1st timothy chapter 4....the character of the minister to reflect the character of the ministry
This chapter is all about what it means to serve the Lord well. The key verse “...thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine..” provides a summary of the chapter. The word minister is just service, but service in a public role. In chapter 3v1 we have “a good work”, in chapter 4v6 we have “a good minister”; the word in each is beautiful, noble, and, since we serve One so great it is well to do it right and with honour. Notice the repetition of the phrase “these things”, a series he commenced in chapter 3v14, and repeats another 7 times (3v14, 4v6, 4v11, 4v15, 5v7, 5v21, 6v2, 6v11). Of the eight references, seven are the things we are to pursue, that is the things of God, and one refers to the things from which we are to flee, the things of a godless world. Timothy, as the servant of the Lord is to set before the church the things of creation (verses1- 6); he is to command and teach the practice of godliness (verses 7- 11); he is to teach the doctrine, of which he is to be an example (verses 12-16). The “things of God”, in this way, are given priority in the life of the church and the influx of error is held at bay.
Verses 1-5 Prediction of false teaching
The opening word is apparently best translated “But” and continues the thought flow with a stark contrast. From the heady heights of pure Divine truth, he moves to the murky depths of satanic falsehood. He begins with a stark warning “But the Spirit speaks expressly....” The Greek word is “rhetos”, from which we get rhetoric, a skill in the use of language effectively, particularly using metaphors. This occurs only here and suggests a distinct and explicit utterance. The Spirit never speaks idly, so when the word expressly is added, we need to heed the warning. We, now have to understand the meaning of “the latter times”. The expression (or similar phrase “last days”, “last times”) appears in 2nd Timothy 3v1; Hebrews 1v2; 1st Peter 1v5; 1st Peter 1v20; 2nd Peter 3v3; 1st John 2v18. The whole of the present age of grace can be described thus, but Paul is evidently speaking here of times beyond the early apostolic age. Certainly we are in those times now and so the warning carries momentous overtones. The warning is that “...some shall depart from the faith...” ( aphistemi ) that is those who once held the faith will remove from it, will withdraw, will abandon it. Instead they will “give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons” They will cease to hear God’s word and will turn to doctrines spawned from demons. Paul will repeat this warning in 2nd Timothy 4vv3-4.
It is important to note the order.....SEDUCING SPIRITS....DOCTRINES OF DEMONS. Deception then doctrine, this is how it works, from the fall in Eden to the present day it is the same. Those who have little grasp of the truth are seduced into a more palatable way of life, and their wayward practice soon becomes a doctrine. The approach of Satan in Genesis 3 was to introduce DOUBT/then DECEPTION/ then DENIAL/ then DELUSION. The words come from men, but they are inspired by demons. The apostles Paul, Peter, John, and Jude, were all careful to sound this warning. These false teachers once spoke for God, now they speak the words of demons. In verse 6, Timothy is encouraged to “speak the words of faith and good doctrine” these are speaking other words; many a pulpit harbours these satanic emissaries who have abandoned the faith, it is an ever present danger.
Verse 2 “...speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron...” They knowingly changed their teaching by suppressing conscience. Paul applies the metaphor of cauterizing an open wound to the searing or deadening of conscience. Their consciences became insensitive to the Divine teaching, preferring to promote the lies of the evil one.
Verses 3-5 He now describes their teaching and the content may be surprising. He does not focus on the major doctrinal errors that we might expect, rather he refers to two seemingly milder issues that may not at first appear to be error. It has been well said that “In order for a doctrine to be plausible, it must contain an element of truth” This is the ploy of seduction. A seemingly harmless practice is introduced which is contrary to God, but has beguiling features that appear harmless to human thinking.
