the tiller of the soil who labors with wearisome effort (Wuest)

The harvestman who labors in the field (WNT)

Related Resource: Agriculture

John MacArthur outlines 2Timothy 2 as follows...

The Patterns of a Man of God (2Ti 2:1-26)

A. Paul (2Ti 2:1, 2) (Ed: A grace enabled man - cp 1Co 15:10, 2Co 12:9, 10)
B. A Soldier (2Ti 2:3, 4)
C. An Athlete (2Ti 2:5)
D. A Farmer (2Ti 2:6, 7)
E. Jesus (2Ti 2:8-13)
F. A Worker (2Ti 2:14-19)
G. A Vessel (2Ti 2:20-23)
H. A Servant (2Ti 2:24-26)
(MacArthur, J.: The MacArthur Study Bible Nashville: Word or Logos)

Ryrie sees 2Timothy 2 as illustrative of various aspects of the believer...

Soldier (2Ti 2:3, 4). He suffers hardship and is totally focused on pleasing his commander.
Athlete (2Ti 2:5). He follows the rules (the Word of God).
Farmer (2Ti 2:6). He receives a reward.
Slave (2Ti 2:24, 25, 26). He patiently seeks to bring remedial correction to wayward people.
All these fall into the category of sanctification.
(From Ryrie's Practical Guide to Communicating Bible Doctrine)

Paul uses multiple pictures (terms of comparison) in this chapter to illustrate various facets of the Christian life and each one is worthy of mediation (cp making it your habit to consider = 2Ti 2:7-note):

Son/Child (2Ti 2:1-note)
Teacher (2Ti 2:2-note)
Soldier (2Ti 2:3,4 - note 2:3; 2:4)
Athlete (2Ti 2:5 -note)
Farmer (2Ti 2:6 - note)
Prisoner (2Ti 2:9 -note, 2Ti 2:10-note)
Workman (2Ti 2:15 -note)
Vessel (2Ti 2:21-note)
Bondservant (2Ti 2:24-note)

Hardworking (2872) (kopiao from kopos = labor, fatigue) This root word kopos (see word study) is used in secular Greek of “a beating,” “weariness” (as though one had been beaten) and “exertion,” was the proper word for physical tiredness induced by work, exertion or heat. Kopiao means to to exhibit great effort and exertion, to the point of sweat and exhaustion. To physically become worn out, weary or faint. To engage in hard work with the implication of difficulty and trouble.

The present tense pictures continual wearying, tiring activity. This is the "Christian farmer's" way of life. Momentary light affliction is producing for such "farmers" an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison (cp 2Co 4:17).

Kopiao speaks of intense, hard, wearisome toil even to the point of utter exhaustion if necessary.  The work described by kopiao was left one so weary it was as if the person had taken a beating. Kopiao describes not so much the actual exertion as the weariness which follows the straining of all one's powers to the utmost.

Lightfoot says that kopiao...

is used especially of the labor undergone by the athlete in his training.

MacArthur adds that kopiao

does not stress the amount of work, but rather the effort. A man’s reward from God is proportional to the excellence of his ministry and the effort he puts into it. Excellence combined with diligence mark a man worthy of the highest honor. (MacArthur, John: 1Timothy Moody Press or Logos)

Kopiao is used 24 times in the NT in the NASB and is translated: diligently labor, 1; grown weary, 1; hard-working, 1; labor, 3; labored, 4; labors, 1; toil, 4; wearied, 1; weary, 1; work hard, 1; worked, 2; worked hard, 1; worked hard worked hard, 1; workers, 1; working hard, 1.

Matthew 6:28 (note) "And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,

Matthew 11:28 Come (aorist imperative - Command that conveys sense of urgency - Do it now! Don't delay!) to Me, all who are weary (kopiao) and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest  (contest = Mt 11:29, 30)

Luke 5:5 And Simon answered and said, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but at Your bidding I will let down the nets."

Luke 12:27 "Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these.

John 4:6 and Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

John 4:38 "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor (kopos)."

Acts 20:35 "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Romans 16:6 (note) Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.

Romans 16:12 (note) Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Greet Persis the beloved, who has worked hard in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 4:12 and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure;

1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

1 Corinthians 16:16 that you also be in subjection to such men and to everyone who helps in the work and labors.

Galatians 4:11 I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.

Ephesians 4:28 (note) Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need.

Philippians 2:16 (note) holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may have cause to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.

Colossians 1:29 (note) And for this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

1Thessalonians 5:12 (note)  But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction,

1 Timothy 4:10 (note) For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

1 Timothy 5:17  Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

2 Timothy 2:6 (note) The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.

Revelation 2:3 (note) and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary.

