02 February 10, 2013, 1 Timothy 4;6-12, The Practice Of Godliness

THE PRACTICE OF
GODLINESS
1 Timothy 4:6-12
February 10, 2013
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
USA

FEBRUARY MONTHLY
SCRIPTURE MEMORY
VERSE
“God create a clean heart
for me and renew a
steadfast spirit within
me.” Psalm 51:10

SUNDAY SCHOOL FACT

Of individuals who only
attend worship, fewer
than 20 percent are still
active in church five years
later.

However, of those who
attend both worship and
Sunday School, more than
80 percent are still active
after five years.

Thank you for being
passionate about reaching
out to and ministering to
people through Sunday
School!!!

When a guest visits in our
class or a new member
joins our class, make a
special effort to let them
know how glad we are
that they are here.

AMERICA, ISRAEL AND
GOD’S PROPHETIC
TIMETABLE
Dr. Sherlock Bally
Thursday, February 28
6:30-8:30 p.m.
Fellowship Hall East

·The importance of
Jerusalem to God’s
prophetic timetable

· America and Israel’s
prophetic parallels

·Israel and its position in
the Middle East

·The importance of
America to continue to
stand with Israel.

*You are as close to God
as you want to be.
*The time you have here
on earth is an opportunity
for you to prove how
close you want to be to
God forever.

*Do you want to be closer
to God than you are right
now?
*Do you at least desire to
(want to) want to be closer
to God than you presently
are?

PRAYER

“Father, give me the
desire to want to be closer
to You and then please
change those desires into
action.”

THE GREEK WORD FOR
GODLINESS:
EUSEBIA (you SAY be ah)
Literally, it means:
“to worship well”,
“to be very devout”
“good reverence”.

Our text today:
1 Timothy 4:6-12 NASB

The key verse:
1 Timothy 4:8
(Background passages on
wholeheartedness):

2 Chronicles 16:9
9 “For the eyes of
the Lord move to and fro
throughout the earth that
He may strongly support
those whose heart is
completely His.”

Matthew 22:37-40 KJV

37 “Jesus said unto him,
Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul,
and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and
great commandment.
39 And the second is like
unto it, Thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself.
40 On these two
commandments hang all

the law and the
prophets.”

Matthew 22:37-40 KJV

Isaiah 66:1-2 NASB

1 Thus says the Lord,
“Heaven is My throne and
the earth is My footstool.
Where then is a house you
could build for Me?

And where is a place that
I may rest?
2 “For My hand made all
these things,
Thus all these things came
into being,” declares
the Lord.

“But to this one I will
look, to him who is
humble and
contrite of spirit, and who
trembles at My word.”

Isaiah 66:1-2 NASB

con·trite (an adjective) -
feeling or expressing
remorse or penitence;
affected by guilt.
Synonyms
repentant - penitent -
remorseful - regretful

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3
1“Now we request you,
brethren, with regard to
the (second) coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ and
our gathering together to
Him (the Rapture),

2 that you not be quickly
shaken from your
composure or be disturbed
either by a spirit or a
message or a letter as if
from us, to the effect that
the day of the Lord

(the Tribulation)has come.
3 Let no one in any way
deceive you, for it will not
come unless the apostasy
comes first, and the man
of lawlessness is revealed,
the son of destruction,”

1 “But realize this, that in
the last days difficult
times will come.
2 For men will be lovers
of self, lovers of money,
boastful, arrogant,

revilers, disobedient to
parents, ungrateful,
unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable,
malicious gossips,
without self-control,
brutal, haters of good,

4 treacherous, reckless,
conceited, lovers of
pleasure rather than
lovers of God,
5 holding to a form
of godliness, although
they have denied its

power.”


The Ephesian church,
where Timothy was
serving when Paul wrote
1 Timothy, had been
warned already about the
coming of false doctrines
(Acts 20:28-31).

Acts 20:28-31
28 “Be on guard for
yourselves and for all the
flock, among which the
Holy Spirit has made
you overseers, to
shepherd the church of

God which He purchased
with His own blood.

29 I know that after my
departure savage wolves
will come in among you,
not sparing the flock;

30 and from among your
own selves men will arise,
speaking perverse things,
to draw away the
disciples after them.
31 Therefore be on the
alert,” Acts 20:28-31

Throughout Paul's letters,
the Spirit speaks expressly
that the church will see
apostasy, a falling away
from the true faith
( 2 Thessalonians 2).

1 Timothy 4:1
1 “But the Spirit explicitly
says that in later times
some will fall away from
the faith, paying attention
to deceitful spirits and
doctrines of demons,”

Paul points out that the
cause for the apostasy is
not the "growing
intelligence of scholars"
but the satanic influence
of demons so that
professed believers deny

the basic doctrines of the
Bible.

*The problem is not with
the head but with the
heart!

Text for today:


6“In pointing out these
things to the brethren, you
will be a good servant of
Christ Jesus, constantly
nourished on the words of
the faith and of the sound

doctrine which you have
been following.
7 But have nothing to do
with worldly fables fit
only for old women.
On the other hand,
discipline yourself for the

purpose of godliness; 8 for
bodily discipline is only of
little profit, but godliness is
profitable for all things,
since it holds promise for
the present life and also for
the life to come.

9 It is a trustworthy
statement deserving full
acceptance. 10 For it is for
this we labor and strive,
because we have fixed our
hope on the living God,
Who is the Savior of all

men, especially of
believers.
11 Prescribe and teach
these things.
12 Let no one look down
on your youthfulness,
but rather in speech,

conduct, love, faith and
purity, show yourself an
example of those who
believe.”


1 Timothy 4:8 NIV 1984
8 “For physical training is
of some value, but
godliness has value for all
things, holding promise
for both the present life
and the life to come.”

If everything is going to
be perfect in Heaven and
if you are going to be like
Jesus when you get there,
why go to any effort or
trouble while we are here
on Earth to be like Him?

What is verse 8 talking
about when it says that
and the life to come?

1 Corinthians 3:6-15
NASB
6 “I planted, Apollos
watered, but God was
causing the growth.
7 So then neither the one
who plants nor the one

who waters is anything,
but God Who causes the
growth.
8 Now he who plants and
he who waters are one;
but each will receive his
own reward according to

his own labor.
9 For we are God’s fellow
workers; you are God’s
field, God’s building.
10 According to the grace
of God which was given
to me, like a wise master

builder I laid a
foundation, and another is
building on it. But each
man must be careful how
he builds on it.
11 For no man can lay
a foundation other than

the One which is laid,
which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man builds
on the foundation with
gold, silver, precious
stones, wood, hay, straw,
13 each man’s work will

become evident; for the
day will show it because it
is to be revealed with fire,
and the fire itself will
test the quality of each
man’s work.

14 If any man’s work
which he has built on it
remains, he will receive a
reward.
15 If any man’s work is
burned up, he will suffer
loss; but he himself will

be saved, yet so as
through fire.”

*What is the greatest
reward a person could
ever have?

The greatest reward
anyone could ever have is
to be in the presence of
God!

Revelation 22:12 NASB

12 “Behold, I am coming
quickly, and My reward is
with Me, to render to
every man according to
what he has done.”

2 Peter 1:3 NIV 1984
3 “His divine power has
given us everything we
need for life and godliness
through our knowledge of
Him Who called us by His
own glory and goodness.”

28 “Now, little children,
abide in Him, so that
when He appears, we
may have confidence
and not shrink away from
Him in shame at His
coming.” 1 John 2:28

There will be no shame or
remorse in the final
Heaven, but what about
during the thousand year
reign here on earth?

What is Godliness?

A study by: Jerry Bridges

Article contributed by:
NavPress
Visit NavPress website

From:
"Value for All Things" and
"Devotion to God"
in the book:
The Practice of Godliness by
Jerry Bridges (NavPress,
1983).

As we see the importance
of this foundational
spiritual attribute
(godliness), we commit
ourselves to building it
into our lives now.

There is no higher
compliment that can be
paid to a Christian than to
call him/her a godly
person.

The words godly and
godliness actually appear
only a few times in the
New Testament;
yet the entire Bible is a
book on godliness.

When Paul wants to distill
the essence of the
Christian life into one
brief paragraph, he
focuses on godliness.

Paul tells us that God’s
grace "teaches us to say
'No' to ungodliness and
worldly passions, and to
live self-controlled,
upright and godly lives" as
we await the coming of

our Lord Jesus Christ
(Titus 2:11-13).

We are to train ourselves
to be godly.
We are to pursue godliness
— the word "pursue"
indicating unrelenting,
persevering effort.

Godliness with
contentment is held forth
as great gain; and finally,
and the life to come. (v8)

When Peter, in looking
forward to the, day of the
Lord when the earth and
everything in it will be
destroyed, asks what kind
of people we ought to be,
he answers that we are to

live holy and godly lives
(2 Peter 3:10-12).
Here Peter uses the most
momentous event of all
history to stir us up to our
Christian duty—
holy and godly living.

