LESSON IN 2 Timothy 2:11-13 (NIV)
11 Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
12 if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
13 if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.
(from several years ago)
We have been thinking, talking, and praying about this passage over the last few days – particularly verse 13. Here's the understanding we're getting.
- Regardless of what any man thinks about Christ, it doesn’t alter Who and What He is. If we don’t believe in Him, that doesn’t change the fact of Who He is. He is not subject to our perceptions. His immutable nature is that He is perfectly faithful at all times.
- Now the really really good news. The “himself” in this verse, “for he cannot disown himself”, encompasses and includes us – the born-again believers in Jesus. We are one with Him. We are in Him as He is in the Father. So, even though we may fail miserably in our faith (are faithless, and sin) Jesus remains perfectly faithful to us. He cannot and will not turn on (deny and disown) Himself/us. There is a distinction made between our disowning Christ and our being faithless. We sin (are faithless) every day, but that is very different from disowning Christ where one denies Him as one’s personal Christ, Lord, and Savior.
The reasonable response to this truth is NOT to assume easy license to sin since Jesus remains faithful anyway. That attitude, in effect, denies and disowns Christ.
Rather, the reasonable response is all the more devotion to Jesus and determination to faithfulness and righteousness in consideration of His boundless faithfulness, mercy, and love to us despite our failures.