Then they will come to their sensesThis phrase suggests a moment of realization or awakening. In the biblical context, it implies a return to spiritual awareness and truth. The imagery is reminiscent of the prodigal son in
Luke 15:17, who "came to his senses" and returned to his father. This awakening is often seen as a work of the Holy Spirit, convicting individuals of their need for repentance and alignment with God's truth.
and escape the snare of the devil
The "snare of the devil" refers to the traps and deceptions laid by Satan to lead people away from God. In1 Peter 5:8, believers are warned to be sober and vigilant because the devil prowls like a roaring lion. The imagery of a snare suggests subtlety and entrapment, indicating that the devil's tactics are often deceptive and not immediately obvious. This phrase underscores the spiritual warfare believers face and the need for discernment and reliance on God's power to overcome.
who has taken them captive
This phrase highlights the devil's influence over those who are ensnared. The concept of captivity suggests a loss of freedom and autonomy, echoing the spiritual bondage described inEphesians 2:1-3, where individuals are said to follow the "prince of the power of the air." The captivity here is not physical but spiritual, indicating a state of being controlled by sinful desires and falsehoods.
to his will
The devil's will is in direct opposition to God's will. This phrase indicates that those who are captive are not acting in accordance with God's purposes but are instead fulfilling the desires of the enemy. InJohn 8:44, Jesus describes the devil as a liar and the father of lies, emphasizing that his will is rooted in deception and destruction. The ultimate goal of the devil's will is to separate individuals from God and lead them into eternal ruin.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
Paul- The apostle who authored the letter to Timothy, providing guidance and encouragement to his young protégé in the faith.
2.
Timothy- A young pastor and close companion of Paul, entrusted with leading the church in Ephesus.
3.
The Devil- The adversary of God and His people, who seeks to ensnare and lead believers away from God's will.
4.
The Church in Ephesus- The community of believers Timothy was leading, facing challenges from false teachings and moral decay.
5.
False Teachers- Individuals spreading incorrect doctrine, leading believers astray and into the devil's trap.
Teaching Points
Awareness of Spiritual WarfareBelievers must recognize that they are in a spiritual battle and be vigilant against the devil's schemes. Understanding the reality of spiritual warfare helps Christians to be prepared and proactive in their faith.
The Importance of Sound DoctrineSound teaching is crucial to prevent believers from falling into the devil's traps. Studying and adhering to biblical truth protects against deception and false teachings.
Repentance and RestorationThe phrase "come to their senses" implies a return to right thinking and repentance. Believers who have strayed can find restoration through repentance and turning back to God.
The Power of God's DeliveranceGod provides a way of escape from the devil's snare. Trusting in God's power and provision is essential for overcoming spiritual captivity.
Role of Christian CommunityThe church plays a vital role in supporting and restoring those who have been ensnared. Encouragement, accountability, and prayer within the community are key to helping others escape spiritual traps.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of 2 Timothy 2:26?
2.How can we help others "come to their senses" according to 2 Timothy 2:26?
3.What strategies can we use to "escape the trap of the devil" today?
4.How does 2 Timothy 2:26 connect with Ephesians 6:11 about spiritual warfare?
5.What role does repentance play in freeing someone from "the devil's will"?
6.How can we discern when someone is "held captive" by spiritual deception?
7.What does 2 Timothy 2:26 mean by "the devil's trap"?
8.How does 2 Timothy 2:26 relate to spiritual warfare?
9.What is the historical context of 2 Timothy 2:26?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from 2 Timothy 2?
11.What is the meaning of a spirit of fear?
12.Can women teach in church? (1 Timothy 2:12 vs. Acts 18:26)
13.Does the emphasis on male leadership in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 conflict with teachings in other parts of the Bible that highlight women in ministry roles?
14.How do I recognize the Holy Spirit's presence?What Does 2 Timothy 2:26 Mean
Then they will come to their senses“Then they will come to their senses” pictures a spiritual awakening—like someone roused from deep sleep. Paul has just urged Timothy to correct opponents “with gentleness” (2 Timothy 2:25). God uses that gentle correction to stir minds and hearts. When light breaks in:
• People recognize the truth they once resisted, just as the prodigal “came to his senses” and remembered his father’s house (Luke 15:17).
