Gospel of John [17:17-18]. The Lord's priestly prayer; part 27. 2Ti 2; Passages of the

Title: Gospel of John [17:17-18]. The Lord's priestly prayer; part 27. 2Ti 2; Passages of the "gospel."

Joh 17:17-18

"Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth. "As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

For this reason they are going to suffer in a world that hates the gospel, but Christ has overcome the world and the Father has heeded His prayer to sanctify them in the truth so that the evil in the world does not set up a home in their hearts.

2Ti 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2Ti 2:2 And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

2Ti 2:3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

2Ti 2:4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

2Ti 2:5 And also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.

2Ti 2:6 The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.

2Ti 2:7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

2Ti 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel,

2Ti 2:9 for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned.

2Ti 2:10 For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.

These three verses form the conclusion of the paragraph. He presses home this part of the lesson by passing from simile to concrete example of Christ's own hardship that resulted in glory, which was then imitated by Paul in a lesser way.

Jesus Christ is our true example.

2Ti 2:9 for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned.

2Ti 2:10 For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.

Paul was shackled, however, as he puts so well, the word of God could not be imprisoned. The gospel continued to go forth, saving soul after soul.

Paul saw the trails being blazed by the gospel as more important than his suffering.

No doubt he recollected writing:

Rom 8:18

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

There are so many more out there who are going to be chosen because they will believe in the gospel and they will be resurrected in Christ to eternal glory, and so the harvest was still plentiful and though the workers were few, Paul was determined to be one of them, whether he was in prison sentenced to death or not.

Let's read some passages where Paul reveals the determination of the workers for the gospel.

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

The mockery of the world attempts to shame the witness of the gospel.

1Co 9:12 we endure all things, that we may cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ.

Though the gospel does not depend upon the believer, the witness of the gospel himself can be hindered by how the witness acts.

This in no way implies that the gospel depends upon the believer. The firm foundation of the gospel continues in history in spite of the believer. The point being made is that the effectiveness of the witness can be hindered by his lack of endurance in the pursuit of the truth. The Corinthian church had a weak witness of the gospel due to her fleshly and worldly conduct. They did not endure in the truth but compromised the truth by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life.

1Co 9:16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.

1Co 9:17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward [giving the gospel without charge - victor's crown, v. 25]; but if against my will [under necessity], I have a stewardship entrusted to me.

"For if I do this willingly (with joy), I have a reward, but if I'm only doing it because I have to, I have the stewardship of the gospel entrusted to me (yet, what is my reward?)." [Itallics added; stewardship - office, management or administration of the gospel.]

1Co 9:18 That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use [full reward of joy] of my right in the gospel.

And in reference to reward, Paul, as he did in 2Ti 2 uses the athlete metaphor.

1Co 9:24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.

1Co 9:25 And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

1Co 9:26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air;

1Co 9:27 but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

The witness sees the magnitude and importance of the gospel and so he must reveal it and do so without cost.

1Co 9:23 And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

The good witness is a partner of the gospel. Its grace and power fills him with confidence and joy.

2Co 8:18 And we have sent along with him [Titus] the brother whose fame in the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches;

Php 1:12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,

"progress" - prokoph, [prokope] = a cutting forward as clearing a path through the brush, to forge ahead, advancement. The gospel goes ahead of the witness clearing a path through the brush.