2 Timothy 2:9-13
9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.
10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
11 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
The Grace New Testament Commentary - 2 Timothy 2:11-13
2:11-13 Verses 11-13 are thought by most commentators to have been a song or poem that was well known in the first century and in Ephesus where Timothy ministered. While possible, we should not rule out the possibility that Paul himself created this faithful saying. Or possibly he adapted it from something in his day. Verses 11 and 13 are key eternal security verses.
Paul often taught that all believers have been crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20; 5:24). Thus when he says if we have died with Christ, he is referring to something that is a past reality for all believers. All who've died with Christ shall also live with Him. Note the future tense here. While all believers already have eternal life (Eph 2:5), we are not currently living with Jesus in His kingdom. That is yet future. But, as Paul indicates here, it is guaranteed (cf. 1 Thess 5:10).
The words translated if we are faithless (ei apistoumen) probably should be translated "if we are unbelieving" since all other NT uses of this verb refer to unbelief, not to unfaithfulness. Even if we stop believing, we remain eternally secure, for He cannot deny Himself. Jesus promised that all who believe in Him will never hunger, will never thirst, will never die, will not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16; 6:35; 11:26). He cannot deny what He Himself has promised. His promise is independent of our continued faith or of anything we may do or fail to do.
Verse 12 is a key eternal rewards verse. In v 10 Paul spoke of his own endurance. Now, using the same Greek verb, he says: If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. Note that unlike vv 11 and 13, the promise of ruling with Christ is conditioned upon something we must do.
The second half of v 12 is antithetically parallel to the first half. If we deny Him, that is, if we fail to endure in our confession of Christ, then He will also deny us the privilege of reigning with Him. Paul is interpreting Matt 10:32-33 for us here. Paul was at the end of his life. Timothy and those to whom he ministered were not. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. The issue is rulership, not kingdom entrance.
Thomas Constable's Expository Notes on the Bible - 2 Timothy 2:11-13
2:11-13 The first couplet (v. 11) is a comforting reminder that since the believer "died with" Christ (Col. 2:20; 3:1, 3) he or she will also experience resurrection "with Him" to newness of life. This seems to be a better interpretation than the one that views this statement as a reference to dying as a martyr. The first class condition and the aorist tense of the verb synapethanomen, translated "died with," argue for the former view.
The second couplet (v. 12a) is also a comfort. If the believer successfully endures temptations, he or she will one day "reign with" Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 4:8; Rev. 3:21; 5:10). While all Christians will reign with Christ in the sense that we will be with Him when He reigns, the faithful will evidently reign with Christ in a more active sense (cf. Matt. 10:33; Luke 12:9).
The Bible seems to teach that there are differences in reigning just as there are differences in rewards (cf. Luke 19:11-27; Rev. 2:26-27; 3:21). Paul probably meant that if we endure the temptation to apostatize we will reign with Christ, in view of what he wrote previously about faithfully persevering in the faith. The idea that all Christians will remain faithful is neither true to revelation nor to reality (cf. Luke 8:13: 1 Tim. 4:1; Heb. 3:12; cf. 2 Tim. 4:4).
The third couplet (v. 12b) is a warning. If the believer departs from following Christ faithfully during his or her life ("deny Him"), Christ will "deny" him or her at the judgment seat of Christ (Matt. 10:33; Mark 8:38; Luke 12:9; cf. Luke 19:22; Matt. 22:13; cf. Matt. 25:41-46). The unfaithful believer ("we," "us") will not lose his salvation (1 John 5:13) or all of his reward (1 Pet. 1:4), but he will lose some of his reward (1 Cor. 3:12-15; cf. Luke 19:24-26).
To "deny" Christ clearly does not mean to deny Him only once or twice (like Peter denied Christ, cf. Luke 22:54-62), but to deny Him permanently (to apostatize), since the other three human conditions in the couplets are also permanent.
The fourth and final couplet (v. 13) is another comforting reminder that, if the believer is unfaithful to God ("faithless"), Christ will still remain "faithful" to him or her. The Greek word apistoumen can mean either "unbelief" or "unfaithful." The context makes it clear that "unfaithful" ("faithless") is the meaning here, since the contrast is with "faithful."
