2 Timothy 2:6

The husbandman that laboureth must be the first to partake of the fruits.

Many see some kind of difficulty here, because Paul employed the same analogy in affirming the right of ministers to be supported financially, whereas such an application seems unlikely in this paragraph where the apostle is not at all stressing such a thing. Perhaps the intended application is that in striving so diligently to establish faith and endurance in others, Timothy himself will be the first to profit from such exhortations and strivings. White proposed that Paul might have meant that Timothy would benefit no matter how successful or unsuccessful his efforts might prove to be, thus: "The laborer receives his hire no matter how poor the crop may be; his wages are the first charge on the field"[8] (See 1 Corinthians 9:10).

First to partake of the fruits ... As a matter of truth, any minister of the gospel who labors to encourage and strengthen others is the first to partake of the new and greater strength himself. As Hendriksen put it, "His own faith is strengthened, his hope quickened, his love deepened and the flame of his gift enlivened."[9]

[8] Newport J. D. White, op. cit., p. 162.

[9] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 249.