• The fog of deception lifts; they see sin as God sees it (Psalm 51:3–4).
• They recall that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).
Repentance is more than regret; it is a Spirit-enabled change of mind leading to life (Acts 11:18).
and escape the snare of the devilA snare is a hidden trap. Satan lays it with lies, promising freedom yet producing bondage (John 8:44). Deliverance involves:
• Exposure—truth shines on the trap (Ephesians 5:13).
• Decision—turning from darkness to light (Acts 26:18).
• Power—Christ breaks the cords (1 John 3:8).
The Lord’s servant cannot pry open the trap alone; only God “rescues us from the domain of darkness” (Colossians 1:13).
who has taken them captiveBefore rescue, unbelievers are not merely misled; they are prisoners of war. Paul once described all of us as “dead in trespasses… following the ruler of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:1–2). Captivity shows up when:
• Sinful habits dominate (Romans 6:16).
• Worldly philosophies harden hearts (2 Corinthians 4:4).
• Fear keeps people from the gospel’s light (Hebrews 2:14–15).
Christ’s victory at the cross disarmed the captor (Colossians 2:15), making liberation possible.
to his willSatan’s goal is not random chaos but conformity to his desires—opposite of God’s. Those in his grip unknowingly carry out his agenda (John 8:41). By contrast, believers are called to “test and approve what God’s will is” (Romans 12:2). The verse implies two wills in conflict:
• The devil’s will leads to death (James 1:15).
• God’s will leads to life and joy (John 10:10).
Rescued sinners shift allegiance, now eager to obey Christ (Philippians 2:13).
summary2 Timothy 2:26 assures us that God can awaken the deceived, untangle them from Satan’s snare, free them from captivity, and align them with His life-giving will. Our role is to speak truth with patience and gentleness, trusting the Lord to grant repentance and effect the miracle of spiritual rescue.
(26)
That they may recover themselves.--The literal meaning of the Greek word rendered "that they may recover themselves" is.
that they may awake from drunkenness. The English version, however, gives the meaning with great exactness. Those taken in the snare of the devil are represented as not only captives in the snare of the devil, but as also helplessly wrapped in slumber.
The deadly peril of all "captives of sin" is here well painted. These unhappy ones, before they can free themselves from the toils of the evil one, must awake from the deep slumber in which they are wrapped: in other words, must first beconscious of their awful danger.
Who are taken captive by him at his will.--These words have been variously interpreted by commentators. The meaning that, on the whole, seems most satisfactory, represents the captive to sin waking up from his deathly slumber and escaping the toils of the evil one, for the purpose of carrying out for the future the will of God. The rendering of the whole verse would be as follows: "And that they may recoverthemselves out of the snare of the devil--being held captive by him--to do His (God's)will."
It must be remembered that the first pronoun in this sentence, "being held captive by him," referred here to the devil, and the second pronoun in the sentence, "to doHis will," referred here to God, are represented in the Greek by two distinct words: the first by???????, the second by????????.
Verse 26. -
They for
that they, A.V.;
having been taken captive by the Lord's servant unto the will of God for
who are taken captive by him at his will, A.V.
Having been taken captive, etc. This is undoubtedly a difficult passage. We will first take the individual words, and then turn to the general meaning.
Recover themselves (
ἀνανήψωσιν); only found here in the New Testament, and never in the LXX. In classical Greek, where it is, however, uncommon, it means literally "to recover from drunkenness," hence, "to come to one's self," "to come to a right mind" (see Steph., 'Thes.').
Snare (
παγίς); as
1 Timothy 3:7;
1 Timothy 6:9. Compare the use of
παγιδεύω (
Matthew 22:15).
Having been taken captive (
ἐζωγρήμενοι); only found in the New Testament in
Luke 5:10 besides this place, but common in the LXX. and in classical Greek, in the sense of "to take alive," of prisoners of war, who, if not ransomed, always became slaves of the conqueror. Here, therefore, the meaning is "having been captured and enslaved."
By him (margin), (
ὑπ αὐτοῦ);
i.e. of course the devil, who had just been named as having ensnared them.