Kopiao is used 34 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Dt 25:18; Jos 24:13; Jdg 5:26; 1Sa 6:12; 14:31; 17:39; 2Sa 17:2; 23:7, 10; Job 2:9; 20:18; 39:16; Ps. 6:6; 69:3; 127:1; Pr 4:12; Is 5:27; 16:12; 30:4; 31:3; 33:24; 40:28, 30, 31; 43:22; 45:14; 46:1; 47:13, 15; 49:4; 57:10; 63:13; 65:23; Jer 2:24; 17:16; 51:58; La 5:5).

Figuratively kopiao means to become emotionally fatigued and/or discouraged and thus to lose heart and/or give up.

Jesus addressing the church at Ephesus says...

And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured (kopiao), and hast not fainted. (Re 2:3KJV-note)

Comment: Are you growing weary in your Christian life? Look to Jesus and His exhortation which is timeless and filled with edifying wisdom. Dear child of the King, press on in His power, for He has already won the victory, and though your battle may now seem intense, it is only for a short time compared to eternity!) (See commentary on Isaiah 40:31 = How to "Fly Like An Eagle")

Paul explained to the Corinthians the "secret" of his ability to work hard writing...

But (despite the fact that he was the least of all apostles) by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored (kopiao) even more than all of them, yet (Note: this is the key to life on the highest plain, a life that bears much fruit, fruit that endures for eternity) not I, but the grace of God with me (1Cor 15:10)

Comment: Here is the "secret" of the Christian life in a nutshell! Not you striving (referring to your "natural" strength) to live the Christian life, but learning to die to self (cp Mk 8:34, 35) that He might live His life (in His supernatural strength) through you. To a large extent, this is a mysterious coalition or cooperation and one which is difficult to explain but it is the (only) way of victorious living in Christ, abiding in the Vine living (Jn 15:5), a walking by the Spirit type life (Gal 5:16-note)

Paul's deep desire to "present every man complete in Christ" caused him to "labor (kopiao), striving according to His power, which mightily" worked within him (Col 1:28, 29-see notes Col 1:28; 29). This use by Paul gives us insight what is entailed by the picture of a hardworking farmer. These passages in Colossians describe the balance one should seek in their Christian life and ministry.

J B Phillips paraphrases  Colossians 1:29 this way...

This is what I am working at all the time, with all the strength that God gives me.

J Vernon McGee commenting on Colossians adds...

Oh, this should be the desire of everyone today who is working for Christ—that He would work in us mightily to do two things: to get out the gospel that men might be saved and then to build them up in the faith. These are the two things the church should be doing today. (McGee, J V: Thru the Bible Commentary:  Thomas Nelson or Logos)

Paul  writing to the Thessalonians says...

we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor (kopiao) among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction. (see note 1Thessalonians 5:12)

The faithful pastor works hard among his people and ministers to them as a shepherd cares for his sheep. In a parallel instruction Paul says to

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. (1Ti 5:17)

There has to be a commitment to diligence and hard work when you search the Scriptures in preparation for preaching and teaching.  The preacher and teacher must be the very opposite of the “sluggard” in Proverbs...

The sluggard does not plow after the autumn, So he begs during the harvest and has nothing. (Pr 20:4)

I passed by the field of the sluggard, and by the vineyard of the man lacking sense. And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles. Its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. (Pr 24:30, 31)

If the farmer works hard, he should be the first to take his share of the crops a principle found even in the Old Testament...

(Moses asks) And who is the man that has planted a vineyard and has not begun to use its fruit? Let him depart and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man begin to use its fruit. (Dt. 20:6)

Proverbs instructs us that...

He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit; And he who cares for his master will be honored. (Pr 27:18).

Constable explains that...

A farmer must continue to sow seed and water it if he or she wants to harvest its fruit. Likewise the farmer for Christ must plant and nourish the gospel seed if he or she eventually expects to reap the fruit of God’s Word in the lives of people. All three illustrations imply dogged persistence and hold out the prospect of reward for the faithful. (Expository Notes)

Hendriksen commenting on the metaphor of God's workman as a farmer emphasizes that...

Not only will his own faith be strengthened, his hope quickened, his love deepened, and the flame of his gift enlivened, so that he will be blessed “in his doing” (Jas 1:25 [note] - But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.), but in addition he will see in the lives of others the beginnings of those glorious fruits that are mentioned in Gal 5:22, 23 (see notes Ga 5:22; 23). (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. NT Commentary Set. Baker Book or Logos)

And so we see Paul write to the saints at Rome...

And I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented thus far) in order that I might obtain some fruit (karpos) among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. (Ro 1:13-note)

In his letter to the beloved saints at Philippi Paul writes...

