1 Timothy 4:11-16, Timothy’s Pastoral Imperatives

We are continuing in “word studies,” but I want to take a little different tack for a while.  This is for my benefit, but as everything I am involved with in studying the word of God seems to turn into a “blog post” I will be sharing it with you.  You need to know these things if you are a believer and therefore part of a local church.  The plan is to study the verbs in 1 Tim. 4:11-16, Paul’s instructions to Timothy as he had a pastoral role at Ephesus.  Most of these verbs are imperatives (commands) but even those that are not are instructive.  There are 11 of these verbs.  So, it will take us some time.  The value for you, if you are not in a pastoral role, is that you will know what your pastor needs to be free to do, not so you can judge or criticize him but so you can support him.  These are God’s priorities for pastors.

There are two imperatives in 1 Tim. 4:11: command and teach.  In Greek, both are present tense (do this now, and again tomorrow, regularly each day), active voice (this is your work to do from God Timothy, pastor; don’t get side-tracked), imperative (as we said, commands; this comes from the Head of the Church), and 2^nd person (this is not to be delegated to others).  I am giving you this detail because it is not hard, it is important to understand, and most of the verbs have this same PAI2 (present, active, imperative, 2^nd person) form. 

The first verb is “command” (v11).  This is one of those compound Greek words (parangellos, the preposition “to, together with” and “messenger, angel”).  Literally it is “to transmit a message along from one to another, to declare, announce; to command, order, charge.”  This should not be confusing if you remember that in Rev. 2-3, in the seven letters of Christ to the churches, that each is addressed to “the angel of the church.”  Many consider that this “angel” is actually the pastor(s) of each church.  Christ is the Head of the Church.  The role of a pastor is to declare what Christ has said, “to transmit a message along from Christ to the believers.”  In Rev. 2-3 what Christ said came in the form of letters.  In 1 Tim. 4 what Christ said will be gleaned from the word of God, as 4:13 makes clear: Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

There are other “command” words in the NT but there are distinctions to be observed.  In Matt. 28:19-20 (all things that I have commanded you) are commands from someone who is invested with the office or position to make the command.  In Matt. 15:35 (He commanded the multitude to sit on the ground) the commands are verbal orders from a superior.  In Matt. 28:16 (the disciples went into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them) the term means to place in a certain order, to arrange, to assign a place, to appoint.  Paul does not use any of these other terms of pastors/elders in the churches.  I hope you understand what we have here.  Paul is telling Timothy to pass on what he receives from Christ, the Head of the Church.  That is what pastors are to do.  They do not develop their own messages but rather give heed to Scripture so as to relay Christ’s word/words to His Church!

Psalm 118

We hope you enjoyed reading this magnificent Psalm.  It begins and ends the same, with the familiar call to praise: Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.  And no Psalm gives the proof of God’s goodness and mercy any better than this one.  And if you will allow one of your slightly misguided worship songs to be properly redirected, you will see what I mean. 

Do you sing that little chorus, This is the day, this is the day, that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made.  I will rejoice, I will rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it?  It is commonly sung as an encouragement to thank God for today, sung in the morning so we get a good start.  But I am sure you noticed that this song comes from this Psalm (v24).  And I hope you noticed as well: it refers to a particular day.  ONE DAY IN HISTORY.  The day the builders rejected the Stone who then became the Chief Cornerstone. 

It is a passage quoted often in the New Testament (Mt. 21:42; Mark 12:10; Lk. 20:17; Ac. 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Peter 2:7).  It speaks of the day of Jesus’ death (the Stone rejected but thereby He became the Chief Cornerstone).  Reminisce with me for a moment.  Jesus referred to that day as your hour and the power of darkness (Luke 22:53).  It was a sad day, a difficult day, a time of the most severe affliction.  But Jesus also said, My Father loves me because I lay down My life that I may take it again (John 10:17).  Jesus willingly obeyed His Father.  He knew Psalm 118 (several of the quotes listed above were by Christ), that His Father is good and forever merciful; that He was on His side and for Him (118:5-7), that He could be trusted (118:8-9), that there would be total victory in the name of the Lord (118:10-12), that the cross and the bearing of our sins was the gate of the Lord through which the righteous shall enter (118:20).

