Loving Christ’s Appearing: An Exposition of 2 Timothy 4:6-10

By W. Ross Rainey

Ross Rainey is an itinerant Bible teacher who resides in Plymouth, Michigan. He has been serving the Lord in North America since 1954 in the areas of evangelism, Bible teaching, conferences, and pastoral ministry. He is a former visiting instructor at Emmaus Bible School in Oak Park and has taught at Kawartha Lakes Bible School in Peterborough, Ontario. For an earlier article on this chapter see W. Ross Rainey, “Portrait of a Preacher: An Exposition of 2 Timothy 4:1–5, ” EmJ 4(1995): 31-36.

Introduction

For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing (2 Timothy 4:6–8).

Around the year of 1627 a Bohemian nobleman, Wenceslaus of Budova, was brought to execution for his faith in Christ. As he stood before the religious and imperial authorities in his final moments, the ecclesiastics made their last attempt to bring him back to the Roman persuasion. Wenceslaus raised his eyes to heaven and replied with conviction, “I have finished my course: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.” “Ah,” responded his religious persecutors, “those words were true for the apostle, not for thee.” “Nay,” he rejoined, “you forgot what follows: ‘Not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.’” [1]

What a thrilling and beautiful application of a profound truth!

Unless one has come to know Christ as his Savior and Lord, and seeks to live in fellowship with Him, he simply cannot have an earnest desire for the Lord’s second appearing, or genuinely look forward to the future apart from a sense of inward fear.

We need to understand what it really means to love Christ’s appearing, remembering that in this brief passage of Scripture we have some of the last words penned by the Apostle Paul as he faced a martyr’s death. For this reason alone it is important that we carefully examine what he had to say as he looked around and faced death, noting first of all the expression of:

His Soon Release (4:6)

Paul spoke of his impending death in a twofold way, first as:

A Drink Offering

For I am now ready to be offered (4:6a).

It is noteworthy that the apostle does not refer to his impending martyr-death as a burnt offering or any other main sacrifice, but as a drink offering of a little wine and oil, which was added as a small supplement to the main sacrifice (see Num. 15:1–10). It is in this way that Paul links the shedding of his blood for the sake of Christ with the supreme sacrifice of his Lord. He had spoken of the possibility of this some years before (Phil. 2:17), while the words of Isaiah 53:12 present the illustration of our Lord pouring Himself out unto death.

Literally, Paul said, “I am already being offered” or “I am already being poured out as a drink offering.”

The second way in which the apostle spoke of his death was as:

A Departure

The time of my departure is at hand (4:6b; cf. Phil. 1:23).

The Greek word for “departure” is a beautiful expression with manifold meanings. In his excellent devotional exposition of 2 Timothy, Guy H. King has summarized these ancient meanings by pointing out that the word for “departure” was:

1. A prisoner’s word, referring to his release.
2. A farmer’s word, referring to the unyoking of an ox.
3. A soldier’s word, referring to the striking of a tent.
4. A seaman’s word, referring to the unmooring of a ship.
5. A philosopher’s word, referring to the unraveling of a difficult problem. [2]

How good to be able to confidently say with the psalmist, as to both life and death, “My times are in thy hand” (Psalm 31:15). The story is told of two Cistercian monks, in the reign of Henry VIII, who were threatened by the Lord Mayor of that time, that they would be tied in a sack and thrown into the Thames River. “My Lord Mayor,” answered one of them, “we are going to the kingdom of heaven, and whether we go by land or by water is of very little consequence to us. [3]

Moving along to our second main point, we note that Paul momentarily looked back, thus bringing us to:

His Summary Review (4:7)

The apostle used three images to sum up his life and ministry, two of them having been taken from the athletic field.

Paul the Wrestler or Boxer

I have fought a good fight (4:7a, cf. 1 Cor. 9: 26; Eph. 6:12; Rom. 8:37)

Literally, he says, “I have fought the good fight.” The definite article stresses the character of the fight, not the way in which he fought. Paul wasn’t boasting. Rather, he was simply saying that for him it had been well worthwhile to have participated in the good fight. Probably as no other Christian in the history of the church, he knew the meaning of genuine spiritual conflict in doing battle with the forces of darkness and spiritual wickedness.