But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful (karpos) labor (ergon - ergs a unit to measure work or energy expended) for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. (Php 1:22, 23, 24-notes) (See notes on similar idea in 1Th 2:19, 20-note)

The angel explained to Daniel this same principle of rewards to faithful farmers declaring that...

those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (Da 12:3)

TOUGH TALK
vs
HARD WORK
“When all is said and done, there is more said than done.”

It ought not to be that way! Luther worked so hard that many days, according to his biographers, he fell into bed. Moody’s bedtime prayer on one occasion, as he rolled his bulk into bed, was, “Lord, I’m tired! Amen.” John Wesley rode sixty to seventy miles many days of his life and preached an average of three sermons a day, whether he was riding or not. Alexander Maclaren would get to his office when the workmen went to work so he could hear their boots outside, and would put on workmen’s boots to remind him why he was in his study. G. Campbell Morgan kept a newspaper clipping for twenty years, entitled “Sheer Hard Work,” and said: 

What is true of the minister is true of every man who bears the name of Christ. We have not begun to touch the great business of salvation when we have sung, “Rescue the perishing, care for the dying.” We have not entered into the business of evangelizing the city or the world until we have put our own lives into the business, our own immediate physical endeavor, inspired by spiritual devotion.

Paul’s ministerial drive is a model for us all. We will never have an authentic, apostolic ministry unless we are willing to work to the point of exhaustion (Hughes, R. K. Colossians and Philemon: The Supremacy of Christ: Crossway Books or Logos).

In his first letter to Timothy Paul explained that he was willing to labor (kopiao) and strive to discipline himself for godliness because he knew that "godliness is profitable for all things" holding "promise for the present life and also for the life to come"  (1Ti 4:7, 8, 9, 10, 11-see notes 1Ti 4:7; 4:8; 4:9; 10; 11) Later in that same epistle Paul associated (as in this verse on the hardworking farmer) the idea of hard work and reward, writing:

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard (kopiao) at preaching and teaching. (1Ti 5:1)

Kopiao was sometimes used to refer to athletic training.

It is not surprising that kopiao was also a verb commonly used in descriptions of the down-trodden masses of the Roman world.

Kopiao emphasizes the intensity of labor required of Christian farmers who would be about the business of making disciples. Simply put...it's hard work!

James reminds us that a farmer needed patience telling his readers

Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. (Jas 5:7).

As someone has said

The harvest is not the end of the meeting but at the end of the age.

Those who labor for the Lord are blessed and rewarded here and hereafter.

Farmer (1092) (georgos from ge = the earth + ergo = to work) describes one who tills or works the soil or the ground. A husbandman (one that plows and cultivates land).

Georgos - 19x in 17 verses - Mt 21:33, 34, 35, 38, 40, 41; Mk 12:1, 2, 7, 9; Lk 20:9, 10, 14, 16; Jn 15:1; 2Ti 2:6; Jas 5:7 and 8 times in the Septuagint - Ge 9:20; 49:15; Je 14:4; 31:24; 51:23; 52:16; Joel 1:11; Amos 5:16.

Wiersbe...

The church is a garden, and the seed is the Word of God. Various servants plant, water, and harvest the seed in due season. Timothy was not to be discouraged if the harvest failed to come immediately. It takes time, patience, and hard work to develop a fruitful garden. Like the faithful farmer, the pastor should share in the blessings God sends. “In due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Gal. 6:9). (Wiersbe, W. W. Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books)

Oswald Chambers comments that...

The worker has to have discernment like that of a farmer, that is, he must know how to watch, how to wait, and how to work with wonder. The farmer does not wait with folded arms but with intense activity, he keeps at it industriously until the harvest. (Approved Unto God)

Bernard writes that...

The main thought is that labour, discipline, striving are the portion of him who would succeed in any enterprise, be he soldier or athlete or farmer.

Stephen Olford...

Preparation should be a daily discipline in the life of a preacher. Indeed, it would be safe to say that one of the greatest failings of the minister is indiscipline....Observe how the apostle illustrates the need for preparation as he describes the disciplined endurance of a soldier, the disciplined exercise of a runner, and the disciplined endeavors of a farmer. Then he climaxes the passage with those words, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2Ti 2:15). It is quite evident from this statement that Paul has in mind, first, the preparation of the messenger, and second, the preparation of the message. (Olford, S. F. Vol. 2: Institutes of Biblical preaching : Volume two. Institutes of Biblical Preaching. Memphis: Olford Ministries International)

The hardworking farmer is not a glamorous metaphor like the athlete or soldier for the farmer begins his demanding work early and often goes late, limited finally by the dimming light of day. His work is often tedious, boring and unexciting. Not many farmers every become celebrities unlike soldiers and athletes. He is often called to endure cold, heat, rain, and drought. He plows whether the soil is hard or not. He waits not for a convenient time because the seasons do not wait for him (2Ti 4:2-note). When is time to plant, he must plant. When weeds appear, he must extract them. When the fruit ripens, he must harvest. What drives the farmer to labor under such grueling, unpredictable conditions?  Is it not because he is looking forward to the bountiful harvest (2Pe 1:11-note). But while he tarries, the bulk of his labor is tedious, humdrum, and unexciting.

