Bible Strands
2 Timothy 2:12
if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us;
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul writes to Timothy from Roman imprisonment, near the end of his life, pressing him to remain faithful in teaching and suffering.
The words — συμβασιλεύω (sumbasileuō), "to reign with," is a future indicative, not a subjunctive; Paul states the outcome as a settled fact, not a possibility. The same future indicative on ἀρνέομαι (arnēomai, "to deny") on both sides of the verse makes the denial equally a declaration, not a threat.
The thread — Matthew 10:33 pairs denial with denial before the Father; Romans 8:17 pairs suffering with co-heirship; Revelation 20:4 shows those who endured given thrones and authority to judge.
Why it lands — The verse removes the option of a middle path: endurance and denial are presented as the only two states, and each carries its own fixed consequence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
Cross-references
- Romans 8:17 And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.
- Matthew 10:33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.
- Revelation 20:4 Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
- Luke 12:9 But whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
- Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
- Revelation 5:10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”
- Luke 9:26 If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
- Matthew 26:35 Peter replied, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You.” And all the other disciples said the same thing.
- 1 Peter 4:13 But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.
- Revelation 2:13 I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits, yet you hold fast to My name. You did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of My faithful witness Antipas, who was killed among you where Satan dwells.