disposal by faith (Eph. 1: 18-21). This is the greatest of all powers, the power that

conquers death. How foolish we should be not to trust it to work in and through us rather

than to rely on our own feeble strength!

Paul's message to Timothy continues:

The Apostle had received this sacred deposit of truth from the risen Lord Jesus and

had made it known through his oral and written ministry. In this way Timothy had

received it, and with the Apostle's witness so soon coming to an end, he was about to

assume the leadership and full responsibility for this great deposit of truth.

In his turn, he must look to the future, for Paul was ever solicitous for the preservation

of this distinctive and precious witness, and such preservation must never be left to

chance. Timothy must pass on or deposit this teaching (paratithemi a word linked with

paratheke, deposit, which we have already considered). But this must be to (1) faithful

men, (2) with the ability to pass it on and teach others. Let us note the order, for it is of

the utmost importance; it is absolute loyalty first and ability afterwards. Many times this

has been reversed with disastrous consequences. A man is given prominence in Christian

work because he is an able speaker; or he is a brilliant scholar; or he has a winning

personality and is very capable. None of these qualifications will be sufficient without

the necessary ingredient of faithfulness. "It is required in stewards, that a man be found

faithful" (I Cor. 4: 2). "Well done, thou good and faithful servant" (Matt. 25: 21, 23).

Over and over again this is stressed in God's Word, for the Lord requires not quantity

first but quality. Those who ignore this do so at their peril, for there is the judgment seat

of Christ to face for all of us in regard to our Christian service.  Without utter

faithfulness, all our efforts may be regarded as `wood, hay and stubble', to be consumed

by the fire of God's holiness (I Cor. 3: 11-15).

Faithfulness may well be costly to us of course, sometimes leading to a pathway of

loneliness and misunderstanding, but what does this matter when the Lord Himself has

promised never to leave or forsake us, and in the day of resurrection, His smile, His

commendation, His reward, will more than outweigh either the praise or the

condemnation of men. It is important too to note that in this context we have the only

`apostolic succession' known to the N.T. All else is based on claims that cannot be

substantiated by the Word of God.

We have already seen in our Ephesian studies the importance of teaching. The teacher

is as much a gift of the ascended Christ as the evangelist (Eph. 4: 11). For the most part

today the evangelist gets the prominence, while the teacher is relegated to second place,

or no place at all! Is it any wonder that churches and chapels contain babes in Christ who

never advance and grow spiritually? Such cannot receive any more than the milk of the

gospel (I Cor. 3: 1, 2). The `strong meat', the exceeding spiritual riches of Paul's prison