1 Timothy 6:11-16

Alright.

If you have your Bible this morning, turn with me to 1 Timothy chapter 6.

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

We're going to be in verses 11 through 22.

1 Timothy chapter 6.

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

And while you're turning there, let me give you a little bit of context of this passage before we dive in.

So 1 Timothy, it is a pastoral letter written to Timothy from Paul.

Timothy was tasked with leading the church in Ephesus.

He was an elder there.

And this church was plagued with false teachers.

Paul clearly lays out the reason for writing this letter to him.

In chapter 3, when he says, I am writing these things to you, so that if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

Paul is not compromising.

He doesn't want to see corruption in the church, and he desires to bring order.

And so the Holy Spirit, through Paul, lays out very practical guidelines for the office of elder, deacon, how public worship ought to be done, the role of women, how to handle money, and how to confront sin in the church.

Yes, Paul was right to Timothy, an elder, a spiritual leader in the church.

But these principles or imperatives that we're going to talk about today can be applied to all believers.

You see, Paul's aim was to build up the church.

He presents the church as central to the Christian life.

And that is my goal this morning, to encourage and exhort the church.

So let's read this passage this morning, starting in verse 11.

It says, But as for you, O man of God, flee these things.

Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness, fight the good fight of faith, take hold of eternal life to which you were called, and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who is it in Christ Jesus, who in his testimony, before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time.

He who is the blessed and only sovereign, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see.

To him be honor and eternal dominion.

Amen.

So this morning I'm just going to go verse by verse this morning and explain kind of what the verses are talking about.

And so we're going to start in verse eleven.

But as for you, O man of God.

So let's stop right there.

We didn't make it very far, I know.

But the title man of God used here is to describe Timothy is simple, but it's rich.

It's rich in meaning.

And it's this point of identity which builds the foundation for all the exhortation that follows in the rest of these verses.

The phrase man of God was used in the Old Testament often to describe people like Moses, like David, the prophets Elisha and Elijah.

And Timothy would have known this, and I can only imagine the encouragement he would have felt.

Open up that scroll for the first time and reading, O man of God.

Me?

Man of God?

We're told elsewhere that Timothy, he was a young man.

He was known for his youthfulness.

He was also known to be timid at times, or maybe frail.

But Paul doesn't write to him saying, But as for you, Timothy, I know that you are young, naturally timid, or physically weak.

No, that would have been no great encouragement.

We don't need to be reminded of our weaknesses, our imperfections.

We're all aware of those.

I know I am.

But what an encouragement to be reminded of his identity.

Timothy, you, the man of God.

What is a man of God in the Old Testament?

I think simply put, a man of God was someone who put God at the center of their life.

Someone who loved the Lord with all their heart, their soul, their strength, and their mind.

Church, would you fit that designation this morning?

Would you fit that description?

Each of the Old Testament people described here, they were called to a high office.

I know that.

And Timothy had been entrusted with a high office in the church.

But the fact is this morning that this designation, this description, man of God, by the time you reach the New Testament, is a description that is not uniquely pertaining to those who are called to a special office, but is a description that is generic to all those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ.

Hear me out.

What I'm not saying is that everyone is qualified for these high offices in the church.

No, there are unique qualifications and callings that God places on certain men's lives to fill these roles, which Paul had talked about earlier in this epistle.

I'm talking about every believer's identity, their identity in Christ.

For example, if we look at 2 Timothy 3, verse 16, you find the same phrase being used.

2 Timothy 3:16

It says, All scripture is breathed out by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Who is the writer referring to here?

Every believer.

Therefore, if you have been redeemed by God, you are a man or woman of God.

Now, Paul gives Timothy a list of imperatives or commands to follow, which the church and all believers should pursue and strive for.

And as we continue in these next verses, there are five marks that the man of God is known for.

They are known for what they flee, they are known for by what they pursue, they are known by what they fight for, they are known by what they fasten to, and lastly, they are known by what they are faithful to.

So beginning back in verse 11, but as for you, O man of God, flee these things.

That phrase, but as for you, is a very important phrase.

It's used to get Timothy's attention.

As a comparative conjunction, Paul contrasts from what he said earlier in the epistle about the false teachings and ungodliness, which is clearly not the calling to the man or woman of God, as Paul will make clear.