Surely, then, godliness is
not an optional spiritual
luxury for a few quaint
Christians of a bygone era
or for some group of
super-saints of today.

It is both the privilege and
duty of every Christian to
pursue godliness,
to train himself to be
godly, to study diligently
the practice of godliness.

*We don't need any
special talent or
equipment.
*God has given to each
one of us "everything we
need for life and
godliness" (2 Peter 1:3).

The most ordinary
Christian has all that he
needs, and the most
talented Christian must
use those same means in
the practice of godliness.

"What do you think of
when you think of
godliness?"
The answers, though
varied, always end up
expressing some idea of
Christian character,

using such expressions as
"Godlike," "Christlike," or
"the fruit of the Spirit."
*Godliness certainly
includes Christian
character, but it is more
than that.

*There is another, even
more fundamental aspect
of godliness than godly
character.
*It is the foundation, in
fact, on which godly
character is built.

Devotion in Action
*The Bible gives us some
clues about godliness in
its earliest pages.
*Genesis 5:21-24 tells us
about Enoch, the father of
Methuselah.

In a short three-verse
summary of Enoch’s life,
Moses twice describes
him as one who "walked
with God.“

Genesis 5:24

24 “Enoch walked with
God (stayed constantly in
touch with God); and he
was not, for God took
him.”

Much later in the Bible,
the author of Hebrews
gives Enoch a place in the
great Faith’s Hall of Fame
in chapter 11, but he sees
Enoch from a slightly
different perspective.

He describes Enoch as
"one who pleased God.“

Hebrews 11:5-6
5 “By faith Enoch was
taken up so that he would
not see death;

and he was not found
because God took him up;
for he obtained the
witness that before his
being taken up he was
pleasing to God.

6 And without faith it is
impossible to please Him,
for he who comes to God
must believe that He is
and that He is a rewarder
of those who seek Him.”
Hebrews 11:5-6

*Here, then, are two
important clues:
Enoch walked with God,
and Enoch pleased God.
*It is evident from these
two statements that
Enoch’s life was centered

in God; God was the focal
point, the polestar of his
very existence.
*Enoch walked with God;
he enjoyed a relationship
with God; and he pleased
God.

*We could accurately say
he was devoted to God.

*This is the meaning of
godliness.

The New Testament word
for godliness conveys the
idea of a personal
attitude toward God that
results in actions that are
pleasing to Him.

*This personal attitude
toward God is what we
call devotion to God.

*But it is always devotion
in action.

It is not just a warm,
emotional feeling about
God, the kind of feeling
we may get while singing
some grand old hymn of
praise or some modern-
day chorus of worship.

Neither is devotion to
God merely a time of
private Bible reading and
prayer, a practice we
sometimes call
"devotions."

Focused On God

Devotion is not an
activity;
it is an attitude toward
God.

This attitude is composed
of three essential
elements:
the fear of God
the love of God
the desire for God.

*Note that all three
elements focus upon
God.

*The practice of godliness is
an exercise or discipline that
focuses upon God.

From this God-ward
attitude arise both the
character and the conduct
(doers of the Word) that
we usually think of as
godliness.

So often we try to develop
Christian character and
conduct without taking
the time to develop God-
centered devotion.

*We try to please God
without taking the time to
walk with Him (stay
constantly in contact with
Him) and develop a
relationship with Him.
*This is impossible to do.

The devil tried to trick
Eve with the lie,
“Just do this and you will
be like God!”

There are no shortcuts to
discipleship.

Consider the exacting
requirements of a godly
lifestyle as expounded by
the saintly William Law
in A Serious Call to a
Devout and Holy Life.

Law uses the word
devotion in a broader
sense to mean all that is
involved in godliness—
actions as well as attitude:
Devotion signifies a life
given, or devoted, to God.

He therefore is the devout
[godly] man who lives no
longer to his own will, or
the way and spirit of the
world, but to the sole will
of God; who considers
God in everything, who

serves God in everything,
who makes all the parts of
his common life parts of
piety [godliness], by
doing everything in the
name of God, and under
such rules as are

conformable to his Glory.

David Platt says we are to:

Enjoy His grace
and
Extend His glory!

*Note the totality of
godliness over one’s entire
life in Law’s description of
the godly person.
*Nothing is excluded.
*God is at the center of his
thoughts.

*His most ordinary duties
are done with an eye to
God’s glory.(Bro Lawrence)
*In Paul’s words to the
Corinthians, “whether he
eats or drinks or whatever
he does, he does it all for

the glory of God.”1 Cor 10
It is obvious that such a
God-centered lifestyle
cannot be developed and
maintained apart from a
solid foundation of
devotion to God.

Only a strong personal
relationship with the
living God can keep such
a commitment from
becoming oppressive and
legalistic.

John writes that God’s
commands are not
burdensome; a godly life
is not wearisome, but this
is true only because a
godly person is first of all
devoted to God.

*Devotion to God, then, is
the mainspring of godly
character.
*And this devotion is the
only motivation for
Christian behavior that is
pleasing to God.

This motivation is what
separates the godly
person from the moral
person, or the benevolent
person, or the zealous
person.

*The godly person is
moral, benevolent, and
zealous because of his
devotion to God.
*And his life takes on a
dimension that reflects the
very stamp of God.

*It is sad that many
Christians do not have
this aura of godliness
about them.
*They may be very
talented and personable,
or very busy in the Lord’s

work, or even apparently
successful in some
avenues of Christian
service, and still not be
godly.

Why?

*Because they are not
devoted to God.
*They may be devoted to
a vision, or to a ministry,
or to their own reputation
as Christians, but not to
God.

*So godliness can be
defined as devotion to God
which results in a life that is
pleasing to Him.

*Enoch walked with God,
and Enoch pleased God.

His walk with God speaks
of his relationship with
God, or his devotion to
God;
his pleasing God speaks
of the behavior that arose
from that relationship.

Some of our aversion to
the phrase "fear of God"
may be due to a
misunderstanding of its
meaning.

The Bible uses the term
"fear of God" in two
distinct ways:
that of anxious dread, and
that of veneration, awe,
and reverence.

Fear as anxious dread is
produced by the
realization of God’s
impending judgment
upon sin.

When Adam sinned he
hid from God because he
was afraid.

Although this aspect of
the fear of God should
characterize every
unsaved person who lives
each day as an object of
God’s wrath, it seldom
does.

Paul’s concluding
indictment of ungodly
mankind was,
"There is no fear of God
before their eyes"
(Romans 3:18).

*The Christian has been
delivered from fear of
God’s wrath (1 John 4:18).
*But the Christian has not
been delivered from
the discipline of God
against his sinful conduct,

and in this sense he still
fears God.
*He works out his
salvation with fear and
trembling (Philippians
2:12); he lives his life as—
a stranger here in reverent

fear (1 Peter 1:17).

*For the child of God,
however, the primary
meaning of the fear of
God is veneration and
honor, reverence and awe.

*Murray says this fear is
the soul of godliness.

*It is the attitude that
elicits from our hearts
adoration and love,
reverence and honor.

It focuses in awe not upon
the wrath of God but
upon the majesty,
holiness, and
transcendent glory of
God.

The angelic beings of
Isaiah’s vision in
chapter 6 demonstrated
this awe when, with two
of their wings, they
covered their faces in the
presence of the exalted

Lord.

*We see this same awe in
Isaiah himself and in
Peter when they each
realized they were in the
presence of a holy God.

We see it most vividly in
the reaction of the beloved
disciple John in
Revelation 1:17, when he
saw his Master in all of
His heavenly glory and
majesty, and fell at His

feet as though dead.

*It is impossible to be
devoted to God if one’s
heart is not filled with the
fear of God.

It is this profound sense of
veneration and honor,
reverence and awe that
draws forth from our
hearts the worship and
adoration that
characterizes true

devotion to God.
*The reverent, godly
Christian sees God first in
His transcendent glory,
majesty, and holiness
before he sees Him in His
love, mercy, and grace.

God wants us to first
“seek His face”, to get to
know Him and not
always be seeking His
hand, to ask what He can
do for us.

There is a healthy tension
that exists in the godly
person’s heart between
the reverential awe of
God in his glory and the
childlike confidence in
God as heavenly Father.

Without this tension, a
Christian’s filial
confidence can easily
degenerate into
presumption.

One of the more serious
sins of Christians today
may well be the almost
flippant familiarity with
which we often address
God in prayer.

*None of the godly men of
the Bible ever adopted the
casual manner we often
do.

*They always addressed
God with reverence.

