2 Timothy 1: The Good Deposit

^“13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” -2 Timothy 1:13-14

As Paul begins what would be his final existing letter, we find his focus is on the teaching, faith, and love of Jesus. He called it the good deposit. Why? It had been given, or revealed, by God, once and for all to his followers. Timothy’s role was not to add to Christ’s teachings, but to guard them, live them, and teach them to others.

Yet Timothy was not left to accomplish this task alone. The Holy Spirit would serve as the power to help guard Christ’s teachings. Despite the deaths of the first generation of Christians and increasing persecution, the message of Jesus would continue to spread. Even 2,000 years later, we benefit from what Paul taught to Timothy during his final days on earth.

Likewise, still today we are called to guard healthy teaching, what God has revealed through Jesus and his apostles, to live it, and share it with others. When we do, we join a legacy connecting back to the earliest believers, a heritage worth repeating in our day.

+++

Dillon Burroughs is the author and coauthor of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of all 31,173 verses of the Bible at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com.