But the first question that naturally arises what are we to flee?

To flee what things?

In the direct context, in the verses before this, it's the false teachers and false teaching that godliness would bring them material gain.

These false teachers and religious leaders, they were motivated by money.

And they loved it.

They had a grasp on them.

And in modern terms, this would be called the prosperity gospel.

The gospel that you name it, claim it, you have enough faith, you'll be rich, you'll be healthy.

Church, this is flat-out heresy.

It is a corruption of the truth of God, and it must be rejected.

And it has no business being tolerated in the church.

But elsewhere in the New Testament, we have other examples of what we are to flee from.

1 Corinthians 6, verse 18 says, flee from sexual immorality.

1 Corinthians 6:18

1 Corinthians 10, 14, flee from idolatry.

2 Timothy 2.22, flee youthful passions.

We are to flee sin.

The command here is to flee these things, not to ignore them, not to resist them, or as an Italian would say, which means close an eye, turn a blind eye.

Instead, we are to run in the opposite direction of.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.

For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

No, Jesus doesn't actually mean to cut off a hand or take out an eye.

Jesus is using figurative language here, hyperbole, to show just how serious sin is.

God takes sin seriously.

Therefore, we should take sin seriously, and we should flee from it.

We should run from it.

Next, the man of God is known by what he follows after.

Let's continue in verse eleven.

Timothy flee these things, but pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

If you are fleeing or running from something, you therefore have to be running towards something else.

In this case, the man of God is fleeing sin and running towards spiritual virtue and pursuing holiness.

Paul lists six virtues, the first dealing with external behavior, which is righteousness.

The word righteousness here is not referring to Christ's righteousness credited to us at salvation, but simply meaning doing what is right.

A man of God is known for doing what is right.

Next is godliness, which is the internal counterpart for righteousness.

While righteousness looks at the outward behavior, godliness has to do with the attitude and motives on the inside.

Right behavior flows from right motives.

Paul then focuses on the dominant internal virtues, faith and love.

Faith is simply the confident trust in God for everything.

The man of God trusts God to keep and fulfill his word.

Paul often couples faith and love together, and the man of God understands the significance of Jesus' words regarding love in Matthew 22, when Jesus says, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

This is the great and first commandment, and the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

So this love flows out of the heart towards others.

As we abide in Christ, and as we rest in his love, our cup overflows with joy and love for others.

Now Paul mentions two external virtues, steadfastness and gentleness.

The word steadfastness in the Greek language is this idea of to remain under something.

If you're underweight or pressure, you remain or endure.

The man of God continues to do what is right no matter the cost, no matter what the culture around him is telling him he he ought to believe, he ought to do.

No, he remains steadfast, even when circumstances are difficult.

And lastly, is gentleness, or this word can be translated as meekness.

The word meek is fascinating to me.

We've been talking about it a lot in our family.

Meekness, it doesn't mean weakness.

The English language has a difficult time of really grasping the meaning of this word.

But in biblical terminology, there's a lot more to it.

I heard a good example the other day to explain by using a horse.

A horse is powerful, it has tremendous strength.

But when that horse is broken and trained, that power is controlled and directed, and therefore becoming useful to the rider.

So this type of horse is referred to as a meek horse.

So meekness is power that is controlled, it's strength governed by love and gentleness.

Alright, so next we're going to keep moving on down to verse 12.

The man of God is known by what he fights for.

Verse 12 says, fight the good fight of faith.

The word Paul uses here for fight in the Greek is agonizo, which is where we get our English word agony, which is intense suffering or pain.

This word could be used two different ways in the Greek, either militarily or for athletic competition.

It would make sense for Paul to be referring to the athletic arena here, specifically the runners.

And Paul often referred to athletes and competitions in his letters.

Like in 2 Timothy chapter 4, where he says, I have fought the good fight, the same word.

2 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

I have finished the race.

I have kept the faith.

Do we have any runners in here?

Yeah, we okay.

You guys cross-country team over here, right?

Alright.

Not me.

So my wife, she loves running.

But me, not so much.

She is also a quality time person.

So an ideal date for her was to be go for a run together and then go visit a coffee shop and just sit, talk, and drink some coffee, which I love to do.

