2 Timothy 2
To faithful men; as ministers of the gospel.Hardness; hardship.
For masteries; in the athletic games common in those days as public amusements.—Lawfully; according to the rules and conditions established for the regulation of the game.
The meaning is, that the husbandman must labor before he can partake of the fruits; and so the toils and sufferings of Christ's service here must precede the rest and rewards of heaven.
My gospel; the gospel which has been intrusted to me.
Wherein; in preaching which.
Dead with him; dead to sin with him.
Their word; their influence.—Will eat as doth a canker; corrupting and destroying the spirit of piety.
The foundation of God; the foundation which God has laid,—meaning that portion of the professing church which he had established, as is indicated by what follows.—Let every one, &c.; that is, there was a test to determine the genuineness of discipleship, in the personal holiness which was manifested as the fruits of a religious profession.
A great house; here representing the house of God, namely, the church.
Purge himself from these; from the errors and follies above named.
Must not strive; must not dispute and contend.
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