If you instruct the brethren in these things,
you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and
of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.
But reject profane and old wives’ fables,
and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little,
but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now
is and of that which is to come.
This is a faithful saying and worthy
of all acceptance. For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because
we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of
those who believe. These things command and teach.
1 Timothy 4:6-11
History and Context:
1 Timothy belongs to what scholars have labeled as
the Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy and Titus). They are named the Pastoral
Epistles because they deal directly with issues of leadership in the church.
Timothy was probably a convert from Paul's first missionary journey, when he
travelled to Lystra. After that Timothy begun travelling with Paul and taking
various assignments. In other letters we can see that it was often Timothy that
would carry Paul's letters to the various churches. At the time in which Paul
wrote 1 and 2 Timothy, Timothy was in Ephesus and had been sent there in order
to lead the church and to train and build leaders for the church. 1 Timothy is
written as general instructions towards the Timothy as a leader.
The Text:
Paul often uses an analogy of physical
exercise and competition in order to explain spiritual principles. This was
because the physical competition was a very real thing to his audience. Paul was
speaking to the area which hosted the original Olympic games, it was a large
part of their culture and society. For us exercise often means a 15-20 min jog
in the morning, but for them they probably thought immediately of the
preparation for those games. In fact the Greek word used in this passage,
Gymnazo, means "to train with one's full effort, with complete physical
or emotional force." Paul told Timothy to train himself in Godliness with his
full effort, with everything he had in him. He was supposed to train in
Godliness as an Olympic runner trains for the race.
What is Godliness then? When we think of Godliness
we think of acting like God. We think of purity and righteousness, but according
to the Greek it is more about how we think and feel than how we act. The Greek
definition is "the inner response to the things of God, which expresses
itself in reverence of God and for the things He holds sacred." In other
words, Paul told Timothy to put full effort into training his response to, and
his reverence of, God.
The Challenge:
Of course today's challenge for us is the same
that Paul presented to Timothy; "exercise yourself towards Godliness".
You can't train your response to the things of God unless you place yourself in
opportunities to experience the things of God. Take time to revere God today;
take time in worship, recognizing how great He is. Get into His presence and ask
Him to speak to you. Create opportunties for God to act towards you and you can
then exercise your response to Him.
The Prayer:
Lord, speak to me today, bring me into your
presence, help me to exercise Godliness today. Your are a great God and I am in
awe of you! In Jesus' name, Amen!
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