Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descended from David, as preached in my gospel, the gospel for which I am suffering and wearing fetters like a criminal. But the word of God is not fettered. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus with its eternal glory. The saying is sure:
If we have died with him, we shall also live with him;
if we endure, we shall also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2:8–13 (RSV)
St. Paul is writing this last letter to Timothy to encourage him as he cared for the faithful. St. Paul has been in a Roman prison for over two years. He knows that the hour of his death is near.
St. Paul will endure whatever may come for the sake of Jesus. His life is near the end, but the word of God is not. The Good News concerning the risen Jesus has no end. It goes unfettered by any human attempts to silence it.
An outsider might look at St. Paul's circumstance and conclude that those who hold earthly power have come out on top. They have the power of life and death over St. Paul. He sits in their prison. He will soon be silenced by execution.
St. Paul understands what the world can never grasp. St. Paul can be killed. The powers of this age may silence his voice but will not silence the Gospel.
We, like Timothy, are encouraged to hold fast to the Gospel. Whatever may come to us, Jesus is Lord over all things. The world may appear to hold sway, but it cannot last. All those things who oppose the Lord will one day be gone, and Jesus will be all that remains.