Scripture worth singing aloud

By Sage Merritt

Published: June 26, 2008

It is Scripture put to music. We know it as the hymn, “I know whom I have believed,” with the words and music by Daniel W. Whittle and James McGranahan in 1883. The refrain is the advice given by the Apostle Paul to his young student pastor, Timothy: “For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto him against that day” (2 Tim. 1:12b NKJV).
Paul is reminding Timothy of his heritage in faith and family. He wants to strengthen him as a pastor in a time of national spiritual crisis. The early followers of Jesus were tempted to worship the “official gods” of the Roman government such as Zeus and others who reigned from Mount Olympus.
Paul offers Timothy another religious tradition; namely, his experience serving God “with a pure conscience as my forefathers did” (v. 3). Then he mentions Timothy’s mother and grandmother by name (Eunice and Lois) to remind him of his and his family’s own faith commitment and, especially, his pastoral function as a leader and example to his congregation that was experiencing persecution.
By strengthening the pastor, Paul is also strengthening and encouraging the individuals and families in Timothy’s care. This also reminds us that our tradition of faithfulness in worship and discipleship is as important for us as it was for the early church. There are still many “alternatives” to God and consequences to refusing them … and for following them; not as obvious perhaps, but with us nonetheless.
Let’s study the parts of this verse that have become a song. “For I know whom” is a statement, not of faith, but of knowledge. The Greek verb for “know” here means the knowledge that comes from direct, firsthand, personal experience, such as observation. It is not knowledge that comes secondhand; that is, reading or hearing about something or someone. We may “assume” that there is someone standing on the roof of our house because someone calls us on the phone and tells us. But the knowledge in this verse is that obtained by going outside the house and seeing that person for ourselves. It is not someone else’s opinion or experience, but our own firsthand knowledge.
But Paul does not merely “know something,” like a secret or the content of a book or directions to a certain place. Paul knows “whom”; that is, he knows a person and that person is Jesus, whom he had met personally on the road to Damascus. Yet, is knowing him enough? Hardly. We remember the many conflicts Jesus had with people who knew him without trusting him. The Apostle James tells us that even the devils “believe” in God, but not in a trusting way. Instead, they shudder at God’s reality (James 2:19). Paul trusts completely the one whom he also knows.
Paul is also “persuaded”; that is, “convinced,” that Jesus is able to hold something in safekeeping for him. Hold what and for how long? He is trusting Jesus to “keep that which I have committed to him”; in other words, his very soul. For how long? “Until that Day,” Judgment Day, when God brings an end to life as we know it and ushers in Eternity and continues to care for Paul’s soul forever ... and ours.
Another Biblical author describes the importance of religious tradition: “Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near” (Heb. 10:25 Living Bible).
The Rev. Russell G. Waldrop, D. Min., LPC, is a pastoral counselor and is chaplain of Western State Hospital. Contact him at 540-332-8004 or email him at .