2 Timothy 2:23Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Do you see how the Apostle everywhere turns Timothy away from controversies? This is not because he was incapable of refuting them; he was capable. If he had not been capable, the Apostle would have said to him: strive to become capable of refuting them. He spoke similarly when he said: "Take heed to yourself and to the teaching; for by doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you" (1 Tim 4:16). But the Apostle knew that even entering into such controversies is utterly useless. He knew that they end in nothing other than quarrel, enmity, insult, and slander. Reject such controversies. Therefore there are also other controversies, for example, concerning the Scriptures and similar matters.

Do you see how the Apostle everywhere turns Timothy away from controversies? This is not because Timothy was incapable of refuting them; he was capable. Rather, it is because even entering into such controversies is utterly useless. Nothing good comes from them except quarrel and hatred. Reject such controversies, he says, as foolish. There are other inquiries, namely concerning the truths of Scripture, which should not be rejected, because they do not produce quarrels. See how mistaken are those who also quarrel in inquiries concerning the Scriptures.

Avoid foolish and ignorant controversies, by which ignorant people are carried away, for they produce quarrels.

"But reject foolish and uninstructed controversies." Avoid disputes that lead to nothing useful, but arise only for show and for vainglory. The Apostle turns Timothy away from them not because he was powerless to act against them, but because quarrels arise from them. He did not turn Timothy away from reasonable and well-intentioned inquiries, which are founded on divine Scripture and useful for the soul. "Knowing that they produce quarrels." They plant in people enmity, pride, slander, accusations, and remembrance of wrongs.

If someone defends his own unjust and false cause with far greater zeal than he sympathizes with another person's just and true cause, this comes only from a tendency toward conceit and pride. Foreseeing this very thing, the blessed Apostle Paul writes to Timothy and teaches that a bishop must not be quarrelsome or fond of disputes, but teachable and gentle. The one capable of teaching is he who, being patient himself, possesses meekness and quietness while being instructed. For a bishop must not only teach, but also learn. He teaches best who daily grows and advances in the study of what is better.

Reject foolish and uninstructed controversies. He means useless disputes about aeons and genealogies.

"Therefore, be clean from this," Saint Paul concludes his exhortations to Timothy concerning false teachings, "so that you may be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful to the Master." Be clean also from their vices: "flee youthful lusts," and so on. Be clean also from their disputes about words: "avoid foolish and ignorant controversies," and so on (see 2 Tim 2:16).

The measures of prudent conduct toward opponents of the faith consist first of all in restraint. This is especially necessary when judging the most absurd opinions, where it is particularly easy to fall into indignation and then, in disputes, into quarrel.

Precisely here special caution is needed. It is most easily attained by avoiding judgment about what is not even worth judging.

Toward all, the Apostle commands the servant of God to be gracious, edifying, free from malice, and even to instruct opponents with meekness. He places hope in God, who by judgments known to Him can awaken in them repentance and the desire to be freed from the devil, who has caught them in his snares. The devil is the chief instigator of every uprising directed against the Lord.

But to be a vessel for honor, Timothy must not only cleanse himself from defilement coming from outside. He must also overcome everything impure within him and cultivate Christian virtues in himself, especially meekness and gentleness. Only with these is successful activity in converting those who err possible.

"Do you see how the Apostle everywhere turns Timothy away from disputes? This was not because Timothy was incapable of refuting them. He was capable. If he had not been, the Apostle would have said to him, 'Strive to become capable of refuting them,' just as he said, 'Give heed to the teaching, for by doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you' (cf. 1 Tim 4:16).

"But the Apostle knew that it was utterly useless even to enter such disputes as then occurred. He knew that they ended in nothing but quarrel, enmity, insult, and slander. Reject such disputes, he says" (Saint Chrysostom).