“I was chosen to tell people that message as an apostle and teacher. And I suffer now because of that work. But I am not ashamed. I know the one I have believed, and I am sure that he is able to protect what he has trusted me with until that Day” (2 Timothy 1:11-12 ESV).
Paul the Apostle was called to fulfill the office of a preacher (a person who exhorts others to righteousness), a teacher (one who communicates Biblical truths in a way that others can understand and apply), and an apostle (a commissioned representative of Christ). Despite the suffering he endured for his commitment to that calling, Paul went on to say “Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day” (NIV).
We should note that Paul did not say “I know what I believe…” in this passage. Instead, he said, “I know whom I have believed.” This reminds us that Christianity is not about an idea, a belief system, an organization, or a set of spiritual rules we must follow. Christianity is about a relationship with a Person, namely Jesus Christ. Since Paul knew the One he believed, he could say with confidence, “I am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him.”
This enabled Paul to approach his circumstances with complete assurance despite their outward appearance. One Biblical scholar illustrates this idea with a reference to the original language of this passage: “‘I have believed,’ is in the perfect tense in the Greek text. It is in its full meaning, ‘I have believed with the present result that my faith is a firmly settled one.’ It is like hammering a nail through a board and clinching it on the other side. It is there to stay.” (1)
Another source offers a valuable reminder based upon this portion of Scripture…
“We must always remember that Paul does not say that he knew what he had believed. His certainty did not come from the intellectual knowledge of a creed or a theology; it came from a personal knowledge of God. He knew God personally and intimately; he knew what he was like in love and in power; and to Paul it was inconceivable that he should fail him. If we have worked honestly and done the best that we can, we can leave the result to God, however meager that work may seem to us. With him in this or any other world life is safe, for nothing can separate us from his love in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (2)
(1) Kenneth S. Wuest, Word Studies in the Greek New Testament [2 Timothy 1:12] Copyright © 1942-55 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
(2) Barclay, William. William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible “Trust, Human And Divine (2Ti_1:12-14)