2 Timothy 1:2Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

“To Timothy, my beloved son.” Not simply “son,” but “beloved.” There can be children who are not loved. But you are not such a one, he says, and therefore I do not simply call you “son,” but “beloved son.”

He also calls the Galatians children, yet he grieves over them: “My children, for whom I again suffer the pains of birth” (Gal 4:19). By calling him beloved, he bears witness to his great virtue. How so? When love is not from nature, it is from virtue.

Those born of us are dear to us not only because of their virtue, but also by the demand of nature. Those beloved according to faith are such for no other reason than virtue. And how could it be otherwise, especially with Paul, who did nothing from partiality?

“To Timothy, my beloved son.” One may be a son and yet not beloved. Timothy, however, was beloved, undoubtedly because of his virtue. By this the Apostle shows that he is not leaving him because he is angry with him or despises him for anything. No, he says, you are beloved to me, but force and necessity compel me to leave you. “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” What he asked of God before, in the First Epistle, he asks for him now also. Therefore, concerning this passage, read in the First Epistle.

To Timothy, my beloved son by spiritual birth: may grace and peace from God our Father be with us in all things and everywhere, in view of the persecutors who rise against us from every side. And may they be from Christ Jesus our Lord, not through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Not every son is beloved. Sometimes coarseness of character in children extinguishes even natural tenderness. But Timothy, valiant in all things, was made both a son and beloved not by nature, but by the heart. The words “according to the promise of life” should be understood thus: “The Master, God, by the consent also of the Son, appointed me,” Paul says, “as an Apostle, so that I might preach to men the promised eternal life.”

“To Timothy, my beloved child.” Not simply a child, but beloved, because of his virtue. “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.” May grace and the rest be upon you. Here the Apostle calls grace a special mercy, goodwill, and protection from above. Or else he understands by it success and ability in the doing of good works.

Addressing Timothy at the beginning of his epistle, Saint Paul calls him his beloved son, for the Apostle truly begot him, not bodily, but by faith.

“To my beloved child.” In the First Epistle the Apostle calls him genuine; here he calls him beloved, showing the strength of his love for Timothy.

A sequential exegetical analysis of the Epistle.

In the Second Epistle to Timothy, the following distinct parts are visibly observed. There is an introduction with inscription and greeting, and with an indication of the chief subject of the Epistle (2 Tim 1:1-6). There is an instructive part, which speaks of pastoral activity, and Saint Timothy is encouraged to fulfill it properly in all its parts (2 Tim 1:7-4:8). There is an afterword, containing the personal motives of the holy Apostle Paul for writing the Epistle (2 Tim 4:9-22).

The inscription of the Epistle and the Apostle Paul’s greeting to Timothy appear ordinary, yet they are also distinct from the others. The likeness consists in this: Paul calls himself an Apostle and imparts to Timothy the highest Christian gifts, grace, mercy, and peace.

The difference consists in this: he mentions the special will of God in all this, and says that he does it by virtue of the promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus. By this he immediately encourages Timothy, showing him that all his temporal sufferings are nothing in comparison with what, according to the promise, has been prepared for him in the future life, as a beloved son and co-heir in Christ.

After the greeting, in which the Apostle calls himself an apostle summoned to proclaim life in Christ, “an apostle according to the promise of life,” Saint Paul says that he always remembers Timothy, his true friend, with thanksgiving to God. He greatly desires to see him, for Timothy’s presence will bring the Apostle true joy. At the same time, the Apostle always remembers Timothy’s unfeigned faith, inherited from his grandmother and mother.

“To Timothy, my beloved child.” “Not simply ‘child,’ but ‘beloved’; for there can be children who are not loved. But you are not such a one, he says, and therefore I do not simply call you child, but beloved child. He also calls the Galatians children, yet he grieves over them: ‘My little children, for whom I again suffer birth-pangs’ (Gal 4:19). By calling him beloved, he bears witness to his great virtue. How so? When love is not from nature, it is from virtue. Those born of us are dear to us not only because of their virtue, but also by the demand of nature. Those beloved according to faith are such for no other reason than virtue. And how could it be otherwise, especially with Paul, who did nothing from partiality?” (Saint Chrysostom).