Unto the will of him (margin), (
ἐκείνου θέλημα). The difficulty of the passage lies in the word
ἐκείνου, which at first sight seems to indicate a different antecedent from the antecedent of
αὐτοῦ. This grammatical difficulty has led to the strange rendering of the R.V., and to the wholly unjustifiable intrusion into the text of the words, "the Lord's servant" and of "God," producing altogether a sentence of unparalleled awkwardness and grotesqueness, and utter improbability. But there is no real difficulty in referring
ἐκείνου to the same person as
αὐτοῦ (meaning in both cases the devil), as in the passage from Plato's 'Cratylus,' cited by Huther, after De Wette, the cause of the use of
ἐκείνου being that St. Paul was at the moment emphasizing the fact of these captives being deprived of their own will, and made subservient to the will of another. The passage may be paraphrased: "If peradventure God may give them repentance unto the knowledge of the truth, so as to recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, after they had been led captive by him, so as to be no longer their own masters, but obliged to do his will." The implied contrast is
οὐ τὸ ἑαυτῶν ἀλλἐκείνου θέλημα, just as in the passage from the 'Cratylus,' p. 430 (vol. 4. p. 306, Bekker's edit.),
ἐκείνου is contrasted with
γυναικός. The full passage is
Δεῖξαι αὐτῷ α}ν μὲν τύχῃἐκείνου εἰκόνα α}ν δὲ τύχῃ γυναικός. Another example of the transition from
αὐτός to
ἐκεῖνος is in
John 1:7, 8,
Οῦτος η΅λθεν εἰς μαρτυρίαν,
ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτὸς ἵνα πάντες πιστεύσωσι δι αὐτοῦ οὐκ η΅ν ἐκεῖνος τὸ φῶς, κ.τ.λ., where there is a contrast between John as the witness and Christ as the true Light (compare, too,
John 4:25, where
ἐκείνος has the force of "not you, but he"). For the general turn of phrase, comp.
2 Corinthians 10:5, "Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ," where
αἰχμαλωτίζοντες (see
2 Timothy 3:6) corresponds to
ἐζωγρημένοι and
εἰς τὴν ὑπακοὴν τοῦ Ξριστοῦ to
εἰς τὸ ἐκείνου θέλημα. It should be noted further that the sentence is certainly rather a peculiar one, from the use of such uncommon words as
ἀνανήφω and
ζωγρέω, and the mixture of metaphors. But the sense of the A.V. is fully borne out. The interpretation preferred by Bishop Ellicott is "they may recover themselves from the snare of the devil unto his will (viz. God's), having (previously) been led captive by him (viz. the devil)."
Parallel Commentaries ...
Greek
Thenκαὶ(kai)Conjunction
Strong's 2532:And, even, also, namely.they will come to their sensesἀνανήψωσιν(ananēpsōsin)Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 366:To become sober again, recover sound sense. From ana and nepho; to become sober again, i.e. regain senses.[and escape]ἐκ(ek)Preposition
Strong's 1537:From out, out from among, from, suggesting from the interior outwards. A primary preposition denoting origin, from, out.theτῆς(tēs)Article - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.snareπαγίδος(pagidos)Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 3803:From pegnumi; a trap; figuratively, a trick or statagem.of theτοῦ(tou)Article - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.devil,διαβόλου(diabolou)Adjective - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 1228:From diaballo; a traducer; specially, Satan.[who]αὐτοῦ(autou)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846:He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.has taken them captiveἐζωγρημένοι(ezōgrēmenoi)Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 2221:To capture alive, capture for life, enthrall. From the same as zoon and agreuo; to take alive, i.e. to capture or ensnare.toεἰς(eis)Preposition
Strong's 1519:A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.hisἐκείνου(ekeinou)Demonstrative Pronoun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 1565:That, that one there, yonder. From ekei; that one (neuter) thing); often intensified by the article prefixed.will.θέλημα(thelēma)Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 2307:An act of will, will; plur: wishes, desires. From the prolonged form of ethelo; a determination, i.e. choice or inclination.
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NT Letters: 2 Timothy 2:26 And they may recover themselves out (2 Tim. 2Ti iiTi ii Tim) 
