2 Timothy 2:13

 2 Timothy 2:13

If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

a. NLT:If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is. [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. ASV: If we are faithless, he abideth faithful; for he cannot deny himself. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. YLT: If we are not stedfast, he remaineth stedfast; to deny himself he is not able. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

d. Classic Amplified: If we are faithless [do not believe and are untrue to Him], He remains true (faithful to His Word and His righteous character), for He cannot deny Himself. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

1. “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”

a. If [Strong: 1487. ei i a primary particle of conditionality; if, whether, that, etc.:--forasmuch as, if, that, (al-)though, whether.]

b. [we] believe not [Strong: 569. apisteo ap-is-teh'-o from 571; to be unbelieving, i.e. (transitively) disbelieve, or (by implication) disobey:--believe not.]

c. [yet] he [Strong: 1565. ekeinos ek-i'-nos from 1563; that one (or (neuter) thing); often intensified by the article prefixed:--he, it, the other (same), selfsame, that (same, very), X their, X them, they, this, those.]

d. abideth [Strong: 3306. meno men'-o a primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy):--abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for), X thine own.]

e. faithful [Strong: 4103. pistos pis-tos' from 3982; objectively, trustworthy; subjectively, trustful:--believe(-ing, -r), faithful(-ly), sure, true.]

f. [he] cannot [Strong: 3756. ou oo, also (before a vowel) ouk ook, and (before an aspirate) ouch ookh a primary word; the absolute negative (compare 3361) adverb; no or not:--+ long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, (can-)not, + nothing, + special, un(-worthy), when, + without, + yet but.]

g. [Strong: 1410. dunamai doo'-nam-ahee of uncertain affinity; to be able or possible:--be able, can (do, + -not), could, may, might, be possible, be of power.]

h. deny [Strong: 720. arneomai ar-neh'-om-ahee perhaps from 1 (as a negative particle) and the middle voice of 4483; to contradict, i.e. disavow, reject, abnegate:--deny, refuse.]

i. himself [Strong: 1438. heautou heh-ow-too' from a reflexive pronoun otherwise obsolete and the genitive case (dative case or accusative case) of 846; him- (her-, it-, them-, also (in conjunction with the personal pronoun of the other persons) my-, thy-, our-, your-) self (selves), etc.:--alone, her (own, -self), (he) himself, his (own), itself, one (to) another, our (thine) own(-selves), + that she had, their (own, own selves), (of) them(-selves), they, thyself, you, your (own, own conceits, own selves, -selves).]

1). In our covenant commitment to Christ we are to deny ourselves.

a). Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

2). We can deny Christ in our actions, our works. 

a). Titus 1:15, 16 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

3). If we confess Jesus before men Jesus will confess us before God, if we deny Jesus before men, he will deny us before the Father.

a). Matthew 10:32, 33  Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

10:33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

4). Rick Renner 8/8/16  Have you ever wondered what kind of worship services took place in the first-century Church? What did the early believers do during their praise and worship? How did they take their offerings? How did they pray for the sick? How loud did they pray in the Spirit? Or how did they flow in the anointing and gifts of the Holy Spirit? Imagine the kind of vitality that must have filled their church services! In Second Timothy 2:11-13, Paul gives us a glimpse into one of those Early Church meetings. As he writes to Timothy, Paul actually quotes a literal song or hymn that the early believers sang when they met together to worship. “Hymnic literature” is what scholars call Second Timothy 2:11-13. In other words, these verses are an actual quote of a real New Testament hymn. This song was so well known that Paul included its lyrics in this epistle. It was most likely sung by Paul, Timothy, the apostle John, as well as thousands of others. In addition to this hymn in Second Timothy 2:11-13, a second hymn is found in Colossians 1:15-19 that proclaims the Lordship of Jesus Christ and His dominion over all the universe. In both of these instances in the New Testament when “hymnic literature” is used, the quote is from a “hymn” that was well known throughout the Church. These hymns were intended to be more than mere music; they were tools of instruction that chronicled the true thinking of the Early Church. But when Paul was writing Second Timothy, he was trying to encourage Timothy to bravely face the challenges that were before him. By using this hymn, it is almost as if Paul is saying, “Timothy, I know how to get you to understand the point I am trying to make to you! Do you remember that powerful song your congregation sings every week? You surely know the one I’m talking about. You know, the one that goes like this.…”  Then Paul quotes the familiar hymn from Second Timothy 2:11-13, which says: it is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he will also deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.