 |  |
himself, of his prospect, of the Lord's gracious sustaining presence, that Timothy and we
may take heart of grace, and hold forth, hold fast and hold on to the end.
"That I may finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the
Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20: 24).
No.38.
The Good Contest.
The Course Finished (4: 7).
pp. 111 - 114
It is evident that the apostle's call to Timothy to endure, to watch, to do the work of an
evangelist, to enter fully into the ministry unto which he had been set apart, and for which
he had so long been qualifying, was contingent upon his own end:
"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand"
(II Tim. 4: 6).
The casual conjunction "for" as its name signifies, is the sign of an argument, and it
connects the call of Timothy with the departure of Paul, not merely as two separate and
independent statements, but as logically linked together. Paul was about to die, but he
does not use the word. Instead, he used two figurative expressions which are full of
meaning and suggestion.
"Offered", "Depart". Once before, the apostle had used these self same words when
writing to the Philippians, saying:
"Having a desire to depart" (Phil. 1: 23), and
"If I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith" (Phil. 2: 17).
In the epistle to the Philippians, where these two words occur, Paul was still pressing
on for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3: 14). In II Tim. 4:,
Paul is assured that he will receive "a crown". In Philippians he had to say:
"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect" (Phil. 3: 12),
whereas in II Timothy he could say "I have finished my course".
In Philippians he desired "to depart" but knew that he would remain for the benefit of
the Philippians and others, but in II Timothy, the time for this departure had come. In
Philippians, he expressed his willingness "to be offered", in II Timothy, the moment had
come for that offering to be made.
It was a constant thought with the apostle, that of the close association of service and
sacrifice. Here, in the expression "I am about to be offered" the thought is not the
offering of the sacrificial animal, but the "pouring out" of the accompanying "drink
offering".