The same writer who tells
us that we have
confidence to enter the
Most Holy Place, the
throne room of God, also
tells us that we should
worship God acceptably

with reverence and awe,
"for our God is a
consuming fire"
(Hebrews 10:19 and
Hebrews 12:28-29).

Paul, who tells us that the
Holy Spirit dwelling
within us causes us to cry
"Abba Father," also tells us
that this same God lives in
"unapproachable light"
(Romans 8:15 and 1Tim 6).

In our day we must begin
to recover a sense of awe
and profound reverence
for God.

We must begin to view
Him once again in the
infinite majesty that alone
belongs to Him Who is
the Creator and Supreme
Ruler of the entire
universe.

There is an infinite gap in
worth and dignity
between God the Creator
and man the creature,
even though man has
been created in the image
of God.

The fear of God is a
heartfelt recognition of
this gap—not a put down
of man, but an exaltation
of God.

*Even the redeemed in
heaven fear the Lord.
*In Revelation 15:3-4, they
sing triumphantly the
song of Moses the servant
of God and the song of the
Lamb:

“Great and marvelous are
Your deeds, Lord God
Almighty.
Just and true are Your
ways, King of the ages.
Who will not fear You, O
Lord, and bring glory to

Your name?
For You alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before You,
for Your righteous acts
have been revealed.”
Revelation 15:3-4

Note the focus of their
veneration upon God’s
attributes of power,
justice, and holiness.

*No wonder, then, that
with that day in view
Peter tells us to live holy
and godly lives now.
*God is in the process of
preparing us for Heaven,
to dwell with Him for

eternity.
*So He desires that we
grow in both holiness and
godliness.
*He wants us to be like
Him and to reverence and
adore Him for all eternity.

*We must be learning to
do this now.
*In our day we seem to
have magnified the love
of God almost to the
exclusion of the fear of
God.

Because of this
preoccupation we are not
honoring God and
reverencing Him as we
should.

We should magnify the
love of God;
but although we revel in
His love and mercy, we
must never lose sight of
His majesty and His
holiness.

Not only will a right
concept of the fear of God
cause us to worship God
aright, it will also regulate
our conduct.

*As John Murray says,
"What or whom we
worship determines our
behavior."
*Albert N. Martin has said
that the essential
ingredients of

the fear of God are:
(1) correct concepts of
God’s character,
(2) a pervasive sense of
God’s presence, and
(3) a constant awareness of
our obligation to God.

If we have some
comprehension of God’s
infinite holiness and His
hatred of sin, coupled
with this pervasive sense
of God’s presence in all of
our actions and thoughts,

then such a fear of God
must influence and
regulate our conduct.
“The beginning of
wisdom is to learn the
fear of the Lord.”
Proverbs 9:10

The fear of God should
provide a primary
motivation for, as well as
result in, obedience to
Him.

*If we truly reverence God
we will obey Him, since
every act of disobedience is
an affront to His dignity
and majesty.
*John 14:21 Obedience =
love,

Gripped By God's Love

Only the God-fearing
Christian can truly
appreciate the love of
God.

He sees the infinite gulf
between a holy God and a
sinful creature, and the
love that bridged that gulf
through the death of the
Lord Jesus Christ.

God’s love for us is many-
faceted, but He supremely
demonstrated it by
sending His Son to die for
our sins.

All other aspects of His
love are secondary, and in
fact are made possible for
us through the death of
Christ.

The apostle John says,
"God is love" (1 John 4:8).
And he explains, "This is
how God showed His love
among us: He sent His one
and only Son into the
world that we might live

through Him. This is love:
not that we loved God,
but that He loved us and
sent His Son as an atoning
sacrifice for our sins"
(1 John 4:9-10).

*The love of God has no
meaning apart from
Calvary.
*And Calvary has no
meaning apart from the
holy and just wrath of
God.

Jesus did not die just to
give us peace and a
purpose in life; He died to
save us from the wrath of
God.

He died to reconcile us to
a holy God Who was
alienated from us because
of our sin.

He died to ransom us
from the penalty of sin—
the punishment of
everlasting destruction,
and of being shut out
from the presence of the
Lord.

He died that we, the just
objects of God’s wrath,
should become, by His
grace, heirs of God and
co-heirs with Christ.

How much we appreciate
God’s love is conditioned
by how deeply we fear
Him.

The more we see God in
His infinite majesty,
holiness, and
transcendent glory, the
more we will gaze with
wonder and amazement
upon His love poured out

at Calvary.
*But it is also true that the
more deeply we perceive
God’s love to us in Christ,
the more profound will be
our reverence and awe of
Him.

The psalmist caught this
truth when he said,"If you,
O Lord, kept a record of
sins, O Lord, who could
stand? But with You there
is forgiveness; therefore
you are feared"(Ps130:3-4).

*He worshiped God with
reverence and awe
because of God’s
forgiveness.
*In our practice of
godliness, then, we must
seek to grow both in the

fear of God and in an
ever-increasing
comprehension of the love
of God.
*These two elements
together form the
foundation of our

This awareness of God’s
love for us in Christ must
be personalized in order for
it to become one of the
solid foundational corners
of our "triangle of
devotion" to God.

*It is not enough to
believe that God loved the
world.

*I must be gripped by the
realization that God loves
me, a specific person.

It is this awareness of His
individual love that
draws out our hearts in
devotion to Him.

*Our awareness of God’s
love for us must also be
constantly growing.
*As we mature in our
Christian lives we are
increasingly aware of
God’s holiness and our

own sinfulness.

*In Paul’s first letter to
Timothy he reflects upon
God’s mercy in
appointing him to the
Gospel ministry.

*Paul recalls that he once
was a blasphemer and a
persecutor and a violent
man.
*This description no
longer applies to Paul; it is
all past tense.

But as he continues to
reflect upon the grace of
God, he slips, almost
unconsciously it seems,
into the present tense of
his experience:

"Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners
—of whom I am the
worst"
(1 Timothy 1:15).

*He is no longer thinking
about his past as a
persecutor of Christ.
*Now he is thinking about
his present daily
experience as a believer
who falls short of the will

of God for him.
*He doesn't think about
other Christians, whom
we know were way
behind Paul in their
devotion to God and their
attainment of godly

character.

*Paul never wastes time
trying to feel good about
himself by comparing
himself favorably with
less mature Christians.

He compares himself with
God’s standard, and he
consequently sees himself
as the worst of sinners.

Through this present
sense of his sinfulness
Paul sees God’s love for
him.

The more he grows in his
knowledge of God’s
perfect will, the more he
sees his own sinfulness,
and the more he
comprehends God’s love
in sending Christ to die

for him.

*And the more he sees
God’s love, the more his
heart reaches out in
adoring devotion to the
One who loved him so.

If God’s love for us is to
be a solid foundation
stone of devotion, we
must realize that His love
is entirely of grace—that it
rests completely upon the
work of Jesus Christ and

flows to us through our
union with Him.

*Because of this basis His
love can never change,
regardless of what we do.
*In our daily experience,
we have all sorts of
spiritual ups and downs -
sin, failure,

discouragement, all of
which tend to make us
question God’s love.

*That is because we keep
thinking that God’s love is
somehow conditional.

We are afraid to believe
His love is based entirely
upon the finished work of
Christ for us.

Deep down in our souls
we must get hold of the
wonderful truth that our
spiritual failures do not
affect God’s love for us
one iota—that His love for
us does not fluctuate

We must be gripped by
the truth that we are
accepted by God and
loved by God for the sole
reason that we are united
to His beloved Son.

As the King James Version
translates Ephesians 1:6,
“He hath made us
accepted in the Beloved."

Does this apprehension of
God’s personal,
unconditional love for us
in Christ lead to careless
living?

Not at all.

Rather, such an awareness
of His love stimulates in
us an increased devotion
to Him.

And this devotion is
active; it is not just a
warm, affectionate feeling
toward God.

Paul testified that Christ’s
love for us compelled him
to live not for himself, but
for Him Who died for us
and rose again
(2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

*The word for "compel"
which Paul used is a very
strong verb.
*It means to press in on all
sides and to impel or force
one to a certain course of
action.

Probably not many
Christians can identify
with Paul in this depth of
his motivation, but this
surely should be our goal.

This is the constraining
force God’s love is
intended to have upon us.

So we see that devotion to
God begins with the fear
of God—with a Biblical
view of His majesty and
holiness that elicits a
reverence and awe of
Him.

And then we see that the
fear of God leads
naturally to an
apprehension of the love
of God for us as shown in
the atoning death of Jesus
Christ.

As we contemplate God
more and more in His
majesty, holiness, and
love, we will be
progressively led to the
apex of the triangle of
devotion—the desire for

A Thirst For God

True godliness engages
our affections and
awakens within us a
desire to enjoy God’s
presence and fellowship.

It produces a longing for
God Himself.