“Forbidding to marry.....” In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul states that it may be good for some not to marry, but that was not a command for all, nor was it a blanket prohibition, as is taught by these men. “Commanding to abstain from meats...” making daily food a matter of religious practice. Together they form the error of asceticism, denial of the body, which could have come from Greek stoicism, or Jewish ritualism. Practical issues like these which contradict the word of God are a departure from the faith just as error in the major doctrines. Paul points out that this teaching is contrary to God who instituted marriage for our enjoyment, and created food also for our enjoyment. They were denying the gracious provision of the Creator in the matter of practical everyday things and in the process insulting His goodness. Essentially they were substituting the word of God for human wisdom, and the source was demonic. A reference to two scriptures will suffice; concerning marriage God said “...it is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him an help meet (suitable) for him” Genesis 2v18.; concerning food God said “...every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you, even as the green herb have I given you all things”. Genesis 9v3. The two strongest forces within every human being are a) the will to survive (God provides food), and b) the desire to mate (God provides the complimentary mate). In our chapter Paul underlines this...they forbid to marry, God created marriage to be received with thanksgiving; they decree abstaining from certain foods, God created all herbs and all animals for food. Asceticism is not of God, Stoicism is not of God, we were created to enjoy the provisions of a faithful creator, whether of sexual pleasure within marriage or food for our daily needs. The idea of denying the body for religious purposes sounds plausible and harmless enough, but it is not of God. We are to receive His gracious provision with thanksgiving. All contradictions of God’s word, whether of subtracting from it, or of adding to it have a demonic source.
Verses 6 The antidote to false teaching
The antidote against the poison of false teaching is, in the language of verse 6, to be individually “..nourished up in the words of faith and good doctrine” and corporately “to set forth these things of God to the brethren” for the health of the saints. A similar phrase is used in chapter 6 v3 “...wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the doctrine which is according to godliness.” The very words are important, which, when imbibed, will produce spiritual health. The Lord made this clear in His prayer in John 17v8 when He spoke not only of the word in it’s totality, but of the words individually. An illustration of this is given in the narrative of 2nd Kings 4 when the prophet Elisha was preparing food for his students, the sons of the prophets, one of them who was inexperienced put into the pot wild herbs which poisoned the broth. The prophet prepared three measures of meal (symbolic of the pure doctrine of Christ), and added them to the pot and this was the perfect antidote. On the contrary our Lord revealed in Matthew 13, that when leaven was introduced into the three measures of meal, it had the effect of corrupting the whole. These letters we are studying present the words of Christ as health-giving, and all other words to be toxic, spiritually. The perfect antidote is the pure doctrine, the food of God’s people. However just as food supplied by the Creator for our bodies has to be prepared, so we need to prepare our spiritual food. This, Timothy had done, as is evident from the closing words “,,,whereunto thou hast attained”. We have to work for our food, so with our spiritual food, and it must be digested into our souls for healthy living. This will mean a lot of effort, reading, studying, praying, practising, and this forms the detail of the remaining verses.
Verses 7-16 Practical godliness
The purpose of spiritual nourishment is to produce godliness (God-likeness) in every one of us. It is well said, “we are what we eat”; if we feed on worldly things we will be worldly in our thinking and in our practice; if we are feeding on God, we will be godly. He, now issues a series of short sharp commands using the imperative present, as he describes what it will mean to be a godly minister. The imperative present is to bring a sense of urgency to the situation.
Refuse foolish teaching Having been warned against false teaching, he now is to avoid foolish teaching. “Refuse profane and old wives fables..” Profane is that which is of heathen (godless) origin, and fables is the product of old women gossiping, spreading tales based on their long experience. Both are to be avoided as they are the product of human reasoning.
Exercise rather unto godliness. There is perhaps a hint that the profane and old wives’ fables were to do with bodily exercise as a substitute for spirituality. Whilst exercise of the body is good for this life, it is worthless for the next. Godliness profits both in this life and the age to come. Attention is pointed to the need to exercise in godliness, that is to learn to assess life situations from God’s standpoint, and to practice real godliness in real life. The metaphor is graphic, and, just as in physical training a great deal of effort is required, so in the spiritual. Paul ranks this as one of the faithful sayings of Christianity which is worthy to be received by all. This will involve considerable toil, and will surely mean suffering reproach, but our hope is in our Saviour God, who is the preserver of all men especially the believers. Salvation in this context is deliverance from difficulties that will come to the godly and humanitarian preservation for all men. If viewed in terms of eternal salvation, God is the Saviour of all men potentially, His the Saviour of all believers effectively Wonderful how in the course of expositions the biblical writers never lost sight of the character of God, here said to be “the living God” and “the Saviour of all men”.
Let no man despise thy youth Youth is no barrier to godliness. Timothy was perhaps about thirty five years old, but he was fitted for high service. The record shews he was slightly bashful and may be discouraged by older ones putting him down. Paul was constantly stirring him up, and he succeeded. We are not to allow others to deter us in God’s work.
Be thou an example of the believers This is Timothy’s part to play, to be a model believer, an example of true faith, one who practices what he preaches, a living embodiment of all he said. This was to be evident in a number of ways; people were to see in him what a believer should be in word(how he spoke), in behaviour (how he lived-his lifestyle), in love (his care for others), in spirit (his temperament), in faith (his trust in God), in purity (his separation from evil). The presence of all these graces is a powerful testimony.
Attendance to public duty “Till I come, give attendance to reading to exhortation and to doctrine”. Paul now turns from Timothy’s private life to his public duty. These are three regular exercises that were to be observed in the churches....public reading, public exhortation, public teaching of doctrine. Paul will deal with other issues when he came, but these were to become the duty of the church in the gatherings. Attention was to be given to public reading of the scriptures, exhortation from the scriptures, teaching of the scriptures. The word for doctrine implies a systematic repetition of tenets of the faith. Churches, today, who fail to provide this, are departing from apostolic practice, to the detriment of the saints. The trend today is to relegate the public exposition of scriptures to the tail end of meetings, or to an irregular occasion, rather than it becoming the principal function for the edification of the members of the church. Time and space must be made available if we are to prosper and this is the strong meaning behind the words “give attendance”. In the temple of Solomon there were ten oracles, places and times when the word was spoken and this was a primary function. The early church followed the trend by establishing in Solomon’s porch the oracle for new testament teaching. We must restore the oracle to it’s proper place.
Neglect not the gift that is in thee As much as Timothy is to institute regular reading and teaching, he is not to neglect his own gift. This is the gift of God, which has been confirmed by prophecy (prophetic utterance) and by public identification by elders. Such honour from heaven and earth must be put to good use.
Meditate upon these things give thyself holy to them This work, the work of God which is implicit in the phrase “these things” requires wholehearted devotion to the task. What applies to Timothy in teaching would apply in every other sphere. He can only build up the saints if he himself is built up. In doing this his profiting will appear to all who hear him.
“Take heed unto thyself and to the doctrine” The teacher must have the moral right to teach the doctrine, so the final appeal is for his own personal adherence to the word. Patience will be required, “continue in them” Perseverance in the learning of the doctrine and also in the teaching of the doctrine will ensure success in the work, “in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee.” This is salvation from failure in the work rather than the salvation of the soul.
This chapter is all about what it means to serve the Lord well. The key verse “...thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine..” provides a summary of the chapter. The word minister is just service, but service in a public role. In chapter 3v1 we have “a good work”, in chapter 4v6 we have “a good minister”; the word in each is beautiful, noble, and, since we serve One so great it is well to do it right and with honour. Notice the repetition of the phrase “these things”, a series he commenced in chapter 3v14, and repeats another 7 times (3v14, 4v6, 4v11, 4v15, 5v7, 5v21, 6v2, 6v11). Of the eight references, seven are the things we are to pursue, that is the things of God, and one refers to the things from which we are to flee, the things of a godless world. Timothy, as the servant of the Lord is to set before the church the things of creation (verses1- 6); he is to command and teach the practice of godliness (verses 7- 11); he is to teach the doctrine, of which he is to be an example (verses 12-16). The “things of God”, in this way, are given priority in the life of the church and the influx of error is held at bay.
Verses 1-5 Prediction of false teaching
The opening word is apparently best translated “But” and continues the thought flow with a stark contrast. From the heady heights of pure Divine truth, he moves to the murky depths of satanic falsehood. He begins with a stark warning “But the Spirit speaks expressly....” The Greek word is “rhetos”, from which we get rhetoric, a skill in the use of language effectively, particularly using metaphors. This occurs only here and suggests a distinct and explicit utterance. The Spirit never speaks idly, so when the word expressly is added, we need to heed the warning. We, now have to understand the meaning of “the latter times”. The expression (or similar phrase “last days”, “last times”) appears in 2nd Timothy 3v1; Hebrews 1v2; 1st Peter 1v5; 1st Peter 1v20; 2nd Peter 3v3; 1st John 2v18. The whole of the present age of grace can be described thus, but Paul is evidently speaking here of times beyond the early apostolic age. Certainly we are in those times now and so the warning carries momentous overtones. The warning is that “...some shall depart from the faith...” ( aphistemi ) that is those who once held the faith will remove from it, will withdraw, will abandon it. Instead they will “give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons” They will cease to hear God’s word and will turn to doctrines spawned from demons. Paul will repeat this warning in 2nd Timothy 4vv3-4.
