if we are unfaithful, *he* abides faithful, for he cannot deny himself.
This verse ends a short saying that Paul set before Timothy. It closes not with what we do, but with what God is. It raises two hard questions. What failure does Paul mean? And how can God stay faithful when we do not?
The line and its reason
The last clause is not a loose add-on. The word "for" makes it the ground of everything said before.
There is a closing sentence of great weight: "if we are unfaithful, He abides faithful." And this is for the most convincing and glorious of reasons: "for He cannot deny Himself." At first hearing, reading "for" may seem to spoil the ease and flow of the sentence. But good and ancient manuscripts require it. On reflection it adds a great deal to its force. It is not a separate remark added to confirm what goes before. The ground or proof of His abiding faithfulness lies in the blessed fact of His unchanging truth.
Denying Him
The denial in view is a settled path, not a moment of weakness.
There is a solemn warning here. The denial in this verse is no isolated fall, however shameful, as in the case of the Apostle Peter. It is the continued course of those who deny the glory and work of the Son, whatever profession they make. He will deny such people. As it has been truly said, "God would cease to be God, if He accepted the dishonour of His Son." Amid all the unfaithfulness of the professing Christian world to Christ, "He abides faithful: He cannot deny Himself."
Peter is the test case. His story shows what grace does with a single act of denial.
No doubt this was only a passing act, however shameful and terrible, and however often he repeated it, each time making it worse. Yet the all-overcoming, all-forgiving grace of Christ rose above it and wiped it out. It even turned it into profit never forgotten and fruitful blessing.
What "faithless" means
Commentators differ over the middle phrase, which older translations render "if we believe not". Some read it as unbelief in the full sense: a soul that never had faith at all. Even so, they find comfort in the second half of the verse.
The question is not whether a believer can finally deny Christ. The teaching is rather that an absolute denial of Him is the unmistakable evidence that the soul had never been converted. … Then comes the solemn addition, "If we believe not." Some have argued that this means being unfaithful as Christians. It does not. It means being positively without faith, and we see no reason for departing from the usual meaning of the word. "He abides faithful" — not to us, but to Himself and to His word — "He cannot deny Himself." Whatever our wavering and changeableness, He must always act in line with His own nature, His holiness, and His truth. In this — in His unchangeableness — lies the eternal security of all who, through grace, have been led to put their trust in Him.
Others apply it to believers whose trust is thin. They draw comfort from it, not despair.
Still we must never forget this. His trustworthiness does not depend in the least on the worth, or otherwise, of our trust. "If we believe not — are unfaithful — yet He abides faithful: He cannot deny Himself" (2 Tim. 2:13). So it is a happy truth that those who are weak in faith, and so do not trust Him fully, still find Him wholly true. Nothing does more to strengthen and increase our trust in the Lord.
His purposes and our service
Because His faithfulness is to Himself, His plans move forward whether or not we keep pace with them.
If we do not believe, the Lord will still carry out all the purposes of His heart, all the thoughts of His love; for He cannot deny Himself. He does not depend in any way on our faithfulness or service. Yet He may be pleased to give us the privilege of being His servants, of working in His vineyard.
Where faith rests
This verse speaks into a scene of ruin. It tells faith where to look.
But, in the face of all this, God abides faithful. He cannot deny Himself. Here is the resource and the resting-place of faith. Faith is not blind to human failure; but it fixes its gaze on divine faithfulness. It confesses the ruin of man; but it counts on the resources of God.
The same faithfulness opens the way back after failure.
For Him to deny Himself would be impossible. But if He abides faithful, He is also "faithful and just to forgive" when His failing people confess their sins to Him, whether on their own behalf or on behalf of others.
Summary
- Faithful to Himself. The word "for" carries the weight: His faithfulness rests on His own unchanging truth, not on ours.
- Faithful in warning. A settled course of denying Christ has its answer. God would cease to be God if He accepted the dishonour of His Son.
- Faithful after a fall. Peter's denial was an act, not a course, and grace rose above it and turned it into lasting blessing.
- Faithful to His purposes. He does not depend on our faithfulness or service. Every thought of His love still arrives.
- Faithful as our resting-place. Faith owns the ruin, counts on God, and comes back by confession to the One who is faithful and just to forgive.