Paul is addressing Timothy in how he can be a good servant of Jesus Christ. In 4:7-10 the Apostle speaks of both what
Timothy must be and do.
·
What is he to do? Those involved in the ministry of the word in a church need to reject profane and old wives’ fables. The idea of a fable is that it is a story
with a long history but is unproven. Profane means it is common, perhaps
widely accepted. Old wives refers to the fact that these were often passed on by
women. We have this in our culture,
where you can find a wide variety of remedies for sickness by just asking a
variety of older women. Often they have
passed on these things because they found them helpful, but they actually are
not proven. An illustration is given in
v8 that physical exercise is a major issue in life. Interestingly, the term for exercise Paul
uses is the Greek gumnaze. In Greek culture (as in much of ours) gymnasiums were almost like temples
where the body was worshiped. With
regard to this fable Paul tells Timothy he needs, rather, to do the exercises
that bring about godliness. The
exercises he is referring to are hard
labor and suffering reproach. Godliness is a term that doesn’t so much mean
God-like, but means reverent or pious. It is the term in the
Pastoral Epistles that is a synonym for the Christian life, the life Christ
will produce in our lives.
·
What is he to be? Of course, Timothy is to be characterized by godliness. Godliness is profitable for this life and the
one to come (v8), a truth which is the third faithful saying in 1 Timothy (1:15; 3:1). And what is it that should stimulate the good
servant of Christ to such godliness? It
is his hope in the living God, the
Savior of all men. The person who seeks
to be godly is the one who looks beyond the moment, who realizes that this life
is a pilgrimage. (By the way, the New
King James trust (v10) is actually
the Greek term for hope, not the term
for faith.) Three times in this letter Paul refers to the living God (3:15; 6:17). You may remember that Ephesus (where it is believed Timothy was
serving as he received this letter) was the hometown of the goddess Diana who
was, of course, as lifeless as can be.
Paul further contrasts God with the useless pagan deities referring to
Him as the Savior of all men, especially
of those who believe. Common civic leaders,
and especially the emperor, were given the title Savior because they were looked to for salvation from common
problems. God was and is a true Help,
even to all humanity, and especially to those who believe.
In 4:11 Paul concludes this paragraph by again
calling Timothy to do something. It is to command
and teach these things. To command is to charge or prescribe something.
He is a strong term used five times in 1 Timothy (1:3; 5:7;
6:13,17). It reminds us that Bible teaching (to make truth clear) must be
accompanied by preaching (a call to obedience).
It is never enough to know more; our lives must be changed.
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