It is important to note the order.....SEDUCING SPIRITS....DOCTRINES OF DEMONS. Deception then doctrine, this is how it works, from the fall in Eden to the present day it is the same. Those who have little grasp of the truth are seduced into a more palatable way of life, and their wayward practice soon becomes a doctrine. The approach of Satan in Genesis 3 was to introduce DOUBT/then DECEPTION/ then DENIAL/ then DELUSION. The words come from men, but they are inspired by demons. The apostles Paul, Peter, John, and Jude, were all careful to sound this warning. These false teachers once spoke for God, now they speak the words of demons. In verse 6, Timothy is encouraged to “speak the words of faith and good doctrine” these are speaking other words; many a pulpit harbours these satanic emissaries who have abandoned the faith, it is an ever present danger.
Verse 2 “...speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron...” They knowingly changed their teaching by suppressing conscience. Paul applies the metaphor of cauterizing an open wound to the searing or deadening of conscience. Their consciences became insensitive to the Divine teaching, preferring to promote the lies of the evil one.
Verses 3-5 He now describes their teaching and the content may be surprising. He does not focus on the major doctrinal errors that we might expect, rather he refers to two seemingly milder issues that may not at first appear to be error. It has been well said that “In order for a doctrine to be plausible, it must contain an element of truth” This is the ploy of seduction. A seemingly harmless practice is introduced which is contrary to God, but has beguiling features that appear harmless to human thinking.
“Forbidding to marry.....” In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul states that it may be good for some not to marry, but that was not a command for all, nor was it a blanket prohibition, as is taught by these men. “Commanding to abstain from meats...” making daily food a matter of religious practice. Together they form the error of asceticism, denial of the body, which could have come from Greek stoicism, or Jewish ritualism. Practical issues like these which contradict the word of God are a departure from the faith just as error in the major doctrines. Paul points out that this teaching is contrary to God who instituted marriage for our enjoyment, and created food also for our enjoyment. They were denying the gracious provision of the Creator in the matter of practical everyday things and in the process insulting His goodness. Essentially they were substituting the word of God for human wisdom, and the source was demonic. A reference to two scriptures will suffice; concerning marriage God said “...it is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him an help meet (suitable) for him” Genesis 2v18.; concerning food God said “...every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you, even as the green herb have I given you all things”. Genesis 9v3. The two strongest forces within every human being are a) the will to survive (God provides food), and b) the desire to mate (God provides the complimentary mate). In our chapter Paul underlines this...they forbid to marry, God created marriage to be received with thanksgiving; they decree abstaining from certain foods, God created all herbs and all animals for food. Asceticism is not of God, Stoicism is not of God, we were created to enjoy the provisions of a faithful creator, whether of sexual pleasure within marriage or food for our daily needs. The idea of denying the body for religious purposes sounds plausible and harmless enough, but it is not of God. We are to receive His gracious provision with thanksgiving. All contradictions of God’s word, whether of subtracting from it, or of adding to it have a demonic source.
Verses 6 The antidote to false teaching
The antidote against the poison of false teaching is, in the language of verse 6, to be individually “..nourished up in the words of faith and good doctrine” and corporately “to set forth these things of God to the brethren” for the health of the saints. A similar phrase is used in chapter 6 v3 “...wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the doctrine which is according to godliness.” The very words are important, which, when imbibed, will produce spiritual health. The Lord made this clear in His prayer in John 17v8 when He spoke not only of the word in it’s totality, but of the words individually. An illustration of this is given in the narrative of 2nd Kings 4 when the prophet Elisha was preparing food for his students, the sons of the prophets, one of them who was inexperienced put into the pot wild herbs which poisoned the broth. The prophet prepared three measures of meal (symbolic of the pure doctrine of Christ), and added them to the pot and this was the perfect antidote. On the contrary our Lord revealed in Matthew 13, that when leaven was introduced into the three measures of meal, it had the effect of corrupting the whole. These letters we are studying present the words of Christ as health-giving, and all other words to be toxic, spiritually. The perfect antidote is the pure doctrine, the food of God’s people. However just as food supplied by the Creator for our bodies has to be prepared, so we need to prepare our spiritual food. This, Timothy had done, as is evident from the closing words “,,,whereunto thou hast attained”. We have to work for our food, so with our spiritual food, and it must be digested into our souls for healthy living. This will mean a lot of effort, reading, studying, praying, practising, and this forms the detail of the remaining verses.