I love visiting coffee shops, especially new ones.

But let me tell you the first part of that, the running is difficult.

It's agonizing, especially when you're not a runner like me.

But if I can just suffer until I get to the coffee shop, it'll be worth it.

Paul is conveying the same idea to Timothy here.

If you put forth intense effort, if you strive earnestly and contend for something that is valuable, obviously more valuable than coffee, it's the faith, which is the body of Christian truth, the contents of the Word of God, the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

Church, we are in a battle.

There is a spiritual war going on constantly against the flesh, the devil, and the world that loves sin.

But the man of God doesn't sit back and defend his faith passively.

Passively, but actively fights for it.

But what does this look like?

How do we fight actively?

The answer is abiding in Christ, making Christ our home.

That's what it means to abide.

Through prayer, reading the word, actively pursuing God, that is how we fight the good fight.

And let's continue in verse 12.

We see that the man of God, what he fastens to.

So Paul tells Timothy to take hold of eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

When Paul tells Timothy to take hold of eternal life, he's not implying that Timothy needed salvation.

Timothy was already saved.

Rather, he's telling him, since you have been called to eternal life, live it out firmly, embrace the reality of what God has given you.

Notice that the calling comes first.

Theologians refer to this calling as God's effectual call.

This is God's effectual sovereign call to salvation.

God initiates this call.

God's gracious call isn't a result of Timothy's performance.

Timothy's good confession and response was the fruit of God's work in him.

And this is true for all of us this morning who have been saved.

Peter puts it this way in 2 Peter 1 when he says, His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.

Church, don't let your confession become merely words you said in the past.

Take hold of eternal life to which you have been called.

Don't get distracted with worldly possessions or petty battles.

Instead, focus on eternal things and have an eternal perspective.

Cling to Christ, pursue Him, live for Him.

Let your confession you made with your mouth be demonstrated by the life you live.

So far, the man of God is known by what he flees, what he follows after, what he fights for, and what he fastens to.

And now they are known by what they are faithful to.

Let's read verses 13 and 14.

I charge you in the presence of God who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The man of God is faithful to keep the commandment unstained.

At the beginning of verse 13, to encourage Timothy to preserve no matter the cost, Paul calls two persons who will hold him accountable.

First is God, reminding him that God is in charge of all of life.

It is in the presence of God that he will minister.

Then to Christ, who made the good confession before Pilate.

Paul is referencing back to verse 12 to Timothy's good confession.

But Christ, he's the ultimate example of the one who've held fast to his confession, who remained faithful to the word of God no matter the cost.

And it is to this that the man of God is to be faithful to the commandment.

And this commandment can be understood as the entire word of God.

To keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach is to guard it, to protect it, not to corrupt it, to dilute it or distort it, not to compromise it like the false teachers in Ephesus.

The man of God is to do this until the appearing of Christ.

He was to be faithful his whole life until death or the return of Christ, whichever one comes first.

And we are incompetent to do this in our own power.

But Christ will do it through us for his glory.

And this commandment that Paul tells Timothy to keep unstained is the same imperative or command that he gives him as if we look further in verse 20 of this chapter where he says, O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you.

So this commandment, this deposit, it's the same thing.

It's the good news of Jesus Christ, the gospel, the entire treasury of Scripture.

We don't own this deposit.

When we declare the gospel to the world or to Mount Vernon, we are stewards of something that we don't own.

We are stewards of the faith once delivered to all the saints.

And you may be here and unsure of what this deposit is, what the gospel is that Paul is referring to.

Maybe you never heard it, maybe you've never understood why it's necessary to believe.

I think it would be a missed opportunity if I didn't share it this morning.

Or maybe you've heard the gospel a thousand times.

But it's always a blessing to be reminded of what God has done for us.

You see, God created the world.

He gave the man a command and he held him to perfect obedience.

God promised that man if he kept it, he promised him life if he kept it, and death if he didn't.

The man failed and he didn't keep the command.

And because the man didn't keep the command, sin entered the world, and death through sin.

Then everyone born after this man inherited this sin nature.

Now our world is broken because of this sin, and we stand before a holy and righteous God, guilty.

And we know that he is holy and righteous, and we crave justice.

