1 Timothy 6:20-21

But Above All Timothy Must Guard The Truth That Has Been Committed To Him, Turning Away From All The Philosophical Babblings Of Men (1 Timothy 6:20-21 ).

Having commenced the letter with the need to deal with the false teachers, Paul now ends it in the same way. What is of more importance than anything else is the preservation of the truth, and it is that which has been committed to Timothy. He must guard it with his whole being. And in order to do that he must turn away from all men’s babbling, and all that men see as ‘knowledge’ (gnosis), things which have caused other to go astray.

Analysis.

O Timothy, guard what is committed to you (1 Timothy 6:20 a).

· Turning away from the profane babblings and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called (1 Timothy 6:20 b).

· Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with you (plural) (1 Timothy 6:21).

Note that Timothy is to guard what has been committed to him so that he might not err from God’s ways, and in the parallel he speaks of others who have erred from God’s ways because they have not guarded the truth. Thus centrally he must avoid their babblings and claims to knowledge which are not really so.