The present tense of the Greek word translated "faithless" denotes a continuing attitude. Christ will not renege on His promises to save us (cf. 1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13: 2 Cor. 1:18-20: 1 Thess. 5:24; et al.) even though we may go back on our commitments to Him (1 John 5:13). God's dealings with the Israelites in the Old Testament are the great proof that God will not cast off or abandon those whom He has redeemed and adopted - even if they prove unfaithful and unbelieving. Christ's faithfulness to us should motivate us to remain faithful to Him (cf. Luke 22:31-32; John 21:15-22).
The point of Paul's quotation is that Christians should continue to endure hardship and remain faithful to the Lord in view of what Jesus Christ has done and will do for us.
Some interpreters believe the references to denying the Lord and being denied by Him refer to unbelievers. However there is nothing in the context to indicate that Paul had unbelievers in mind. On the contrary he used "we" and "us," which without further explanation would naturally include Paul and Timothy. In the context Paul made frequent references to the judgment seat of Christ (2 Timothy 1:12, 18; 4:8). This whole epistle constitutes an exhortation for Christians to remain faithful to the Lord in view of that coming event (cf. Rom 14:10: 2 Cor. 5:10).
Ruckman Reference Bible - 2 Timothy 2:12
2:12 This denial has nothing to do with salvation. According to the first part of the verse, it is the denial of a Millennial reign with Christ. Verse 13 makes it clear that Jesus Christ won't "deny himself," and if you are saved, you are "members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones" (Eph. 5:30). If you quit believing on Christ after you are born again, that wouldn't change your destination whatsoever (Rom. 8:29); nothing can separate you from Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:38-39).
Tony Evans Bible Commentary - 2 Timothy 2:11-13
2:11-13 To further encourage Timothy to persevere, Paul recites a trustworthy statement. This series of four couplets was perhaps a common saying among first-century Christians.
If we died with him, we will also live with him (2 Tim 2:11). This first couplet refers to our union with Christ. Through trusting in him as Savior, we are united with him by faith. Therefore, we have died with Christ (Gal 2:19-20) and are also raised with him (Eph 2:6). Your eternal future is secure through your connection to and identification with Christ.
The two middle couplets refer to our obedience to Christ. If we endure, we will also reign with him means that if we live a consistent Christian life, we will be rewarded with reigning with Christ in his millennial kingdom (see Rev 20:4). If we deny him, he will also deny us (2 Tim 2:12) means that if our Christian lives are more covert than public (see commentary on Matt 10:32-33), if we seek to please ourselves more than to please our Lord, we will lose the opportunity to partake in his millennial reign. This does not involve loss of salvation but loss of rewards and privileges.
The final couplet repeats the idea of the first in a different way: If we are faithless, he remains faithful. When our faith grows weak or even fails, God remains true to his promise to save us through Christ. To fail to keep his promise would be for him to deny himself, and that he cannot do (2 Tim 2:13). He is true to us because he is true to himself. Therefore, we must appeal to God's faithfulness even when we feel we are losing our faith.
Ryrie Study Bible, New Testament - 2 Timothy 2:13
2:13 believe not... Lit., if we are unfaithful, he abideth faithful. A statement of the consistency of God's character, a strong promise to the believer of the security of his salvation even though he may lose all rewards (see 1 Cor. 3:15).
NKJV Study Bible, Second Edition - 2 Timothy 2:11-13
2:11 if we died... We shall also live: Believers are united with Christ in His death and resurrection (see Rom. 6:8), which become our death to sin and our resurrection to eternal life.
2:12 If we endure: Persevering in the faith even in the face of hardship or persecution will result in a reward when Christ returns (see Luke 19:11-27; Rom. 8:17; Rev. 3:21). He will also deny us: If believers deny the enduring of persecution for Christ, He will deny them the reward and reign that could have been theirs.
2:13 Faithless describes the life of an immature believer who lives for oneself and not for the Savior (see 1 Cor. 3:1-3, 15). He remains faithful: Even when believers fail the Savior, He remains loyal. For Christ to abandon us would be contrary to His faithful nature (see John 10:27-30; Heb. 10:23; 13:5). Christ's relationship with Peter is a great example of God's faithfulness (see Luke 22:31-34).