A Matter of Life through Death

“The saying is trustworthy, for: ‘If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him’” (2Tim 2:11).

How many times have you heard something is a matter of life and death? It happens in the movies when someone in grave danger pleads urgently for help. Somebody must come to the rescue because a life hangs in the balance. It’s simply life or death. It’s one or the other. It’s what engineers call a binary choice. Black or white. Up or down. On or off.

But what if it’s NOT an “either/or?” What if death was actually the way to life? That’s exactly Paul’s point here in his second letter to Timothy. “The saying is trustworthy, for: ‘If we have died with Him, we shall also with with Him” (v11). Here’s something you can take to the bank. Something you can always count on. Dying with Jesus ensures real life with Jesus.

It’s a matter of life through death. 

Paul should know. Certain death is a cold, cruel reality for the apostle as he writes to his buddy Tim. He’s locked up in the Mamertine Prison, Rome’s Death Row, and his time is rapidly running out (2Tim 1:16; 2:9; 4:6-7). Paul hopes his protege can get there before it’s too late (2Tim 4:9, 21). In the meantime, he crams everything he can in a short letter to give Tim instructions on carrying on the spread of the Good News once his life on earth is over (2Tim 2:1-4:5).

Paul wants Timothy to know he can bet the farm on what he’s about to read. “The saying is trustworthy” (v11). You can translate the original language here as “faithful the word.” It’s one of his go-to phrases in his letters to both young gun pastors, Tim and Titus (1Tim 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; Titus 3:8). Just so we’re clear, everything the Holy Spirit inspires every single word the apostle writes. He’s not trying to say the rest of his letters are shady and questionable. He IS pointing out that what you’re about to read is a big deal. It would be in all CAPS and bold if he could. Does he have your total attention? Sweet.

Notice how the next couple of verses appear different from the rest of Paul’s letter in your Bible. 

“If we have died with Him, we will also live with Him;

if we endure, we will also reign with Him;

if we deny Him, He will also deny us;

if we are faithless, He remains faithful” (2Tim 2:11-14).

Kinda looks like a poem, doesn’t it? That’s because Scholars believe there’s a pretty good chance these are lyrics from a first century praise song. It’s not the first time the apostle dips into song lyrics to make a point (Phil 2:1-11). This principle is so trustworthy that somebody has written a song about it!

What a powerful reminder about the importance of music when it comes to communicating God’s truth. For those of us involved in either composing worship songs or the planning of worship services, it’s top-shelf important to ensure the lyrics we use are in line with Scripture. At the same time, we should pay VERY close attention to the words we sing when we gather together. Do you believe what’s coming out of your mouth? Are you learning more about who Jesus is and what He’s done for you? For centuries, songwriters have been some of the most important teachers of our faith.

“If we have died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure with Him, we will also reign with Him” (2Tim 2:11-12). These first two lines of the tune are a pair of paradoxes. (Wait, does that make four doxes? But I digress.) God’s Word is loaded with these statements that seem to contradict each other. In reality, they’re NOT really contradictions. They just appear to be mutually exclusive at first glance. Digging a little deeper, we see the beauty of eternal truth. The reason for the apparent contradiction is the stark difference between how our fallen world works and God’s original design for His universe. 

Jesus came to set things straight again. He came give us Gospel optics so we could see life as it was intended. It seems that He came to turn the world’s economy upside down. In actuality, Christ came to turn it rightside up. That’s because our sin has totally trashed paradise. So when we read words like Paul’s here in verses 11 and 12, they seem wacky. Death is the way to life? Patient submission is the way to sovereignty? What the WHAT?!? God is using the apostle give us the glasses of grace in order to see things His way.

Let’s drill down on the first line of the lyrics. “If we have died with Him, we will also live with Him” (v11). Just in case you’re wondering about just who “Him” is, we’re talking about Jesus. The secret decoder for “Him” is back just one verse where Paul writes about “salvation that is in Christ Jesus” (2Tim 2:10). Just another reminder that the Son of God is THE Hero of the Bible. From the opening pages of the Old Testament to the last words of the New. So it’s no surprise that “Him” is Jesus.

You might be surprised at the source of the first line of lyrics here in verse 11. Apparently the songwriter is passing along words originally written by…wait for it…the Apostle Paul! Check out what he wrote a few years back to the church in Rome: “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him” (Rom 6:8). 

Doug Bookman among others thinks the apostle wrote Romans around 56 AD and 2 Timothy in 66 or 67 AD. Over those ten years, was some first century worship leader in Rome so moved by what Paul wrote that he put it in a praise song for his church? While we can’t be sure of that, there’s no question these two verses share the same truth, nearly word for word.