Unlike the teacher, the soldier, or the athlete, a farmer often works alone with no students to stimulate, no fellow soldiers to fight alongside and no crowd in the stands to cheer him on. The lives of many believers are like the farmer's life. To be sure, there may be seasons of harvest excitement, but for the most part the daily routine is often mundane and seemingly unrewarding. But like the hardworking farmer, faithful believers are promised God’s blessing and reward not only in this life but in that to come. Now they may be underpaid, unjustly treated, or unappreciated but they have not seen the bountiful harvest reward Christ will present to the faithful hardworking farmer.

Hughes sums up the farmer's life, each of these characteristics having spiritual application...

1) early and long hours because he could not afford to lose time; 2) constant toil (plowing, sowing, tending, weeding, reaping, storing); 3) regular disappointments—frosts, pests, and disease; 4) much patience—everything happened at less than slow motion; and 5) boredom. (Hughes, R. K., & Chapell, B. 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus : Preaching the Word. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books)

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THE HARDWORKING FARMER - The patience called for in the spiritual farmer waiting to see his eternal harvest reminds me of the true story of Henry C. Morrison a little known "hardworking farmer" in God's missionary fields, toiling some forty years in the difficult fields of Africa. As the story is told, he became sick and had to return home to America, and as providence would have it, the boat he returned on was also carrying a well known guest. As the great ocean liner docked in New York Harbor there was a great crowd gathered to greet President Teddy Roosevelt who received a grand welcome-home-party after his widely publicized African Safari. Resentment seized the hardworking farmer, Henry Morrison, and he turned to God saying "I have come back home after all this time and service to the church and there is no one, not even one person here to welcome me home." Then a small voice came to Morrison reminding him "You're not home yet." Our ultimate harvest is yet future and our future reward is out of this world!

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Robert Sheffield gives the following illustration of hard work...

Paul used the illustration of a farmer. The farmer is a hard worker. If you don’t apply this to commitment and discipline, you won’t get anywhere. How often do we experience hard labor and wearisome toil in our Christian lives?

Some years ago in Canada I joined a labor union to get some temporary work. On my first day of working the foreman assigned me and two other laborers the job of taking out of storage some large sheets of plywood at a warehouse. The foreman dropped us off at the warehouse and said he would be back for us at noon.

As soon as he left, the two other men sat down, lit up their cigarettes, and relaxed. As a Christian who believed in an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay, I went ahead and worked by myself. This so upset the other two that they refused to be assigned with me the following day.

Many people don’t want to work hard. This is true in the Christian world too. Few are committed to the labor it takes to do the things God wants done. This is what Paul encouraged Timothy to do. (Discipleship Journal: Issue 6. Colorado Springs: The Navigators/NavPress)

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OUGHT TO BE THE FIRST TO RECEIVE HIS SHARE OF THE CROPS: dei (3SPAI) proton ton karpon metalambanein (PAN): (1Cor 9:23; Heb 10:36)

has the first claim on any crop that is harvested (NJB)

that has the first claim on any crop that is harvested (NJB)

to be the first to take of the fruit (BBE)

who must be the first partaker of the fruits (Amp)

Ought (1163) (dei) means that which is needful or necessary. It describes a necessity growing out of a given situation, in this case the fact that the spiritual farmer works hard at his tasks. Paul is saying that the Christian farmer needs to be the first to partake of the crops (karpos = fruit).

Ought to be the first to receive - Must be the first to partake is a better translation. The present tense signifies that this is to be a continual necessity. There is a similar allusion in first Corinthians where Paul asks...

Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock? (1 Co 9:7) (As here in 2Timothy 2, Paul associates military service and farming).

Receive his share (3335) (metalambano from meta = with, denoting association + lambáno =  receive) means to receive as one's share in or as one's part of. The idea is to share or participate in something, in this case something which is "imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you" (1Pe 1:4-note). When the work becomes wearying, recall this truth to mind even as did God's "farmer" Jeremiah...

14 I have become a laughingstock to all my people, their mocking song all the day.
15 He has filled me with bitterness. He has made me drunk with wormwood.
16 And He has broken my teeth with gravel. He has made me cower in the dust.
17 And my soul has been rejected from peace; I have forgotten happiness.
18 So I say, "My strength has perished, and so has my hope from the LORD."
19 Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. (A prayer)
20 Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me. (A choice to recall)
21 This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. ("This" = the famous truths that follow)
22 The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness.
24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him."
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.
26 It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the LORD. (Waiting - Implies trust in His promises, His faithfulness and is manifest in patience endurance in whatever task or circumstance He has called us to for our good and His glory!)

