Philippians 2:22

“But ye know the proof of him, that, as. child serveth. father he served with me in furtherance of the gospel”

“The proof”: “The trials which have proved his worth” (Con). “What Timothy has proved himself to be” (TCNT). “His proved character” (ABUV). “But his quality is clear to you” (Bas). “They knew how severely at Philippi he had been tried and how nobly he had survived the ordeal” (Erdman p. 98). “Proved reliability” (Muller p. 99). “Thus they should realize immediately that no ‘mediocre substitute' was being sent to them” (Hawthorne p. 111). “As. child serveth. father”: “An intense illustration stressing love and faithfulness” (Jackson p. 56). Compare with 1 Timothy 1:2 and 2 Timothy 1:2. “He served with me”: “But Paul not only says that Timothy worked side by side with him, but as. son works alongside his father. The picture is drawn from the world of Paul's day where it was expected that. son should learn his trade from his father. The Philippians knew, therefore, that Timothy was coming to them having learned all that Paul could teach him. He was coming to them to express exactly the apostle's mind” (Hawthorne p. 111). See 1 Corinthians 4:17 and 2 Timothy 3:10). Barclay notes, “Timothy's value was that he was always willing to go anywhere; and in his hands. message was as safe as if Paul had delivered it himself. Others might be consumed with selfish ambition; but Timothy's one desire was to serve Paul and Jesus Christ” (p. 48). What an example to follow! Timothy was. very gifted and talented young man, but he was content to serve with Paul in spreading the gospel. He did not feel compelled to invent his own brand of Christianity.

“In furtherance of the gospel”: “He had toiled with me like. slave in preaching the good news” (Wms).