So should we sing the praise of 118:24 early in the morning, at the start of every day?  Sure!  Absolutely!  But keep it Christ-centered.  It is the day of the cross that after three days would issue in the resurrection and after 40 days would take Him to the Father’s right hand and after 50 days would see the coming of the indwelling Holy Spirit and the establishment of a New Covenant.  If that day resulted in eternal goodness from God then certainly your day can count on no less.  Sing it at the outset of a day that you anticipate will be filled with trouble; your troubles will be nothing compared to those of the day of the death of our Lord.  Face today rejoicing over the day the Stone was rejected.  This was the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes (118:23).  As Christ was the willing sacrifice, bound to the altar of His cross (118:27) so you enter this day by willingly presenting your body as a living sacrifice, bound on the altar of the cross you have taken up as you follow Christ!

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever.

**********

I want to add a note concerning verse 27. I have not changed the blog but we do recognize that verse has some challenges with respect to interpretation. There is nothing in the Law nor in the historical books of the Old Testament that speak of binding a sacrifice to the horns of the altar. So what are we to understand with respect to that part of the verse? Each of the verses around it have a synonymous parallelism so I do think that whatever the last half of verse 27 means it should connect in some way with the first half. I also see the entire psalm as fitting for the Messiah. It is fitting to connect the light given to us by the Lord as the light of the world who is Jesus. And Verse 26 is certainly Messianic in the sense it was used on the day of Jesus royal or triumphant entry into Jerusalem. So with respect to the binding of the sacrifice to the horns of the altar there are a couple of possibilities. Jewish interpretation of the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22 refers to it as the "Binding of Isaac". Is it possible that our passage is dealing with the "Binding of Jesus", for Whom Isaac is a type? Or is it possible that all other sacrifices became unnecessary with the sacrifice of the Messiah so that those sacrifices should just be tied to the horns of the altar and the worshipers turn their attention to Christ? However we understand it, it does seem to me that in some way it must speak of the Lord Jesus Christ.

**********

Where is another edition to thinking about this Psalm. I have often seen a connection between Psalm 118 and Romans 8:31-39. I'm not saying that Paul was making the connection but that there is certainly a devotional connection which I'll share with you.

118:5-9 = 8:31-34

118:10-14 = 8:35

118:15-18 = 8:36

118:19-21 = 8:37

118:22-24 = 8:38-39

118:25-28 = Rom. 9-11

Isaiah 30:1-17, The God of Help

Having seen the context of God’s intended help for Israel, let us now meditate on the rest of the OT references that promise His help.

·       Psalm 20:2: God’s help comes from the sanctuary.  In other words, His help is joined to our relationship with Him.  We draw near to God and we are open to His help, as the people in Samuel’s time turned from their idolatry and found God to be true to His word.

·       Psalm 33:20: Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.  Note the connection, “help and shield”, of God’s help in dealing with the enemy.

·       Psalm 70:5: Here God is “my help and my deliverer” for the poor and needy one.  “Deliver” (to bring into security, deliver) fits the warfare theme.

·       Psalm 89:19: In the previous post we saw in Deut. 33:7 that God would be a help for Judah, the tribe from whom would come the Messiah.  This Psalm fits that promise as it speaks of God’s help for “one who is mighty,” referring to David, the one the LORD chose from the people.

·       Psalm 115:9,10,11: First Israel, then the house of Aaron, and then all who fear the LORD are called to trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield.

·       Psalm 121:1,2; 124:8: In the Pilgrim Songs (Songs of Ascents) the pilgrim lifts his eyes to the hills and wonders, from whence comes my help?  The answer is: My help domes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.  As he sets out on his pilgrimage, facing a time when men have risen up against him, repeats this truth: Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

·       Psalm 146:5: This echoes Deut. 33:29: Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God.

·       Isaiah 30:5: Israel put their trust in Egypt but were ashamed, disappointed, as they could not be a help or benefit.

·       Ezekiel 12:14: In a similar context, Ezekiel prophesies that God will scatter all around Israel who have promised to help her.

·       Daniel 11:34: Again, this is a time between the OT and NT when Israel will receive little help from those around her.

·       Hosea 13:9: This last reference in the prophets is fitting: O Israel, you are destroyed, but your help is from Me. 

Let me conclude with Hebrews 4:16 where we also are called to come to the LORD for help: Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

1 Sam. 7:1-12, The Stone of Help

Here is a Hebrew word you might know just from your reading of the English OT.  In 1 Sam. 7:12, after Israel defeated the Philistines under the judgeship of Samuel, the prophet took a took a stone and set it up between Mispah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the LORD has helped us.’ “Ebenezer” is a compound word meaning “stone” (eben) of “help” (ezer).  Earlier, in Ex. 18:4, Moses had two sons during the forty years of shepherding for his father-in-law, and called one of them “Eliezer,” saying The God of my father was my help and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.  Again, we have a compound word: “El” (common word for God) and “ezer” (help).  Let’s meditate on “help.”

