Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
— 2 Timothy 2:10

Why did the Apostle Paul “endure all things?” According to this verse, he did it for the sake of the “elect” or “chosen,” those predestined by God for salvation.

But if they are already predestined, why did he need to struggle so on their behalf? Wouldn’t they be saved anyway?

The answer to this question is found in the last clause of this verse. His struggle was not merely that they would obtain salvation, but that they would obtain it “with eternal glory.”

He is not saying that he suffered so that the elect would obtain salvation and then one day in the future enter into glory. Rather, he is telling us that he suffered so that the elect would experience this eternal glory today, and thus be prepared to enter into glory with Christ in the future.

The next few verses confirm this, for he goes on to tell us,

If we endure,
   We shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
   He also will deny us.
— 2 Timothy 2:12

That is, our reigning with Christ in the next age is conditional. That will be the 1,000 year reign of Christ, the Millennium, when the time comes for us to enter into glory. But, as the apostle tells us here, to enter into the glory of the Lord and reign with Him in that age requires that we endure with Him in this age. Thus, the apostle struggled for the saints to endure and obtain the glory of Christ today so that they would also reign with Him in the future.

Paul also tells us of this struggle in the book of Colossians. After speaking of “Christ in you” as our “hope of glory” (Col. 1:27), he goes on to say that he proclaimed Him, this “Christ in you,”

…Admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.
— Colossians 1:28-29

What a struggle the apostle had, that the saints would enter into the experience of Christ as their glory! May we today struggle to gain the glory of Christ ourselves, and help all of our brothers and sisters in Christ to do so as well!

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— 27 August 2022 —