2 Timothy 1.14-Paul Solemnly Charges Timothy to Guard the Excellent Deposit By the Holy Spirit's Power Who Indwells Him
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday March 12, 2015
Second Timothy: Second Timothy 1:14-Paul Solemnly Charges Timothy to Guard the Excellent Deposit By the Holy Spirit’s Power Who Indwells Him
Lesson # 20
2 Timothy 1:14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. (NASB95)
The apostle Paul is employing the figure of asyndeton which means that he is not using a connective word between this command here in verse 14 and the command in verse 13 in order to emphasize with Timothy the solemn nature of this command and the importance of it to his walk with God.
“Guard” is the second person singular aorist active imperative form of the verb phulasso (φυλάσσω), which is used in active sense and means “to guard, protect” and is its object is the articular form of the noun paratheke, “the deposit,” which refers to Paul’s apostolic teaching, i.e. the truth of the gospel, the Christian faith.
As we noted in verse 12, these two words also appear with the same sense in First Timothy 6:20.
They are referring to a “process in Graeco-Roman cultures of entrusting some commodity with a person who is to ensure its safekeeping and eventually return it to its owner. Assumed in the process are the ownership of the commodity and the obligation of faithfulness on the part of the trustee.”
Thus, the word phulasso speaks of Paul’s stewardship of truth or the gospel in verse 12.
However, here in verse 14, it is used in relation to Timothy’s stewardship of the truth, i.e. the gospel.
Therefore, in verse 12, Paul was making the assertion that the Lord Jesus Christ is able to “guard, protect” the truth of the gospel, i.e. his apostolic teaching or in other words He is able to “protect, guard” the Christian faith, that body of doctrine which the church believes and is in the New Testament.
However, here in verse 14, this verb phulasso is used in relation to a command he issues to Timothy.
Therefore, with this verb, Paul is commanding that through the Holy Spirit, Timothy was “to guard, protect” the truth of the gospel, i.e. his apostolic teaching or in other words he is to “protect, guard” the Christian, that body of doctrine which the church believes and is in the New Testament.
The aorist imperative form of the verb phulasso is a constative aorist imperative which is emphasizing how important it is for Timothy to protect or guard Paul’s apostolic teaching which of course, is the gospel and to do so through the Holy Spirit who indwells every Christian.
It emphasizes how important it was for Timothy to do this.
“The treasure which has been entrusted to you” is composed of the following: (1) articular accusative feminine singular form of the adjective kalos (καλός), which is not translated (2) accusative feminine singular form of the noun paratheke (παραθήκη), “treasure which has been entrusted.”
The noun paratheke speaks of the truth of the gospel or Paul’s apostolic teaching from the perspective that it has been entrusted to Timothy by Paul, which the former is to guard or protect through the Holy Spirit who indwells every Christian.
The adjective kalos means “excellent” and is functioning as an attributive adjective modifying the noun paratheke, “the deposit” which refers to Paul’s apostolic teaching which is of course the gospel and that body of doctrine which the church believes.
Kalos describes this teaching, the gospel as being of the highest moral quality or character because it is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The implication is that Paul’s gospel was useful and a great benefit to the non-Christian, the Christian community as well as to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Faith in the gospel saves the sinner from eternal condemnation, condemnation from the Law, the sin nature, personal sins, the devil and his cosmic system, spiritual and physical death.
Faith in the gospel for the Christian results in their spiritual growth into Christ-likeness and experiencing deliverance from sin, Satan and his cosmic system.
The gospel benefits the Trinity because it brings glory to them since the gospel reveals the Father’s plan in eternity past to save sinners from these things and the Son executed that plan and the Spirit reveals that plan and appropriates this salvation for the sinner at their conversion.
The Spirit also reproduces Christ-like character in the justified sinner who exercises faith in the gospel by considering themselves dead to sin and alive to God.
In Second Timothy 1:14, the noun pneuma refers of course to the Holy Spirit who is identified as the third Person of the Trinity.