Metalambano - 6x in the NT - Acts 2:46; 24:25; 27:33; 2Ti 2:6; Heb. 6:7; 12:10

Dear set apart one (hagios = holy one, saint) of God, you have been graciously granted (a "grace gift") an allotment, for you are God's workmanship (His "masterpiece" = poiema) created in Christ Jesus for good works which He prepared before you knew Him as Lord, so that now you should live your life accomplishing those good works in His power and for His glory (Eph 2:10-note, Mt 5:16-note). So even as Joshua (representing Israel) had an allotment granted to Israel by God (Josh 1:2), he still had to step out in faith and obedience to lay hold of his share, for God explained to him that...

Every place on which the sole of your foot treads (man's responsibility), I have given it to you (God's sovereignty), just as I spoke to Moses...6 "Be strong and courageous (man's responsibility), for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them (Ge 12:6,7; 13:14,15; 15:18, 19, 20,21) (God's sovereignty)  (Joshua 1:3, 4, 5, 6)

Comment: Throughout Scripture one can observe this God ordained, albeit mysterious juxtaposition of man's responsibility and God's sovereignty.

Crops (2590) (karpos) is used in its literal sense to refer to fruit, produce or offspring, which describes that which is produced by the inherent energy of a living organism. Karpos is what something naturally produces.

Related Resource: Biblical Discussion of Agriculture

If you are a preacher or teacher you understand completely what Paul is saying here in 2Timothy for you always get more out of the sermon or lesson preparation than do the hearers because you have (hopefully) been diligent to put much more into it. I once heard Dr John MacArthur say that before he accepted the job as pastor at Grace Church, he stipulated that they must ensure he had an uninterrupted 30 hours each week to prepare his message. His logic was how could he feed the sheep, if he himself had not been fed during the week. The elders acquiesced and the fruit of Dr MacArthur's ministry is well known around the world. I would add that such diligent preparers of preaching and teaching also get great joy out of seeing their planted seeds bear fruit in the lives of the Lord's disciples.

1) Spiritual attitudes that characterize a Spirit-led believer - Galatians 5:22,23

2) Righteous actions - Ro 6:22-note, Php 4:16, 17-note; He 12:11, 13:5-note

D. Edmond Hiebert commenting on the image of a farmer notes that...

By the very nature of his occupation the farmer toils to produce food for others. But if he does not himself profit from the harvest produced, he will soon cease farming. The Christian worker toils to produce food for others through his study and teaching of the Word. But to remain spiritually effective, he must first nourish his own spiritual life with the food he produces. In 1Ti 4:16 Paul urges Timothy, “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching.” The order is significant: “yourself and your teaching.” So the Christian worker has the duty and privilege of being the first to partake of the fruit produced. He must be willing to engage in hard and difficult toil in fulfilling his duty. But he also has the rewarding privilege of first nurturing his own spiritual life from the results of his labors. Faithful toil in the Lord’s service has its rewards for the worker both here and hereafter. The faithful Christian worker experiences blessings from his work now vastly more rewarding than anything the world has to offer. (Bibliotheca Sacra, 1996, page 227, Dallas, Texas. Dallas Theological Seminary) (Bolding added)

Hiebert in Pauline Images of a Christian Leader writes that

The word georgos, translated “farmer,” means “a tiller of the soil,” (In the Authorized Version the word is rendered “husbandman.”) Farming is an essential occupation but it has no spectacular appeal or exciting glamour. Paul makes the hard work of the farmer central in his picture. The participle kopionata (“hardworking”) denotes toiling to the point of weariness and exhaustion. Some innocent souls may harbor the illusion that the farmer simply sits under his vine or fig tree and lets the ripe fruit fall into his lap. But anyone having any acquaintance with farming knows that if there is to be fruit there must first be hard, exhausting toil.

This image gives emphasis to the fact that Christian service is hard work. Stott makes this remark: “This notion that Christian service is hard work is so unpopular in some happy-go-lucky Christian circles today that I feel the need to underline it.” Clearly Paul expected the willingness to work hard to be a normal characteristic of the Christian leader. Human hearts are the soil where the Christian leader sows the seed of the Word of God and where the fruits of his labors are produced. While never easy work, it is for the sake of the harvest that the Lord’s husbandman gladly engages in the demanding toil.

But the intended point in Paul’s figure of the farmer is the fact that the toil of the Christian worker has its present rewards. Because of his persistent toil, the farmer “ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.”

