Paul Commends Brother Timothy to the Philippian Church
Part 2
Philippians
2:21-22 For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s. But ye
know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me
in the Gospel. KJVIt is not sure to know exactly who were the brethren Paul is speaking of when he says, “For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s” (Philippians 2:21) (KJV), but we know he does not speak of Dr. Luke who was present with him on most of his missionary journeys and is the man responsible for recording them (by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) in the Book of Acts and we can recall him saying this concerning Dr. Luke in his second letter to Brother Timothy, “Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:11) (NKJV). Paul is, however, surely speaking of those un-named men he has already declared to these Philippian believers earlier on in this letter when he said, “Some, it is true, [actually] preach Christ (the Messiah) [for no better reason than] out of envy and rivalry (party spirit), but others are doing so out of a loyal spirit {and} goodwill. But the former preach Christ out of a party spirit, insincerely [out of no pure motive, but thinking to annoy me], supposing they are making my bondage more bitter {and} my chains more galling.” (Philippians 1:15-16) (Amplified Bible).
Why these men would proclaim their dedication, commitment, or loyalty to our Lord Jesus Christ and have this desire in their hearts to cause more affliction to the Apostle Paul is astounding, astonishing, and amazing because this was the period of the Church when God the Holy Spirit was supernaturally exposing, then, removing lying, greedy, and dishonest souls from the fellowship as we recall with Ananias and Sapphira as recorded for us with these words by the above mentioned Dr. Luke, “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the Apostles’ feet. But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.’ Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter answered her, ‘Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?’ She said, ‘Yes, for so much.’ Then Peter said to her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’ Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. So great fear came upon all the Church and upon all who heard these things.” (Acts 5:1-11) (NKJV).
The men or women at the disposal of the Apostle Paul during this time were not trustworthy to the Apostle, except for Timothy. We must also take into account that Paul had great concern over the care given to the spiritual condition of the Philippian Church and the person or persons he would confide in to administer such care because of what took place concerning himself at his first trial in Rome as he declared in the second letter to Brother Timothy, “At my first trial no one acted in my defense [as my advocate] {or} took my part {or} [even] stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them!” (2 Timothy 4:16) (Amplified Bible). This reality probably shook even this great Apostle Paul so much that he began to have reservations about the trustworthiness of some of the brethren. It is quite a shock when those whom we trust and think we can count upon let us down in our most desperate, distressed, and darkest times. However, unlike the ‘song of Deborah’ that has this spoken by the Angel of the Lord as part of the lyrics, “‘Curse Meroz,’ said the Angel of the LORD, ‘Curse its inhabitants bitterly, Because they did not come to the help of the LORD, To the help of the LORD against the mighty.’” (Judges 5:23) (NKJV), we still find this Apostle Paul not wanting our Lord Jesus Christ to hold this desertion against his beloved brethren. At one time the Apostle Paul placed Demas on the same level as Dr. Luke when he closed his letter to the Colossian Church when he said, “Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you.” (Colossians 4:14) (NKJV), but then in closing his second letter to Brother Timothy Paul had this to say concerning Demas, “For Demas has deserted me for love of this present world and has gone to Thessalonica; Crescens [has gone] to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.” (2 Timothy 4:10) (Amplified Bible).
Perhaps there were others like Demas that Paul left un-named in any of his other letters and they are the ones he speaks of as seeking their own and not the things of Christ Jesus our Lord. The Apostle John spoke of such a man in one of the Churches when he said, “I wrote to the Church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the Church.” (3 John 1:9) (NKJV). Surely these are the type of men Paul had at his disposal in Rome and refused to trust any of them to go to the Church at Philippi, but only Timothy. Therefore, concerning the character of the young man Timothy Paul says to these Philippian believers, “But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the Gospel.” (Philippians 2:22) (KJV). The Apostle Paul uses the English word “proof” speaking of Timothy and this word is translated by the Greek word dokime which means that which is tested or that which is trustiness or in other words Timothy exemplified the trait of deserving trust and confidence. It was Paul’s confidence in Brother Timothy to put the spiritual state and condition of the Philippian believers above any personal accolades, approval, or awards from Paul or any other Apostle or member of Christ Body.
Timothy’s number one concern was what our Lord Jesus Christ thought of him and not what men thought of him. It was the proclamation of the truth of the Gospel of Grace that was priority number one with Brother Timothy over the applause of men directed to him. Paul spoke of Timothy as his spiritual son in the faith, meaning he (Paul) took Timothy under his wing to act as teacher and trusted guide and counselor to him in the faith as we can clearly see in the two letters Paul wrote to him with such words as these, “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.” (2 Timothy 1:13-14) (NKJV) and also these words just to name some of Paul’s counsel to Timothy, “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” (2 Timothy 2:1-3) (NKJV). Note: “Timothy was not Paul’s servant, but Christ servant. Timothy did not do menial errands for Paul, neglecting his loyalty to Christ Jesus our Lord, but was a faithful man like the men Nehemiah spoke of with these words, ‘Then it was, when the wall was built and I had hung the doors, when the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, that I gave the charge of Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the leader of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.’” (Nehemiah 7:1-2) (NKJV).
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for bringing me your son back from the flu virus 10 days ago and destroying the attack of the devil and his invisible devils as well as his two legged devils that would try to hurt, harm, and hinder the work of yours through me your son Clifford DeWayne Tate, Sr. Thank you for Your unconditional love to me your son and Your continual mercy in Jesus Name and by His Blood that continually washes me from my sin (Revelation 1:5), Amen!
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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