ENTRUSTED THINGS
D. T. Howie
2 Timothy 1: 14; 2: 1–3; 2 Chronicles 5: 1; 1 Chronicles 29: 26
As our dear brethren have said, this is an occasion when what we speak of is the work of God. Man uses these occasions to eulogise those who have died, but eulogies stand in relation to what a man has done in man’s world. What a man has done in man’s world finishes in death, finishes in the grave, but the work of God in our beloved brother, and in you and me, if it is there, is something which goes through into eternity. It will shine in eternity, and it is the only thing that will go through, the work of God in all its wondrousness, in all its greatness.
So in this last letter, this final testament, as written by Paul the great apostle, who was used
to unfold the truth of the mystery and of the glad tidings as they are in Christ, is an appeal to a young man called Timothy. It is, I believe, the kind of letter our brother would have written.
Like Paul, our beloved brother was concerned about the continuance of the testimony in young men—in older men too, but especially in young men. So Paul was speaking about the good deposit. What an inheritance he was passing on!—nothing material, but something that will shine through all eternity. That wall in Revelation 21, adorned with precious stones, stands in relation to the work of God in the saints as it has shone in testimony. It brings out what is precious to God. The psalmist could say, “Precious in the sight of Jehovah is the death of his saints”, Psalm 116: 15.
So Paul here is passing on to Timothy what is precious—“Keep, by the Holy Spirit which dwells in us, the good deposit entrusted”. Paul trusted Timothy, and there are those that our brother trusted, including young men in this locality. He trusted the older ones too, but he trusted the young men. In principle he trusted them to “Keep, by the Holy Spirit which dwells in us, the good deposit entrusted”. So can you take care of your inheritance? Are you going to look after the interests of Christ? You know, the evidence that you are here in the power of the Spirit, and as seeking to serve God, is that Christ’s chief interest, the assembly, becomes your chief interest. It has been said before that what is seen in the light of the truth as to the assembly is what is most precious to the heart of Christ. This is what Paul was speaking about. However, he sees ahead the breakdown coming in, as it has in Christendom. So he is writing, looking for faithful men who will continue, and finds such a one in Timothy. He is calling to him, saying, “Keep”—not just by thinking of me or what I have done—but “by the Holy Spirit which
dwells in us”.
Then he goes on to speak about the quality of manhood essential for the maintenance of the truth and says, “the things thou hast heard of me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men”. How faithful Paul was! He could say, “For I am not ashamed of the glad tidings”, Romans 1: 16. Paul’s testimony as to the glad tidings was obvious, seen by the many witnesses around him, as it was seen in the prison at Philippi. No matter what the circumstances Paul was in, he was a testimony to the greatness of the inheritance that he had come into, in relation to the unsearchable riches of the glad tidings of the glory. How he displayed them in their fulness; how he brought the name of Jesus so forcibly, so attractively, before men and women. I think of him in that jail in Philippi; when the jailer was about to slay himself—could see nothing before him but death Paul introduces him to life, saying, “Do thyself no harm, for we are all here”. There he was as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, suffering for the name of Jesus, yet in the midst of it all what comes out? A spirit of vindictiveness? A spirit of vengeance? No; a spirit of grace, and the glad tidings come out in all their fulness.
The man says, “What must I do that I may be saved?” (Acts 16: 30), and the answer comes—
“Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house”. Oh the glory of the testimony!
So this is what Paul was instructing Timothy to pass on when he says, “these entrust to faithful men”. You may say, ‘Well, make it to gifted men, or men who are rich in this world’s goods’. No; he says, “to faithful men”. So, dear young brother, you may not feel qualified by way of gift; you may not feel qualified in that way, but we can all qualify in relation to faithfulness to Christ.
The testimony is entrusted to faithful men. Timothy made no mistake and the testimony of Timothy’s faithfulness has been seen down through the ages. It has been said that if Paul and Timothy were to come today they would see the evidence of how the golden thread of testimony has been maintained in faithfulness to Christ. Faithfulness will involve suffering and Paul encourages Timothy, “take thy share in suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ”.