The writer of Psalm
42 vividly expressed this
longing when he
exclaimed, "As the deer
pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you,
O God. My soul thirsts for

God, for the living God.
When can I go and I meet
with God?"

*What could be more
intense than a hunted
deer’s thirst for water?

The psalmist does not
hesitate to use this picture
to illustrate the intensity
of his own desire for
God’s presence and
fellowship.

You are as close to God as
you want to be and your
time here on earth proves
to Him how close you
want to be to Him in
eternity.

David also expresses this
intense desire for God:
"One thing I ask of the
Lord, this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the
days of my life, to gaze

upon the beauty of the
Lord and to seek Him in
his temple" (Psalm 27:4).
*David yearned intensely
for God Himself that he
might enjoy His presence
and His beauty.

Since God is a spirit, His
beauty obviously refers
not to a physical
appearance but to His
attributes.

*David enjoyed dwelling
upon the majesty and
greatness, the holiness
and goodness of God.
*But David did more than
contemplate the beauty of
God’s attributes.

He sought God Himself,
for elsewhere he says,
"Earnestly I seek You; my
soul thirsts for You, my
body longs for You"
(Psalm 63:1).

The apostle Paul also
experienced this longing
for God:
"I want to know Christ"
(Philippians 3:10).

The Amplified Bible
forcefully catches the
intensity of Paul’s desire
in this passage:
"For my determined
purpose is that I may
know Him—that I may

progressively become
more deeply and
intimately acquainted
with Him, perceiving and
recognizing and
understanding the
wonders of His Person

more strongly and more
clearly."

*This is the heartbeat of
the godly person.
*As he contemplates God
in the awesomeness of His
infinite majesty, power,
and holiness, and then as
he dwells upon the riches

of God’s mercy and grace
poured out at Calvary, his
heart is captivated by this
One Who could love him
so.

*He is satisfied with God
alone, but he is never
satisfied with his present
experience of God.

*He always yearns for
more.

*Perhaps this idea of a
desire for God sounds
strange to many
Christians today.
*We understand the
thought of serving God, of
being busy in His work.

*We may even have a
"quiet time" when we read
the Bible and pray.
*But the idea of longing
for God Himself, of
wanting to deeply enjoy
His fellowship and His

presence, may seem a bit
too mystical, almost
bordering on fanaticism.

*We prefer our
Christianity to be more
practical.

*Yet who could be more
practical than Paul?

*Who was more involved
in the struggles of daily
living than David?

Still, with all their
responsibilities, both Paul
and David yearned to
experience more
fellowship with the living
God.

The Bible indicates that
this is God’s plan for us,
from its earliest pages
right through to the end.

In the third chapter of
Genesis, God walks in the
garden, calling out for
Adam that He might have
fellowship with him.

In Revelation 21, when
John sees the vision of the
new Jerusalem coming
down from heaven, he
hears the voice of God say,
"Now the dwelling of God
is with men, and He will

live with them" (verse 3).

*For all of eternity God
plans to have fellowship
with His people.

Today, Jesus still says to
us as He did to the church
at Laodicea,
"Here I am! I stand at the
door and knock. If anyone
hears My voice and opens
the door, I will come in

and eat with him, and he
with Me"
(Revelation 3:20).

In the culture of John’s
day, to share a meal
meant to have fellowship,
so Jesus is inviting us to
open our hearts to Him
that we may fellowship
with Him.

He desires that we come
to know Him better;
therefore, the desire and
yearning for God is
something that He plants
within our hearts.

PRAYER

“Father, give me the
desire to want to be close
to You and change those
desires into action.”

*In the life of the godly
person, this desire for
God produces an aura of
warmth.

*Godliness is never
austere and cold.

Such an idea comes from
a false sense of legalistic
morality that is
erroneously called
godliness.

The person who spends
time with God reflects His
glory in a manner that is
always warm and
inviting, never cold and
forbidding.

This longing for God also
produces a desire to
glorify God and to please
Him.

*In the same breath, Paul
expresses the desire to
know Christ as well as to
be like Him.
*This is God’s ultimate
objective for us and is the
object of the Spirit’s work

in us.
In Isaiah 26:9, the prophet
proclaims his desire for
the Lord in words very
similar to the psalmist’s:
"My soul yearns for You
in the night; in the

morning my spirit longs
for You."

Note that immediately
before this expression of
desire for the Lord, Isaiah
expresses a desire for
God’s glory: “Your name
and renown are the desire
of our hearts” (verse 8).

Renown has to do with
one’s reputation, fame,
and eminence—or in
God’s case, with His
glory.

*The prophet could not
separate in his heart his
desire for God’s glory and
his desire for God
Himself.
*These two yearnings go
hand in hand.

This is devotion to God—
the fear of God, which is
an attitude of reverence
and awe, veneration and
honor toward Him,
coupled with an
apprehension deep within

our souls of the love of
God for us, demonstrated
preeminently in the
atoning death of Christ.

These two attitudes
complement and reinforce
each other, producing
within our souls an intense
desire for this One Who is
so awesome in His glory
and majesty, and yet

so superior in His
unconditional love and
mercy.

From "Value for All
Things" and "Devotion to
God"
in The Practice of
Godliness by Jerry Bridges
(NavPress, 1983).

What is Godliness?
Study By: Jerry Bridges
Article contributed
by NavPress
Visit NavPress website

Every follower of Christ is
part of a royal priesthood
– all believers are
ministers and each
Christian has been called
to ministry!

While “the world” judges
a ministry by its own
standards, none of those
criteria are Biblically valid
for assessing the ministry
of a believer.

What a follower of Christ
is on his knees in secret
before God Almighty, that
he is and no more said the
Puritan genius John
Owen.

*The true criteria by
which a believer and
his/her ministry must be
evaluated are found in the
New Testament.
*In 1 Timothy 4:6-16, Paul
summarizes those criteria.

The criteria found in 1
Timothy 4 form the
standard by which every
ministry is to be
measured.

The following comments
are from:
The MacArthur New
Testament Commentary,
Copyright © Moody Press
and John MacArthur, Jr.,
1983-2007.

Wiersbe's Expository
Outlines on the New
Testament. Copyright ©
1992 by Chariot Victor
Publishing, an imprint of
Cook Communication
Ministries.

*J. Vernon McGee's Thru
The Bible

*Barclay's Daily Study
Bible (NT)

AN EXCELLENT
MINISTER IS, ABOVE
ALL, A SERVANT
“you will be a good
servant of Christ Jesus,”
1 Timothy 4:6b NASB

*Good (Kalos) could also
be translated "excellent.“
*Servant (diakonos) is
used in the sense of its
more general usage of
anyone who serves in any
ministry on Christ's behalf.

Those who serve Christ,
those who are bond slaves
to Christ, are called to
excellence in their
usefulness to His cause.

Colossians 3:22-24
22 “Slaves, in all things
obey those who are your
masters on earth, not
with external service, as
those who merely please
men, but with sincerity of

heart, fearing the Lord.
23 Whatever you do, do
your work heartily, as for
the Lord rather than for
men,
24 knowing that from the
Lord you will receive the

reward of the inheritance.
It is the Lord Christ whom
you serve.”

Colossians 3:22-24

Having discussed the
inevitability of false
teachers in 4:1-5, Paul
now instructs Timothy in
how to be, and to evaluate
those suited to be, an
effective minister of the

Lord in the face of
demonic opposition.
*In so doing, Paul focuses
mostly on the positive
traits that should
characterize an excellent
ministry.

The way to defeat false
doctrine is not only by
denouncing and refuting
it, but also by positively
teaching and living the
truth.

The primary focus of the
ministry is to be positive,
to build up the people of
God, because
sanctification is more than
avoiding error, it is being
built up with truth.

So Paul calls Timothy to
be an excellent servant of
Jesus Christ, and to set a
standard of virtue in faith,
devotion, and conduct
that others can follow.

By so doing, people will
be delivered from heresy
and will be focused on the
positive truth that makes
them spiritually strong.

In 4:6-16, Paul directs
Timothy to consider his
responsibilities by
exhibiting eleven qualities
that are to characterize the
ministry of an excellent
servant of Jesus Christ.

AN EXCELLENT
MINISTER WARNS HIS
PEOPLE OF ERROR

“In pointing out these
things to the brethren,”
1 Timothy 4:6a NASB

*While the ministry is not
to be dominated by a
negative attitude, that
does not mean there is no
place for warning.
*It is an essential element
of the ministry.

This passage is close—
packed with practical
advice, not only for
Timothy, but for any
servant of the Church
who is charged with the
duty of work and

leadership.
(i) It tells us how to
instruct others. The word
used for laying these
things before the brothers
is most suggestive
(hupotithesthai).