“Ezer” is used 22x in 21 verses, and half of those uses are in the Psalms, speaking of the LORD, of course.  But before you get to the Psalms the word gets its definition form two contexts. First, Gen. 2:18,20 where God made a “help” comparable to Adam.  Eve is Adam’s helper, and it is interesting that there is not a “job description” telling her in what way she would help.  The “help” is as deep and wide as the need.  Her primary qualification was that she was “comparable” to Adam.  She was not one of the beasts (a helper could not be found there) but was made in God’s image as was Moses.

The second context relates the word to the LORD.  First, Moses names his son (Ex. 18:4), and then in Deut. 33:7,26,29 Moses blesses the tribes of Israel.  For Judah Moses prays, may You be a help against his enemies.  For all the tribes he says, “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to help you,
And in His excellency on the clouds. ²⁷ The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you,
And will say, ‘Destroy!’ And again, Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, The shield of your help And the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, And you shall tread down their high places.”  Moses’ son reminded him of deliverance from Pharaoh’s sword, and then in three passages Israel knows the LORD will help Judah, from whom will come Israel’s ultimate ruler (Gen. 49:10), and will deliver the nation from their enemies. 

For the moment, come back to “Ebenezer.”  That is what Samuel is talking about.  Israel had suffered terrible losses to the Philistines that included the loss of the Ark of the Covenant.  But now, under Samuel’s leadership, the Ark has been returned and is under the care of Eleazer, son of Abinadab (1 Sam. 7:1).  Yes, another name to remind us of God’s help.  Eleazer combines the common title “El” (God) with “ezer” except that it is now past tense: God has helped!  Samuel called the people to repent of their idolatry, they responded in obedience, and the LORD helped as was promised in Deut. 33!  And then Samuel set up “the stone of help.” 

1 Tim. 6:1-10, Godliness that Affirms God’s Power

Before we search Scripture to see what this “form of godliness” might look like for Christians, let me add to 1 Tim. 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:3-4 what Paul told Titus to teach at Crete: For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, ¹² teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age (Titus 2:11-12^#).  It is the appearance of Christ and all that that involves that will teach us to “live godly” in this present age.  We are talking about Romans 6-8, Paul’s basic teaching on “sanctification.”  He builds on this in Galatians and Ephesians and Colossians and Peter also builds on Paul’s words there.  This is the “mystery” that produces godliness in the lives of believers that was missing from the saints in the OT.  Without this we will be seeking to put on a form that may look like Christ but that will have no power!

Now, does the NT give us any idea what this “form” might look like?  Yes, but only if we remember that it is produced according to the doctrine that accords with godliness we have already seen.

·       In 1 Tim. 2:2 it is to be lived in the society where God has put us, and accords with “a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty (integrity).”

·       In 1 Tim. 4:7-8 we see two things.  It is not a life build on “profane and old wives’ fables.”  In other words, it is not what some might call “common sense” or “tradition” or “the way my mama taught me,” no matter how valuable those things might seem to be.  This includes a lifestyle immersed in a focus on the body.  Care for the body has a place, a small place in our lives.  Exercise to godliness will make us far more useful now and will fit us for eternity.

·       In 1 Tim. 6:5-6 we see that godliness is not the same as being comfortable in this life.  Sometimes people try to look “holy” (reverent, godly) because it will get them ahead in this life.  The opposite is true: godliness with an attitude of contentment (happy with what God has given me) is what the form looks like.

·       In 1 Tim. 5:4^@ we see that in a Christian household the children and grandchildren show piety by caring for the parents/grandparents.

·       In 2 Tim. 3:12^# we see that those who live godly will suffer persecution.  Paul demonstrated this in 2 Cor. 10-12 when his list of “accomplishments” identifying him as a true apostle were his many sufferings.  Those with a “form of godliness” that denies the power of it don’t suffer.

·       And finally, now and in the “perilous times” Paul spoke of, the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment (2 Pt. 2:9*).  Look for 1 Cor. 10:13 to be evident in the form of godliness. 

2 Peter 1:2-11, True Godliness!

By definition, the Greek term we translate “godliness” does not mean “God-like-ness.”  It is what we look like when we fear God or when we worship.  It is true, that godliness will ultimately agree with “conformity to the image of Christ.”  But it is not the same.  But do understand, godliness is a mark of followers of Christ.

