Guard the Deposit: Paul's Final Charge to Timothy

Paul returns to the false teachers.

He can't leave the subject alone. They are the presenting problem, the infection that threatens to spread, the reason Timothy stays in Ephesus while Paul moves on. And so, as the letter nears its end, Paul circles back.

"If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing."

ἑτεροδιδασκαλεῖ—teaches differently. Anyone whose doctrine doesn't align with Christ's healthy words, with teaching that produces godliness—that person is τετύφωται. Puffed up. Smoke-filled. Conceited.