It does not mean to issue
orders but rather to
advise, to suggest.
It is a gentle, humble, and
modest word.
It means that the teacher
must never dogmatically

and pugnaciously lay
down the law.
It means that he must act
rather as if he was
reminding men of what
they already knew or
suggesting to them, not

that they should learn
from him, but that they
should discover from
their own hearts what is
right.

Guidance given in
gentleness will always be
more effective than
bullying instructions laid
down with force. Men
may be led when they will
refuse to be driven.

Hupotithemi (pointing
out) is a mild verb,
meaning "to remind," or
"to suggest."

*It could literally be
translated, "to lay before."

*The verb does not have
the idea of commanding
people or forcing
obedience.

*Rather, it refers to gentle,
humble persuasion.

The present tense of the
participle indicates
Timothy was to be
continually warning his
people.

*That was a recurring
theme in Paul's ministry.

*In Acts 20:29-32, he
warned the Ephesian
elders of the errors that
were to come.

*He did not, however,
give an exhaustive
exposition of those errors.
*Instead, he focused on
the positive aspect of
building up their faith
through God's Word.

Having that strong
foundation, they would
be able to handle any kind
of error when it came.
*The first thing they
taught us in dental school
was what is healthy.

*The way a teller is taught
to recognize a counterfeit
bill is by first teaching
them what the real thing
looks like.
*Know the Truth and you
will recognize error.

*These things are those
Paul warned of in 4:1-5.
*Timothy is to warn of the
danger of all features of
un-biblical, demonic
doctrine purveyed by
false teachers.

*The people he is to warn
are the brethren, God's
people.
*Believers are not to be
"children, tossed here and
there by waves, and
carried about by every

wind of doctrine, by the
trickery of men, by
craftiness in deceitful
scheming" (Eph 4:14).
*He is to remind them
that the way to deal with
satanic false teaching is to

be strong in the Word
(1 John 2:14).

1 John 2:14
Holman Christian
Standard Bible (HCSB)
14 “I have written to you,
children, because you
have come to know the
Father.

I have written to you,
fathers, because you have
come to know the One
Who is from the
beginning.
I have written to you,
young men, because you

are strong, God’s word
remains in you, and you
have had victory over the
evil one.”

1 John 2:14 HCSB

*In 2 Timothy 4:1-5, Paul
gave the following
exhortation to Timothy:

“I solemnly charge you in
the presence of God and
of Christ Jesus, Who is to
judge the living and the
dead, and by His
appearing and His
kingdom: preach the

word; be ready in season
and out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort,
with great patience and
instruction. For the time
will come when they will
not endure sound

doctrine; but wanting to
have their ears tickled,
they will accumulate for
themselves teachers in
accordance to their own
desires; and will turn
away their ears from the

truth, and will turn aside
to myths. But you, be
sober in all things, endure
hardship, do the work of
an evangelist, fulfill your
ministry.”
2 Timothy 4:1-5

*A man of God must
develop and preach
strong convictions.

*He must continually
warn his people of error
as the need arises.

*He is the protector of his
flock.

*A man of God must
develop and preach
strong convictions.

*He must continually
warn his people of error
as the need arises.
*So many pastors have
failed to draw the line
clearly between truth and
error and build their

people up in the rich and
sound doctrine of God's
Word.
*Such weak preachers are
often said to compensate
by having what some call
a "pastor's heart."

A pastor's heart, however,
is not measured by how
good a man is at petting
sheep, but by how well he
protects them from
wolves and feeds them so
they grow to be mature

AN EXCELLENT
MINISTER IS AN
EXPERT STUDENT OF
SCRIPTURE
“constantly nourished on
the words of the faith and
of the sound doctrine

which you have been
following.” (1 Timothy
4:6c)
*This quality is basic to
excellence in ministry, but
is sadly lacking in the
church today.

"The Word of God and
prayer" (v. 5) settle the
matter. God, in His Word,
has declared that all foods
are clean (Gen 1:29-31; 9:3;
Mark 7:14-23; 1 Cor 10:23-

26; Acts 10:1); and
through prayer, the
Christian thanks God and
dedicates the food to His
glory (1 Cor 10:31).

The pastor must teach
these things to his people,
nourishing them and
himself on "healthy"
(sound) doctrine; see
notes on 1:10.

A good minister will feed
on the Word that he might
be able to feed others.

1 Timothy 4:6 KJV

"Nourished up in the
words of faith and of
good doctrine” -- this is
how the believer is to
grow in the Word of God.

We are not to go off on
tangents about diet or
some other aesthetic
program as if it would
commend us to God.

Instead our diet is to be
"nourished up in the
words of faith and of
good doctrine.“ 4:6

Much contemporary
preaching is weak and
produces weak churches
because it reflects a lack of
Biblical knowledge, and a
minimal commitment to
the study of Scripture.

It tells us how to face the
task of teaching.
Timothy is told that he
must feed his life on the
words of faith.
No man can give out
without taking in.

He who would teach must
be continually learning.
It is the reverse of the
truth that when a man
becomes a teacher he
ceases to be a learner;

he must daily know Jesus
Christ better before he can
bring him to others.

*For many pastors, study
is an unwelcome intrusion
into their schedule.
*It interrupts the routine
of administrative tasks
and meetings with which
they occupy themselves.

They study only enough
to make a sermon, not to
feed their own hearts and
think deeply and carefully
on divine truth.

The result is impotent
sermons that fall on hard
hearts and have little
impact.

*It is to that expert study
of Scripture that Paul
called Timothy.
*The translation
constantly nourished
reflects the present tense
of the participle.

*The continual experience
of being nourished on the
truths of God's word is
essential.
*An excellent minister
must read the Word,
study it, meditate on it,

and master its contents.
*Only then can he be
"approved to God as a
workman who does not
need to be ashamed,
handling accurately the
word of truth" 2 Tim 2:15.

BIBLE MATHEMATICS
We are not to add to the
Bible,

nor to subtract from it

but to rightly divide it!

*The phrase the words of
the faith reflects the body
of Christian truth
contained in Scripture.
*If the Word is "inspired
by God and profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for

correction, for training in
righteousness; that the
man of God may be
adequate, equipped for
every good work" (2 Tim
3:16-17), a minister must
know it.

The issue is not how good
a communicator a man is,
or how well he knows the
culture and the current
issues, or even how well
he knows the particular
vicissitudes of his flock.

The issue is how well he
knows the Word of God,
since God's revelation
perfectly assesses all
issues in every time and
every life and addresses
them with the divine will.

It is through knowledge
of the Word that the
pastor fulfills his calling
to lead his people through
spiritual growth to
Christlikeness
(1 Peter 2:2).

1 Peter 2:2 HCSB

2 “Like newborn infants,
desire the pure spiritual
milk, so that you may
grow by it for your
salvation,”

Sound doctrine is that
teaching which is firmly
rooted in and yielded
from the proper
interpretation of
Scripture, not human
systems of theological or

philosophical
speculations.

*Exegetical theology must
be the foundation of
Biblical and systematic
theology.

An excellent minister
must be knowledgeable of
Biblical truth, both its
depth and breadth.

must be an excellent
student of Scripture.

*He cannot give out what
he does not take in.

AN EXCELLENT
MINISTER AVOIDS THE
INFLUENCE OF UNHOLY
TEACHING
“But have nothing to do
with worldly fables fit only
for old women.”
1 Timothy 4:7a

This verse tells us what to
avoid.

Timothy is to avoid
profitless tales like those
which old women tell to
children.

It is easy to get lost in
side-issues and to get
entangled in things which
are at best embroideries.
It is on the great central
truths that a man must
ever feed his mind and

*The flip side of being
strong in the Word is
avoiding false teaching.
who is committed to the
study of Scripture is
correspondingly

uninterested in and
unwilling to have his
strength dissipated by
ungodly teaching.

*Paraiteomai (have
nothing to do with) is a
strong word, meaning
"reject," or "put away"
(2 Tim 2:23; Titus 3:10).

Worldly translates bebelos,
a word that describes what
is radically separate from
what is holy. It could be
translated "unhallowed,"
and refers to anything that

contradicts the Word of
God.

*Fables translates muthos,
from which our English
word "myth" derives.

*Such fables are the
opposite of Biblical truth
(cf. 2 Tim 4:4).

*Paul sarcastically
describes them as fit only
for old women.

Women were not usually
allowed the educational
opportunity men had, so
this phrase comes from
such a situation.

That epithet was
commonly used in
philosophical circles as a
term of disdain for a
viewpoint lacking
credibility and thus
appealing only to

uneducated,
unsophisticated, and
perhaps senile matrons.

*No intelligent man
would hear it at all.

*The Ephesians would
have understood Paul's
use of the phrase.
*The mind is a precious
thing, and God expects
those in leadership to
have a pure mind, one

saturated with His Word.

