Summary:

It can be intimidating for a timid young man like Timothy to have to “command” the older people that must have been in his congregation, and it can be difficult for older people not to “despise” (v.11) a young pastor when he does. But the people in the Ephesian church that Timothy pastored shouldn’t have despised him, for as Paul said, “Timotheus …worketh the work of the Lord, as I also do. Let no man therefore despise him” (ICor.16:10,11), and young pastors who are being Pauline today shouldn’t be despised either. If a pastor starts to give his opinions about things, then God’s people should despise him, be he young or old.

Of course, this didn’t mean Timothy could act foolishly, then when people despised his youth, say, “Paul says I’m not to let you despise me!” The way to not let anyone despise your youth is not give anyone reason to despise it. That’s good advice for all young people, not just pastors!

An “example” (v.12) is a pattern (cf. Tit.2:7). What’s a pat-tern? God told Moses how to make the tabernacle but then showed him the “pattern” (Ex.25:1-40) of the tabernacle in heaven (Rev.15:5). He probably said something like, “There, that’s a tabernacle, make it like that.” That’s what Paul did for Timothy and Titus, told them how to edify believers, then told them to show people what a believer should look like by being an example, a pattern.

Paul told Timothy to be an example “in word” because words express who you are. Christ is called “The Word of God” (John 1:1-14) because He expressed who the Father is (Heb.1:1-3). Your words express who you are, but you have an old man and a new man. Don’t let your old man express who you are! Even if your old man wasn’t such a bad person, he wasn’t better than Christ, and Christ expressed the words of His Father rather than His own (John 14:24). You should too, if you want to be an example of a believer “in word.”

Being an example “in conversation” means in your conduct (cf. II Pe.2:4-8). If you’re not being an example of the doctrines you teach, you are tearing down with one hand what you’re trying to build up in people with the other. Being an example in love isn’t possible, for love is a feeling, and feelings can’t be seen, but being an example “in charity” is possible, for charity is love in action.

You should also be an example of the believer “in spirit,” in the spirit of humility, for example (Pr.29:23 cf. 27:2). Being “patient in spirit” is also a good example (Eccl.7:8). Being “fervent in spirit” (Rom.12:11) is also very exemplary behavior. “Fervent” means hot or boiling over, the kind of spirit that made Apollos someone who “taught diligently the things of the Lord” (Acts 18:24,25).

You should also be an example of the believer “in faith.” People can’t see your faith, but they can see your faithfulness, and that’s what the word means here (cf. Rom. 3:3). So be an example of the believer in faithfulness, and “in purity.” That word is only used in ITimothy 5:1,2, where it refers to chastity.

Paul tells Timothy to “give attendance to reading” (v.13), specially the Bible (cf. Deut.17:18,19). You can read the Bible through in 40 hours, by the way. You can easily read it through in a year by reading a little each day, and I recommend this highly!

Paul also told Timothy to give attendance “to exhortation.” Exhortation means to encourage people to do what the Bible says. After the Word was read, Paul was invited to give a word of exhortation (Acts 13:15). If you hear the Word but don’t do it, God doesn’t think much of that (Ezek. 33:30-32), so “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22).

Finally, Paul tells Timothy to give attendance “to doctrine.” This is specially important for pastors, who must “preach the word” and “exhort with…doctrine” (II Tim. 4:2). Don’t exhort people to do things with old sayings. Don’t exhort people to do things because they are things your parents taught you to do. Exhort them to do things with Bible doctrine!

Summary:

“Profane” (v.7) means anything outside of the Bible, such as profane history. Paul is telling Timothy to shun fables outside the Bible, stories that must deal with “bodily exercise” or Paul wouldn’t say “for bodily exercise profiteth little.” This would agree with “old wives fables,” which are about things old wives know a lot about, things like pregnancy, health, nutrition, and the good effects of exercise.

What could Paul have against exercise? Well, remember he predicted in the last days some would command to abstain from meats (4:3) so they can be healthy enough to survive the persecution they think will come in the last days because they think our last days will be like Israel’s, filled with persecution that demands that you to run or fight. Being in tip top shape helps with that, but exercising yourself to godliness will help in our last days, days that will be filled with “doctrines of devils” (4:1).