Paul the Runner

I have finished my course (4:7b; cf. 1 Cor. 9:24–27; Phil. 2:16; 3:13–14; Heb. 12:1–2)

Like a runner, the apostle had finished his lifelong race in Christ triumphantly. His words remind us of our Lord’s in John 17:4 where, in His high-priestly prayer to God the Father, He stated: “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” Paul’s race was over and the prize was in view (Phil. 3:14).

Paul the Steward

I have kept the faith (4:7c; cf. 1:14; 1 Cor. 4:1–2; Jude 3).

The apostle’s third image is that of a steward. He had faithfully kept not just his own personal faith in Christ, but what his Lord had committed to him—namely, the Gospel of the Grace of God, the very treasure of heaven.

Earlier in the letter, Paul explained to Timothy that it was for the sake of the Gospel “I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day” (2 Tim. 1:12). And then he charged Timothy: “Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Spirit which dwelleth in us” (1:13–14).

We come now to our third and final main point. As Paul looked ahead, he envisioned:

His Sure Reward (4:8)

There are at least five things we need to observe about Paul’s sure reward, the first thing being:

The Safety of It

“Henceforth there is laid up for me”

Here, the apostle pictured himself before the judge’s stand as a victor about to receive his prize, confident that it was his and that no one could take it from him (Rev. 3:11).

The Significance of It

“A crown of righteousness”

This is one of the five crowns or rewards for faithful service set before believers of this church age, the others being: the “crown of rejoicing” (1 Thes. 2:19); the “incorruptible crown” (1 Cor. 9:25); the “crown of life” (James 1:12; cf. Rev. 2:10); and the “crown of glory” (1 Pet. 5:4). The Greek word for “crown” is stephanos from which we get our English name Stephen. This is the victor’s crown. The kingly crown is diadema from which we get our word diadem. It alone is reserved for the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev. 19:12).

The “crown of righteousness,” sometimes referred to as the “Watchful Warrior’s Crown,” must not be confused with salvation which is bestowed as a gift upon everyone who has truly believed on Christ. The distinguished scholar, A. T. Robertson, has said that this is a “crown that consists in righteousness, and is also the reward for righteousness.” [4] Thus it is a special reward for those believers who have lived “soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:12).

Why do they so live? Because they truly and consistently love Christ’s appearing.

The Source of It

“Which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me”

Perhaps there is an implication here that Emperor Nero, the unrighteous earthly judge, had condemned the apostle to death. In the end, however, the righteous Judge would openly acclaim and honor Paul.

The Scene of It

“At that day”

This expression, of course, refers to the return of the Lord and the subsequent Judgment Seat of Christ, at which time He will reward His faithful servants (1 Cor. 3:11–15; 2 Cor. 5:10).

The Securing of It

“And not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.”

This prize is within the reach of every child of God. It is our Lord’s reward for a faithful and righteous life, the promise of Christ’s appearing being the incentive for the believer’s faithfulness and holiness of life. Thus the condition for securing it is that we love His appearing. The verb for “love” is in the perfect tense, an accurate translation being, “that have loved and continue to love His appearing.” In other words, besides being a past fact, there is a durative quality about the believer’s attitude toward Christ’s return.

If we genuinely love our Lord’s appearing, then we will be daily living, longing, and looking for it.

Conclusion

Why should we love Christ’s appearing?

1. Because of what it will mean to Him.
2. Because of what it will mean to Christians (1 Cor. 15:51; 1 John 3:2).
3. Because of what it will mean to a groaning creation (Rom. 8:18–23).
4. Because of what the second stage of that appearing will ultimately mean to the nation Israel (Rev. 19:11–16; Matt. 24:30–31).

After World War II there was a sign on the shore of New York harbor facing all incoming troop ships, which read: “WELCOME HOME. WELL DONE.” When the Lord Jesus Christ appears in the air, He is going to “WELCOME HOME” every saint, for at that time He shall come to take us home to heaven. Our entrance into heaven is solely on the basis of our faith in His shed blood and death on the cross, and every believer shall receive the same “WELCOME HOME.” But, how many of us will receive His “WELL DONE,” and the “crown of righteousness”?

Let us be sure that we do not fall into the snare that Demas fell into. Instead of faithfully loving Christ’s appearing, Paul sadly states that “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world” (2 Tim. 4:10).

Notes

1. N. A. Woychuk, An Exposition of Second Timothy (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1973): 144.
2. Guy H. King, To My Son: An Expositional Study of II Timothy (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1944), 118–119.
3. Woychuck, An Exposition of Second Timothy, 145–146.
4. A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, 6 vols. (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1931), 4:631.