*There is no place for
foolish, silly myths that
are in reality the doctrines
of demons.

The excellent minister
maintains his conviction
and his clarity of mind by
exposing himself to the
Word of God not to
demonic lies that assault
the Bible.

Under the guise of
advanced theological
education and academic
erudition, many a man's
love of the truth has been
destroyed, and a once
clear mind has been

AN EXCELLENT
MINISTER DISCIPLINES
HIMSELF FOR
GODLINESS
“On the other hand,
discipline yourself for the
purpose of godliness;

for bodily discipline is
only of little profit, but
godliness is profitable for
all things, since it holds
promise for the present
life and also for the life to
come.

It is a trustworthy
statement deserving full
acceptance.”

1 Timothy 4:7b-9

A Godly Minister:
Practicing the Word (4:7-
12)
Just as "healthy" doctrine
will promote spiritual
health, so the foolish and
silly myths of false

teachers will produce
spiritual sickness.

*Spiritual food and
spiritual exercise are a
happy combination!

It is suggested that
Timothy was leaning
toward asceticism, the
disciplining of the body;
and that Paul is here
teaching him to
emphasize spiritual

disciplines and exercises
more than physical.

If some Christians would
put as much energy and
enthusiasm into spiritual
things as they do athletics
and body-building, how
much stronger they and
their churches would be!

"Bodily exercise profits for
a little time," Paul admits,
"but spiritual exercise -
practicing the Word of
God - is profitable for this
life and the life to come"
(v. 8). See Heb 4:14.

The Christian, and
especially the pastor,
must practice the Word of
God and be known for
godliness (god-likeness).

This may mean carrying
burdens and bearing
suffering (v. 10), but it is
worth it.

Even young people can be
examples of the faith, as
Paul admonishes in v. 12:
in word, in behavior
(conversation), in love, in
spirit (enthusiasm), faith
(faithfulness), and purity.

This passage tells us what
to seek.

Timothy is told that as an
athlete trains his body, so
the Christian must train
his soul.

It is not that bodily fitness
is despised.

The Christian faith
believes that the body is
the temple of the Holy
Spirit.

But there are certain
things in Paul's mind.

First, in the ancient world,
especially in Greece, the
gymnasia were dangerous
places.

Every town had its
gymnasium; for the Greek
youth between the ages of
sixteen and eighteen,
gymnastics were the main
part of education.

But the ancient world was
riddled with
homosexuality and the
gymnasia were notorious
as hotbeds of that
particular sin.

Second, Paul is pleading
for a sense of proportion.
Physical training is good,
and even essential; but its
use is limited.
It develops only part of a
man; and it produces only

results which last for so
short a time, for the body
passes away.
Training in godliness
develops the whole man
in body, mind and spirit,
and its results affect not

only time, but eternity as
well.
The Christian is not the
athlete of the gymnasium,
he is the athlete of God.
The greatest of the Greeks
well recognized this.

Isocrates wrote: "No
ascetic ought to train his
body as a king ought to
train his soul."
"Train yourself by
submitting willingly to
toils, so that when they

come on you unwillingly
you will be able to endure
them."

This shows us the basis of
the whole matter.

No one has ever claimed
that the Christian life is an
easy way; but its goal is
God.

It is because life is lived in
the presence of God and
ends in His still nearer
presence, that the
Christian is willing to
endure as he does.

The greatness of the goal
makes the toil worth
while.

—Barclay's Daily Study
Bible (NT)

*"For bodily exercise
profiteth little." There are
those who believe that
Paul is downgrading
physical exercise.
*I don't understand it that
way at all.

*Paul spent about three
years in Ephesus where
there was a great coliseum
in which the Olympic
Games were held at times.
*The coliseum seated
100,000 people, and foot

races were often held
there.
*Paul uses the figure of
the race and compares it
to the Christian life and
walk in
1 Corinthians 9:24-27.

*Paul knew something
about exercise.
*I stood in the city of
Sardis one time and
observed the Roman road
that was being excavated
to the east and the west of

that city.
*Paul walked that road
nineteen hundred years
ago, preaching the Gospel
of Christ.
*He didn't travel in a bus
or in an automobile.

*He didn't ride a horse or
even a donkey.
*Paul walked there, and it
took a rugged individual
to cover the ground that
he covered throughout
the Roman Empire.

*He may not have done
much jogging, but he did
a great deal of walking.
*Paul's emphasis on
godliness rather than on
physical exercise is
because the Ephesians

were a people given over
to games and athletics.
*We are also that kind of a
nation.
*Many of our cities have
coliseums where great
spectacles are conducted,

and many believers put
more emphasis on
athletics than they do on
the things of God.
*There are church officers
who spend more time
during the summer in the

ball park than they spend
in prayer meetings.
*Paul is not saying bodily
exercise is wrong.
*He is saying, "Let's hold
things in correct
perspective."

*"But godliness is
profitable unto all things,
having promise of the life
that now is, and of that
which is to come."
*Bodily exercise will help
you only in this life,

because when you get a
new body it won't make
any difference whether
you've exercised this one
or not.

*"But godliness is
profitable unto all things."
*Those who argue that a
Christian can fall into sin
and can always come back
to God on easy terms are
right.

*But, my friend, a godly
life pays off not only
down here, it will pay off
in eternity.
*The Prodigal Son lost a
great deal by going to the
far country, and any

Christian who lives a
careless life rather than a
godly life will find that
even in eternity he will
pay for it.

*Are you as anxious about
godliness as you are about
physical exercise, about
athletic events?
*The physical ends at the
end of this life, but
godliness is carried over

There is no effective
spiritual ministry apart
from personal godliness,
since ministry is the
overflow of a godly life.

J. Oswald Sanders wrote,

"Spiritual ends can be
achieved only by spiritual
men who employ spiritual
methods"
(Spiritual Leadership, 40).

Spurgeon described in the
following words the
minister who, lacking
godliness in his own life,
would seek to lead others
to it:
“A graceless pastor is a

blind man elected to a
professorship of optics,
philosophising upon light
and vision, discoursing
upon and distinguishing
to others the nice shades
and delicate blendings of

the prismatic colours,
while he himself is
absolutely in the dark!
He is a dumb man
elevated to the chair of
music; a deaf man fluent
upon symphonies and

harmonies! He is a mole
professing to educate
eagles; a limpet elected to
preside over angels.”
(Lectures to My Students,
first series, Grand Rapids:
Baker, 1980, 4)

Discipline is from
gumnazo, from which our
English words
"gymnasium" and
"gymnastics" derive.

It means "to train," or
"to exercise."
The word speaks of the
rigorous, strenuous,
self-sacrificing training an
athlete undergoes.

*Every Greek city had its
gymnasium, and Ephesus
was no exception.
*Youths customarily spent
much of their time from
ages sixteen to eighteen in
physical training.

*That was vital, since life
in those days involved
much physical activity.
*There was a great
emphasis on physical
training and the glory of
winning athletic events.

*By using gumnazo, Paul
plays off that cultural
phenomenon and applies
it to the spiritual realm.
*As Greek culture
emphasized dedicated
training of the body, Paul

urged Timothy to
discipline himself for the
purpose of godliness.
*The present tense of the
verb indicates that was to
be Timothy's constant
pursuit.

*Timothy was to train his
inner man for godliness.

*Eusebeia (godliness)
expresses the reality of
reverence, piety, and true
spiritual virtue.

Godliness is a right
attitude and response
toward the true Creator
God; a preoccupation
from the heart with holy
and sacred realities.

*It is respect for what is
due to God, and is thus
the highest of all virtues.

*In 1 Tim 6:3 it is said to
be at the heart of truth.

False Doctrine and Human Greed 1 Timothy 6:2b-12
Teach and encourage these things. 3 If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not agree with
the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes
godliness, 4 he is conceited, understanding nothing, but has a sick interest in disputes and
arguments over words. From these come envy, quarreling, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and
constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth,
who imagine that godliness[b] is a way to material gain.[c] 6 But godliness with contentment
is a great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into the world,
and[d] we can take nothing out.
8 But if we have food and clothing,[e]
we will be content with these.
9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful
desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a
root[f] of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and
pierced themselves with many pains.
Fight the Good Fight
11 But you, man of God, run from these things,
and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith,
love, endurance, and gentleness.
12 Fight the good fight for the faith;
take hold of eternal life
that you were called to
and have made a good confession about
in the presence of many witnesses.

2 Peter 1:3 says that
godliness comes from
Christ, while 1 Tim 6:11
balances that by teaching
that believers must pursue
it.

*According to Acts 3:12 it
brings power, while 2 Tim
3:12 indicates it brings
trouble.

*1 Tim 6:5-6 says that it
brings eternal blessings.

Godliness is the heart and
soul of Christian
character, and the aim of
Christian living
(1 Tim 2:2; 2 Peter 3:11).