How will exercising godliness help you oppose doctrines of devils? Obeying the Word helps you learn the word (Ps. 119:100). You may not think of godliness as an exercise, but “exercise” just means to use or practice something. God exercises godliness (Jer.9:24), and so should we. It will help you prepare for the last days before the Rapture. The hope of the Rapture instilled godliness in Paul (Acts 24:14-16), and it should in us as well (Titus 2:11-13).

Even doctors in Paul’s day knew exercise profits a little (4:8), and I’m sure Dr. Luke told Paul about the benefits of sleeping better, feeling better, thinking better, etc. Paul doesn’t discount the profit of exercise, he just says godliness profits more. Sleeping and feeling and thinking better profit in this life, but godliness profits in this life and in the life to come in heaven. We will be rewarded on the basis of how we built others up in the faith (ICor.3:5-15), and godliness builds men up by giving them a good example

Paul calls our reward a profit, which is the benefit you have after you’ve covered your expenses. The reward we receive in in heaven will more than cover the expenditures of godliness we invest in this life (Rom.8:18). Remember that when you take account of your life to see if you are getting more out of it than what you are putting into it.

But if you think your books don’t balance without that, you may be using Israel’s ledger. Under their accounting system God rewarded them health for godliness (Deut.7:12-15) and wealth (Deut.28:1-11). If you think you’re under that ac-counting system, you’re going to think God is swimming in red ink for the blessings He’s failing to profit you. In reality, even the world knows that virtue is its own reward.

Paul knows some will doubt the profit of godliness, so Paul adds it is a “faithful saying” that there is profit in godliness (4:9). That means you can count on the profit of godliness as much as you can count on the fact that Christ came to save sinners (ITim.1:15). Both parts of that saying are worthy of acceptation, that Christ came, and that He came to save sinners, and both parts of this saying are worthy of acceptation, that godliness profits in this life and the next. If you are not finding godliness profitable in this life, it is only because you haven’t learned that “godliness with contentment is great gain” (ITim.6:6). If you still lust after the riches that being dishonest can bring, or if you lust after the flesh that being carnal can bring, you haven’t yet learned to be content with godliness and so don’t see the profit in it.

We should react to the promise of this profit as Paul did, by choosing to “labor” for the Lord (4:10). How hard would you labor at work if you knew every dollar you earned could be spent in this life and saved for your life after retirement? You wouldn’t care if anyone “reproached” you, so don’t worry if you “suffer reproach” for working for the Lord’s profit in this life and in the life to come.

Of course, to believe God can profit you in the next life, you have to believe in “the living God” (4:10), for a dead god can’t profit you in the life to come. Godliness can even profit unbelievers who apply godly principles—but not in the life to come. That’s why Christ is “specially” the Savior of believers, for we are saved the misery of sin in this life (ITim.4:16) and from hell in the life to come.

Summary:

Only grace believers have “the faith,” so only they can “depart” from it (v.1). In the last days one of the “doctrines of devils” they’ll teach is “forbidding to marry” (v.3). Devils will want grace leaders teaching this in the last days to limit the number of grace believers through children right before the Rapture to limit the amount of accurate grace literature we’ll leave behind. Most Christian literature doesn’t even know that faith plus works should be preached in the Tribulation.

Satan is always working ahead to oppose what God plans to do. When God announced the Savior would be the seed of the woman, he worked ahead of His birth to pollute her seed with seducing spirits (Gen.6:1,2), then again with Noah’s new race (Gen.6:4). Satan directed the new crop of giants to the promised land when he heard God send Abram there (Gen. 12:1) to be there to oppose God when he got there (v.6).

That’s what Satan will do in the last days, get seducing spirits to work ahead to pollute accurate Tribulation literature that will be left behind at the rapture. But why will grace leaders forbid the institution that usually generates more church members through children? Men who are “seduced” do many things contrary to their own best interests. What men find seductive varies, but grace believers find Pauline doctrine seductive, and Paul discouraged marriage (ICor.7:27) because he thought he’d live to see the Rapture and so he thought the “distress” he was going through (v.26) was the last days. It doesn’t make sense to have babies in times of distress (cf.Lu.21:23). So to be like Paul, grace believers will forbid to marry when the last days finally do arrive

This shows Paul hadn’t yet learned our last days won’t be distressed with persecution like Israel’s will be (Lu.21:16-24). His later descriptions of the last days say nothing about persecution. Muslims killing Christians isn’t a sign of the last days, persecution has been going on since the first days (Rom. 8:36).

Since Antichrist will reinstate Judaism after the Rapture, the seducing spirits will also command to abstain from meats to get the world ready for Leviticus 11. Grace believers will swallow it because many believe it is a healthier diet and they also believe Muslims killing Christians is a sign of the last days and so want to be healthy to enter that time of distress. But the Jews weren’t healthy in the wilderness (Ps.105:36,37) because of their diet as some say, they ate manna (Ex.16:35) but because of the promise of God (Deut.7:12-15). They didn’t conquer the Canaanites because they were healthy but also because of God’s promise (Deut.7:12,24).

God gave that diet only to remind them to stay separate from unclean Gentiles (Lev.20:24,25). Those “who believe and know the truth” (ITim.4:3 cf. 2:4) that we are not under the law of Leviticus 11 should receive all foods. Every creature of God is “good” (v.4 cf. Gen.1:20,21). That diet isn’t healthier or God wouldn’t have told Noah he could eat all animals to start the human race over (Gen.9:3). Now the foods God set apart as unclean are clean, just as the people He set apart as unclean are now clean. Both are “sanctified” (ITim.4:5 cf. Rom.15:16).

The “brethren” who needed to be reminded of this in Ephesus where Timothy was pastoring were those teaching the law (ITim.1:6,7). Under the law, a “good minister” (ITim.4:6) reminded people of the words of Leviticus 11, now he reminds people we are not under that law. Under the law, Leviticus 11 was “good doctrine” (ITim.4:6), but today grace is good doctrine. Under the law commanding to abstain from meats was the doctrine of God, today it is a doctrine of devils.

Finally, foods today are sanctified by the Word (ITim.4:5) because the Word through Paul says you can eat all foods, but it is also sanctified by “prayer” (v.5) as you give thanks for it as Paul did (Acts 27:18-35), even amid the storms of life as he did, even when it doesn’t look like there’s anything to be thankful for as he did.

Summary:

The Bible was written by the Spirit, who spoke through men (IIPe.1:21), so what does Paul mean when he says He spoke “expressly” about the latter times (4:1)? Didn’t he speak expressly or directly all the time to Bible writers?

Well, when Peter says men spoke as they were “moved” by the Spirit, the Lord was “moved” with compassion to tell the leper “Be thou clean” (Mark 1:41). He could have been moved to say, “I now cleanse you,” or something similar, but the Spirit allowed Him to speak in the way He spoke as a man, as He did with all Bible writers. Luke spoke like a doctor (Acts 3:6,7 cf. Col.4:14). But don’t let that make you think Bible writers didn’t express God’s exact words (IISa.23:2).

Speaking expressly is how the Spirit spoke to Ezekiel (1:3), that is, out loud (2:1), 93 times in Ezekiel. He spoke to Ezekiel expressly about the future, as He did to Paul here, because the future was God’s domain and His alone (Isa.41:21-23). Since only God knows the future He didn’t allow Bible writers to use their own words describing it so everyone would know the future is His domain and His alone. Other prophets used phrases like “Thus saith the Lord” in describing the future, quoting Him directly.

Since there are two second comings of Christ, one to rapture us (ITh.4:16,17) and one to defeat the Antichrist and set up the kingdom for Israel (IITh.1:7,8), there has to be two sets of “latter times” before each one. Israel’s latter times will be in Tribulation (Num.4:30,31), the kind where demon spirits will rise out of hell and sting people (Rev.9:1-10). Before our second coming, demon spirits will be teaching “doctrines” (4:1), not stinging people.

Christians who don’t see the difference in these two sets of last days say the Rapture must be near because Muslims are killing Christians (Mt.24:6-9). But if we apply Matthew 24:6-9, we have to apply verse 13 to us as well. Only Paul speaks about the Rapture and the last days before it so don’t look outside his epistles for signs the Rapture is near!

Some say the latter “times” (4:1) aren’t the same as the last “days” (IITim.3:1), but the Bible uses these words interchangeably (Ps.77:5), as does Paul (IITim.3:1). Others say the “latter” times aren’t the same as the “last” days, but these words are interchangeable as well (Hos.3:5 cf.Isa.2:2)

ITimothy 4 and IITimothy 3 describe the same time, but the former describes those who “depart” from the faith, the latter speaks of those who never had the faith. Only grace believers have the faith, so only they can depart from it. If the Lord comes in our lifetime, you might depart from the faith, unless you “watch” yourself about listening to non-Pauline pastors (ICor.16:13) and “stand fast in the faith.” If you don’t listen to them you won’t give “heed” to the seducing spirits who inspire these men (4:1).

The first seducing spirit was Satan (Gen.3:4,13), but we know those kind of seducing Spirits are still around or Paul wouldn’t warn us of them (IICor.11:3,13). Demons know how to speak through false prophets (IKi.22:22). Seducing spirits will use miracles in the Tribulation (Mark 13:22), but Satan’s not using miracles today because he knows grace believers love doctrine, so he uses that.

Not all false teachers are lying (4:2). If a pastor believes salvation is by faith plus works, he’s not lying when he preaches that. If he knows salvation is by faith alone, then he’s lying. But he may not be “speaking lies in hypocrisy” (4:2), he may be speaking lies in misplaced faith in James 2:24. But if he knows James isn’t written to us (James 1:1) then he’s speaking lies in hypocrisy. And that’s who Paul is talking about, grace believers who will depart from the truth and speak lies, knowing better. Why would a grace believer do that? To draw away followers (Acts 20:30).

Their conscience won’t bother them for it will be “seared” (4:2). The Greek word is kauterizo. Men used to cauterize wounds to numb the pain, and consciences can be numbed to being “past feeling (Eph.4:19). No wonder God didn’t make the pastor “the pillar and ground of the truth” (ITim. 3:15). Some may be led away after false teachers, but the church will always be the pillar and ground of the truth.

Summary:

Most commentaries say that “the mystery of godliness” is about Christ, and He certainly was “God…manifest in the flesh.” But we’re talking about the mystery of godliness, not the mystery of God. “Godly” is short for God-like, and the Lord wasn’t like God, He was God. We’re the ones who are supposed to be godly; this verse is about us, the Body of Christ.

It was no mystery that Christ would be God manifest in the flesh (Isa.7:14), but it was a mystery that we’d manifest God in our flesh (Eph. 5:32). Of course, it is controversial to say “God…manifest in the flesh” isn’t about Christ, for some say robs us of a verse that teaches His divinity. But there are many verses that teach Christ is God (Isa.9:6,etc.), so we’re not taking anything away from His deity to force it on this verse. Remember, the context here isn’t about Christ’s earthly ministry, it is about the local church (v.1-15). When the Lord was here, He was “the pillar and ground of the truth” (v.15). Now that He’s gone, we are.

It’s true, God was manifest in the Lord’s flesh (Jo.1:14). But that word “dwelt” is the word for tabernacle. When Christ was here, He was a tabernacle, a tent made of skin with the glory of God inside. Now that he’s gone, we are a tent of skin (IICor.5:1) with God’s glory inside (IICor.4:8-11). When we live like Paul describes there, we manifest God in our flesh as the Lord did when He lived that way.

The commentaries that think this verse is about Christ think “justified in the Spirit” refers to Matthew 3:16, but the Lord’s baptism wasn’t about justifying God, it was about identifying Christ (John 1:33). God was justified in us, however, in that men thought God was unjust for saving sinners like David, but when Paul broke the news that Christ paid for his sins (and ours) God was justified in us (Rom.3:26). God couldn’t be justified in the law, for the law said it would be wrong to do what He did at Calvary (Pr.17:16). But when God put our sins on Christ and then condemned the just, and put His righteousness on us and then justified the wicked, He was justified in the Spirit.

It’s true that Christ was “seen of angels” when He was born (Lu.2:11-13), tempted (Mt.4:11), struggled in the garden (Lu.22:43), and at His ascension (Acts 1:9,10). But it was no mystery He’d be seen of angels (Ps.91:11). It was, how-ever, a mystery we’d even exist, let alone be seen of angels! Angels watched the Lord, now they watch us. They watched Him be born, and they watched you be born again. They watched and rejoiced when He overcame temptation and His struggles and rejoice when you do too. And they watched as He ascended and they’ll watch as you do.

Since the Greek word for “spectacle” in I Corinthians 4:9 means a show (it’s translated “theater” in Acts 19:29), you’re putting on a spectacular show for angels as you live as Paul did in I Corinthians 4:9-12.

When Paul says “God was…preached to the Gentiles,” that was not true of the Lord when He was here (Rom.15:8). But it was true of Paul (Acts 13:42-44) and every member of the Body of Christ since then. Nor was it true that God was “believed on in the world” in the Lord, for when the world didn’t know the Lord (John 1:10), they didn’t know the Father (John 8:19). But it was true in Paul’s ministry (Col.1:6). Finally, while it is true that God was “received up into glory” in Christ (Mark 16:19), that was not a mystery (Ps.68:18 cf. Eph.4:7,8). But it was a mystery that God will be received up into glory in us (ICor.15:51,52).

