Secrets of Godly Living, 1 Timothy 6:11—21

This concluding section of Paul’s letter to Timothy is highly personal.  The great pastor’s pastor had given a young pastor the benefit of his years of wisdom and now, as he ends his letter, Paul gives just a little more personal advice.

1.  The fight worth fighting, verses 11, 12

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

In contrast to the sins Paul just discussed (lusting after material gain), stand the virtues Timothy should strive to cultivate in his life.  As if to emphasize the importance of what he was about to write, Paul places “you” in the emphatic position in the Greek.   Timothy is addressed as “man of God,” which was a very common designation for prophets in Biblical times.  There has been much discussion among scholars as to whether this list of virtues is applicable to only a “man of God,” ie., a pastor, or are these Godly qualities things to be pursued by Christians in general.   Opinion is split, however, while the immediate context favors the obvious interpretation: this list is for Timothy, it is pretty safe to conclude that these virtues are qualities that should be seen every believer’s life!

Timothy, then, is urged to “flee” from certain things.  To “flee” suggests more than merely “avoid” or “steer clear” of certain bad behavior; it means to deliberately turn and move away from bad behavior and replace that bad behavior with good behavior.  Paul does not have in mind just that Timothy should run away from the deceit of money, but from all the evil attitudes that have been exposed from verse 4 on.

Instead, Timothy should “run after,” or “keep on pursing” certain good behavior.  This is meant to be a lifelong pursuit.  It is a striking list of virtues for Christians to seek:

• Righteousness.  This is the first and most comprehensive of Christian virtues, and it indicates a state of mind and heart which is in complete harmony with God’s will and Word.  A believer striving to be “righteous” will render to both God and his fellow man their due.
• Godliness, faith, and love.  These three actually form a group of virtues directed to God.  “Godliness” is not so much a kind of behavior as it is a reverent attitude; an awareness that God’s presence permeates every area of our lives, and we live like we believe that.  “Faith” means loyalty; in this case, being steadfastly loyal to God no matter what.  And “love” (Greek agape) ought to be our soul’s response to God’s grace manifested toward us.
• Endurance.  This is a special kind of grace all believers should manifest because it is placed in our lives by the Holy Spirit.  It is the supernatural ability to bear up under the most severe of circumstances.   This kind of “endurance” is not synonymous with patience; it is much more than that.   It is actively confronting what is horrible with joy and peace and having an anticipation of victory.
• Gentleness.  When all these virtues are present in one’s life, gentleness and humility of spirit will always result.  The Greek word used is praupathia and is used only here in the Bible.

Paul has compared living the Christian life to an athletic competition in other letters and he does so again.   To “fight the good fight” is literally “agonize the good agony.”  The phrase is a complicated one, but was most often used in reference to sporting events in ancient Greece.  To “agonize the good agony” was to successfully contend against a worthy opponent.   To this struggle every Christian is called for the Christian life is most certainly a struggle sometimes.  Every believer is called to carry on this personal struggle against sin and evil in every one of its seductive forms.  What’s more, the admonition is stated in the present imperative, indicating that this struggle is a spiritual battle Christians fight every day until the day they leave this life.

To this life-long fight Timothy had been called, and the prize was eternal life.  Of course, eternal life is the present possession of all believers, but in another sense we have yet to grab hold of it in reality.   We might say that how we “fight the good fight” determines whether or not we may be able latch onto eternal life!  Thankfully, our spiritual battles are not fought in a vacuum; we have the weapons at our disposal and the armor to protect us.  How can we not win?

2.  A solemn charge, verses 13—16

These verses are among the most solemn in the New Testament.

In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ… (verses 13, 14)

It is in God’s sight and Jesus’ sight that Timothy is charged to keep “this command.”  God “gives life to everything,” before anything began, God was there.  He is the Ancient of Days.  He is “above and over all.”  How would you dare live before Someone so credentialed?  If you knew the One who gave you life was watching how you lived that life, would you take more care?  Jesus Christ, on threat of His life, never wavered from His confession.  If Jesus could maintain His faith in the face of certain death, shouldn’t you also?  He ultimately gave His life for you; don’t make a mockery of His sacrifice on your behalf by wasting your life.

The Greek in verse 14 is a bit unclear.  Is the “command” to be kept “without spot or blame,” or is Timothy (“you” in verse 14) to keep himself “without spot or blame”?   Perhaps both ideas should be combined:  if Timothy adheres to Paul’s admonitions to the best of his ability with the help of the Holy Spirit, he will himself be “spotless and  unblemished” and “without reproach,” both in this life and in the sight of God.