Verses 7-16 Practical godliness
The purpose of spiritual nourishment is to produce godliness (God-likeness) in every one of us. It is well said, “we are what we eat”; if we feed on worldly things we will be worldly in our thinking and in our practice; if we are feeding on God, we will be godly. He, now issues a series of short sharp commands using the imperative present, as he describes what it will mean to be a godly minister. The imperative present is to bring a sense of urgency to the situation.
Refuse foolish teaching Having been warned against false teaching, he now is to avoid foolish teaching. “Refuse profane and old wives fables..” Profane is that which is of heathen (godless) origin, and fables is the product of old women gossiping, spreading tales based on their long experience. Both are to be avoided as they are the product of human reasoning.
Exercise rather unto godliness. There is perhaps a hint that the profane and old wives’ fables were to do with bodily exercise as a substitute for spirituality. Whilst exercise of the body is good for this life, it is worthless for the next. Godliness profits both in this life and the age to come. Attention is pointed to the need to exercise in godliness, that is to learn to assess life situations from God’s standpoint, and to practice real godliness in real life. The metaphor is graphic, and, just as in physical training a great deal of effort is required, so in the spiritual. Paul ranks this as one of the faithful sayings of Christianity which is worthy to be received by all. This will involve considerable toil, and will surely mean suffering reproach, but our hope is in our Saviour God, who is the preserver of all men especially the believers. Salvation in this context is deliverance from difficulties that will come to the godly and humanitarian preservation for all men. If viewed in terms of eternal salvation, God is the Saviour of all men potentially, His the Saviour of all believers effectively Wonderful how in the course of expositions the biblical writers never lost sight of the character of God, here said to be “the living God” and “the Saviour of all men”.
Let no man despise thy youth Youth is no barrier to godliness. Timothy was perhaps about thirty five years old, but he was fitted for high service. The record shews he was slightly bashful and may be discouraged by older ones putting him down. Paul was constantly stirring him up, and he succeeded. We are not to allow others to deter us in God’s work.
Be thou an example of the believers This is Timothy’s part to play, to be a model believer, an example of true faith, one who practices what he preaches, a living embodiment of all he said. This was to be evident in a number of ways; people were to see in him what a believer should be in word(how he spoke), in behaviour (how he lived-his lifestyle), in love (his care for others), in spirit (his temperament), in faith (his trust in God), in purity (his separation from evil). The presence of all these graces is a powerful testimony.
Attendance to public duty “Till I come, give attendance to reading to exhortation and to doctrine”. Paul now turns from Timothy’s private life to his public duty. These are three regular exercises that were to be observed in the churches....public reading, public exhortation, public teaching of doctrine. Paul will deal with other issues when he came, but these were to become the duty of the church in the gatherings. Attention was to be given to public reading of the scriptures, exhortation from the scriptures, teaching of the scriptures. The word for doctrine implies a systematic repetition of tenets of the faith. Churches, today, who fail to provide this, are departing from apostolic practice, to the detriment of the saints. The trend today is to relegate the public exposition of scriptures to the tail end of meetings, or to an irregular occasion, rather than it becoming the principal function for the edification of the members of the church. Time and space must be made available if we are to prosper and this is the strong meaning behind the words “give attendance”. In the temple of Solomon there were ten oracles, places and times when the word was spoken and this was a primary function. The early church followed the trend by establishing in Solomon’s porch the oracle for new testament teaching. We must restore the oracle to it’s proper place.
Neglect not the gift that is in thee As much as Timothy is to institute regular reading and teaching, he is not to neglect his own gift. This is the gift of God, which has been confirmed by prophecy (prophetic utterance) and by public identification by elders. Such honour from heaven and earth must be put to good use.
Meditate upon these things give thyself holy to them This work, the work of God which is implicit in the phrase “these things” requires wholehearted devotion to the task. What applies to Timothy in teaching would apply in every other sphere. He can only build up the saints if he himself is built up. In doing this his profiting will appear to all who hear him.
“Take heed unto thyself and to the doctrine” The teacher must have the moral right to teach the doctrine, so the final appeal is for his own personal adherence to the word. Patience will be required, “continue in them” Perseverance in the learning of the doctrine and also in the teaching of the doctrine will ensure success in the work, “in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee.” This is salvation from failure in the work rather than the salvation of the soul.
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