“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”
My Notes
What Does 2 Timothy 1:12 Mean?
Paul testifies from prison: I suffer. Nevertheless I am not ashamed. The suffering and the confidence coexist. The suffering is real. The shame is absent.
"For I know whom I have believed" — not what. Whom. Paul's confidence is not in a doctrine or a system. It is in a person. The knowing is relational — intimate, experiential, personal.
"And am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" — Paul has entrusted something to God, and he is convinced God will guard it. The commitment is total. The persuasion is settled. The keeping is until that day — the day of Christ's return.
The verse is a model of faith under pressure: suffering but not ashamed, knowing the person trusted, persuaded of his ability to keep what has been committed. The confidence is not in circumstances. It is in the character of the one trusted.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What is the difference between knowing what you believe and knowing whom you have believed?
- 2.What have you 'committed' to God that you need to trust him to keep?
- 3.How does Paul's confidence from prison challenge faith that depends on comfortable circumstances?
- 4.Are you persuaded — genuinely, settledly convinced — that God is able to keep what is yours?
Devotional
I know whom I have believed. Not what. Whom. Paul's confidence is in a person, not a proposition. A relationship, not a religion. The knowing is personal — the kind that comes from walking with someone through fire.
I am persuaded. Not hoping. Not guessing. Persuaded — settled, convinced, beyond doubt. The persuasion was forged in suffering. Paul writes from prison. The circumstances are terrible. The confidence is unshaken.
He is able to keep that which I have committed unto him. Paul has placed something in God's hands — his life, his ministry, his future, his very self. And he is convinced that God is able to keep it. Not might keep it. Is able. The capacity of the one trusted is not in question.
Against that day. There is a day coming. And on that day, everything Paul entrusted will be presented — kept, guarded, preserved by the one who received the commitment.
Do you know whom you have believed? Not just know about. Know. And are you persuaded — genuinely convinced — that he is able to keep what you have committed to him?
The suffering is real. The shame is absent. The knowing is personal. The persuasion is settled. That is what faith looks like from inside a prison cell.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
For the which cause I also suffer these things,.... The present imprisonment and bonds in which he now was; these, with…
For the which cause I also suffer these things - That is, I suffer on account of my purpose to carry the gospel to the…
I am not ashamed - Though I suffer for the Gospel, I am not ashamed of the Gospel; nor am I confounded in my…
Here is an exhortation and excitation of Timothy to his duty (Ti2 1:6): I put thee in remembrance. The best men need…
For the which cause I also suffer these things R.V. places -also" after -suffer" that the emphasis may belong as much to…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture