1 Timothy Ch. 6
The Church and its ministry to the World
“Gonna have to serve somebody”
6:1-18 The Church and its ministry to the world
6:1-2 Serving while at work
6:3-10 Serving in society
6:11-16 Serving sober-mindedly
6:17-19 Serving as a blessing
6:20-21 Closing
“Guard what was committed to your trust”
Vs. 1-2 Freedom from self
Vs. 3 Two truths about truth
Vs. 4-5 Part of the problem
Introduction
When Paul pined this letter to Timothy ½ the population or around 60 million were slaves in the Roman Empire. Because this was the condition of the world at the time of Christ and the birth of His Church, slavery became an immediate challenge of the early first century church. It is apparent by reading the New Testament letters that both slaves and masters were coming to Christ. Workers today give up control of their time, talent and choices for a price and become the “willing slave” for the agreed time.
Oh the worker today is far better than the Roman slave who worked 24 hours a day only for room and board their entire life without the hope of ever being freed. Today’s worker comes to Friday and says, “TGIF” as they have the weekends off, they get a certain amount of vacation time and the hope of one day being freed in what some call retirement. But friend, as Bob Dylan once wrote: “You may be an ambassador to England or France, You may like to gamble, you might like to dance, You may be the heavyweight champion of the world, You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls. But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” Old Bob was right and this section is going to provide some answers about relationships where we either work for someone else, or someone works for us.
Vs. 1-2 Freedom from self
Vs. 1-2 These two verses present a troubling fact in the New Testament as it is clear that Paul did not out and out denounce slavery. Though the Bible doesn’t denounce slavery, neither does it approve of it. The influence of the New Testament upon those 60 million slaves of the 1st century caused the end of slavery by the end of the 2nd century. Historians admit that the Bible had a major influence in eliminating slavery in every society it has been read. Of further interest is that the method of liberation was mainly personal transformation instead of armed revolt. The pressure wasn’t placed upon the slavery from the outside; it was eliminated from the inside as both slaves and masters looked at each other through their conversion in a new way. It was not uncommon for a master and a slave to go to church together, where the slave would be an elder in the church, and the master expected to submit to the slave’s spiritual leadership!
God is not only interested in liberating us from temporary situations and circumstances He wants to set us free from the most oppressive tyrannical dictator we have ever had the displeasure of meeting. This fellow is so crafty that he has most folks devoted to himself, pampering him, thinking that everything revolves around him, he gets us to fight everything and everyone so that we will only serve his interests. You know this person well though he has many different names but three names are enough for us to unveil him or her, “ME, MYSELF and I”.
God in His wisdom uses other oppressors on the job to free us from ourselves. We have to deal with that person and they are just a bear to deal with, every day they frustrate us and we can’t see how they ever got put in the place over us but the Bible says that we are to regard them “worthy of all respect”. “Why has the Lord allowed this situation?” I submit to you that God is using the boss to free you from self. Your freedom will come when you regard them “worthy of all respect” when you become more concerned that your behavior towards this tyrant may cause “the name of God and His doctrine to be blasphemed.” It is when we become more interested in being instruments of God’s grace and reflecting His glory day in and day out no matter who our oppressors are that we become truly free.
Paul addresses those slaves who had believing masters and may feel since God has made us one they should get special favors or a better position. The Bible recognizes equality of believers before the Lord slaves and Masters and the quicker we treat each other with the love of Christ the faster such horrible things as slavery can be abolished.
Vs. 3 Two truths about truth
Vs. 3 Paul says that if folks can’t treat each other as Christ would then irrespective of their position they are serving themselves. There will always be people who will oppose this and in fact stand up against you when you teach but Paul reminds Timothy of principles with regards to truth:
- Vs. 3a Truth is caught not fought: “If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to the wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ..” Loving those who oppose you is not a “good suggestion” it is a “divine commandment”. Today there are folks just shouting at each other and the way they are both behaving it’s hard to determine which one is right because they are both behaving wrong. It makes it even more difficult to present a reasonable rebuttal to the philosophy or practice that I disagree with because others have just tried to out shout them.
Being in the right creates a greater responsibility to present truth in a way that reasonable people can clearly hear without getting lost in the way in which it was presented. We are to communicate with “wholesome words” and if we aren’t sure what those words would sound like we need only look at the words of Jesus.
- Truth is demonstrated not demanded: “to the doctrine which accords godliness.” The word “godliness” is the same word Paul has written elsewhere in this letter and means “wholeness”. Jesus’ truth when applied and obeyed makes me whole. If you want to know if what a person believes is right, don’t listen to what they say alone, look at what this truth has produced in their life! Jesus in Luke 11:23 said, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” Saints ,by our actions we are doing one of three things with controversy:
- Escalating: This happens when rhetoric becomes more important than behavior. The end result of this is that you will gather a following of like-minded folks polarizing and uniting those who disagree with your position. Much of escalation revolves around gathering a group who will go to battle trying to determine. Like 2nd graders picking a team for dodgeball seeing who can avoid the ball and who has a strong arm so then can beat the opposition.
Perpetuating: These battles become a one ups-man-ship by publicly calling their opponent a name, attacking the person not just what they disagree with. This of course leads the other side to retaliate with a little heavier attack and soon they are going at each other. The conflict grows and grows to where soon no one knows what the real issue is, only what horrible action was just perpetuated on them and how they need to get even.
- Motivating: The final way we can choose to handle controversy is by behaving contrary to the way the world does. We can put on Christ and motivate those from both sides by loving even those that we don’t see eye to eye with. When we choose to motivate instead of escalate and perpetuate we have already won because we have beaten our biggest opponent, ourselves.
We don’t have to agree with their point of view but we must not engage in name calling and slander. It is a rare thing to see civil disagreement these days, where people who have completely different values and views discuss their opinions without slamming each other. I’ve long felt that if you have to attack a person because of their opinions it is most likely because you don’t have the ability to present your own!
Vs. 4-5 Part of the problem
Vs. 4-5 Paul tells Timothy that there are three reasons why folks choose to escalate, perpetuate instead of motivate.
- Vs. 4a Conceit: “He is proud, knowing nothing”. When you listen to some folks it’s clear that they are impressed with themselves. They show this by becoming angry with folks who don’t agree with them. What conceit reveals to folks is that they are really quite insecure. Whenever you have contention it’s safe to say that at least one of the parties involved is full of themselves. I think it’s always a sign of maturity when people are willing to admit that they don’t know something. Paul said that he didn’t know anything as he ought to and that he purposed to know nothing except Jesus Christ and His crucifixion.
- Vs. 4b Controversy: “But is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words.” There are some who just thrive on controversy, they live for the drama. They don’t know what they believe but they are willing to die for it. Sometimes these folks find a place within the body of Christ and love to gossip about this and that. They don’t feel good unless they have stirred up things and made folks miserable. They love the strife, reviling and evil suspicions; it makes them feel better about themselves.
- Vs. 5 Contentment: Others Paul says use this as a means for personal gain as they view life only by what they can get out of it. They get involved in church life as a way of furthering their business or obtaining help to maintain their lifestyle.
To these wrong motives Paul says withdraw from them, don’t associate with folks that are like this. The best way to handle folks like this is out love, out live and outlast them. I have found that if I disagree with a person’s position that I can bear much more weight on my point of view if I treat them as I would treat Christ. Oh I may not be able to win them to my point of view but by my behavior towards them others may be convinced of the truth. Christians ought to be like “good eggs” and when things get all mixed up they don’t get “scrambled” and when things begin to heat up they don’t get “fried”, they are able to keep their hearts from becoming “hard boiled”!
1 Timothy Ch. 6 (cont.)
“Who’s in your wallet?”
Vs. 6 Money can’t buy contentment
Vs. 7 Money can’t be taken with you
Vs. 8 Money has limited value
Vs. 9-10 Money can ruin your life
Introduction
In verse 5 Paul told Timothy that some teachers were trying to make a profession off of religious profession. They were in the business of religion, making a buck was what they really worshiped and they took advantage of the people. What motivated these folks was the same as Balaam, that Old Testament nemeses of Israel, who spelled prophet,… P.R.O.F.I.T. Paul had already addressed the concept of providing for the teaching elder but this was a far cry from that.
There are those today who are nothing more than “religious racketeers” out to take from the gullible and have amassed vast fortunes. Poor does not mean godly and rich ungodly; nor the other way around. There were many remarkably godly men in the Bible who were unbelievably rich, such as Abraham, David, and Solomon. The Psalmist in Psalm 62:10 warned this saying, “If riches increase, do not set your heart on them.” In these five verses Paul reminds Timothy of four things about money and wealth with regards to what it can and cannot buy.
- Vs. 6 Money cannot buy contentment
- Vs. 7 Money cannot be taken with you
- Vs. 8 Money has limited value
- Vs. 9-10 Money can ruin your life
Vs. 6 Money can’t buy contentment
Vs. 6 Today’s prosperity teachers mis- translate this verse as they teach “Godliness will bring you great gain and make you content.” But that’s not what this verse says. 90% of all living in the U.S. are wealthier than the world’s population. That which should be a means to support life is made the goal of life! Some have been too eager to pluck the rose of wealth and were pierced by thorns.
- Vs. 6 Wealth cannot bring contentment: Paul defines for us what true wealth is and in so doing he tells us what true wealth is not: True wealth is not defined by what you possess but rather by Who possesses you! It is not what you have that determines your wealth, it’s Who has you. Contentment means “inner sufficiency that allows us to be at peace in spite of outward circumstances”. True contentment comes from godliness in the heart not cash in the hand! Our great gain is to be found in our “Godliness” or “wholeness”. There are those that define contentment in terms of little children, “Getting whatever you want, whenever you want it!”
This wrong definition causes people to be rootless and restless as they seek things to deaden the pain of living an empty life. A better way of describing “contentment” is “Wanting only what God has given you!” Paul defined it best in his words to the Philippians in chapter 4 verse 11-13 where he said, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Jesus said in Luke 12:15 “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
Vs. 7 Money can’t be taken with you
- Vs. 7 Wealth is not lasting: To make sure that Timothy would have ample illustrations to share with those that had a misconception of wealth he uses “birth and death” to clarify exactly what he means, “we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” Whatever wealth a person amasses in this life goes to someone else, most likely the government. The answer to the question often asked about a wealthy person at their death is; “How much did they leave behind?” and the answer is always the same, regardless of their earthly fortune, EVERYTHING! I’ve done a lot of funerals but I have yet to see one with a U-Hall behind the Hearse!
Vs. 8 Money has limited value
- Vs. 8 Wealth is needed for the necessities: The word clothing can be rightly translated as covering and includes all types of covering from the elements’ both clothing and shelter. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4 that, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Saints, it is in relationship with God that that you have true contentment as we have security and peace. I have found that the proof of this can only really be discovered when what we inadvertently placed our contentment in “health, wealth, etc.” is taken away. It is easy to fall prey to the materialistic world when we are being pounded into its form constantly but we mustn’t allow the world to dictate our true value, our true contentment. The poet Thoreau said, “A man’s wealth is proportionate to the number of things he can afford to do without!” Too many folks today know the “PRICE” of everything but the “VALUE” of nothing as they have become glutted with luxuries and have forgotten how to enjoy the necessities.
Vs. 9-10 Money can ruin your life
- Vs. 9-10 Wealth can cause destruction: The phrase “those who desire to be rich” is translated “those who WILL be rich” as they have an appetite for more and more things in order to feel happy and successful. Servants of Christ must never ask, “How much will I get? But rather “How much can I give?” There are five things we believers must be aware of that are progressive in nature or we will be ripped off from our true riches and security?
- Vs. 9a Desire: “Those that desire to be rich”: First Paul says this is all because of desire, and the question is how much is too much? Verse 10 is often misquoted as it is the desire to be rich, not money that is the root of all kinds of evil. Paul is speaking of the craving for riches, the desire to have more and more money. There is a difference between providing for your family and spending every waking moment chasing after dollars as your objective. Life is more than the pursuit of wealth as Jesus said in Matthew 6:25 “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?”
- Vs. 9b Temptation: “fall into temptation”: Second Paul says that we need to realize that this will come at us constantly in temptation. It happens when we see something that we become convinced that we “Just can’t live without”. Merchants have become very clever at seducing us as they make the item appear as a necessity, they package it in a way that makes it appealing and offer it at a discount. It is a very present danger to become possessed by your possessions. In Matthew 19 Jesus encountered the rich young ruler who had become possessed by his possessions when he said that, “the young man went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
- Vs 9c Captivity: “and a snare, ..into many foolish and harmful lusts…”: We can become seduced by our desire and it won’t be long before the things you desire will take the place of people you love. Our society is littered with cast off children who have become neglected as their parents pursued wealth and luxury. This captivity doesn’t just place you in bondage it places those who love you there as well and can be cruel, callous, neglectful as well as shameful.
- Vs. 9d Death: “which drown men in destruction and perdition”: Stay on this tract and you will become way over your head drowning in what at once was only a desire. We see these folks all the time and wonder how they got there. They chased after the desire and soon they didn’t have enough money for the necessities because they spent their hard earned dollars after their wants.
- Vs. 10 Idolatry: “which some of us strayed from the faith”: Paul says that the roots can be very difficult to get rid of in our lives, as the roots can always send out more shoots. One of those shoots is the “straying from the faith in their greediness…” In Matthew 13:22 Jesus gave the interpretation of the parable of the sower where He said, “He who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.” Saints that’s the difference between worshiping Jesus and worshiping materialism: When you worship Jesus you are worshiping Him who was pierced for our sins, but when you worship materialism it will require you to become pierced with many sorrows.
There are folks who live their whole lives determined to arrive at their desired destination. They have sold everything to get there, pursued after it their entire life but as they arrive at the destination they find it not at all what they were thinking. It is at that moment that a person can realize that “They strived so hard to get to a place where they could HAVE everything they wanted but now they realize they have nothing they want!” They have “destination sickness” and it is the result of chasing after riches. Hey friend instead of chasing after the dollar chase after what is written on the dollar “In God We Trust”!
1 Timothy Ch. 6
“How to get rich and stay that way”
Vs. 11-12 Four “F” verbs
Introduction
Paul warned Timothy about the pursuit of wealth as a means of contentment and now tells him how to maintain “godliness with contentment”. One of the studies done on the lack of contentment of wealthy people looked at where the most content people in the world lived and rated them by 65 countries. The results were unexpected according to a 2003 “World Value Survey” published by the British magazine “New Scientist”. The top three most contented countries where people live are Puerto Rico, Mexico and Nigeria with a staggering less GDP, (Gross Domestic Product) that measures the average personal buying potential per person. When looking at those countries they offer far less “peace and security” or “education or health” than does the US, as all three of those countries are near the bottom according to the 2003 U.N. Human Development Indicators. The study found that they had two things that other countries had less of:
- A strong sense of community
- Frequent, enthusiastic community celebrations
US research supports this as people in the US describe the quality of life being the highest when their personal relationships with their family, friends and community are the strongest. Dr. Fordyce describes this as the “Happiness Law of Diminishing Returns” which states: Any area of achievement that adds to happiness will only do so to a certain mid-point then it will begin to have the opposite results. Saints, we Christians ought to have the strongest sense of community and the greatest reason to have enthusiastic community celebrations. The question is how do we appropriate God’s resources to this end?
Vs. 11-12 Four “F” verbs
Paul gives Timothy four verbs all of which are in the imperative and as we know are action words that Timothy can do to appropriate the riches that are ours in Christ. I have interpreted these to all start with the letter “F” to help our memories:
- Vs. 11a FLEE: This verb has to do what we are to shun but Paul in this verse doesn’t tell Timothy what to shun instead it is a reference to the characteristics of the false teachers he wrote about in the proceeding verses. Timothy was to shun three attributes that summed up the false teachers both then and now:
- Conceit: These fellows were full of themselves while proclaiming they were full of wisdom. Any knowledge that puffs us up, makes our intelligence the object of admiration is not something that we need to learn or emulate. I for one already possess way too much of this kind of knowledge.
- Combativeness: Second these false teachers seemed to have a love for controversy, they were always trying to form a faction, some redefining the truth that made them a little better than their brothers and sisters.
- Covetousness: Finally they had an appetite for material wealth, theirs was the pursuit for making a buck and showing it by their lifestyle.