Ought (dei) indicates that his partaking of the fruit is a moral necessity. By the very nature of his occupation the farmer toils to produce food for others. But if he does not himself profit from the harvest produced, he will soon cease farming. The Christian worker toils to produce food for others through his study and teaching of the Word. But to remain spiritually effective, he must first nourish his own spiritual life with the food he produces.

In 1Timothy 4:16 Paul urges Timothy, “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching.” The order is significant: “yourself…your teaching.” So the Christian worker has the duty and privilege of being the first to partake of the fruit produced. He must be willing to engage in hard and difficult toil in fulfilling his duty.

But he also has the rewarding privilege of first nurturing his own spiritual life from the results of his labors. Faithful toil in the Lord’s service has its rewards for the worker both here and hereafter. The faithful Christian worker experiences blessings from his work now vastly more rewarding than anything the world has to offer.

Paul’s fourth figure, that of the hardworking farmer, sets forth two qualities needed by the Christian leader. He must be willing to engage in difficult and exhausting toil in fulfillment of his assignment. But he must also be sure to nurture his own spiritual life from the results of his toil. (Pauline Images of a Christian Leader -- By D. Edmond Hiebert  BSac 133:531 Jul 1976) (Theological Journal Subscription info) (List of 22 journals - 500 yrs of articles searchable by topic or verse! Incredible Online Resource!) (Bolding added)

In NT times, farm laborers often were paid with a portion of the crops they helped to plant, cultivate, and harvest. The hardworking farmer received not only a greater share but also the first share of the crops. The preacher and the teacher always get more out of the sermon or lesson than do the hearers because they put much more into it. The corollary is that if the teacher is to have spiritual food for the hearers, he must first be fed from the Word or he can't really feed others.

Farming is hard work, and it can have many disappointments, but the rewards are worth it. Human hearts are the soil where the Christian "farmer" sows the seed of the Word of God and where the fruits of his labors are produced (cp Lk 8:11, 12, 13, 14, 15, Mt 13:19, 20, 21, 22, 23, Mk 4:16, 17, 18, 19, 20, see also 1Pe 1:23-note). Spiritual "farmers" get great joy out of seeing planted seeds bear fruit in the lives of others.

Farmers work in faith because they are ultimately dependent upon God to provide the rain and sunshine which are necessary for crops to grow. Even then the farmer must wait from seedtime to harvest to see if the harvest will be good.

In context one aspect of the spiritual crop would be an abundant harvest of "faithful men who are able to teach others also." (2Ti 2:2-note)

Toiling through the changing seasons
In the sunshine and the rain,
Zealous sowing with compassion
Yields a wealth of golden grain. —Anon.

As Warren Wiersbe has well said

Witnessing is like farming—it is a cooperative effort. One plows, one sows, one waters, but God is the One who bring forth the harvest. (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor or Logos)

Paul speaks of the reward that will accrue in the "spiritual bank account" of those who plant spiritual seed writing...

I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building (Paul mixes metaphors here). (1Cor 3:6, 7, 8, 9).

Jesus taught a similar "farming" principle of cooperation declaring...

My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work (He goes on now to explain the Father's "work" - His disciples do not understand that which is from above, the hidden spiritual food, real "soul food", for they are earthbound, mired by the limitations of fleshly existence - Jesus' "food" is to obey and fulfill His Father's will). Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. "Already he who reaps is receiving wages, and is gathering fruit (karpos = same word as "crops" here in Timothy) for life eternal; that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. "For in this case the saying is true, 'One sows, and another reaps.' "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored (kopiao); others have labored (kopiao), and you have entered into their labor (kopos). (John 4:34, 35, 36, 37, 38)

Guy King writes that...

In spite of the present cost, it is all so infinitely worth-while. If, from down here, we look on, or if, from up there, we look back, we shall confess how gloriously desirable the life has turned out to be. "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed . . .", says Ro 8:18 (note). "He had respect unto the recompence of the reward," says He 11:26 (note). "Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame", says He 12:2 (note). Well, what has our present passage to say about these abundantly satisfying delights?

Take that phrase "Partaker of the fruits". That means, doesn't it, that we shall ourselves receive some enjoyment and enrichment from our labours. Done for Him, and done for others, yet we ourselves shall have gains for our pains. One is forcibly reminded of that beautiful provision in Dt 25:4: "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn."

That is a hard job that the poor beast has got, very tiring and very boring; but why take his muzzle off? So that even while he treads the corn, he may eat of the corn. Working for others, he is a gainer himself. While he feeds others, he himself is fed. A beautiful provision of GOD for His dumb creatures' welfare; and, after a spiritual manner, a beautiful rule of His service. Is our Christian work strenuous and sacrificial? Well, our own soul will be satisfied in it. That is the grateful testimony of every earnest Christian worker right down the years.