The word is functioning as the object of the preposition dia which means “by means of” and not “through” since the word is functioning as a marker of means because the noun contains the figure of metonymy meaning the person of the Spirit is put for His omnipotence.
Therefore, Paul is commanding Timothy to guard the excellent deposit, i.e. his gospel or apostolic teaching “by means of the power of the Holy Spirit.”
The adjective hagios is used to describe the third member of the Trinity, the Spirit and denotes the state of being holy, thus it refers to the holiness of the Spirit.
Second Timothy 1:14 I solemnly charge you to guard the excellent deposit by means of the Holy Spirit’s power who lives in each and every one of us. (My translation)
The apostle Paul solemnly issues Timothy another command which is in fact connected to the previous command in verse 13 to continue making it his habit of adhering to the standard of sound words which he heard from Paul.
He was to do this by means of faith in these sound words which will result in Timothy loving God and his fellow Christian and non-Christian and this love is based upon the Lord Jesus Christ’s teaching to love one another (John 13:34).
Second Timothy 1:13 Continue to make it your habit of adhering to the standard of sound words which you heard from me by means of faith resulting in divine-love which is based upon the teaching of Christ who is Jesus. (My translation)
Now, here in verse 14 the apostle Paul commands Timothy to guard the excellent deposit by means of the Holy Spirit’s power who lives in each and every Christian without exception.
Verses 13-14 are connected because Timothy was to guard the excellent deposit by means of the Holy Spirit’s power.
This would be accomplished by Timothy adhering to the standard of sound words which he heard from Paul which were inspired by the Spirit.
This adherence to the standard of sound words was to be accomplished by Timothy exercising faith in these sound words.
This faith would appropriate the Spirit’s power.
Thus Paul’s reference to the Holy Spirit here in verse 14 contains the figure of metonymy where the Spirit is put for His omnipotence because Timothy’s faith in Paul’s apostolic teaching would appropriate the power of the Spirit who inspired this teaching in the first place.
So Paul is teaching Timothy that by remaining faithful in teaching and obeying the gospel he would be guarding the gospel or protecting it.
By continuing to teach and exemplify the gospel, Timothy would be guarding the gospel which had been entrusted to him and would at the same time be refuting the false doctrine and the counterfeit godliness exemplified by the apostate pastors and Judaizers in Ephesus.
By continuing to exercise faith in Paul’s gospel and thus appropriating the Spirit’s power, Timothy would also be able to exercise his spiritual gift with enthusiasm which the apostle commands to do in Second Timothy 1:6.
Paul’s command here in Second Timothy 1:14 echoes his command to Timothy in First Timothy 6:20.
First Timothy 6:20 O Timothy, I solemnly charge you to make it your top priority to guard the deposit with the result that you cause yourself to avoid the words lacking content, which are worldly, specifically, the contradictions, which are falsely called “knowledge.” (Author’s translation)
So notice that Timothy was to appropriate the power of God the Holy Spirit who indwells him by exercising faith in Paul’s apostolic teaching which is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Thus one demonstrates one’s dependence upon the Spirit’s power by exercising faith in the Spirit’s teaching or His gospel.
By doing this Timothy would remain a good and faithful steward of the gospel.
He was also to do this because he would have to give an account of this stewardship to the Lord Jesus Christ at the Bema Seat.
The mention of the Spirit’s power here in Second Timothy 1:14 forms an inclusio which brackets a passage which began in Second Timothy 1:6.
These instructions for Timothy here in chapter one which began in verse 6 begin and end with mention of the Spirit’s power since in Second Timothy 1:7 he reminds Timothy of the Spirit’s power and speaks of it again here in Second Timothy 1:14.
Every church age believer is indwelt by the third member of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:16).
The main purpose for this indwelling is to provide a temple for the indwelling of Jesus Christ who is the Shekinah Glory of the Old Testament who dwelt in the tabernacle in Israel or in a cloud or a pillar of fire but now here in the church age, He indwells the body of every believer.
The body of the believer is now a temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Cor. 6:16) which provides a base of operations for the use of divine omnipotence which enables the Christian to execute the plan of God for their life.