- Vs. 11b FOLLOW: Or as Paul puts it “pursue” and then goes on to list six things that Timothy should follow and divides them into two groups, the first is towards God, “righteousness, godliness and faith”. The 2nd three is towards your fellow man, “love, patience and gentleness”.
God:
- Righteousness: Paul is not referring to “rightness” as a behavior but rather as a belief, as in we are trusting in Jesus’ rightness and that is the way we now see ourselves as living in His rightness that has covered our wrongness as we are now made right in Jesus’ rightness. This belief is what gives us believers a sense of security and stability as our focus and self-worth is based upon what God has done for us not upon what we have done or in my case not done.
- Godliness: The 2nd thing Timothy was to follow after was wholeness or balance in life. Very easy for us to get out of balance living in this world as we correct something lacking only to make it too high a priority in life which will cause it to again become out of balance. Timothy was to pursue the balance that aided him in being a whole person not overly focused on one thing. You see folks that can be dominated by one passion, one topic or one mood and their life becomes a flat spot. Hard to move forward when you have flat spots in life.
- Faith: Next Paul wants Timothy to continue to pursue faithfulness or loyalty to God, an awareness that you have committed your life to God. Paul understood that many times a person’s interest and hunger for God is at its peak when we first come into a relationship with the Lord then like our earthly relationships begins to wane. Hey saints, as it relates to Jesus we shouldn’t be looking behind us at the “good ole days” but looking forward as the best is yet to come. Jesus ought to still be the most exciting person you have ever met and spending time with Him daily is your greatest excitement.
Man: Paul now moves on to three words that describe how Timothy should treat our fellow humans.
- Love: The first word is a familiar one: “Love”! Throughout the word we are exhorted to “Owe no man anything, accept the debt of love” and “love one another”. I believe that this is always an appropriate question to ask yourself, “Are my actions, and words displaying Christ’s love?” We would all be better off if that was a regular concern for our lives. That is how you can gauge your progress spiritually, are you becoming a more loving person.
- Patience: The 2nd word Paul gives Timothy to follow with regards to our fellow sojourners has to do with our endurance towards others. Refusing to give up on someone, even though they have failed numerous times. I’ve always been amazed at the effort folks will put into new relationships that aren’t willing to put into old ones. We are called on to support the weak, to come alongside and bear each other’s burdens.
- Gentleness: Finally Paul says that they are to treat folks with gentleness, a compassionate heart towards others. Six things to check each day; three towards God three towards are fellow man. Six things to ask: “How am I doing in these six things?”
- Vs. 12a FIGHT: The third action word Paul gives Timothy is at the start of verse 12 where he says, “Fight the good fight of faith”. The Christian life is not a playground it is a battleground and as such it will be a constant fight. Our enemies will not surrender, they will not give in and go home. Our enemies are twofold satan and our fallen natures. Satan is so crafty he will get you to think that people are your problem and he will get you fighting against each other instead of focusing on the victory won in Jesus through His death and our appropriation through our death to self. We could make a shorter work and get to celebration a lot quicker if we got to dying instead of trying to kill the other person.
- Vs. 12b FASTEN: The final verb for Timothy is “lay hold” or fasten and it is associated with “eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses”. I like simplicity and here Timothy is told to keep the right perspective and in case he wasn’t sure what that perspective was Paul tells him it is the same perspective in life that he was “called” to “confessed” in and that he had done so in the “presence of many witnesses”. Saints, this “eternal perspective” in life reminds us that this isn’t our home, we are just passing through. It reminds us that Jesus is at the center of all we love and live for. Dear ones, nothing in this world ought to be able to “dislodge” us from Jesus.
Next week we will hear from Paul about keeping your eyes on the Prize as he reveals truths regarding Jesus and His Unique Majesty. This will enable us to appropriate the riches in Christ which will guarantee that we will be content people. You see saints a lot of our problems stem from us failing to recognize just who it is we have trusted in. This problem, that issue, these insurmountable odds would be overwhelming if our Jesus was just an ordinary man, some mere prophet or religious teacher who got swept away in the political intrigue of the day. But dear ones that is not who our Jesus is, so take a deep breath and put on a smile because he is Mighty to save!