Peter, in that amazing “stair-step” picture of the growth of a Christian, included a call to godliness.  Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, ⁶ to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, ⁷ to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love (2 Pt. 1:6,7).  There will be something about a person, as they mature, that will be evident, a “form of godliness.”  But we are not Greek idolators, and we need to avoid some who may look like mature Christians.  So what is the difference.

Well, the first thing we can say is that there is a doctrinal difference.  Paul told Timothy there is a “doctrine which accords with godliness” (1 Tim. 6:3), and Titus that the truth “accords with godliness” (Titus 1:1).  In his words to Titus he goes on to say that this “truth” involves the hope of eternal life which God promised before time began and has been manifested through his preaching.  To Timothy he said that the “doctrine” involves “the words of our Lord Jesus Christ,” meaning what He revealed in terms of the New Covenant.

You may have noticed that these “godliness” terms are found in Acts, and then in the Pastoral Epistles and 2 Peter.  They are in the later letters, and all of these had strong dealings with false teaching.  The issue of “wheat and tares” was becoming more and more of an issue as the first century wore on, and the need arose to deal with the “form of godliness” and the doctrine that is in sync with that form.

And this leads us then to two major references to “godliness.”  First, 1 Tim. 3:16: And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.  This is specifically called “the mystery of godliness.”  The “mystery” term should be a clear pointer to the truths that Christ gave especially to Paul for the establishment and edification of the Church (cf. Eph. 3:1-13).  The secret to godliness for Christians is CHRIST!  He came to earth, ran the race as our “forerunner” (Hb. 6:19-20; 12:1-2).  Christ “in the believer” is the hope of glory (Col. 1:27) and the believer “in Christ” is the fountain of every blessing (Eph. 1:3).

And this takes us perfectly to 2 Peter 1:3-4: According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature … Certainly these “promises” are those Peter heard from Christ in the Upper Room when Jesus declared the “doctrine that accords with godliness.” 

Acts 17:16-25, Godliness! Everybody's Doing It!

Here is a study that is needed for all believers in Christ.  “Godliness” is defined as reverence, piety towards God. We have to consider it because godliness has an aspect of “form,” meaning outward appearance, and yet it is not fundamentally outward appearance but is a spiritual reality, something produced through Christ in the inner man.  You can say that you know something about the religion of a person by their “godliness,” but if all you know about that person is what you see you do not really know that person.  Does that make sense?

We have a noun (15x), adjective (4x with an *), verb (2x with ^@), and adverb (2x with ^#).  They appear 5x in Acts where we can get a picture of what this means.  In Ac. 3:12 Peter told the crowd (the “men of Israel”) that it was not his “godliness” that healed the man by the Beautiful Gate but it was Christ.  He said it this way because the “men of Israel” all sought to be godly and thought that being godly would empower them in their lives.  They held strongly to the “form.”  Do “Jewish” things and you will be accepted by God.  This introduces the first and foremost danger involved here: that we would put trust in our spiritual character.  Job’s friends had this same idea. Eliphaz asked Job, Is not your reverence your confidence?  And the integrity of your ways your hope (Job 4:6)? 

Look who else had a “form of godliness.”  The Greeks in Athens (Ac. 17:23^@).  In v22 Paul calls them “religious” using a term that literally means a “fear or reverence of demons.”  Then in v23 he refers to their “worship” or “godliness.”  They had a form. Cornelieus was a “devout” man (Acts 10:2*) and he sent a “devout” soldier to summon Peter (Acts 10:7*.)  They were “God-fearers,” one who would or could not proselytize to Judaism but who honored the God of Judaism.  Ananias, whom God sent to speak with Paul in Damascus, was a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there in Acts 22:12*.  No doubt he was a believer in Christ, but his “form of godliness” would have looked very Jewish. 

Paul says that in the “perilous times” of the last days people will have a “form of godliness but denying its power,” “from such people turn away” (2 Tim. 3:5).  Most understand this to refer to the great apostacy of the last days.  These people are in some way connected with Christians and/or Christianity but must be avoided. 

This introduces the problem we must be aware of as followers of Christ.  True, Bible-believing, non-hypocritical believers in Christ (call them what you will) also have a “form of godliness.”  Paul told Timothy to “pursue” godliness (1 Tim. 6:11), not to reject it.  Concerning the last days, Peter said, Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness (2 Pt. 3:11).  So, we need to understand the “fundamentals” of godliness.  For believers it is not just a form to put on.