The problem is if God gives us justice, we all die.

So God in his goodness and in his mercy sent his son Jesus, who was born of the Virgin Mary, and he kept the commandment perfectly, doing what the first man could not do, and doing what we could not do.

And he obeyed the law perfectly on our behalf.

And God laid upon him the iniquity of us all.

And Christ died for sin once for all.

He who knew no sin became sin, the just for the unjust.

God credited our sinfulness to him, and Christ died, and he was raised from the dead three days later.

Now the righteousness of Christ is credited to us.

So God can be both just and the justifier of the one who places their faith in Jesus Christ.

So all those who place their faith in Christ will be saved.

Not only saved, but sanctified.

And sanctified is this idea of becoming more holy, becoming more Christ like.

And we are adopted into the family of God.

And we begin to bear the resemblance, the family resemblance.

And we are further sanctified.

Throughout this life, by the same gospel that saves us.

This is the gospel that saves us.

This is the gospel that we believe, that we are to teach, that we are to share, and that we are to guard with our lives.

And if you would like to talk with a pastor afterwards about what it means to believe and to follow Christ, please come and speak to someone this morning.

And let's continue in the next two verses as Paul breaks out in a praise, a doxology.

I mean, who can talk about God and not want to praise him?

Let's read starting in verse 15.

It says, which he will display at the proper time, talking about Christ's return.

He who is the blessed and only sovereign, the king of kings and lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in an approachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see.

To him be honor and eternal dominion.

Amen.

We serve a mighty God, don't we?

At the beginning of verse 15, the word he that Paul uses in his phrase, he would display at the proper time, is referring to God the Father.

Therefore, this doxology is towards God the Father who alone knows the timing of Christ's return.

I'm sure you've heard the popular quote by A.W.

Tozer.

What comes to your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you, which I think is a profound and true statement.

Church, when you think of God, what comes to mind?

Would you be able to rattle things off like Paul just did?

Do you often think about God?

Have you recently stopped and thought, who is God?

What is God?

What is his character like?

His nature, his power, or his strength?

Have you been in awe of him recently?

I need to ask myself these questions right now, too.

Let's read some of Isaiah chapter 40, starting in verse 10, just to be reminded of how great our God is.

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

It reads, Behold, the God, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him.

Behold, his wages are with him, his reward before him.

He will tend his flock like a shepherd.

He would gather the lambs in his arms, he would carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hands, and marked off the heavens with a span, and closed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

Who has measured the spirit of the Lord?

Or what man shows him counsel?

Whom did he consult?

And who made him understand?

Who taught him the path of justice?

And taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding.

In verse twelve it says, Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand?

If you cup your hand this morning, how much water can you get?

Maybe enough to rinse your face, right?

But just think about all the oceans, the Pacific, the Atlantic, all the rivers, all the water in the earth, and the palm of God's hand.

Obviously, it's figurative language because we know God doesn't have hands, He's spirit.

But as we as we learn through Scripture, but the principle is the same.

We're just think like measuring the mountains on a scale.

God is so vast, so big.

We serve a powerful God who is transcendent.

We cannot comprehend him or fully understand him, yet he is personal and he has revealed himself to us through creation and his word.

He is the source of goodness, knowledge, justice, love, and how gracious of a God to describe himself to us through his word in ways that our finite minds can understand.

I remember hearing a John Piper quote from a while ago when he says, Eternity exists because it will take that long for us to know the inexhaustible glories of God.

May we have a high view of God, because what we believe about God will inevitably shape how we live before God.

May we be a people who have such a high view of God that it changes the way we live every single day.

When we begin to understand who God is, his character, his holiness, his power, his goodness, and what he has done for us in Christ, it should drive us to joyful obedience.

We don't obey God merely out of duty or fear, but because we have come to know the treasure of the God who first loved us, we understand of God not only drives us to our obedience, but sustains us and keeps us.

And as we abide in Christ and understand what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3, verses 5 through 6, that we are not sufficient in ourselves to claim anything that's coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant by the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:5–6

Once we get this understanding, we know who God is, we would bear these marks of women and men of God.

And like Paul, may the more we behold who God is, the more naturally our hearts respond.

To him be honor and eternal dominion.

Amen.

Let's pray.