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SUCCESSFUL or FAITHFUL? - Speaking in Edinburgh, missionary John Williams held his audience spellbound with thrilling accounts of God's work among the tribes-people of the New Hebrides Islands. A soft-spoken missionary followed Williams with a brief report of his work. In a low and trembling voice he said,

My friends, I have no remarkable success to relate like Mr. Williams. I've labored for Christ in a far-off land for many years and have seen only small results. But I have this comfort: when the Master comes to reckon with His servants, He will not say, `Well done, thou good and successful servant,' but `well done, thou good and faithful servant.' I have tried to be faithful!.

Work done well for Christ will receive a "well done" from Christ.

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THE CALL TO PERSEVERANCE LIKE A FARMER - Do you ever feel like just quitting and giving up? Do you get so tired that you feel you cannot go another step? The Christian believer is not immune to these feelings, but the challenge is to persevere through them. For example...

The folklore surrounding Poland's famous concert pianist and prime minister, Ignace Paderewski, includes this story:

A mother, wishing to encourage her young son's progress at the piano, bought tickets for a Paderewski performance. When the night arrived, they found their seats near the front of the concert hall and eyed the majestic Steinway waiting on stage.

Soon the mother found a friend to talk to, and the boy slipped away. When eight o'clock arrived, the spotlights came on, the audience quieted, and only then did they notice the boy up on the bench, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

His mother gasped, but before she could retrieve her son, the master appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard.

"Don't quit—keep playing," he whispered to the boy. Leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child, to add a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized. [Craig B. Larson, Editor. Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching, p.221].

Serving the Lord is hard work. Using your own strength will exhaust you and you will be tempted to quit. But using God's strength as you work hard will produce beautiful music.(From Practical Illustrations: Volume 7)

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FAITHFULNESS & FRUITFULNESS - A deacon rebuked an elderly preacher one Sunday morning before the service.

"Pastor," said the man, "something must be wrong with your preaching and your work. There's been only one person added to the church in a whole year, and he's just a boy."

The minister listened, his eyes moistening and his thin hand trembling.

"I feel it all," he replied, "but God knows I've tried to do my duty."

On that day the minister's heart was heavy as he stood before his flock. As he finished the mes­sage, he felt a strong inclination to resign. After everyone else had left, that one new boy came to him and asked,

"Do you think if I worked hard for an education, I could become a preacher—perhaps a missionary?"

Again tears welled up in the minister's eyes.

"Ah, this heals the ache I feel," he said.

"Robert, I see the Divine hand now. May God bless you, my boy. Yes, I think you will become a preacher."

Many years later an aged missionary returned to London from Africa. People spoke his name with reverence. Nobles invited him to their homes. He had added many souls to the church of Jesus Christ, reaching even some of Africa's most savage chiefs. His name was Robert Moffat, the same Robert who years before had spoken to the pastor on that Sunday morning in the old Scottish church.

Our service for Christ may sometimes seem fruitless. We wonder if anything significant is happening. But if we are faithful, God will give the increase. —D J De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) (Bolding added)

Faithfulness is God's requirement.
Fruitfulness is His reward.

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O dearly beloved hardworking farmer whoever and wherever you are, do

not lose heart in doing good, for in due time (you) shall reap if (you) do not grow weary (Gal 6:9).

Instead

consider (aorist imperative - a command that can even convey a sense of urgency. Do this now! Don't delay!) Him Who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart. (He 12:3-note)

And rest assured that your

momentary, light affliction is producing for (you) an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison (2Cor 4:17)

Finally, Paul adds this great exhortation to which all believers do well to pay heed...

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be (present imperative - calls for this as a lifestyle - what God commands, He enables!) steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil (kopos) is not in vain in the Lord. (1Co 15:58)

A believer visiting a mission field said to one of the dedicated workers,

My, you certainly are buried out here!

The missionary quietly replied,

We were not buried—we were planted! We buried ourselves (died with Christ, daily denial of self) long before we ever arrived on this field!

William Barclay summarizes these three metaphors writing that...

One thing remains in all three pictures. The soldier is upheld by the thought of final victory. The athlete is upheld by the vision of the crown. The husbandman is upheld by the hope of the harvest. Each submits to the discipline and the toil for the sake of the glory which shall be. It is so with the Christian. The Christian struggle is not without a goal; it is always going somewhere. The Christian can be certain that after the effort of the Christian life, there comes the joy of heaven; and the greater the struggle, the greater the joy. (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press or Logos)

Vine adds this summation...