1 Timothy 6
“Focus”
Vs. 13-14 Focused obedience
Vs. 14-16 Meet your Majesty
Introduction
None of those four verbs (Flee, Follow, Fight and Fasten) would do Timothy any good if he didn’t have the right FOCUS! His focus must be obedience to Jesus Christ. One of the biggest problems Christians face in obedience happens when they no longer realize the characteristics of a person they are to be obedient to. We simply lose focus on the character and nature of our God who we are to honor and be accountable too. There must be in every believer a single-mindedness towards God if we are to live a contented life. Timothy, like us, would be tempted and tested to take his eyes off the Lord, thus the urging of his mentor Paul to (keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing,..) verse 14.
Vs. 13-14 Focused obedience
Vs. 13 Here Paul reminds Timothy of three truths with regards to his Focused Obedience:
- In the sight of God: First, Timothy is reminded as to whom this obedience it aimed, God. Our obedience is to the One that has secured our victory. The soldier that enters the battle must obey to have ANY hope of victory but the Christian soldier must obey because they have the CERTAIN outcome of victory, not just the possibility of it. If we keep our focus on the Lord we will gain the victory no matter what the battle looks like. Thus we understand that the only weapon our enemy has to defeat us is to get us not to obey.
- Who gives life to all things: Second, Timothy is reminded that there is no short cut, no way around obedience. God gives life and no one else can do that, if you want life then you will have to obey even if it means your death.
- Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate: Finally, Timothy is reminded that there is no second place, there is no white flag surrender, no compromise in our obedience. Jesus was obedient to the very end, all He needed to do to save his life was say that the religious leaders misunderstood Him and that He wasn’t the Son of God. Since the outcome is certain the no cost is too great as the only thing that can happen that would cause us not to experience the outcome is to not to obey!
Vs. 14 Knowing the above three truths with regards to “Focused Obedience” Paul give Timothy three keys to obedience:
- Without spot: Simply put Timothy’s obedience couldn’t be “spotty” he couldn’t expect the victory with spotty obedience. His sacrifice needed to be CLEAN.
- Blameless: Second it needed to CONSISTENT, which was towards the Lord not to be seen by men. The consistency needed to be in every area of his life, not just some areas.
- Until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing: Finally it needs to be CONTINUAL not just for a time but until the Lord returns.
Paul pulls back the curtains to reveal the majesty of Jesus so that what we appreciate of the riches will forever be attached to the person of our Lord. Paul reveals to Timothy 3 truths regarding Jesus.
- Vs. 13a Giver of life: The first thing Paul reveals is that God is the “giver of life”. To those of us who get beat down and are in need of life we only need to remember that God is the giver of life. Have you come to the place you can’t go on, not one more step? Well great news God will give you His strength, He will renew you to keep going forward.
- Vs. 13b Sustainer of truth: Jesus’ “confession” was nothing more than agreeing with Pontius Pilate’s confession which if denied would have spared Jesus’ earthly life. That’s what obedience is, by our obedience we are revealing whether we believe that Jesus is who He claimed to be. There will be times in our life where the expedient thing for us to do is denying the truth about the Word of God but remember Jesus who spoke the truth even to his own destruction, what a great example we have in Jesus.
- Vs. 14 Returning Messiah: As we recall this truth about our Jesus we are reminded that this chaotic world, where everything seems to be against us has been defeated by our soon returning Jesus. The commandment that we are to keep is the same one that Jesus gave just before His death in the upper room, “Love one another”. Sometimes we behave as if we are living in eternity, but Paul reminds Timothy that it is the here and now that is ending. Ray Stedman put it this way, “The One who was here in weakness is coming again in great strength and will fill the horizon of life.”
Vs. 14-16 Meet your Majesty
One of the biggest problems Christians face in obedience happens when they no longer realize the characteristics of a person they are to be obedient to. We simply lose focus on the character and nature of our God who we are to honor and be accountable too. Paul lists 3 more truths concerning Jesus:
- Vs. 15a Only Potentate: He is the One who alone has all power and strength, who rules over the universe from an occupied throne in heaven.
