Article October 24, 1931 Issue

On Guarding Our Treasure

ALBERT F. GILMORE

None of Paul's letters are more intimate and appealing than those written to Timothy, whom he addressed as "my own son in the faith." The apostle's solicitude for Timothy appears throughout, indicating a depth of affection for the young disciple which closely borders upon the paternal. Timothy is admonished on various subjects, but always for the purpose of encouraging him to abandon the ways of the flesh for the joys of Spirit. Early in the first epistle Timothy is urged to defend Paul's interpretation of Jesus' teaching, "from which," he declares, "some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling." Toward the end of the first of these epistles Paul also gives expression to his heart's desire for his "son in the faith" thus: "O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust." Later commentators translate the Greek word φύλακας "guard" rather than "keep," a change which strengthens the admonition.

The reader of this epistle is prompted to inquire both as to what had been committed to Timothy's trust which Paul was so desirous that he should guard or keep, and also as to the significance of "vain jangling." Study of the apostle's letters leads one to the inevitable conclusion that the essence of his service was explication of Jesus's teachings and works. He was firmly convinced of the Master's mission—namely, that the Nazarene was the Messiah and literally the Way-shower to mankind out of all material beliefs; that at last the road to salvation had been revealed to stricken humanity; and, thus convinced, he was impelled to urge upon all the importance of keeping these great truths in their primal purity and significance. Timothy, as one in faith with Paul, having from childhood received religious training, was a ready and receptive disciple, and in consequence he deeply imbibed the teachings which the apostle himself had unreservedly accepted. Paul made the Master's teachings so vital to salvation that all who came within range of his influence were likewise convinced of the extraordinary significance of their import.

That the burden of Paul's charge was the necessity of guarding the doctrine of the church is revealed in the context. None knew better than he the dangers which confronted the infant church in the form of dissensions and controversies over the purport of the Master's teachings. The useless discussions and arguments which he so well characterized as "vain jangling," no less than the "oppositions of science falsely so called," he urged Timothy to avoid. The word?, which in the Authorized Version is rendered "science," may, it seems, be translated as "knowledge," a rendition which considerably broadens the apostle's strictures. Paul was manifestly urging his youthful disciple to guard himself against acceptance of the false doctrines which had sprung up like weeds in a garden during the years following the close of the Master's earthly career.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

On Guarding Our Treasure

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access