“But it uses the past tense to say God was received up into glory, how could that be about us if the Rapture hasn’t happened yet?” Well, remember, Paul wasn’t just an apostle, he was also a prophet, and that’s just how prophets talked! Isaiah used the past tense to describe how Christ would suffer (Isa.53:5-12) because he had seen it in a vision. Since God can see the end from the beginning (Isa.46:9,10), He can describe the end as if it has already happened. That’s how Paul can say that God has already been received up into glory in us, even though it hasn’t happened yet (cf. Eph. 2:6). The Lord knows He will rapture us and His counsel will stand, and He will do all His pleasure in us. If that doesn’t make you want to manifest God in your flesh, I don’t know what will!

Summary:

Since Timothy was the pastor of the Ephesian church, when Paul told him how pastors and teachers should behave (v.1-13), he was telling Timothy how to “behave thyself” (v.15).

“The house of God” today is “the church”, the Body of Christ (Eph.1:22,23), and specifically the local church, which is the visible manifestation of the Body. But God has lived in different houses through the ages. His starter house was outdoors (Gen.28:10-17). His next house was the ark. It moved around (Judges 18:31) until God settled in Jerusalem, where Solomon built him a house (IChr.6:32)

Into this new house of the temple they brought the old house of the ark (II Chron. 5:7). So it was a big house of God, with a little house of God inside. Kind of like we have today, with a lot of little churches inside the big church of the Body of Christ.

Paul calls it the church of “the living God” because Timothy pastored in Ephesus, where there was a big house of a dead god named Diana (Acts 19:27,28).

We can learn how to be the church of the living God by what God says about “the living God” in the past. We know that the living God speaks (Deut.5:26), and when He does, He tells His people how to live righteously (v.6-21). Well, that’s what the living God does today, only today He doesn’t speak out of the midst of the fire (Deut.5:26), He speaks out of the midst of the local church. God’s people can still hear Him tell them how to live righteously, and ask counsel of Him as they did when God lived in the ark (Jud.20:18).

When you do, God makes a promise similar to you that He made to the Jews. He promised to drive out the nations that didn’t belong in the land (Joshua 3:10), but planned to use Israel to do it. But he warned them that if they didn’t, those nations would torment them (Num.33:55). Well, if after you go to church and hear God speak about things that don’t belong in your life, if you don’t drive them out they’ll torment you as well, and rob you of the joy God wants you to have as His child.

The next thing we learn about “the living God” is that He has armies (ISam.17:36), Israel in time past, us today (IITim. 2:3,4). God’s also interested in driving things out of the Body of Christ that don’t belong there, things like the false doctrines on which we’re to use the sword of the Spirit. Angels fought His battles in Genesis 28:12, but today it’s us. We come to the local church to get orders as they came to God’s house, then depart to execute them.

The Assyrians taunted “the living God,” saying He couldn’t protect His people any more than the gods of the heathen (IIKi.18:33), but as Hezekiah pointed out, their gods were dead (19:15-19). Today the world taunts us that our God can’t protect us from hunger or danger or trouble, but God never promised to deliver us from those things, He promised to deliver us in them (Rom.8:35-37). When Israel was good God delivered them from those things, and they conquered those things through God, but we can be more than conquerors through Christ because none of those things can touch our salvation, and God can use all those things to help us grow in grace. When God doesn’t protect us from those things, some lose their trust in the living God, but Paul says that he suffered reproach “because” he trusted in the living God (ITim.4:10), trusted that He would help him grow in grace for having suffered them.

The church is the “pillar” of the truth (3:16), and led Israel step by step (Neh.9:12) until a Book was written to guide their every stop, and that Book now guides God’s people in the local church. God’s people should follow it as they followed the pillar of cloud, and not make a move without it (Num.9:18-22).

The leaders of the 12 were “pillars” (Gal.2:9), seemingly immoveable (cf.Rev.3:12) when it came to acknowledging Paul’s new truth. If Peter argued with the Lord to retain old Bible truth (Acts 10:14), imagine the fight he gave Paul! That’s how we should be about our truth too. If you will, God will make you an iron pillar (Jer. 1:17-19)!