Lesson for November 7, 2021
The Book of I Timothy
Chapter 4:11-16
Verses 11-16
“Prescribe and teach these things. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, andpurity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”
The emphasis of these verses is the doctrinal teaching of the pastor of the local church, who is the guardian of truth. The Greek word for prescribe is “paraggello,” which means to give orders, to command, or to instruct. No pastor can give instruction unless he is thoroughly prepared to do so by diligent study of the Word of God. The pastor has the right and the authority to ensure certain things for his congregation. The pastor has the right to ensure privacy for everyone so that things will be done decently and in order. The Greek word for teach is “didasko,” which means one man communicating to a group. This verse is made up of two verbs which actually give two separate public functions of the pastor-teacher: a) he must have everyone’s attention and b) he must communicate doctrine. In teaching the Word of God, both spiritual authority and accurate communication are involved.
Let no one look down on your youthfulness. Look down means to despise, to scorn, to treat with contempt, to care nothing about someone’s authority. Some in the congregation in Ephesus were obviously treating Timothy’s authority with contempt because he was young. But Timothy had forgotten that the authority he had was from God based on his accurate teaching of Bible doctrine. Some believers were disagreeing with and looking down on his teaching in favor of the false teachers. Timothy’s age should have been measured in the amount of doctrine in his soul, and not his physical age.
But rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. In contrast to being looked down upon because of his youth, Timothy was to be an example to the believers in Ephesus. Timothy was to be an example to these believers in five categories.
The first category is in his speech, which means he must be an example in his teaching accurate Bible doctrine. What a pastor teaches is extremely important because it is the means whereby the congregation grows spiritually. This requires a tremendous amount of study to assure the correct interpretation of Scripture is being taught.
The second category is conduct, which means your manner of living. In other words, Timothy was to have a good testimony based on the grace principles of the Word of God with those who were observing his way of life. Just as within the local church, Timothy was to have a good testimony with those outside the church. This requires a pastor to be careful how he conducts his life.
The third category is love, which means Timothy was to exhibit impersonal love for everyone (even those who opposed him). Love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit produced in believers who are advancing in their spiritual lives. Like all believers, it was Timothy’s responsibility to love everyone. To believers, Timothy was already showing his love for the members of the local church by teaching accurate Bible doctrine. If he wanted to continue to see numerical growth of the local church in Ephesus, he had to also demonstrate love to everyone in the city. He did this through evangelism (sharing the Gospel). (Romans 5:5; Galatians 5:22; II Timothy 4:5)
The fourth category is faith, which refers to the testimony of Bible doctrine in Timothy’s soul. Bible doctrine, when properly applied, is a great testimony to everyone around you. No one can see the doctrine in our souls, but they can see the demonstration of it in our lives. Our attitudes, words, and actions, when based on the doctrine in our souls, will be a testimony to our faith in Christ and our relationship with God.
The fifth category is purity, which refers to purity of thinking, living and actions. The Greek word for purity is “hagneia,” which means purity of spirit (mind), manner (of living), or actions. Through purity of mind, which comes as a result of Bible doctrine in the soul, the pastor lives his life as an example to everyone he comes in contact with, whether believers or unbelievers. How we think is reflected in our attitude toward God, self, and others. How we live our lives is also a reflection of what resides in our soul. How we treat God, self, and others likewise reflects what we possess in our souls.
Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Paul’s desire was to return to Ephesus (which never happened). Give attention means to set one’s mind on a subject, to pay close attention to it, or to devote oneself to a subject. It therefore means concentration. Timothy and all pastors in the Church Age are to have a life of concentration on studying and teaching of the Word of God, otherwise they are not fulfilling their role and spiritual gift of pastor-teacher.
Public reading means much more than simply reading what is written on the page of Scripture. The Greek word for reading is “anagnosis,” which means to survey or to go over a passage again and again. Therefore, it means to analyze, to break down a passage point by point, word by word, compare it with other passages and put it all together as a system of doctrine so that it can be explained in a way that everyone can understand it. This method results in the accurate interpretation of every portion of the Word of God, which is an advantage for his congregation. Exhortation is the Greek word “parakaleo,” which means to admonish or to urge someone to pursue a course of action. Teaching is the Greek word “didaskalia,” which means to give instruction. Timothy was to continue to teach accurate Bible doctrine and urge the believers in Ephesus to believe it and apply it.
Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.This principle of prophetic utterance goes back to I Timothy 1:18, where it was first used. It means the “forth-telling” of Bible doctrine taught to Timothy while a student of the Apostle Paul. Timothy had been Paul’s theological student. Timothy must not neglect his spiritual gift that he had been trained for and properly prepared for. Paul was encouraging Timothy not to forget the ordination ceremony that confirmed his spiritual gift of pastor-teacher. With the laying on of hands means the pastors who laid hands on him (the presbytery) were acknowledging his spiritual gift publicly. Laying on of hands is an identification principle. It represents the principle of identification with other pastors. Pastors lay their hands on the ordained person to indicate that they recognize him as a fellow member in the ministry.
Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. The Greek word for take pains is “meletao,” which means to care for, to bestow careful thought on, to take care, to think about, to practice or to cultivate. As the pastor gives thought to the Scripture he is studying, he is learning the correct interpretation and relating it to other passages in the Bible. By doing this, he is building a system of doctrine that can be taught in a systematic way so that his congregation can both understand the teaching and make the proper application of what they learn. As a result of teaching doctrine in this manner, his congregation grows in grace. Be absorbed means to be fully occupied with the study and teaching of doctrine. The result of studying should be teaching Bible doctrine in a manner that causes believers to grow spiritually. The evidence of a pastor who is a diligent student of the Word of God is his systematic teaching of doctrine.
Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. Paul now gives Timothy a warning to stay focused. Pay close attention means to take heed or to be warned. Timothy was being warned that if he didn’t discipline himself, God would do it for him. Two areas of warning were presented by Paul: 1) Timothy’s personal life and 2) Timothy’s teaching. Pay close attention to your teaching means to be consistent in your teaching of accurate Bible doctrine, which will stop believers from the negative influence of false teachers and cause spiritual growth within the church.
Persevere means to persist, continue, never quit studying and teaching. Then we have an explanation as to why a pastor’s job is mainly to study and teach. By studying and teaching accurate Bible doctrine, both he and the members of the congregation are going to be assured of deliverance (salvation) from the false teaching of the Judaizers.