There is never a time in the Christian’s life when he is allowed to slack off and live beneath his calling.  Timothy, and all believers, need to follow these admonitions until Christ returns.  Whether you are on vacation or celebrating your birthday or anniversary, you are not allowed to live beneath your calling.  You may be all by yourself, with nobody watching you, but you are not allowed to live beneath your calling.  You may be angry or depressed and some may say you are justified, but you are not allowed to live beneath your calling.

Only God knows when Christ will return, and it can happen at any moment; we must all be ready, and that means living right all the time.  It means living like Jesus could come back in the next five minutes!

… which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. (verses 15, 16)

In verse 15, the word for “time” is kairos, which means a fixed and definite time.   God has a plan, and His plan is perfect down to the last second.   Perhaps Paul realized the enormity of this thought because these two verses were written in the form of a doxology.  Every element in this marvelous doxology describes the transcendent greatness of God.  In light of the awesomeness of our Heavenly Father, how can we not live to please Him?   These verses are, at the same time, both frightening and inspiring.  If we are caught in sin by the One who lives in unapproachable light, we should be scared.  But knowing how great our God is we should desire to “fight the good fight” to win.

3.  A sharp contrast, verses 17—19

On the face of it, it seems like this short paragraph is another digression.  However, it serves well to contrast virtues of eternal value with things of temporal earthly value.  Paul has already dealt with the problem of greed and materialism, and he returns very briefly to it.  The fact that he mentions it again seems to indicate that Timothy’s church in Ephesus may have had a problem with wealthy people, or perhaps more accurately a problem with the attitudes of those who have and those who don’t have.

Those who don’t have tend to envy those who have, or think badly about them.  At the same time, those who have may be tempted to place their trust in their wealth; they may have a false sense of security because of what they posses.  Paul makes it clear that there is value in wealth, but it is not that it provides any security to those who possess it.

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  (verse 18)

The great thing about wealth is that a wealthy person is able to be “be rich in good deeds.”  Verse 19 gives a good reason for being generous—

In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

While money can never buy one’s salvation, if a believer uses his money properly,  he can develop the kind of Godly character he needs to lay hold of or to secure eternal life.  J.B. Phillips translates verse 19 this way—

Their security should be invested in the life to come, so that they may be sure of holding a share in the life which is permanent.

Human beings seem to place a premium on possessing things that don’t last.  The opposite should be true:  we should pursue the things that last forever:  Godly virtues that lead to eternal life.  If we can’t life Godly lives for the relatively short time we have on Earth, how will be able to do it for all eternity?

4.  Final thoughts, verses 20, 21

Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.

Paul ends  his first letter to Timothy with a very personal admonition:  “Guard what has been entrust to your care.”  Literally, Timothy must guard “what is placed inside.”  The question arises:  to what was Paul referring?  What was placed inside Timothy?  The context suggests that “the trust,” KJV, is the sound doctrine—the very Word of God—that had been entrusted to Timothy.

The Word of God has been given, not only to Timothy, but to all believers, and one way to protect it is to “turn away from godless chatter.”  The quickest way to lose faith is to listen to unbelievers or take to heart what they say.  “Empty talk” amounts to little more than childish “babbling,” but some Christians give it far too much credence.  Timothy is urged to avoid that kind of false knowledge.  This necessarily means that he is to avoid those who engage in such profane talk.

Why avoid godless talk?  Such talk, though of no value whatsoever, is responsible for drawing some “from the faith.”  The power of a lie is that it is able to shake the faith of some people.  It is a universal truism that most people would rather believe a lie than the truth, and generally the bigger the lie the easier it is to believe.  This seems to explain the success of recent political candidates.  The best course of action for a believer to take is to simply turn a deaf ear to all speech that is hostile to or opposed to the Word of God in any way.  It is far better to be safe than sorry.  While we may have the freedom to listen to anybody we want to, the value of the Gospel entrusted to our care is far greater than our freedom.

The very last sentence is 1 Timothy is more interesting that it seems on the surface:

Grace be with you all.

Though this letter is addressed to a young pastor named Timothy, the benediction is written in the plural, which means that Paul expected many other people to read this letter.  This is important to note because it means that what Paul admonished Timothy was not only applicable to him or to persons in his position, but each Christian who is serious about their faith needs to consider carefully the advice Paul gave to Timothy.

(c)  2010 WitzEnd

An Example:  More Than Enough Grace, 1 Timothy 1:12—20

It doesn’t take a Bible scholar to recognize that Paul’s letters to Timothy are markedly different from all his other letters.  The last phrase of verse 11, a reference to the Gospel being “entrusted” to Paul, is a beautiful thought.  Paul was a servant of God who was deeply aware of his “trust,” something he refers to many times in his writings.  It amazed Paul that God would entrust Paul with anything, let alone something as precious as the “glorious Gospel!”  He was a man who persecuted the Church of Jesus Christ; the last person anyone would trust with something that precious.   It is also a very special way to refer to the Gospel, something most of us take for granted.