But just what in the world is Paul saying when he writes, “If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him” (v11)? Don’t miss the fact that both ends of the idea connect us with Christ. The first phrase “died with Him” is actually just one compound Greek verb (Gr. συναποθνησκω). It literally means “together (συν-) separated (-απο-) in death (-θνησκω).” You only see it a grand total of three times in the NT.

Remember how Peter puffed out his chest the night before Jesus died? He wouldn’t leave the Lord hanging, even if it meant he would die too. “If I must die with you (Gr. συναποθνησκω), I will not deny you” (Mk 14:31). Yeah, that didn’t go so well, did it? Just a few hours later, a question from a middle school girl would crumble the one Christ called Rocky (Mk 14:66-68). History tells us the former fisherman would eventually die like His Savior, crucified upside down.

The other time we see it is when Paul tells believers in Corinth that his relationship with them is so tight that it would they would go so far as “to die together (Gr. συναποθνησκω) and to live together” (2Cor 7:3). The Corinthians may have been a hot mess but the apostle refused to turn his back on them.

Paul begins, “If we have died with Him” (v11). Wait. IF we died with Jesus? I don’t know about you, but they haven’t held my funeral yet. Don’t let the past tense of the verb throw us for a loop. Relax. We’re not walking around like Patrick Swayze in “Ghost,” hoping Whoopy Goldberg can help us warn our loved ones. You see, the grammar of Paul’s Greek tips us off that we actually died with Christ in the past on that bloody Friday outside Jerusalem. When we place our trust in our Lord, we died when He died. 

It’s a matter of life through death. 

The apostle makes the point that Jesus wasn’t alone at Golgotha that bloody Friday outside Jerusalem. Yeah, there certainly were a couple of crooks on crosses too. But that’s not all. Calvary was actually incredibly crowded that day. Everyone who ever places their faith in Christ was there too. That’s what Paul tells the folks in Galatia. “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal 2:20). 

It’s a matter of life through death. 

Since we died with our crucified Savior, “we will also live with Him” (v11). We’re connected with Christ one more time, this time Paul’s talking about life. Not just existence. Not just survival. This is buckle-your-seat-belt-and-hang-on life with Jesus. The former Pharisee drops another compound word (Gr. συζαω) that means to live with, share life, or enjoy life. You can literally translate this “together (συ-) enjoying life (-ζαω).”

This is exactly the lavish life Jesus says He came to bring (Jn 10:10). He and Paul are describing life overflowing with God’s goodness. Following Christ isn’t just splashing around in the kiddie pool. It’s going down a breathtaking waterslide into the deep end! King David thanks God for His amazing grace this way. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Ps 23:5-6). An all-you-can-eat banquet. Oil running down your head. Cup overflowing. The good life is the God life. 

It’s a matter of life through death.

Let’s take a New York minute to review what real life with Jesus is NOT. This is NOT the so-called prosperity gospel. This is the phony belief that God wants you to have a multi-million dollar mansion, a couple of Beamers, and a private jet. According to its proponents, all you have to do is believe. This turns Almighty God into a divine vending machine spitting out blessings at your request. It places our focus on His gifts instead of the Ultimate Giver.

Real life with Jesus is better than that. WAY better than that! Life together with Christ is NOT about you. It’s a “me third” lifestyle. In other words, “God first, others second, me third.” If we’re living with the Lord, why would we expect it to be any different from His original mission. “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” (Mt 20:28). Dying with Christ also means dying to self. Getting my eyes off the goofball in the mirror unlocks the abundant life with Jesus.

It’s a matter of life through death. 

There’s one more benefit of sharing death and life with Christ. It demonstrates to the world exactly Who should get the credit. According to Paul, we’re “always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. for we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2Cor 4:10-11).

This death-with-Jesus-means-life-with-Jesus is a bunch of whacko crazy talk without the Gospel. He lived the perfect life of obedience to every one of His Dad’s commands and laws. I never came close. He died the death for my sin and disobedience that I should have died. He rose to a spectacular new life that I don’t deserve. I trust in what He has done for me that I could never do for myself. 

Trusting in Jesus’ substitutionary death means “we have died with Him” (v11). Trusting in His resurrection means “we will also live with Him” (v11). According to Paul, Christ takes our garbage and gives us His goodness (2Cor 5:21). Martin Luther liked to call this the Great Exchange. My garbage for God’s goodness is the most lopsided deal in the history of the universe. It’s what makes His grace so amazing!

It’s a matter of life through death.