*Spiritual self-discipline is
the key to godly living.
*In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Paul wrote, “Do you not
know that those who run
in a race all run, but only
one receives the prize?

Run in such a way that
you may win. And
everyone who competes
in the games exercises
self-control in all things.
They then do it to receive
a perishable wreath, but

we an imperishable.
Therefore I run in such a
way, as not without aim; I
box in such a way, as not
beating the air; but I
buffet my body and make
it my slave, lest possibly,

after I have preached to
others, I myself should be
disqualified.”


In 2 Corinthians 7:1 he
exhorted us to "cleanse
ourselves from all
defilement of flesh and
spirit, perfecting holiness
in the fear of God."

In 2 Timothy 2:3-5 Paul
commanded Timothy to
“Suffer hardship with me,
as a good soldier of Christ
Jesus. No soldier in active
service entangles himself
in the affairs of everyday

life, so that he may please
the One Who enlisted him
as a soldier. And also if
anyone competes as an
athlete, he does not win
the prize unless he
competes according to the

rules.”

2 Timothy 2:3-5

*Here Paul likens spiritual
discipline to that required
of a soldier and an athlete.
*Such discipline is
necessary for victory in
war, or in the games.

The lack of spiritual
discipline is the primary
reason so many spiritual
leaders fall into sin.

They fail to spend time
cultivating the means of
grace, in the Word, in
prayer, and in self-
sacrificial service.

*An excellent minister is
to pursue godliness, not
success (cf. 1 Tim 1:5; 2:8;
3:2,10; 6:11; 2 Tim 2:1,21-
22).

He will one day hear from
the Lord, "Well done,
good and faithful slave"
(Matt 25:21).

*In Paul's day, as in our
own, there was a great
emphasis on bodily
discipline.
*While helpful, such
discipline is only of little
profit.

*Paul is showing that it is
limited both in extent and
duration.

*Bodily discipline affects
only the physical body
during this earthly life.

On the other hand,
all things, since it holds
promise for the present
life and also for the life to
come.

Unlike bodily discipline,
the soul as well as the
body.

Its positive effects are also
not limited to this life,
because it holds promise
for the present life and
also for the life to come.

Cultivating godliness will
bring benefits in the
present life (cf. Prov 3:7-
8), but it will primarily
bring blessedness for all
eternity.

So axiomatic is the truth
of verse 8 that Paul calls it
a trustworthy statement
deserving full acceptance.

“This is a faithful saying
and worthy of all
acceptation” (1Tim. 4:9).
*Paul is emphasizing the
point he has just made.
*In other words, he says,
"Here's something you

can count on."
*You could count on it in
the first century in
Ephesus, and you can
count on it in Jackson,
Mississippi in the twenty
first century.

And we can count on it in
the twenty-first century, if
we make it that far.

As noted in chapter 3 of
this volume, a
trustworthy statement is a
self-evident, obvious
statement.

It is something so patently
clear that everyone
acknowledges it. This
affirmation refers back to
verse 8, not ahead to the
comment in verse 10.

It is axiomatic that
believers are to be
disciplining themselves
for godliness because of
its eternal value.

Godliness, not fame,
popularity, or reputation,
is the pursuit of the
excellent minister, who
must be an example of
spiritual virtue to his
flock.

He must apply all the
means of grace as he
endeavors to be able to
say, as did Paul, "Be
imitators of me, just as I
also am of Christ " (1 Cor
11:1).

AN EXCELLENT
MINISTER IS
COMMITTED TO HARD
WORK

1 Timothy 4:10

“For it is for this we labor
and strive, because we
have fixed our hope on
the living God, Who is the
Savior of all men,
especially of believers.”
1 Timothy 4:10

"For therefore we both
labour and suffer
reproach."
*If you stand for Jesus
Christ today it will cost
you something. There is
no question about that.

*What Scripture does say
is that He is the Savior of
all men.

*Whoever you are, He's
your Savior and He's the
only Savior.

"Specially of those that
believe."
*He is the Savior of all
men, but you can turn
Him down if you want to.
*Let me illustrate this for
you.

They say that a plane
leaves the Los Angeles
International Airport
every minute, and I could
get on any one of them (if
I had the courage!).

*All I need to do is get a
ticket and get on the
plane.

*It's a plane for
everybody, you see, but
not everybody will take it.

Christ is the Savior of all
men, but only those who
believe will be saved
(see John 3:16; 1John 2:2).

The ministry of excellence
is not only a heavenly
pursuit demanding divine
power, but also an earthly
task, demanding hard
work.

*As already noted, for this
connects verse 10 with
verse 8.

*The goal of laboring and
striving is godliness, with
its eternal implications.

Kopiao (labor) means "to
work to the point of
weariness and
exhaustion."
Agonizomai (strive) is the
source of our English
word "agony."

It means "to engage in a
struggle."
*In 2 Cor 5:9-11, Paul
gives two reasons such
hard work is necessary:
believers will appear
before the judgment seat

of Christ (v. 10), and
unbelievers will face
God's eternal judgment
(v. 11; Col 1:28-29).

The knowledge of this
demand for diligent labor
spurs the excellent
minister on to serious
efforts.

*No wonder Henry
Martyn, the missionary to
India, exclaimed, "Now let
me burn out for God."
*Because of his diligent,
hard work as a missionary
to the American Indians,

David Brainerd was dead
before he reached thirty.

*Ministers of God are
engaged in an eternal
work, with the destiny of
men's souls at stake.

*The urgency of that work
drives them on, through
weariness, loneliness, and
struggle.

*J. Oswald Sanders wrote,
"If he is unwilling to pay
the price of fatigue for his
leadership, it will always
be mediocre. . . . True
leadership always exacts a
heavy toll on the whole

man, and the more
effective the leadership is,
the higher the price to be
paid" (Spiritual
Leadership, 175, 169).

Paul affirmed to the
Galatians that through the
cross of Christ "the world
has been crucified to me,
and I to the world"
(Galatians 6:14).

To the Corinthians he
wrote,
“For if I preach the gospel,
I have nothing to boast of,
for I am under
compulsion; for woe is me
if I do not preach the

Gospel. For if I do this
voluntarily, I have a
reward; but if against my
will, I have a stewardship
entrusted to me. . . .
Therefore I run in such a
way, as not without aim;

I box in such a way, as not
beating the air; but I
buffet my body and make
it my slave, lest possibly,
after I have preached to
others, I myself should be
disqualified.”1Cor 9:16-27

To Timothy he wrote,
10 For it is for this we labor
and strive, because we have
fixed our hope on the living
God, who is the Savior of all
men, especially of believers.
1 Timothy 4:10

These passages speak of
Paul's commitment to
hard work and privation,
a commitment evidenced
by his suffering recorded
in 2 Cor 11.

lives with hope and is not
motivated by instant
gratification or immediate
fulfillment.
*He has fixed his hope on
the living God.

*The perfect tense of the
verb indicates something
done in the past with
continuing results in the
present.
*He constantly labors in
the light of eternity.

*As he was saved in hope
(Rom 8:24), so he lives
and ministers in that
hope.
*His concerns do not
relate to the temporal
world or earthly

fulfillment, but to the
realm of eternity and the
invisible kingdom.

The phrase the living God
is used frequently in the
Old Testament in contrast
with dead idols (1 Sam
17:26; 2 Kings 19:4,16; Ps
42:2;84:2)

Excellent ministers do not
serve dead idols for
earthly rewards, but the
eternally living and true
God for results and
rewards that will only be
known in Heaven.

In what sense God is the
Savior of all men,
especially of believers has
been much disputed.

Some, wanting to
eliminate the Scriptural
teaching of an eternal hell,
argue that Paul here
teaches universalism, that
all men will be saved.

*That view violates the
basic hermeneutical
principle known as
analogia Scriptura.
*According to that
principle, the Bible never
contradicts itself.

It will never teach
something in one passage
that violates what it
teaches elsewhere.

The Bible clearly teaches
that those who reject God
will be sentenced to hell
(Rev 20:11-15).

Matt 25:41 and 46 state
that the duration of that
punishment will be
eternal.

2 Thess 1:8-9 says that
those who do not know
God and refuse to obey
the Gospel will suffer
eternal punishment away
from God's presence.

Jesus repeatedly spoke of
the danger of hell (Matt
8:12; 13:41-42,49-50; 22:13;
24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28).

He solemnly warned
those who rejected Him
that they would die in
their sins (John 8:24).

Universalism is
undeniably contrary to
Scripture, since the same
words in the original that
describe hell as eternal
also describe God and
heaven as eternal.

*A second view might be
dubbed the
potential/actual view.
*According to this view,
Christ is potentially the
savior of all men, but
actually only of those who

believe.
*It is true that Christ's
death was powerful
enough to have redeemed
the whole human race
and to satisfy the justice of
God and remove the

barrier between God and
all men.