This last clause is a fitting way to introduce the next section of his letter.

1.  Paul’s life:  an example of grace, 1:12—14

There is a lot going on in these verses.  Paul opened himself up to Timothy in a way not seen before in any of his earlier letters.  There was a reason for this, though.  Paul was Timothy’s mentor and he was his friend.  And Paul took seriously his calling as an “apostle.”  Remember, an “apostle” was such all day, every day.  An “apsotle’s” entire life was to set the example for others to follow.  Earlier, Paul wrote this—

¹Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.  (1 Corinthians 11:1)

That is the very reason for Paul writing these powerful verses.  What Jesus Christ did for him, and, just as importantly, his response to Jesus Christ, should be an example for Timothy to follow.

¹²I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. ¹³Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. ¹⁴The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

No person in the history of the Church was more conscious than was Paul of God’s calling on his life.  He earlier wrote to the Galatians that God had, in fact, called him to service even before he was born!

¹⁵But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased ¹⁶to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man.  (Galatians 1:15—16)

You may think that was a pretty audacious statement for Paul to make, but Paul was not the first servant of God to realize this great truth.  The prophet Jeremiah expressed a very similar thought in Jeremiah 1:5—

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

In Paul’s early days, there was little evidence of this divine calling, but once Christ came into Saul’s life, everything changed.  Saul became Paul and Paul, as he wrote in Acts 9:20 immediately began his ministry in a synagogue.  In an instant, the one-time persecutor of the Church became its staunchest ally.

Paul was thankful for the privilege of being an apostle for Christ, but notice he makes sure that Christ got all the glory; he declares that his strength for service came from Christ Himself.  Another way to translate that phrase is Christ “empowered” Paul.  And Christ did this because the Lord considered him faithful.

Once, this man of God by his own admission had been a blasphemer, a persecutor and a violent man!  All this coming from a Rabbi!  Paul was acutely conscious of his shameful past, and even though his past life and sins had long since been forgiven and forgotten, Paul’s gratitude for God’s mercy never lessened.  Such is the amazing love of God!

Indeed; and this was what Timothy needed to understand.  One cannot communicate to others the wondrous love of God until he has experienced it himself.

What is so powerful and encouraging about verse 13 is this one, single declaration:  “I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.”  Notice, Paul does not say God was angry with him.  God graciously showed him mercy because Paul was pathetic, riddled with the disease of sin.  God, moved by compassion, showed the man mercy, as He does all of us.  No sinner, if they knew fully the sinfulness of his sin, its inevitable and ongoing consequences, would be guilty of the insane folly of defying God.  That’s why the clarion call of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ goes out constantly through the continuous ministry of the Holy Spirit.  Those who hear it and respond appropriately are the benefactors of unimaginable grace and mercy from a loving God.   What is truly amazing about God’s grace, and what Paul wants to communicate to Timothy using himself as an example, is that despite the magnitude of our human sin, God’s grace is more than sufficient, and every one who turns to Christ may obtain mercy.

2.  Paul the Apostle:  the worst of sinners, 1:15—17

¹⁵Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. ¹⁶But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. ¹⁷Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

The various “trustworthy sayings” are found only in the Pastorals (3:1, 2 Timothy 2:11; Titus 3:8) and studied together would make for an interesting Bible study.  The idea of a “trustworthy saying” as Paul used the phrase is that you could put your full faith and confidence in it.  Here, the “trustworthy saying” is a just a summary of the Gospel message:  Christ came into the world to forgive sinners.   Christ Himself put His mission in these terms—

¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.  (Luke 19:10)

Christ’s whole reason for leaving the glories of heaven and veiling His majestic Godhood in flesh as a man was to save other men.  Paul, with not a hint of false humility adds that he is the worst of all sinners.  But what does Paul mean by this curious admission?  It is hard to believe that when compared to mass murderers, rapists, and child abusers Paul would consider himself the worst among the lot!   Some scholars suggest Paul felt this way on account of his persecution of the Church; when he was doing that he was, in his mind, persecuting Christ Himself.   We can’t know precisely what Paul was thinking, but my sense is that he felt the overwhelming guilt of his own sinfulness to such an extent that he felt himself to be the “first” among sinners; literally the number one sinner of all time.  Such an attitude should be ours, as well, for only when we are overwhelmed with a sense of shame for our sinful state and are completely speechless with nothing to say before the God we have offended, can we hope for the kind of love, mercy and grace Paul received.

