2 Timothy 2:3 (ASV)

Passage

Suffer hardship with [me], as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

Nearby Context

2 Timothy 2:1 Thou therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 2:2 And the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

2 Timothy 2:3 Suffer hardship with [me], as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 2:4 No soldier on service entangleth himself in the affairs of [this] life; that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier.

2 Timothy 2:5 And if also a man contend in the games, he is not crowded, except he have contended lawfully.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "suffer", "hardship", "good", "soldier", "christ", and "jesus". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "suffer" and "hardship", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "And the things which thou hast heard..." into verse 4's "No soldier on service entangleth himself in...", so "suffer" and "hardship" belong inside that flow. In 2 Timothy context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "suffer" and "hardship" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.