There is no place for you in the world’s armies, but there is a place for you as a faithful man or woman, or boy or girl, as belonging to that great army of faithful witnesses as our beloved brother did.
In Chronicles we have a young man, Solomon, who had been entrusted with certain things.
He was given these things by his father, David. What a king he was; how he shone in the testimony! He was a king indeed; a king with the heart of a shepherd. That feature is to be seen with us, shepherds and teachers. Paul could speak as to Timothy being a shepherd—“I have no one like-minded who will care with genuine feeling how ye get on”, Philippians 2: 20. That was Timothy—caring how the saints got on. How those shepherd feelings shone in Corinth amidst that company where we may say there was the wolf-like character; Paul’s ways in Christ came out in Timothy. Paul says, “I have sent to you Timotheus … who shall put you in mind of my ways as they are in Christ” (1 Corinthians 4: 17)—a faithful man seeking to maintain the testimony of Jesus.
So we have Solomon, a young man, who had inherited the throne. David could say about him as he was about to be taken, “Solomon my son is young and tender”, 1 Chronicles 22: 5. Oh, you say, he is not man enough. Well, we read in 2 Chronicles 5 of the
increase in the service of God. The whole thing is increased as under the hand of Solomon.
He has taken on what was dedicated. Our beloved brother referred in prayer to what has been dedicated, what has been inherited. Solomon used these things for the testimony and for the glory of God. So you find there is a great increase in the service of God. Like David, Solomon cared for the ark. As a young man David could say in relation to the ark in Psalm 132, “We heard of it at Ephratah”, and he also says, “I will not give sleep to mine eyes …
Until I find out a place for Jehovah”—the ark of Jehovah. He brings it back, you might say, to what God had in mind when he gave Moses the instruction in relation to the ark in Exodus 25.
You think of the ark as being cared for, and you can see how it was protected under the wings of the cherubim, the way they looked down and protected the interests of Christ. That was David, you see, a man who protected the interests of Christ. But then under Solomon what you find is that the wings of the cherubim, as well as covering the ark, are stretching from wall to wall; that is, the glory of the gospel is going out under Solomon. You find the folding doors opening up. God was looking down to this day when the gospel would go out, including this very occasion, when Christ would be declared and preached as a Saviour, and God be made known as a Saviour God, when His name would be made known. So things expanded under Solomon. How beautiful it was, this prince of peace, for his name means
‘peaceful’. Oh would to God that today men, instead of being warriors of war, would be warriors of peace.
This is what Solomon was, he was a prince of peace. He represents Christ in that way. He only serves to bring out the greatness of the antitype. So the doors open up, the cherubim are
looking out. The gospel is coming out to you, in all its fulness, in all its glory. What is it for?
For your blessing certainly, but in order that there should be an increase in the service of God; so the whole thing expands in richness and fulness under Solomon. There is no thought of deterioration coming in, the full thought is what he had received from David, the dedicated things; the testimony he had been given expands in sonship. So what we have received from our beloved brother should expand with us as we seek to maintain the truth in faithfulness to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Then in 1 Chronicles 29 we find, “Now David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel”. At this time David and Solomon are on the throne together. In this I believe that the Spirit of God is drawing attention to the fact that the spirit of Christ as seen in David is to continue. It was said in prayer in our locality earlier this week that the fragrance of the spirit of fatherhood as seen in our beloved brother must be maintained amongst us. Fatherhood is the binding power of a local assembly. The spirit of fatherhood is to be maintained, and I believe that that is what this verse brings out. It says, “Now David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel”. Solomon was a son “young and tender”, yet what was seen in testimony was a continuance of his father’s spirit. What an inheritance Solomon came into; what an inheritance Timothy came into; and what an inheritance has been bequeathed to you and me.
What use are you going to put it to? Are you going to waste it in this world? Or are you going to seek to maintain it for God’s world and what will shine to all eternity? May each one of us be found here in faithfulness to our Lord Jesus for His glory and for our blessing. Amen.
Words at the burial of Mr. W. C. Lock, Calgary
7 February 1986