God, so "proclaim the word; be urgent in season and out of season." Christ is going to judge, so "convict" and "rebuke" those who live in a way that calls for judgment. Christ will reward the saints at His appearing, so "encourage, with all long-suffering and doctrine."
Paul does not tell the servant to preach his own views, his experience, or even "the gospel." He must preach the word.
That is why the command comes: "Preach the Word." It is not merely to go on preaching, but the Word is the word of God — the full revelation given to us of His mind. There must be more activity than ever. In season and out of season, we must seize every opportunity to set the great truths of Christianity before people.
Commentators differ on who is mainly in view. Some read the charge as covering sinner and saint alike. Others say the surrounding verses settle the question:
"Be ready in season" is said to the saint. The time will come when they will not receive sound doctrine. This applies to the dealing with the saints. People often apply it to the gospel. The trouble is that they take verses without reading the context… Timothy was to keep pressing on, because soon they would not listen to him. Whether it was seasonable or not, he was to go on with it, because very soon there would be no season at all.
Things around Timothy were only going to get worse. That was not a reason to slow down:
This was his one responsibility, whatever the state of things around. Indifference, decay, and corruption were increasing, and would go on increasing. Timothy was not to lose heart or treat this as a reason to do nothing. For this very reason he was to proclaim the Word all the more… He was not responsible for the effect of his testimony. Signs of blessing, or the lack of them, were not to sway him.
"Be ready" is not about convenient moments. A servant who carries the message inside him will not find any hour unsuitable:
All times were alike to Timothy. His work must never stop. He must always watch for a chance to carry out his calling. No time would be wrong for a man who carried a "burden of the LORD" on his heart. Like the prophet Jeremiah, he would find the Word in his heart like a burning fire. Holding it back would wear him out, and he would not be able to keep silent (Jer. 23:38; 20:9).
The three verbs do not give room for personal criticism. They are still forms of preaching the word, and that difference decides whether they work:
Both saints and sinners may need conviction and rebuke. But this can only be by the preaching of the word, for it is only the word that produces conviction. We may seek to convict and rebuke by our own words and arguments, only to find that we irritate people and stir up resentment. Rebukes only work if they rest on the word of God. Those willing to bow to the word and accept its conviction and rebuke then hear the word of encouragement.
The closing phrase is not decoration. It anticipates a reaction and supplies the answer to it:
Whatever form the service takes, the servant must carry it out with all long-suffering and according to the truth, or "doctrine". The word will stir up opposition from the sinful nature. That opposition calls for long-suffering in the servant. The only answer that works is the doctrine, or truth, of Scripture.
The verbs come one after another, and the pace is part of the point:
The form of each verb implies prompt action… Proclaiming the word comes first. Urgent attention to the work, in season and out of season, follows the preaching. Then comes convicting — pressing the truth home. It is a healthy duty, even though it is painful to a tender spirit… Who was sufficient for these things? Timothy's sufficiency, as the apostle's, was from God. So may ours be in our little measure!
- Charge. The commands rest on verse 1: God is watching, Christ will judge, and His appearing is where He measures all service.
- Content. The servant preaches "the word" — the full revelation of God's mind, not his own material.
- Constancy. Decay in the church around us is a reason for more activity, not less. The servant answers for faithfulness, not for results.
- Conviction. Reproof and rebuke reach the conscience only when they come from Scripture. Our own arguments just stir up resentment.
- Capacity. The rapid-fire verbs demand more than any man has. Timothy's sufficiency, like Paul's, came from God.