*Therefore, all can be
called to salvation and
justly damned if they
refuse that call.

By means of Christ's
death, God made
provision for the sins of
the world.

That such is not the
teaching of this verse,
however, is revealed by
the use of the adverb
malista (especially), which
must mean that all men
will enjoy to some

extent the same kind of
salvation as believers
enjoy.

The adverb is not
adversative or contrastive,
it cannot be saying that all
men are saved in one
sense, but believers in
another.

The difference is one of
degree, not kind.

It seems best to
understand this verse to
be teaching that God is
really the Savior of all
men, who actually does
save them — but only in
the temporal sense, while

believers He saves in the
eternal sense.

*In both cases, He is their
Savior and there is a
saving that He does on
their behalf.

*In this life, all men
experience to some degree
the protecting, delivering,
sustaining power of God.
*Believers will experience
that to the fullest degree
for time and for all

eternity.

*The word Savior is not
always in Scripture
limited to salvation from
sin.

In the Septuagint, the
Greek translation of the
Old Testament, soter
(Savior) is sometimes
used in the lesser sense of
"deliverer" (cf. Judg 3:9;
6:14; 2 Sam 3:18; 2 Kings

Words in the same word
group occasionally have
that sense in the New
Testament as well ( Luke
1:71; Acts 7:25; 27:34; Phil
1:19; Heb 11:7).

A related word,
sozo ("to save") is used in
the Gospels to refer to
physical healing (Matt
9:21-22; Mark 5:23; Luke
8:36,50; John 11:12; cf.
Acts 4:9).

God is the Savior of all
men in that He withholds
the death and judgment
all sinners should receive
because of sin
(Ezek 18:4,32; Rom 6:23).

The reality that God
delivers men from instant
damnation and does
"good and [gives them]
rains from heaven and
fruitful seasons, satisfying
[their] hearts with food

and gladness" (Acts 14:17)
shows He is the Savior of
all.

*He graciously gives "to
all life and breath and all
things" (Acts 17:25), and
"causes His sun to rise on
the evil and the good, and
sends rain on the
righteous and the

unrighteous" (Matt 5:45).
*He gives common grace
to all men.
*Unbelievers experience
God's goodness and
mercy in that they are not
instantly killed for their

sin.
*Nor does He give them
constant pain and
permanent deprivation.
*They experience His
temporal blessings in this
life.

That principle is
illustrated in Isa 63:8-10:

“For He said, "Surely,
they are My people, sons
who will not deal falsely."

So He became their
Savior.
In all their affliction He
was afflicted, and the
angel of His presence
saved them; in His love
and in His mercy He

redeemed them; And He
lifted them and carried
them all the days of old.
*But they rebelled and
grieved His Holy Spirit;
therefore, He turned
Himself to become their

enemy, He fought against
them.” Isaiah 63:8-10
*Verse 8 says God became
Israel's Savior.
*He brought the nation
out of Egypt, and cared
for them.

*He provided food, water,
and deliverance from
their enemies.
*That He was not the
Savior in a spiritual sense
of every Israelite is clear
from verse 10, which says

He became their enemy
and fought against them.
*That passage is
analogous to Paul's
thought in 1 Timothy 4:10.
*God is the Savior of all
men in the temporal

sense, and especially of
believers in the spiritual
sense that they are
delivered from sin's
penalty forever!

So the excellent minister
has no trouble working
hard proclaiming the
saving glory and work of
God in Christ, knowing
he serves the living God,
Who is by nature the

Savior both in time and
for eternity.

That eternal aspect of
God's saving was what
motivated Paul to endure
what he suffered in the
course of his Gospel
ministry.

*The excellent minister's
labor must not be done in
the power of the flesh, but
of the Spirit.
*Paul strikes that balance
in Colossians 1:28-29:
"And we proclaim Him,

admonishing every man
and teaching every man
with all wisdom, that we
may present every man
complete in Christ. And
for this purpose also I
labor, striving according

to His power, which
mightily works within
me." Colossians 1:28-29
*Hard work in the
ministry must be
energized by God's power
at work in the minister.

Vine describes it as:

"piety characterized by a
God-ward attitude that
does that which is
well-pleasing to Him“.

Godliness is also
described as:
“character and conduct
determined by the
principles of the
love of God and the
fear of God in the heart”.

Godliness could be
summarized as:
pious conduct done with
a desire to please God.

Godliness is the reverent
awareness of God's
sovereignty over every
aspect of life, and the
determination to honor
Him in all one's conduct.

"Godliness" and "holiness"
denote one reality
(the terms are joined in
1 Tim 2:2 ; and in
2 Peter 3:11 ).

Godliness depends on knowing God's
revealed truth. Paul speaks of "the
knowledge of the truth that leads to
godliness" ( Titus 1:1 ), and of "godly
sorrow that leads to salvation" ( 2 Cor
7:10 ). Peter declares that God's "divine
power has given us everything we need
for life and godliness through our
knowledge of Him" ( 2 Peter 1:3 ). God
imparts knowledge of Himself by
revealing His Son.

The godly person is committed to obeying God in the world:
"We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the
godly man who does his will" ( John 9:31 ). The shape of
obedience is clarified by the terms to which "godliness" is
joined. "But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, endurance and gentleness" ( 1 Tim 6:11 ). "Make
every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness,
knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control,
perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness,
brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love" (
2 Peter 1:5-7 )qualities which, in turn, deepen one's "knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ" ( 1:8 ). Christ, moreover, furnishes
power for the godly life: "Why do you stare at us as if by our
own power or godliness we had made this man walk?" asks
Peter ( Acts 3:12 ). Without divine power, godliness becomes an
empty form ( 2 Tim 3:5 ).

Godliness in both respects (knowledge of God and
holiness of life) is jeopardized by the propagation of
falsehood: "If anyone teaches false doctrines and does
not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus
Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and
understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in
controversies and quarrels about words that result in
envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions, and constant
friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been
robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a
means to financial gain" ( 1 Tim 6:3-5 ). Accordingly, "the
wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all
the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress
the truth by their wickedness" ( Rom 1:18 ).

Godliness is costly: "everyone who wants to live a godly
life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" ( 2 Tim 3:12 ).
Hope of eternal life enables them to endure. "The Lord
knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold
the unrighteous for the day of judgment" ( 2 Peter 2:9 ;
3:11-12 ). "Train yourself to be godly. For physical
training is of some value, but godliness has value for all
things, holding promise for both the present life and the
life to come" ( 1 Tim 4:7-8 ). Grace teaches us "to say No'
to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-
controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
while we wait for the blessed hopethe glorious
appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (
Titus 2:12-13 ). Seeing this life in light of the next
encourages "godliness with contentment" ( 1 Tim 6:6-7 ).

J. Knox Chamblin

Bibliography. W. Barclay, New Testament Words, pp.
106-16; J. Bridges, The Practice of Godliness; W. Foerster,
TDNT, 7:168-96; W. Mundle and W. Gnther, NIDNTT,
2:90-95.

Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology.
Edited by Walter A. Elwell
Copyright © 1996 by Walter A. Elwell. Published by
Baker Books, a division of
Baker Book House Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan
USA.

god·ly [god-lee] Show IPA
adjective, god·li·er, god·li·est.
1. conforming to the laws and wishes of God; devout; pious.
2. coming from God; divine.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English; Old English godlīc. See God, -ly

Related forms
god·li·ness, noun

Synonyms
1. religious, saintly, holy, righteous, good.

Antonyms
1. wicked, impious.

power; Avoid such men
as these.”


That should elicit from
our hearts a reverence for
him.

*What are the marks of
these false teachers?
*For one thing, they
preach one thing but
practice another.
*They are such hypocrites
that they even "brand"

their own consciences by
their willful disobedience
to God's Word!

*They read the Word but
explain it away through
their self-serving lies.

They teach a false piety -
namely, asceticism, that is,
abstaining from marriage
and certain foods.

There are some so-called
"Christian" groups that
have never studied Col 2
to discover that bodily
disciplines do not
automatically advance
spiritual life.

*Godliness is more than
Christian character:
It is Christian character
that springs from a
devotion to God.
*But it is also true that
devotion to God always

results in godly character.

*The essential elements of
devotion must express
themselves in a life that is
pleasing to God.

*Godliness is more than
Christian character:
It is Christian character
that springs from a
devotion to God.
*But it is also true that
devotion to God is always

02 February 10, 2013, 1 Timothy 4;6-12, The Practice Of Godliness

02 February 10, 2013, 1 Timothy 4;6-12, The Practice Of Godliness

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02 February 10, 2013, 1 Timothy 4;6-12, The Practice Of Godliness