2 Timothy 3:5

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Having	ἔχοντες echontes	G2192	to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active participle, nominative plural masculine
form	μόρφωσιν morphōsin	G3446	formation · noun — accusative singular feminine
godliness	εὐσεβείας, eusebeias	G2150	piety · noun — genitive singular feminine
but	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
denying	ἠρνημένοι. ērnēmenoi	G720	to contradict · verb — perfect middle or passive deponent participle, nominative plural masculine
power	δύναμιν dunamin	G1411	force (literally or figuratively) · noun — accusative singular feminine
thereof	αὐτῆς autēs	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular feminine
from	ἀποτρέπου. apotrepou	G665	to deflect · verb — present middle imperative, 2nd person singular
such	τούτους toútous	G5128	these (persons
away	ἀποτρέπω apotrépō	G665	to deflect

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their he…
Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
Matthew 23:27-28 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are with…
1 Timothy 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
Romans 2:20-24 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Titus 3:10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;
Ezekiel 33:30-32 Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Timothy 3:1-9

Timothy must not think it strange if there were in the church bad men; for the net of the gospel was to enclose both good fish and bad, Mat 13:47, Mat 13:48. Jesus Christ had foretold (Mt. 24) that there would come seducers, and therefore we must not be offended at it, nor think the worse of religion or the church for it. Even in gold ore there will be dross, and a great deal of chaff among the wheat when it lies on the floor. I. Timothy must know that in the last days (Ti2 3:1), in gospel times, there would come perilous times. Though gospel times were times of reformation in many respects, let him know that even in gospel times there would be perilous times; not so much on account of perse…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Timothy 3:5

form--outward semblance. godliness--piety. denying--rather as Greek, "having denied," that is, renounced. the power--the living, regenerating, sanctifying influence of it. turn away--implying that some of such characters, forerunners of the last days, were already in the Church.

Adam Clarke on 2 Timothy 3:5

Having a form of godliness - The original word μορφωσις signifies a draught, sketch, or summary, and will apply well to those who have all their religion in their creed, confession of faith, catechism, bodies of divinity, etc., while destitute of the life of God in their souls; and are not only destitute of this life, but deny that such life or power is here to be experienced or known. They have religion in their creed, but none in their hearts. And perhaps to their summary they add a decent round of religious observances. From such turn away - not only do not imitate them, but have no kind of fellowship with them; they are a dangerous people, and but seldom suspected, because their outside…

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John Gill on 2 Timothy 3:5

Having a form of godliness,.... Either a mere external show of religion, pretending great piety and holiness, being outwardly righteous before men, having the mask and visor of godliness; or else a plan of doctrine, a form of sound words, a scheme of truths, which men may have without partaking of the grace of God; and which, with respect to the doctrine of the Trinity, the church of Rome has; or else the Scriptures of truth, which the members of that church have, and profess to hold to, maintain and preserve; and which contains doctrines according to godliness, and tend to a godly life and godly edification: but denying the power thereof; though in words they profess religion and godliness…

The Church Fathers

Now for both parties-namely, for those who endure a famine of the word of God, and for bishops who endure straits, when they are installed in other cities for the common good -no small degree of mercy is shown. And they who deny this, although they have the form of godliness, do yet deny the power thereof.
— Pope Anterus,

You heard just now, when that reading was read, that Simon Magus was baptized and yet did not lay aside his evil mind. He had the form of the sacrament, but the power of the sacrament he did not have. Listen to what the apostle says about the godless, "having," he says, "the form of godliness, while refusing its power." What is the form of godliness? The visible sacrament. What is the power of godliness? Invisible charity.
— Augustine of Hippo, SERMONS 229U

Shut out the evil love of the world so that you may be filled with the love of God. You are a vessel, but you are still full. Pour out what you have that you may receive what you have not.… It is good for us not to love the world in order that the sacraments may not remain in us for our damnation rather than as the mainstays of our salvation. The mainstay of salvation is to have the root of love, to have the power of godliness, not the external form alone.
— Augustine of Hippo, TRACTATES ON THE EPISTLE OF JOHN 2.2.9

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Alliance And Society With The Enemies Of God · Exhortations to hate and avoid — Exhortations to hate and avoid
Apostasy · 4:1,2; — 4:1,2;
Character Of The Wicked · Hypocritical — Hypocritical
Company · EVIL — EVIL
Formalism · 7:19; — 7:19;
Hypocrisy · 6:26,70;7:19;15:2,6; — 6:26,70;7:19;15:2,6;
Hypocrites · Described as: Having but a form of godliness — Described as: Having but a form of godliness
Worldliness · 12:2; — 12:2;

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

2 Timothy 3:5

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Timothy 3:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Timothy 3:5

Adam Clarke on 2 Timothy 3:5

John Gill on 2 Timothy 3:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

2 Timothy 3:5

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Timothy 3:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Timothy 3:5

Adam Clarke on 2 Timothy 3:5

John Gill on 2 Timothy 3:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on 2 Timothy 3:1-7

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Timothy 3:5