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2 Timothy 1

Paul calls Timothy to courageous faithfulness amid suffering, grounded in God’s saving grace and sustained by the Holy Spirit.

Paul writes to Timothy from imprisonment, recalling Timothy’s tears and the faith shared by his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois. He urges Timothy to put God’s gift to work and share in hardship for the Good News. Paul grounds this charge in God’s grace and Christ’s victory over death. He then calls Timothy to guard the teaching entrusted to him, contrasting those who deserted Paul with Onesiphorus, who sought him out in Rome.

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1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus,
2to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3I thank God, whom I serve as my forefathers did, with a pure conscience. How unceasing is my memory of you in my petitions, night and day
4longing to see you, remembering your tears, that I may be filled with joy;
5having been reminded of the sincere faith that is in you, which lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, in you also.
6For this cause, I remind you that you should stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
7For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
8Therefore don’t be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but endure hardship for the Good News according to the power of God,
9who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before times eternal,
10but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Good News.
11For this I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
12For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.
13Hold the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
14That good thing which was committed to you, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
15This you know, that all who are in Asia turned away from me, of whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.
16May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain,
18(the Lord grant to him to find the Lord’s mercy in that day); and in how many things he served at Ephesus, you know very well.
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Key verses
2 Timothy 1:7God’s provision of power, love, and self-control grounds Paul’s call for Timothy to face hardship without shame.
2 Timothy 1:9Paul roots salvation and holy calling in God’s purpose and grace, given in Christ before time began.
2 Timothy 1:12Paul’s confidence in the one he trusts explains why imprisonment and suffering have not brought him shame.
Where this chapter reaches

Romans and Ephesians share this chapter’s teaching that salvation rests on God’s grace rather than human works, while John shares its promise of life in Christ. Acts connects through the same people and places, including Paul, Timothy, Ephesus, and Paul’s imprisonment in Rome.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

How does Paul’s account of grace shape his call for Timothy to endure hardship?

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What stands out to you about Onesiphorus seeking Paul out when others had turned away?

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Questions people ask about 2 Timothy 1

What does 2 Timothy 1:7 mean by a spirit of fear?

Paul is urging Timothy to exercise God’s gift and face the hardship attached to bearing witness to Christ. Fear here concerns shrinking back under that pressure. The next verse makes the connection clear: Timothy is to resist shame about the Lord’s testimony and Paul’s imprisonment, drawing strength from God.

What had Paul committed to God in 2 Timothy 1:12?

In the supplied translation, Paul speaks of something he has committed to God, which can be understood as his life and final keeping. The underlying wording has also been understood as the gospel entrusted to Paul. The central claim is clear: Paul trusts God’s ability to guard what has been entrusted.

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What the Bible says about fear →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).