- Vs. 15b King of kings and Lord of lords: The seeming majesty of any other ruler through time pales in comparison to the splendor and greatness of Jesus. With all the world’s armies, terror attacks, political injustice going on in the world today this verse reminds us who really has all the power. Knowing this brings to us security and peace even in the most troubling of times.
- Vs. 16 Unique in Majesty: Finally Paul reveal to Timothy that Jesus has three attributes that are Unique to Jesus which makes Him one of a kind:
- Vs. 16a Alone has immortality: This is the immortality that says that He has always been and always will be. That means there can never be any surprises, no “never saw that coming” experiences. He can never be defeated and this is what was behind Paul’s words in Romans where he said, “O death where is your sting, where is your victory?”
- Vs. 16b Dwelling in unapproachable light: Jesus is 100% perfect in every way and can never do wrong. He will not be judged but will be the only Judge, the standard by which all others will be judged. Paul is revealing that there will never be another person or truth that will supplant Jesus as He is dwelling in unapproachable light. You don’t have a savior who can only save in certain circumstances, you have in Jesus the very one that spoke light into being dwells in unapproachable light.
- Vs. 16c To whom be honor and everlasting power: The invisible God became a visible Man so that He could suffer all the same sufferings as we do, experience all the disappointments we do in life and yet conquer them on our behalf enabling us to be more than conquerors in Christ. Jesus hasn’t lost a step, He isn’t less of God because He became a man, He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Saints a lot of our problems stem from us failing to recognize just who it is we have trusted in. This problem, that issue, these insurmountable odds would be overwhelming if our Jesus was just an ordinary man, some mere prophet or religious teacher who got swept away in the political intrigue of the day. But dear ones that is not who our Jesus is, so take a deep breath and put on a smile because he is Mighty to save!
1 Timothy 6
“The best thing in life”
Vs. 17-19 The biggest bang for the buck
Vs. 20-21 Master’s decree
Introduction
These final words to Timothy give us great insight into the relationship between these two friends. You will notice the personal and parental tone of this section by the three times repeated use of the word “YOU”. In chapter 6 verses 6-10 Paul warned Timothy about making life about attainment instead of contentment. It is easy to lose an eternal perspective, to begin to think that life is all about the here and now. In this personal letter, with that still very much on his heart, Paul digressed even more personally in verse 11-16 saying to Timothy, “But you, O man of God”; in contrast to those that have made attainment the measure of contentment make obedience the measure of your contentment.
Now he closes out this letter and goes back in verses 17-19 to again speak generally about the right use of money before closing in verses 20-21 again with a personal note. Saints this is a very timely word for us living in the US as I believe that “If the US economy was like a game of musical chairs and the music stopped, scant few would find a place to sit. So our government’s solution: Instead of building more places to sit, don’t stop the music!”
Vs. 17-19 The biggest bang for the buck
Vs. 17 The emphasis in verses 6-10 was in the negative about wealth and left to these words a person could get the impression that it is wrong to be rich. Paul says that the problem is not wealth, the problem is the attitudes and actions of the person whom it has been entrusted to.
- Vs. 17 Attitude: Paul lists three reasons why a person should NOT let “assets change their attitude”.
- False sense of superiority: “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty”: First Paul says that worldly wealth can produce a “False sense of superiority”. Worldly wealth has the unfortunate ability to negatively affect a person’s attitude, ill regardless of how they have attained it. Jesus warned about this in Matthew 13:22 speaking about the “deceitfulness of riches”. Wealth can cause a sense of “self-deception” that can cause a person to think they are “worth more” than someone else therefore they are better than that person. But the truth is we are all worth the same as, “the blood of Jesus” was what was paid for us all rich and poor. There are no aristocrats, no blue bloods just saved sinners!
- False sense of security: “Nor trust in uncertain riches..” Worldly riches can disappear overnight for a variety of reasons outside of our control. Jesus gave a few of those reasons in Matthew 6:19-20 when he said “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal..” Folks can place all their money under the mattress or in a fault and still find that what they had placed their security in is now all but vanished as it has been devalued.
