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No.3.
1: 12 - 18.
pp. 61 - 66
The Apostle Paul, having referred to the gospel which had been committed to him by
the risen Christ (I Tim. 1: 10, 11), now reminds Timothy of the cost: "for which cause I
suffer these things". His imprisonment and treatment as a criminal was the direct result
of his faithful stand for Christ and his ministry during the perilous time in which he was
living. Yet, in order to encourage Timothy, he states:
"Yet I am not ashamed; for I know Him Whom I have believed, and I am persuaded
that He is able to guard that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (1: 12,
R.V.).
The margin of the Revised Version reads "or, that which He committed unto me"
(Greek: my deposit). Paul did not say "I know what I have believed", but "I know Him
Whom I have believed", and this is immeasurably greater and better. The knowledge of
Christ Jesus is the summing up of all truth, and the goal for the believer is "that I may get
to know Him" (Phil. 3: 10). This will include, of course, the precious deposit of truth
which He has committed to us to guard and proclaim for His glory. This truth He will
most certainly protect until "that day", and Paul's continuous assurance of this is made
clear by the perfect tense in the Greek.
Paratheke (deposit) is the shortened form of the full term for a legal deposit
parakatatheke, and many examples of its use can be found in the papyri. This word
occurs in verse 14 and I Tim. 6: 20 describing the truth deposited with Timothy and it
has the same meaning in verse 12. Paul is not thinking of something which he had
deposited with the Lord, but rather the wondrous revelation of truth the Lord had
deposited with him to make known primarily to the Gentiles. This is further explained in
verse 13:
"Hold the pattern of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love which
is in Christ Jesus."
Hupotuposis (form or pattern) is only used in one other place in the N.T. where the
salvation and ministry of Paul is declared to be a `pattern' for those who would hereafter
believe (I Tim. 1: 12-16). The word means delineation or outline. Arndt and Gingrich
in their Greek-English Lexicon give the meaning as standard, which fits the context in
II Timothy perfectly. All the truth deposited by the Lord with the Apostle Paul was the
divine standard of truth for Timothy, and still is the standard by which all Christian
preaching, teaching and service must be measured. As the Apostle of the Gentiles his
ministry specially fits this Gentile age. How thankful we ought to be that we have this
divine standard by which we can test all we hear and read with so many conflicting ideas
on every hand. This is the only sure way we can sort out for ourselves truth from error
and know exactly where we stand.