1 Timothy 4:1-10, General and Special Revelation (2)

Today we want to dwell on 1 Timothy 4.  “The Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith”: obviously, that is “special revelation.”  What about vs.3b-5: “every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving.”  Is that something that only “those who believe and know the truth” can know or can all people know this? 

Clearly, “those who believe and know the truth” should know this.  The Bible (SR) helps us overcome deficiencies in our understanding caused by sin.  Also, we will concede (because it is not germane to our study) that SR is necessary to know that food received with thanksgiving “is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”

But what about all men?  What can and should they know?  The answer takes us back to Gen. 4 when Cain and Abel brought their thanksgiving offerings to God.  We have no record that God had told them to do this.  The only SR is what God said to Cain about what he needed to do.  God did not remind Cain of some command that had been given.  I would suggest that Cain and Abel, and Adam and Eve for that matter, could know, by virtue of GR (creation and conscience), that:

·       Every creature of God is good.  This can be assumed from the fact they knew God to be a good Creator.  And if everything from God is good (and it is), then nothing should be refused.

·       We are obligated to worship the Creator by giving thanks for His good provision.  Again, we don’t need the Bible to tell us that if God has given us good things (and He has), then we must give thanks to Him.

However, what interests me is v6-10.  The two paragraphs (v1-5 and 6-10) are connected.  Timothy is supposed to teach v1-5 according to v6-10.  And, he is supposed to “reject profane and old wives fables” (v7).  What are these “fables?”  I would suggest they are corrupt forms of “general revelation.”  For one thing, they are “profane,” meaning they are common, accessible.  It’s what all people, or at least a lot of people, think.  “Old wives” fables are generally what some people call “common sense” that come out of the home.  In this context, it’s an approach to eating that mothers have devised.  They are like “home remedies.”  These could be true or false but they are an approach to things that happen that have come from “experience.”  They don’t necessarily fit “good science.”  But someone said something worked for them and so everyone should do it.

Why did Paul point out these “fables?”  Because everyone deals with the truth of a good Creator and our thankful response to Him.  These “fables” are the attempts to do this, to explain how we live in this world.  They may or may not be in a religious context.  After all, men generally “suppress” the truth of God (Rom. 1:18).  For some, it involved rules about what to eat and what not to eat.  For others, it involved bodily exercise.  This will help prolong life, and after all, this is all we get.  Both these things are corruptions of GR and Paul, by SR, is correcting them. 

We cannot know the plan of salvation, nor the details of “heaven and hell,” on the basis of GR alone.  However, as Ecclesiastes shows (Eccl. 3:16-22), we can, on the basis of “creation and conscience,” conclude that we will have to give an account to the One who created us, and that as it now stands, we are liable for judgment (without excuse)!