- False sense of satisfaction: “but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.” Apparently God was the first to start the popular phrase, “The Best things in life are free!” God is the ultimate giver as He is the one that has created the individual talents, given the person the education and experience as well as the opportunities to obtain worldly wealth. A lot of folks take credit for what they are convinced is their own personal superiority as they have out done others but in reality it is God who has allowed them to obtain the wealth. The bible is clear there is “No piety in poverty anymore than there is righteousness in riches”. The question is how are we to maximize the enjoyment of our blessing with regards to our worldly wealth?
- Vs. 18 Actions: Paul gives Timothy the specifics on “How to get the most out of your money”. In Acts 20:35 Paul tells the Ephesian elders what Jesus had said that “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” The best way to enjoy your worldly wealth is by spending your blessing to bless others, Paul says. There is no better way to get a greater return on your money than investing it in making other people happy by relieving someone else’s distress and wealth has a unique way of being able to do that. Paul tells us three actions we can take with our affluence:
- Do Good: This statement is general and not specific, it need not be applied personally with our own firsthand knowledge of how it went to work. Paul is not speaking about “good intentions” he is speaking about “good actions”. Use the treasure God has enabled you to obtain to help those in need, to relieve those who are hungry, to support the work of the gospel in some area. All of which can be as simple as you giving to some organization where you don’t know the person or persons that are benefiting from the gift. I have found over the years that you can never out give God. I have heard many testimonies from folks who were financially stressed, barely squeaking by and heard a message like this one and started to invest in doing good and then saw an increase. Let’s take the test together and make a further investment in doing good this month and see if God doesn’t increase our ability to do so next month.
- Be rich in good works: The difference between “do good” and “be rich in good works” is that the latter has a personal element to it. It implies that the person with the gift is personally involved in distributing it. Here the person is not merely handing out cash to an organization they are actively involved in serving and putting to use their gift. They are serving at the food bank, going on a short term mission work, etc. Here the idea is helping people help themselves with a “hand up” as well as a “hand out”!
- Ready to give, willing to share: Procrastination is the enemy to being a blessing as we say, “When I get a little extra, I’m going to use it to bless others” which is a great intention that is seldom realized as it seems that something always comes up. It is the attitude that Peter and John manifested in Acts chapter 3 when they were heading into the temple and lame beggar asked for some money and Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give to you…” God never asks us to give what He has not provided but He does command us to give what He has given us so that others can, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise and walk.”
Vs. 19 Paul now concludes with two increases when you are willing to invest your treasure to bless others.
- “Storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come”: The old adage is true: You can’t take it with you, but based upon this verse you can send it ahead through blessing others with your wealth! The first increase deals with the future, as we are told that our investment in blessing folks from our treasure will lay up rewards in heaven. I personally believe that the treasure in heaven isn’t monetary or material but rather the people you have invested in will be there to greet you, some of which you will meet for the first time never knowing them here on earth but because of your investment they became believers.
- “That they may lay hold on eternal life”: Though the words “eternal life” seems to be pointing again to the future but the words “that they may lay hold of” is in the present tense thus what Paul is speaking is a present action that has a present benefit they will carry throughout eternity. Using your wealth as a way to bless others that causes both the giver as well as the recipient to experience a little heaven now. Jesus said in John 10:10 that He had come that “they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Jesus uses a word here for life that doesn’t mean just eternal life but rather the zest or full abundant life now that will carry on into eternal life without end. To use your God given resources as a blessing is to maximize your enjoyment here and now that will carry on forever. Wealth used this way becomes a great and wonderful adventure where excitement and pleasure way out lives the temporary material world of here today gone tomorrow.
Vs. 20-21 Master’s decree
Vs. 20-21 Here we come to Paul’s final words in this letter to his beloved son in the faith, Timothy. It starts with an exhortation guard or use rightly what God has given you. Throughout this letter Paul challenged Timothy to guard the truth against the counterfeits, as well as those who simply didn’t choose to obey the truth. Saints, we know the difference between what is right (TRUTH) and wrong (philosophy of this world), it has been entrusted to our care and resides far more in how we live than what we intellectually agree with.
Dear ones, we must guard the truth by using it, living by it. That is the best way to not allow someone to take it from us or to alter it making it less than what it is. Paul says, “Don’t buy into the profane and idle babblings, the contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge”. There are those that have a Master’s degree and those of us who have believed the decree from the Master!