This word gives a timely warning against introducing novelty or deviating from the

specific truth which God had deposited with Paul. All who teach should have this

warning before them continually.  The Lord does not take a light view of any

mishandling of His Word and those of His children who do this must not be surprised if,

instead of meeting Him with joy in the future, they do so with shame. Faithfulness is the

first requirement by God.

The error of false teachers consisted in `fables and endless genealogies'. Muthoi,

`fables' occurs in Titus 1: 14, where they are described as Jewish, and it is more than

likely that we have the same thing here. While we have not the developed Gnosticism of

the second century the beginnings are here with semi-Gnostical theories of aeons and

emanations. In addition there was the Jewish delight in speculation, leading to the

composition of mythical histories based on the O.T. such as is found in the Jewish book

of Jubilees. This mixture of error was doubtless being promulgated at Ephesus and was

Satan's counter attack to the truth of the Mystery. The `endless genealogies' possibly

resulted from the idea that God, called Buthos or Depth, by acting on His own mind

produced two other beings of different sexes called Aeons or Emanations and from these

two sprang a series of other Aeons. When anyone attempted to trace this celestial

pedigree or genealogy, there arose great arguments as to the number of Aeons and their

order of procession. Here was Satan's travesty of the purpose of the ages with its false

mediators in the place of the only genuine One, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The danger of all this was that it broke the spiritual unity among members of the Body

of Christ and so led to endless queries and doubts. This is always the aim of the enemy,

to split the people of God who hold the truth and, looking back upon the past centuries,

he has been eminently successful. These are still his tactics today, so let us keep a

watchful eye and not be drawn aside from what God has committed to our charge. This

truth Paul describes as a `dispensation of God' (verse 4 R.V.).  This is nearer in

translation to what Paul was inspired to write than `godly edifying' of the A.V.

There is hardly any need for us to stress the importance of the word `dispensation'. It

is not synonymous with the word `age', but means the administration of a stewardship.

We have this word and its cognate rendered `steward' in Luke 16: 1, 2. In revealing the

great truth of the Mystery (Secret) in Eph. 3:, Paul declared it to be a dispensation or

stewardship in verse 9 (R.V.) and grace in verse 2. Of course it is a `fellowship' (A.V.)

but the Apostle reveals that it is something much deeper and higher than this. It was this

precious dispensation of God that these false teachers were marring by their

unfaithfulness and erroneous doctrine, hence the serious warning Paul gave to his son in

the faith.