As the “chief” or the worst sinner of all, Christ’s “unlimited patience” had been displayed as a powerful example for the entire world to see.  If Christ could save Paul, He could save anybody!   There is no more eloquent expression of Christ’s love than a changed life.  A thousand sermons could never describe the grace of God as effectively as a moment in the presence of a grateful sinner saved by grace.  Little wonder in verse 17 Paul bursts forth in a glorious doxology of praise to God!   When we think of what Christ has done for us, we ought to do the same.  When we let Christ be seen in our lives, others will praise God when they see us.

²³They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴And they praised God because of me.  (Galatians 1:23—24)

That we may have that effect on other people!

3.  Paul:  the encourager, 1:18—20

¹⁸Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, ¹⁹holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. ²⁰Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

In this final section of chapter 1, Paul returns to the reason why he wrote the letter in the first place.  The “charge” or “mandate” to stay put in Ephesus to combat the false teachers was clearly stated and Paul makes that command part of Timothy’s calling.  Timothy, like Paul, had been called and ordained to the ministry and part of that calling involves something no pastor really enjoys; confronting errant members.

Paul states that by doing the work he was requesting of Timothy, the young pastor would be fulfilling certain “prophecies” made about him.  We wish Paul had elaborated on the nature of these prophecies!  A small measure of light is cast on this allusion by the following verses—

¹⁴Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.  (1 Timothy 4:14)

⁶For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.  (2 Timothy 1:6)

It seems as though Timothy had been ordained into the ministry in a ceremony over which Paul himself presided.  It may well be that at that time, Paul spoke a word of prophecy over the newly minted minister, calling attention to some special God-given gift or ability the young man had.  Once again we are in the dark, but because Timothy had been given this gift from God, he was to “fight the good fight.”  In the history of the pastorate, every single pastor understands exactly what Paul meant!  Sometimes shepherding God’s flock is as exhausting and taxing as a fight!  But it is a good fight; what pastor has not wrestled for the souls of his people?   Like all ministers of the Gospel before him, Timothy was a officer of the line, fighting at the forefront of the battle for Christ and the Truth at Ephesus.

To be triumphant in this spiritual battle, Paul urged Timothy to grab hold of two weapons:  faith and a good conscience.  Every soldier for Christ needs these two weapons!  Faith can move a mountain and a good conscience can fend off the subtle attacks of the enemy.

Sadly, when you lose your faith and your conscience hardens, you experience a shipwreck of faith.  Paul names two men who have been so shipwrecked:  Hymenaeus and Alexander.  To those who have traveled on the open waters, nothing is as threatening as a shipwreck.  Paul used the term to suggest the magnitude of the tragedy these false teachers had involved themselves in, and to warn Timothy that he would go that way if he let go of this faith and his good conscience.    It would do us well to heed the advice of Susanna Wesley to her son, John, during his days at Oxford.  She wrote:

Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off the relish of spiritual things, in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind; that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself.

Hymenaeus is mentioned by Paul in 2 Timothy 2:17 as being a heretical teacher.  Paul mentions two Alexanders in connection with Ephesus; one was a Jew the other was a metal worker who wanted to harm Paul (2 Timothy 4:14).  Likely this was Alexander Paul was speaking of.

These two trouble makers had been “handed over to Satan” by Paul.  This was not a punitive action on Paul’s part; rather, by letting them go in their sin, it was Paul’s hope that they would discover the error of their ways.  This kind of church discipline was in keeping with advice Paul gave elsewhere, namely to the Corinthians.  To that congregation, Paul advised that they turn a blatantly immoral brother over to Satan so that, in his sin, he may eventually come to repentance and be restored to the Body of Christ.

God’s church, done God’s way involves such things as discipline.  This kind of advice—handing someone over to Satan—is profoundly disturbing to some, in this age where proper, Godly church discipline has all but disappeared.  Many in the Church have come to accept standards of life and conduct condemned by the Word of God in favor of political correctness.  And yet, part of God’s commission to His servants is to:

²Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.  (2 Timothy 4:2)

One thing I have noticed is that it takes relatively no courage to preach against one sin or another from the behind a pulpit.  But it takes great courage to face an individual and rebuke them or correct them in a spirit of meekness and humility and, above all, in a spirit of love.

God’s church, done God’s way will be led by people who have experienced the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ and realize that they are where they are only by the grace of God.  A true man or woman of God knows that without the empowering of the Holy Spirit, they can do nothing.  God’s church, done God’s way involves leadership based on love, which is manifested in many ways, including encouraging the congregation, leading by word and example, and sometimes in correcting and rebuking.

When it comes to serving the Lord, all of us, pastors, elders, deacons, and laity, would do well to remember the words of J.H. Jowett:

The fear of a man is much more subtle than the fear of men.

(c)  2010 WitzEnd