Lesson for October 31, 2021
The Book of I Timothy
Chapter 4:1-10
Verses 1-6
“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, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. 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.”
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith. Later times covers the period between the beginning of the Church Age on the Day of Pentecost and the Second Coming of Christ after the Tribulation. In every generation there has been apostasy, and this apostasy will continue until the end of human history. Satan’s attacks intensified after Christ was seated at the right hand of the Father and the Church Age began. The Church Age is the period just before the Tribulation. After the Tribulation, Satan is bound for 1000 years. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit continues to suppress the influences of Satan and his world system during the Church Age. If He didn’t hold Satan back, he would end up destroying everything and everyone. So, every generation has two options: 1) follow Satan’s plan which includes apostasy, evil, and reversionism or 2) follow the plan of God after salvation by the study and application of Bible doctrine. (Matthew 6:24)
By means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron. The apostate false teachers are those that reject or distort the truth of the Word of God for selfish motives. These teachers are called false, which is the Greek word “pseduo.” They represent themselves as true, in order to gain entrance into a ministry. These false teachers have deliberate motives, which include monetary greed, sensual pleasures, luxurious lifestyles, power, and fame. They actually train themselves in the art of greed and lust. The Bible says that they use fabricated words of flattery with promises of prosperity in order to extort money and material possessions. They are members of the “mutual admiration society,” pretending to admire certain people in order to gain acceptance. They literally “make merchandise,” the Greek word “emporeuomai,” of the unsuspecting, unstable, spiritually weak believers. (II Peter 2:3,14,15,18; Jude 11,16,18)
They play upon the emotions of the duped believers since they themselves are ruled by their own emotions. These false teachers have no substance in their message, they scoff at the truth and will not accept the authority of accurate Bible doctrine. They bring with them into these churches destructive, self-willed, erroneous opinions that lead to divisions and the formation of factions. It is, of course, impossible for them to bring in accurate doctrinal information from God’s Word, since they have rejected the truth. These apostates are so arrogant that they even reject human authority and speak evil of persons in authority over them in order to carry out their own agenda. Their conscience is seared as with a hot branding iron.
The Bible says that these false teachers live a lifestyle of the “rich and famous,” while turning the grace of God into religious legalism. They are arrogant souls, in love with themselves, in love with money and love to brag about it. Conceited, unholy, lovers of sensual pleasures, they cannot be appeased. They are flattering in their speech, lack self-control over their emotions, and cannot be trusted. With everything they have accumulated materially, they are nevertheless ungrateful and callous to human affection. We are commanded to avoid these false teachers. (II Timothy 3:2-5; II Peter 2:2,12, 13,14,19; Jude 8,16,18)
Men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. Forbidding believers to marry is a false doctrine of legalism. The Judaizers who taught this most likely had the pagan cults of the Gentiles and foods offered to idols in mind when they taught it. These false doctrines were the Judaizers’ distortion of the Mosaic Law. Jews weren’t to marry Gentiles or eat meat offered as sacrifices to the pagan gods under the Law of Moses. However, these laws were no longer relative to the Church Age. Paul made it very clear that these “taboos” were false doctrine. In the Church Age, God has given all believers the privilege and right to marry within the guidelines of Scripture and given wonderful food, none which is forbidden.
For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. Marriage between a Jew and a Gentile was no longer forbidden. Also, meat offered to idols was often sold afterwards and a believer could buy it and eat it without any violation of the Law of Christ, which was what they were now under. God had provided in His grace all kinds of creatures for food. Even meat offered to idols was good for food. The meat wasn’t somehow tainted by a pagan ritual. It was the ritual, not the meat that God forbade. Therefore, we receive food with thanksgiving because the source is God’s grace.
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. Only by studying and teaching could Timothy fulfil his spiritual gift of pastor-teacher and be considered a good servant of Jesus Christ. Good means honorable and no pastor can be honorable unless he teaches accurate Bible doctrine consistently. A pastor should never stop being a devoted student of the Word of God. The pastor himself receives spiritual growth (nourishment) from his own study of the Word of God. The congregation gets its spiritual growth by listening to the teaching of the Word of God. By teaching accurate Bible doctrine to the local church, Timothy would be an honorable minister of Christ Jesus, constantly being nourished by the principles from the Word of God.