The three illustrations are taken from everyday life and each is indicative of patient, self-sacrificing and enduring toil. Again, there are three respective incentives. The first is that of pleasing the Lord. The second is the obtaining of the reward in the day to come. The third is that of partaking of the fruits of labor. (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson or Logos)

Steven Cole writes that...

To be a fruitful Christian, willingly embrace the hardship of the farmer: Hard, unexciting work with no immediate payback (2Ti 2:6).Note three things:

A. Much Christian work is unexciting.

Compared to the lives of the soldier and the athlete, the life of a farmer is rather boring. The soldier lives on the edge of life and death on the battlefield. The athlete has the thrill of the cheering crowd as he runs toward the goal. But the farmer works long and hard, plowing and planting, and goes home tired. About the most exciting thing he can see is, “The corn grew two inches last week!” Whoopee! Why does he do it? He is looking for the harvest.

Spiritually, there are a few who have “exciting” ministries. They’re invited to speak all over the world. They have thousands flocking to hear them or buying their books. Then there are the rest of us, out in the fields waiting for the corn to grow. Every week, I try to sow the seed of God’s Word into hearts, but people don’t usually change over night. Sometimes bad storms or pests
destroy the plants before they bear fruit. But you keep sowing, trusting God to bring the increase of the harvest.

B. Christian work is tiring.

The Greek word that Paul uses for “hardworking” means to toil or strive so as to become weary and tired. He uses it to describe pastors who “work hard in preaching and teaching” (1Ti 5:17). He commends those in Rome who “worked hard” in the Lord (Ro 16:6, 12). He often mentions his own labor or toil in the Lord’s work (1Cor. 15:10; 2Cor. 6:4; Gal. 4:11; Phil. 2:16; Col.1:29-2:1; 1Ti 4:10). Much Christian work is mentally and emotionally draining. Even Jesus was so tired that He could fall asleep in a small boat in a fierce storm! Expect to be tired as part of the hardship of serving the Lord.

C. The reward comes at the end of the age, not at the end of the meeting.

The harvest is at the end of the age. Often we will not know what God accomplished through our labors or our prayers or our gifts until we stand before Him. Then we will meet people who are in heaven because we sowed the seed through our words or our gifts or our good deeds. We will enjoy a harvest of eternal joy! (Read Pastor Cole's full sermon)

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As soldiers we are to single mindedly focus on pleasing our Lord alone.

As athletes we must play by the rules God has ordained.

As farmers we must be willing to work hard in the present, confident that we shall have future gain.

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In light of brevity of our life and the length of eternity and the certainty of the rewards or loss of rewards at the the judgment seat of Christ ponder these words by the great missionary to Burma, Adoniram Judson (click biography)

So teach us to number our days, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12) doing all things as "for the Lord"

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No Looking Back - When I was a boy on the farm, my dad would tell me, "You can't plow a straight row if you look back." You can test this for yourself by looking back as you walk through snow or along a sandy beach. Your tracks won't be straight.

A good farmer doesn't look back once he has put his hand to the plow. Jesus used this analogy to teach us that if we are to be His disciples we must make a complete break with all loyalties that hinder our relationship with Him.

Total allegiance to God is a principle that is rooted in the Old Testament. The Israelites, after being freed from slavery and fed by supernatural means, looked back longingly to the days when they enjoyed fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic in Egypt (Numbers 11:5-6). God was greatly displeased, and He judged His people. Their looking back indicated a lack of commitment to Him.

Today, people who cling to old sins and the worldly pleasures they enjoyed before becoming Christians cannot be loyal disciples of Jesus Christ. When we repent and believe in Him, we become citizens of a new kingdom. We are to break with the sins of the past.

Discipleship means no looking back. — Herbert Vander Lugt

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I had always heard that if a farmer keeps his eyes on a distant object while he's plowing, he'll make a straight furrow. So I tested the principle when I mowed my lawn. Sure enough, my first cut was a straight swath of new-mown turf.

If you can plow a straight furrow or mow in a straight line by keeping your eyes fixed on a distant object, surely the principle should also be true of life--especially if the object on which you fix your gaze is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

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Planting Time - Somewhere in the world right now a farmer is dropping seeds into the ground. Soon those seeds will begin to change the place where they were planted. The carefully prepared soil that appears barren today will become a field ready for harvest.

In the same way, New Year’s resolutions can be seeds to alter the landscape of life for others and ourselves. This prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi is a powerful model of this longing to bring positive change in a hurting world:

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.

A farmer who sows wheat is never surprised when wheat grows from the ground where it was planted. That’s the universal law of sowing and reaping. Paul used it to illustrate a corresponding spiritual principle: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7). Our sinful nature says, “Satisfy yourself,” while the Spirit urges us to please God (Ga 6:8).

Today is planting time. God has promised: “In due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Gal 6:9). — David C. McCasland