The words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. In Greek, this verse actually says “…the words of the faith, even of the sound doctrine which you have been following. Sound doctrine is accurate doctrine. Nothing is more important than learning and knowing sound (accurate) Bible doctrine. It is accurate doctrine that protects us from getting caught up in false teaching, the negative influence of Satan’s world system, the destruction of our spiritual lives and our relationship with God.
The Greek word for following is “parakoloutheo,” which means to follow with the mind, to concentrate on, or to make something one’s own. Timothy had learned a lot of doctrine from the Apostle Paul and was continuing to follow the teaching. His challenge was to teach this sound doctrine to the believers in Ephesus without compromise. By doing this, he would be fulfilling his spiritual gift of pastor-teacher and guarding the congregation from the false doctrine of the Judaizers. Accurate Bible doctrine is the only defense against apostasy and the only hope for the survival of any society.
Verses 4:7-10
“But stay away from worthless stories that are typical of old women. Rather, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily training is just slightly beneficial, but godliness is beneficial 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. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all mankind, especially of believers.”
But stay away from means to decline, to avoid, to reject, or to refuse. Worthless is the Greek word “bebelos,” which means profane and refers to any system of false doctrine, including legalism. Stories that are typical of old women is a reference to myths or fanciful stories which appeal to the emotions. Anything that contradicts accurate Bible doctrine, regardless of how it is presented, is evil. When a believer is in reversionism, they will substitute false doctrine for accurate doctrine, which is called “fables fit only for old women.” Spiritual wisdom from the study and application of accurate Bible doctrine will enable believers to detect false doctrine when they hear it.
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.
“Spiritual exercise” for a pastor is studying the Word of God and teaching it accurately. It is beneficial to him and to those who hear him teach it, just like physical exercise is beneficial. Spiritual discipline means believers must “feed on” the spiritual food of accurate Bible doctrine for sustaining their spiritual lives and for developing spiritual energy. This spiritual energy must be used for spiritual growth, spiritual development, and spiritual strength. A believer develops spiritual strength by “feeding” on the Word of God. Learning Bible doctrine is like an exercise program for your soul. While the previous verse emphasized the defense of Bible teaching, this verse emphasizes the result of Bible teaching which is spiritual health and spiritual growth. Godliness is the Greek word “eusebia,” meaning doing that which is well-pleasing to God. Godliness is therefore a reference to our duty and responsibility to God to live within His power system that we call the Divine Dynasphere. Our defense against apostasy and the influence of evil is the constant “spiritual exercise.” Spiritual exercise means concentrating on the teaching of the Word of God, learning it, and then applying it
It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. Paul repeats this phrase in I Timothy 1:15; 3:1; 4:9;
II Timothy 2:11 and Titus 3:8. Because of the way it is written, Bible scholars have determined that this was part of a sacred hymn sung by the early church. Using this portion of the hymn was Paul’s way of saying that what he was teaching was accurate and worthy of being accepted completely. Accepting only that part of the teaching of doctrine a person likes and rejecting that portion they don’t like will prevent them from living a life well-pleasing to God. The trustworthy statement is “godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” Well-pleasing to God (godliness) can be accomplished only through the study and application of accurate Bible doctrine (there is no other means of pleasing God). Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith (believing doctrine) it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him.”
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. Labor means to work hard, which is something that every pastor-teacher should be doing. The most exhausting work in the world is mental labor. Strive refers to a battle or conflict. So, every pastor who is faithful in his studying and teaching accurate doctrine is in a spiritual battle. Satan loves to get pastors involved in activities that take them away from the study of God’s Word. And pastors should not become “weary in well doing” because in due time they will reap the reward of seeing spiritual growth in their church family. (Galatians 6:9)
Because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Hope means confident expectation. The true motivation for the pastor-teacher and the congregation is occupation with the Person of Jesus Christ. Occupation with Christ comes only through knowledge and application of Bible doctrine. Savior refers to everything that Jesus Christ did for us on the Cross. Of all men means that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of mankind because He alone died for the sins of the entire human race. And He is “the only way, the only truth, and the only life and no one comes to God the Father except through faith in Him” (John 14:6)
Especially of believers. The Greek word for especially is “malista,” which means most of all or above all. This is a word which is referring to a certain category of people who benefit from the saving work of Jesus Christ. Christ died for everyone, but the only beneficiaries of His death on the Cross are those who believe in Him for eternal life. While Jesus Christ is “the potential Savior” of the entire human race, He is “the real Savior” of those who believe in Him. (I John 2:1-2)